1.
Constantine VIII
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Constantine VIII was reigning Byzantine Emperor from 15 December 1025 until his death in 1028. He was the son of the Emperor Romanos II and Theophano, and the brother of the eminent Basil II. As a youth, Constantine VIII had been engaged to a daughter of Emperor Boris II of Bulgaria, by her he had three daughters, Eudokia, who became a nun, Zoe and Theodora of Byzantium. Constantine VIII had been crowned with his brother by their father in 962, however, for some 63 out of the 68 years of his life he was eclipsed by other emperors, including Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes, and Basil II. Even when his brother became senior emperor, Constantine was perfectly content to enjoy all the privileges of Imperial status without concerning himself with state affairs. On occasion Constantine participated in his brothers campaigns against rebel nobles, in 989, he acted as mediator between Basil II and Bardas Skleros. Otherwise he spent his life in the search of pleasure and entertainment, including spectator sports at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, when Basil II died on 15 December 1025, Constantine finally became sole emperor, ruling for less than three years before his own death on 11 November 1028. Physically Constantine was tall and graceful, where Basil had been short, by the time he became emperor, he had chronic gout and could hardly walk. His reign was a disaster because he lacked courage and political savvy and he reacted to every challenge with impulsive cruelty, persecuting uppity nobles and allegedly ordering the execution or mutilation of hundreds of innocent men. Constantine carried on as he always had – hunting, feasting and he was poor at appointing officials. Within months, the laws of Basil II were dropped under pressure from the Anatolian aristocracy. Like his brother, Constantine died without a male heir, the Empire thus passed to his daughter Zoe, whom he had married to Romanos Argyros. List of Byzantine emperors Michael Psellus, Chronographia, the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press,1991
2.
Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
3.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
4.
Solidus (coin)
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The solidus, nomisma, or bezant was originally a relatively pure gold coin issued in the Late Roman Empire. Under Constantine, who introduced it on a scale, it had a weight of about 4.5 grams. The Byzantine solidus also inspired the originally slightly less pure Arabian dinar, in late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the solidus also functioned as a unit of weight equal to 1/72 of a pound. The solidus was introduced by Diocletian in AD301 as a replacement of the aureus, composed of solid gold. His minting was on a scale, however, and the coin only entered widespread circulation under Constantine I after AD312. Constantines solidus was struck at a rate of 72 to a Roman pound of gold, each coin weighed 24 Greco-Roman carats. By this time, the solidus was worth 275,000 increasingly debased denarii, with the exception of the early issues of Constantine the Great and the odd usurpers the Solidus today is a much more affordable Gold Roman Coin to collect compared to the Older Aureus. Especially those of Valens Honorius and later Byzantine issues, the solidus was maintained essentially unaltered in weight, dimensions and purity until the 10th century. During the 6th and 7th centuries lightweight solidi of 20,22 or 23 siliquae were struck along with the weight issues. Many of these coins have been found in Europe, Russia and Georgia. The lightweight solidi were distinguished by different markings on the coin, usually in the exergue for the 20 and 22 siliquae coins and by stars in the field for the 23 siliquae coins. In theory the solidus was struck from pure gold, but because of the limits of refining techniques, in the Greek-speaking world during the Roman period, and then in the Byzantine economy, the solidus was known as the νόμισμα nomisma. Initially it was difficult to distinguish the two coins, as they had the design, dimensions and purity, and there were no marks of value to distinguish the denominations. The only difference was the weight, the tetarteron nomisma was a lighter coin, about 4.05 grams, but the histamenon nomisma maintained the traditional weight of 4.5 grams. To eliminate confusion between the two, from the reign of Basil II the solidus was struck as a coin with a larger diameter. From the middle of the 11th century the larger diameter histamenon nomisma was struck on a concave flan, former money changer Michael IV the Paphlagonian assumed the throne of Byzantium in 1034 and began the slow process of debasing both the tetarteron nomisma and the histamenon nomisma. Alexius reformed the coinage in 1092 and eliminated the solidus altogether, in its place he introduced a new gold coin called the hyperpyron nomisma at about 20. 5k fine. The weight, dimensions and purity of the hyperpyron nomisma remained stable until the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders in 1204, after that time the exiled Empire of Nicea continued to strike a debased hyperpyron nomisma
5.
Tetarteron
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Ever since Emperor Constantine I, the Byzantine Empires main coinage had been the high-quality solidus or nomisma, which had remained standard in weight and gold content through the centuries. The Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas, however, introduced a new coin which was a 2 carats lighter than the original nomisma, the exact reason for the introduction of the tetarteron is unclear. At any rate, the tetarteron was issued only in quantities in the 10th century. Initially, the two coins were virtually indistinguishable, except in weight, during the later reign of Basil II, the tetarteron began to be minted in a thicker and smaller form, while the histamenon conversely became thinner and wider. Only during the rule of Constantine VIII, however, did the two coins become iconographically distinct as well. However, starting with Michael IV, who was a money lender, the gold content began to be increasingly lowered. After a period of stability in circa 1055–1070, the gold content declined dramatically in the period of crisis in the 1070s and 1080s. During the first eleven years of the reign of Alexios I Komnenos, Alexios reformed the whole Byzantine coinage in 1092 and eliminated the gold/electrum tetarteron and gold/electrum histamenon. In its place he introduced a new coin called the hyperpyron. In 1092, Alexios I Komnenos reformed the coinage, introducing the hyperpyron gold coin instead of the devalued histamena. Alexios also instituted a new copper coinage to replace the old follis, apparently due to its similar dimensions and fabric to the gold tetarteron, it was also named tetarteron or tarteron. It has, however, also suggested that its name derives from it being worth one quarter of the late. The new coin, flat, weighing circa 4 grams and valued at 864 to the hyperpyron, was struck in great quantities and in a large variety of designs. Both coins remained relatively stable in weight, but begin to appear less frequently towards the turn of the 13th century. In the 13th century, copper tetartera were issued by the rulers of the Empire of Thessalonica in the 1230s and 1240s, as well as by the Empire of Nicaea. In the restored Byzantine Empire, from 1261 on, they appear to have been replaced by a new type of copper coins named assaria after the ancient Roman coins, studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy c. Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press, Провалите и фалшификациите във византийската монетна политика през X век. Появата на тетартерон и диотетартетон номизма, - В, Mediaevalia,3,2011, 237-245
6.
Scyphate
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Scyphate is a term frequently used in numismatics to refer to the concave or cup-shaped Byzantine coins of the 11th–14th centuries. In reality, the term derives from the Arabic word shafah, edge, rim. Due to this misunderstanding, the term scyphate has been applied to the concave gold, silver, and copper coins of the late Byzantine Empire. These coins are more designated as trachea. Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press
7.
