The exhibition “Power Scenarios – Roles and Actions of Roman Emperors” will be shown from November 27 to December 9 in the exhibition room of the Main Library (HB), Schuhstr. 1a. Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 8 am to 12 pm, Saturday/Sunday 10 am to 12 pm.
Pictures and texts on coins show in the first place their authenticity and minting authority: they protect against counterfeiting. At the same time, they are much more than that. Coins circulated in the whole Roman Empire and reached a wide audience as an ancient “mass medium”. While the emperor or his relatives are regularly shown on the front side, the pictures and texts on the back side are extremely diverse. They tell us about wars and peace, values and virtues of the Romans, gods and myths, celebrations and festivals, changing power relations and strong women. However, coins are not at all neutral witnesses of historical events. They tell their own stories in which they skillfully propagate imperial action – after all, the emperor, his family and high officials determined what texts and images were shown on the coins.
The coins of the Erlangen Antikensammlung, which are presented in this exhibition, both on posters and online in via QR-codes (with further information and videos) in three languages (English / German / Chinese), cover a period of approximately 300 years. In addition, coins from the collection of the Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations (IHAC) in Changchun, China are displayed, with which the exhibition has been designed during a joint seminar in the summer semester 2019.