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1st Century CE, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribes: Catuvellauni and Trinovantes, AE Unit, Struck c.10 - 40 at Verlamion under CunobelinusObverse: CVNO - BELIN. Bare head facing left.
Reverse: TASCIO. Metal worker, wielding hammer, seated facing right.
Diameter: 15mm | Weight: 2.24gms | Axis: 3h
Spink: 342 | ABC: 2969 | Van Arsdell 2097

CUNOBELINUS
Cunobelinus was a king in Iron Age Britain from about 9 CE until about 40 CE. He is mentioned by the Roman historians Suetonius and Dio Cassius, and many coins bearing his inscription have been found. Cunobelinus controlled a substantial portion of south-eastern Britain, including the territories of the Catuvellauni and the Trinovantes, and is called “Britannorum rex" (King of the Britons) by Suetonius. He appears to have been recognized by the Roman emperor Augustus as a client king, shown by the use of the Latin title Rex on some of his coins.
Numismatic evidence appears to indicate that Cunobelinus took power around AD 9 after the death of his father Tasciovanus, minting coins from both Camulodunum, capital of the Trinovantes and Verlamion (Roman Verulamium), capital of the Catuvellauni. Some of the Verulamium coins name him as the son of Tasciovanus, a previous king of the Catuvellauni. Cunobelinus' earliest issues are, however, from Camulodunum, indicating that he took power there first, and some have a palm or laurel wreath design, a motif borrowed from the Romans indicating a military victory. It is possible that he was emboldened to act against the Trinovantes, whose independence was protected by a treaty they made with Julius Caesar in 54 BC, because problems in Germania severely affected Augustus' ability to defend allies in Britain.
Cunobelinus, however, appears to have maintained quite good relations with the Roman Empire, he used classical motifs on his coins and his reign also saw an increase in trade with the continent. Archaeological evidence shows an increase in imported luxury goods, including wine and drinking vessels from Italy, olive oil and “garum” (fish sauce) from Spain, as well as glassware, jewellery, and tableware from the wider continent, all of which, from their distribution, appear to have entered Britain via the port of Camulodunum. Rome's lucrative trade with Britain was also reported by Strabo, according to him the island's exports included grain, gold, silver, iron, hides, slaves and hunting dogs. It seems likely that Cunobelinus was one of the British kings, mentioned by Strabo, who sent embassies to Augustus.
Cunobelinus died about 40, probably within a year of that date, as he was certainly dead by 43.
Traditionally it has been suggested that the “Lexden Tumulus” on the outskirts of Colchester was Cunobelinus' tomb, but without evidence confirming that, it is also possible that the tomb was built for the earlier Trinovantian king, Addedomarus. Interestingly there is a second tumulus, though this one is not so well known, 665m to the northwest of the Lexden burial mound, on a grassy area in the middle of a modern housing estate. This tumulus, known as ‘The Mount’, probably dates from around the same time as the well-known one at Fitzwalter Road, Lexden.

CLICK ON MAP BELOW TO ENLARGE IT

1 comments*Alex

1st Century CE, IRON AGE BRITAIN, Tribe: Iceni, AR Unit, Struck c.60 - 61 under Boudica (Boadicea)Obverse: No legend. Abstract Celtic style head with slit for eye and no ear facing right. Three pellets below head, branch emblem behind neck.
Reverse: No legend. Celtic style horse facing right, lozenge-shaped box with pellets on outer corners below horse. Section of large elaborate wheel-like object above horse, pellet below horse's tail.
Class: Icenian O
Diameter: 14mm | Weight: 0.9gms | Axis: 10
Spink: 434

The first known recorded example of this coin was made by William Stukely, an English antiquarian whose ideas influenced various antiquaries throughout the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Stukeley published over twenty books on archaeology and other subjects during his lifetime and he is regarded as an important forerunner of archaeology for his emphasis on methodically measuring and documenting ancient sites. He died of a stroke in early 1765.
The theory that this coinage was connected with Boudica was originally reported in 1987 and this was endorsed by R D Van Arsdell, an authority on the Celtic coinage of Britain, as Boudican in the 1990's. At the time though this was disputed by many in the numismatic community, some of whom continued to rely on older studies that lumped all "Face-Horse" coins together in a group dating before 20 CE.
However, John Talbot of the University of Oxford carried out research on these issues and, as his die-link and hoard work gradually progressed through the 1990's into the early twenty-first century, these coins were confirmed to be the final coinage of the Iceni. As Talbot's findings were only gradually revealed over a period of time, the accepted dating used in some dealer catalogues did not always keep up with the latest information. During his studies, Talbot discovered that coins from several die sets are only found in the Boudican Rebellion hoards. He also confirmed that these coins were struck in abnormally great numbers for any Icenian issue. But, because he was not certain that this was enough evidence to date the coins to 61 CE. he suggested only that they could have been struck any time after the Claudian Invasion of 43 CE.
Considering though that some die sets are known only from the Boudican Rebellion hoards, that it is still the case that these coins appear in uncirculated condition in the hoards, and that to date none of these coins have been found from secure contexts earlier than the time of the Boudican rebellion, it would appear that the 1987 report was essentially correct and these coins must have been struck nearer to the date of the Boudican Rebellion than earlier, possibly in connection with the financing of that rebellion. The conclusion now is that these coins can, with some confidence, be attributed to Boudica.

THE ICENI
The Iceni were a tribe located in eastern Britain during the Iron Age and the early Roman era. Their territory was bordered by the Corieltauvi to the west, and the Catuvellauni and Trinovantes to the south. In the Roman period, their capital was Venta Icenorum at modern-day Caistor St Edmund.
Julius Caesar did not mention the Iceni in his account of his invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC, though they may have been related to the Cenimagni, whom Caesar notes as living north of the River Thames at that time. The Iceni were a significant power in eastern Britain during Claudius I's conquest of Britain in AD 43, in which they allied with Rome. Increasing Roman influence on their affairs led to a revolt in AD 47, though they remained nominally independent under king Prasutagus up until his death around AD 60. Roman encroachment after Prasutagus' death led his wife Boudica to launch a major revolt from 60–61. Boudica's uprising seriously endangered Roman rule in Britain and resulted in the burning of Londinium and other cities. The Romans finally crushed the rebellion, and the Iceni were eventually incorporated into the Roman province.
Archaeological evidence of the Iceni includes torcs, which are heavy rings of gold, silver or electrum worn around the neck and shoulders. The Iceni began producing coins around 10 BC. Their coins were a distinctive adaptation of the Gallo-Belgic "face/horse" design, and in some early issues, most numerous near Norwich, the horse was replaced with a boar. Some coins are inscribed ECENI, making them the only coin-producing group to use their tribal name on coins. The earliest personal name to appear on coins is Antedios (about 10 BC), and other abbreviated names like AESU and SAEMU followed. The name of Prasutagus also appears on some coins as PRASTO.

QUEEN BOUDICA
Queen Boudica was married to Prasutagus, ruler of the Iceni people of East Anglia. When the Romans conquered southern England in AD 43, they allowed Prasutagus to continue to rule. However, when Prasutagus died he left a will dividing his lands between the Roman emperor and his family. The Romans decided to rule the Iceni directly and confiscated all the king's property. When this was contested they are said to have stripped and flogged Boudica and raped her daughters. These actions exacerbated the widespread resentment at Roman rule.
In 60 or 61 AD, while the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Paullinus was leading a campaign in North Wales, the Iceni rebelled, other tribes joined them, and Boudica led a major uprising against the occupying Roman forces.
Boudica's warriors defeated the Roman Ninth Legion and destroyed the then capital of Roman Britain, Camulodunum (Colchester). They then went on to destroy Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St Albans) killing thousands in the process. Finally, Boudica was defeated by a Roman army led by Paulinus. A great number of her army were killed and, though Boudica's fate is unknown, she is alleged to have either died in battle or poisoned herself to avoid capture. The site of the battle which brought an end to her uprising is also unknown.
The photograph below is of the Victorian statue of Boudica (Boadicea) situated on the Thames embankment in London.

CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW TO ENLARGE THEM

3 comments*Alex

BRITISH TOKENS, Tudor. temp. Mary–Edward VI.1553-1558.
PB Token (27mm, 5.29 g). St. Nicholas (‘Boy Bishop’) type. Cast in East Anglia (Bury St. Edmund’s?)
Mitre, croizer to right; all within border
Long cross pattée with trefoils in angles; scrollwork border
Rigold, Tokens class X.B, 1; Mitchiner & Skinner group Ra, 1

Ex Classical Numismatic Review XXXIX.1 (Spring 2014), no. 973330

Britain in the late middle ages played host to a popular regional variant of the ‘Feast of Fools’ festival. Every year on the feast of St. Nicholas, a boy was elected from among the local choristers to serve as ‘bishop.’ Dressed in mitre and bearing the croizer of his office, the young boy paraded through the city accompanied by his equally youthful ‘priest’ attendants. The ‘bishop’ performed all the ceremonies and offices of the real bishop, save for the actual conducting of mass. Though this practice was extinguished with the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539, it was briefly revived under Queen Mary, who took particular interest in the festival, when the lucky boy was referred to as ‘Queen Mary’s Child.’ The celebration of the boy bishop died out completely early in the reign of Elizabeth.

Evidence of this custom is particularly prevalent in East Anglia, specifically at Bury St. Edmunds. Beginning in the late 15th century, the region produced numerous lead tokens bearing the likeness of a bishop, often bearing legends relating to the festival of St. Nicholas. Issued in sizes roughly corresponding to groats, half groats, and pennies, these pieces were undoubtedly distributed by the boy bishop himself, and were likely redeemable at the local abbey or guild for treats and sweetmeats. Considering the endemic paucity of small change in Britain at the time, it is likely that, at least in parts of East Anglia, these tokens entered circulation along with the other private lead issues that were becoming common.Ardatirion

- 27 BC - 14 AD - Augustus - RIC I 439 - As with "S C" ReverseEmperor: Augustus (r. 27 BC - 14 AD)
Date: 6 BC
Condition: Fair
Denomination: As

Obverse: CAESAR AVGVST PONT MAX TRIBVNIC POT
Caesar Augustus Chief Priest Tribune
Bare head right

Reverse: SEX NONIVS QVINCTILIAN IIIVIR AAAFF around S C.
Sex. Nonius Quinctilianus of The Three Men for Striking and Casting Gold, Silver and Bronze by Senatorial Decree.

Rome mint
RIC I Augustus 439
10.07g; 26.5mm; 270°1 commentsPep

- 27 BC-14 AD - Augustus - RIC I 425 - Cornucopia and Altar QuadransEmperor: Augustus (r. 27 BC - 14 AD)
Date: 8 BC
Condition: VF
Denomination: Quadrans

Obverse: PVLCHER TAVRVS REGVLVS
Pulcher Taurus Regulus (moneyer)
S - C to left and right of cornucopia

Reverse: IIIVIR AAAFF round garlanded altar
The Three Men for Striking and Casting Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Rome mint
RIC I Augustus 425
3.14g; 18.2mm; 15°Pep

1399 - 1413, Henry IV, AR Hardi d'Argent, Struck 1399 -1453 at Bordeaux, Aquitaine, FranceObverse: ERIC R ANGLIE ✤ Crowned and robed half-length figure of Henry facing under Gothic canopy, holding sword in right hand, left hand raised with finger pointing in benedictory position. Mullet over crown, rosette either side of crown. Rosette (marked in text by ✤) in legend.
Reverse: FRA-CIE ✤ DNS AQI ✤ Long cross collarino, pattée at the ends, extending through legend. Fleur de lis with roundel underneath in second and third quarters; lion passant, guardant in first and fourth quarters, roundel over lion in fourth quarter. Rosettes (marked in text by ✤) in legend.
Diameter: 18mm | Weight: 1.13gms | Axis 10h
SPINK: 8147 | Elias: 233h
Ex. Bazas Hoard | Ex. Jean Elsen (Belgium) | Scarce

The last series of these Anglo-Gallic coins was likely struck under more than one Henry and they have not currently been differentiated by ruler because the legends and types are generic. However, over time, Anglo-Gallic issues suffered from regular debasement and a deterioration in workmanship, the size, weight and quality of the strike of this coin would therefore all seem to point to it being an early example.

Henry IV
In 1399, Henry, Duke of Lancaster, overthrew his cousin, Richard II and took the throne as Henry IV, ruling until his death in 1413. Henry's first major problem as monarch was what to do with the deposed Richard. In January 1400, soon after an early assassination plot against Henry was foiled, Richard died in prison, allegedly of starvation. Though Henry was suspected of having had Richard murdered, it was also claimed that he took his own life.
Henry, also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was a grandson of Edward III and when he took the throne he asserted his grandfather's claim to the Kingdom of France. He founded the Lancaster branch of the House of Plantagenet and he was the first King of England since the Norman Conquest whose mother tongue was English rather than French.
Early in his reign, Henry hosted the visit of Manuel II Palaiologos, the only Byzantine emperor ever to visit England, and he gave monetary support to Manuel II to aid him against the Ottoman Empire.
Despite the example set by most of his recent predecessors, after their deaths, Henry and his second wife, Joan of Navarre, Queen of England, were buried not at Westminster Abbey but at Canterbury Cathedral, on the north side of Trinity Chapel and directly adjacent to the shrine of St Thomas Becket.

The Bazas Hoard
This hoard was discovered in May 2004 by a builder at Bazas in south West France when he was renovating a house. Bazas was a regional centre in the middle ages. The hoard consisted of a mixture of medieval coins which had been minted in Spain, Portugal, Italy, England, the Netherlands and various French duchies. Of the 1010 coins found, 157 were gold, 300 were silver and the remainder were billon. The oldest coin was a King Jean II franc from 1360 and the rarest coin was a gold castellano from the time of Henry IV of Castile, of which only one other example is known to exist.

Henry is depicted here standing in a similar pose to that shown on this coin.3 comments*Alex

1843 "BENJAMIN NIGHTINGALE" AE Halfpenny Token. London, MiddlesexObverse: VILIUS EST ARGENTUM AURO, VIRTUTIBUS AURUM. Female, leaning on books behind her, holding a cornucopia from which coins are spilling, seated facing right in front of an open coin cabinet; in exergue, tudor rose on shield between two branches.
Reverse: BENJAMIN NIGHTINGALE LONDON * PRIVATE TOKEN * 1843 surrounding “BN” monogram in script.
Edge: Plain.
Diameter: 30mm | Weight: 14.2gms | Die Axis: 12
Bell (Middlesex) A3
VERY RARE (Only 72 of these bronzed copper halfpenny tokens were struck)

Privately issued in London by Benjamin Nightingale, the die sinker for this token was William Joseph Taylor (whose initials WJT can be seen to the left below the books on the obverse), following a similar design for halfpennies that he had produced for Matthew Young, a British merchant. Taylor was born in Birmingham in 1802 and was apprenticed to Thomas Halliday in 1818 as the first die-sinker to be trained by him. He set up his own business as a die-sinker, medallist and engraver at 5 Porter Street, Soho, London in 1829, later moving to 3 Lichfield Street, Birmingham. In 1843 the business moved to 33 Little Queen Street and finally, in 1869, to 70 Red Lion Street where, in 1885, Taylor died.
The Soho Mint at Birmingham (founded by Matthew Boulton) closed in 1848, and it's plant and equipment was sold via auction in April 1850. Taylor purchased many of the Soho Mint's hubs and dies from this auction and used them to restrike many of the coins & patterns that the Soho Mint had struck between the 1790's and the 1840's, though he nearly always re-polished or re-engraved elements of the original dies before re-using them.

Benjamin Nightingale was a wine and spirit merchant who lived at 17 Upper Stamford Street, Blackfriars Road in London. He was born in 1806 and died on March 9th, 1862. He was a well known Antiquarian and was a member of the Numismatic Society of London.
In 1863, after his death, Benjamin Nightingale's collection, consisting of 359 lots, was sold over a two day period by Sotheby's. This is from the February 13, 1863 edition of the London Daily News (page 8, column 6).

THE VALUABLE CABINET of COINS and MEDALS of the late BENJAMIN NIGHTINGALE, Esq.
MESSRS S. LEIGH SOTHEBY and WILKINSON, auctioneers of literary property and works illustrative of the fine arts, will SELL BY AUCTION, at their house, No. 13 (late 3), Wellington-street, Strand, W.C., on WEDNESDAY, Feb. 25, and following day, at 1 precisely, the valuable CABINET OF COINS and MEDALS of the late Benjamin Nightingale, Esq.; comprising a few Roman coins in gold, silver, and copper, in the highest state of preservation; a most valuable collection of English medals in all metals; rare and curious jetons, including a very perfect set of those struck to illustrate the history of the low countries; a few remarkable foreign medals, a choice library of numismatic books, several well-made cabinets, & c. – May be viewed two days previous, and catalogues had on receipt of two stamps.

According to Manville and Robertson, prior to his death, Benjamin Nightingale had sold off part of his collection at an auction by Sotheby's on 29th Nov. 1855.
"Benjamin NIGHTINGALE" in ANS copy; Greek, Roman, Tavern Tokens, Town Pieces, 17-18c Tokens, English and Foreign Medals, Books; 165 lots. -Curtis Clay.

The inspiration for these tokens might have been Pye's 1797 halfpenny (Warwickshire 223) which is of a similar design.

