[ 2617] Michael VII Ducas - Gold Histamenon Nomisma (31mm, 4.43 gm). Constantinople mint - 1071-1078 A.D. Reference: DOC III 2; SB 1868. IC-XC across field, nimbate bust of Christ facing and raising right hand and holding book of Gospels. +MIX-AHL RACIL O D, crowned facing bust of Michael facing wearing crown and loros holding labarum and cross on globe. Provided with certificate of authenticity. CERTIFIED AUTHENTIC by Sergey Nechayev, PhD - Numismatic Expert 1071-1078 Michael VII Gold Nomisma When Rome fell, eastern portions of the empire continued for over 1,000 years, nurturing the growth of Christianity. Recall this age of faith with a 930-year-old Byzantine gold coin! Each hand-struck, cup-shaped coin bears a detailed portrait of Christ on the obverse, raising his hand in benediction and holding the Book of Gospels. The reverse shows Michael VII, 1071-1078, holding a globe with a cross and a military standard with a monogram of the name Jesus Christ. In their time, trade coins like these were generally used only by wealthy merchants and noblemen. Now, thanks to a fortunate purchase, one can be yours! This unique coin also makes an exceptional one-of-a-kind gift fitting for the season. Michael VII Doukas or Ducas (Greek: Μιχαήλ Ζ΄ Δούκας, Mikhaēl VII Doukas), nicknamed Parapinakēs (Παραπινάκης), was Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078. Life Michael VII was the eldest son of Constantine X Doukas and Eudokia Makrembolitissa, and was born c. 1050, in Constantinople.He had been associated with his father on the throne late in 1059, together with or shortly before his newly born brother Konstantios Doukas. When Constantine X died in 1067, Michael VII was 17 years old and should have been able to rule by himself. He exhibited little interest in politics, and his mother Eudokia and uncle John Doukas governed the empire as effective regents. On January 1, 1068, Eudokia married the general Romanos Diogenes, who now became senior co-emperor alongside Michael VII, Konstantios, and another brother, Andronikos. When Romanos IV was defeated and captured by Alp Arslan of the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in August 1071, Michael VII remained in the background, while the initiative was taken by his uncle John Doukas and his tutor Michael Psellos. They conspired to keep Romanos from regaining power after his release from captivity, while he himself felt under no obligation to honor the agreement that Romanus struck with the Sultan. After the dispatch of Eudokia to a monastery, Michael VII was crowned again on October 24, 1071 as senior emperor. Although still advised by Michael Psellos and John Doukas, Michael VII became increasingly reliant on his finance minister Nikephoritzes. The emperor's chief interests, shaped by Psellos, were in academic pursuits, and he allowed Nikephoritzes to increase both taxation and luxury spending without properly financing the army. As an emperor he was incompetent, and surrounded by synchophantic court officials, he was blind to the empire collapsing around him. In dire straits, imperial officials resorted to property confiscations and even expropriated some of the wealth of the church. The underpaid army tended to mutiny, and the Byzantines lost Bari, their last possession in Italy, to the Normans of Robert Guiscard in 1071. Simultaneously, they faced a serious revolt in the Balkans, where they faced an attempt for the restoration of the Bulgarian state in the same year. Although this revolt was suppressed by the general Nikephoros Bryennios, the Byzantine Empire was unable to recover its losses in Asia Minor. After Manzikert, the Byzantine government sent a new army to contain the Seljuk Turks under Isaac Komnenos, a brother of the future emperor Alexios I Komnenos, but this army was defeated and its commander captured in 1073. The problem was made worse by the desertion of the Byzantines' western mercenaries, who became the object of the next military expedition in the area ...
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