Item: i58910 Authentic Ancient Coin of:

Byzantine Empire Anonymous Class A2 Bronze Follis 30mm (12.08 grams) Struck during the joint-reign of Basil II and Constantine VIII 1025-1028 A.D. Reference: Sear 1813 Bust of  Christ facing, wearing a nimbus crown, pallium and colobium, and holding book  of Gospels with both hands. +IhSЧS / XRISTЧS / bASILЄЧ / bASILЄ ("Jesus Christ King of Kings") in four lines.

For more than a century, the production of Follis denomination Byzantine coins had religious Christian motifs which included included Jesus Christ, and even Virgin Mary. These coins were designed to honor Christ and recognize the subservient role of the Byzantine emperor, with many of the reverse inscriptions translating to "Jesus Christ King of Kings" and "May Jesus Christ Conquer". The Follis denomination coins were the largest bronze denomination coins issued by the Byzantine empire, and their large size, along with the Christian motif make them a popular coin type for collectors. This series ran from the period of Byzantine emperors John I (969-976 A.D.) to Alexius I (1081-1118 A.D.). The accepted classification was originally devised by Miss Margaret Thompson with her study of these types of coins. World famous numismatic author, David R. Sear adopted this classification system for his book entitled, Byzantine Coins and Their Values. The references about this coin site Mr. Sear's book by the number that they appear in that work.  The class types of coins included Class A1, Class A2, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E, Class F, Class G, Class H, Class I, Class J, Class K. Read more and see examples of these coins by reading the JESUS CHRIST Anonymous Class A-N Byzantine Follis Coins Reference.

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Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5 BC/BCE – c. 30 AD/CE), also referred to as Jesus Christ or simply Jesus , is the central figure of Christianity. Most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated and believe that he rose from the dead after being crucified.

The principal sources of information regarding Jesus are the four canonical gospels, and most critical scholars find them, at least the Synoptic Gospels, useful for reconstructing Jesus’ life and teachings. Some scholars believe apocryphal texts such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel according to the Hebrews are also relevant.

Most critical historians agree that Jesus was a Jew who was regarded as a teacher and healer, that he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect Judaea, Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire. Critical Biblical scholars and historians have offered competing descriptions of Jesus as a self-described Messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement. Most contemporary scholars of the Historical Jesus consider him to have been an independent, charismatic founder of a Jewish restoration movement, anticipating an imminent apocalypse. Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus' "Kingdom of God" meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse.

Christians traditionally believe that Jesus was born of a virgin:529–32 performed miracles,:358–59 founded the Church, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven,:616–20 from which he will return.:1091–109 Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited Messiah promised in the Old Testament and as God, arguing that he fulfilled many Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, one of three divine persons of a reject Trinitarianism Trinity, wholly or partly, believing it to be non-scriptural.

Basil II (Greek: Βασίλειος Β΄ , Basileios II ; 958 – 15 December 1025) was a Byzantine Emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025. He was known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his supposed ancestor, Basil I the Macedonian.

The early years of his long reign were dominated by civil war against powerful generals from the Anatolian aristocracy. Following their submission, Basil oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire, and above all, the final and complete subjugation of Bulgaria, the Empire's foremost European foe, after a prolonged struggle. For this he was nicknamed by later authors as "the Bulgar-slayer ", by which he is popularly known. At his death, the Empire stretched from Southern Italy to the Caucasus and from the Danube to the borders of Palestine, its greatest territorial extent since the Muslim conquests four centuries earlier.

Despite near-constant warfare, Basil also showed himself a capable administrator, reducing the power of the great land-owning families who dominated the Empire's administration and military, while filling the Empire's treasury. Of far-reaching importance was Basil's decision to offer the hand of his sister Anna to Vladimir I of Kiev in exchange for military support, which led to the Christianization of the Kievan Rus' and the incorporation of Russia within Byzantine cultural sphere.

Constantine VIII (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Η΄ , Kōnstantinos VIII ) (960 – 11 November 1028) was reigning Byzantine Emperor from 15 December 1025 until his death. He was the son of the Emperor Romanos II and Theophano, and the younger brother of the eminent Basil II, who died childless and thus left the rule of the Byzantine Empire in his hands.

Family

As a youth, Constantine VIII had been engaged to a daughter of Emperor Boris II of Bulgaria, but in the end he married a Byzantine aristocrat named Helena, daughter of Alypius. By her he had three daughters: Eudokia, who became a nun, Zoe, future empress, and Theodora.

Life Basil II and Constantine VIII, holding cross. Nomisma histamenon.

Constantine VIII had been crowned with his brother by their father from 962; he was then only an infant. However, for some 63 out of the 68 years of his life he was eclipsed by other emperors, including Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes, and Basil II. Even when his elder brother became senior emperor, Constantine was perfectly content to enjoy all the privileges of Imperial status without concerning himself with state affairs. On occasion Constantine participated in his brother's campaigns against rebel nobles. In 989, he acted as mediator between Basil II and Bardas Skleros. Otherwise he spent his life in the search of pleasure and entertainment, including spectator sports at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, or amusing himself with riding and hunting.

When Basil II died on 15 December 1025, Constantine finally became sole emperor, although he ruled for less than three years before his own death on 11 November 1028.

Physically Constantine was tall and graceful, where Basil had been short and stocky. He was a superb horseman. By the time he became emperor, he had chronic gout and could hardly walk. His reign was a disaster because he lacked courage and political savvy. He reacted to every challenge with impulsive cruelty, persecuting uppity nobles and allegedly ordering the execution or mutilation of hundreds of innocent men. Constantine carried on as he always had: hunting, feasting, and enjoying life – and avoided state business as much as possible. He was poor at appointing officials. Within months, the land laws of Basil II were dropped under pressure from the Anatolian aristocracy (the dynatoi ), although Constantine struck at the nobility when threatened by conspiracy.

Like his brother, Constantine died without a male heir. The Empire thus passed to his daughter Zoe, whom he had married to Romanos Argyros. Their other daughter, Irene married Vsevolod I of Kiev and had descendants.

The Byzantine Empire at the death of Basil II in 1025

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