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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Herberto, post: 24876759, member: 74222&quot;]I don’t collect numismatic coins because of the coin’s realistic or “cartoonish” portrait, but rather because it belonged to the stunning empire centered in Constantinople.</p><p><br /></p><p>Why Byzantine Empire? Its economical revivals, outstanding military achievements spanning over several centuries, cultural contribution and its status as the wealthiest empire and keyrole in shaping the western civilization is the reason why I mainly collect Byzantine coins.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 395 when the Roman Empire was administratively divided in two, the western part with Rome declined and collapsed rapidly, while the eastern (Byzantine) one with Constantinople not just survived, but also expanded dramatically in 500s. Also, during that period emperor Anastasius introduced the monetary reform with “M” as 40 nummi. Later when the Italian Peninsula was partly lost to Lombards, the Byzantines managed to expand its border eastward. Then internal turmoil caused the Persians to conquer Levant and Egypt during the Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602–628, where byzantines successfully drove out the Persians at the end in 628:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1596950[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Also, many often forget that Roman world anno 400-700 was not what it was once: (1) Germanian tribes became stronger as they learned Roman military tactic, (2) Migration Period found place where especially the Huns were the most difficult, (3) Persians went from the weaker Parthian to the stronger Sassanid, (4) Out of nothing the Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula united under a new monotheistic religion. The Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-628 exhausted both empires and made it easy for the Muslims to expand and take the entire Middle East. The Byzantine Empire shrunk dramatically and the Caliphate attempted unsuccessfully to shut down Byzantine Empire in the late 600s and early 700s. It was during that time that the Theme-system was introduced which enabled them to have a stabile army crucial to its survival. Also during that period a new monetary reform was passed down where Miliearesion (silver coins) were introduced. Later from the late 900s the empire again expanded military and culturally (Macedonian Renaissance):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1596955[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Then in 1071 at the Battle of Manzikert a defeat to the Seljuq-Turks and later internal turmoil caused the Empire to lost almost all of its Anatolian area (plus some land in Balkan). But later during the Comnenian Dynasty the rich and densely coastal area was reconquered. Also during that period a military reform alongside a monetary reform were also initiated where the newly “cup”-coins were introduced:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1596952[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>What caused the empire to cease was not really the Turks, as they were defeated and handled as mentioned ealier above. But a bizarre scenario during the Fourth Crusade involving a deposed Byzantine emperor caused the crusades to take control of Constantinople and sacked it so heavily that its glory was never restored later when the Byzantine successor state (Nicean Empire) retook the city back. Eventually a civil war made it easy for the Turks to advance, and eventually Fall of Constantinople occurred in 1453, and had it not fallen then it would have fallen sooner or later:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1596953[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Most other states/empires last perhaps for 50 years or 200 years, but that Byzantine one lasted over 1000 year! This I call a sublime military and monetary survival alongside an effective state.</p><p><br /></p><p>Equally sublimes are the empire’s cultural contribution. Hagia Sofia stands as a monumental architectural splendor that employed Archimedes’ geometry that testifies Byzantium’s greatness. Also, John Philoponus, a philosopher from Alexandria in 500’s, already found out that Aristotlian physics was wrong and that heavy objects don’t fall faster than a light one. Fascinating is also that Byzantines used Greek Fire on their dromon ships. Byzantine law (Corpus Juris Civilis) is also the foundation of of western jurisprudence. And if you love to read Hesiod or Iliad and odyssey, then Byzantine scribers or monk made it possible to read it since they preserved classical Greek works by reading and copying them.</p><p><br /></p><p>Just as USA or Germany today are the most advanced states in the Western Civilisation, Byzantine Empire had that role for several centuries, where everybody knew that state was the leading civilization of the European world. In many ways Byzantine Empire is practically Roman Empire, but where gladiator-fight was banned and replaced with acrobatic show, and where pederasty was frowned upon.</p><p><br /></p><p>No wonder Pericles, Alexander the Great or king Ptolemy I Soter would have been jealous of Constantinople’s magnificent size, wealth and longevity as it would have dwarfed both Athens, Pella and Alexandria combined. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>If interested in the topic, then Warren Treadgold’s “A History of the Byzantine State and Society” and Judith Herrin’s “Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire” could be worth of reading.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>With regard to the numismatic, Byzantine coins do actually look “cartoonish” and not realistic in comparison to earlier centuries under Trajan or Aurelian. I have also noticed it on the byzantine mosaics as well. For whatever reason the Byzantines did not appreciate realistic art and resorted to a simple and stylized art. Just like cubism in the early 1900’s that rejected realism. These five coins beneath are probably the “most common” Byzantine coins one can find at retail or in auctions for between 15-40 Euro:</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1596954[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>And they certanly don’t look realistic at all, so if realistic portrait is important for you, then avoid Byzantine coinage at all. But in case you value the Byzantine contribution to the western civilization, then here you go.</p><p><br /></p><p>I don’t collect Roman pre-Arcadian coins because (almost) nothing really happened in continental Europe in term of societal and technological development. The foundation of national states of England, France, Germany and Italy with deep-plough and the arise of universities were laid in Middle Ages, and only the advanced state of Byzantium had copper coinage in circulation from the beginning. I wanted to collect Frankish/Carolingian coins, but it is difficult to get a coin of Charlemagne and thus I gave up. Perhaps if all this happened from 100s, then I would have invested in the earlier Roman coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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