Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
The NICOMEDIA mint Challenge
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 4080843, member: 99554"]<b>The city</b></p><p><b>Nicomedia</b> was founded in 284 BC as the capital of the Hellenistic Kingdom of Bithynia; the King Nicomedes I gave his name to the place. Its strategic location made the city a significant trading, military and artistic centre throughout the ages and it was once one of the four largest cities of the Roman world. It is now in Turkey and is called <b>Izmit</b>. </p><p><img src="https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/sites/default/files/projgall/521/Sare_Figure%201_FINAL.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p>The city is destroyed, in 111 AD by a big fire, which made many victims, because of the absence of firemen. <b>Nicomedia</b> reached its peak in late Antiquity, as the imperial capital of Diocletian and frequent residence of Constantine the great who was baptized there on his deathbed. The emperor Diocletian made it the eastern capital city of the Roman Empire in 286 AD when he introduced the Tetrarchy system. Galerius Maximian and Licinius also chose it as the capital of the eastern half of the Empire. Constantine I stayed in the imperial palace of Nicomedia during the years when the great Constantinople was built. In 303 AD, Diocletian ordered that the newly-built church at <b>Nicomedia</b> be destroyed, its scriptures burnt, and its precious stones seized. The next day, February 24th, he issued his "First Edict Against the Christians," which ordered similar measures to be taken at churches across the Empire. This was the beginning of a period called " The 20,000 martyrs of Nicomedia". Many of them were killed <i>en masse</i>, when they were ordered, during Christmas mass, to sacrifice to idols; when they refused, they were locked in the churches and the buildings burned around them.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zBDkZo_3J90/VoFg2QdROmI/AAAAAAAAzfc/dHStVk-0lk8/s1600/nicomedia3.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><br /></p><p> Some believe that the number of 20,000 is exaggerated. However, the martyrs of Nicomedia continue to be remembered with feast days: they are commemorated on 28 December in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and by the Byzantine Catholic and Latin rite Catholic Churches. In 358 AD, Nicomedia was wrecked by a powerful earthquake followed by a fire of great magnitude that destroyed what was left standing after the earthquake. The city was rebuilt but without the splendour of the old days. The magnificent Constantinople was destined to be the uncontested capital of the region, which is why it did not seem necessary to invest considerable resources in rebuilding the city.</p><p>Sadly, archeologists were never really welcomed in the modern city. There has been no systematic excavation of ancient <b>Nicomedia</b>. In 1999, another big earthquake, which badly damaged most of the city, also led to important discoveries of ancient Nicomedia during the subsequent debris clearing. A wealth of ancient statuary was uncovered, including statues of Hercules, Athena, Diocletian and Constantine. Later, the site where Diocletian built his palace was found, and also an ancient Roman theatre.</p><p><img src="https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/sites/default/files/projgall/521/Sare_Figure%204_FINAL.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>One of the painted reliefs found in 2001: goddess Roma, Nike and Roman officials in a processional scene.</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/sites/default/files/projgall/521/Sare_Figure%205_FINAL.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>Another relief discovered in 2009: the meeting of two Roman generals (brothers or emperors?).</p><p><b>The mint</b></p><p><b>Nicomedia</b> had minted coins from the old times of the Kingdom of Bithynia. The official mint at <b>Nicomedia</b> was opened in about 302 AD by Diocletian and continued to strike coins throughout the 4th century AD. The monetary workshop strucked gold, silver and bronze coins. In the beginning, there were only 2 officinae in operation, which could explain why Nicomedia's folles are rarer than those of the others Roman mints. Later, during the time of the second Tetrarchy, the mint was working with 4 officinae and the production still increase during the reign of Licinius I with the opening of 3 more workshops. After Constantine won the war against Licinius in 324 AD and eliminated all his opponents, the mint of <b>Nicomedia</b> reached his cruising speed. Around 363 AD, the emperor Julian reformed the monetary system and reduced the production of the workshop to 3 officinae. Finally during the time of Arcadius around 395 AD, there were only 2 offices opened and the quantity of coins produced slowly decreased until the Byzantine period. The mintmarks for this city are : MN, N,NIC, NICO, NIK, SMN. About the quality of the coinage, the level is equal to the other mints of the empire. The artistic style is described as very oriental with a peculiar lack of realism, but over the years the celators refined their skills and reached the degree of all the imperial workshop. </p><p>This mint was active under the following issuer:</p><p> Diocletian, Maximian I , Galerius, Constantius I, Severus, Maximinus Daia, Constantine I, Licinius I, Galeria Valeria, Constantine II, Crispus, Licinius II, Constantius, Constantius II, Fausta, Helena, Sextus Martinianus, Constans, Dalmatius, Constantius Gallus, Julian, Jovian, Valens, Valentinian I, Procopius, Gratian, Valentinian II, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Aelia Flaccilla and Honorius.</p><p><br /></p><p>How many different examples could we find ? <b>Please show us your Nicomedian examples!