*Alex

1913 Alexius I Comnenus, AU Hyperpyron SBCV-1913
Alexius I Comnenus, 1081-1118. Hyperpyron (Gold, 31 mm, 4.30 g, 6 h)

Constantinople, post-reform coinage, 1092-1118. +ΚЄ ROHΘЄI Christ, nimbate, seated facing on throne, raising his right hand in benediction and holding book of Gospels in his left; in fields, IC - XC. Rev. A/ΛЄ/ΖΙω / ΔЄC/ΠΟ/ΤΗ; in right field, Tω / KO/MNH/Nω Alexius I standing facing, wearing crown, divitision and exaggerated jeweled chlamys, holding labarum with his right hand and globus cruciger with his left; in upper right field, manus Dei to left
This coin came with an original ticket for a dealer in Amsterdam. Jacques Schulman. From a sale in Jan 1956. Leu acquisitionSimon

1ad Cleopatra VII51-29 BC

Alexandria, 80 Drachmai

Diademed, draped bust, right, KLEOPATRAS BASILIS[SHS]
Eagle standing left on thunderbolt, cornucopia in left field, mark of value P (= 80) in right field

Svoronos 1871

Plutarch wrote: [Cleopatra] was to meet Antony in the time of life when women's beauty is most splendid, and their intellects are in full maturity. . . . She received several letters, both from Antony and from his friends, to summon her, but she took no account of these orders; and at last, as if in mockery of them, she came sailing up the river Cydnus, in a barge with gilded stern and outspread sails of purple, while oars of silver beat time to the music of flutes and fifes and harps. She herself lay all along under a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed as Venus in a picture, and beautiful young boys, like painted Cupids, stood on each side to fan her. Her maids were dressed like sea nymphs and graces, some steering at the rudder, some working at the ropes. The perfumes diffused themselves from the vessel to the shore, which was covered with multitudes, part following the galley up the river on either bank, part running out of the city to see the sight. The market-place was quite emptied, and Antony at last was left alone sitting upon the tribunal; while the word went through all the multitude, that Venus was come to feast with Bacchus, for the common good of Asia. On her arrival, Antony sent to invite her to supper. She thought it fitter he should come to her; so, willing to show his good-humour and courtesy, he complied, and went. . . . For her actual beauty, it is said, was not in itself so remarkable that none could be compared with her, or that no one could see her without being struck by it, but the contact of her presence, if you lived with her, was irresistible; the attraction of her person, joining with the charm of her conversation, and the character that attended all she said or did, was something bewitching. It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another; so that there were few of the barbarian nations that she answered by an interpreter. . . .Blindado

1eg DelmatiusCaesar 335-337

AE3, Thessalonica

Laureate, cuirassed bust, right, FL DELMATIVS NOB C two soldiers holding spears and shields with two standards between them, O on banner, GLORIA EXERCITVS. Mintmark: SMTSD.

RIC 202D

Zosimus recorded: After Constantine had oppressed and tormented the people in these various modes, he died of a disease, and was succeeded by his three sons, who were not born of Fausta the daughter of Maximianus Herculius, but of another woman, whom he had put to death for adultery. They devoted themselves more to the pleasures of youth than to the service of the state. They began by dividing the nations between them. Constantine the eldest, and Constans the youngest, having for their share all beyond the Alps, together with Italy and Illyricum, the countries bordering on the Euxine sea and all that belonged to Carthage in Africa; Constantius obtained all Asia, the east, and Egypt. There were likewise others who shared in the government; Dalmatius, whom Constantine made Caesar, Constantius his brother, and Hanniballianus, who had all worn robes of purple embroidered with gold, and were promoted to the order of Nobilissimates by Constantine, from respect to their being of his own family. . . . The empire being thus divided, Constantius who appeared to take pains not to fall short of his father in impiety, began by shedding the blood of his nearest relations. He first caused Constantius, his father's brother, to be murdered by the soldiers ; next to whom he treated Dalmatius in the same manner, as also Optatus whom Constantine had raised to the rank of a Nobilissimate.

A great-nephew of Constantine the Great. Blindado

2 BU-BAN-KINGold Meiji 2 Meiji 2 BU-BAN-KIN,
EDO (1868 - 1869),
3.08g.

87a. George V and Queen Mary.Official Medal for the Coronation of George V & Queen Mary, 1911.
Designed by Sir Edgar Bertram MacKennel.

Obverse: GEORGE V CROWNED JUNE 22 1911 / Crowned bust of George V wearing Coronation robes; Orb at left; laurel branch below.
Reverse: QUEEN MARY JUNE 22 1911 / Crowned bust of Queen Mary; roses and a ribbon below.

12.24 gm of .925 Sterling silver; 30 mm; toned UNC.
Eimer # 1922, BHM #4022.

This medal has spent most of its life (110 + years) in the small envelope in which it was issued.
That accounts for the absolutely flawless surfaces on the medal, and the dark toning of these surfaces.
The toning is mostly dark brown, but with flashes of gold, blue, and mauve.
If you like toning on coins, this one is gorgeous.
Callimachus

Arsinoë II Philadelphos - 1st daughter of Pharaoh Ptolemy I SoterPTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA, 253 - 252 BC, Struck under Ptolemy II.
AV Octodrachm (Mnaïeion) - 27mm, 27.69 g, 12h

O - Arsinoë II head right, veiled and wearing stephane; lotus-tipped scepter in background, Î˜ to left
R - APÎ£INOHÎ£ Î¦IÎ›AÎ”EÎ›Î¦OY, double cornucopia bound with fillet.

Svoronos 460; Troxell, Arsinoe, Transitional to Group 3, p. 43 and pl. 6, 2-3 (same obv. die); SNG Copenhagen 134.

Arsinoe II married Lysimachus at the age of 15. After Lysimachus' death in battle in 281 BC, she fled to Cassandreia and married her paternal half-brother Ptolemy Keraunos. As he became more powerful, she conspired against him leading to the killing of her sons, Lysimachus and Philip. After their deaths, she fled to Alexandria, Egypt to seek protection from her brother, Ptolemy II Philadelphus; whom she later married. As a result, both were given the epithet "Philadelphoi" ("Sibling-loving (plural)") by the presumably scandalized Greeks.

Arsinoe II Philadelphos, died 270-268 BC. 4 commentsrobertpe

AugustusAugustus, 16 January 27 B.C. - 19 August 14 A.D.

Obverse:

Augustus with his bare head right

CAESAR AVGVST PONT MAX TRIBVNIC POT

CAESAR: Ceasar, emperor
AVGVST: Agustus
PONT MAX: Pontifix Maximus,
TRIBVNIC: Tribunicia, tribunal
POT: POTESTAS, the people

Reverse:

M MAECILIVS TVLLVS III VIR A A A F F

M: Marcus
MAECILLIS: Maelcilius
TVLLVS: Tullus
IIIVIR: Triumviri
AAAFF: Auro, Argento, Aeri, Flando, Feriundo,

S . C, Senatus Consultum

I think the dots were used as centering devices, one see them sometimes on Soldiers/Standards coins although on this coin it is certainly a large dot.

Domination: AS, Copper

Mint: Rome

The Roman Moneyers (or you may prefer the title of Mint Magistrates) were also responsible for the minting of gold, silver and bronze coinage and they reported to the Senate. They were known as the Triumviri Monetales or Triumviri Auro, Argento, Aeri, Flando, Feriundo which is abbreviated as III VIR. A.A.A. F.F. which may be translated as 'Commision (or college) of three men under whom gold, silver and bronze coins were struck'. (Note that the order of the metals varies according to different references.) The title 'III VIR. A.A.A. F.F.' occurs rarely on Republic coins and when it is present it is usually seen in an abbreviated form such as 'III VIR'. It is interesting to note that the full title occurs frequently on the reverses of Augustan Aes

The College of the Three Moneyers was a revived republican tradition. This coin was struck under the supervision of Marcus Salvius Otho, an ancestor of the future emperor Otho. Later, the number of members was increased to four, and their names were not included on the coins.

TRP = This is short for tribunicia potestate - "with the power of the Tribune of the Plebs." The government of Rome was split into the Patricians (who were Senators) and the Plebians. Nine Tribunes of the Plebs were elected by both Plebs and Patricians every year to be in charge of the Plebian assembly. These Tribunes could not be injured because it could be punishable by death. They had veto powers, and they could prevent a law from being passed or an election. An emperor cannot technically rule on the Plebian assembly since he is a Patrician, but by taking the title he could be free from injury. On a coin, if this symbol is followed by a number, it depicts how many times he has been elected Tribune of the Plebs.
Peter Wissing

Behold! We have Gold, Silver, Wheat and Wine.Thrace, Pautalia, Caracalla 198-217 Æ29mm (or Pentassarion).
Obv: AÎ¥T K M AÎ¥Î¡H – ANTÎ©NINOC, Laureate head of Caracalla right,
Rev: OÎ¥Î›Î IAC Î AÎ¥TAÎ›IAC, The River-god Strymon reclining left on urn from
which water flows, resting right hand on a rocky outcrop and holding a grape
vine with several grape bunches.
Four youths (or less correctly 'erotes') around; APÎ“Y/POC (Argyros = silver)
emerging to the left, out of the cave in the mountain, with a small basket over
his shoulder; BOTPY (Botry = grapes) standing right on top of the mountain,
supporting one of the grape bunches; to right of waterfall, XPY/COC (Chrysos
= gold) seated left; in exergue, CTAXY (Stachy = grain ear) standing left and
holding sickle, harvesting ears of grain, probably wheat.
16.6g, Ruzicka 634; Mouchmov 4286; Varbanov 5174.

ex: Numismatik Lanz 163/374, where it had an estimate of €1,500- Euros.

Also: Schow (1789) p.6; Sestini (1796) 37, p.67; Mionnet (1822) 1108, p.388;
Eckhel (1839) Part 1, Vol.II, p.38; Von Sallet (1888) p.202-3; Imhoof-Blumer
(1908) 459, p.163-4, pl.X, 28.

"In the field of numismatics, there is no other coin upon which a city proclaims
the products of its territory so exquisitely". - Joseph H. Eckhel.

Also, see this recent article:
Behold! We have Gold, Silver, Wheat and Wine. by Walter C. Holt, M.A.
Australasian Coin and Banknote Magazine "2017 Yearbook", Volume 20.11,
December 2017/January 2018, pp.72-75 (illustrated). 1 commentsOldMoney

BHM 0684. King George III, Golden Jubilee of his Reign, 1810.Obv. Laureate, draped bust of George III, left with short hair.
GEORGIUS III . D : G . BRITANNIARUM REX . FID . DEFEN.
Scroll under bust inscribed: 25 OCT . 1810.

Rev. Arms of Salisbury supported by two double headed eagles.
LUSTRA DECEM COMPLEVIT . REGNAT ADHUC; REGNET QUE DIU. (He has completed fifty years, he still reigns; may he reign long).
AE 48mm. BHM 684.

This medal was produced at the request of Lord Radnor to celebrate the Jubilee in Salisbury. On the 11 August 1810 Lord Radnor ordered six specimens (later reduced to five) in gold, 56 silver gilt, 24 silver and 500 copper bronzed. It should be noted that this piece is the only Küchler medal that cannot have been restruck since the dies were cancelled on completion of the order. See G. Pollard, 'Matthew Boulton and C. H. Küchler', Numismatic Chronicle, 1970, p. 315. See also note to No. 641.
-British Historical Medals 1760-1960, Volume I, pp. 167
1 commentsLordBest

BOEOTIA, ThebesIn the late 6th century BC the Thebans were brought for the first time into hostile contact with the Athenians, who helped the small village of Plataea to maintain its independence against them, and in 506 repelled an inroad into Attica. The aversion to Athens best serves to explain the unpatriotic attitude which Thebes displayed during the Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC). Though a contingent of 700 was sent to Thermopylae and remained there with Leonidas until just before the last stand when they surrendered to the Persians[1], the governing aristocracy soon after joined King Xerxes I of Persia with great readiness and fought zealously on his behalf at the battle of Plataea in 479 BC. The victorious Greeks subsequently punished Thebes by depriving it of the presidency of the Boeotian League, and an attempt by the Spartans to expel it from the Delphic amphictyony was only frustrated by the intercession of Athens.

In 457 Sparta, needing a counterpoise against Athens in central Greece, reversed her policy and reinstated Thebes as the dominant power in Boeotia. The great citadel of Cadmea served this purpose well by holding out as a base of resistance when the Athenians overran and occupied the rest of the country (457–447). In the Peloponnesian War the Thebans, embittered by the support which Athens gave to the smaller Boeotian towns, and especially to Plataea, which they vainly attempted to reduce in 431, were firm allies of Sparta, which in turn helped them to besiege Plataea and allowed them to destroy the town after its capture in 427 BC. In 424 at the head of the Boeotian levy they inflicted a severe defeat upon an invading force of Athenians at the Battle of Delium, and for the first time displayed the effects of that firm military organization which eventually raised them to predominant power in Greece.

After the downfall of Athens at the end of the Peloponnesian War the Thebans, finding that Sparta intended to protect the states which they desired to annex, broke off the alliance. In 404 they had urged the complete destruction of Athens, yet in 403 they secretly supported the restoration of its democracy in order to find in it a counterpoise against Sparta. A few years later, influenced perhaps in part by Persian gold, they formed the nucleus of the league against Sparta. At the battles of Haliartus (395) and Coronea (394) they again proved their rising military capacity by standing their ground against the Spartans. The result of the war was especially disastrous to Thebes, as the general settlement of 387 stipulated the complete autonomy of all Greek towns and so withdrew the other Boeotians from its political control. Its power was further curtailed in 382, when a Spartan force occupied the citadel by a treacherous coup-de-main. Three years later the Spartan garrison was expelled, and a democratic constitution definitely set up in place of the traditional oligarchy. In the consequent wars with Sparta the Theban army, trained and led by Epaminondas and Pelopidas, proved itself the best in Greece. Some years of desultory fighting, in which Thebes established its control over all Boeotia, culminated in 371 in a remarkable victory over the pick of the Spartans at Leuctra. The winners were hailed throughout Greece as champions of the oppressed. They carried their arms into Peloponnesus and at the head of a large coalition permanently crippled the power of Sparta. Similar expeditions were sent to Thessaly and Macedon to regulate the affairs of those regions.

However the predominance of Thebes was short-lived; the states which she protected refused to subject themselves permanently to her control, and the renewed rivalry of Athens, which had joined with Thebes in 395 in a common fear of Sparta, but since 387 had endeavoured to maintain the balance of power against her ally, prevented the formation of a Theban empire. With the death of Epaminondas at Mantinea in 362 the city sank again to the position of a secondary power. In a war with the neighbouring state of Phocis (356–346) it could not even maintain its predominance in central Greece, and by inviting Philip II of Macedon to crush the Phocians it extended that monarch's power within dangerous proximity to its frontiers. A revulsion of feeling was completed in 338 by the orator Demosthenes, who persuaded Thebes to join Athens in a final attempt to bar Philip's advance upon Attica. The Theban contingent lost the decisive battle of Chaeronea and along with it every hope of reassuming control over Greece. Philip was content to deprive Thebes of her dominion over Boeotia; but an unsuccessful revolt in 335 against his son Alexander was punished by Macedon and other Greek states by the severe sacking of the city, except, according to tradition, the house of the poet Pindar.

BOEOTIA, Thebes. Circa 395-338 BC. AR Stater (21mm, 11.98 gm). Boeotian shield / Amphora; magistrate AM-FI. Hepworth, "The 4th Century BC Magistrate Coinage of the Boiotian Confederacy," in Nomismatika Xronika (1998), 2; BMC Central Greece -. Fine.

Ex-Cng eAuction 105, Lot: 34 225/200

2 commentsecoli

Boeotia, Thebes (Circa 379-368 BC)AR Stater

22 mm, 11.44 g

Obverse: Boeotian shield

Reverse: Amphora; ΠO-ΘI (Pothi - magistrate) across field.

Hepworth 81; BCD Boiotia 515; HGC 4, 1331

Thebes was the largest city of the ancient region of Boeotia. It was a major rival of ancient Athens, and sided with the Persians during the 480 BC invasion under Xerxes and Sparta during the Peloponnesian war (431-404 BC). In 404 BC, they had urged the complete destruction of Athens; yet, in 403 BC, they secretly supported the restoration of its democracy in order to find in it a counterpoise against Sparta. A few years later, influenced perhaps in part by Persian gold, they formed the nucleus of the league against Sparta. The result of the war was disastrous to Thebes, and by 382 BC a Spartan force was occupying its citadel. Three years later, the Spartan garrison was expelled and a democratic constitution was set up in place of the traditional oligarchy. In the consequent wars with Sparta, the Theban army, trained and led by Epaminondas and Pelopidas, proved itself formidable. Years of desultory fighting, in which Thebes established its control over all Boeotia, culminated in 371 BC in a remarkable victory over the Spartans at Leuctra. Nathan P

Byzantine, Alexius I Comnenus, AU Hyperpyron SBCV-1913Alexius I Comnenus, 1081-1118. Hyperpyron (Gold, 31 mm, 4.30 g, 6 h)

Constantinople, post-reform coinage, 1092-1118. +ΚЄ ROHΘЄI Christ, nimbate, seated facing on throne, raising his right hand in benediction and holding book of Gospels in his left; in fields, IC - XC. Rev. A/ΛЄ/ΖΙω / ΔЄC/ΠΟ/ΤΗ; in right field, Tω / KO/MNH/Nω Alexius I standing facing, wearing crown, divitision and exaggerated jeweled chlamys, holding labarum with his right hand and globus cruciger with his left; in upper right field, manus Dei to left
This coin came with an original ticket for a dealer in Amsterdam. Jacques Schulman. From a sale in 1956
1 commentsSimon

Diva Faustina Senior Aureus, RIC 357aDiva Faustina Senior, died 140/1. Aureus (Gold, 19 mm, 7.07 g, 6 h), Rome, circa 146-161.
DIVA FAVSTINA Diademed and draped bust of Diva Faustina to right. Rev. AVGVSTA
Ceres, veiled, standing front, head to left, holding torches in her upraised hands.
BMC 403. Calicó 1758b. Cohen 75. RIC 357a.
Very fine.
Ex-Leu Web Auction 14vindelicus

EbanaChristian kings of Aksum, Ebana

Obverse: Head and shoulders bust right, crowned with a tiara, in beaded circle. Greek legend: EB ANA.
Reverse: Central lozenge inlaid with gold, with four crosses attached to the extremities, forming a cross-crosslet with the letter of the legend interspersed between them. Greek legend: +BC+LC+IL+EY.
Date : circa CE 450
Reference : Cf. Munro-Hay (BMC) Type 74; Munro-Hay (1984) Ebana AR 1
Grade : F
Weight : 0.9 g
Metal : Silver
Acquired: 19/07/03
Comment: AR Unit,
1 commentsPeattie

Galerius Concordia Militum Ӕ post-reform radiate fraction (295 - 299), Cyzicus mintGAL VAL MAXIMIANVS NOB CAES, radiate, draped (?) and cuirassed bust right / CONCORDIA MI-LITVM + KB in lower centre, Prince (the left figure) standing right in military dress, holding parazonium or baton of imperium, receiving small Victory with a wreath and palm branch on globe from naked Jupiter (the right figure) standing left holding tall scepter.

