Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Triton XXV 11-12 Jan 2022
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Leo VI the Wise, with Constantine VII. 886-912. AV Solidus (19.5mm, 4.27 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Struck 908-912. + IhS XPS RЄX RЄGNANTIЧm, Christ Pantokrator seated facing on throne with curved back / LЄOh ЄT COhSτAnτ´ ΛЧGG´ ROm´ (both τ retrograde), Leo and Constantine standing facing, both crowned and wearing loros decorated with a cross at end, holding globus cruciger and patriarchal cross between them. DOC 2; Füeg 3.B.4; SB 1725. Edge contours consistent with prior bezel. Near EF. Very rare.
From the Collection of Malcolm Heckman. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 106 (13 September 2017), lot 889.
Leo VI was born to Eudokia Ingerina in 866 and was either the illegitimate son of Michael III "the Drunkard" or the second son of Basil I. Although Leo was made direct heir to Basil in 879, the relationship between the two had long been strained by their marked differences in personality; Basil being ambitious in political affairs while Leo was inclined to a life of scholarship. While on his deathbed following a hunting accident in 886, Basil directly implicated Leo in conspiring to have him assassinated.
Surnamed "the Wise" or "the Philosopher," Leo authored works on various political and theological subjects, but his best known scholarly achievements were his legal treatises and his commission to update and codify Byzantine laws. The result of these efforts was a 60-book work titled the Basilika ("Royal Laws"), which provided a timely reinterpretation of Justininian's Corpus Juris Civilis, published over three centuries earlier. The Basilika would serve as the foundation for medieval law in the east.
Leo's academic endeavors, however, were pursued at the expense of military matters, and the Empire suffered military defeats against the Bulgarians in the Balkans and the Arabs in Sicily and the Aegean.
From the Collection of Malcolm Heckman. Ex Classical Numismatic Group 106 (13 September 2017), lot 889.
Leo VI was born to Eudokia Ingerina in 866 and was either the illegitimate son of Michael III "the Drunkard" or the second son of Basil I. Although Leo was made direct heir to Basil in 879, the relationship between the two had long been strained by their marked differences in personality; Basil being ambitious in political affairs while Leo was inclined to a life of scholarship. While on his deathbed following a hunting accident in 886, Basil directly implicated Leo in conspiring to have him assassinated.
Surnamed "the Wise" or "the Philosopher," Leo authored works on various political and theological subjects, but his best known scholarly achievements were his legal treatises and his commission to update and codify Byzantine laws. The result of these efforts was a 60-book work titled the Basilika ("Royal Laws"), which provided a timely reinterpretation of Justininian's Corpus Juris Civilis, published over three centuries earlier. The Basilika would serve as the foundation for medieval law in the east.
Leo's academic endeavors, however, were pursued at the expense of military matters, and the Empire suffered military defeats against the Bulgarians in the Balkans and the Arabs in Sicily and the Aegean.