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Basilikon
The ''basilikon'' ( el, βασιλικόν όμισμα}, "imperial oin), commonly also referred to as the (Greek: δουκάτον), was a widely circulated Byzantine silver coin of the first half of the 14th century. Its introduction marked the return to a wide-scale use of silver coinage in the Byzantine Empire, and presaged the total abandonment of the gold coins around the middle of the century. History The ''basilikon'' was introduced shortly before 1304 by Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328), in direct imitation of the Venetian silver ducat or '' grosso'', chiefly to pay the mercenaries of the Catalan Company... The Byzantine coin closely followed the iconography of the Venetian model, with a seated Christ on the obverse and the two standing figures of Andronikos II and his son and co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos (r. 1294–1320) replacing St. Mark and the Doge of Venice on the reverse. The similarity was reinforced by the name of the new coin: the '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael IX Palaiologos
, image = 154 - Michael IX Palaiologos (Mutinensis - color).png , caption = 15th-century portrait of Michael IX (from a 15th-century codex containing a copy of the ''Extracts of History'' by Joannes Zonaras) , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 21 May 1294 –12 October 1320 , coronation = 21 May 1294, Hagia Sophia , regent = Andronikos II Palaiologos , reg-type = Co-emperor , predecessor = Andronikos II (alone) , successor = Andronikos II (alone), Andronikos III ( in Macedonia) , spouse = , issue = , dynasty = Palaiologos , father = Andronikos II Palaiologos , mother = Anna of Hungary , birth_date = 17 April 1277 , birth_place = Constantinople(now Istanbul, Turkey) , death_date = , death_place = Thessaloniki, Greece , place of burial = , , title=Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans Michael IX Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαήλ Δού ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doge Of Venice
The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 and 1797. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the Venetian nobility. The ''doge'' was neither a duke in the modern sense, nor the equivalent of a nobility, hereditary duke. The title "doge" was the title of the senior-most elected official of Republic of Venice, Venice and Republic of Genoa, Genoa; both cities were republics and elected doges. A doge was referred to variously by the titles "My Lord the Doge" ('), "Most Serene Prince" ('), and "Serene Highness, His Serenity" ('). History of the title Byzantine era The office of doge goes back to 697. The first historical Venetian doge, Orso Ipato, Ursus, led a revolt against the Byzantine Empire in 726, but was soon recognised as the () and (a honorific title derived from the Greek w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silver Coins
Silver coins are considered the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–330 BC. Before 1797, British pennies were made of silver. As with all collectible coins, many factors determine the value of a silver coin, such as its rarity, demand, condition and the number originally minted. Ancient silver coins coveted by collectors include the Denarius and Miliarense, while more recent collectible silver coins include the Morgan Dollar and the Spanish Milled Dollar. Other than collector's silver coins, silver bullion coins are popular among people who desire a "hedge" against currency inflation or store of value. Silver has an international currency symbol of XAG under ISO 4217. Origins and early development of silver coins The earliest coins in the world were minted in the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor around 600 B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Oxford Dictionary Of Byzantium
The ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'' (ODB) is a three-volume historical dictionary published by the English Oxford University Press. With more than 5,000 entries, it contains comprehensive information in English on topics relating to the Byzantine Empire. It was edited by Alexander Kazhdan, and was first published in 1991.''The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', Oxford University Press, New York and Oxford, 1991. Kazhdan was a professor at Princeton University who became a Senior Research Associate at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC, before his death. He contributed to many of the articles in the Dictionary and always signed his initials ''A.K.'' at the end of the article to indicate his contribution. Description The dictionary is available in printed and e-reference text versions from Oxford Reference Online. It covers the main historical events of Byzantium, as well as important social and religious events. It also includes biographies of eminent political and literary personal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stavraton
The ''stavraton'' or ''stauraton'' ( el, σταυράτον) was a type of silver coin used during the last century of the Byzantine Empire. History The name ''stavraton'' first appears in the mid-11th century for a gold ''histamenon'' showing the Byzantine emperor holding a cross-shaped scepter, but in its more specific sense, it denotes the large silver coins introduced by Emperor John V Palaiologos (r. 1341–1376, 1379–1391) in circa 1367 and used for the last century of Byzantine history.. The late Byzantine coin was probably named after the cross (Greek: σταυρός, ''stavros''/''stauros'') that featured in its presumed model, the double '' gigliato'' of Naples and the Provence; alternatively, the name may have derived from the small crosses at the beginning of the coins' inscriptions, an unusual feature for Byzantine currency, although these are not very conspicuous.. The coin was designed to replace the defunct gold ''hyperpyron'' as the highest-denomination coin in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The Sea has played a central role in the history of Western civilization. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. The Mediterranean Sea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. Comprising the westernmost peninsulas of Eurasia, it shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with both Africa and Asia. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and Asia to the east. Europe is commonly considered to be Boundaries between the continents of Earth#Asia and Europe, separated from Asia by the drainage divide, watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural (river), Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. "Europe" (pp. 68–69); "Asia" (pp. 90–91): "A commonly accepted division between Asia and E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miliaresion