Ó”, 20mm, 2.36g, die axis 6h, base metal seems red, high copper content.

Galerius ruled as Caesar from 293 to 305, but most sources give minting years for this type of coin as 295-299.

RIC VI Cyzicus 19b (18b?), Sear 3713. 19b has cuirassed and draped bust, 18b -- only cuirassed. I think the edge of the military cape on the shoulder means it is draped in this case, but distinction seems very vague to me. Looking at coins identified as 18b and 19b I cannot see any clear pattern, it seems that many are confused in this respect just like myself.

GALerius VALerius MAXIMIANUS NOBilitas CAESar (in this era the title of "junior" emperor while Augustus was a "senior" one), CONCORDIA MILITVM = [Dedicated to] harmony with the soldiers, K = Kysikos (Cyzicus) mint, B = officina Beta (workshop #2). The figure to the right is naked except for a cape, so it is a god, the sceptre points to him being Jupiter, the ruler of gods. Jupiter is also typically associated with Victory, he was often depicted with Victory in the right hand and sceptre in the left. The line across his head probably designates a wreath, also a common feature of Jupiter. Victory holds her common attributes, the triumphal wreath and a palm branch, the orb she stands on represents the world (thus meaning dominion over it). Round Earth was a firmly established concept in Roman times. The left figure, the prince (Galerius in this case) is identified by his full battle dress and the hand-held short elongated shape, which is either the ivory baton of imperium (the high command) or, more likely, a parazonium, a long triangular dagger, typically cradled in the bearer's left arm. A Roman parazonium blade tended to be leaf shape and approximately 15"-19" long. It was a ceremonial weapon, a mark of high rank, used to rally the troops.

GALERIUS, * c. 250, near Serdica, Dacia Ripensis (Sofia, Bulgaria) or in a Dacian place later called Felix Romuliana (Gamzigrad, Serbia) † late Apr or early May 311 (aged ~60), Serdica, Dacia Ripensis (Sofia, Bulgaria) ‡ 1 Mar or 21 May 293 – 1 May 305 (as Eastern Caesar, under Diocletian), 1 May 305 – late Apr or early May 311 (as Eastern Augustus with many co-emperors).

Galerius was born of humble parentage and had a distinguished military career. On March 1, 293, he was nominated as Caesar by Diocletian, the supreme ruler of the empire, to help him govern the East. Galerius divorced his wife and married Diocletian’s daughter, Valeria. After ruling from Egypt from 293 to 295, Galerius assumed command of defensive operations against the Sasanians in 297. After being defeated, he then won a decisive victory that increased his influence with Diocletian. Galerius next proceeded to the Balkans and won numerous victories in the region. A staunch pagan, he persuaded the emperor to initiate the persecution of the Christians at Nicomedia in 303.

When Diocletian abdicated on May 1, 305, Galerius became Augustus of the East, ruling the Balkans and Anatolia. Since Galerius had arranged the appointment of two of his favourites, Maximinus (his nephew) and Flavius Valerius Severus, to be Caesars in both East and West, he was in effect the supreme ruler. When Constantius Chlorus died in 306, Galerius insisted that Severus govern the West as Augustus, but he grudgingly conceded the subordinate title of caesar to Chlorus’s son, Constantine, who was correctly suspected of Christian sympathies. Galerius’s supremacy was, however, short-lived. Severus was soon overthrown (306) and killed by Maxentius (son of the former emperor Maximian). Galerius invaded Italy but was forced to retreat. In 308 he induced Diocletian and Maximian to meet him at Carnuntum on the Danube and to declare Maxentius a usurper. On November 11, Galerius proclaimed as Augustus of the West his friend Licinius, who had effective control only in the region of the Danube.

A ruthless ruler, Galerius imposed the poll tax on the urban population and maintained the persecution of the Christians. In the winter of 310–311, however, he became incapacitated with a horrible disease. Fearing, perhaps, that his illness was the vengeance of the Christian God, he issued on April 30, 311, an edict grudgingly granting toleration. Shortly afterward he died. He was succeeded by his nephew Maximinus Daia.

Diocletian's money reform of 293.

Trying to fight the runaway inflation that he did not understand and to return people's faith in Roman coins, Diocletian did a complete overhaul of the Roman monetary system. He introduced a new theoretical base monetary unit called the denarius communis or d.c. (only rarely represented by actual coins, one example being old pre-Aurelian antoniniani still in circulation, valued now at 1 d. c., another – minted only on a small scale 1.5g coin with the reverse legend VTILITAS PVBLICA, "for public use"). Then he started minting new types of coins including a gold aureus of new purity and weight standard (1/60 pound of pure gold), a quality silver coin, argenteus, roughly similar to the early imperial denarius in size and weight, a new billon coin, of a copper alloy but with a small fraction of silver mostly in the form of coating, roughly similar to the old antoninianus when it was just introduced, however bearing now a laureate rather than a radiate bust. This type of coin is now commonly referred to as a follis or a nummus. Finally, a new radiate bronze coin, now referred to as a "radiate fraction" or a radiatus was introduced, similar to the early imperial aes in value, but much smaller in weight and size. There were also rare issues of ½ and ¼ nummus coins, mostly in connection to some celebration. Interestingly, the obverses of these new coins were chosen to represent some identical "generic" image of a "good emperor" independent of the actual likeness of the August or Caesar in whose name they were issued, thus affirming the unity of all the tetrarchy rulers. Very roughly one may think of a new radiatus as a price of one loaf of bread, a new argenteus as a very good daily wage, and a new aureus as a price of a good horse. An approximate relationship between these units was as follows: 1 aureus â‰ˆ 20 argentei â‰ˆ 1000 d.c. (some scholars prefer 25 argentei and 1250 d.c.); 1 argenteus â‰ˆ 5 nummi â‰ˆ 50 d.c.; 1 nummus â‰ˆ 5 radiati â‰ˆ 10 d.c.; 1 radiatus â‰ˆ 2 d.c. Of course we know that this reform was ineffective and inflation continued, so all these values were constantly shifting due to changing markets. Diocletian himself stopped minting argenteus in c. 305, and Constantine in his monetary reforms only re-established a new and highly successful gold standard, solidus (1/72 pound of pure gold, surprisingly actually first introduced also by Diocletian in 301, but only as a pilot version). As for billon and bronze coins, "folles" or "nummi", they were minted in all shapes and sizes all over the 4th century, often horribly debased by inflation, and their values at each point can only be guessed. It seems that in later times up to 1000 small bronze coins were sealed in a leather pouch to produce a reasonable unit of payment, thus giving rise to the name follis (lit. "bag" in Latin), which is now anachronistically applied to many billon and bronze coins of the late 3d and 4th century.Yurii P

German Notgeld: Düren, RhinelandCity: Düren

State: Rhineland

Denomination: ½ Mark

Obverse: STADT DÜREN, 1/2 MARK in center, 1919 in exergue.

Reverse: KOHLE BRINGT GOLD, head of a miner facing left, wearing cap, and resting pickaxe on left shoulder.

Date: 1919

Grade: VF

Catalog #: L101.12
Matt Inglima

Great BritainKing George V Sovereign Gold, 1912, Weight: 7.99 gm. Mintage: 4.4 million 1 commentsDaniel F

GREEK, Brutus, Koson, StaterFull ID:
SKYTHIA. Geto-Dacians. Koson, mid 1st century BC. Stater (Gold, 20 mm, 8.35 g, 12 h). KOΣΩN Roman consul accompanied by two lictors advancing left; before, monogram. Rev. Eagle standing left on scepter, holding wreath in its right talon. Iliescu 1. RPC I 1701A. A lustrous and very sharply struck example. Virtually as struck.

From an American collection, formed in the early 2000s.
Ex-Leu Numismatik, Web Auktion 9, Lot 97

This coin used to be slabbed and received 5/5 twice, see here:
https://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/4241215-001/NGCAncients/3 commentsIstinpolin

Hacksilber Fragment, Earliest Coinage Period, Holy LandHacksilber Ingot, c. 8-6 centuries BC, Israel. 21 x 14 x 5 mm, 8.4 grams. Cut in antiquity from a larger piece. Possibly an overweight Pym or underweight Nezef?

Similar ingots were found at Ein Gedi, Israel in a terra cotta cooking pot, hidden in a building destroyed near the end of Iron Age II, early 6th century BC (Avi-Yonah Encylcopedia of the Holy Land, volume 2, p. 374.)

The basic weight in use was the shekel, weighing 11.4 g on average. Other weight groups include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Beqa, a half shekel (Ex. 38:26), 5.7 g. (2) Nezef, averaging 9.12 g. The Judaean equivalent to an Egyptian qedet. (3) Pym, 7.6 g. (1 Samuel 13:21) The Judaean equivalent to the Phoenician shekel.

The weight of this ingot is identical to the Mesopotamian shekel. During the 9th to 6th centuries BCE in the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, the common form of expressing prices was in quantities equivalent to one shekel (8.4 g) of silver.

In ancient times, livestock were often used in barter. Indicative of this is the fact that the Latin word for money (pecunia) is drawn from pecus, meaning “cattle.” However, livestock (Ge 47:17) and foodstuffs (1Ki 5:10, 11) were obviously not a convenient medium of exchange.

Instead, pieces of precious metals began to be used, the weight being checked at the time the transaction was made.

Ge 23:16 "Abraham weighed out to Eâ€²phron the amount of silver that he had spoken in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred silver shekels current with the merchants."; Jer 32:10 "Then I wrote in a deed and affixed the seal and took witnesses as I went weighing the money in the scales."

The usual Hebrew term translated as “money,” keseph, literally means “silver.” (Ge 17:12) There was no coined money in Israel during the First Temple Period (1006-586 BCE). Rather, it consisted of cut pieces of silver and gold, or molded for convenience into bars, rings, bracelets, having a specific weight. - Ge 24:22

At Judges 5:19, bâtsaâ€› keseph, which is commonly rendered as, “No gain of silver did they take,” literally means to break off or cut off silver.
Nemonater

Half EagleHalf Eagle (5 dollar) coin, 1907-D

Coronet type (variety 2), minted 1866-1908, 8.36 gr., 21.6 mm, .900 gold, .100 copper, reeded edge, Designer: Christian Gobrecht.

1907-D, E. Fine, 888,000 minted.

Reference: KM 1013 commentsDaniel F

Heraclius and Sons Gold Solidus70051. Gold solidus, Wroth BMC 76; Tolstoi 410; DOC II part 1, 44f (no examples in the collection, refs Wroth); SBCV 770; Hahn MIB 53; Sommer 11.35; Morrisson BnF -, aEF, luster, tight flan, graffiti on obverse and reverse, 4.336g, 19.3mm, 180o, 8th officina, Constantinople mint, 639(?) - 641;

obverse Heraclius in center taller with mustache, long beard; standing with Heraclius Constantine on right, Heraclonas on left, sons beardless and equal height, all wear crown, chlamys and tablion ornamented with pellets, and hold globus cruciger in right;

reverse VICTORIA AVGu H, cross potent on three steps, Heraclian monogram left, E right, CONOB in ex

In 632, Heraclonas, Heraclius younger son, was designated Caesar and added to the coinage. Heraclonas was seven years old. The Heraclian monogram on the reverse replaces the more typical obverse inscription.Colby S

HUNGARY - Franz JosefHUNGARY - Franz Josef 10 Koruna, Gold, 1910. KM#485.dpaul7

Illuminated Qur'an Manuscript: Early Qajar Persia (AH 1263/1846-47 AD), Scribed by Muhammad 'Ali ibn Muhammad BaqirA leaf from a large Koran, Qajar Iran, AH 1263 (1846-7 AD) on fine paper (345 x 200 mm.) There are fifteen lines of black naskh script, gold rosettes between verses, sura headings in red on illuminated panels, large polychrome medallions in borders, borders ruled in gold, red Persian interlinear translation, colophon signed by the scribe Muhammad 'Ali ibn Muhammad Baqir, Persian translation dated 1263.

Passages from the Surah Az-Zukhruf (The Ornaments of Gold). Verses 43:23 onward...

Quant.Geek

Illuminated Qur'an Manuscript: Early Qajar Persia (AH 1263/1846-47 AD), Scribed by Muhammad 'Ali ibn Muhammad BaqirA leaf from a large Koran, Qajar Iran, AH 1263 (1846-7 AD) on fine paper (345 x 200 mm.) There are fifteen lines of black naskh script, gold rosettes between verses, sura headings in red on illuminated panels, large polychrome medallions in borders, borders ruled in gold, red Persian interlinear translation, colophon signed by the scribe Muhammad 'Ali ibn Muhammad Baqir, Persian translation dated 1263.

Passages from the Surah Az-Zukhruf (The Ornaments of Gold). Verses 43:23 onward...Quant.Geek

Illuminated Qur'an Manuscript: Early Qajar Persia (AH 1263/1846-47 AD), Scribed by Muhammad 'Ali ibn Muhammad BaqirA leaf from a large Koran, Qajar Iran, AH 1263 (1846-7 AD) on fine paper (345 x 200 mm.) There are fifteen lines of black naskh script, gold rosettes between verses, sura headings in red on illuminated panels, large polychrome medallions in borders, borders ruled in gold, red Persian interlinear translation, colophon signed by the scribe Muhammad 'Ali ibn Muhammad Baqir, Persian translation dated 1263.

Passages from Surah Al-Infitar (The Cleaving) Verses 82:2 to 82:19 and Surah Al-Mutaffifin (The Defrauding) Verses 83:1 onward...Quant.Geek

India, Dutch - 1700's - Gold FanamDutch South India, Tamil.
Gold Fanam. 1700's.rexesq

India, Dutch - 1700's - Gold Fanam.Dutch South India, Tamil.
Gold Fanam. 1700's.1 commentsrexesq

ISLAMIC, Akbar, Gold, Mohur, Dar-us-Sultanate Ahmedabad Mint, AH 982.Akbar, Gold, Mohur, Dar-us-Sultanate Ahmedabad Mint, AH 982.

ISLAMIC, Delhi Sultanate, Muhammed Bin Tughlaq, AV DinarDelhi Sultanate, Muhammed Bin Tughlaq, AV Dinar, 10.9g, In the name of Caliph al-Mustakfi, Daulatabad mint, AH 745 / 1345 AD, Ref: GG D-425

Obv: fi zaman al-imam al-mustakfi billah amir al-mu'minin abu' rabi sulaiman khallada allah khilafatahu
(In the time/reign of the Caliph al-Mustakfi billah, Commander of the Faithful, Father of the Victorious, May God Perpetuate his Kingdom)
Rev: duriba hadha al-dinar al-khalifati fi daulatabad shahr sana kham'sa wa arba'oun wa sa'bamia
(was struck this Dinar of the Caliphate in the city of Daulatabad in the year five and forty and seven hundred)

The coins Muhammad Bin Tughlaq (MBT) struck in the name of Abbasid caliphs of Egypt instead of his own name are called the Khilafat or Caliphate issues. Just as the Prophet is the viceregent of God and the Caliph is the viceregent of the Prophet, the monarch is viceregent of the Caliph. No Muslim king could hold the title of Sultan unless there be a covenant between him and the Caliph. The recognition of the supremacy of the Caliph was therefore paramount.

In AH 740 / 1339 AD ie the later part of his rule, MBTs reign was faltering with the Delhi Sultanate facing multiple rebellions across the country. In the south, MBT had lost control of the Deccan with both Vijayanagar Kingdom and Bahamani Sultanate established independent of Delhi Sultanate's control. Besides loss of territory and the fragmentation of the Sultanate, MBT was also struck with doubt about the legitimacy of his reign. MBT therefore sought out the whereabouts of the Caliph and did not rest content until he had made the discovery of the presence of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustakfi in exile at Cairo, and applied to him for royal investiture. However, unknown to MBT, the Caliph al-Mustakfi had died in that very same year ie AH 740. Meanwhile, anticipating such investiture and to reflect his subservience to the Caliph, MBT struck Gold Dinars in the name of Caliph al-Mustakfi Billah in AH 741. Four years after Caliph al-Mustakfi's death, when the new Caliph al-Hakim II’s envoy reached MBT conveying him with the Caliphal edict, robe of honour and conferring him the title of nasir amir al-mu'minin, MBT at once struck coins in the name of al-Hakim.

MBTs religious devotion to the Caliph and emotional behaviour towards the Caliph's envoys were so ludicurous as to call forth a contemptuous comment from the contemporary chronicler Ziyauddin Barani. So great was the faith of the Sultan in the Abbasid Khalifas, says he, that he would have sent all his treasures in Delhi to Egypt, had it not been for the fear of robbers. But the Sultan must have sent a substantial amount, because when Ghiyasuddin, who was only a descendant of the extinct Caliphal house of Baghdad, visited India, Muhammad's bounty knew no bounds. He gave him a million tanka's (400,000 dinars), the fief of Kanauj, and the fort of Siri, besides such valuable articles as gold and silver wares, pages and slave girls. One thousand dinars were given for head-wash, a bath-tub of gold, and three robes on which in place of knots or buttons there were pearls as large as big hazel nuts. If this was given to a scion of a house which had become defunct, how much more was sent to the living Caliph at Cairo can only be surmised.

