BYZANTINE EMPIRE / JUSTIN II & wife SOPHIA 565-578 AD. Æ Follis Coin / GGcoins

Description

“BYZANTINE EMPIRE”
Justin II
&  wife
Sophia
Reign; 565-578 AD.  Cyzicus
Mint; 576-7 AD.
Bronze AE Follis:
Size (28mm.)  Weight: (12.2gm.)
Description:
Obverse:  DN IVSTI-NVS PP AV,  Justin and Sophia, both
nimbate, seated facing on double throne; Justin holds
globus cruciger, Sophia w/ cruciform sceptre, cross above...
Reverse:
Large
M;
cross above,
ANNO
to left,
year; XΙΙ
to right
,
A
center,
KYZ  in exergue...
Ref:
SBCV 372,  DOC 117-26
Personalized COA included
The Coin:
A very pleasing, & well preserved AE Follis, an excellent example of
Byzantine era coin
,
it saw little use before it found a safe place
to wait out the centuries.
Always Authentic, I have never knowingly sold a copy or reproduction!
As grading
is subjective please Judge the coin photos to determine this for yourself.
______________________________________________________________________
History:
Justin II,
& wife
Sophia
A nephew and close adviser of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, Justin II became emperor in
November 565 following his uncle’s death. He began his reign on a note of resolution and common
sense; he paid state debts, remitted overdue taxes, and reduced expenditures.
In the early part of his reign, Justin allowed a measure of toleration to the dissident miaphysite Christians.
Initially, he hoped to bring about a union of the miaphysite factions and then to unite them with the
orthodox church. In March 571, however, he inaugurated a policy of persecution and issued a lengthy
antimiaphysitic creed that all clergy were required to sign under penalty of imprisonment. In the West,
despite an alliance with the Franks, Justin was unable to prevent the Lombards from entering Italy in 568,
and parts of that country were soon permanently lost. His relations with the Avars and Persians were marked
by similar, though less serious, reverses. Shortly after his accession, determined to abandon Justinian’s
policy of buying peace, he rejected an Avar request for tribute.
In 568 he concluded an alliance with the Western Turks of Central Asia, apparently directed against the
Avars and Persians. Yet after campaigning against the Avars, who were ravaging the Danubian frontier,
he was forced to come to terms with them in 571.
Three years later a treaty was concluded stipulating that the Byzantines pay a yearly tribute to the Avars.
In 576 the Western Turks, angered by the treaty, not only broke off their alliance with Justin but also seized
a Byzantine stronghold on the Crimean Peninsula.
In 571 the part of Armenia governed by Persia revolted and requested assistance from the Byzantine Empire.
In the late summer of the following year, Justin’s forces invaded Persia.
The Persians, however, not only repulsed the Byzantines but themselves invaded Byzantine territory, capturing
a number of important cities, including Dara, which fell in November 573.
After learning of the fall of Dara, Justin became insane, and in 574 the empress Sophia, acting on his behalf,
entered into peace negotiations. Induced by Sophia to adopt as his son the general Tiberius, Justin conferred
on him the title of caesar in December 574. Thereafter, Justin, although nominally still emperor,
lived in retirement until his death.
Sophia
Justin II reportedly suffered from temporary fits of insanity and was unable to perform his duties as
early as the fall of Dara to Khosrau I of the Sassanid Empire in November, 573. According to Gregory
of Tours, Sophia assumed sole power over the Empire at this point. Evagrius Scholasticus reports that
Sophia concluded a three-year truce with Khosrau on her own.
According to bishop John of Ephesus, Sophia attributed the madness of her spouse to his failure to
appreciate her status:    "The kingdom came through me, and it has come back to me: and as for him,
he is chastised, and has fallen into this trial on my account, because he did not value me sufficiently,
and vexed me."
During his bouts of madness, Justin lashed out at Baduarius. Even then, Sophia was able to persuade
him to apologize and invite Baduarius to dinner. She had the windows of the palace sealed with bars after
he attempted to throw himself out of them.
The emperor and senate consulted the empress for the nomination of caesar, and they all agreed on
Tiberius II Constantine, Comes Excubitorum (Commander of the Excubitors), as her colleague in power.
According to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor, Tiberius was officially appointed Caesar by Justin
on 7 December 574. He was also adopted by Justin and thus became his appointed heir.
John of Ephesus records that Sophia and Tiberius, effectively co-regents, argued over financial policies:
Sophia pursued decreasing royal expenses while Tiberius argued for the necessity of increasing them,
particularly for military expenses.
Both the Ecclesiastic history of John of Ephesus and the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor suggest
that Sophia was planning to marry Tiberius at this point. His marriage to Ino Anastasia was seen as an
offense to her.
