Dacia holding military standard, draco or staff surmounted by ass's head

[Tejas]

On some coins of Trajan Decius (and Aurelian) appears the female personification of the province of Dacia holding some kind of  implement. This implement is a staff with an animal's head. Most often this animal is identified as an ass, but I also found the identification as wolf (tête de loup). Another theory states that the implement is a so called "draco", which was a certain type of Roman military standard with a dragon head. 

Here are two coins from my collection which, in my view show two very different animal heads on top of the staff. The first one looks very much like a wolf's head. There are far more stylized versions around, but I think Roman die sinkers were too skilled to have produced this type of head if they had meant an ass.

The second one shows something that looks like the head of a bird of prey or a griffin. This animal clearly has a beak and something that  looks like a neck crest. Again, I think there is no way that the die engraver had intended to depict the head of an ass.

Most coins of this type show less specific and less clear depictions of the staff, but I think these two coins make it clear that the implement is most definitely not a staff with an ass' head and probably it is also not a draco.

Does anybody have a theory as to what this implement really is?

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by Tejas

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

I believe @Roman Collector posted a great thread on this topic a few years back on the other coin forum. Hopefully he can provide some illumination on this question, deserves some avid scholarship....

[Dwarf]

It is definitely a "Draco"

Jochen started this discussion in 2004 in the German forum
https://www.numismatikforum.de/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7629&p=64831&hilit=draco#p64831
and in the meantime this is "communis opinio"

By the way - there are more corrections in this thread.
The famous "abacus" with Liberalitas, which is a counting board - or the "cinnamon sticks" with Arabia, which definitely are NOT cinnamon (solution pending as far as I am concerned)

 

Regards
Klaus

[Tejas]

2 hours ago, Dwarf said:

It is definitely a "Draco"

Thanks for the link. I'll be happy to read this.

Actually, I don't think it is a "draco", i.e. a dragon - at least not in every case. My coins clearly show variants with a wolf's head and a bird of prey's or griffin's head. I think it is a military standard that could take different forms, a dragon may have been one of them, but others include a wolf and a griffin or bird of prey. But again, maybe the die engravers were not so clear about how to depict a draco.

I think the implement is definitely a military standard of some type. Below is another coin from my collection, showing Dacia with another form of Roman military standard. Hence, Dacia was not necessarily depicted with a "draco" but with a military standard of different forms. 

Also, judging by the descriptions on acsearch, it doesn't look like the draco-theory is "communis opinio". Most of the time the implement is called a staff with an ass' head.

Edited March 18, 2023 by Tejas

[Dwarf]

I will not start another discussion here - but I think just a look at the "pictures" on Trajan's column might help

 

The reverse of the coin shows a personification of the Roman province of Dacia, holding a Dragon-standard. The Dacian Draco was the standard ensign of troops of the ancient Dacian people, which can be seen in the hands of the soldiers of Decebalus in several scenes depicted on Trajan's Column in Rome. It has the form of a dragon with open wolf-like jaws containing several metal tongues. The hollow dragon's head was mounted on a pole with a fabric tube affixed at the rear. In use, the draco was held up into the wind, or above the head of a horseman, where it filled with air and gave the impression it was alive while making a shrill sound as the wind passed through its strips of material. (wrote this a few years ago!)

Regards
Klaus

[Tejas]

Maybe then the Roman die engravers had no real concept of how such a draco looked like. Clearly they have consistently failed to depict the fabric tube, which is clearly visible on all or most of the other depictions from antiquity.

1. Dacia with traditional military signum, 2. Dacia with wolf-head signum, 3. Dacia with griffin-head signum

Edited March 18, 2023 by Tejas

[seth77]

I don't think that the 'draco' originated in Dacia nor that it was supposed to be a mandatory wolf's head. A cavalry standard using the principle of the 'draco' with either a wolf's head or a dragon's head or a griffin's head would have likely served the same purpose.

What is really nice in @Tejas's op is the first coin with the IMP TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG legend, one of the earliest issues for Decius in 249.

 

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by seth77

[Dwarf]

The wikipedia entry for the Dacian drago is quite useful
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacian_draco

And here a nice photo of a "draconarius"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draconarius

Here a picture of the only draco standard which survived
Courtesy of Stefan Zehetner's diploma thesis of 2009 on the "Signifer"

Edited March 18, 2023 by Dwarf

[DonnaML]

Here's mine to throw into the mix:

All I can say for sure is that I don't believe it's either an ass's head or a wolf's head (as the latter is typically portrayed). It's sort of a cross between the two examples shown by @Tejas. I'm content to go with "draco." And suspect that that was the general intent of the design.

@Dwarf, just out of curiosity, if those aren't cinnamon sticks held by Arabia on the three Trajan coin reverses shown in this photo, what does the referenced German-language thread suggest they could be?

My own coin descriptions describe what she's holding as "a bundle of cinnamon sticks or canes or calamus odoratus [a/k/a acorus odoratus; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorus_calamus]."