As can be expected on Caliphate issues, great care and attention was taken in the style and design of these coins as these reflected the high reverence, esteem and devotion of MBT towards the Caliph. The calligraphy on the coin is exquisite and breath takingly beautiful. The date on the coin (AH 745) indicates this was the last year when Gold Dinar's were struck in the name of Caliph al-Mustakfi Billah as soon thereafter, following the arrival of Caliph's envoy and confirmation of death of Caliph al-Mustakfi, coins were struck in the name of the new Caliph, al-Hakim. Although the coin legend states the coin as a dinar, the weight standard is that of a tanka. The Gold Dinar's in the name of Caliph al-Mustakfi Billah were struck from only 2 mints - Daulatabad and Dehli, with Daulatabad issue classified as Rare by Goron & Goenka.
mitresh

Kings of Aksum, Ezanas (Struck after his conversion to Christianity in 330 A.D.), BMC Aksum 90Kings of Aksum, Ezanas (Struck after his conversion to Christianity in 330 A.D.) c 330-350 A.D. AE, 0.60g 12mm, Munro-Hay 52; BMC Aksum 90
O: BACI Î›EÎ¨C, draped bust right wearing headcloth
R: +TOV TO APECH TH XWPA (May This [the cross] Please the Country), small cross in circle (generally the interiors of the circle and cross were gilt with gold, but none is evident on this example)

Aksum was the first civilization anywhere to use the cross of Christ on its coins (Pankhurst 27), even before the Romans. King Ezana (also known as Abreha) was the first to do so around 330 CE (Pankhurst 27). Ezana became king sometime between 320-325 CE and as a child, he and his court, were converted to Christianity by Frumentius (Prouty and Rosenfeld 65). Ezana began to use the coins as propaganda to spread his religion by replacing the crescent symbols with the cross. Later rulers from late 4th and 5th centuries incorporated on the coins phrases such as ‘By the grace of God’ and ‘Christ is with us (Munro-Ray 190-2).’

The establishment of Christianity in Aksum saw the beginning of an active pilgrimage traffic between Ethiopia and the Holy Land. Pilgrims traveled down the Nile valley and then across to Palestine and Jerusalem. The pilgrims of course brought their coins with them, and the overt Christian symbolism appealed to the local communities through which they passed. As a result, Axumite bronze coins and local imitations of them saw considerable circulation in Egypt and Palestine. They have been found at numerous 4th to 6th century sites, circulating alongside the regular Roman and Byzantine nummi. A settlement of Coptic Ethiopian monks remains in Jerusalem to this day, their main shrine being on the roof of the Holy Sepulchre church, the only location permitted them by the more numerous Christian sects.

Aksum is the purported home of the Ark of the Covenant. According to regional tradition, the Ark is housed in the Church of Mary of Zion. The Ark, according to legends, was brought to Aksum by King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba's son and placed under guard. No one but the one guard priest is allowed in, and thus no one can verify the Ark's existence. According to the Kebra Nagast, when Menelik, came to visit his father in Jerusalem, his father gave him a copy of the Ark, and commanded the first-born sons of the elders of his kingdom to go to Ethiopia and settle there. The sons of the elders did not want to live away from the presence of the Ark, so they switched the copy with the original and smuggled the Ark out of the country. Menelik only learned that the original was with his group during the journey home.
2 commentscasata137ec

Kings of AxumAnonymous (400 - 500 A.D.)
Æ 14
O: BAC + ACA, Crowned bust right, holding cross-tipped scepter
R: +TOV TO APECH TH XWPA, Greek Cross; central punch-hole inlaid in gold, Inscription "May this (cross) please the country."
Munro-Hay 76, BMC Aksumite 316
0.75g

One of the most curious aspects of Axumite coinage is the use of gilding on some of the silver and bronze coins. The amount of gold used would not be enough to significantly change the value of the coin, and the reason for this labor-intensive process remains somewhat a mystery. It is usually found highlighting the portrait of the king or as embellishment of the cross, so it may serve the same purpose as gold tesserae in church mosaics and gold leaf on manuscripts--to reflect the Divine Light shining on the monarch and the church.2 commentsMat

KINGS OF MACEDON. Philip II, 359-336 BC. StaterGold, 19 mm, 8.56 g, 11 h
Pella, struck under Philip II or Alexander III, circa 340-328.
Laureate head of Apollo to right. Rev. ΦΙΛΙΠΠOY Charioteer driving biga to right, holding reins in his left hand and goad in his right; below horses, trident right.
Le Rider 320 (D145/R244). Several nicks and small scrapes , otherwise, good very fine. From a Viennese collection, formed in the 1990s.1 commentsLeo

Lucius Domitius Aurelianus - Aurelian, Emperor 270 - 275 ADAurelian -- Oriens Augustus -- Mars and Sol -- Serdica

Obv: IMP C L DOM AVRELIANVS P F AVG; bust of Aurelian, radiate, cuirassed, facing r.
Rev: ORI/ENS AVG; Mars in military dress on the l. and standing r., long scepter in l. hand, r. hand receiving globe from Sol; Sol on the r. and standing l., whip in l. hand, r. hand passing globe to Mars, Sol's r. foot resting on a bound captive in oriental dress seated l., head turned r. looking at Sol, XXI•P in exergue.1
Denomination: reformed antoninianus, i.e. the aurelianus; Mint: Serdica; Officina: 1; Issue: 7; Phase: 2; Date: April - November 274 AD; Weight: 3.352g; Diameter: 22.8mm; Die axis: 180º; References, for example: MER-RIC 2671.1 (this very coin).2

Notes:

1The presence of XXI on this coin indicates that it is post-reform. Volumes of ink have been spilled by numismatists discussing the meaning of XXI on Aurelian's post-reform coinage. What do the marks mean? I will paraphrase short sections from Roger Bland's summation and translation of Estiot (2004 v.1), pp. 39 - 48: Envisioning a restoration of a trimetallic monetary system composed of gold, silver and bronze, the radiate silver aurelianus was intended to be the central element of this restoration. A thin silver wash was applied in order to improve its appearance and its weight was raised to a theoretical 4.03g, or 1/80 of a Roman pound. XXI was a guarantee of the coin's 5% silver content and can be taken to mean "20 for 1" or "20 to make 1". This "1' refers to the intended reintroduction [never carried out] of a pure [100%] silver coin, the argenteus, such that 20 aureliani would equal 1 agrenteus. The aurelianus was valued at 2 denarii. ("Monetary System," Maison de l’Orient et la Méditerranée: Monnaies de l’Empire Romain/Roman Imperial Coinage AD 268-276, accessed December 17, 2019, http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/info/sysmon).
2This coin is the only specimen known to the MER-RIC program.

Provenance: Ex Forum Ancient Coins July 9, 2018.

Photo Credit: Forum Ancient Coins

Sources

Estiot, Sylviane. Monnaies de L’Empire romain XII.1: D’Aurelian à Florien. Bibliothèque nationale de France: Poinsignon Numismatique, 2004.
MER - RIC: Maison de l’Orient et la Méditerranée: Monnaies de l’Empire Romain/Roman Imperial Coinage AD 268-276. http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/home1 commentsTracy Aiello

Lucius Domitius Aurelianus - Aurelian, Emperor 270 - 275 ADAurelian -- Oriens Augustus -- Sol -- Rome

Obv: IMP AVRELIANVS AVG; bust of Aurelian radiate, cuirassed, facing r.
Rev: ORI/ENS AVG; Sol standing half l., radiate, nude but for chlamys over shoulders, r. hand raised, l. hand holding a globe, bound captive in oriental dress seated l. in front of Sol, bound captive in oriental dress seated r. behind Sol and with head turned l., VI in r. field, XXI* in exergue.1
Denomination: reformed antoninianus, i.e. the aurelianus; Mint: Rome; Officina: 6; Issue: 8; Phase: 2; Date: spring - summer 274 AD; Weight: 4.558g; Diameter: 24.5mm; Die axis: 0º; References, for example: RIC V v.1 63; BnF XII.1 144; MER-RIC 1755.

Notes:

1The presence of XXI on this coin indicates that it is post-reform. Volumes of ink have been spilled by numismatists discussing the meaning of XXI on Aurelian's post-reform coinage. What do the marks mean? I will paraphrase short sections from Roger Bland's summation and translation of Estiot (2004 v.1), pp. 39 - 48: Envisioning a restoration of a trimetallic monetary system composed of gold, silver and bronze, the radiate silver aurelianus was intended to be the central element of this restoration. A thin silver wash was applied in order to improve its appearance and its weight was raised to a theoretical 4.03g, or 1/80 of a Roman pound. XXI was a guarantee of the coin's 5% silver content and can be taken to mean "20 for 1" or "20 to make 1". This "1" refers to the intended reintroduction [never carried out] of a pure [100%] silver coin, the argenteus, such that 20 aureliani would equal 1 agrenteus. The aurelianus was valued at 2 denarii. ('Monetary System," Maison de l’Orient et la Méditerranée: Monnaies de l’Empire Romain/Roman Imperial Coinage AD 268-276, accessed December 17, 2019, http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/info/sysmon).

Provenance: Ex Forum Ancient Coins October 6, 2017.

Photo Credit: Forum Ancient Coins

Sources

BnF: Estiot, Sylviane. Monnaies de L’Empire romain XII.1: D’Aurelian à Florien. Bibliothèque nationale de France: Poinsignon Numismatique, 2004.
MER - RIC: Maison de l’Orient et la Méditerranée: Monnaies de l’Empire Romain/Roman Imperial Coinage AD 268-276. http://www.ric.mom.fr/en/home
Webb, Percy. The Roman Imperial Coinage, Vol. V, Part 1: Valerian to Florian, edited by Harold Mattingly and Edward Sydenham. London: Spink & Son, 1927.
Tracy Aiello

MAFJ9 Away to WarMarcus Aurelius

Sestertius
170

Laureate head, right, M ANTONINVS AVG TR P XXIIII
Aurelius on horse right holding spear, soldier in front with spear and shield, three soldiers behind him with standards, COS III PROFECTIO AVG S C

RIC 977

Marcus twice between 168 and 174 had to command armies in Germany and Pannonia, which took him to a rough, often cold and dark frontier not fit for other members of the imperial family. A RAND study of US military personnel subjected to repeated and lengthy deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq concluded, "Researchers found that cumulative months of deployment matter. More cumulative months of deployment increased the risk of divorce among military couples, regardless of when the couple married or when the deployment occurred. The risk of divorce was higher for hostile deployments than for non-hostile deployments. . . ." People are people, and similar strains appear to have affected Marcus and Faustina, and may have contributed to Commodus' personal development into a monster in the absence of his father.

Marcus' generals held the Marcommani at bay during the Parthian war, but on Lucius' return, according to the Historia Augusta, "[B]oth the emperors [in 68] set forth, clad in military cloak. Both the Victuali and Marcomanni were throwing everything into disorder, and other peoples as well, who had taken flight under pressure from the more distant barbarians, were going to make war unless they were allowed in. The emperors' departure produced no small gain, for, when they had come as far as Aquileia, most of the kings withdrew, together with their peoples, and put to death those responsible for the disturbances. . . . Marcus. . . believed that the barbarians were feigning both their retreat and other measures purporting to offer military security--to avoid being crushed by the weight of such great preparations; and he held they must press on. Finally, having crossed the Alps, they proceeded a considerable distance and settled everything pertinent to the defense of Italy and Illyricum." Lucius died during the return to Rome in 169, and Marcus became the sole ruler of the empire.

The Marcommani nevertheless invaded Italy in 170 and besieged Aquileia, and Marcus returned to war, planning an offensive on the Danube. Eutropius recorded:

Having persevered, therefore, with the greatest labour and patience, for three whole years at Carnuntum, he brought the Marcomannic war to an end; a war which the Quadi, Vandals, Sarmatians, Suevi, and all the barbarians in that quarter, had joined with the Marcomanni in raising; he killed several thousand men, and, having delivered the Pannonians from slavery, triumphed a second time at Rome with his son Commodus Antoninus, whom he had previously made Caesar. As he had no money to give his soldiers, in consequence of the treasury having been exhausted for the support of the war, and as he was unwilling to lay any tax on the provinces or the senate, he sold off all his imperial furniture and decorations, by an auction held in the forum of the emperor Trajan, consisting of vessels of gold, cups of crystal and murrha, silk garments belonging to his wife and himself, embroidered with gold, and numbers of jewelled ornaments. This sale was continued through two successive months, and a great quantity of money was raised from it. 1 commentsBlindado

Mahmud I Zeri MahbubOttoman Empire, Mahmud I, AH 1143 / AD 1730. Zeri Mahbub (Gold, 18 mm, 2.63 g, 11 h), Istanbul.

Obv: Toughra; small arabesque between two arrows to right, mint and date below.
Rev: Name and titles in four lines.
Reference: KM 222, Pere 555.
Condition: Near extremely fine.

Nomos AG.

Marcus Didius Severus Julianus AugustusDIDIUS JULIANUS. 193 AD. AR Denarius 19mm. 3.01 gm.
O: IMP CAES M DID IVLIAN AVG Laureate head right
R: P M TR P COS Fortuna standing facing, head left, holding rudder on globe, and cornucopiae.
- RIC IV 2; BMCRE 6; RSC 10. Ex-CNG Printed Auction 66, May 19, 2004, Lot: 1528; ex Wayne Philips

This type with Fortuna was struck in gold, silver and bronze (dupondius and sestertius).

Following the assassination of Pertinax, the praetorian guard put the emperorship up for auction. There was spirited bidding between Flavius Sulpicianus, the father-in-law of the murdered Pertinax, and the senator Didius Julianus, one of the wealthiest men in Rome. When Julianus pledged an accession bonus of 25,000 sestertii per guard, it was a bid that Sulpicianus could not top. The praetorians led Julianus before the terrified Senate, which had no choice but to ratify the coup díetat. The people of Rome, however, were disgusted by this shameful turn of events and sent messengers to seek help from the commanders of the legions in the provinces. Three generals responded and marched on Rome. Septimius Severus, being the closest to Rome, had the upper hand. The praetorians were no match for the battle hardened soldiers from the frontier, and they quickly decided in favor of Severus. Didius Julianus was not so fortunate, as he was captured at the beginning of June and beheaded in the manner of a common criminal. His rule lasted 28 March - 2 June 193 A.D.1 commentsNemonater

Maria of Alania Byzantine empress by marriages to emperors Michael VII Doukas and Nikephoros III Botaneiates (aka Maria-Martha of Georgia of Bagrationi royal dynasy)Maria of Alania (born Martha, Georgian, 1053-1118) was Byzantine empress by marriages to emperors Michael VII Doukas and Nikephoros III Botaneiates. At the time of her marriage, Georgian Maria was one of only two non-Byzantine princesses to marry a Byzantine heir and the only one to give birth to an heir.

Anna Komnene, in her medieval biographical text Alexiad, describes the beautiful Georgian princess Maria of Alania: "...after Michael Ducas' deposition, when he had advised the latter's successor, Nicephorus Botaniates, to take her in marriage, because she came from another country and had not a crowd of kinsfolk to give the Emperor trouble, and he had told Botaniates a great deal about her family and personal beauty, and often praised her to him. And certainly she was as slender of stature as a cypress, her skin was white as snow, and though her face was not a perfect round, yet her complexion was exactly like a spring flower or a rose. And what mortal could describe the radiance of her eyes? Her eyebrows were well-marked and red-gold, while her eyes were blue. Full many a painter's hand has successfully imitated the colors of the various flowers the seasons bring, but this queen's beauty, the radiance of her grace and the charm and sweetness of her manners surpassed all description and all art. Never did Apelles or Pheidias or any of the sculptors produce a statue so beautiful. The Gorgon's head was said to turn those who looked upon it into stone, but anyone who saw the Queen walking or met her unexpectedly, would have gaped and remained rooted to the spot, speechless, as if apparently robbed of his mind and wits. There was such harmony of limbs and features, such perfect relation of the whole to the parts and of the parts to the whole, as was never before seen in a mortal body, she was a living statue, a joy to all true lovers of the beautiful. In a word, she was an incarnation of Love come down to this terrestrial globe."

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_of_AlaniaJoe Sermarini

MEDIEVAL, Anglo-Gallic, Henry IV (1399 - 1413), AR Hardi d'Argent, Struck 1399 -1453 at Bordeaux, Aquitaine, FranceObverse: ERIC R ANGLIE âœ¤ Crowned and robed half-length figure of Henry facing under Gothic canopy, holding sword in right hand, left hand raised with finger pointing in benedictory position. Mullet over crown, rosette either side of crown. Rosette in legend.
Reverse: FRA-CIE âœ¤ DNS AQI âœ¤ Long cross collarino, pattée at the ends, extending through legend. Fleur de lis with roundel underneath in second and third quarters; lion passant, guardant in first and fourth quarters, roundel over lion in fourth quarter. Rosettes in legend.
Diameter: 18mm | Weight: 1.13gms | Axis 10
SPINK: 8147 | Elias: 233h
Ex. Bazas Hoard | Ex. Jean Elsen (Belgium) | Scarce

The last series of these Anglo-Gallic coins was likely struck under more than one Henry and they have not currently been differentiated by ruler because the legends and types are generic. However, over time, Anglo-Gallic issues suffered from regular debasement and a deterioration in workmanship, the size, weight and quality of the strike of this coin would therefore all seem to point to it being an early example.

