Roman Empire
Augustus’s Greatest Diplomatic Victory – The Parthians & Crassus’s Legionary Eagles
July 8, 2025
Leaders of the past generation, such as his stepfather Julius Caesar, had placed military symbols on their coins – a trophy of Gallic arms with a bound captive, in Caesar’s case. Augustus, though never one to shy away from a war, was a more diplomatically inclined ruler that pushed a narrative of peace and stability. Diplomatic victories, such as the one celebrated on the reverse of this coin, fit that narrative perfectly.
This coin above is part of a series of propaganda pieces struck by Augustus that commemorate his diplomatic victories against Rome’s two greatest enemies, the Parthians and the Germans. They were struck in the first two decades of Augustus’s long reign – with the Parthian issues being struck around 19/18 BC and the German issues in 12 BC.
Augustus’s coinage was always very deliberate and intendented to send specific messages. Take, for example, the highly symbolic and extremely rare issue of Augustus raising up a figure personifying the Republic – intended to show that he had not installed himself as “emperor,” as future generations would observe, but had in fact saved the old res publica. Likewise, trumpeting a diplomatic victory sent an important signal to Romans that Caesar Augustus would be a different type of leader than the military strongmen that had dominated the last several decades of the Republic (ca. 80-30 BC).
*Fiery Cabinet Toning* Caesar Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) Silver Denarius, Parthian Returning Legionary Standard Type – NGC Choice AU 4/5 – 4/5
Roman Empire. Twelve Caesars. Caesar Augustus (r. 27 BC – 14 AD) AR (Silver) denarius. Mint of Rome; struck ca. 19/18 BC; P. Petronius Turpilianus, moneyer. Parthian envoy returning standards type. Graded Choice AU 4/5 – 4/5 by NGC; a stunning example of this highly important issue. Captivating fiery toning with hues of red and gold. A stellar example of one of the most important coinage types of Augustus’ long reign.
Leaders of the past generation, such as his stepfather Julius Caesar, had placed military symbols on their coins – a trophy of Gallic arms with a bound captive, in Caesar’s case. Augustus, though never one to shy away from a war, was a more diplomatically inclined ruler that pushed a narrative of peace and stability. Diplomatic victories, such as the one celebrated on the reverse of this coin, fit that narrative perfectly.
Above: Silver denarius of Julius Caesar, with the reverse highlighting his eight-year military campaign in Gaul. Augustus, though proud of his stepfather’s achievements, sought to pitch the Roman people a somewhat different narrative, centered around peace and stability.
The Parthians, Rome’s perennial enemy to the East, had crushed an invading Roman army under Marcus Licinius Crassus in 53 BC at the Battle of Carrhae, killing or enslaving the entire Roman army and taking the prized legionary eagles back to their capital as spoils of war. The loss of Crassus himself, his army, and the eagles were a major psychological blow to Rome and its vaunted army, which had hitertho never lost an eagle. Rome was preoccupied by civil war for the next two decades, until Augustus emerged triumphant at Actium in 31 BC. Having stabilized the empire and fortified the army, Augustus now dealt with the Parthians from a position of strength.
His stepson and successor Tiberius invaded Armenia, a Parthian client state, in 20 BC, while Augustus began a tour of the eastern provinces on Parthia’s border, perhaps hinting at a larger invasion of the Parthian heartland. This ambiguous show of force was Augustus’s style and was successful; the Parthians blinked. Augustus was able to secure the return of Crassus’ legionary eagles the same year, where they were presented to Augustus in Rome by a Parthian envoy in a scene of great splendor and patriotism.