Ino and her daughters Constantina and Charito were not allowed to enter the Great Palace of Constantinople.
They were instead settled in the palace of Hormisdas, residence of Justinian I prior to his elevation to the throne.
According to John of Ephesus, Tiberius joined them every evening and returned to the Great Palace every
morning.
Sophia also refused to let the ladies at court visit Ino and her daughters as a token of respect to them.
Ino eventually left Constantinople for Daphnudium, her previous residence. According to John of Ephesus,
Tiberius left Constantinople to visit Ino when she fell sick. Her daughters are assumed to have joined her in
her departure from the capital.
In September 578, Justin II appointed Tiberius as his co-emperor. On 5 October 578, Justin died and Tiberius
became the sole Emperor. According to John of Ephesus, Sophia sent Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople to
Tiberius to convince him to divorce Ino, and offered both herself and her adult daughter Arabia as prospective
brides. Tiberius refused.   Sophia, though still an Augusta, was no longer the Empress consort.
Sophia retained her rank as Augusta and continued to hold a section of the palace for herself. Meanwhile, her
rival Ino Anastasia was also proclaimed an Augusta.
The situation was not to Sophia's liking, and John of Ephesus records further arguments over financial policy.
Gregory of Tours records that Sophia took part in a conspiracy to depose Tiberius and replace him with another
Justinian, younger brother of the Justin murdered in Alexandria.
Tiberius reacted by seizing of much of her property, dismissing her loyal servants, and appointing replacements
loyal to him. However her rank and presence in the palace remained. Theophanes records that in 579 Sophia
retired to the Sophiai, a palace built in her honor, and says that she held her own minor court and was honored
as the mother of Tiberius.
On 14 August 582, Tiberius died. He was succeeded by Maurice, a general betrothed to Constantina.
Gregory of Tours reported that Sophia had planned to marry Tiberius to regain the throne, but the marriage of
Constantina and Maurice took place in Autumn 582.
Anastasia was the first of the three women to die. Theophanes places her death in 593. Constantina seems
to have enjoyed better relations with Sophia than her mother did. Theophanes records them to have jointly
offered a precious crown as an Easter present to Maurice in 601.
He accepted their gift but then ordered it hung over the altar of Hagia Sophia as his own tribute to the church.
According to Theophanes this was taken an insult by both Augustas and caused a rift in the marriage.
The Easter of 601 was also the last time Sophia was mentioned in our sources.
Whether she survived to see the deposition of Maurice in 602 is unclear. According to the Book of Ceremonies,
she received an imperial burial at the Church of the Holy Apostles beside her husband.
A nephew and close adviser of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, Justin II became emperor in November 565 following his uncle’s death. He began his reign on a note of resolution and common sense; he paid state debts, remitted overdue taxes, and reduced expenditures. In the early part of his reign, Justin allowed a measure of toleration to the dissident miaphysite Christians. Initially, he hoped to bring about a union of the miaphysite factions and then to unite them with the orthodox church. In March 571, however, he inaugurated a policy of persecution and issued a lengthy antimiaphysitic creed that all clergy were required to sign under penalty of imprisonment. In the West, despite an alliance with the Franks, Justin was unable to prevent the Lombards from entering Italy in 568, and parts of that country were soon permanently lost. His relations with the Avars and Persians were marked by similar, though less serious, reverses. Shortly after his accession, determined to abandon Justinian’s policy of buying peace, he rejected an Avar request for tribute. In 568 he concluded an alliance with the Western Turks of Central Asia, apparently directed against the Avars and Persians. Yet after campaigning against the Avars, who were ravaging the Danubian frontier, he was forced to come to terms with them in 571. Three years later a treaty was concluded stipulating that the Byzantines pay a yearly tribute to the Avars. In 576 the Western Turks, angered by the treaty, not only broke off their alliance with Justin but also seized a Byzantine stronghold on the Crimean Peninsula. In 571 the part of Armenia governed by Persia revolted and requested assistance from the Byzantine Empire. In the late summer of the following year, Justin’s forces invaded Persia. The Persians, however, not only repulsed the Byzantines but themselves invaded Byzantine territory, capturing a number of important cities, including Dara, which fell in November 573. After learning of the fall of Dara, Justin became insane, and in 574 the empress Sophia, acting on his behalf, entered into peace negotiations. Induced by Sophia to adopt as his son the general Tiberius, Justin conferred on him the title of caesar in December 574. Thereafter, Justin, although nominally still emperor, lived in retirement until his death. (Cited from:
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/justin-ii-and-sophia.359955/
)
________________________________________________
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