The Bazas Hoard
This hoard was discovered in May 2004 by a builder at Bazas in south West France when he was renovating a house. Bazas was a regional centre in the middle ages. The hoard consisted of a mixture of medieval coins which had been minted in Spain, Portugal, Italy, England, the Netherlands and various French duchies. Of the 1010 coins found, 157 were gold, 300 were silver and the remainder were billon. The oldest coin was a King Jean II franc from 1360 and the rarest coin was a gold castellano from the time of Henry IV of Castile, of which only one other example is known to exist.1 comments*Alex

Melita, Autonomous issue, SNG Vol: X 936 John Morcom CollectionMelita (Malta) mint, Autonomous issue, Last quarter 3rd century B.C. -225 -200 AE, 22mm 6.24g, SNG Vol: X 936 John Morcom Collection
O: Bearded male head, r.; to r., caduceus
R: Priest’s cap in wreath, below, mono

Following the Roman conquest, the Maltese Islands were apparently allowed a limited measure of self-government, including the privilege of minting their own coins. The Maltese coins of that period were all circular and struck in bronze, the only metal the Roman authorities permitted to be coined in the Sicilian municipia. These autonomous issues circulated alongside the official currency of the Roman Republic which consisted of gold, silver and bronze coins.
The exact date of the first locally struck coin is not known but it is likely to have been after 212 B.C. when Sicily became a Roman province (with the Maltese Islands being incorporated into it) and was given the right by Rome to mint its own coinage in 211 B.C.
The first Maltese coins bear on their obverse a male curly head with a thick beard. A kerykeion or a caduceus is depicted on the right. The identity of the deity on these coins has for a long time been disputed by scholars and has been attributed mainly to Melkart (Heracles), Eshmun (Aesculapius) and Baal Hammon. The reverse design has been also given various interpretations such as the tomb of Battus, a sacrificial cap and a pillar over an urn. That which is unanimously agreed upon by the more authoritative scholars is the interpretation of the three Punic letters aleph, nun, nun, indicating the pre-Roman name of Malta - ANN - which may mean ship.

http://coins.mos.net.au/preKoM.htm
1 commentscasata137ec

Persia, Achaemenid Empire. Darios I to Xerxes I. (Circa 505-480 BC) AR Siglos

14 mm, 5.38 g

Lydo-Milesian standard. Sardes mint.

Obverse: Persian king or hero, wearing kidaris and kandys, quiver over shoulder, in kneeling-running stance right, drawing bow

Reverse: Incuse punch

Carradice Type II (pl. XI, 12); Meadows, Administration 320; BMC Arabia pl. XXVII, 23; Sunrise 21.

From the Baldwin Maull Collection, purchased 1950s-early 1960s.

The Persians eventual adoption of coinage was related to their conquests of Lydia and then to their conflicts with the Greek city states in the sixth through fourth centuries BC. During these wars, the Persians employed Greek mercenaries, who were accustomed to receiving payment in coinage.

The Persians issued silver sigloi and gold darics (20:1 value) with only a few basic designs. The type of siglos above (Type II), with the full-length king drawing a bow, is attributed to the period 510-480 BC and the third Persian King after Cyrus the Great, Darius I the Great, who is thought to be the human figure represented on the coin.

In general it seems that the circulation patterns of darics and sigloi were fundamentally different – so far there is no single known hoard in which the two types of coins have occurred together. Darics circulated widely and were likely used for the payment of governmental, military (1 per month for the average soldier) and diplomatic expenses. Moreover, once they entered circulation, they would have been readily accepted as bullion anywhere. As the Greeks themselves hardly struck any gold, the daric was almost free of competition on the coin market in its time.

In contrast, hoards of sigloi have been found almost exclusively in the westernmost Persian territories — the central, coastal regions of modern Turkey. From the beginning, sigloi were primarily used for local needs. In international trade the small, relatively unattractive siglos hardly had a chance against the superior Greek competitors, and even the Greek mercenaries serving in Persian service increasingly refused to accept it.

The Persian’s primary mint was certainly Sardes (the mint of the former Lydian kings as well), the seat of the Achaemenid administration for the whole of Asia Minor. As the leading administrative center, Sardes must also have been the collection point for the annual tribute payments from the provinces of Asia Minor, thus ensuring a sufficient supply of precious metals for mint production there. 1 commentsNathan P

PHARONIC KINGS OF EGYPT, Nektanebo II, 360-343 BCAE
15 mm (4 mm thick), 4.4 gm
Obv: Ram leaping left, head reverted.
Rev: Scales of Ma'at; countermark with helmeted bust right.
Ref: Weiser 1

A few months ago a friend, upon hearing that I was collecting ancient coins, said he would like to have a coin issued by a pharaoh. Hmm. "I don't think there are any", I replied. I hadn't come across any in my whirlwind but voluminous searching, although I hadn't been searching for such a coin.

Turns out there are some. Nektanebo II, the last native pharaoh of Egypt, issued coins in bronze, gold, and perhaps silver. Prior to that, Egypt did produce some coins for the purpose of international trading-- imitations of Athens, Attica tets, for instance-- but Nektanebo appears to be the first pharaoh to issue coins for local use. Maybe.

Per auction house sales information from half a decade ago, it seems these bronzes were extremely rare. I wonder if a small horde was recently found because the prices have fallen and there are currently six specimens in retail e-stores and at least two more were auctioned off recently.

There is not universal agreement regarding the issuer, purpose, and location of circulation of these coins. Sellers tout it as the "sole pharonic issue"-- I'm sure that boosts desirability-- but it may not be accurate. Hope it is though.

CNG, in the description of this coin (one similar to mine),

Nekht-her-hebet, or Nektanebo II as he was known to the Greeks, was the nephew of Pharaoh Tachos (Djed-her). Placed in command of the Egyptian army in Syria during the Satrapal Revolt, he turned his troops against his own king and took Egypt by force. In 351-350 BC he repelled a Persian invasion but was driven from his throne in 344-343 BC by a second assault. He fled Egypt, found refuge in Ethiopia, and retained control of Upper Egypt for another few years. As the last pharaoh, Alexander sought to connect himself with Nektanebo after conquering Egypt, allowing the rumor that he was in fact his son to spread. Alexander’s connection to the pharaoh lasted, and for years the sarcophagus of Nektanebo II, now in the British Museum, was considered to be Alexander’s own.

The traditional attribution of this issue to Nektanebo, however enticing, has been increasingly contested. Finds of the coins have been consistently noted outside of Egypt. Kevin Butcher has placed the bronzes at Antioch circa 1st century BC, where the leaping ram imagery would fit well.

I wanted this coin for several reasons.

First, well… a pharaoh's coin? That's just cool.

Second, it depicts the Scales of Ma'at. Such a device was used in Jitterbug Perfume, a book by Tom Robbins, one of my favorite authors. In it, at a limbo-like way station, the newly dead have their hearts weighed against a feather. The heart must be light as a feather to move on. I was unaware until seeing this coin that the scene was taken directly from Egyptian mythology.

Third, it is for an almost-finished themed collection I've been working on.

Nektanebo II (translated from Egyptian "Nakhthorheb (meryhathor)" or "Nekht-her-hebet" or "Nekht-harhebi" ; alternate spelling Nectanebo), the last native Egyptian pharaoh, part of the 30th dynasty. His 17 year reign spanned from 360 to 343 BC.
Birth name: Nakht-hor-heb (mery-hathor) “Strong is His Lord Horus, Beloved of Hathor”
Throne name: Snedjem-ib-re Setep-en-inhur “Pleasing to the Heart of Re, Chosen of Onuris”

Additional biographic information about Nektanebo II
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nectanebo1.htm

About Ma'at, the Scales of Ma'at, and the weighing of hearts:
http://www.egyptartsite.com/judgement.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maat
http://www.aldokkan.com/religion/hall_maat.htm

4 commentsTIF

PTOLEMAIC KINGS of EGYPT, ALEXANDRIA, 253 - 252 BCAV Octodrachm (Mnaïeion) - 27mm, 27.69 g, 12h

Arsinoe II Philadelphos, died 270-268 BC. Struck under Ptolemy II,

O - Arsinoë II head right, veiled and wearing stephane; lotus-tipped scepter in background, Î˜ to left
R - APÎ£INOHÎ£ Î¦IÎ›AÎ”EÎ›Î¦OY, double cornucopia bound with fillet.

Svoronos 460; Troxell, Arsinoe, Transitional to Group 3, p. 43 and pl. 6, 2-3 (same obv. die); SNG Copenhagen 134; Boston MFA -; Triton XII, lot 386 (same obv. die); CNG 76, lot 875 (same obv. die); CNG 87, lot 698 (same obv. die). 3 commentsrobertpe

RIC 167 DomitianAR Denarius, 3.05g
Rome mint, 83 AD
Obv: IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG P M; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: TR POT II COS VIIII DES X P P; Minerva stg. l., with thunderbolt and spear; shield at her side (M3)
RIC 167 (R). BMC 43. RSC 604. BNC 40.
Ex AMCC Auction 2, 9 November 2019, lot 147.

In 82 Domitian reformed the coinage by raising the weight of the gold, refining the silver, and improving the over all quality. 83 was also a landmark year for his coinage - it was the first year that the all four standard Minerva types were struck together, serving as a blueprint for the remainder of the reign for the precious metal issues. This 'type 3' Minerva denarius is from that rare first Minerva issue.

A bit rough, but in fine style on a large flan.2 commentsDavid Atherton

RIC 465 DomitianÆ Sestertius, 25.01g
Rome mint, 86 AD
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XII CENS PER P P; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r., with aegis
Rev: IOVI VICTORI; S C in exergue; Jupiter std. l., with Victory and sceptre
RIC 465 (C2). BMC 373. BNC 396.
Acquired from CGB.fr, June 2021.

Similar to the silver and gold, Domitian’s aes coinage in the mid 80s settled down to a few predicable reverse types that were annually struck throughout the reign. The Sestertii were dominated by Victory crowning the emperor and the seated Jupiter with Victory, as seen on this coin. ‘Jupiter the giver of Victory’ was an important propaganda type because of the periodic conflicts that flared up from time to time on the Northern frontier. This early example of the type features the fine style and superior craftsmanship that was a hallmark of the Rome mint in the mid 80s under Domitian. Not only is the portrait exquisitely engraved, but the reverse featuring a super buff Jupiter is no slouch either. Both are evidence of a mint firing on all cylinders.2 commentsDavid Atherton

RIC 633 Domitian Æ Sestertius, 22.95g
Rome mint, 88-89 AD
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XIIII CENS PER P P; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: IOVI VICTORI; S C in exergue; Jupiter std. l., with Victory and sceptre
RIC 633 (C). BMC 406. BNC 436.
Acquired from Marc Breitsprecher, September 2022.

Just like the silver and gold, Domitian's aes coinage in the mid 80s settled down to a few predicable reverse types that were annually struck throughout the reign. The Sestertii were dominated by Victory crowning the emperor and this seated Jupiter with Victory. 'Jupiter the giver of Victory' was an important propaganda type because of the periodic conflicts on the Northern frontier that flared up form time to time. Also, according to Suetonius, Domitian established "a quinquennial contest in honour of Jupiter Capitolinus of a threefold character, comprising music, riding, and gymnastics, and with considerably more prizes than are awarded nowadays."David Atherton

RIC 702 DomitianÆ Sestertius, 22.24g
Rome mint, 90-91 AD
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XV CENS PER P P; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: IOVI VICTORI; S C in exergue; Jupiter std. l., with Victory and sceptre
RIC 702 (C2). BMC 439. BNC 476.
Acquired from Marc Breitsprecher, January 2023. Ex Librairie Numismatique Monnaies & Medailles, E. Boudeau, Paris.

Similar to the silver and gold, Domitian's aes coinage in the mid 80s settled down to a few predicable reverse types that were annually struck throughout the reign. The Sestertii were dominated by Victory crowning the emperor and this seated Jupiter with Victory. 'Jupiter the giver of Victory' was an important propaganda type because of the periodic conflicts on the Northern frontier that flared up form time to time. Also, according to Suetonius, Domitian established 'a quinquennial contest in honour of Jupiter Capitolinus of a threefold character, comprising music, riding, and gymnastics, and with considerably more prizes than are awarded nowadays.'

This coin comes with an interesting old provenance as noted by Marc Breitsprecher: 'Includes old yellowed paper envelope from the coin dealer Librairie Numismatique Monnaies & Medailles, E. Boudeau Expert, 11 Rue Ramaeu, Paris - dating prior to 1912 - with dealer name printed on the envelope - coin description and price (3.45 francs, about 70 cents) hand-written in French with an ink pen. Élie Boudeau (1853-1912) was a politician and numismatist in late 19th century-early 20th century Paris. He served in the 5th legislature of the Third French Republic from 12 November 1889 to 14 October 1893. He owned a shop in the numismatic district of Paris at 11 Rue Rameau, only a stones throw from the Bibliotheque Nationale and one block from the Rue Vivienne where several coin shops, including CGB, still exist today.'

NB: Seller's comment - 'Possible damnatio across bust.' More likely it is just a random scrape.2 commentsDavid Atherton

RIC 751 DomitianÆ Sestertius, 23.75g
Rome mint, 92-94 AD
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XVI CENS PER P P; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: IOVI VICTORI; S C in exergue; Jupiter std. l., with Victory and sceptre
RIC 751 (C2). BMC 464. BNC 491.
Acquired from eBay, May 2019. Ex Degani Coin Shop.

Just like the silver and gold, Domitian's aes coinage in the mid 80s settled down to a few predicable reverse types that were annually struck throughout the reign. The Sestertii were dominated by Victory crowning the emperor and the seated Jupiter with Victory, as seen on this coin. 'Jupiter the giver of Victory' was an important propaganda type because of the periodic conflicts on the Northern frontier that flared up form time to time. Domitian did not renew the consulship until 95, so these COS XVI sestertii are imprecisely dated between 92-94, which accounts for their extreme commonness.

A well worn example with a good portrait and fine olive green patina.3 commentsDavid Atherton

RIC 794 DomitianÆ Sestertius, 25.13g
Rome mint, 95-96 AD
Obv: IMP CAES DOMIT AVG GERM COS XVII CENS PER P P; Head of Domitian, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: IOVI VICTORI; S C in exergue; Jupiter std. l., with Victory and sceptre
RIC 794 (C). BMC 474. BNC 504.
Acquired from London Ancient Coins, July 2020.

A common seated Jupiter type from Domitian's last bronze issue. Just like the silver and gold, Domitian's aes coinage from the mid 80s onwards settled down to a few predicable reverse types. The Sestertii were dominated by Victory crowning the emperor and the seated Jupiter with Victory. 'Jupiter the giver of Victory' was not only an important propaganda type but also one that was closely associated with Domitian. This sestertius is imprecisely dated between 95-96 because Domitian did not take up the consulship in 96. The style is very similar to the contemporaneous denarius issues.2 commentsDavid Atherton

Roman Empire, Gordianus III - overstrikeGordian III. (238-244 AD). Antioch, 239 AD. (gm*), IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG, bust radiate, draped, cuirassed right. Silver antoninianus with overstruck reverse FIDES M[ILITVM] on type [AEQVIT]AS AVG. The coin looks like an Antioch work from 238-240 AD (IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG).

Current revers (overtype):
FIDES MILITVM, Fides standing left, holding long standard and transverse sceptre (the rest is seen left at feet)

This type is unlisted (in RIC, RSC) as an Antioch coin, but is not unknown completely. If we are looking for "Fides standing left, holding standard and transverse sceptre", than we find type RIC-1 (Rome), RSC-86 (Rome). In Antioch mint we find Fides with standard and cornucopiae or with two standards. So this coin is probably a new Antioch type with standard and transverse sceptre. The difference between the roman type (RIC-1, RSC-86) and this antiochian is in the lenght of the standard. The mint in Rome used (on gold, silver, bronze coins) shorter standard, that not divides the revers legend and ends under the letters of the legend. And not only at type FIDES MILITVM, but also at another types with Fides (for example P M TR P II COS P P, RIC-15). On antiochian antoninians we see a long standard, that divides revers inscription (mostly FIDE-S). This long standard is seen (during period of 238-240 AD with CAES M ANT on obvers) on another antiochian types (e.g. RIC-183 = RSC-90 and 91 - all with long standard and cornucopiae; RIC-185 = RSC-93 seated (!) Fides with long standard and cornucopiae).

Restruck on type:
AEQVITAS AVG, Aequitas standing and facing left, holding scales and cornucopiae (RIC-177a, Coh-17, RSC-17a). I suppose the original coin is from Antioch mint (Aequitas stading left) and not from Rome (Aequitas standing half-left, RSC-17), although the figure of Aequitas is just partially visible.

Conclusion:
mint Antioch, 239 AD, RIC-unlisted (Antioch), RSC-unlisted (Antioch)
IMP CAES M ANT GORDIANVS AVG, rad., dr., cuirass., r.
FIDES M[ILITVM], long standard and transverse sceptre - overstruck on type [AEQVIT]AS AVG
2 comments

SchjÃ¶th 120, Hartill (2007) 9.1, Fisherâ€™s Ding 417Xin Dynasty. Wang Mang (7 23 A.D.)

50 cash (cast bonze), 7-14 A.D, 27 mm.

Obv: Da Quan Wu Shi.

Rev: Blank.

Wang Mang was the regent for the last two infant emperors of the (western) Han Dynasty who usurped the thrown and founded the Xin Dynasty (meaning New Dynasty), of which he was the only emperor. He was a radical visionary reformer, but his reign resulted in chaos and rebellion.

Wang Mang’s reforms of the currency began in 7 A.D., and included the introduction of the Da Quan Wu Shi, with a nominal value of fifty. In 9 A.D. he introduced an impossibly complex system involving tortoise shell, gold, silver, six round bronze coins, and a reintroduction of the spade money in ten denominations. The Da Quan Wu Shi (= large coin fifty) was the largest denomination within “The Six Coins” series of fiduciary round coins. The public rejected this fiat coinage, and secretly continued to use the former Wu Zhu coins, despite an imperial decree threatening exile to those caught using the former coinage. In 14 A.D. the “Six Coins” were abolished and replaced by new round coins (the Huo Quan).

Hartill (2007) rarity 13.Stkp

Sulayman I The Magnificent SultaniOttoman Empire, Sulayman I The Magnificent, AH 926 / AD 1520. Sultani (Gold, 21 mm, 3.36 g, 1 h), Misr.

Obv: Name, titles, mint and date in five lines.
Rev: Titles in six lines.
Reference: Album 1317, Pere 180.
Condition: Very fine. Common.

