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Titus Tatius
was known as the legendary king of the Sabines, an ancient Italic
people living north-east of Rome. The obverse of this coin shows the
bearded king Tatius, who allegedly succeeded in capturing the capital
of Rome, after the Romans had carried off some Sabine women during a
display of games.
The coin alludes to the legendary Rape of the Sabine women c. 753 BC, the traditional date for the founding of Rome. The reverse depicts Roman soldiers carrying off these women during games staged by Romulus to secure women as wives for his people. Eventually, after reconciliation between the Sabines and the Romans, Romulus, together with Titus Tatius, ruled jointly over the combined peoples. The gens Tituria probably adopted the cognomen Sabinus to emphasise traditional values and the virtue of trust that were connected to the name. |
