I have shown that coin before: 2,6 gram and 21 mm, and Sear 2601 I wrote that this Asper was struck under Manuel I Comnenus (1143-1180) in Trebizond when the empire was like this: I was wrong. It is struck under another Manuel I Comnenus (who had exactly the same name) but ruled in 1238-1263 many decades later. Not in the usual Byzantine Empire, but in the state we know as "the Empire of Trebizond". After the 1204 sack of Constantinople the empire was fragmented where 3 successor states emerged: Because the "Empire of Nicaea" retook Constantinople in 1261 they have been considered as the "true" Roman/Byzantine state by historians. Thus my Manuel is not called "Manuel II", but Manuel I (ruler of the Empire of Trebizond). So my coin was struck in the Byzantine enclave state of Trebizond under an emperor who had the same name of an earlier emperor. It is like receiving a new coin. I now have a different feeling when I hold that coin.
Great coin and update. Such a shame was the sack of Constantinople by the fourth crusade. I consider the "end" of the Byzantine Empire at 1204 already and not 1453, just because it could never recover from such a destruction.
One day as legend has it is that Constantine Palaelogus will return and kick the Turks out of Constantinople. And thus the Byzantine empire will rise again.
For every act their is a reaction. The sacking of Constantinople was one of the elements that started the Renaissance, The eventual fall of the wounded empire in 1453 and the defeat of the moors in Spain was a real spark. The knowledge and art of the Greeks was held in great esteem by both cultures, in the Latin West it had been mostly ignored and considered sacrilegious, the writings and Art of the ancient Greeks had been appreciated and treasured by both the Byzantine Culture and the Muslim culture. The pillaging of Constantinople in 1203 brought much of these treasures and knowledge back to the west, the fall of both the Moors and Constantinople brought Refuges who had been taught to appreciate the ancient Greeks, in turn that was integrated into the Latin culture and the Renaissance began. People talk about the Dark Ages, it was not dark except for the Latin west, other cultures such as the Byzantines, the Muslims , the Vandals were all creating beautiful art during this time. Also important to note the Americas were founded indirectly as the result of the fall of Constantinople, they taxation on the spices and other good from the east prompted Queen Isabelle to find another route to India. Alas Columbus found the Americas instead. It is interesting how terrible events changed the world in positive ways.