Roma Numismatics.

Provenance: From the collection of GK; Ex Sincona AG, Auction 43, 23 October 2017, lot 3808 (part of).

Thailand Gold 150 Baht - Queen SirikitStruck at the Royal Mint, Bangkok.
Thailand 150 Baht - Commemorating the 36th Birthday of Queen Sirikit.
3.75 grams - .900 fine Gold - .1085 oz AGWrexesq

Thailand Gold 300 Baht, Queen SirikitStruck at the Royal Mint, Bangkok.
Thailand 300 Baht - Commemorating the 36th Birthday of Queen Sirikit.
7.5 grams - .900 fine Gold - .2170 oz AGW
rexesq

The Roman Empire. Julia Domna AR DenariusThe Roman Empire. Julia Domna AR Denarius. Rome, AD 215-217. IVLIA PIA FELIX AVG, draped bust right / LVNA LVCIFERA, Luna, with veil billowing above her head, holding reins and driving galloping biga left. RIC 379c (Caracalla); BMCRE 10; RSC 105. 2.84g, 19mm, 1h.

Ex CNG eAuction 465, 8th April 2020, Lot 429.

Julia Domna, the ambitious wife of Septimius Severus, was associated with a number of deities on her coins. They included Cybele (mother of the Gods), Venus (Goddess of beauty & love) and here with Diana as the moon-goddess Luna Lucifera, ‘the light-bearing moon’, who is commanding a biga of horses. Septimius Severus had himself issued coins associating himself with the sun-god Sol, and so by identifying themselves in this way Domna and Severus emphasise the eternal nature of the imperial house. Luna Lucifera only appears with her own name on the coins of Domna and Gallienus with issues appearing in gold, silver and bronze.

One aspect of the coinage of Julia Domna I find particularly fascinating is in the evolution of her portraits over time...in her earlier years she appears as an attractive young woman, and towards the end of her career she is shown as a rather stern looking scowling old crone. I guess that could be where her son Caracalla got his scowl from...Paulus J

[1663a] Byzantine Empire: Manuel I Comnenus Megas (1143-1180)---NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH---[1685a] Empire of Trebizond: Manuel I Komnenos Megas (1218-1263 AD)Manuel I Comnenus Megas (1143-1180). AE billon trachy; Sear 1964; 30mm, 3.91g.; Constantinople mint; aF. Obverse: MP-OV-The Virgin enthroned. Nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium; Reverse: Maueil standing facing, wearing crown, holding labarum and globe surmounted by Patriachal cross. Ex SPQR.

De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families

MANUEL I COMNENUS (A.D. 1143-1180)

Andrew Stone
University of Western Australia

Introduction: Sources
The reign of the emperor Manuel I Comnenus (5 April 1143- 24 September 1180) could well be regarded as a high-water mark of Byzantine civilization. It was the apogee of the so-called "Comnenian Restoration". Politically, the emperor undertook an ambitious foreign policy which has been seen by some, particularly in the light of many ultimate failures, as "misguided imperialism", recent scholarship has come to question this traditional judgment and suggests instead that the the Comnenian foreign policy was rather an energetic seizing of the different opportunities that presented themselves in the rapidly changing constellations of powers of the time. Such measures were made possible by the internal security of the empire under this, its third, Comnenian incumbent, although there were a few other aspirants to the throne, not least among them the emperor's cousin Andronicus. Manuel and other key members of the "Comnenian system", as it has been called, were patrons of rhetoric and other forms of learning and literature, and Manuel himself became keenly interested in ecclesiastical affairs, even if here his imperialistic agenda was a factor as he tried to bring Constantinopolitan theology in line with that of the west in a bid to unite the Church under his crown.

In terms of volume of contemporary material, Manuel is the most eulogised of all Byzantine emperors, and the panegyric addressed to him supplements the two major Byzantine historians of the reign, the more critical Nicetas Choniates and the laudatory John Cinnamus, as primary sources for the student of the period to study. The Crusader historian William of Tyre met Manuel personally, and such was the scope of Manuel's diplomacy that he is mentioned incidentally in western sources, such as Romuald of Salerno. Among authors of the encomia (panegyrics) we have mentioned are Theodore Prodromus and the so-called "Manganeios" Prodromus, who wrote in verse, and the prose encomiasts Michael the Rhetor, Eustathius of Thessalonica and Euthymius Malaces, to name the most important. Manuel, with his penchant for the Latins and their ways, left a legacy of Byzantine resentment against these outsiders, which was to be ruthlessly exploited by Andronicus in the end.

Manuel as sebastokrator
Manuel was born in the imperial porphyry birthchamber on 28 November 1118. He was the fourth of John II's sons, so it seemed very unlikely that he would succeed. As a youth, Manuel evidently accompanied John on campaign, for in the Anatolian expedition of 1139-41 we find Manuel rashly charging a small group of the Turkish enemy, an action for which he was castigated by his father, even though John, we are told, was inwardly impressed (mention of the incident is made in John's deathbed speech in both John Cinnamus and Nicetas Choniates). John negotiated a marriage contract for Manuel with Conrad III of Germany; he was to marry Bertha of Sulzbach. It seems to have been John's plan to carve out a client principality for Manuel from Cilicia, Cyprus and Coele Syria. In the event, it was Manuel who succeeded him.

The Securing of the Succession 1143
In the article on John II it is related how the dying John chose his youngest son Manuel to succeed him in preference to his other surviving son Isaac. Manuel was acclaimed emperor by the armies on 5 April 1143. Manuel stayed in Cilicia, where the army was stationed, for thirty days, to complete the funeral rites for his father. He sent his father's right-hand man John Axuch, however, to Constantinople to confine Isaac to the Pantokrator Monastery and to effect a donation of two hundredweight of silver coin to the clergy of the Great Church. The surviving encomium of Michael Italicus, Teacher of the Gospel, for the new emperor can be regarded as a return gift for this largesse. In the meantime the Caesar John Roger, husband of Manuel's eldest sister Maria, had been plotting to seize the throne; the plot was, however, given away by his wife before it could take effect. Manuel marched home to enter Constantinople c. July 1143. He secured the good-will of the people by commanding that every household should be granted two gold coins. Isaac the younger (Manuel's brother) and Isaac the elder (Manuel's paternal uncle), were both released from captivity and reconciled with him. Manuel chose Michael Oxeites as the new patriarch and was crowned either in August or November 1143.

Manuel confirmed John Axuch in the office of Grand Domestic, that is, commander of the army, appointed John of Poutze as procurator of public taxes, grand commissioner and inspector of accounts and John Hagiotheodorites as chancellor. John of Poutze proved to be an oppressive tax collector, but was also unsusceptible to bribery. However, this John diverted monies levied for the navy into the treasury, which would, as we shall see, further Byzantine dependence on the maritime Italian city-states of Venice, Genoa and Pisa.

Early Campaigns: 1144-1146
Manuel's first concern was to consolidate the work of his father in securing the eastern frontier. He sent a force under the brothers Andronicus and John Contostephanus against the recalcitrant Crusader prince Raymond of Antioch, which consisted of both an army and a navy, the latter commanded by Demetrius Branas. Raymond's army was routed, and the naval force inflicted no small damage on the coastal regions of the principality. In the meantime the Crusader city of Edessa fell to the Turkish atabeg Zengi. Raymond therefore travelled to Constantinople as a suppliant to Manuel. It was subsequently decided, in the light of Manuel's imperial status, that the terms under which he would marry Bertha of Sulzbach should be improved. Manuel asked for 500 knights, and Conrad happily granted them, being prepared to supply 2000 or 3000 if need be all for the sake of this alliance. Bertha took the Greek name Irene.

The Seljuk sultanate of Rum under Masud had become the ascendant Turkish power in Anatolia. Manuel himself supervised the rebuilding of the fortress of Melangeia on the Sangarius river in Bithynia (1145 or 1146). In the most daring campaign of these early years, after building the new fort of Pithecas in Bithynia, Manuel advanced as far into Turkish territory as Konya (Iconium), the Seljuk capital. He had been wounded in the foot by an arrow at a mighty battle at Philomelium (which had been Masud's headquarters), and the city had been rased; once at Konya, he allowed his troops to despoil the graves outside the city walls, before taking the road home.

Cinnamus relates that the gratutitous heroics which Manuel displayed on this campaign were calculated to impress Manuel's new bride. Manuel and his army were harried by Turks on the journey home. Manuel erected the fort of Pylae before leaving Anatolia.

[For a detailed and interesting discussion of the reign of Manuel I Comnenus please see http://www.roman-emperors.org/mannycom.htm]

Frederick Barbarossa and the "two-emperor problem"
Frederick Barbarossa, who was to become a constant menace to Manuel's designs, had succeeded his uncle Conrad III in 1152, but unlike him proved in the end unprepared to make any territorial concessions in Italy. The origins of this "cold war" between the two empires cannot be dated with any certainty, but there may have been a tendency to date it too early. One school of thought would not date the outbreak of this rivalry to any earlier than 1159-60, the death of Manuel's German wife, Bertha-Irene. About this time there was a scare at Constantinople that Frederick Barbarossa would march on Byzantium, perhaps reflecting a desire on Frederick's part to crusade (which he eventually did, in the reign of Isaac II Angelus). The new Pope, Alexander III, by, as it would seem, offering to grant Manuel the imperial crown, used it as a bargaining chip to play off the emperors of west and east against one another. Manuel may have supported Alexander during the papal schism of 1160-1177 because he was the preferred candidate of Hungary and the Crusader states, both of which he hoped would recognise him as their feudal overlord. By this means he could claim sovereign rights over the crusading movement, and thereby turn it to his advantage. The playing off of Manuel against Frederick continued right up until 1177, the Peace of Venice, whereby Frederick agreed to recognise Pope Alexander, the autonomy of Sicily and of the northern Italian communes. But this result was not a foregone conclusion in the 1160s and early 1170s, and Manuel used Byzantine gold to win supporters in Italy and thereby keep Frederick occupied.

Marriage to Maria of Antioch 1161
Bertha-Irene died in late 1159/early 1160. Manuel sought to strengthen his ties with the Crusader principalities by selecting an eastern Latin princess for his wife. The exceedingly beautiful Maria of Antioch, daughter of Raymond of Antioch, was chosen, and the nuptials celebrated at Christmas, 1161.

Dynastic considerations 1169-1172
Manuel's wife Maria of Antioch gave birth to a baby boy 14 September 1169 in the porphyry marble birthchamber, the cause of great festivities. The infant was crowned emperor in 1171. With the death of Stephen III of Hungary in 1172, Stephen's brother Béla was sent out from Constantinople to assume the throne (though without Sirmium and Dalmatia being surrendered to the Hungarian crown). A husband for Maria Porphyrogenita was therefore required. At first it was proposed that she marry William II of Sicily, who was outraged when she failed to show up at Taranto on the appointed day, the emperor having had second thoughts.

The final months 1180
Manuel took ill in the month of March 1180. During this period of terminal illness the last major religious controversies took place. We are told that Manuel directed that the anathema pronounced against the god of Muhammad be removed from the abjuration against the Islamic faith declared by converts to Christianity. Manuel was opposed by the last patriarch of his reign, Theodosius Boradiotes (1179-1183), as well as, notably, by Eustathius of Thessalonica. Both parties were satisfied in the end upon a reading of the emperor's proposed amendments to the abjuration. This controversy would seem to be a different one from the one alluded to in Eustathius' funeral oration for Manuel, since Manuel is praised by Eustathius for his stance in it, which seems to have revolved around a book written by a convert from Islam that magnified the Father at the expense of the Son (and therefore had Arian overtones). It became apparent that the emperor was dying, and, on the advice of Theodosius, he renounced astrology. As his end approached, he assumed the monastic habit and the name Matthew, demanding that his wife Maria become a nun. Manuel's son Alexius was but eleven, and the minority would prove to be disastrous for Byzantium. Manuel died thirty-seven years and nine months from the beginning of his reign.

General strategies in Manuel's foreign policy
The funeral oration for Manuel by Eustathius of Thessalonica is an interesting document in that it discusses some of the general policies pursued over Manuel's reign. It endorses his policy of dividing his enemies, the Petchenegs, the Sicilian Normans and the Turks, among themselves by using Byzantine gold, a policy of "divide and rule". We have seen how this was applied especially in Italy. Another general policy was to create friendly buffer states on the frontiers of the empire, most notably Hungary (and Serbia) and the Crusader States. Manuel would deliberately underpin the most powerful potentate in each region (the king of Hungary, the king of Jerusalem, the sultan of Konya) and thereby emphasise his own absolute sovereignty. In the funeral oration this granting of autonomy is justified as the reward for good service, as in the parable of the talents. We also see in the panegyric of the 1170s the downplaying of the idea of world rule which was so prevalent in the reign of John. Although Manuel claimed sovereign rights over many of his neighbours, his territorial claims were limited: coastal southern Italy, Dalmatia and Sirmium, coastal Egypt. The Byzantines seem to have come to terms with the reality of nation states and it is in Manuel's reign that they begin to refer to themselves not only as "Romans", but as "Hellenes", in order to demarcate themselves from the barbarians surrounding them.

Manuel's taxation, government and army
Nicetas Choniates roundly criticises Manuel in his history for increasing taxes and lavishing money on his family and retainers, particularly his Latin favourites. We have also seen how money was spent in Manuel's ambitious foreign policy. Mention is made of two towers, one at Damalis, and one next to the monastery of the Mangana, between which a chain could be stretched to block the Bosphorus. Then there was the work done at both the Great Palace and the Palace of the Blachernae, galleries, a pavilion alla Turca and numerous mosaics. He also founded a monastery at Kataskepe at the mouth of the Black Sea, which was endowed from the imperial treasury.

Choniates further criticizes the continuation and spread of the granting of pronoiai, parcels of land, the income from each of which supported a soldier. Many of these were granted to foreigners, for example, Turks captured in the Meander campaigns were settled around Thessalonica. The pronoia would pay not only for a soldier's upkeep, but his expensive equipment, for in Manuel's reign the bow and arrow and circular shield had been replaced by a heavier western-style panoply of armour, large triangular shield and lance. Choniates laments how fashionable a practice it had become in Manuel's reign to forsake the land or one's trade and become enlisted in the army.

Manuel and the "Comnenian system"
Throughout Manuel's reign, as under his father John, the top tier of the aristocracy was formed by the emperor's family, the Comneni, and the families into which they married. The extended family was, however, by now becoming unwieldy, and beginning to lose its cohesion, as the example of Manuel's cousin Andronicus shows. Under Manuel it was degree of kinship to the emperor which determined one's rank, as synodal listings show. So it was that very quickly after Manuel's death the upper tier of the aristocracy splintered into separate groups, each with its own identity and interests.

Literature
The various aristocratic courts, that of the emperor and other key members of the extended family, most notably the sebastokrator Isaac Comnenus the elder and the sebastokratorissa Irene, widow of Manuel's brother Andronicus, attracted literati who would seek to serve under them. Such figures would not only turn their hands to literature, encomia in prose or poetry, expositions on mythology, commentaries on Homer or the philosophers, historical chronicles and even, in this period, romances - the twelfth century is a high point of literary production at Constantinople, so much so that some have even talked of a "Comnenian renaissance" - but they would seek to perform more menial, such as administrative, duties to support themselves. Such men would often come from noble families whose prestige had been eclipsed by the Comnenian upper tier of the aristocracy. Serving under a lord was one way of advancing oneself, entering the Church was another.

The patriarchal church and education
The deacons of the church of St Sophia were a powerful group, the chartophylax being second only to the patriarch. These deacons would either go on to become bishops in the provinces, or possibly first hold one of the professorial chairs associated with the patriarchal church. First there were the "teachers", didaskaloi of the Gospels, Epistles and Psalter. Then there was the maistor ton rhetoron, "master of the rhetors", responsible for delivering speeches in praise of the emperor on January 6 each year and of the patriarch on the Saturday prior to Palm Sunday, as well as for other state occasions. And there was the hypatos ton philosophon, "consul of the philosophers", an office which had lapsed but was revived under Manuel.

Character and Legacy
Was Byzantium of the middle to late twelfth century living on borrowed time? Until recently this was the verdict of many scholars. Yet John II and Manuel had, if there is any kernel of truth in their encomia, at least temporarily reversed the overrunning of Anatolia by the Turks, and Manuel had won Dalmatia and Sirmium from Hungary. But Byzantine collapse was rapid, which is the reason why scholars have searched in the reigns of John and Manuel for the beginnings of the disintegration that occurred under the last Comneni and the Angeli. The history and comments of Nicetas Choniates have been adduced as vindicating this view. The victory of the military aristocracy that the establishment of the Comnenian dynasty represents has been seen as both the reason for the temporary reversal of Byzantine fortunes - government by three very capable autocrats - and of ultimate failure, because of the splintering into factions that oligarchy, such as was present in the Comnenian system, foments. A Marxist interpretation is that the feudalisation of the Byzantine Empire, the depletion of the free peasantry, that began to take place in the middle period was the reason for its ultimate failure. But to the Byzantines at the time Byzantium seemed to be holding its own; the "nations" around were being kept at bay, and even though the panegyric of renovation is less evident than in the reign of John II, the emperor remains despotes, "master" of the oikoumene, "world". Indeed, Manuel would be remembered in France, Genoa and the Crusader States as the most powerful sovereign in the world.

