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<p>[QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 2771461, member: 83845"][ATTACH=full]639196[/ATTACH]</p><p>Byzantine Empire</p><p>Manuel I Komnenos (AD 1118 – 1180)</p><p><b>AE Tetarteron</b>, Constantinople mint, struck ca. 1143-1180</p><p>Obv.: St. George draped and cuirassed, bust facing, holding spear and shield.</p><p>Rev.: Manuel I crowned, bust facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger.</p><p>Ref.: SB 1970</p><p><i>Ex Sallent Collection</i></p><p><br /></p><p>When I think of the Byzantine Empire I tend to think of the early period under emperors like Justinian I who spent their time struggling to regain the former glory of a unified Roman Empire or else the very late empire of Constantine XI that was simply fighting for survival. However, I was recently gifted this great coin by our own [USER=76194]@Sallent[/USER] and it has really made me more aware that there were periods in between these eras where the Byzantines prospered and even flourished under competent emperors.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Tetarteron was introduced as part of the currency reform of Manuel’s grandfather Alexios I ca. 1092 to replace the Follis. For unknown reasons it shares the name of a previous Byzantine gold coin.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center"><u>Manuel I</u></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]639197[/ATTACH]</p><p><i>Byzantine Empire ca. AD 1180 (Wikipedia)</i></p><p><br /></p><p>Manuel I was one of the last Byzantine emperors to reign over the century of prosperity and rejuvenation that historians refer to as the Komnenian restoration (AD 1081 – 1185). Manuel was a skilled diplomat who made great strides in opening up positive relations with the powers of western Europe and even for a brief period seemed on the verge of gaining direct control of territory in southern Italy and concluding a lasting alliance between the eastern and western Christian churches. While he was not wholly successful in this, the serious attempt does show how much the empire had recovered that such aims were both feasible and nearly successful. Manuel also expertly managed the movement of the Second Crusade through his territory by deploying a large force of Byzantine troops to shadow the movement of the crusader armies and serve as “escorts” for the disorganized and plunder hungry crusaders through to the Levant. The Komnenians had worked hard to strengthen the Byzantine army over the eleventh and twelfth centuries and Manuel scored some important victories against his enemies in the Balkans and the east as well as managing to secure ever increasing influence in the Crusader States. However his success made him overconfident and he was led into an ambush (after turning down favorable peace terms) by the Seljuks and defeated at the battle of Myriokephalon. While the empire recovered from this blow during his reign it would still constitute the high water mark for Byzantine reconquest of territory lost to the Muslims.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]639198[/ATTACH]</p><p><i>(Left) The Crusader States Between the First and Second Crusade – (Right) Manuel I and Empress Maria of Antioch.</i></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Please post your;</p><p><br /></p><p>· Byzantine coins!</p><p><br /></p><p>· Crusader States coins!</p><p><br /></p><p>· Anything whether relevant or not![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Curtisimo, post: 2771461, member: 83845"][ATTACH=full]639196[/ATTACH] Byzantine Empire Manuel I Komnenos (AD 1118 – 1180) [B]AE Tetarteron[/B], Constantinople mint, struck ca. 1143-1180 Obv.: St. George draped and cuirassed, bust facing, holding spear and shield. Rev.: Manuel I crowned, bust facing, holding labarum and globus cruciger. Ref.: SB 1970 [I]Ex Sallent Collection[/I] When I think of the Byzantine Empire I tend to think of the early period under emperors like Justinian I who spent their time struggling to regain the former glory of a unified Roman Empire or else the very late empire of Constantine XI that was simply fighting for survival. However, I was recently gifted this great coin by our own [USER=76194]@Sallent[/USER] and it has really made me more aware that there were periods in between these eras where the Byzantines prospered and even flourished under competent emperors. The Tetarteron was introduced as part of the currency reform of Manuel’s grandfather Alexios I ca. 1092 to replace the Follis. For unknown reasons it shares the name of a previous Byzantine gold coin. [CENTER][U]Manuel I[/U][/CENTER] [ATTACH=full]639197[/ATTACH] [I]Byzantine Empire ca. AD 1180 (Wikipedia)[/I] Manuel I was one of the last Byzantine emperors to reign over the century of prosperity and rejuvenation that historians refer to as the Komnenian restoration (AD 1081 – 1185). Manuel was a skilled diplomat who made great strides in opening up positive relations with the powers of western Europe and even for a brief period seemed on the verge of gaining direct control of territory in southern Italy and concluding a lasting alliance between the eastern and western Christian churches. While he was not wholly successful in this, the serious attempt does show how much the empire had recovered that such aims were both feasible and nearly successful. Manuel also expertly managed the movement of the Second Crusade through his territory by deploying a large force of Byzantine troops to shadow the movement of the crusader armies and serve as “escorts” for the disorganized and plunder hungry crusaders through to the Levant. The Komnenians had worked hard to strengthen the Byzantine army over the eleventh and twelfth centuries and Manuel scored some important victories against his enemies in the Balkans and the east as well as managing to secure ever increasing influence in the Crusader States. However his success made him overconfident and he was led into an ambush (after turning down favorable peace terms) by the Seljuks and defeated at the battle of Myriokephalon. While the empire recovered from this blow during his reign it would still constitute the high water mark for Byzantine reconquest of territory lost to the Muslims. [ATTACH=full]639198[/ATTACH] [I](Left) The Crusader States Between the First and Second Crusade – (Right) Manuel I and Empress Maria of Antioch.[/I] Please post your; · Byzantine coins! · Crusader States coins! · Anything whether relevant or not![/QUOTE]
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