Copper
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Copper is a chemical element with symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of copper has a reddish-orange color. Copper is one of the few metals that occur in nature in directly usable metallic form as opposed to needing extraction from an ore and this led to very early human use, from c.8000 BC. Copper used in buildings, usually for roofing, oxidizes to form a green verdigris, Copper is sometimes used in decorative art, both in its elemental metal form and in compounds as pigments. Copper compounds are used as agents, fungicides, and wood preservatives. Copper is essential to all living organisms as a trace dietary mineral because it is a key constituent of the enzyme complex cytochrome c oxidase. In molluscs and crustaceans, copper is a constituent of the blood pigment hemocyanin, replaced by the hemoglobin in fish. In humans, copper is found mainly in the liver, muscle, the adult body contains between 1.4 and 2.1 mg of copper per kilogram of body weight. The filled d-shells in these elements contribute little to interatomic interactions, unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in copper are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak. This observation explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of copper, at the macroscopic scale, introduction of extended defects to the crystal lattice, such as grain boundaries, hinders flow of the material under applied stress, thereby increasing its hardness. For this reason, copper is supplied in a fine-grained polycrystalline form. The softness of copper partly explains its high conductivity and high thermal conductivity. The maximum permissible current density of copper in open air is approximately 3. 1×106 A/m2 of cross-sectional area, Copper is one of a few metallic elements with a natural color other than gray or silver. Pure copper is orange-red and acquires a reddish tarnish when exposed to air, as with other metals, if copper is put in contact with another metal, galvanic corrosion will occur. A green layer of verdigris can often be seen on old structures, such as the roofing of many older buildings. Copper tarnishes when exposed to sulfur compounds, with which it reacts to form various copper sulfides. There are 29 isotopes of copper, 63Cu and 65Cu are stable, with 63Cu comprising approximately 69% of naturally occurring copper, both have a spin of 3⁄2
8.
Constantine the Great
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Constantine the Great, also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor from 306 to 337 AD. Constantine was the son of Flavius Valerius Constantius, a Roman Army officer and his father became Caesar, the deputy emperor in the west, in 293 AD. Constantine was sent east, where he rose through the ranks to become a military tribune under the emperors Diocletian, in 305, Constantius was raised to the rank of Augustus, senior western emperor, and Constantine was recalled west to campaign under his father in Britannia. As emperor, Constantine enacted many administrative, financial, social, the government was restructured and civil and military authority separated. A new gold coin, the solidus, was introduced to combat inflation and it would become the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years. He called the First Council of Nicaea in 325, at which the Nicene Creed was adopted by Christians, in military matters, the Roman army was reorganised to consist of mobile field units and garrison soldiers capable of countering internal threats and barbarian invasions. The age of Constantine marked an epoch in the history of the Roman Empire. He built a new residence at Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople after himself. It would later become the capital of the Empire for over one thousand years and his more immediate political legacy was that, in leaving the empire to his sons, he replaced Diocletians tetrarchy with the principle of dynastic succession. His reputation flourished during the lifetime of his children and centuries after his reign, the medieval church upheld him as a paragon of virtue while secular rulers invoked him as a prototype, a point of reference, and the symbol of imperial legitimacy and identity. Beginning with the Renaissance, there were more critical appraisals of his due to the rediscovery of anti-Constantinian sources. Critics portrayed him as a tyrant, trends in modern and recent scholarship attempted to balance the extremes of previous scholarship. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on his orders at the site of Jesus tomb in Jerusalem. The Papal claim to power in the High Middle Ages was based on the supposed Donation of Constantine. He is venerated as a saint by Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics, though Constantine has historically often been referred to as the First Christian Emperor, scholars debate his actual beliefs or even his actual comprehension of the Christian faith itself. Constantine was a ruler of major importance, and he has always been a controversial figure, the fluctuations in Constantines reputation reflect the nature of the ancient sources for his reign. These are abundant and detailed, but have strongly influenced by the official propaganda of the period. There are no surviving histories or biographies dealing with Constantines life, the nearest replacement is Eusebius of Caesareas Vita Constantini, a work that is a mixture of eulogy and hagiography
9.
Gram
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The gram is a metric system unit of mass. Originally defined as the weight of a volume of pure water equal to the cube of the hundredth part of a metre. The only unit symbol for gram that is recognised by the International System of Units is g following the numeric value with a space, the SI does not support the use of abbreviations such as gr, gm or Gm. The word gramme was adopted by the French National Convention in its 1795 decree revising the system as replacing the gravet introduced in 1793. Its definition remained that of the weight of a centimetre of water. French gramme was taken from the Late Latin term gramma and this word, ultimately from Greek γράμμα letter had adopted a specialised meaning in Late Antiquity of one twenty-fourth part of an ounce, corresponding to about 1.14 grams. This use of the term is found in the carmen de ponderibus et mensuris composed around 400 AD, the gram was the fundamental unit of mass in the 19th-century centimetre–gram–second system of units. The gram is today the most widely used unit of measurement for non-liquid ingredients in cooking and grocery shopping worldwide. 1 gram =15.4323583529 grains 1 grain =0.06479891 grams 1 avoirdupois ounce =28.349523125 grams 1 troy ounce =31.1034768 grams 100 grams =3.527396195 ounces 1 gram =5 carats 1 gram =8. 1 gram is roughly equal to 1 small paper clip or pen cap, the Japanese 1 yen coin has a mass of one gram. Conversion of units Duella Gold gram Orders of magnitude Gram at Encyclopædia Britannica
10.
Gold
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Gold is a chemical element with symbol Au and atomic number 79. In its purest form, it is a bright, slightly yellow, dense, soft, malleable. Chemically, gold is a metal and a group 11 element. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements and is solid under standard conditions, Gold often occurs in free elemental form, as nuggets or grains, in rocks, in veins, and in alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the element silver and also naturally alloyed with copper. Less commonly, it occurs in minerals as gold compounds, often with tellurium, golds atomic number of 79 makes it one of the higher numbered, naturally occurring elements. It is thought to have produced in supernova nucleosynthesis, from the collision of neutron stars. Because the Earth was molten when it was formed, almost all of the present in the early Earth probably sank into the planetary core. Gold is resistant to most acids, though it does dissolve in aqua regia, a mixture of acid and hydrochloric acid. Gold also dissolves in solutions of cyanide, which are used in mining and electroplating. Gold dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys, but this is not a chemical reaction, as a precious metal, gold has been used for coinage, jewelry, and other arts throughout recorded history. A total of 186,700 tonnes of gold is in existence above ground, the world consumption of new gold produced is about 50% in jewelry, 40% in investments, and 10% in industry. Gold is also used in infrared shielding, colored-glass production, gold leafing, certain gold salts are still used as anti-inflammatories in medicine. As of 2014, the worlds largest gold producer by far was China with 450 tonnes, Gold is cognate with similar words in many Germanic languages, deriving via Proto-Germanic *gulþą from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃-. The symbol Au is from the Latin, aurum, the Latin word for gold, the Proto-Indo-European ancestor of aurum was *h₂é-h₂us-o-, meaning glow. This word is derived from the root as *h₂éu̯sōs, the ancestor of the Latin word Aurora. This etymological relationship is presumably behind the frequent claim in scientific publications that aurum meant shining dawn, Gold is the most malleable of all metals, a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of 1 square meter, and an avoirdupois ounce into 300 square feet. Gold leaf can be thin enough to become semi-transparent
11.