We have mentioned the funeral oration for Manuel by Eustathius of Thessalonica. This contains a series of vignettes of the personal aspects of Manuel. There are commonplaces: the emperor is able to endure hunger, thirst, heat and cold, lack of sleep and so on, and sweats copiously in his endeavours on the empire's part. Although these ideas have been recycled from earlier reigns, notably that of John II, the contemporary historians agree that Manuel was an indefatigable and daring warrior. However, there are more specifically individual touches in the Eustathian oration. Manuel had a manly suntan and was tall in stature. The emperor was capable of clever talk, but could also talk to others on a man-to-man basis. Eustathius makes much of the emperor's book-learning (Cinnamus claims to have discussed Aristotle with the emperor). The restoration of churches was a major concern for Manuel. He also had some expertise in medicine (he had tended Conrad III of Germany and Baldwin III of Jerusalem personally). Manuel showed temperance in eating and drinking, with a certain liking for beer as well as wine, the latter being mixed sour after the manner of ascetics. Likewise, he would not slumber long. He would generally choose walking over riding. The oration closes on the widow and orphan Manuel has left behind. The situation resulting for the Byzantine Empire at this stage, with the vacuum created by Manuel would result in no less than implosion.

Copyright (C) 2003, Andrew Stone.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.

Cleisthenes

[1663a] Byzantine Empire: Manuel I Comnenus Megas (1143-1180)---NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH---[1685a] Empire of Trebizond: Manuel I Komnenos Megas (1218-1263 AD)MANUEL I COMNENUS AE tetarteron. 1143-1180 AD. 19mm, 2.8g. Obverse: Bust of St. George facing, beardless, wearing nimbus, tunic, cuirass and sagion, and holding spear. Reverse: MANVHL-DECPOT, bust of Manuel facing, wearing crown and loros, holding labarum & globe-cross. Simply wonderful style, very sharp for the issue. A gorgeous late Byzantine coin! Ex Incitatus.

De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families

MANUEL I COMNENUS (A.D. 1143-1180)

Andrew Stone
University of Western Australia

Introduction: Sources
The reign of the emperor Manuel I Comnenus (5 April 1143- 24 September 1180) could well be regarded as a high-water mark of Byzantine civilization. It was the apogee of the so-called "Comnenian Restoration". Politically, the emperor undertook an ambitious foreign policy which has been seen by some, particularly in the light of many ultimate failures, as "misguided imperialism", recent scholarship has come to question this traditional judgment and suggests instead that the the Comnenian foreign policy was rather an energetic seizing of the different opportunities that presented themselves in the rapidly changing constellations of powers of the time. Such measures were made possible by the internal security of the empire under this, its third, Comnenian incumbent, although there were a few other aspirants to the throne, not least among them the emperor's cousin Andronicus. Manuel and other key members of the "Comnenian system", as it has been called, were patrons of rhetoric and other forms of learning and literature, and Manuel himself became keenly interested in ecclesiastical affairs, even if here his imperialistic agenda was a factor as he tried to bring Constantinopolitan theology in line with that of the west in a bid to unite the Church under his crown.

In terms of volume of contemporary material, Manuel is the most eulogised of all Byzantine emperors, and the panegyric addressed to him supplements the two major Byzantine historians of the reign, the more critical Nicetas Choniates and the laudatory John Cinnamus, as primary sources for the student of the period to study. The Crusader historian William of Tyre met Manuel personally, and such was the scope of Manuel's diplomacy that he is mentioned incidentally in western sources, such as Romuald of Salerno. Among authors of the encomia (panegyrics) we have mentioned are Theodore Prodromus and the so-called "Manganeios" Prodromus, who wrote in verse, and the prose encomiasts Michael the Rhetor, Eustathius of Thessalonica and Euthymius Malaces, to name the most important. Manuel, with his penchant for the Latins and their ways, left a legacy of Byzantine resentment against these outsiders, which was to be ruthlessly exploited by Andronicus in the end.

Manuel as sebastokrator
Manuel was born in the imperial porphyry birthchamber on 28 November 1118. He was the fourth of John II's sons, so it seemed very unlikely that he would succeed. As a youth, Manuel evidently accompanied John on campaign, for in the Anatolian expedition of 1139-41 we find Manuel rashly charging a small group of the Turkish enemy, an action for which he was castigated by his father, even though John, we are told, was inwardly impressed (mention of the incident is made in John's deathbed speech in both John Cinnamus and Nicetas Choniates). John negotiated a marriage contract for Manuel with Conrad III of Germany; he was to marry Bertha of Sulzbach. It seems to have been John's plan to carve out a client principality for Manuel from Cilicia, Cyprus and Coele Syria. In the event, it was Manuel who succeeded him.

The Securing of the Succession 1143
In the article on John II it is related how the dying John chose his youngest son Manuel to succeed him in preference to his other surviving son Isaac. Manuel was acclaimed emperor by the armies on 5 April 1143. Manuel stayed in Cilicia, where the army was stationed, for thirty days, to complete the funeral rites for his father. He sent his father's right-hand man John Axuch, however, to Constantinople to confine Isaac to the Pantokrator Monastery and to effect a donation of two hundredweight of silver coin to the clergy of the Great Church. The surviving encomium of Michael Italicus, Teacher of the Gospel, for the new emperor can be regarded as a return gift for this largesse. In the meantime the Caesar John Roger, husband of Manuel's eldest sister Maria, had been plotting to seize the throne; the plot was, however, given away by his wife before it could take effect. Manuel marched home to enter Constantinople c. July 1143. He secured the good-will of the people by commanding that every household should be granted two gold coins. Isaac the younger (Manuel's brother) and Isaac the elder (Manuel's paternal uncle), were both released from captivity and reconciled with him. Manuel chose Michael Oxeites as the new patriarch and was crowned either in August or November 1143.

Manuel confirmed John Axuch in the office of Grand Domestic, that is, commander of the army, appointed John of Poutze as procurator of public taxes, grand commissioner and inspector of accounts and John Hagiotheodorites as chancellor. John of Poutze proved to be an oppressive tax collector, but was also unsusceptible to bribery. However, this John diverted monies levied for the navy into the treasury, which would, as we shall see, further Byzantine dependence on the maritime Italian city-states of Venice, Genoa and Pisa.

Early Campaigns: 1144-1146
Manuel's first concern was to consolidate the work of his father in securing the eastern frontier. He sent a force under the brothers Andronicus and John Contostephanus against the recalcitrant Crusader prince Raymond of Antioch, which consisted of both an army and a navy, the latter commanded by Demetrius Branas. Raymond's army was routed, and the naval force inflicted no small damage on the coastal regions of the principality. In the meantime the Crusader city of Edessa fell to the Turkish atabeg Zengi. Raymond therefore travelled to Constantinople as a suppliant to Manuel. It was subsequently decided, in the light of Manuel's imperial status, that the terms under which he would marry Bertha of Sulzbach should be improved. Manuel asked for 500 knights, and Conrad happily granted them, being prepared to supply 2000 or 3000 if need be all for the sake of this alliance. Bertha took the Greek name Irene.

The Seljuk sultanate of Rum under Masud had become the ascendant Turkish power in Anatolia. Manuel himself supervised the rebuilding of the fortress of Melangeia on the Sangarius river in Bithynia (1145 or 1146). In the most daring campaign of these early years, after building the new fort of Pithecas in Bithynia, Manuel advanced as far into Turkish territory as Konya (Iconium), the Seljuk capital. He had been wounded in the foot by an arrow at a mighty battle at Philomelium (which had been Masud's headquarters), and the city had been rased; once at Konya, he allowed his troops to despoil the graves outside the city walls, before taking the road home.

Cinnamus relates that the gratutitous heroics which Manuel displayed on this campaign were calculated to impress Manuel's new bride. Manuel and his army were harried by Turks on the journey home. Manuel erected the fort of Pylae before leaving Anatolia.

[For a detailed and interesting discussion of the reign of Manuel I Comnenus please see http://www.roman-emperors.org/mannycom.htm]

Frederick Barbarossa and the "two-emperor problem"
Frederick Barbarossa, who was to become a constant menace to Manuel's designs, had succeeded his uncle Conrad III in 1152, but unlike him proved in the end unprepared to make any territorial concessions in Italy. The origins of this "cold war" between the two empires cannot be dated with any certainty, but there may have been a tendency to date it too early. One school of thought would not date the outbreak of this rivalry to any earlier than 1159-60, the death of Manuel's German wife, Bertha-Irene. About this time there was a scare at Constantinople that Frederick Barbarossa would march on Byzantium, perhaps reflecting a desire on Frederick's part to crusade (which he eventually did, in the reign of Isaac II Angelus). The new Pope, Alexander III, by, as it would seem, offering to grant Manuel the imperial crown, used it as a bargaining chip to play off the emperors of west and east against one another. Manuel may have supported Alexander during the papal schism of 1160-1177 because he was the preferred candidate of Hungary and the Crusader states, both of which he hoped would recognise him as their feudal overlord. By this means he could claim sovereign rights over the crusading movement, and thereby turn it to his advantage. The playing off of Manuel against Frederick continued right up until 1177, the Peace of Venice, whereby Frederick agreed to recognise Pope Alexander, the autonomy of Sicily and of the northern Italian communes. But this result was not a foregone conclusion in the 1160s and early 1170s, and Manuel used Byzantine gold to win supporters in Italy and thereby keep Frederick occupied.

Marriage to Maria of Antioch 1161
Bertha-Irene died in late 1159/early 1160. Manuel sought to strengthen his ties with the Crusader principalities by selecting an eastern Latin princess for his wife. The exceedingly beautiful Maria of Antioch, daughter of Raymond of Antioch, was chosen, and the nuptials celebrated at Christmas, 1161.

Dynastic considerations 1169-1172
Manuel's wife Maria of Antioch gave birth to a baby boy 14 September 1169 in the porphyry marble birthchamber, the cause of great festivities. The infant was crowned emperor in 1171. With the death of Stephen III of Hungary in 1172, Stephen's brother Béla was sent out from Constantinople to assume the throne (though without Sirmium and Dalmatia being surrendered to the Hungarian crown). A husband for Maria Porphyrogenita was therefore required. At first it was proposed that she marry William II of Sicily, who was outraged when she failed to show up at Taranto on the appointed day, the emperor having had second thoughts.

The final months 1180
Manuel took ill in the month of March 1180. During this period of terminal illness the last major religious controversies took place. We are told that Manuel directed that the anathema pronounced against the god of Muhammad be removed from the abjuration against the Islamic faith declared by converts to Christianity. Manuel was opposed by the last patriarch of his reign, Theodosius Boradiotes (1179-1183), as well as, notably, by Eustathius of Thessalonica. Both parties were satisfied in the end upon a reading of the emperor's proposed amendments to the abjuration. This controversy would seem to be a different one from the one alluded to in Eustathius' funeral oration for Manuel, since Manuel is praised by Eustathius for his stance in it, which seems to have revolved around a book written by a convert from Islam that magnified the Father at the expense of the Son (and therefore had Arian overtones). It became apparent that the emperor was dying, and, on the advice of Theodosius, he renounced astrology. As his end approached, he assumed the monastic habit and the name Matthew, demanding that his wife Maria become a nun. Manuel's son Alexius was but eleven, and the minority would prove to be disastrous for Byzantium. Manuel died thirty-seven years and nine months from the beginning of his reign.

General strategies in Manuel's foreign policy
The funeral oration for Manuel by Eustathius of Thessalonica is an interesting document in that it discusses some of the general policies pursued over Manuel's reign. It endorses his policy of dividing his enemies, the Petchenegs, the Sicilian Normans and the Turks, among themselves by using Byzantine gold, a policy of "divide and rule". We have seen how this was applied especially in Italy. Another general policy was to create friendly buffer states on the frontiers of the empire, most notably Hungary (and Serbia) and the Crusader States. Manuel would deliberately underpin the most powerful potentate in each region (the king of Hungary, the king of Jerusalem, the sultan of Konya) and thereby emphasise his own absolute sovereignty. In the funeral oration this granting of autonomy is justified as the reward for good service, as in the parable of the talents. We also see in the panegyric of the 1170s the downplaying of the idea of world rule which was so prevalent in the reign of John. Although Manuel claimed sovereign rights over many of his neighbours, his territorial claims were limited: coastal southern Italy, Dalmatia and Sirmium, coastal Egypt. The Byzantines seem to have come to terms with the reality of nation states and it is in Manuel's reign that they begin to refer to themselves not only as "Romans", but as "Hellenes", in order to demarcate themselves from the barbarians surrounding them.

Manuel's taxation, government and army
Nicetas Choniates roundly criticises Manuel in his history for increasing taxes and lavishing money on his family and retainers, particularly his Latin favourites. We have also seen how money was spent in Manuel's ambitious foreign policy. Mention is made of two towers, one at Damalis, and one next to the monastery of the Mangana, between which a chain could be stretched to block the Bosphorus. Then there was the work done at both the Great Palace and the Palace of the Blachernae, galleries, a pavilion alla Turca and numerous mosaics. He also founded a monastery at Kataskepe at the mouth of the Black Sea, which was endowed from the imperial treasury.

Choniates further criticizes the continuation and spread of the granting of pronoiai, parcels of land, the income from each of which supported a soldier. Many of these were granted to foreigners, for example, Turks captured in the Meander campaigns were settled around Thessalonica. The pronoia would pay not only for a soldier's upkeep, but his expensive equipment, for in Manuel's reign the bow and arrow and circular shield had been replaced by a heavier western-style panoply of armour, large triangular shield and lance. Choniates laments how fashionable a practice it had become in Manuel's reign to forsake the land or one's trade and become enlisted in the army.

Manuel and the "Comnenian system"
Throughout Manuel's reign, as under his father John, the top tier of the aristocracy was formed by the emperor's family, the Comneni, and the families into which they married. The extended family was, however, by now becoming unwieldy, and beginning to lose its cohesion, as the example of Manuel's cousin Andronicus shows. Under Manuel it was degree of kinship to the emperor which determined one's rank, as synodal listings show. So it was that very quickly after Manuel's death the upper tier of the aristocracy splintered into separate groups, each with its own identity and interests.

Literature
The various aristocratic courts, that of the emperor and other key members of the extended family, most notably the sebastokrator Isaac Comnenus the elder and the sebastokratorissa Irene, widow of Manuel's brother Andronicus, attracted literati who would seek to serve under them. Such figures would not only turn their hands to literature, encomia in prose or poetry, expositions on mythology, commentaries on Homer or the philosophers, historical chronicles and even, in this period, romances - the twelfth century is a high point of literary production at Constantinople, so much so that some have even talked of a "Comnenian renaissance" - but they would seek to perform more menial, such as administrative, duties to support themselves. Such men would often come from noble families whose prestige had been eclipsed by the Comnenian upper tier of the aristocracy. Serving under a lord was one way of advancing oneself, entering the Church was another.

The patriarchal church and education
The deacons of the church of St Sophia were a powerful group, the chartophylax being second only to the patriarch. These deacons would either go on to become bishops in the provinces, or possibly first hold one of the professorial chairs associated with the patriarchal church. First there were the "teachers", didaskaloi of the Gospels, Epistles and Psalter. Then there was the maistor ton rhetoron, "master of the rhetors", responsible for delivering speeches in praise of the emperor on January 6 each year and of the patriarch on the Saturday prior to Palm Sunday, as well as for other state occasions. And there was the hypatos ton philosophon, "consul of the philosophers", an office which had lapsed but was revived under Manuel.

Character and Legacy
Was Byzantium of the middle to late twelfth century living on borrowed time? Until recently this was the verdict of many scholars. Yet John II and Manuel had, if there is any kernel of truth in their encomia, at least temporarily reversed the overrunning of Anatolia by the Turks, and Manuel had won Dalmatia and Sirmium from Hungary. But Byzantine collapse was rapid, which is the reason why scholars have searched in the reigns of John and Manuel for the beginnings of the disintegration that occurred under the last Comneni and the Angeli. The history and comments of Nicetas Choniates have been adduced as vindicating this view. The victory of the military aristocracy that the establishment of the Comnenian dynasty represents has been seen as both the reason for the temporary reversal of Byzantine fortunes - government by three very capable autocrats - and of ultimate failure, because of the splintering into factions that oligarchy, such as was present in the Comnenian system, foments. A Marxist interpretation is that the feudalisation of the Byzantine Empire, the depletion of the free peasantry, that began to take place in the middle period was the reason for its ultimate failure. But to the Byzantines at the time Byzantium seemed to be holding its own; the "nations" around were being kept at bay, and even though the panegyric of renovation is less evident than in the reign of John II, the emperor remains despotes, "master" of the oikoumene, "world". Indeed, Manuel would be remembered in France, Genoa and the Crusader States as the most powerful sovereign in the world.

We have mentioned the funeral oration for Manuel by Eustathius of Thessalonica. This contains a series of vignettes of the personal aspects of Manuel. There are commonplaces: the emperor is able to endure hunger, thirst, heat and cold, lack of sleep and so on, and sweats copiously in his endeavours on the empire's part. Although these ideas have been recycled from earlier reigns, notably that of John II, the contemporary historians agree that Manuel was an indefatigable and daring warrior. However, there are more specifically individual touches in the Eustathian oration. Manuel had a manly suntan and was tall in stature. The emperor was capable of clever talk, but could also talk to others on a man-to-man basis. Eustathius makes much of the emperor's book-learning (Cinnamus claims to have discussed Aristotle with the emperor). The restoration of churches was a major concern for Manuel. He also had some expertise in medicine (he had tended Conrad III of Germany and Baldwin III of Jerusalem personally). Manuel showed temperance in eating and drinking, with a certain liking for beer as well as wine, the latter being mixed sour after the manner of ascetics. Likewise, he would not slumber long. He would generally choose walking over riding. The oration closes on the widow and orphan Manuel has left behind. The situation resulting for the Byzantine Empire at this stage, with the vacuum created by Manuel would result in no less than implosion.

Copyright (C) 2003, Andrew Stone.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.Cleisthenes

[906a]Commodus, March or April 177 - 31 Dec 192 A.D.COMMODUS AR silver denarius. RSC 190. RCV 5644. 16.5mm, 2.3g. F. Obverse: L AEL AVREL COMM AVG P FEL, bust of Commodus wearing lion skin in imitation of Hercules and Alexander the Great, facing right; Reverse: HER-CVL RO-MAN AV-GV either side of club of Hercules, all in wreath. RARE. Ex Incitatus.