[Dwarf]

Jochen in the German forum goes with your description of calamus odoratus, probably acorus calamus or acorus aromaticus L

https://www.numismatikforum.de/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7629&start=60

This is far from sure, but cinnamon rules out

Regards
Klaus

[ewomack]

This is a brief clip from a Tony Robinson documentary showing a reconstructed Roman "draco" in action.

 

[kapphnwn]

Trajan Ae Sestertius 111 AD Obv Head right laureate Rv Arabia standing left holding branch in right hand and cradling bundle bundle of cinnamon sticks in her left To left camel advancing left  RIC 466 Woytek 363a 24.14 grms 32 mm Photo by W. Hansen In response to @DonnaML I believe the object can be seen on this sestertius somewhat more clearly than on the much smaller denarius. It appears to be a bundle made up of straight sticks held in a bundle by two straps. The bottom of the bundle is somewhat rounded and is generally staight untill it tapers to a point. To me it does look like cinnamon sticks as are illustrated in Wikipedia. At this time cinnamon appears to come from India and the erst while Nabatean Kingdom controlled much of that trade until their kingdom was annexed by the Romans. 

  However I will make one caveat. I only did a very superficial dive into the subject. I have to wonder if the branch held by Arabia is from the Balsam plant. At the time Balsam was known to be grown in Jericho ( Israel), Egypt  (brought there by Cleopatra VII) and Arabia Felix (Yemen) Hope this helps.

[Tejas]

If the implement on the DACIA - coins really is specifically a "draco", then the die engravers of the mid-3rd century may simply not have known how such a draco looked like. Maybe they worked on the basis of a rough description, like  "a staff with animal head", without ever having seen it in person. Yet, I find it remarcable that the "windsock", which is such a characteristic feature of the real draco was simply left out on all coins, whereas it was consistently depicted on various stone sculptures.

Appart from the many generic or stylized animal heads, I think three types of animals are relatively clearly distinguishable: a wolf, a griffin and a horse or ass.

1. Dacia with traditional military signum, 2. Dacia with wolf-head signum, 3. Dacia with griffin-head signum, 4. Dacia with ass-head signum

Edited March 19, 2023 by Tejas

[Dwarf]

Thanks for the photos - and I agree with your description. Unfortunately it doesn't solve the "meaning" of these standards

When a "draco" is not meant they must either refer to a specific legion, or "Dacia and animal-standard" forms an entity at this time.
Unfortunately my Google search (Including the photo files of the DAI in Rome)found no representations of Dacia on other monuments than on coins.

As to "Draco"
For the German-speaking members I can recommend
Kai Töpfer: Signa militaria - Die römischen Feldzeichen in der Republik und im Prinzipat. Monographien des RGZM Mainz Bd. 91 (Mainz 2011).
page 33 to 35

https://www.academia.edu/3772905/Signa_militaria_-_Die_römischen_Feldzeichen_in_der_Republik_und_im_Prinzipat._Monographien_des_RGZM_Mainz_Bd._91_Mainz_2011_

This paper in English - unfortunately I found no download
Coulston, Jonathan Charles Nelson.: 'The 'draco' standard'. In: Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies, Vol. 2, 1991, p. 101-14.

Regards
Klaus

 

[Dwarf]

Here a without-doubt-draco on a very rare sestertius of Antoninus Pius

https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=2046624|4854|332|007aa3a5041cf6a267f49c051e619032

[Dwarf]

Last for today:
Two other provinces are depicted on coins of Traianus Decius: The two Pannoniae (Pannonia Inferior and Superior)
They present signa, too. Usually two different ones, but sometimes the same, sometimes one together, sometimes the die cutter had no idea of the look of a standard

Töpfer writes: "Unter Traianus Decius werden Pannonia und Dacia mit Stangenfeldzeichen kombiniert. Jenes neben Pannonia verweist auf das Sonderkommando, durch das ihm die moesischen und pannonischen Legionen unterstellt wurden und das zur Basis seines Machtanspruchs wurde. Das signumder Dacia verweist auf die militärischen Operationen des Kaisers in dieser Provinz, die ihm den Titel»Dacicus Maximus« einbrachten"

Under Traianus Decius, Pannonia and Dacia are combined with pole field signs. The one next to Pannonia refers to the special command that put the Moesian and Pannonian legions under his control and became the basis of his claim to power. The signum of Dacia refers to the military operations of the emperor in this province, which earned him the title "Dacicus Maximus".

Happy discussion - I've not made up my mind yet
Klaus
 

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Here's an interesting piece on the draco...

http://www.fectio.org.uk/articles/draco.htm

[Tejas]

3 hours ago, Dwarf said:

Here a without-doubt-draco on a very rare sestertius of Antoninus Pius

https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=2046624|4854|332|007aa3a5041cf6a267f49c051e619032

This is a fantastic coin, but why is the depicted implement a "without doubt draco"? Is there a contemporary source saying that the implement depicted on this coin represents a dragon-standard?

Is it not possible that the attribute of the personified Dacia was just a staff with an animal's head? Perhaps this head could be adjusted to represent different deities. 