Nikephoros II Phokas
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Nikephoros II Phokas was Byzantine Emperor from 963 to 969. His brilliant military exploits contributed to the resurgence of the Byzantine Empire during the 10th century and his mother, whose name is unknown, was a member of another powerful Anatolian Greek clan, the Maleinoi. Nikephoros joined the army at an early age and he was appointed the military governor of the Anatolikon Theme in 945 under Emperor Constantine VII. When his father was wounded in battle in 953, Nikephoros was promoted to commander on the eastern frontier. In the war with the Abbasid Caliphate under Al-Muti, Nikephoros began with a defeat in 954, from which he recovered in the following years with victories in Syria. From the accession of Emperor Romanos II in 959, Nikephoros and his younger brother Leo were placed in charge of the eastern and western field armies, in 960,27,000 oarsmen and marines were assembled to man a fleet of 308 ships carrying 50,000 troops. At the recommendation of the influential minister Joseph Bringas, Nikephoros was entrusted to lead this expedition against the Saracen Emirate of Crete, after a nine-month siege, Nikephoros stormed Chandax and wrested control of the entire island from the Muslims in 961. Upon returning to Constantinople, he was denied the honor of a triumph. He soon returned to the east with a large and well-equipped army, in the campaigns of 962–963, he employed a brilliant strategy to conquer the cities of Cilicia and to advance into Syria. There he captured Aleppo, in collusion with his nephew, John Tzimiskes and it was on these campaigns that he earned the sobriquet, The Pale Death of the Saracens. During the capture of Aleppo, the Byzantine army took possession of 390,000 silver dinars,2,000 camels, early in his life Nikephoros had married Stephano. She had died before he rose to fame, and after her death he took an oath of chastity and this would create problems later on. On 15 March 963, Emperor Romanos II died unexpectedly at the age of twenty-six of uncertain cause, Theophano had already gained a reputation as an intelligent and ambitious woman. She would later gain a reputation for ruthlessness in achieving her goals, Romanos had already crowned as co-emperors his two sons Basil II and Constantine VIII. At the time that Romanos died, however, Basil was five years old, Theophano was not allowed to rule alone. Joseph Bringas, the eunuch palace official who had become Romanos chief councilor, according to contemporary sources he intended to keep authority in his own hands. He also tried to reduce the power of Nikephoros Phokas, the victorious general had been accepted as the actual commander of the army and maintained his strong connections to the aristocracy. Joseph was afraid that Nikephoros could claim the throne with the support of both the army and the aristocracy, josephs intrigues during the following months turned both Theophano and Nikephoros against him
12.
Isaac I Komnenos
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Isaac I Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1057 to 1059, the first reigning member of the Komnenos dynasty. During his brief reign he attempted to restore the finances of the empire. Isaac was the son of Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, who served as strategos autokrator of the East under Emperor Basil II. Manuels native language was Greek, according to Steven Runciman, he was either Greek or a Hellenized Vlach and it is said that the family name was derived from the city of Komne, near Philippopolis in Thrace. Manuel came to the notice of Basil II because of his defence, in 978, in recognition of Manuels loyalty, Basil gave him lands near Kastamuni in Paphlagonia. On his deathbed in 1020, Manuel commended his two surviving sons Isaac and John to the emperors care, Basil had them carefully educated at the monastery of Stoudion and afterwards advanced them to high official positions. Manuel also had a daughter, born in 1012 and married around 1031 to Michael Dokeianos, Catepan of Italy, during the disturbed reigns of Basils seven immediate successors, Isaac by his prudent conduct won the confidence of the army. From 1042 to 1057, he served as commander of the army in Anatolia. In 1057, after being humiliated by the Emperor, Michael VI, he rebelled in Paphlagonia, the army proclaimed Isaac emperor on June 8,1057, and he defeated an imperial army at the Battle of Petroe. Privately Isaac showed himself more open to negotiation, and he was promised the status of co-emperor, however, during the course of these secret negotiations, a riot in favor of Isaac broke out in Constantinople. With the deposition of Michael VI, Patriarch Michael Keroularios crowned Isaac I emperor on September 1,1057, taking much of the credit for Isaacs acceptance as monarch. The first act of the new emperor was to reward his noble partisans with appointments that removed them from Constantinople, Isaacs only military expedition was against King Andrew I of Hungary and the Pechenegs, who began to ravage the northern frontiers in 1059. Shortly after this campaign, he concluded peace with the Kingdom of Hungary. Here he became ill, and believed he was dying. He was already deeply shaken after narrowly avoiding being struck by lightning while leaning against a tree on campaign against the Pechenegs, and he saw his illness as a sign of Gods displeasure. This situation was exploited by the courtiers, led by Michael Psellos, Isaac abdicated on 22 November 1059, against the wishes of his brother and of his empress Catherine of Bulgaria. Like Isaac, his wife and daughter entered a monastery and his Scholia to the Iliad and other works on the Homeric poems are still extant. He died late in 1060 or early in 1061, Isaac married Catherine, a daughter of Ivan Vladislav, the last Tsar of Bulgaria
13.
