Original scientific paper
Once more about Diocletian’s portrait
Nenad Cambi
Abstract
This brief study once more considers Diocletian’s portrait,
i.e., the question of his true appearance. The author has already
written about this topic and ascertained which images on
the emperor’s gold coins may have corresponded to his actual
appearance. The extraordinary gold coin from the Archaeological
Museum in Zagreb, among others, has been categorized
in this group. A re-examination of this profile has ascertained
that the latter exhibits certain features of ageing, such as loose
neck skin, bags under the eyes, sunken cheeks, etc. This is
the same person, only at a somewhat more advanced age. Given
that the author asserts that this coin was minted in 286
AD, therefore two years after assuming power, his appearance
in that period could not have been greatly altered. The conclusion
would be that either the same or more youthful appearance
was modified (de-aged) or the dating of the Zagreb coin
should be set later.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
344349
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2025.
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