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A period of rare felicity, in which one may think what one wishes and say what one thinks, was how Tacitus characterised the rule of his consular colleague Nerva and the latter's successor, Trajan [Histories, 1], a most happy age [when] Caesar Nerva blended things once irreconcilable: sovereignty and freedom [Agricola, 3].
Following the murder of Domitian in September AD 96, the new emperor Nerva made calculated efforts to distance himself from the last Flavian ruler, exonerating those on trial for maiestas and restoring those exiled by Domitian [Cassius Dio, 68.2]. In Suetonius' account, the previous emperor was cremated unceremoniously by his old nurse [Life of Domitian, 17.3], and Cassius Dio claimed that silver and gold images of Domitian were even melted down and used in coin production under Nerva [68.1]. Coin types bearing the legend Roma Renascens heralded the dawn of a new and peaceful age and poet Martial lavished praise upon the good government of Nerva, claiming that if the staunch republican Cato were to rise from the dead, even he would be Caesarianus, a champion of this lenient kind of imperial regime [11.5.14].
Concordia Exercituum featured on another coin type under Nerva: depicted clasped hands alone in a design similar to those produced under Vitellius in a context of civil and foreign war. The imagery on this present type further highlighted the explicit relation to the military: the aquila and prow illustrated a union between the emperor pictured on the obverse and the army and navy symbolised on the reverse. Such iconography seemed to reflect the broader approach of the emperor, whose decision to retain Domitian-era governors in important military provinces like Britain, Cappadocia-Galatia and the Danubian provinces, for instance, likely aimed at avoiding disruption to military administration and, so, at preserving concordia [Syme, Tacitus, 1958, p.51-2].
In both disposition [mitissimo seni, mildest of old men, in Pliny, Panegyric, 6; mildest of princes in Martial, 12.6], and body [so frail, according to Cassius Dio, that he had to vomit up his food, 68.1], Nerva emerged as a somewhat feeble figure. The mutiny of the Praetorian Guard in AD 97 undermined the notion of lasting concord in the state, forcing Nerva to surrender the murderers of his predecessor to be killed in turn [Dio 68.3.3] and Pliny, elevating Trajan's role as saviour, credits him with correcting a breakdown of discipline which had occurred in Nerva's army [Panegyric, 6]. CONCORDIA EXERCITVVM : Harmony with the army.
Following the murder of Domitian in September AD 96, the new emperor Nerva made calculated efforts to distance himself from the last Flavian ruler, exonerating those on trial for maiestas and restoring those exiled by Domitian [Cassius Dio, 68.2]. In Suetonius' account, the previous emperor was cremated unceremoniously by his old nurse [Life of Domitian, 17.3], and Cassius Dio claimed that silver and gold images of Domitian were even melted down and used in coin production under Nerva [68.1]. Coin types bearing the legend Roma Renascens heralded the dawn of a new and peaceful age and poet Martial lavished praise upon the good government of Nerva, claiming that if the staunch republican Cato were to rise from the dead, even he would be Caesarianus, a champion of this lenient kind of imperial regime [11.5.14].
Concordia Exercituum featured on another coin type under Nerva: depicted clasped hands alone in a design similar to those produced under Vitellius in a context of civil and foreign war. The imagery on this present type further highlighted the explicit relation to the military: the aquila and prow illustrated a union between the emperor pictured on the obverse and the army and navy symbolised on the reverse. Such iconography seemed to reflect the broader approach of the emperor, whose decision to retain Domitian-era governors in important military provinces like Britain, Cappadocia-Galatia and the Danubian provinces, for instance, likely aimed at avoiding disruption to military administration and, so, at preserving concordia [Syme, Tacitus, 1958, p.51-2].
In both disposition [mitissimo seni, mildest of old men, in Pliny, Panegyric, 6; mildest of princes in Martial, 12.6], and body [so frail, according to Cassius Dio, that he had to vomit up his food, 68.1], Nerva emerged as a somewhat feeble figure. The mutiny of the Praetorian Guard in AD 97 undermined the notion of lasting concord in the state, forcing Nerva to surrender the murderers of his predecessor to be killed in turn [Dio 68.3.3] and Pliny, elevating Trajan's role as saviour, credits him with correcting a breakdown of discipline which had occurred in Nerva's army [Panegyric, 6]. CONCORDIA EXERCITVVM : Harmony with the army.