Basil II
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Basil II was a Byzantine Emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025. He was known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his supposed ancestor, the early years of his long reign were dominated by civil war against powerful generals from the Anatolian aristocracy. For this he was nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer, by which he is popularly known and his reign is therefore often seen as the medieval apogee of the Empire. She originated from the Peloponnese, possibly from the city of Sparta, Basils paternal ancestry is of uncertain origins, his putative ancestor Basil I, the founder of the dynasty, being variously ascribed Armenian, Slavic, or Greek origins. Indeed the biological father of Leo VI the Wise was possibly not Basil I, the family of Michael III were Anatolian Greeks from Phrygia, though originally of the Melchisedechian heretical faith. In 960, Basil was associated on the throne by his father, who died in 963. Nikephoros was murdered in 969 by his nephew John I Tzimisces, when Tzimisces died on 10 January 976, Basil II finally took the throne as senior emperor. Basil was a soldier and a superb horseman, and he would prove himself as an able general. Basil waited and watched without interfering, devoting himself to learning the details of administrative business, even though Nikephoros II Phokas and John I Tzimiskes were brilliant military commanders, both had proven to be lax administrators. Skleros was allowed to live, but he ended his days blind, perhaps through disease and these rebellions had a profound effect on Basils outlook and methods of governance. The historian Psellus describes the defeated Bardas Skleros giving Basil the following advice, let no generals on campaign have too many resources. Exhaust them with unjust exactions, to keep them busied with their own affairs, admit no woman to the imperial councils. Share with few your most intimate plans, Basil, it would appear, took this advice to heart. In order to defeat these dangerous revolts, Basil formed an alliance with Prince Vladimir I of Kiev, who in 988 had captured Chersonesos, Vladimir offered to evacuate Chersonesos and to supply 6,000 of his soldiers as reinforcements to Basil. In exchange he demanded to be married to Basils younger sister Anna, the Byzantines viewed all the nations of Northern Europe, be they Franks or Slavs, as barbarians. Anna herself objected to marrying a barbarian ruler, as such a marriage would have no precedence in imperial annals, Vladimir had conducted long-running research into different religions, including sending delegates to various countries. Marriage was not his primary reason for choosing the Orthodox religion, when Vladimir promised to baptize himself and to convert his people to Christianity, Basil finally agreed. Vladimir and Anna were married in the Crimea in 989, the Rus recruitments were instrumental in ending the rebellion, and they were later organized into the Varangian Guard
14.
Michael IV the Paphlagonian
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Michael IV the Paphlagonian was Byzantine Emperor from 11 April 1034 to his death on 10 December 1041. He owed his elevation to Empress Zoe, daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII, Michael came from a family of Paphlagonian peasants, one of whom, the parakoimomenos John the Orphanotrophos, had come to preside over the womans quarters at the imperial palace. John brought his brothers into the court and there the empress Zoe became enamoured of the youngest, Michael. Prior to his appointment, Michael was originally a money-changer. Zoe flaunted Michael openly, and spoke about making him emperor, hearing the rumours, Romanos was concerned and confronted Michael, but he denied the accusations, swearing his innocence on some holy relics. Then, on April 11,1034, Zoe’s husband, Romanos III was found dead in his bath, rumours soon began circulating that Zoe and Michael had decided to use a slow poison to kill him. However, becoming impatient with the poison Michael had had him strangled or drowned, adding weight to the rumours was the speed with which Zoe and Michael were married, on the very day that Romanos III died. The next day, April 12,1034, the couple summoned the Patriarch Alexios I to officiate in the coronation of the new emperor, although he initially refused to co-operate, the payment of 50 pounds of gold helped change his mind. He proceeded to crown Michael IV as the new emperor of the Romans, Michael IV was handsome, clever, and generous, but he was uneducated and suffered from epileptic fits. Michael IV was concerned about Zoe turning on him the way she had turned on Romanos, Zoe was confined to the palace gynaeceum, and kept under strict surveillance, while Michael’s visits grew more and more infrequent. Johns reforms of the army and financial system revived for a while the strength of the Empire, but the increase in taxation caused discontent among both nobles and commoners. Johns monopoly of the government, and his policies, such as the introduction of the Aerikon tax, led to several failed conspiracies against him, there were local revolts at Antioch, Nicopolis and Bulgaria. In 1034, Constantine Dalassenos was arrested by Michael on suspicion of treason, in 1037, Zoe was involved in a conspiracy to have John the Eunuch poisoned. In 1038, there was an uprising in the armies in Anatolia, in 1040, there was a conspiracy involving the patrician Michael Keroularios, who became a monk to save his life and was later elected as Patriarch of Constantinople. Finally, during the Bulgarian uprising of 1040, John the Eunuch was forced to arrest suspected plotters in Anatolia and he was unable to capture the Strategos of Theodosiopolis, who joined the rebellion and attempted to capture Thessalonica. In military affairs, Michaels reign began badly, the Arabs sacked Myra, the Serbs had thrown off Byzantine authority, and the Pechenegs were raiding almost at will up to the gates of Thessalonica. On the western front, in Sicily, Michael and John ordered the general George Maniakes to drive the Arabs out of the island, beginning in 1038, Maniakes landed in southern Italy and soon had captured Messina. He then began defeating the scattered Arab forces and taking towns in the west and south of the island, by 1040, he had stormed and taken Syracuse
15.
Constantine IX Monomachos
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Constantine IX Monomachos, Latinized as Constantine IX Monomachus, reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 11,1042 to January 11,1055. He had been chosen by the Empress Zoe as a husband and co-emperor in 1042, although he had been exiled for conspiring against her previous husband and they ruled together until Zoe died in 1050. Constantine Monomachos was the son of Theodosios Monomachos, an important bureaucrat under Basil II, at some point, Theodosios had been suspected of conspiracy and his sons career suffered accordingly. Constantines position improved after he married his wife, a niece of Emperor Romanos III Argyros. Catching the eye of Empress Zoe, Constantine was exiled to Mytilene on the island of Lesbos by her second husband, Michael IV. The death of Michael IV and the overthrow of Michael V in 1042 led to Constantine being recalled from his place of exile and appointed as a judge in Greece. After two months of increasing acrimony between the two, Zoe decided to search for a new husband, thereby hoping to prevent her sister from increasing her popularity and authority. After her first preference displayed contempt for the empress, and her second died under circumstances, Zoe remembered the handsome. The pair were married on June 11,1042, without the participation of Patriarch Alexius I of Constantinople, on the following day, Constantine was formally proclaimed emperor together with Zoe and her sister Theodora. Constantine continued the purge instituted by Zoe and Theodora, removing the relatives of Michael V from the court, the new emperor was pleasure-loving and prone to violent outbursts on suspicion of conspiracy. He was heavily influenced by his mistress, Maria Skleraina, a niece of his second wife, in August 1042, under the influence of the Skleroi the emperor relieved General George Maniakes from his command in Italy, and Maniakes rebelled, declaring himself emperor in September. He transferred his troops into the Balkans and was about to defeat Constantines army in battle, immediately after the victory, Constantine was attacked by a fleet from Kievan Rus, it is incontrovertible that a Rus detachment took part in the Maniakes rebellion. They too were defeated, with the help of Greek fire, Constantine married his daughter Anastasia to the future Prince Vsevolod I of Kiev, the favorite son of his dangerous opponent Yaroslav I the Wise by Ingegerd Olofsdotter. Constantine IX’s preferential treatment of Maria Skleraina in the part of his reign led to rumours that she was planning to murder Zoe. The mob was only quieted by the appearance at a balcony of Zoe and Theodora, in 1045 Constantine annexed the Armenian kingdom of Ani, according to a treaty between king John Smbat and Basil II, but this expansion merely exposed the empire to new enemies. In 1046 the Byzantines came into contact for the first time with the Seljuk Turks and they met in battle in Armenia in 1048 and settled a truce the following year. Even if the Seljuk rulers were willing to abide by the treaty, thus Constantine weakened the Byzantine forces, which in turn led to their cataclysmic defeat at the battle of Manzikert in 1071. Constantine also began persecuting the Armenian Church, trying to force it into union with the Orthodox Church, in 1047 Constantine was faced by the rebellion of his nephew Leo Tornikios in Adrianople
16.
