Ancient Byzantine Coin

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The Roman empire had been unified in 27 BCE and the western empire fell in the 400s CE. By then, the Byzantine empire had been established by Diocletian in 285 CE. Constantine I moved the capital to Byzantium, which would then be called Constantinople. The Thracians had settled the area around 1,500 to 1,700 years before - possibly by Byzas, supposedly a son of Poseidon and grandson of Io. Having been settled by the Greeks and then occupied by the Greeks. The colony began as a trading site and then traded hands between city states and the Persian Empire before and during the Peloponnesian War. It was then taken by the Romans in 196 CE. The Thracians had been powerful, but not unified, and so their lands were constantly in flux. The Roman empire flourished and then fragmented. The Eastern and Western empires were jealous of one another and the Byzantines as the proud Easterners considered themselves, allowed Rome to be sacked. The lands of the Western empire fragmented and new nations were formed in their wake, with Charlemagne conquering the lands of the Franks and splitting the empire. After Charlemagne, rulers like Otto in what we consider modern Germany would declare themselves Holy Roman Emperor as opposed to the Byzantine emperor. Luis II of what we would consider Italy today did the same. Byzantine was still influential in a number of ways, though - both as a trade hub and a seat of engineering and learning. Their coins remained the gold standard, pun intended. The Anatolian Pensinsula, what we consider modern Turkey had changed hands since long before the Lydian Stater was first considered there. The Byzantine empire grew rich trading between the tribes and former Greek colonies around the Baltic sea, the fragmented lands of the Persian empire, and the growing European empires to the West. But as seen in modern politics, these lands and peoples were not to be controlled by a single state for long. As the empire contacted, the metals in the coins became debased before they ceased to be minted in the 11th century. The Seljuk Turks and then Ottomons formed Caliphates that encroached on the Byzantine lands to the South and empires to the North stopped paying homage to the Byzantines. They were cut off and without many allies. Yet the empire, the last remaining vestiges of the Roman Empire survived until the last remaining city in the empire, Constantinople, fell to the Ottomons in 1453 CE. The Ottomons, founded in 1299 by Osman, held it from then until after World War II, 1922. They made it their capital and renamed it to Istanbul. This became a symbol of the rise of Islam as well as the end of the Romans. The Christians had waged holy wars from 1095 CE to 1291 CE and so boundaries were formed between what we now think of as the middle east and Europe, with Istanbul exerting influence in the former Thracian lands to the north, conquering for a time, but being repelled in subsequent invasions. For a time they held lands around the southern side of the Mediterranean (including Tunis, Algiers, Tripoli, and Egypt), the Black Sea (as far away as the Caspian), modern (and ancient) Greece, and down around the Red Sea (and around to the Persian Gulf). In short, they were smart and expanded to where trade made it profitable to control lands. The Ottoman empire was at its peak in the 1680s. But after money flowed in from the New World, a resurgent Europe was able to repel the Ottomon’s back slowly. Russia to the north, other islamic empires to the south, and the Ottomons effectively overextended themselvs. The empire began a gradual decline and was finally conquered after World War II. The British, Italians, French, and Greeks held some of the lands of the Ottomons after the Treaty of Treaty of Sèvres. Mustafa Kemal then became the first president of the young Turkish republic, with a capital now in Ankara. The Byzantine coins had become debased, as had other coins, as the empire contracted. When precious metals were plentiful, coins of major empires were more pure - as the empires contracted, they became debased. The major innovation in coins the Byzantine’s made was to have the emperor face the front rather than print a profile. Most US coins would then adapt the side profile and bank notes adapt a front facing image, if not cocked to the side just slightly. Euros, which came after, finally left the images of rulers in the rearview mirror and use other symbols. Rubles often have images of Soviet leaders. British pounds have images of kings, queens, and Churchill. Mexico mostly has great former presidents, but also Nezahualcoyotl - from the 1400s. Yet one can look at the iconography of most of these and see similarities to that of the Romans and Byzantines - even if there’s no more real gold and silver in the currency. We can thank the Byzantines for popularizing the obverse, or the front facing imagery, though!