ROMAN BYZANTINE BRONZE FOLLIS ANCIENT COIN OF EMPEROR CONSTANTINE X WITH EMPRESS WIFE *AC125

Product Description

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This Roman Byzantine Empire bronze follis coin was minted during the rule of Emperor Constantine X, during his reign, 1059 to 1067 A.D.  The obverse shows an image of Christ standing and facing forward holding the Gospels with both hands, with a halo around his head.  The reverse shows both Constantine X and his empress wife, Eudokia, standing and holding a labarum topped with a cross, between them.  These issue coins were often over-struck on anonymous follis coins and this example shows exactly that, which is why some of the imagery is obscured as the former coin imagery can still be partially seen.

HISTORY

Constantine X Doukas or Ducas, was Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067 A.D.. During his reign, the Normans took over much of the remaining Byzantine territories in Italy, while in the Balkans, the Hungarians occupied Belgrade.  He also suffered defeats by the Seljuk sultan Alp Arslan.  

He was an academic, addicted to endless debates about philosophy and theology, and he gained influence after he married his second wife, Eudokia Makrembolitissa, a niece of Patriarch Michael Keroularios.  

Severely undercutting the training and financial support for the armed forces, Constantine X disbanded the Armenian local militia of 50,000 men at a crucial point of time, coinciding with the westward advance of the Seljuk Turks and their Turcoman allies. Undoing many of the necessary reforms of Isaac I Komnenos, he bloated the military bureaucracy with highly paid court officials and crowded the Senate with his supporters.  His decisions to replace standing soldiers with mercenaries, and leaving the frontier fortifications unrepaired led Constantine to become naturally unpopular with the supporters of Isaac within the military aristocracy, who attempted to assassinate him in 1061. He also became unpopular with the general population after he raised taxes to try to pay the army.

Already old and unhealthy when he came to power, Constantine died on 23 May 1067.