Electrum
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Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. It has also been produced artificially, and is known as green gold. The ancient Greeks called it gold or white gold, as opposed to refined gold and its colour ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the proportions of gold and silver. This suggests that one reason for the invention of coinage in that area was to increase the profits from seigniorage by issuing currency with a gold content than the commonly circulating metal. Electrum was used as early as the third millennium BC in Old Kingdom of Egypt, sometimes as a coating to the pyramidions atop ancient Egyptian pyramids. It was also used in the making of ancient drinking vessels, the first metal coins ever made were of electrum and date back to the end of the 7th century or the beginning of the 6th century BC. For several decades, the medals awarded with the Nobel Prize have been made of gold-plated green gold, the name electrum was also used to denote German ‘silver’, mainly for its use in making technical instruments. The name electrum is the Latinized form of the Greek word ἤλεκτρον, electrum was often referred to as white gold in ancient times, but could be more accurately described as pale gold, as it is usually pale yellow or yellowish-white in colour. The modern use of the white gold usually concerns gold alloyed with any one or a combination of nickel, silver. Electrum consists primarily of gold and silver but is found with traces of platinum, copper. The name is mostly applied informally to compositions between about 20-80% gold and 20-80% silver atoms, but these are called gold or silver depending on the dominant element. Analysis of the composition of electrum in ancient Greek coinage dating from about 600 BC shows that the content was about 55. 5% in the coinage issued by Phocaea. In the early period, the gold content of electrum ranged from 46% in Phokaia to 43% in Mytilene. In later coinage from these areas, dating to 326 BC, in the Hellenistic period, electrum coins with a regularly decreasing proportion of gold were issued by the Carthaginians. In the later Eastern Roman Empire controlled from Constantinople, the purity of the coinage was reduced. Electrum is mentioned in an account of an expedition sent by Pharaoh Sahure of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt and it is also discussed by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia. Electrum is possibly referred to three times in the Bible, in all three instances it is used to describe a type of glow seen in visions by the prophet Ezekiel. Electrum is believed to have used in coins circa 600 BC in Lydia under the reign of Alyattes II
17.
Alexios I Komnenos
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Alexios I Komnenos, was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power, the basis for this recovery were various reforms initiated by Alexios. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Turks were also the catalyst that contributed to the convoking of the Crusades. Alexios was the son of the Domestic of the Schools John Komnenos and Anna Dalassena, Alexios father declined the throne on the abdication of Isaac, who was thus succeeded by four emperors of other families between 1059 and 1081. Under one of these emperors, Romanos IV Diogenes, Alexios served with distinction against the Seljuq Turks. Under Michael VII Doukas Parapinakes and Nikephoros III Botaneiates, he was employed, along with his elder brother Isaac, against rebels in Asia Minor, Thrace. In 1074, western mercenaries led by Roussel de Bailleul rebelled in Asia Minor, in 1078, he was appointed commander of the field army in the West by Nikephoros III. Alexios was ordered to march against his brother-in-law Nikephoros Melissenos in Asia Minor and this did not, however, lead to a demotion, as Alexios was needed to counter the expected invasion of the Normans of Southern Italy, led by Robert Guiscard. While Byzantine troops were assembling for the expedition, the Doukas faction at court approached Alexios, the mother of Alexios, Anna Dalassena, was to play a prominent role in this coup détat of 1081, along with the current empress, Maria of Alania. First married to Michael VII Doukas and secondly to Nikephoros III Botaneiates, she was preoccupied with the future of her son by Michael VII, furthermore, to aid the conspiracy Maria had adopted Alexios as her son, though she was only five years older than he. Maria was persuaded to do so on the advice of her own Alans and her eunuchs, given Annas tight hold on her family, Alexios must have been adopted with her implicit approval. As a result, Alexios and Constantine, Marias son, were now adoptive brothers, by secretly giving inside information to the Komnenoi, Maria was an invaluable ally. As stated in the Alexiad, Isaac and Alexios left Constantinople in mid-February 1081 to raise an army against Botaneiates, however, when the time came, Anna quickly and surreptitiously mobilized the remainder of the family and took refuge in the Hagia Sophia. From there she negotiated with the emperor for the safety of family members left in the capital, the tutor discovered they were missing and eventually found them on the palace grounds, but Anna was able to convince him that they would return to the palace shortly. However, before they were to gain entry into the sanctuary, Straboromanos and she refused to go with them and demanded that they allow her to pray to the Mother of God for protection. This request was granted and Anna then manifested her true theatrical and manipulative capabilities, Nikephoros III Botaneiates was forced into a public vow that he would grant protection to the family. Straboromanos tried to give Anna his cross, but for her it was not sufficiently enough for all bystanders to witness the oath. She also demanded that the cross be personally sent by Botaneiates as a vow of his good faith and he obliged, sending a complete assurance for the family with his own cross
18.
