1 Hyperpyron Byzantine Empire (330-1453) Gold John II Comnenus (1 ...

1221, Byzantine Empire, John III Ducas. Gold Hyperpyron Coin

References: SB 2073.

Mint Period: 1222-1254

Mint Place: Constantinople

Denomination: Gold Hyperpyron

Emperor: John III Ducas Vatatzes

Diameter: 29mm

Weight: 4.38gm

Material: Gold!

Obverse: John III standing facing on the left, wearing divitision and loros, holding anexikakia in his left hand and labarum in his right, crowned by the Virgin Mary, nimbate, standing facing on the right.

Legend: + ΙⲰ / ΔЄC/ΠΟ

Reverse :Christ, nimbate, seated facing on throne, wearing tunic and pallium, raising his right hand in benediction and holding book of Gospels in his left; in field to left and right. Christogram (IC – XC) at sides, cross (privy mark?) in left field.

In Eastern Christianity, the most widely used Christogram is a four-letter abbreviation, ICXC * a traditional abbreviation of the Greek words for “Jesus Christ” (i.e., the first and last letters of each of the words “IHCOYC XPICTOC” with a transliteration of the lunate sigma common in medieval Greek as “C”). On icons, this Christogram may be split: “IC” on the left of the image and “XC” on the right, most often with a bar above the letters (see titlos), indicating that it is a sacred name. It is sometimes rendered as “ICXC NIKA”, meaning "Jesus Christ Conquers."

John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes (Greek: Ἱωάννης Δούκας Βατάτζης, Iōannēs Doukas Vatatzēs, c. 1192 – 3 November 1254), was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known as Theodore II Laskaris.

John Doukas Vatatzes, born in about 1192 in Didymoteicho, was probably  the son of the general Basil Vatatzes, who was killed in battle in 1194, and his wife, a cousin of the Emperors Isaac II Angelos and Alexios III Angelos. John Doukas Vatatzes had two older brothers. The eldest was Isaac Doukas Vatatzes (1188-1261), while his younger brother died young. Through his marriage to Eudokia Angelina he fathered Theodora Doukaina Vatatzaina, who later married Michael VIII Palaiologos. The middle brother’s name is unknown, but his daughter married the protovestiarios Alexios Raoul.

A successful soldier from a military family, John was chosen in about 1216 by Emperor Theodore I Laskaris as the second husband for his daughter Irene Laskarina and as heir to the throne, following the death of her first husband, Andronikos Palaiologos. This arrangement excluded members of the Laskarid family from the succession, and when John III became emperor in December 1221,[note 1] following Theodore I’s death in November, he had to suppress opposition to his rule. The struggle ended with the Battle of Poimanenon in 1224, in which his opponents were defeated in spite of support from the Latin Empire of Constantinople. John III’s victory led to territorial concessions by the Latin Empire in 1225, followed by John’s incursion into Europe, where he seized Adrianople.¹⁰

John III’s possession of Adrianople was terminated by Theodore Komnenos Doukas of Epirus and Thessalonica, who drove the Nicaean garrison out of Adrianople and annexed much of Thrace in 1227. The elimination of Theodore by Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria in 1230 put an end to the danger posed by Thessalonica, and John III made an alliance with Bulgaria against the Latin Empire.

John Doukas Vatatzes, born in about 1192 in Didymoteicho, was probably the son of the general Basil Vatatzes, who was killed in battle in 1194, and his wife, a cousin of the Emperors Isaac II Angelos and Alexios III Angelos.³ John Doukas Vatatzes had two older brothers. The eldest was Isaac Doukas Vatatzes (1188-1261), while his younger brother died young. Through his marriage to Eudokia Angelina he fathered Theodora Doukaina Vatatzaina, who later married Michael VIII Palaiologos. The middle brother’s name is unknown, but his daughter married the protovestiarios Alexios Raoul.

A successful soldier from a military family, John was chosen in about 1216 by Emperor Theodore I Laskaris as the second husband for his daughter Irene Laskarina and as heir to the throne, following the death of her first husband, Andronikos Palaiologos. This arrangement excluded members of the Laskarid family from the succession, and when John III became emperor in December 1221, following Theodore I’s death in November, he had to suppress opposition to his rule. The struggle ended with the Battle of Poimanenon in 1224, in which his opponents were defeated in spite of support from the Latin Empire of Constantinople. John III’s victory led to territorial concessions by the Latin Empire in 1225, followed by John’s incursion into Europe, where he seized Adrianople.¹⁰

John III’s possession of Adrianople was terminated by Theodore Komnenos Doukas of Epirus and Thessalonica, who drove the Nicaean garrison out of Adrianople and annexed much of Thrace in 1227. The elimination of Theodore by Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria in 1230 put an end to the danger posed by Thessalonica, and John III made an alliance with Bulgaria against the Latin Empire.