The ''miliaresion'' ( el, μιλιαρήσιον, from la, miliarensis), is a name used for two types of Byzantine silver coins. In its most usual sense, it refers to the themed flat silver coin struck between the 8th and 11th Century. History Originally, the name was given to a series of silver coins issued in the 4th century that were struck 72 to the pound and were the equivalent of 1,000 ''nummi''. Thereafter and until the 7th century, the Byzantines did not get regularly circulate silver coins, although there were a very small number of commemorative issues struck. In the 7th century, a ''miliaresion'' was an alternative name possibly given to a variation on the short-lived hexagram coin minted during the time of Heraclius and Constans II. From , this variant coin, broader and thinner than the hexagram, was instituted by Leo III the Isaurian ().. The new coin, for which the term ''miliaresion'' is usually preserved among numismatists, was apparently struck 144 to the pound ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hexagram (currency)
The hexagram ( el, , ''hexagramma'') was a large silver coin of the Byzantine Empire issued primarily during the 7th century AD. With the exception of a few 6th-century ceremonial issues, silver coins were not used in the late Roman/early Byzantine monetary system (see Byzantine coinage), chiefly because of the great fluctuation of its price relative to gold. Only under Emperor Heraclius (r. 610–641), in 615, were new silver coins minted to cover the needs of the war with Sassanid Persia. The material for these coins came chiefly from the confiscation of church plate. They were named after their weight of six '' grammata'' (6.84 grams), and probably valued at 12 to the gold ''solidus''... The Hexagrams uniquely carried the inscription of ''Deus adiuta Romanis'' or "May God help the Romans"; It is believed that this shows the desperation of the empire at this time. The coin remained in regular issue under Heraclius's successor Constans II (r. 641–668), from whose reign many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keration
The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hardness and durability of coins and jewelry, alter colors, decrease the cost per weight, or avoid the cost of high-purity refinement. For example, copper is added to the precious metal silver to make a more durable alloy for use in coins, housewares and jewelry. Coin silver, which was used for making silver coins in the past, contains 90% silver and 10% copper, by mass. Sterling silver contains 92.5% silver and 7.5% of other metals, usually copper, by mass. Various ways of expressing fineness have been used and two remain in common use: ''millesimal fineness'' expressed in units of parts per 1,000 and '' karats'' or ''carats'' used only for gold. Karats measure the parts per 24, so that 18 karat = = 75% and 24 karat gold is considered 100% go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyperpyron
The ''hyperpyron'' ( ''nómisma hypérpyron'') was a Byzantine coin in use during the late Middle Ages, replacing the ''solidus'' as the Byzantine Empire's gold coinage. History The traditional gold currency of the Byzantine Empire had been the ''solidus'' or ''nomisma'', whose gold content had remained steady at 24 carats for seven centuries and was consequently highly prized. From the 1030s, however, the coin was increasingly debased, until in the 1080s, following the military disasters and civil wars of the previous decade, its gold content was reduced to almost zero. Consequently, in 1092, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos ( 1081–1118) undertook a drastic overhaul of the Byzantine coinage system and introduced a new gold coin, the ''hyperpyron'' (meaning "super-refined"). This was of the same standard weight (4.45 grams) as the ''solidus'', but only 20.5 carat purity instead of 24, resulting in a reduced gold content of only 4.1 grams instead of 4.8 grams. The lower purity was due ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scyphate
Scyphate is a term frequently used in numismatics to refer to the concave or "cup-shaped" Byzantine coins of the 11th–14th centuries. This usage emerged in the 19th century, when the term ''scyphatus'', attested in south Italian documents of the 11th and 12th centuries, was erroneously interpreted as deriving from the Greek word ''skyphos'' (σκύφος, "cup"). In reality, the term probably derives from the Arabic word ''shafah'', "edge, rim", and refers to the distinctive and conspicuous border of the early '' histamena'' gold coins. Due to this misunderstanding, the term "scyphate" has been widely applied to the concave gold, silver, and copper coins of the late Byzantine Empire and the foreign issues imitating it. These coins are more properly designated as ''trachea'' (singular: ''trachy'', from Greek τραχύ, "rough, uneven").. Gallery File:Scifato_ducale.jpg, "Scyphate" silver ducat of Roger II of Sicily. File:Histamenon nomisma-Isaac I-sb1776.jpg, "Scyphate" ''histame ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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