Michael VII Doukas
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Michael VII Doukas or Dukas/Ducas, nicknamed Parapinakēs, was Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078. Michael VII was born c.1050 in Constantinople, the eldest son of Constantine X Doukas and he was associated with his father on the throne late in 1059, together with or shortly before his newly born brother Konstantios Doukas. When Constantine X died in 1067, Michael VII was 17 years old and should have been able to rule by himself and he exhibited little interest in politics, however, and his mother Eudokia and uncle John Doukas governed the empire as effective regents. On January 1,1068, Eudokia married the general Romanos Diogenes, who now became senior co-emperor alongside Michael VII, Konstantios, and another brother, Andronikos. They conspired to keep Romanos from regaining power after his release from captivity, after the dispatch of Eudokia to a monastery, Michael VII was crowned again on October 24,1071 as senior emperor. Although still advised by Michael Psellos and John Doukas, Michael VII became increasingly reliant on his finance minister Nikephoritzes, the emperors chief interests, shaped by Psellos, were in academic pursuits, and he allowed Nikephoritzes to increase both taxation and luxury spending without properly financing the army. As an emperor he was incompetent, surrounded by sycophantic court officials, in dire straits, imperial officials resorted to property confiscations and even expropriated some of the wealth of the church. The underpaid army tended to mutiny, and the Byzantines lost Bari, their last possession in Italy, simultaneously, they faced a serious revolt in the Balkans, where they faced an attempt for the restoration of the Bulgarian state. Although this revolt was suppressed by the general Nikephoros Bryennios, the Byzantine Empire was unable to recover its losses in Asia Minor. The problem was made worse by the desertion of the Byzantines western mercenaries and this campaign also ended in failure, and its commander was likewise captured by the enemy. The victorious mercenaries now forced John Doukas to stand as pretender to the throne, the government of Michael VII was forced to recognize the conquests of the Seljuks in Asia Minor in 1074, and to seek their support. A new army under Alexios Komnenos, reinforced by Seljuk troops sent by Malik Shah I, finally defeated the mercenaries and these misfortunes caused widespread dissatisfaction, exacerbated by the devaluation of the currency, which gave the emperor his nickname Parapinakēs, minus a quarter. In 1078 two generals, Nikephoros Bryennios and Nikephoros Botaneiates, simultaneously revolted in the Balkans and Anatolia, Botaneiates gained the support of the Seljuk Turks, and he reached Constantinople first. Michael VII resigned the throne with hardly a struggle on March 31,1078 and he later became metropolitan of Ephesus and died in Constantinople in c. Before his resignation from the throne, Michael VII may have sent an embassy to Song China, the History of Song mentions how the Byzantine diplomat and official named Ni-si-tu-ling-si-meng-pan offered saddled horses, sword-blades, and real pearls as tributary gifts to the Song court. Various usurpers attempted to overthrow Michael VII or rule parts of the empire and these included, Nestor – A former slave of Constantine X, Nestor had been promoted to become the dux of Paradounavon, a region bordering the Danube. The troops were eager to plunder the Bulgarians, and Nestor obtained the assistance of one of the chiefs of the Patzinaks before marching onto Constantinople, defeated by Alexios Komnenos in 1078, Nestor remained with the Patzinaks, and retreated with them back to Paradunavum. Philaretos Brachamios Caesar John Doukas Nikephoros Bryennios Nikephoros Botaneiates Michael VII Doukas married Maria of Alania, by her he had at least one son, Constantine Doukas, co-emperor from c.1075 to 1078 and from 1081 to 1087/8
19.
Hyperpyron
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The hyperpyron was a Byzantine coin in use during the late Middle Ages, replacing the solidus as the Byzantine Empires gold coinage. The traditional gold currency of the Byzantine Empire had been the solidus or nomisma, whose gold content had remained steady at 24 carats for seven centuries and was consequently highly prized. From the 1030s, however, the coin was debased, until in the 1080s, following the military disasters and civil wars of the previous decade. Consequently, in 1092, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos undertook a drastic overhaul of the Byzantine coinage system and introduced a new gold coin and this was of the same standard weight as the solidus, but of less gold content due to the recycling of earlier debased coins. The hyperpyron remained the gold coin until gold coins ceased to be minted by the Byzantines in the mid-14th century. At the same time, the quality of the coins declined as well, the last hyperpyra, and thus the last Byzantine gold coins, were struck by Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos. The name remained in use thereafter solely as a money of account, the name was adopted in various forms by Western Europeans and the Slavic countries of the Balkans designating various coins, usually silver, as well as moneys of account. More often in the West the hyperpyron was called the bezant, in the 14th century, the hyperpyron equalled 12 of the new silver basilika,96 tournesia,384 copper trachea and 768 copper assaria. Medieval Bulgarian coinage Ragusan perpera Serbian perper Grierson, Philip, new York and Oxford, Oxford University Press. The Economy, Fiscal Administration and Coinage of Byzantium, studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy c
20.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
21.
Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
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The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium is a three volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. It contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzantine Empire and it was edited by Dr. Alexander Kazhdan, and was first published in 1991. Kazhdan was a professor at Princeton University who became a Senior Research Associate at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington and he contributed to many of the articles in the Dictionary and always signed his initials A. K. at the end of the article to indicate his contribution. The dictionary is available in printed and e-reference text versions from Oxford Reference Online and it covers the main historical events of Byzantium, as well as important social and religious events. It also includes biographies of eminent political and literary personalities and describes in detail religious, cultural topics include music, theology and the arts
22.
Byzantine coinage
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Byzantine currency, money used in the Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the West, consisted of mainly two types of coins, the gold solidus and a variety of clearly valued bronze coins. By the end of the empire the currency was issued only in silver stavrata, the gold coins of Justinian II departed from these stable conventions by putting a bust of Christ on the obverse, and a half or full-length portrait of the Emperor on the reverse. This was then used on nearly all Islamic coinage until the modern period, the type of Justinian II was revived after the end of Iconoclasm, and with variations remained the norm until the end of the Empire. In the 10th century, so-called anonymous folles were struck instead of the coins depicting the emperor. Late Byzantine gold coins became thin wafers that could be bent by hand, the Byzantine coinage had a prestige that lasted until near the end of the Empire. European rulers, once again started issuing their own coins, tended to follow a simplified version of Byzantine patterns. New bronze coins, multiples of the nummus were introduced, such as the 40 nummi,20 nummi,10 nummi, and 5 nummi coins. The obverse of these featured a highly stylized portrait of the emperor while the reverse featured the value of the denomination represented according to the Greek numbering system. It was succeeded by the initially ceremonial miliaresion established by Leo III the Isaurian in ca,720, which became standard issue from ca.830 on and until the late 11th century, when it was discontinued after being severely debased. Small transactions were conducted with bronze coinage throughout this period, until that time, the fineness of the gold remained consistent at about 0. 955–0.980. The Byzantine monetary system changed during the 7th century when the 40 nummi, now significantly smaller, although Justinian II attempted a restoration of the follis size of Justinian I, the follis continued to slowly decrease in size. The 11⁄12 weight coin was called a tetarteron, and the full weight solidus was called the histamenon, the tetarteron was unpopular and was only sporadically reissued during the 10th century. The full weight solidus was struck at 72 to the Roman pound, there were also solidi of weight reduced by one siliqua issued for trade with the Near East. These reduced solidi, with a star both on obverse and reverse, weighed about 4.25 g, the Byzantine solidus was valued in Western Europe, where it became known as the bezant, a corruption of Byzantium. The term bezant then became the name for the symbol of a roundel. Former money changer Michael IV the Paphlagonian assumed the throne of Byzantium in 1034, the debasement was gradual at first, but then accelerated rapidly. Under Alexius I Comnenus the debased solidus was discontinued and a coinage of higher fineness was established. The hyperpyron was slightly smaller than the solidus, during Andronicus IIs reign he instituted a some new coinage based on the hyperpyron
23.
Semis
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The semis literally meaning half was a small Roman bronze coin that was valued at half an as. During the Roman Republic, the semis was distinguished by an S or 6 dots, some of the coins featured a bust of Saturn on the obverse, and the prow of a ship on the reverse. Initially a cast coin, like the rest of Roman Republican bronzes, the coin was issued infrequently during the Roman Empire, and ceased to be issued by the time of Hadrian 117-138 AD. Roman currency
24.
