JESUS CHRIST Class H Anonymous Ancient 1071AD Byzantine Follis Coin CROSS i52372

Description

Item:
i52372
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
Byzantine Empire
Anonymous Class H
Bronze Follis 22mm (3.90 grams)
Struck during the reign of Michael VII
Emperor: October 24,1071 - March 24, 1078 A.D.
Reference: Sear 1880
Bust of Christ facing , wearing a nimbus crown, pallium and colobium, and raising right hand in benediction;
in left hand, book of Gospels; to left, IC; to right, XC; normal border.
Patriarchal cross, with globule and two pellets at each extremity; in lower field, on either side, floral ornament.
For more than a century, the production of Follis denomination Byzantine coins had religious Christian motifs which included included Jesus Christ, and even Virgin Mary. These coins were designed to honor Christ and recognize the subservient role of the Byzantine emperor, with many of the reverse inscriptions translating to "Jesus Christ King of Kings" and "May Jesus Christ Conquer". The Follis denomination coins were the largest bronze denomination coins issued by the Byzantine empire, and their large size, along with the Christian motif make them a popular coin type for collectors. This series ran from the period of Byzantine emperors John I (969-976 A.D.) to Alexius I (1081-1118 A.D.). The accepted classification was originally devised by Miss Margaret Thompson with her study of these types of coins. World famous numismatic author, David R. Sear adopted this classification system for his book entitled, Byzantine Coins and Their Values. The references about this coin site Mr. Sear's book by the number that they appear in that work.  The class types of coins included Class A1, Class A2, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E, Class F, Class G, Class H, Class I, Class J, Class K. Read more and see examples of these coins by reading the JESUS CHRIST Anonymous Class A-N Byzantine Follis Coins Reference.
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Jesus of Nazareth
(
c.
5 BC/BCE –
c.
30 AD/CE), also referred to as
Jesus Christ
or simply
Jesus
, is the central figure of
Christianity
. Most
Christian denominations
venerate him as
God the Son
incarnated
and believe that he
rose from the dead
after being
crucified
.
The principal sources of information regarding Jesus are the four
canonical gospels
, and most
critical scholars
find them, at least the
Synoptic Gospels
, useful for reconstructing Jesus’ life and teachings. Some scholars believe apocryphal texts such as the
Gospel of Thomas
and the
Gospel according to the Hebrews
are also
relevant
.
Most critical historians agree that Jesus was a
Jew
who was regarded as a teacher and
healer
, that he
was baptized
by
John the Baptist
, and
was crucified
in
Jerusalem
on the orders of the
Roman Prefect
Judaea
,
Pontius Pilate
, on the charge of
sedition
against the
Roman Empire
. Critical Biblical scholars and historians have offered competing descriptions of Jesus as a self-described
Messiah
, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement. Most contemporary scholars of the
Historical Jesus
consider him to have been an independent, charismatic founder of a Jewish restoration movement, anticipating an imminent apocalypse. Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus' "
Kingdom of God
" meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse.
Christians traditionally believe that Jesus was
born of a virgin
:529–32
performed
miracles
,
:358–59
founded
the Church
,
rose from the dead
, and
ascended
into
heaven
,
:616–20
from which he
will return
.
:1091–109
Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited Messiah promised in the
Old Testament
and as God, arguing that he fulfilled many Messianic prophecies of the
Old Testament
. The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, one of three divine persons of a
reject Trinitarianism
Trinity
, wholly or partly, believing it to be non-scriptural.
Michael VII Doukas
or
Ducas
(
Greek
: Μιχαήλ Ζ΄ Δούκας,
Mikhaēl VII Doukas
), nicknamed
Parapinakēs
(Παραπινάκης), was
Byzantine emperor
from 1071 to 1078.
Life
Michael VII was the eldest son of
Constantine X Doukas
and
Eudokia Makrembolitissa
, and was born c. 1050, in
Constantinople
. He had been associated with his father on the throne late in 1059, together with or shortly before his newly born brother
Konstantios Doukas
. When Constantine X died in 1067, Michael VII was 17 years old and should have been able to rule by himself. He exhibited little interest in politics, and his mother Eudokia and uncle John Doukas governed the empire as effective regents.
