Isaac I Comnenus (AD 1057-1059). AV histamenon nomisma (26mm, 4.39 gm, 5h). NGC Choice AU 5/5 - 3/5, marks. Constantinople. + IhS XIS RЄX-RЄϚNANTIhM, Christ seated facing on backless throne, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium, and colobium, right hand raised in benediction, book of Gospels in left; double border / + ICAAKIOC RA-CILΛЄVC Pwm, Isaac I standing facing, with mustache and short beard, wearing crown with pendilia, scale cuirass, corselet with ptryges, and military cloak, sword upright in right hand, resting left on sheath; double border. Sear 1843. Interesting type. Like the last lot, the reverse helps paint a picture of Byzantine military attire in the mid-11th century. From the Historical Scholar Collection. Ex Roma Numismatics, with old tag The militaristic portrait of Isaac holding two swords was a reflection of the desperation of the empire at the time. Decades of rule by decadent members of the civil aristocracy had weakened the Byzantine military, which the bureaucrats viewed as a threat to their own power. The eastern frontier began to weaken under the pressure of constant Seljuq Turkish raids, and the Byzantine possessions in Italy were reduced to a small enclave around Bari. In response, a prominent general named Isaac Comnenus staged a coup in 1057. He struggled for two years to restore the power of the Byzantine military before he was deposed in a counter-coup by the same civil aristocracy bureaucrats he had overthrown. Few Byzantine rulers had more potential for greatness than Isaac, and the overthrow of his regime was an unmitigated disaster for the empire. The civil aristocracy continued to essentially destroy the military until the Byzantines suffered one of their worst defeats at Manzikert in 1071. Isaac's nephew Alexius ascended to the throne in 1081 and founded the Comnenus dynasty, which restored a good deal of Byzantium's broken prestige.

HID09801242017

© 2022 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

To the auctioneer's website