Item number: A255
Year: AD 527-565
Material: Gold
Size: 21.3 x 19.9 x 0.7 mm
Weight: 4.48 g
Manufactured by: Constantinople mint, Sixth Workshop
Provenance: Coincraft 2018
This is a solidus gold coin minted during the reign of Emperor Justinian I of the Byzantine Empire, from AD 527 to AD 565, in Constantinople. The obverse of the coin features a bearded portrait of Justinian I wearing a crown, who was the first emperor in Byzantine history to have his portrait struck on coins. Justinian holds a globus cruciger in his right hand and a shield in his left hand. The Latin inscription around the edge reads “D N IVSTINI-ANVS PP AVG” which translates to “Our Lord Justinian Eternal Augustus”.
The reverse side depicts an image of an archangel standing, holding a long cross in his right hand, and supporting a globus cruciger in his left hand. The inscription on the left reads “Victory” and on the right “The Workshop of the Emperors, Sixth Workshop”, with the symbol “S” representing the sixth. Below, “CON” stands for Constantinople, the abbreviated name of the minting location, and “OB” means made of pure gold.
Emperor Justinian I is indeed considered one of the greatest emperors of the Byzantine Empire, renowned for his many achievements. Particularly notable is his marriage to Theodora, who had a background as a courtesan. In AD 532, during the Nika Riots that erupted in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, Empress Theodora encouraged the Emperor to stand firm instead of fleeing, a decision that ultimately solidified Justinian’s subsequent accomplishments.
During his reign, Justinian I successfully reconquered much of the Western Roman territories that had been occupied by barbarian tribes, thus reuniting both halves of the Roman Empire under a single ruler. In terms of internal affairs, Justinian I not only oversaw the reconstruction of the fire-damaged Hagia Sophia in Constantinople but also enacted the Justinian Code, which became the foundation of civil law in later European legal systems.
物件編號: A255
年代: 公元 527-565 年
材質: 黃金
尺寸: 21.3 x 19.9 x 0.7 mm
重量: 4.48 g
製造地: 君士坦丁堡造幣廠，第六作坊
來源: 錢幣工藝 2018
這是一枚公元527至565年，拜占庭帝國皇帝查士丁尼一世時期，於君士坦丁堡鑄造的索利都斯金幣。金幣正面是頭戴皇冠的查士丁尼一世蓄鬍正面像，查士丁尼是拜占庭帝國歷史上，第一位將正面肖像鑄印在硬幣上的皇帝。查士丁尼的右手握著一個十字架地球儀，左手則是馬術盾牌。外圍的拉丁銘文「D N IVSTINI-ANVS PP AVG」意思是「我主 查士丁尼 永恆(的)奧古斯都」。
背面則是一個天使長的形象，右手扶著長十字架，左手托著一顆十字架地球儀。左側的銘文為「勝利」，右側是「奧古斯都們 第六作坊」，符號「S」即代表六的意思。下方的「CON」是君士坦丁堡，也就是金幣鑄造地點的簡稱，「OB」表示以赤(純)金打造。
查士丁尼一世是拜占庭帝國最偉大的皇帝之一，並且留下許多膾炙人口的事蹟，尤其是他的皇后是妓女出身的狄奧多拉。公元532年，面對君士坦丁堡的競技場暴民引發尼卡暴動之際，皇后狄奧多拉鼓勵皇帝打消出逃的念頭，方才奠定查士丁尼後續的成就。
查士丁尼一世在位期間，對外重新收復被蠻族佔據的西羅馬失土，使得兩個羅馬歸於同一個皇帝的統治之下。內政方面，查士丁尼一世不僅在君士坦丁堡重建遭到祝融的聖索非亞大教堂，更制定《查士丁尼法典》成為後世的歐陸法系基礎。
