Artemide Aste s.r.l.
Auction XLIX 28-29 Apr 2018
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The Lombards at Ravenna. Aistulf (749-756). AE Follis, Ravenna mint. Obv. Traces of legend. Bearded, diademed (uncrowned) and draped bust of Aistulf facing, holding globus cruciger in right hand. Rev. Traces of legend. Bearded, crowned and draped bust of Aistulf facing, holding sceptre in right hand. Ranieri 850. An article on this new type, by M.D. O'Hara, with I. Vecchi is forth coming. AE. g. 1.00 mm. 9.70 RRRR. Excessively rare. Fair and broken, with a small piece missing. A few corrosions, earthen green patina. Fair. Apparently the third specimen known. First known: cf. Triton VII, lot 1070 (Ranieri's plated coin). Second known: cf. Triton X, lot 876.
Appointed Duke of the border Duchy of Friuli when his brother Ratchis became king of the Lombards in 744, Aistulf himself became king in 749 when Ratchis was forced to abdicate. During his tenure, Aistulf attempted to expand Lombardic interests in Italy by raiding both the Byzantine exarchate of Ravenna and the territories of the papacy. In 751, the Lombards took Ravenna and began to pressure Rome. In response, Pope Stephen II turned to the de facto Frankish king, Pepin 'le Bref' (the Short) for assistance. In return for a pontifical recognition of his crown, Pepin crossed the Alps, defeated Aistulf, and forced the Lombardic king to relinquish those territories he had extracted from the papacy. Now, much reduced, Aistulf spent the remaining few years of his reign in the pursuit of pleasure. In 756 he was killed in a hunting accident. With his death, the Lombardic kingdom lost even more territory and influence in Italy in the face of an increasing alliance between the papacy and the Carolingians. (Triton XII, 860 note).
This recently discovered coin type of Aistulf, struck in Ravenna in 752/3, appears to present startling new historical and constitutional evidence on early medieval Italy. Aistulf apparently proclaimed himself princeps after his conquest of Ravenna in 750/1. Previously, the earliest attested numismatic use of this title was by Arichis II of Beneventum (see next lot), who altered his title from dux to princeps after Charlemagne's overthrow of the Lombard kingdom in 774. (Triton X, 876 note).
Appointed Duke of the border Duchy of Friuli when his brother Ratchis became king of the Lombards in 744, Aistulf himself became king in 749 when Ratchis was forced to abdicate. During his tenure, Aistulf attempted to expand Lombardic interests in Italy by raiding both the Byzantine exarchate of Ravenna and the territories of the papacy. In 751, the Lombards took Ravenna and began to pressure Rome. In response, Pope Stephen II turned to the de facto Frankish king, Pepin 'le Bref' (the Short) for assistance. In return for a pontifical recognition of his crown, Pepin crossed the Alps, defeated Aistulf, and forced the Lombardic king to relinquish those territories he had extracted from the papacy. Now, much reduced, Aistulf spent the remaining few years of his reign in the pursuit of pleasure. In 756 he was killed in a hunting accident. With his death, the Lombardic kingdom lost even more territory and influence in Italy in the face of an increasing alliance between the papacy and the Carolingians. (Triton XII, 860 note).
This recently discovered coin type of Aistulf, struck in Ravenna in 752/3, appears to present startling new historical and constitutional evidence on early medieval Italy. Aistulf apparently proclaimed himself princeps after his conquest of Ravenna in 750/1. Previously, the earliest attested numismatic use of this title was by Arichis II of Beneventum (see next lot), who altered his title from dux to princeps after Charlemagne's overthrow of the Lombard kingdom in 774. (Triton X, 876 note).