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In the currency of ancient Rome, the ''bigatus'' (plural ''bigati'') is a type of denarius stamped on the reverse with a ''biga'', a two-horse chariot. It began to appear in the first decade of the 2nd century BC as an alternative to the ''victoriatus'', and most numismatists believe that it was not used before 190 BC.〔Cosmo Rodewald, ''Money in the Age of Tiberius'' (Manchester University Press, 1976), p. 142.〕 A denarius with a four-horse chariot ''(quadriga)'' had already been in use for some time; see ''quadrigatus'', likewise named for its chariot icon and depicting in addition the Dioscuri.〔Pliny, ''Natural History'' 33.46, and Festus, entry on ''grave aes'', ''Excerpta Pauli'', p. 98 (in the edition of Müller = p. 87 in the 1997 Teubner edition of Lindsay) both state that the names ''bigatus'' and ''quadrigatus'' come from the respective icons of the ''biga'' and the ''quadriga'', as cited by Rodewald, ''Money in the Age of Tiberius''.〕 The first ''bigatus'' depicted Luna in her two-horse chariot. It continued in use along with the Dioscuri ''quadrigatus'' until 170 BC, when the denarius was temporarily suppressed. It was revived around 157 BC with the Dioscuri type and a new ''bigatus'' depicting Victory in her ''biga'', probably to commemorate Rome's dominance following the Battle of Pydna.〔Michael H. Crawford, ''Roman Republican Coinage'' (Cambridge University Press, 1974), pp. 720–721.〕 Tacitus and Plutarch mention a statue of Victory in a ''biga''.〔Tacitus, ''Histories'' 1.86; Plutarch, ''Life of Otho'' 4.〕 The date at which the ''bigatus'' began to be issued is complicated by the uncertain usage of the word ''bigati'' by the Augustan historian Livy. In writing about the events of 216 BC, before ''bigati'' are known to have come into circulation, Livy uses the word to refer to silver money taken as spoils in Cisalpine Gaul or Hispania, and then displayed at triumphs between 197 and 190 BC.〔Livy, 23.15.5.〕 ''Bigati'' may be used loosely for ''denarii'', and not the specific type.〔Crawford, ''Roman Republican Coinage'', p. 630.〕 It has also been conjectured that ''bigatus'' had become a slang term for denarii in a broader sense of "two-horsed," which might also apply to the image of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux) as horsemen.〔Rodewald, ''Money in the Age of Tiberius'', p. 142, summarizing H. Mattingly, "The First Age of Roman Coinage," ''Journal of Roman Studies'' 35 (1945); Kenneth W. Hart, ''Coinage in the Roman Economy, 300 B.C. to A.D. 700'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), pp. 394, note 34, and 475.〕 None of these explanations has been universally satisfying.〔Rodewald, ''Money in the Age of Tiberius'', p. 142.〕 In his ethnography ''Germania'', Tacitus (56–117 AD) notes that while most Germanic peoples in his day still relied on barter, those along the borders of the Empire engaged in commerce and used currency, but trusted only the value of "old and well-known" coins such as ''bigati'' and ''serrati'', the latter being those with serrated edges.〔Tacitus, ''Germania'' 5.〕 Since plated coins had begun to circulate during the time of Julius Caesar and after (see fourrée), they had cause to be wary; however, other older coins should also have relieved them of their concerns, and the reasons for their preference are unclear, especially since plated ''bigati'' existed.〔Rodewald, ''Money in the Age of Tiberius'', pp. 31, 100 (note 217), 142–143.〕 ==Further reading== * Rudi Thomsen, ''Early Roman Coinage'' (1957, 1961). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bigatus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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