Hexagram (currency)
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The hexagram was a large silver coin of the Byzantine Empire issued primarily during the 7th century AD. Only under Emperor Heraclius, in 615, were new silver coins minted to cover the needs of the war with Sassanid Persia, the material for these coins came chiefly from the confiscation of church plate. They were named after their weight of six grammata, and probably valued at 12 to the gold solidus, the Hexagrams uniquely carried the inscription of Deus adiuta Romanis or May God help the Romans, It is believed that this shows the desperation of the empire at this time. In 720 Emperor Leo III the Isaurian issued a new silver coin, the miliaresion
25.
Follis
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The follis was a type of coin in the Roman and Byzantine traditions. The Roman follis was a bronze coin introduced in about 294 with the coinage reform of Diocletian. It weighed about 10 grams and was about 4% silver, mostly as a layer on the surface. The word follis means bag in Latin, and there is evidence that this term was used in antiquity for a bag containing a specific amount of coins. The follis of Diocletian, despite efforts to enforce prices with the Edict on Maximum Prices, was revalued and reduced, by the time of Constantine, the follis was smaller and barely contained any silver. A series of Constantinian bronzes was introduced in the century, although the specific denominations are unclear and debated by historians. They are referred to as AE1, AE2, AE3 and AE4, with the former being the largest, namely, Fourth century folles represent the largest category of coin finds in the United Kingdom. The follis was reintroduced as a bronze coin in 498, with the coinage reform of Anastasius. A40 nummi coin of Anastasius is depicted on the obverse of the Macedonian 50 denars banknote, the fals was a bronze coin issued by the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates beginning in the late 8th century, initially as imitations of the Byzantine follis. Trifollaro, a coin worth 3 folles Grierson, Philip, Byzantine coinage, Dumbarton Oaks, ISBN 978-0-88402-274-9, archived from the original on 13 June 2010 Hendy
26.
Nummus
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Nummus, plural nummi is a Latin term meaning coin, but used technically by modern writers for a range of low-value copper coins issued by the Roman and Byzantine empires during Late Antiquity. It comes from the Greek nomos, which was used to describe a coin in some parts of southern Italy, in circa 294, during the Tetrarchy, a new large bronze coin of circa 10 grams weight and 30 mm diameter appeared. Its official name was apparently nummus, although it has recently been known among numismatists as the follis. The term nummus is now usually applied solely to the 5th–7th century Byzantine issues and these were small, badly struck coins, weighing less than 1 gram, forming the lowest denomination of Byzantine coinage. They were valued officially at 1⁄7,200 of the gold solidus, in 498, Emperor Anastasius I reformed the coinage by introducing multiples of the nummus, with denominations of 40 nummi, also known as a follis,20 nummi,10 nummi. These were also marked with Greek numerals representing their value, M for the follis, K for the semifollis, on the other hand, it appears that issue of the simple nummus was discontinued. In 513, the weights of coins were doubled, the pentanummium introduced. In 538/539, Emperor Justinian I introduced further changes to the 40-nummi follis and it was reduced again to 22.5 grams in 541/542, and further reductions followed until the centurys end. At this time, a new 30-nummi coin was introduced, and it survived in the Exarchate of Carthage well into the 7th century however. Consequently, the lower than the semifollis were practically unmintable. Thereafter, the term remained in use as a notional unit for 1⁄6,000 of the solidus
27.
Miliaresion
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The miliaresion, was a name used for a number of Byzantine silver coins. In its most specific sense, it refers to a type of silver coin struck in the 8th–11th centuries. Originally, the name was given to a series of coins issued in the 4th century that were struck 72 to the pound and were the equivalent of 1,000 nummi. Thereafter and until the 7th century, the Byzantines did not use silver coins, only from the reign of Emperor Theophilos did the coin become regular issue, struck throughout an emperors reign. In the 10th century, Emperor Alexander introduced a bust of Christ on the obverse and this process culminated in the 11th century, when images of emperors, Christ, and the Virgin Mary began to appear. In the 11th century, 2⁄3 and 1⁄3 fractions of the miliaresion also began to be minted and it was discontinued after 1092, except as a money of account equal to 1⁄12 of the nomisma. Under the Komnenian emperors, it was replaced by a very low-grade billon trachy coin, initially worth a quarter of a miliaresion. The miliaresion was essentially revived in the form of the basilikon issued from circa 1300 onwards, the name also passed into Western European languages, where milliarès was used for various kinds of Muslim silver coins. New York and Oxford, Oxford University Press, studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy c. The Miliaresion Poet, The Dactylic Inscription on a Silver Coin of Romanos III Argyros, media related to Miliaresion at Wikimedia Commons
28.
Tornesel
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The tornesel, tornesol, or tornese was a silver coin of Europe in the late Middle Ages and the early modern era. It took its name from the denier Tournois, the denier of Tours, marco Polo referred to the tornesel in recounts of his travels to East Asia when describing the currencies of the Yuan Empire. His descriptions were based on the conversion of 1 bezant =20 groats =133 1/3 tornesel, the tornese was a subunit of the Neapolitan, Sicilian, and Two Sicilies ducats
29.
Politikon
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The politikon coinage is a series of Byzantine billon coins, struck around the middle of the 14th century, which are distinguished by the Greek inscription +ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΟΝ. They conform, however, to the type of the widespread tornese coins, with a weight of 0. 6–0.8 grams. Initially they were concave but later issues are flat and they apparently form the continuation of the Byzantine tornese issue of Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, and like them were probably rated at 96 to the gold hyperpyron. There are a few exceptions however, a few others conform to two of the billon politikon types, but are large, thick, and heavy copper coins, whose function is unclear. The meaning and rationale behind the unique inscription, as well as the place where the coins were minted, have been long debated. It seems that the inscription indicates that coins were struck to pay some public need. Earlier scholars, starting with Gustave Schlumberger, advocated a use as tickets for the bread dole, the type, however, is entirely absent from local finds in this area, and its Constantinopolitan origin seems secure
30.