On January 1, 1068, Eudokia married the general
Romanos Diogenes
, who now became senior co-emperor alongside Michael VII, Konstantios, and another brother,
Andronikos
. When Romanos IV was defeated and captured by
Alp Arslan
of the
Seljuk Turks
at the
Battle of Manzikert
in August 1071, Michael VII remained in the background, while the initiative was taken by his uncle
John Doukas
and his tutor
Michael Psellos
. They conspired to keep Romanos from regaining power after his release from captivity, while he himself felt under no obligation to honor the agreement that Romanus struck with the Sultan. After the dispatch of Eudokia to a monastery, Michael VII was crowned again on October 24, 1071 as senior emperor.
Although still advised by Michael Psellos and John Doukas, Michael VII became increasingly reliant on his finance minister
Nikephoritzes
. The emperor's chief interests, shaped by Psellos, were in academic pursuits, and he allowed Nikephoritzes to increase both taxation and luxury spending without properly financing the army. As an emperor he was incompetent, and surrounded by synchophantic court officials, he was blind to the empire collapsing around him. In dire straits, imperial officials resorted to property confiscations and even expropriated some of the wealth of the church. The underpaid army tended to mutiny, and the Byzantines lost
Bari
, their last possession in
Italy
, to the
Normans
of
Robert Guiscard
in 1071. Simultaneously, they faced a serious revolt in the Balkans, where they faced an attempt for the restoration of the
Bulgarian
state in the same year. Although this revolt was suppressed by the general Nikephoros Bryennios, the Byzantine Empire was unable to recover its losses in
Asia Minor
.
After Manzikert, the Byzantine government sent a new army to contain the
Seljuk Turks
under Isaac Komnenos, a brother of the future emperor
Alexios I Komnenos
, but this army was defeated and its commander captured in 1073. The problem was made worse by the desertion of the Byzantines' western mercenaries, who became the object of the next military expedition in the area, led by the
Caesar John Doukas
. This campaign also ended in failure and its commander was likewise captured by the enemy. The victorious mercenaries now forced John Doukas to stand as pretender to the throne. In this situation Michael VII's government was forced to recognize the conquests of the
Seljuk Turks
in
Asia Minor
in 1074, and to seek their support. A new army under Alexios Komnenos, reinforced by Seljuk troops sent by
Malik Shah I
, finally defeated the mercenaries and captured John Doukas in 1074.
These misfortunes caused widespread dissatisfaction, exacerbated by the devaluation of the currency, which gave the emperor his nickname
Parapinakēs
, "minus a quarter". In 1078 two generals,
Nikephoros Bryennios
and
Nikephoros Botaneiates
, simultaneously revolted in the Balkans and Anatolia, respectively. Botaneiates gained the support of the Seljuk Turks and first reached Constantinople. Michael VII resigned the throne with hardly a struggle on March 31, 1078 and retired into the monastery of
Stoudios
. He later became metropolitan archbishop of
Ephesus
and died in Constantinople in c. 1090.
Usurpers
Various usurpers attempted to overthrow Michael VII or rule parts of the empire. These included:
Nestor – A slave of
Constantine X
, he had been promoted to the rank of governor on the towns on the Danube. He rebelled in around 1073, placing himself at the head of the garrisons under his command, which were already in a state of mutiny due to an arrears in their pay. The troops were eager to plunder the Bulgarians, and he obtained the assistance of one of the chiefs of the Patzinaks before marching onto
Constantinople
. The rebels demanded the dismissal of minister Nikephoritzes, but discovering that he didn't have the numbers to attack the capital, his troops separated into smaller parties, and proceeded to plunder the countryside. Nestor remained with the Patzinaks, and retreated with them beyond the
Danube
.
Philaretos Brachamios
Caesar John Doukas
Nikephoros Bryennios
Nikephoros Botaneiates
Family
Michael VII Doukas had married
Maria of Alania
, daughter of King
Bagrat IV of Georgia
. By her he had at least one son,
Constantine Doukas
, co-emperor from c. 1075 to 1078 and from 1081 to 1087/8. He died c. 1095.
