Michael III 'the Drunkard' AV Solidus. Constantinople, AD 856-866. IhSЧS XRISTOS *, facing bust of Christ Pantokrator, wearing pallium and colobium, cross behind head / + MIXAHL bASILE', facing bust of Michael, wearing crown and diagonal pattern loros, holding vexillum emblazoned with cross and akakia; cross to left. Füeg 3.B; DOC 3; Sear 1688. 4.03g, 19mm, 6h.

Extremely Fine. Very Rare.

From a private North European collection.

Michael III became sole emperor at the age of just two, and in his infancy the empire was governed by his mother Theodora, and the minister Theoktistos. During the regency period, the use of religious icons, which previous rulers had sought to ban, was reinstated. This definitive end to Iconoclasm led to a renaissance in visual arts.

His later reign is difficult to evaluate due to the overtly hostile accounts written under Basil I, which characterise him as a drunkard. The impression gained from Arab sources, however, is one of Michael as an active and often successful military commander. Most importantly, during his reign Bulgaria had been transformed from a dangerous enemy into a religious and cultural satellite of Byzantium. This conversion of the Bulgarians has been evaluated as one of the greatest cultural and political achievements of the Byzantine Empire.