Rome was not the grand, imperial city it had been in the past. By the late 540s AD, the former capital of the Roman Empire was impoverished, depopulated, and weary of over a decade of war between the Ostrogoths and the Eastern Romans, the latter having invaded in 535 AD to reclaim what they believed was rightfully theirs: Rome and all of Italy. By then Rome still held symbolic and spiritual importance: as the heart of the old Roman Empire and the seat of the Popes. The city had already withstood two sieges, one in 537 and again in 546; in the first the Roman army was able to hold Rome against the Goths and the second the Goths came out victorious, only to lose the city to the Romans again only a few months later. It would not be long after this coin was struck that Rome would yet again face the hardships of a siege, in 549 AD. The Goths took the city after that assault, but would ultimately lose the war. Justinian, Eastern Roman Empire AE decanummium Obv: D N IVSTINIANVS P AVG, helmeted, cuirassed bust facing, holding cross on globe in left hand and shield in right hand Rev: Large I, star in left and right fields, all within wreath Mint: Rome (struck 547-549 AD) Ref: SB 308, MIB 228 This isn't the first of this type I have. I have one other example. The obverse bust is better on this one, but with a not-as-good obverse legend and reverse. Artist's recreation of a scene during the 537 siege when the Gothic army attacked the section of Rome's Aurelian Walls at the Mausoleum of Hadrian. With the Goths too close to be hit by the Roman ballistae, the Romans threw the mausoleum's statues onto the attackers. Romans vs Franks at the Battle of Casilinum in 554 AD (the Franks had entered the war against both the Romans and the Goths in order to conquer territory) Map (in German) of the course of the Gothic War (from Wikipedia) Ostromisches Reich: Eastern Roman Empire Reich der Ostgoten: Ostrogothic Kingdom Reich der Franken: Frankish Kingdom
i thought that coin looked familiar! a rome mint byzantine is still on my list...another cool one and good write up vk! i did get a kind of weird byzantine coin today, i'll post soon.
Don't worry, the Greeks are getting their revenge against the Franks right now. All they had to do was pull back, borrow a few hundred billion from them, and then refuse to repay.
I couldn't agree more---excellent write-up to go along with the coins.....it puts everything into context so wonderfully.
During this time there were some Frankish soldiers that wore armor but many didn't like wearing it or simply couldn't afford it. Thanks all for the comments!
Wow, very cool new pickup, Jango ... Justinian I , eh? ........... ummm, do you know what coin I'm gonna post? Shabammmm!! ... oh, and thanks for the extra-effort on the write-up, my friend
