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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;ValiantKnight, post: 2851018, member: 44210&quot;]More like &quot;the Infamous&quot;, Justinian II&#039;s story seems like something out of a TV drama series. There is murder, betrayal, greed, despotism, war, and facial mutilation over Justinian&#039;s not one, but two reigns ([USER=51347]@Alegandron[/USER] is going to love this guy <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />). The coin itself is an old acquisition and there are certainly better ones out there, but I had to have a coin of this hard-to-come-by Eastern Roman/Byzantine emperor. The patina is glossy so it was hard to take photos of.</p><p><br /></p><p><b><u>Justinian II</u>, Byzantine Empire</b></p><p>AE follis</p><p><b>Obv</b>: No legend, crowned bust facing wearing chlamys, holding akakia in left hand and cross on globe in right hand</p><p><b>Rev</b>: Large M, TNA-like monogram above (Sear type 38)</p><p><b>Mint</b>: Syracuse</p><p><b>Date</b>: 685-695 AD</p><p><b>Ref</b>: SB 1296</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]676656[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Justinian was born to Emperor Constantine IV in 668 AD. The empire that Justinian was born into was radically different than that of his namesake; it had suffered greatly earlier in the century. Right after barely surviving intact after the long war with the Sassanians, the Arabs had united under Islam and invaded both former adversaries. The Sassanian Empire was completely conquered and the Roman Empire had lost much of its territory. The situation had settled down somewhat by the time Justinian took the throne in 685, enough for him to deal with the Bulgars, but with extra forces at his disposal he decided to go to war against the Umayyad Caliphate. His Slavic troops defected at Sebastopolis and contributed to the Arab victory there and Justinian&#039;s defeat. As a consequence, he massacred many of the Slavs in Anatolia. Justinian also harshly persecuted the Manicheans, and damaged relations between Eastern and Western Christians, and by extension the relationship between Constantinople and its western provinces.</p><p><br /></p><p>He alienated both the aristocracy and the average people with his land and tax policies, and added insult to injury by largely using the funds for himself. These things along with his religious policies helped to cause an open revolt in 695, lead by the strategos Leontios. Justinian was deposed and had his nose cut off (contributing to his nickname Rhinometos, or &quot;slit-nosed&quot;), a Byzantine &quot;tradition&quot; that served to bar the former ruler from becoming emperor again, since the emperor was supposed to be free of defects. He wasn&#039;t executed but was exiled to Cherson in the Crimea. This would prove to be a fatal mistake for those in power at Constantinople.</p><p><br /></p><p>Justinian soon started to scheme to become emperor again, in 602 or 603. He was found out and officials were set to return him to the capital, but he escaped and sought refuge with the Khazars, whose ruler offered his sister as a wife to Justinian. He renamed her Theodora, the same name of the first Justinian&#039;s wife. The Khazar ruler, however, was later bribed by Leontio&#039;s successor Tiberios to kill the exiled emperor. The two assassins failed in their mission, having been personally strangled by Justinian himself. He then lead an expedition with his supporters to reclaim the throne. He managed to enlist the help of the Bulgarians (one of the conditions being making the Bulgarian ruler a Caesar), and in 705 took back Constantinople. By this time he was now wearing a golden prosthesis in place of his lost nose. Justinian dragged Leontios and Tiberios into the hippodrome, and in a spectacle where he stepped on their necks in a humiliating sign of subjugation, had them beheaded. The Patriarch of Constantinople did not escape punishment either: he was blinded and exiled from the city. Their supporters were also slaughtered on the orders of the emperor.</p><p><br /></p><p>Justinian soon renewed war against the Muslims, and also turned on the Bulgarians; he suffered defeats on both fronts. He also became more tyrannical against the population, and militarily intervened in the religious affairs in Italy. His rule was overall even worse than his first, so he later again faced rebellion, in 711. But the rebels would not make the same mistake the first revolt had done after deposing Justinian. This time he was executed, with his head being severed and given to the new emperor, Philippikos.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]676657[/ATTACH]</p><p>[ATTACH=full]676658[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire a few years after Justinian&#039;s death, in 717 (striped area was raided by the Arabs):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]676659[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Feel free to post anything you think is related![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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