As (Roman coin)
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The as, also assarius was a bronze, and later copper, coin used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire. The Romans replaced the usage of Greek coins, first by bronze ingots, the system thus named as was introduced in ca.280 BC as a large cast bronze coin during the Roman Republic. The following fractions of the as were produced, the bes, semis, quincunx, triens, quadrans, sextans, uncia, and semuncia, as well as multiples of the as. After the as had issued as a cast coin for about seventy years, and its weight had been reduced in several stages. At about the time a silver coin, the denarius, was also introduced. Earlier Roman silver coins had been struck on the Greek weight standards that facilitated their use in southern Italy and across the Adriatic, but all Roman coins were now on a Roman weight standard. The denarius, or tenner, was at first tariffed at ten asses and this is said to have been a result of financing the Punic Wars. During the Republic, the as featured the bust of Janus on the obverse, the as was originally produced on the libral and then the reduced libral weight standard. The bronze coinage of the Republic switched from being cast to being struck as the weight decreased, during certain periods, no asses were produced at all. The as continued to be produced until the 3rd century AD and it was the lowest valued coin regularly issued during the Roman Empire, with semis and quadrans being produced infrequently, and then not at all by the time of Marcus Aurelius. The last as seems to have produced by Aurelian between 270 and 275 and at the beginning of the reign of Diocletian. The as, under its Greek name assarion, was re-established by the Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos and it was a low-quality flat copper coin, weighing ca. 3–4 grams and forming the lowest denomination of contemporary Byzantine coinage and it appears that the designs on the assarion changed annually, hence they display great variations. The assarion was replaced in 1367 by two other denominations, the tournesion and the follaro
31.
Stavraton
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The stavraton or stauraton was a type of silver coin used during the last century of the Byzantine Empire. The coin was designed to replace the gold hyperpyron as the highest-denomination coin in circulation. Hence it was heavier than any previous Byzantine silver coin, or, for that matter, any contemporary European coin, weighing initially 8.5 grams. It still had half the value of the hyperpyron however. The stavraton was complemented by fractions of 1⁄2 and 1⁄8, both in silver, the half-stavraton initially weighed 4.4 grams and gradually declined to 3.7, the one-eighth, known as the doukatopoulon or aspron weighed circa 1.1 grams. Quarter-stavrata were not minted, and the silver Venetian ducats were used instead, all these coins featured a bust of Christ on the obverse and an imperial bust on the reverse. In the stavrata of John Vs reign, the inscriptions were in order, and under Manuel II. Until 1990, when a hoard of ninety coins appeared, studies in the Byzantine Monetary Economy c. New York and Oxford, Oxford University Press
32.
Byzantine economy
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The Byzantine economy was among the most robust economies in the Mediterranean for many centuries. Constantinople was a hub in a trading network that at various times extended across nearly all of Eurasia. Some scholars argue that, up until the arrival of the Arabs in the 7th century, the Arab conquests, however, would represent a substantial reversal of fortunes contributing to a period of decline and stagnation. Constantine Vs reforms marked the beginning of a revival that continued until 1204, from the 10th century until the end of the 12th, the Byzantine Empire projected an image of luxury, and the travelers were impressed by the wealth accumulated in the capital. All this changed with the arrival of the Fourth Crusade, which was an economic catastrophe, the Palaiologoi tried to revive the economy, but the late Byzantine state would not gain full control of either the foreign or domestic economic forces. One of the foundations of the empire was trade. The state strictly controlled both the internal and the trade, and retained the monopoly of issuing coinage. The Eastern Roman economy suffered less from the Barbarian raids that plagued the Western Roman Empire. Under Diocletians reign, the Eastern Roman Empires annual revenue was at 9,400,000 solidi and these estimates can be compared to the AD150 annual revenue of 14,500,000 solidi and the AD215 of 22,000,000 solidi. By the end of Marcians reign, the revenue for the Eastern empire was 7,800,000 solidi. Warren Treadgold estimates that during the period from Diocletian to Marcian, the Eastern Empires population and agriculture declined a bit, actually, the few preserved figures show that the largest eastern cities grew somewhat between the 3rd and 5th centuries. By Marcians reign the Eastern Empires difficulties seem to have been easing, the wealth of Constantinople can be seen by how Justin I used 3,700 pounds of gold just for celebrating his own consulship. By the end of his reign, Anastasius I had managed to collect for the treasury an amount of 23,000,000 solidi or 320,000 pounds of gold. At the start of Justinian Is reign, the Emperor had inherited a surplus 28,800,000 from Anastasius I, before Justinian Is reconquests the state had an annual revenue of 5,000,000 solidi, which further increased after his reconquests in 550. Nevertheless, Justinian I had little money left towards the end of his reign partly because of the Justinian Plague, and the Roman–Persian Wars, in addition to these expenses, the rebuilding of Hagia Sophia cost 20,000 pounds of gold. Since Emperor Heraclius changed the official language from Latin to Greek in around 620, the solidus would thereafter be known by its Greek name. The Byzantine-Arab Wars reduced the territory of the Empire to a third in the 7th century, from the 8th century onward the Empires economy improved dramatically. This was a blessing for Byzantium in more than one way, the economy, the administration of gold coinage, even though the soldiers pay was minimal, large armies were a considerable strain on Byzantium
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Byzantine mints
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The East Roman or Byzantine Empire established and operated several mints throughout its history. Aside from the main mint in the capital, Constantinople. Most provincial mints except for Syracuse were closed or lost to invasions by the mid-7th century, after the loss of Syracuse in 878, Constantinople became the sole mint for gold and silver coinage until the late 11th century, when major provincial mints began to re-appear. Many mints, both imperial and, as the Byzantine world fragmented, belonging to local rulers, were operated in the 12th to 14th centuries. Constantinople and Trebizond, the seat of the independent Empire of Trebizond, the mints were limited to one per diocese and placed under the dual control of the praetorian prefectures and the comes sacrarum largitionum. During the next two centuries, some mints were closed and others opened as fiscal necessity or administrative changes dictated, in addition, the various emperors had mints attached to their retinue which followed them on their journeys and campaigns throughout the Roman Empire. Otherwise, regional mints were limited to issuing base-metal coins. During the course of the 5th century, the Roman minting system collapsed, in the East, most mints seem to have been active until some time into the reign of Zeno, but by the accession of Anastasius I only the mints of Constantinople and Thessalonica remained active. In 498, Anastasius initiated a major coinage reform—carried out by the comes sacrarum largitionum John the Paphlagonian—which is held to mark the start of the Byzantine coinage system proper, at the same time, he re-opened the mints at Nicomedia and later at Antioch. The number of mints expanded greatly during the reign of Justinian I, in part due to his reconquest of Italy, Africa. Most of these were confined to copper coinage, in 628/629, Emperor Heraclius closed all remaining provincial mints in the East except for Alexandria, which fell to the Arabs in 646. In the West too, one by one the cities hosting the various mints fell to various enemies, until by the 9th century, with the fall of Syracuse in 878, Constantinople remained the sole mint for gold and silver coinage until the late 11th century. The provincial mint at Cherson was reopened c,860, but its output was restricted to copper coinage. Usurpers or semi-autonomous local lords also occasionally established mints of their own, like Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus, Leo Gabalas of Rhodes, Constantinople, however, remained the main mint, providing the bulk of the coinage
