153 B.C. silver roman republic denarius coin of C Maianius Denarius

Description

Mint
: Rome
Magistrate
:
C Maianius Denarius
Guaranteed Genuine ancient silver denarius
C Maianius Denarius. 153 BC. Helmeted head of Roma right, X behind / Victory in biga right, C MAIANI below, ROMA in ex. Crawford 203/1a, Sydenham 427.
Well centered and nice luster with nice colorful gold, green and blue toning.  Good details
Year
153 BC
was a year of the
pre-Julian Roman calendar
. At the time it was known as the
Year of the Consulship of Nobilior and Luscus
(or, less frequently,
year 601
Ab urbe condita
). The denomination 153 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the
Anno Domini
calendar era
became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Events
By place
Roman Republic
The uprisings in
Rome's
Hispanic
provinces oblige the year's
consuls
to take office earlier than the traditional date of 15 March, a change that becomes permanent. Some suggest that, as a consequence,
January 1
becomes the first day of the Roman year.
Seleucid Empire
The
Seleucid
king
Demetrius I Soter
's relations with
Attalus II Philadelphus
of
Pergamum
and
Ptolemy VI Philometor
of
Egypt
deteriorate to the point where they support a rival claimant to the
Syrian
throne,
Alexander Balas
, who claims to be the son of the former Seleucid king
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
and, therefore, a first cousin of Demetrius. He has been "discovered" by Heracleides, a former minister of Antiochus IV and brother of
Timarchus
, who has been executed by Demetrius I Soter in
160 BC
after leading a revolt against him in
Media
.
As a result of the rise of the pretender, Alexander Balas, Demetrius I Soter is forced to recall most of his garrisons in
Judea
. To retain control of Judea, he makes a bid to gain the loyalty of
Jonathan Maccabeus
, whom he permits to recruit an army and to take back the hostages that the Syrians are holding in the city of
Acre
. Jonathan gladly accepts these terms, takes up residence in
Jerusalem
and begins to fortify the city, becoming
High Priest of Jurusalem
until
143 BC
.
Greece
Substantial parts of the city of
Sikyon
are destroyed by an
earthquake
.