The
Patriarchal cross
is a variant of the
Christian cross
, the
religious symbol
of
Christianity
. Similar to the familiar
Latin cross
, the Patriarchal cross possesses a smaller crossbar placed above the main one, so that both crossbars are near the top. Sometimes the patriarchal cross has a short, slanted crosspiece near its foot. This slanted, lower crosspiece often appears in
Byzantine Greek
and
Eastern European
iconography
, as well as
Eastern Orthodox
churches
.
The Byzant christianization came to the
Morava empire
in the year 863, provided at the request of
Prince Rastic
sent
[1]
Byzantine Emperor
Michael III
.
[2]
The symbol, often referred to as the patriarchal cross, appeared in the
Byzantine Empire
in large numbers in the 10th century. For a long time, it was thought to have been given to
Saint Stephen
by the
pope
as the symbol of the apostolic Kingdom of Hungary. The two-barred cross is one of the main elements in the coats of arms of the Kingdom of Hungary since 1190. It appeared during the reign of King Béla III, who was raised in the Byzantine court. Béla was the son of Russian princess Eufrosina Mstislavovna. The cross appears floating in the coat of arms and on the coins from this era. In medieval Kingdom of Hungary was extended Byzantine Cyril-Methodian and western Latin church was expanded later.
[3]
[4]
The current coat of arms of Slovakia stems directly from the Cyril-Methodian tradition of the 9th century. The two-barred cross in the Hungarian coat of arms comes from the same source of Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire in the 12th century.
[5]
Unlike the ordinary
Christian cross
, the symbolism and meaning of the double cross is not well understood.
Imagery
The top beam represents the plaque bearing the inscription "
Jesus
of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (often abbreviated in the
Latinate
"
INRI
", and in the Greek as "
INBI
"). A popular view is that the slanted bottom beam is a foot rest, however there is no evidence of foot rests ever being used during crucifixion, and it has a deeper meaning. The bottom beam may represent a balance of justice. Some sources suggest that, as one of the thieves being crucified with Jesus repented of his sin and believed in Jesus as the Messiah and was thus with Christ in
Paradise
, the other thief rejected and mocked Jesus and therefore descended into
Hades
.
Many symbolic interpretations of the double cross have been put forth. One of them says that the first horizontal line symbolized the secular power and the other horizontal line the ecclesiastic power of
Byzantine emperors
.
[
citation
needed
]
Also, that the first cross bar represents the death and the second cross the resurrection of
Jesus Christ
.
Other variations
The
Russian cross
can be considered a modified version of the Patriarchal cross, having two smaller crossbeams, one at the top and one near the bottom, in addition to the longer crossbeam. One suggestion is the lower crossbeam represents the footrest (
suppendaneum
) to which the feet of Jesus were nailed. In some earlier representations (and still currently in the
Greek Church
) the crossbar near the bottom is straight, or slanted upwards. In later Slavic and other traditions, it came to be depicted as slanted, with the side to the viewer's left usually being higher. During 1577–1625 the Russian use of the cross was between the heads of the
double-headed eagle
in the
coat of arms of Russia
.
One tradition says that this comes from the idea that as
Jesus Christ
took his last breath, the bar to which his feet were nailed broke, thus slanting to the side. Another tradition holds that the slanted bar represents the
repentant thief
and the
unrepentant thief
that were crucified with Christ, the one to Jesus' right hand repenting and rising to be with God in Paradise, and one on his left falling to Hades and separation from God. In this manner it also reminds the viewer of the
Last Judgment
.
Still another explanation of the slanted crossbar would suggest the
Cross Saltire
, as tradition holds that the
Apostle St. Andrew
introduced
Christianity
to lands north and west of the
Black Sea
: today's
Ukraine
,
Russia
,
Belarus
,
Moldova
, and
Romania
.
Another form of the cross was used by the
Jagiellon
dynasty in Poland. This cross now features on the coat of arms of Lithuania, where it appears on the shield of the knight. It is also the badge of the Lithuanian Air Force and forms the country's highest award for bravery, the
Order of the Cross of Vytis
.
The Patriarchal Cross appears on the
Pahonia
, used at various times as the coat of arms of
Belarus
.
Coat of arms of Kingdom of Hungary
under king
Béla III
Present-day
coat of arms of Hungary
Coat of arms of Slovakia
Coat of arms of
Jagiełło
of Poland
Serbian
Tsar Stefan Dušan
holding the patriarchal cross.
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