Rare ORIGINAL ancient BYZANTINE coin Reduced follis CONSTANTINE V 751AD Leo III

Description

One original ancient Byzantine coin:
AE FOLLIS, CONSTANTINE V, 751-775 AD. WITH LEO III RARE.
Authenticity guaranteed.
COA included!
Reference: Sear 1515; DOC 36
AE 22mm.
5.78gm. Original green-brown patina. Lightly cleaned. Exactly as pictured.
Leo III the Isaurian
- Byzantine Emperor: March 25, 717 - June 18, 741 A.D.
with Constantine V, Copronymus
Constantinople mint, circa 717-741 A.D.
Obv./ No legend, Leo on left wearing crown wearing chlamys, and Constantine V, on right wearing crown and loros, cross potent above.
Rev./ Large M, XXX to left, cross above, NNN to right, A below.
Authenticity guaranteed.
Leo III the
Isaurian
also known as
the
Syrian
(
Greek
: Λέων Γ΄ ὁ Ἴσαυρος,
Leōn III ho Isauros
), (c. 685 – 18 June 741) was
Byzantine Emperor
from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to a
period of instability
, successfully defended the Empire against the invading
Umayyads
, and
forbade the veneration of icons
.
Life
Early life
Leo, whose original name was
Konon
, was born in Germanikeia in the Syrian province of
Commagene
(modern
Kahramanmaraş
in Turkey). Some, including the
Byzantine
chronicler
Theophanes
, have claimed that Konon's family had been resettled in
Thrace
, where he entered the service of Emperor
Justinian II
, when the latter was advancing on
Constantinople
with an army of 100,000 horsemen provided by
Tervel of Bulgaria
in 705.
After the victory of Justinian II, Konon was dispatched on a diplomatic mission to
Alania
and
Lazica
to organize an alliance against the
Umayyad
Caliphate
under
Al-Walid I
. Konon was appointed commander (
stratēgos
) of the
Anatolic theme
by Emperor
Anastasius II
. On his deposition, Konon joined with his colleague
Artabasdus
, the
stratēgos
of the
Armeniac theme
, in conspiring to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. Artabasdus was betrothed to
Anna
, daughter of Leo as part of the agreement.
Siege of Constantinople
Main article:
Siege of Constantinople (717–718)
Leo entered Constantinople on 25 March 717 and forced the abdication of Theodosios III, becoming emperor as Leo III. The new Emperor was immediately forced to attend to the
Second Arab siege of Constantinople
, which commenced in August of the same year. The Arabs were Umayyad forces sent by Caliph
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik
and serving under his brother
Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik
. They had taken advantage of the civil discord in the Byzantine Empire to bring a force of 80,000 to 150,000 men and a massive fleet to the
Bosphorus
.
Careful preparations, begun three years earlier under Anastasius II, and the stubborn resistance put up by Leo wore out the invaders. An important factor in the victory of the Byzantines was their use of
Greek fire
. The Arab forces also fell victim to Bulgarian reinforcements arriving to aid the Byzantines. Leo was allied with the Bulgarians but the chronicler
Theophanes the Confessor
was uncertain if they were still serving under Tervel or his eventual successor
Kormesiy of Bulgaria
.
Unable to continue the siege in the face of the Bulgarian onslaught, the impenetrability of Constantinople's walls, and their own exhausted provisions, the Arabs were forced to abandon the siege in August, 718. Sulayman himself had died the previous year and his successor
Umar II
would not attempt another siege. The siege had lasted 12 months.
Administration
Having thus preserved the Empire from extinction, Leo proceeded to consolidate its administration, which in the previous years of anarchy had become completely disorganized. In 718 he suppressed a rebellion in
Sicily
and in 719 did the same on behalf of the deposed Emperor
Anastasios II
.
Leo secured the Empire's frontiers by inviting
Slavic
settlers into the depopulated districts and by restoring the
army
to efficiency; when the Umayyad Caliphate renewed their invasions in 726 and 739, as part of the campaigns of
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
, the Arab forces were decisively beaten, particularly at
Akroinon
in 740. His military efforts were supplemented by his alliances with the
Khazars
and the
Georgians
.