</b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p>Voici my modest contribution to this thread :</p><p>CONSTANTINE</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1064342[/ATTACH] </p><p>CONSTANS</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1064343[/ATTACH] </p><p>GRATIAN</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1064344[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Ocatarinetabellatchitchix, post: 4080843, member: 99554"][B]The city Nicomedia[/B] was founded in 284 BC as the capital of the Hellenistic Kingdom of Bithynia; the King Nicomedes I gave his name to the place. Its strategic location made the city a significant trading, military and artistic centre throughout the ages and it was once one of the four largest cities of the Roman world. It is now in Turkey and is called [B]Izmit[/B]. [IMG]https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/sites/default/files/projgall/521/Sare_Figure%201_FINAL.jpg[/IMG] The city is destroyed, in 111 AD by a big fire, which made many victims, because of the absence of firemen. [B]Nicomedia[/B] reached its peak in late Antiquity, as the imperial capital of Diocletian and frequent residence of Constantine the great who was baptized there on his deathbed. The emperor Diocletian made it the eastern capital city of the Roman Empire in 286 AD when he introduced the Tetrarchy system. Galerius Maximian and Licinius also chose it as the capital of the eastern half of the Empire. Constantine I stayed in the imperial palace of Nicomedia during the years when the great Constantinople was built. In 303 AD, Diocletian ordered that the newly-built church at [B]Nicomedia[/B] be destroyed, its scriptures burnt, and its precious stones seized. The next day, February 24th, he issued his "First Edict Against the Christians," which ordered similar measures to be taken at churches across the Empire. This was the beginning of a period called " The 20,000 martyrs of Nicomedia". Many of them were killed [I]en masse[/I], when they were ordered, during Christmas mass, to sacrifice to idols; when they refused, they were locked in the churches and the buildings burned around them. [IMG]https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zBDkZo_3J90/VoFg2QdROmI/AAAAAAAAzfc/dHStVk-0lk8/s1600/nicomedia3.jpg[/IMG] Some believe that the number of 20,000 is exaggerated. However, the martyrs of Nicomedia continue to be remembered with feast days: they are commemorated on 28 December in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and by the Byzantine Catholic and Latin rite Catholic Churches. In 358 AD, Nicomedia was wrecked by a powerful earthquake followed by a fire of great magnitude that destroyed what was left standing after the earthquake. The city was rebuilt but without the splendour of the old days. The magnificent Constantinople was destined to be the uncontested capital of the region, which is why it did not seem necessary to invest considerable resources in rebuilding the city. Sadly, archeologists were never really welcomed in the modern city. There has been no systematic excavation of ancient [B]Nicomedia[/B]. In 1999, another big earthquake, which badly damaged most of the city, also led to important discoveries of ancient Nicomedia during the subsequent debris clearing. A wealth of ancient statuary was uncovered, including statues of Hercules, Athena, Diocletian and Constantine. Later, the site where Diocletian built his palace was found, and also an ancient Roman theatre. [IMG]https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/sites/default/files/projgall/521/Sare_Figure%204_FINAL.jpg[/IMG] One of the painted reliefs found in 2001: goddess Roma, Nike and Roman officials in a processional scene. [IMG]https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/sites/default/files/projgall/521/Sare_Figure%205_FINAL.jpg[/IMG] Another relief discovered in 2009: the meeting of two Roman generals (brothers or emperors?). [B]The mint Nicomedia[/B] had minted coins from the old times of the Kingdom of Bithynia. The official mint at [B]Nicomedia[/B] was opened in about 302 AD by Diocletian and continued to strike coins throughout the 4th century AD. The monetary workshop strucked gold, silver and bronze coins. In the beginning, there were only 2 officinae in operation, which could explain why Nicomedia's folles are rarer than those of the others Roman mints. Later, during the time of the second Tetrarchy, the mint was working with 4 officinae and the production still increase during the reign of Licinius I with the opening of 3 more workshops. After Constantine won the war against Licinius in 324 AD and eliminated all his opponents, the mint of [B]Nicomedia[/B] reached his cruising speed. Around 363 AD, the emperor Julian reformed the monetary system and reduced the production of the workshop to 3 officinae. Finally during the time of Arcadius around 395 AD, there were only 2 offices opened and the quantity of coins produced slowly decreased until the Byzantine period. The mintmarks for this city are : MN, N,NIC, NICO, NIK, SMN. About the quality of the coinage, the level is equal to the other mints of the empire. The artistic style is described as very oriental with a peculiar lack of realism, but over the years the celators refined their skills and reached the degree of all the imperial workshop. This mint was active under the following issuer: Diocletian, Maximian I , Galerius, Constantius I, Severus, Maximinus Daia, Constantine I, Licinius I, Galeria Valeria, Constantine II, Crispus, Licinius II, Constantius, Constantius II, Fausta, Helena, Sextus Martinianus, Constans, Dalmatius, Constantius Gallus, Julian, Jovian, Valens, Valentinian I, Procopius, Gratian, Valentinian II, Theodosius I, Arcadius, Aelia Flaccilla and Honorius. How many different examples could we find ? [B]Please show us your Nicomedian examples! [/B] Voici my modest contribution to this thread : CONSTANTINE [ATTACH=full]1064342[/ATTACH] CONSTANS [ATTACH=full]1064343[/ATTACH] GRATIAN [ATTACH=full]1064344[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
Ancient Coins
>
The NICOMEDIA mint Challenge
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...