Byzantine Coins

The most brilliant of medieval civilizations was the Eastern Roman Empire, which was
divided in 395, into two parts; the Western half, ruled from Rome, fell to the tribal
Germanic peoples known as Vandals in the 5th century. The Eastern half,
known as the Byzantine Empire, lasted for more than 1,000 years.

In their own time, the citizens of the Byzantine Empire were known as Romaioi
( Romans ). Only in the 17th century did scholars label them, and their empire,
as Byzantine. But the Byzantine Romans differed from the Western Romans in two
major ways: they spoke primarily Greek instead of Latin, and they were Eastern
Orthodox Christians rather than Roman Catholics Christians. The era from about
1025 to 1453 witnessed the decline of the Byzantine Empire and its ultimate
destruction. Loss of territory, internal discord, and defeats by the crusaders were
blows from which the empire could not recover. There were new enemies in this era,
the Petcheneg and Seljuk Turks to the east and north, and the Normans and Slavs
to the west. In 1064 the Byzantines lost Belgrade to the Hungarians. In 1071 a
Turkish victory at the battle of Manzikert ended Byzantine control in Asia Minor.
Also in 1071 the Byzantines lost their last territory in Italy to Norman invaders.
Internal politics of the empire contributed to its growing weakness. After the death
of Basil II in 1025, fifteen emperors reigned in the 56 years until 1081. The rise of
Alexius I Comnenus to power in 1081 restored some stability to Constantinople.
The Comensus family ruled for the next century, until 1185. In 1054 the final schism between the churches of Rome and Constantinople occurred led by Pope Leo IX
and Cardinal Humbert, the papal legate to Constantinople; the Roman church
excommunicated the head of the Eastern Orthodox church, Patriarch Michael
Cerularius, as the churches differed on a number of important doctrines,
including the celibacy of clergy.

The Crusades, inspired by the Roman Catholic church, undermined the power of the
Byzantine Empire even further. In 1096 the First Crusade, consisting of about
30,000 people, converged on Constantinople before continuing on the Holy Land.
Although, Emperor Alexius I Comnenus provided supplies for the crusaders, they,
partially out of hostility toward the Eastern Orthodox church, proceeded to raid
Byzantine lands on their way to Palestine.

Tensions between the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire were further
fueled when disagreements about trading rights in the Mediterranean Sea led to
virtual war with Venice. All this, at approximately the time that
these cup-shaped coins showing Christ on the 'bump' and the
Emperor on the inside were issued (Manuel Comnenos) .