After the devastating Gothic War (535-554 AD), the Roman armies of the east regained the imperial heartland of Italy for the empire, and so began the era of Byzantine Italy. Under the Western Romans, during Odoacer's rule, and Ostrogothic domination, the city of Ravenna had served as the administrative capital of Italy, and this remained so under Byzantine rule. Rome had ceased to be the capital of the empire more than two centuries earlier, but the city still maintained a historical and spiritual importance in the eyes of many Romans during that time; it was the mother city of the Roman Empire and the seat of the Papacy. Ravenna itself had more recently been refurbished and improved under King Theodoric the Great, was more defensible than Rome, didn't have a Pope that could go against the emperor, and was closer to the imperial capital Constantinople, so it made a perfect provincial capital for the Byzantine governor. Even though the reconquest had brought Italy back into the Roman imperial orbit, the region remained a relative backwater ruined by decades of war, a war that proved more damaging than any of the barbarian invasions in the previous centuries. Byzantine Roman rule over the whole peninsula was shattered when the Germanic Lombards invaded Italy in 568 AD and took much of the region away from the Romans. The disconnected Italian territories still under Roman rule were reorganized into the Exarchate of Ravenna. Italy would not be politically united again for another 1,300 years. These two coins, of Justinian and Tiberius Constantine, were struck in Ravenna during this time period.
Great coins! I haven't seen too many of the Tiberius Constantine types. That's not saying much, since I haven't been looking for them, but my gut impression is that they are scarce in comparison to the Justinian. Would that be correct?
i sort of have been looking for tiberius constantines, hard to find at a price i'm willing to pay...but he is on my last. i frequently get this guy mixed up with maurice tiberius who reigned right after him (or who was after who? i'm already mixed up) a coin of the ravenna is also on my list. nice coins VK!
In general at least from my experience he is scarcer but not impossible and he usually won't set you back much. Thanks all for the compliments!
Good looking coins. Always nice to add more to a collection, I find that era of coins pretty interesting.
Thanks icerain! BTW forgot to mention. I've had these two for a while now. I reshot them and thought they'd make a good informative thread topic. Glad to see you all like the coins and the info