Leo undertook a set of civil reforms including the abolition of the system of prepaying taxes which had weighed heavily upon the wealthier proprietors, the elevation of the
serfs
into a
class
of free
tenants
and the remodelling of
family
,
maritime law
and
criminal law
, notably substituting
mutilation
for the
death penalty
in many cases. The new measures, which were embodied in a new
code
called the
Ecloga
(
Selection
), published in 726, met with some opposition on the part of the nobles and higher clergy. The Emperor also undertook some reorganization of the
theme
structure by creating new themata in the
Aegean
region.
Iconoclasm
Leo's most striking legislative reforms dealt with religious matters, especially
iconoclasm
("Icon-breaking," therefore an iconoclast is an "Icon-breaker"). After an apparently successful attempt to enforce the
baptism
of all
Jews
and
Montanists
in the empire (722), he issued a
series of edicts
against the worship of images (726–729). This prohibition of a custom which had been in use for centuries seems to have been inspired by a genuine desire to improve public morality, and received the support of the official aristocracy and a section of the clergy. A majority of the theologians and all the monks opposed these measures with uncompromising hostility, and in the western parts of the Empire the people refused to obey the edict.
A revolt which broke out in Greece, mainly on religious grounds, was crushed by the imperial fleet in 727 (cf.
Agallianos Kontoskeles
). In 730,
Patriarch Germanos I of Constantinople
resigned rather than subscribe to an iconoclastic decree. Leo had him replaced by
Anastasios
, who willingly sided with the Emperor on the question of icons. Thus Leo suppressed the overt opposition of the capital.
In the
Italian Peninsula
, the defiant attitude of Popes
Gregory II
and
Gregory III
on behalf of image-veneration led to a fierce quarrel with the Emperor. The former summoned councils in
Rome
to anathematize and excommunicate the iconoclasts (730, 732); In 740 Leo retaliated by transferring
Southern Italy
and
Illyricum
from the papal diocese to that of the
Patriarch of Constantinople
. The struggle was accompanied by an armed outbreak in the
exarchate of Ravenna
in 727, which Leo finally endeavoured to subdue by means of a large fleet. But the destruction of the armament by a storm decided the issue against him; his southern Italian subjects successfully defied his religious edicts, and the
Exarchate of Ravenna
became effectively detached from the Empire.
The emperor died of
dropsy
in June 741.
Family
With his wife
Maria
, Leo III had four known children:
Anna
, who married
Artabasdus
.
Constantine V
, who succeeded as emperor.
Irene
Kosmo
Constantine V
(718 – September 14, 775) (
Greek
:
Κωνσταντίνος Ε΄,
Kōnstantinos V
; denigrated by his enemies as
Kopronymos
or
Copronymus
, meaning
the dung-christened
) was
Byzantine Emperor
from 741 to 775.
Life
Early life
Constantine was born in
Constantinople
, the son and successor of Emperor
Leo III
and
Maria
. In August 720 he was associated on the throne by his father, who had him marry
Tzitzak
, daughter of the
Khazar
khagan
Bihar
. His new bride was baptized as Irene (
Eirēnē
, "peace") in 732. Constantine V succeeded his father as sole emperor on 18 June 741.
Civil war against Artabasdos
In June 741 or 742, while Constantine was crossing
Asia Minor
to campaign on the eastern frontier against the
Umayyad
Caliphate
under
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik
, he was attacked by the forces of his brother-in-law
Artabasdos
, husband of his older sister,
Anna
. Artabasdos was the
stratēgos
of the Armeniac
theme
.
Constantine was defeated and sought refuge in
Amorion
, while Artabasdos advanced on Constantinople and was accepted as Emperor. Constantine received the support of the
Anatolic
and
Thracesian
themes; Artabasdos secured the support of the themes of
Thrace
and
Opsikion
, in addition to his own Armeniac soldiers.