This coin refers to Commodus' belief that he was Hercules reincarnated. According to the historian Herodian, "he issued orders that he was to be called not Commodus, son of Marcus, but Hercules, son of Jupiter. Abandoning the Roman and imperial mode of dress, he donned the lion-skin, and carried the club of Hercules..." (Joseph Sermarini).

De Imperatoribus Romanis:
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors

Commodus (A.D. 180-192)

Dennis Quinn

Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus, the son of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife-cousin Faustina, was born in Lanuvium in 161 AD. Commodus was named Caesar at the age of 5, and co-Augustus at the age of 17, spending most of his early life accompanying his father on his campaigns against the Quadi and the Marcomanni along the Danubian frontier. His father died, possibly of the plague, at a military encampment at Bononia on the Danube on 17 March 180, leaving the Roman Empire to his nineteen-year-old son.[[1]] Upon hearing of his father's death, Commodus made preparations for Marcus' funeral, made concessions to the northern tribes, and made haste to return back to Rome in order to enjoy peace after nearly two decades of war. Commodus, and much of the Roman army behind him, entered the capital on 22 October, 180 in a triumphal procession, receiving a hero's welcome. Indeed, the youthful Commodus must have appeared in the parade as an icon of new, happier days to come; his arrival sparked the highest hopes in the Roman people, who believed he would rule as his father had ruled.[[2]]

The coins issued in his first year all display the triumphant general, a warrior in action who brought the spoils of victory to the citizens of Rome.[[3]] There is a great deal of evidence to support the fact that Commodus was popular among many of the people, at least for a majority of his reign. He seems to have been quite generous.[[4]]. Coin types from around 183 onward often contain the legend, Munificentia Augusta[[5]], indicating that generosity was indeed a part of his imperial program. Coins show nine occasions on which Commodus gave largesses, seven when he was sole emperor.[[6]] According to Dio, the emperor obtained some of this funding by taxing members of the senatorial class.[[7]] This policy of munificence certainly caused tensions between Commodus and the Senate. In 191 it was noted in the official Actus Urbis that the gods had given Commodus to Populus Senatusque Romanus. Normally the phrase Senatus Populusque Romanus was used. [[8]] While the Senate hated Commodus, the army and the lower classes loved him.[[9]] Because of the bad relationship between the Senate and Commodus as well as a senatorial conspiracy,[[10]] Rome "...was virtually governed by the praetorian prefects Perennis (182-185) and Cleander (186-9)."[[11]]

Commodus began to dress like the god Hercules, wearing lion skins and carrying a club.[[12]] Thus he appropriated the Antonines' traditional identification with Hercules, but even more aggressively. Commodus' complete identification with Hercules can be seen as an attempt to solidify his claim as new founder of Rome, which he now called the Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana. This was legitimized by his direct link to Hercules, son of Father Jupiter.[[13]] He probably took the title of Hercules officially some time before mid-September 192.[[14]]

While the literary sources, especially Dio, Herodian, and the Historia Augusta, all ridicule the antics of his later career, they also give important insight into Commodus' relationship to the people.[[15]] His most important maneuver to solidify his claims as Hercules Romanus was to show himself as the god to the Roman people by taking part in spectacles in the amphitheater. Not only would Commodus fight and defeat the most skilled gladiators, he would also test his talents by encountering the most ferocious of the beasts.[[16]]

Commodus won all of his bouts against the gladiators.[[17]] The slayer of wild beasts, Hercules, was the mythical symbol of Commodus' rule, as protector of the Empire.[[18]]

During his final years he declared that his age should be called the "Golden Age."[[19]] He wanted all to revel in peace and happiness in his age of glory, praise the felicitas Commodi, the glorious libertas, his pietas, providential, his victoria and virtus aeterna.[[20]] Commodus wanted there to be no doubt that this "Golden Age" had been achieved through his munificence as Nobilissimus Princeps. He had declared a brand new day in Rome, founding it anew in 190, declaring himself the new Romulus.[[21]] Rome was now to be called Colonia Lucia Annia Commodiana, as noted above, and deemed "the Immortal," "the Fortunate," "the Universal Colony of the Earth."[[22]] Coins represent the archaic rituals of city-[re]foundation, identifying Commodus as a new founder and his age as new days.[[23]]

Also in 190 he renamed all the months to correspond exactly with his titles. From January, they run as follows: Lucius, Aelius, Aurelius, Commodus, Augustus, Herculeus, Romanus, Exsuperatorius, Amazonius, Invictus, Felix, Pius.[[24]] According to Dio Cassius, the changing of the names of the months was all part of Commodus' megalomania.[[25]] Commodus was the first and last in the Antonine dynasty to change the names of the months.

The legions were renamed Commodianae, the fleet which imported grain from Africa was called Alexandria Commodiana Togata, the Senate was deemed the Commodian Fortunate Senate, his palace and the Roman people were all given the name Commodianus.[[26]] The day that these new names were announced was also given a new title: Dies Commodianus.[[27]] Indeed, the emperor presented himself with growing vigor as the center of Roman life and the fountainhead of religion. New expressions of old religious thought and new cults previously restricted to private worship invade the highest level of imperial power.[[28]]

If Eusebius of Caesarea [[29]] is to be believed, the reign of Commodus inaugurated a period of numerous conversions to Christianity. Commodus did not pursue his father's prohibitions against the Christians, although he did not actually change their legal position. Rather, he relaxed persecutions, after minor efforts early in his reign.[[30]] Tradition credits Commodus's policy to the influence of his concubine Marcia; she was probably his favorite,[[31]] but it is not clear that she was a Christian.[[32]] More likely, Commodus preferred to neglect the sect, so that persecutions would not detract from his claims to be leading the Empire through a "Golden Age."[[33]]

During his reign several attempts were made on Commodus' life.[[34]] After a few botched efforts, an orchestrated plot was carried out early in December 192, apparently including his mistress Marcia. On 31 December an athlete named Narcissus strangled him in his bath,[[35]] and the emperor's memory was cursed. This brought an end to the Antonine Dynasty.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alföldy, G. "Der Friedesschluss des Kaisers Commodus mit den Germanen," Historia 20 (1971): 84-109.

Aymard, J. "Commode-Hercule foundateur de Rome," Revue des études latines 14 (1936): 340-64.

Birley, A. R. The African Emperor: Septimius Severus. -- rev. ed.-- London, 1988.
________. Marcus Aurelius: A Biography. London, 1987.

Breckenridge, J. D. "Roman Imperial Portraiture from Augustus to Gallienus," ANRW 2.17. 1 (1981): 477-512.

Chantraine, H. "Zur Religionspolitik des Commodus im Spiegel seiner Münzen," Römische Quartalschrift für christliche Altertumskunde und für Kirchengeschichte 70 (1975): 1-31.

Ferguson, J. The Religions of the Roman Empire. Ithaca, 1970.

Fishwick, D. The Imperial Cult in the Latin West. Leiden, 1987.

Gagé, J. "La mystique imperiale et l'épreuve des jeux. Commode-Hercule et l'anthropologie hercaléenne," ANRW 2.17.2 (1981), 663-83.

Garzetti, A. From Tiberius to the Antonines. A History of the Roman Empire A. D. 14-192. London, 1974.

Grosso F. La lotta politica al tempo di Commodo. Turin, 1964.

Hammond, M. The Antonine Monarchy. Rome, 1956.

Helgeland, J. "Roman Army Religion," ANRW II.16.2 (1978): 1470-1505.

Howe, L. L. The Praetorian Prefect from Commodus to Diocletian (A. D. 180-305). Chicago, 1942.

Keresztes, P. "A Favorable Aspect of Commodus' Rule," in Hommages à Marcel Renard 2. Bruxelles, 1969.

Mattingly, R. The Roman Imperial Coinage. Volume III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus. London, 1930.

Nock, A. D. "The Emperor's Divine Comes," Journal of Roman Studies 37 (1947): 102-116.

Parker, H. M. D. A History of the Roman World from A. D. 138 to 337. London, 1935.
________. and B.H. Warmington. "Commodus." OCD2, col. 276.

Raubitschek, A. E. "Commodus and Athens." Studies in Honor of Theodore Leslie Shear. Hesperia, Supp. 8, 1948.

Rostovtzeff, M. I. "Commodus-Hercules in Britain," Journal of Roman Studies 13 (1923): 91-105.

Sordi, M. "Un senatore cristano dell'éta di Commodo." Epigraphica 17 (1959): 104-112.

Speidel, M. P. "Commodus the God-Emperor and the Army," Journal of Roman Studies 83 (1993): 109-114.

Stanton, G. R. "Marcus Aurelius, Lucius Verus, and Commodus: 1962-1972." ANRW II.2 (1975): 478-549.

Notes
[[1]] For a discussion of the circumstances surrounding the death of Marcus Aurelius, see A. R. Birley, Marcus Aurelius: A Biography -- rev. ed. -- (London, 1987), 210.
Aurelius Victor, De Caes. 16.4, writing around the year 360, claimed Aurelius died at Vindobona, modern Vienna. However, Tertullian, Apol. 25, who wrote some seventeen years after Marcus' death, fixed his place of death at Sirmium, twenty miles south of Bononia. A. R. Birley (Marcus Aurelius, 209-10) cogently argues Tertullian is much more accurate in his general description of where Marcus was campaigning during his last days.
For the dating of Marcus Aurelius' death and the accession of Commodus, see M. Hammond, The Antonine Monarchy (Rome, 1956), 179-80.

[[2]] For the army's attitude toward peace, the attitude of the city toward the peace, and the reception of the emperor and his forces into Rome, see Herodian, 1.7.1-4; for Commodus' subsequent political policies concerning the northern tribes, see G. Alföldy, "Der Friedesschluss des Kaisers Commodus mit den Germanen," Historia 20 (1971): 84-109.
For a commentary on the early years of Commodus in the public perception as days of optimism, see A. Garzetti, From Tiberius to the Antonines. A History of the Roman Empire A. D. 14-192 (London, 1974), 530. For a more critical, and much more negative portrayal, see the first chapter of F. Grosso, La lotta politica al tempo di Commodo (Turin, 1964).

[[3]]The gods Minerva and Jupiter Victor are invoked on the currency as harbingers of victory; Jupiter Conservator on his coins watches over Commodus and his Empire, and thanks is given to divine Providence (H. Mattingly, The Roman Imperial Coinage. Volume III: Antoninus Pius to Commodus, [London, 1930] 356-7, 366-7). In 181, new coin types appear defining the new reign of Commodus. Victory and peace are stressed. Coins extol Securitas Publica, Felicitas, Libertas, Annona, and Aequitas (ibid., 357).
By 186 Commodus is depicted as the victorious princes, the most noble of all born to the purple. Herodian (1.5.5) describes how Commodus boasted to his soldiers that he was born to be emperor. See also H. Chantraine, "Zur Religionspolitik des Commodus im Spiegel seiner Münzen," Römische Quatralschrift für christliche Altertumskunde und für Kirchengeschichte 70 (1975), 26. He is called Triumphator and Rector Orbis, and associated with the Nobilitas of Trojan descent (Mattingly, RIC III.359; idem, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum. Volume IV: Antoninus Pius to Commodus, [Oxford, 1940], clxii).

[[4]] Dio tells us that Commodus liked giving gifts and often gave members of the populace 140 denarii apiece (Cass. Dio, 73.16), whereas the Historia Augusta reports that he gave each man 725 denarii (SHA, Comm., 16.3).

[[5]]Mattingly, RIC, III.358.

[[6]] Idem., CBM, IV.clxxiv.

[[7]]Cass. Dio, 73.16.

[[8]]M. P. Speidel, "Commodus the God-Emperor and the Army," Journal of Roman Studies 83 (1993), 113.

[[9]]Mattingly, CBM, IV.xii. Commodus was also popular amongst the northern divisions of the army because he allowed them to wield axes in battle, a practice banned by all preceding emperors. See, Speidel, JRS 83 (1993), 114.

[[10]]Infra, n. 34.

[[11]] H. Parker and B.H. Warmington, OCD2, s.v. "Commodus," col. 276; after 189, he was influenced by his mistress Marcia, Eclectus his chamberlain, and Laetus (who became praetorian prefect in 191 (Idem.).

[[12]]Herodian, 1.14.8. Hadrian appears on medallions in lion skins; but as far as the sources tell us, he never appeared in public in them. See J. Toynbee, Roman Medallions,(New York, 1986), 208.
He would often appear at public festivals and shows dressed in purple robes embroidered with gold. He would wear a crown made of gold, inlaid with the finest gems of India. He often carried a herald's staff as if imitating the god Mercury. According to Dio Cassius, Commodus' lion's skin and club were carried before him in the procession, and at the theaters these vestiges of Hercules were placed on a gilded chair for all to see (Cass. Dio, 73.17). For the implications of the golden chair carried in procession in relation to the imperial cult, see D. Fishwick, The Imperial Cult in the Latin West, (Leiden, 1987-91 ), 555.

[[13]] H. M. D. Parker, A History of the Roman World from A. D. 138 to 337, (London, 1935), 34; For medallions that express the relationship between Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius Verus extolling Hercules as a symbol of civic virtue, see Toynbee, Roman Medallions, 208. For a general statement on the symbolism of Hercules in the Antonine age, see M. Hammond, The Antonine Monarchy, 238.
For a discussion of Commodus' association with Hercules, see
Rostovtzeff, "Commodus-Hercules," 104-6.
Herodian spells out the emperor's metamorphosis in detail (1.14.8).

[[14]]See Speidel, "Commodus the God-Emperor," 114. He argues this general date because a papyrus from Egypt's Fayum records Hercules in Commodus' title on 11 October 192.

[[15]]For a preliminary example, Herodian writes (1.13.8), "people in general responded well to him."

[[16]]As Dio reports, Commodus, with his own hands, gave the finishing stroke to five hippopotami at one time. Commodus also killed two elephants, several rhinoceroses, and a giraffe with the greatest of ease. (Cass. Dio, 73.10), and with his left hand (ibid., 73.19). Herodian maintains that from his specially constructed terrace which encircled the arena (enabling Commodus to avoid risking his life by fighting these animals at close quarters), the emperor also killed deer, roebuck, various horned animals, lions, and leopards, always killing them painlessly with a single blow. He purportedly killed one hundred leopards with one hundred javelins, and he cleanly shot the heads off countless ostriches with crescent-headed arrows. The crowd cheered as these headless birds continued to run around the amphitheater (1.15-4-6; for Commodus' popularity at these brutal spectacles, see Birley, The African Emperor, 86) (and Dio tells his readers that in public Commodus was less brutal than he was in private [73.17ff]).

[[17]] According to Herodian (1.15-17), "In his gladiatorial combats, he defeated his opponents with ease, and he did no more than wound them, since they all submitted to him, but only because they knew he was the emperor, not because he was truly a gladiator."

[[18]]Webber, "The Antonines," CAH, XI.360.

[[19]]Cass. Dio, 73.15.

[[20]] Mattingly, RIC, III.361. For Commodus' propaganda of peace, see W. Webber, "The Antonines," CAH, XI.392.

[[21]] W. Webber, "The Antonines," CAH, XI.392-3. In 189 a coin type was issued with the legend Romulus Conditor, perhaps indicating he began the official renaming process during that year. For a discussion on Commodus as Romulus, see A. D. Nock, "The Emperor's Divine Comes," Journal of Roman Studies 37 (1947), 103.

[[22]] HA, Comm. 7.1; Cass. Dio, 73.15.

[[23]]Mattingly, RIC, III.361. See also, Webber, "The Antonines," CAH, XI.386.

[[24]]The title Felix is first used by the emperor Commodus, and is used in the titles of almost all successive emperors to the fifth century. See, D. Fishwick, The Imperial Cult in the Latin West (Leiden, 1987-91), 473.
HA, Comm., 12.315; Cass. Dio, 73.15; Herodian, I.14.9. These new names for the months seem to have actually been used, at least by the army, as confirmed by Tittianus' Altar. See M. P. Speidel, "Commodus the God-Emperor and the Army," Journal of Roman Studies 83 (1993), 112.

[[25]] Cass. Dio, 73.15.

[[26]]Legions:Idem.; the Grain fleet: SHA, Comm., 12.7. For a further discussion of Commodus' newly named fleet, see, A. Garzetti, From Tiberius to the Antonines, 547. For coins issued extolling the fleet, see Mattingly, CBM, IV.clxix; RIC, III.359; the Senate: Cass. Dio, 73.15; the Imperial Palace: SHA, Comm., 12.7; the Roman People: Ibid., 15.5.

[[27]]Cass. Dio, 73.15.

[[28]]Mattingly, CBM, IV.clxxxiv.

[[29]]Eusebius, Hist.Ecc., 5.21.1.

[[30]]For a discussion of the treatment of Christianity during the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus as well as persecutions during the reign of Commodus, see Keresztes, "A Favorable Aspect," 374, 376-377.

[[31]]Herodian, 1.16.4; Dio, 73.4. A Medallion from early 192 shows Commodus juxtaposed with the goddess Roma, which some scholars have argued incorporates the features of Marcia. See, Roman Medallions, "Introduction." Commodus was married, however, to a woman named Crispina. He commissioned several coins early in his rule to honor her.

[[32]]The Christian apologist Hippolytus tells that she was a Christian (Philos. 9.2.12), Dio tells that she simply favored the Christians (73.4). Herodian does not take a stand on the matter either way (1.16.4).

[[33]]Cass. Dio, 73.15. He pronounces Commodus' edict that his rule should be henceforth called the "Golden Age."

[[34]]H. Parker and B.H. Warmington note that Commodus..."resorted to government by means of favorites...which was exacerbated by an abortive conspiracy promoted by Lucilla and Ummidius Quadratus (182)." (OCD2, col. 276).

[[35]]Herodian, 1.17.2-11; Dio Cass., 73.22; SHA, Comm.,17.1-2.

Copyright (C) 1998, Dennis Quinn. This file may be copied on the condition that the entire contents, including the header and this copyright notice, remain intact. Used by Permission.

Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.

Cleisthenes

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