CNG - Valens. AV Solidus. Antioch. Near VF
 $358.00
Apr-19-00

Valens. 364-378 AD. AV Solidus (4.37 gm). Struck late 366/7 AD. Antioch mint. 
D N VALENS PEP (sic) F AVG, pearl-diademed, draped
and cuirassed bust right 
RESTITVTOR REIPVBLICAE, Valens standing facing, head right, 
holding labarum and Victory on globe; 
Mintmark ANTI dot. 
RIC IX 2c, xv.3; Depeyrot 27/3 . Near VF, probably
ex jewelry. 720128

Valens, brother of Valentinian I, ruled the East with a 
heavy hand. Unlike his brother, who had a tolerant 
religious policy, Valens was a zealous Arian Christian 
who persecuted Catholics. As long as his brother handled 
military affairs, the Empire remained stable. Valens even 
managed, through strict austerity measures, to reduce 
taxation somewhat. After Valentinian I’s death, Valens
made a catastrophic error by first allowing a huge 
migration of Goths to enter Imperial territory, then 
allowing Roman officials to treat them abominably enough 
to provoke an open revolt. Valens moved against the 
Visigoths with his army, encountering their main encampment 
near Adrianople on the Danube. Refusing to wait for 
reinforcements, he attacked, and his atrocious tactics led 
to the worst Roman defeat since Cannae 500 years before.
Valens' body was never found.