★ Battle of Manzikert; rare ★

Romanus IV Diogenes (1068-1071) 2/3 Miliaresion. Constantinople, 1.25g, 19mm.
Obv: Bust of the Virgin facing, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium, holding with her both hands medallion of infant Christ, nimbate; in fields, MP - ΘV.
Rev: +ΘKЄ/R Θ PωMA/Nω ΔЄCΠO/TH Tω ΔIO/ΓЄNЄI in five lines.
DOC 5a. SB 1865. Rare.
Ex Leu Web Auction 8, lot 1725, 30.06.2019
Holed in antiquity, wavy flan, but good detail. A rare coin of great historical significance.

Romanus IV has the dubious distinction of having led the Byzantine armies at the disastrous Battle of Manzikert, where the Seljuk Turks inflicted a crippling defeat on the Byzantines and even captured the emperor (bringing his reign to an end). The battle is often represented as the turning point leading to the Turkish acquisition of Anatolia and the reduction of the Byzantine state from an international power to a much weaker regional state.

The hole in this coin, as well as the significance normally given to the Virgin by the populace, suggests that it was used as an amulet or perhaps nailed to a lintel… perhaps in an effort to protect the residents from the invading Turkish armies.