In a book on "Gods of Roman Dacia" I found the depictions below. The stela shows Apollo and beneath him are a griffin, with a head (note the beak, the ears and the neck crest) just as on many of the coins with DACIA reverse. 

Thus, the head on the staff of Dacia is at times, neither a dragon nor a wolf, but a griffin. Maybe Dacia's staff symbolizes different deities depending on the head that is surmounted on the staff. Also, the lack of a windsock, which is present in contemporary descriptions and depictions of the dragon-standard seems to be consistently absent from the staff of Dacia. 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Tejas

[Dwarf]

The standard is definitely a draco - although the coin in the BM is hardly better to see (bad English!)
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1872-0709-624

I am changing my mind as to the standard held by Dacia on Decius' coins being "definitely" a draco.
As you mentioned, the attribute of Dacia may have been just a staff with an animal's head. Or they refer to the symbol of a Roman legion stationed in Dacia at this time.
Unfortunately my private library is limited and "online results" on representations of Dacia on monuments in mid-third-century cannot be found.

 

[Tejas]

I think what happened is this: In the 2nd century (after the Dacian wars) die engravers knew what a draco standard was and how it functioned. Hence, they (probably) produced more or less accurate representations of it on the coins.

Some 100 years later, when a personification of Dacia was needed for the coins of Trajan Decius, the die engravers refered back to the coins of the 2nd century, without actually understanding the attribute of Dacia. Hence, they interpreted the draco standard as a staff surmounted by an animal's head, without understanding the function of the windsock. So in a sense, I think Dacia's staff on coins of the 3rd century is a staff with animal head that resulted from a misunderstood draco-standard.*  

The variation of the animal heads (griffin, wolf, ass) may just reflect artistic freedom, because most of the time, the animal is rather generic or indeterminate.

 

*Btw, this has happened a lot in heraldry. When objects represended on heraldic shields fell out of use and the function and name was lost, people reinterpreted these objects, often adjusting their appearance slightly to better fit the new meaning.

 

 

 

Edited March 20, 2023 by Tejas

[Dwarf]

I started my numismatic morning with the intention to verify the percentages of wolves, griffins, and asses on Dacia's standards.
Coinarchives showed 939 entries. I thought it would be a tedious task.
But guess what: Hardly any wolf (animal with short ears), no griffin - and a lot of curious heads.
Tejas' examples are really exceptional, done be skilled engravers. Even the only gold coin is not superior in workmanship.
Attached some examples which show the artistic freedom - or sometimes the artistic ignorance - mentioned by Tejas.
Striking is the rather long neck depicted on many standards - perhaps referring to the windsock of the "meant draco"
BTW - NAC interprets the standard as a draco in their description of the only aureus
https://www.coinarchives.com/a/openlink.php?l=40655|44|179|043485b042179e1b0547288346a47044

 

[Tejas]

Thanks for the pictures. I think the many indetermined animals (e.g. the two on the right), which probably make up the majority of the representations on these coins,  show quite clearly that the die engravers didn't know that they were supposed to depict a draco-standard. Again, I think it is likely that this staff with animal head was based on a misinterpretation of depictions from coins that were some 100 years old by the time of Trajan Decius.

It would be great if we could find a depiction of Dacia with this particular attribute from the mid-3rd century or later. However, such a representation may not exist and ultimately we may never know for sure the intentions of the die engravers regarding this particular implement.

I wonder where the idea comes from that the animal is an ass or donkey. This identification is still commonly found, but it appears to be the least convincing.

 

PS: On the gold coin, the animal looks like a goat

[Dwarf]

2 hours ago, Tejas said:

I wonder where the idea comes from that the animal is an ass or donkey. This identification is still commonly found, but it appears to be the least convincing.

It was already used by Cohen, then by RIC in 1949 without citing any doubts and by every numismatist thereafter. I learned nothing else at university or in trade and never questioned it.
To my knowledge the reattribution started with Jochen's post in 2004.
 

[Tejas]

Some rudimentary statistics from acsearch: 

 

Dacia Decius = 2994

Dacia Decius ass = 398

Dacia Decius donkey = 296

Dacia Decius draco = 97

Dacia Decius dragon = 36

The big discrepancies are partly due to the presence of the traditional military standard, which precludes both draco and ass, and different languages. For example

French

Dacia Decius  tête d'âne (head of an ass) = 82

German

Dacia Decius Eselstandarte (ass standard) = 11.

etc.

As for the types of animal heads. From glancing over the pictures, I think the vast majority are undetermined and highly stylized. The more elaborate griffin-type is relatively common as well. The wolf-type appears to be very rare.

 

 

[Ursus]

19 minutes ago, Tejas said:

The wolf-type appears to be very rare.

I guess that in this case, I can consider myself lucky to have this one:

Trajan Decius, Roman Empire, AR antoninian, 249–251 AD, Rome mint. Obv: IMP C Q TRAIANVS DECIVS AVG; bust of Trajan Decius, draped, cuirassed, and laureate, r. Rev: DACIA: Dacia standing left, holding draco. 22mm, 3.66g. Ref: RIC IV Traian Decius 12.