PREV ARTICLE
NEXT ARTICLE
FULL ISSUE
PREV FULL ISSUE
COINS OF THE BYZANTINE SUCCESSOR STATESMike Markowitz published a nice article on CoinWeek about coins of the Byzantine successor states (1204-1261 CE). Here's an excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor 
EMPIRE OF NICAEA. Theodore I Comnenus-Lascaris (1208-1222). Trachy. Magnesia. Image: Numismatik Neumann / CoinWeek. Born about 1175 to an obscure aristocratic family (the names of his parents are unknown), Theodore was related to the Imperial Komnenos dynasty on his mother's side. In 1200, he married a daughter of the ill-fated emperor Alexios III Angelos. Fleeing from the Latin sack of Constantinople, he organized Byzantine resistance at Nicaea, assuming the title of Emperor in 1205. Much of his coinage was struck at the town of Magnesia (today Manisa, Türkiye). The cup-shaped silver trachy bears an enthroned image of Christ on the obverse, and standing figures of Theodore and his patron saint of the same name on the reverse. 
Empire of Nicaea, John III Ducas, 1222-1254. Hyperpyron, Magnesia 1232-1354, AV 4.37 g. Image: Numismatica Ars Classica.
"He was a ruler of outstanding ability, and he very nearly recaptured Constantinople in 1236. His greatest success was his conquest of Thessalonica in 1246, which firmly established Nicene power in Europe and prepared the way for the recovery of Constantinople (Grierson, 245)." Born about 1192, John III Doukas Vatatzes was the son of a general killed in battle against the Bulgarians. In 1216, he married a daughter of Theodore I, Emperor of Nicaea. Following the death of Theodore in December 1221, he took the throne, successfully defeating rivals from the powerful Laskaris family, who were backed by the Latin Empire of Constantinople. John's gold hyperpyron (about 16 to 18 carats fine) is relatively common and affordable.
To read the complete article, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
|