Got me some gold! (again!)

To contribute to the continuing awesome and friendly atmosphere of our great ancients forum, I thought I'd post my biggest acquisition in a while a little early (I originally was going to wait until it arrived). My second solidus! This time it is of Byzantine emperor Maurice Tiberius. I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of the solidii after Justinian, since many seem to have something I don't like (bad style, clipped, slightly off-center, bent, incomplete legends), and while the reverse isn't completely perfect, it is very passable, and the obverse even more so. The nice bust style and the almost 100% complete legends (the reverse is missing an "I" and most of an "A" ) are what sold this coin for me. And it was a pretty decent price for a solidus

(seller's photos with black background hastily added by me)



Maurice Tiberius, Byzantine Empire
AV solidus
Obv: D N mAVRC TIb PP AVI, diademed, helmeted, and cuirassed bust facing, holding globus cruciger in left hand
Rev: VICTORI-A AVGG ∆, Victory standing facing, holding long staff surmounted with staurogram in left hand and globus cruciger in right hand
Mint: Constantinople Mintmark: CONOB
Ref: SB 476
Size: 4.29 g., 21 mm wide

Facts & History:

• Maurice's full name was Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus, and he was born in Arabissus, Cappadocia in 539 AD.

• His first language was Greek, but during his rule, Latin was still the dominant language of the government. This situation remained until the Emperor Heraclius later implemented Greek as the empire's official language.

• Maurice ruled the Byzantine or Eastern Roman Empire from 582-602 AD. He was preceded by Tiberius II Constantine and succeeded by Phocas.

• Before becoming emperor, Maurice was a notarius (a public secretary), and later, the secretary to Tiberius, the commander of the imperial guard (and later emperor, Tiberius II Constantine).

• Before and during his reign, the empire once again went to war with Sassanian Persia, starting in 572. The war began after several years of dealing with each other's enemies and fighting proxy wars, and was fought in Mesopotamia, Syria, and Armenia. The turning point came when the Byzantines won at Solachon in 586. Towards the end of the war, in 589, a civil war erupted in Persia, and the Byzantines backed the Persian rebels led by Khosrau II against the reigning Sassanian king.

• Maurice also went to war against the Avars and the Slavs, two barbarian tribes terrorizing the Byzantine Balkans. The campaigns against these two adversaries ended up being the very last time that the Roman Empire would fight barbarian tribes coming from across its borders. With the empire preoccupied with Persia, the Avars and Slavs gained the upper hand, taking many Roman settlements including Sirmium (which was totally destroyed) and Singidunum. After the Byzantine victory in the Persian war, Maurice refocused and doubled his efforts in containing the barbarian threat. His victory, and his work in strengthening the Balkan frontier was undone with his death.

• The Exarchates of Ravenna and Africa were founded under Maurice's rule. These were special provinces were the exarch held both ultimate civil and military authority. The Exarchate of Ravenna was vital in curbing the Lombards in Italy.

• The Strategikon was written while Maurice was emperor. Often attributed to him, but possibly written by someone else under his authority, this manual of war details the many facets, strategies, and other related topics on the Eastern Roman military, and details several enemies of the Byzantines, such as the Lombards, Franks, Avars, Slavs, and Turks.

• In 602 AD, troops defending the Danube frontier rebelled and proclamed the officer Phocas as emperor. Maurice and his family fled but were soon captured by Phocas's men. Maurice watched as his sons were executed, and the deposed emperor himself was beheaded.

• Phocas's murder of Maurice led the Sassanian king Khosrau to declare war against the Byzantine Empire. Maurice had backed Khosrau, and the latter considered him his "friend and father", but his death was merely an excuse for Khosrau to enlarge the Sassanian Empire. The war that resulted became the longest-lasting and most devastating of conflicts between the Romans and the Persians. The Romans /Byzantines ultimately won in 628 AD, but both empires were greatly weakened, and this allowed the Muslim Arabs to quickly expand and gain dominance when they embarked on their conquests.

Roman Empire (and surrounding areas) during Maurice's reign, in 600 AD:



(click photos to enlarge)

 

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Great coin, but we're not friendly around here anymore. Didn't you get the memo?

 

I guess it has come to this then

 

Woww!! Very nice Solidus VK!! Its a really nice gold one!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

 

What a great looking coin! Nice background historical info too. Congrats!

 

Great coin, congrats! I have been looking at these in some auctions lately.

Great writeup too!

 

Gold is always nice to get. I've been getting a bit interested in the Byzantine era lately, good writeup.

 

Thanks all!

 

Thars gold in dem thar hills! It looks to be a beauty. Congratulations.

Oh yes we are and dern it we're all gonna get along or else!!!!

 

lovely coin....and a nice write up VK!

be sure to post your own pics when that sweet coin rolls in!

 

Excellent coin and a great history. I will get to Byzantine solidii eventually, when i recover from recent purchases

 

Another golden winner => congrats Jango!!

Ummm, I hope you'll allow me to toss-in my only Mo-Tib example (it is not nearly as slick as your new goldie, but it is still pretty cool)

Maurice Tiberius, AE Follis



... oh, and please don't mention his nose (he is very sensitive)

 

Pretty VK, very pretty

 

Oh, and I'll try my best to keep this place civil ... what could go wrong, eh?

 

Errr sorry, I didn't mean to stop your thread, my cool friend ...

Ummm, here is my only only half-baked gold coin ...

it's kinda like gold => not as gold as your sweet new coin



again => that's a great new coin, Jango

 

(joking my friend)

Anyone with Byzantine gold, Maurice Tiberius coins, or both, please feel free to post, thanks! And thanks all for the comments!

 

I just remembered. I used to own something similar to this:

 

What's that roughly, 8k gold? Definitely looks less than 10k

 

Lesbos, Mytilene EL Hekte - Sixth Stater
478-455 BC



... I'm not sure what % Au it is? (it's before my time ... 2500 years ago ... and can ask around)

 

I found an article that stated the Lydian lions are 55% gold, 43% silver, and 2% copper, with trace amounts of lead and iron. Obviously those were minted before yours so there is no guarantee yours has the same metal content, but at least it's something...better than having no information at all on the composition of ancient electrum coins.