The rival emperors bided their time making military preparations. Artabasdos marched against Constantine in May 743 but was defeated. Three months later Constantine defeated Artabasdos' son Niketas and headed for Constantinople. In early November Constantine was admitted into the capital and immediately turned on his opponents, having them blinded or executed.
The usurpation of Artabasdos was connected with restoring the veneration of images, leading Constantine to became perhaps an even more fervent
iconoclast
than his father. Constantine's avowed enemies over this extremely emotional issue, the
iconodules
, applied to him the derogatory epithet
Kopronymos
("dung-named", from
kopros
, meaning "
feces
" or "animal
dung
", and
onoma
, "
name
"). Using this obscene name, they spread the rumour that as an infant he had defecated in his baptismal font, or the imperial purple cloth with which he was swaddled.
Campaign pro iconoclasm
Further information:
Byzantine Iconoclasm
Constantine's position on
Iconoclasm
was clear:
....He cannot be depicted. For what is depicted in one person, and he who circumscribes that person has plainly circumscribed the divine nature which is incapable of being circumscribed.
In February 754 Constantine convened a
synod at Hieria
, which was attended entirely by Iconoclast bishops. The council approved of Constantine's religious policy and secured the election of a new Iconoclast patriarch, but refused to follow in all of Constantine's views. The council confirmed the status of Mary as Theotokos, or Mother of God, reinforced the use of the terms "saint" and "holy" as meet, and condemned the desecration, burning, or looting of churches in the quest to quench
Iconophiles
.
The synod was followed by a campaign to remove images from the walls of churches and to purge the court and bureaucracy of Iconodules. Since monasteries tended to be strongholds of Iconophile sentiment, Constantine specifically targeted the monks, pairing them off and forcing them to marry nuns in the
Hippodrome
and expropriating monastic property for the benefit of the state or the army. The repressions against the monks (culminating in 766) were largely led by the Emperor's general
Michael Lachanodrakon
, who threatened resistant monks with blinding and exile. An iconodule abbot,
Stephen Neos
, was brutally lynched by a mob at the behest of the authorities. As a result many monks fled to
Southern Italy
and
Sicily
.
By the end of Constantine's reign, Iconoclasm had gone as far as to brand
relics
and prayers to the
saints
as
heretical
. Ultimately, iconophiles considered his death a divine punishment. In the 9th century he was disinterred, and his remains were thrown into the sea.
Campaigns against the Arabs and Bulgaria
Constantine was an able general and administrator. He reorganised the
themes
, the military districts of the Empire, and created new field army divisions called
tagmata
. This organization was intended to minimize the threat of conspiracies and to enhance the defensive capabilities of the Empire. With this reorganized army he embarked on campaigns on the three major frontiers.
In 746, profiting by the unstable conditions in the Umayyad Caliphate, which was falling apart under
Marwan II
, Constantine invaded Syria and captured Germanikeia (modern
Maraş
, his father's birthplace). He organised the resettlement of part of the local Christian population to Imperial territory in
Thrace
. In 747 his fleet destroyed the Arab fleet off
Cyprus
. In 752 he led an invasion into the new
Abbasid
Caliphate under
As-Saffah
. Constantine captured Theodosioupolis and Melitene (
Malatya
) and again resettled some of the population in the
Balkans
. These campaigns failed to secure any concrete gains (apart from additional population employed to strengthen another frontier), but it is important to note that under Constantine V the Empire had gone on the offensive.
Meanwhile, with Constantine occupied,
Lombard
king
Aistulf
captured
Ravenna
in 755, ending over two centuries of Byzantine rule.
The successes in the east made it possible to pursue an aggressive policy in the Balkans. With the resettlement of Christian populations from the East into Thrace, Constantine V aimed to enhance the prosperity and defence of the area, causing concern to the Empire's northern neighbour,
Bulgaria
, and leading the two states to clash in 755.
Kormisosh of Bulgaria
raided as far as the
Anastasian Wall
but was defeated in battle by Constantine V, who inaugurated a long series of nine successful campaigns against the Bulgarians in the next year, scoring a victory over Kormisosh's successor
Vinekh
at
Marcelae
.
