Description:
The Byzantine Empire existed for more than a thousand years, from AD 306 to 1453 and was one of the most powerful economic, cultural, and military forces in Europe and Asia Minor. In AD 324, Emperor Constantine the Great transferred the Eastern Roman Empire capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, also known as "New Rome." Long after the fall of Rome, the Byzantine Empire was still called the Roman Empire by its inhabitants and neighbors, although the main language spoken there was Greek. In the 6th century, Justinian I created the authority of the Eastern Orthodox Church which firmly established Christianity throughout the empire. Over the following centuries, the Eastern Romans helped to shield Europe from Muslim expansion and provided a stable gold currency for the region.
This gold tremissis coin was minted in Constantinople during the reign of Emperor Phocas Augustus in the early 7th century. The obverse shows a cross potent and the reverse depicts the bust of Phocas. The tremissis, a late Roman denomination, was minted in near pure gold and was equal to one-third of a solidus coin. Phocas became the Byzantine Emperor in 602 when he usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice Tiberius. In 608, the Column of Phocas was the last Imperial monument ever to be erected in the Roman Forum. Just two years later, Phocas was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war. The Byzantines, however, endured for another eight centuries and the Christian faith flourished under their protection.
