Roman Empire. Maximinus Thrax (AD 235-238). Sestertius Rome - FIDES MILITVM

RULER: Maximinus I
DATE: 235 - 238 A.D
DENOMINATION: Sestertius
MATERIAL: Bronze, AE
SIZE & WEIGHT: 28 mm, 23,9 gr
OBVERSE: IMP MAXIMINVS PIVS AVG, laureate, draped and cuirassed bust of Maximinus I to right, seen from behind.
REVERSE: FIDES MILITVM / S - C, Fides standing facing, head to left, holding standard in each hand.
REFERENCES: BMC 63; Cohen 10; RIC 43.

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Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus, better known as Maximinus Thrax ("the Thracian"), reigned as Roman Emperor from 235 to 238 CE. He is a pivotal, though short-lived, figure in Roman history as he is generally considered the first of the so-called "Barracks Emperors" and his elevation marked the brutal beginning of the tumultuous Crisis of the Third Century. Maximinus was a provincial of reportedly humble origins, having risen through the ranks as a career soldier, possibly starting as an auxiliary in the Balkans. His rise shattered the established tradition that emperors must hail from the senatorial or equestrian classes, introducing a new era where military power alone determined the imperial office.

Maximinus's accession was violent: he was proclaimed emperor by the legions near Mainz after they assassinated the previous emperor, Severus Alexander, in 235 CE. A man famed in ancient sources for his colossal size and immense strength, Maximinus was a pure military ruler who never once set foot in Rome during his reign. Instead, he campaigned relentlessly on the frontiers, successfully defending and pushing back incursions by the Alemanni on the Rhine and the Dacians and Sarmatians on the Danube. To secure the loyalty of his troops—the sole basis of his power—he doubled their pay, an extravagant move that necessitated aggressive taxation and confiscation of wealth, primarily targeting the senatorial elite and wealthy landowners.

This brutal policy of financial coercion and Maximinus's contempt for the Senate provoked widespread resentment and ultimately led to his downfall. In 238 CE, a revolt against his rule began in Africa, elevating the elderly Gordian I and his son Gordian II as rival emperors. When this revolt was quickly suppressed, the Senate—now fully committed to opposing Maximinus—proclaimed two of their own, Pupienus and Balbinus, as emperors. Maximinus responded by marching his army into Italy to crush the rebellion, but was stalled by a stubborn siege at the city of Aquileia. Faced with famine, disease, and the emperor's harsh discipline, his own troops lost morale and mutinied, assassinating Maximinus and his son Maximus in their tent in April 238 CE, thus ending the reign of the first soldier to ascend to the imperial purple.