Three years later, Constantine was defeated in the
battle of the Rishki Pass
, but the Bulgarians did not exploit their success. In 763, he sailed to Anchialus with 800 ships carrying 9,600 cavalry and some infantry. Constantine's victories, including that at
Anchialus
in 763, caused considerable instability in Bulgaria, where six monarchs lost their crowns on account of their failures.
In 775, Constantine was persuaded to reveal to the Bulgarian ruler
Telerig
the identities of his agents in Bulgaria, and they were promptly eliminated. Constantine thus began preparations for a new campaign against the Bulgarians, during which he died, on September 14, 775.
Constantine's campaigns were costly; during his reign the Byzantine Empire's annual revenues were reduced to about 1,800,000
nomismata
due to his various wars and the Arab conquests.
Family
By his first wife,
Tzitzak
("Irene of Khazaria"), Constantine V had one son:
Leo IV
, who succeeded as emperor.
By his second wife,
Maria
, Constantine V is not known to have had children.
By his third wife,
Eudokia
, Constantine V had five sons and a daughter:
Christopher,
Caesar
Nikephoros
, Caesar
Niketas,
Nobelissimos
Eudokimos, Nobelissimos
Anthimos, Nobelissimos
Anthousa
The
Byzantine Empire
, or
Eastern Roman Empire
, was the predominantly
Greek
-speaking eastern half continuation and remainder of the
Roman Empire
during
Late Antiquity
and the
Middle Ages
. Its capital city was
Constantinople
(modern-day
Istanbul
), originally founded as
Byzantium
. It survived the
fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire
in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it
fell
to the
Ottoman Turks
in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. Both "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" are historiographical terms created after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the
Roman Empire
(
Ancient Greek
:
Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων
,
tr.
Basileia Rhōmaiōn
;
Latin
:
Imperium Romanum
), or
Romania
(
Ῥωμανία
), and to themselves as "Romans".
Several events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the transitional period during which the Roman Empire's
east and west
divided
. In 285, the
emperor
Diocletian
(r. 284–305) partitioned the Roman Empire's administration into eastern and western halves. Between 324 and 330,
Constantine I
(r. 306–337) transferred the main capital from
Rome
to
Byzantium
, later known as
Constantinople
("City of Constantine") and
Nova Roma
("New Rome"). Under
Theodosius I
(r. 379–395),
Christianity
became the Empire's official
state religion
and others such as
Roman polytheism
were
proscribed
. And finally, under the reign of
Heraclius
(r. 610–641), the Empire's military and administration were restructured and adopted Greek for official use instead of Latin. Thus, although it continued the Roman state and maintained Roman state traditions, modern historians distinguish
Byzantium
from
ancient Rome
insofar as it was oriented towards Greek rather than Latin culture, and characterised by
Orthodox Christianity
rather than
Roman polytheism
.
The borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of
Justinian I
(r. 527–565), the Empire reached its greatest extent after reconquering much of the historically Roman western
Mediterranean
coast, including north Africa, Italy, and Rome itself, which it held for two more centuries. During the reign of
Maurice
(r. 582–602), the Empire's eastern frontier was expanded and the north stabilised. However, his assassination caused a
two-decade-long war
with
Sassanid Persia
which exhausted the Empire's resources and contributed to major territorial losses during the
Muslim conquests
of the 7th century. In a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs.
During the
Macedonian dynasty
(10th–11th centuries), the Empire again expanded and experienced a two-century long
renaissance
, which came to an end with the loss of much of Asia Minor to the
Seljuk Turks
after the
Battle of Manzikert
in 1071. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in
Anatolia
as a homeland.
The final centuries of the Empire exhibited a general trend of decline. It struggled to
recover during the 12th century
, but was delivered a mortal blow during the
Fourth Crusade
, when Constantinople was sacked and the Empire
dissolved and divided
into competing Byzantine Greek and
Latin realms
. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople and
re-establishment of the Empire in 1261
, Byzantium remained only one of several small rival states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were
progressively annexed by the Ottomans
over the 15th century. The
Fall of Constantinople
to the
Ottoman Empire
in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire
.
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