★ Extremely Rare! ★

Palaeologan Dynasty. Rhodes Under Byzantine Rule (?) ca. 15th century. AE, 0.64 g. 17.43 mm.
Obv: ΛΓ ΠA in two lines. Palaeologan monogram.
Rev: Palaeologan tetragrammatic cross. Palaeologan cross formed by B's and retrograde B's.
Ref: Numismatic Naumann, Auction 149, lot 961; Sear -; Lianta -; Bendall & Donald -; Sommer 92.1.
In 715, the Byzantine fleet stationed at Rhodes rebelled against the Arabs, leading to the ascension of Theodosios III to the imperial throne. From the early 8th to the 12th centuries, Rhodes was part of the Cibyrrhaeot Theme and served as a key hub for shipbuilding and trade. Around 1090, the Seljuk Turks briefly occupied the island following the Byzantine defeat at Manzikert, but Emperor Alexios I Komnenos reclaimed it during the First Crusade. As Byzantine authority weakened under the Angeloi dynasty (1185–1204), Rhodes became an independent principality ruled by Leo Gabalas and later his brother John in the early 13th century. Between 1248 and 1250, the Genoese took control, but were soon expelled by the Empire of Nicaea, which reintegrated Rhodes into its territory—and later into the restored Byzantine Empire after 1261. Very Fine
Extremely rare.