Nomos AG
obolos 22 6 Mar 2022
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Justin II, with Sophia, 565-578. Follis (Bronze, 30 mm, 12.80 g, 7 h), Nicomedia, 1st officina (A), year 11 = 575-576. Justin and Sophia seated facing on double throne, holding globus cruciger and cruciform scepter, respectively; above, cross. Rev. A/N/N/O - X/I / A/NIKO Large M; above, cross. DOC 101a. MIB 46. SB 369. Green patina with a few light deposits. Good very fine.
By the time this follis was struck in the eleventh year of Justin's reign, the emperor was already exhibiting fits of madness. His mental infirmities began just a few years prior, during his war against Sasanid Persia. After the fall of Dara, a major Byzantine stronghold in Upper Mesopotamia, to the Sasanians under Khusro I, the Byzantine emperor was said to have lost his mind. This in turn lead Justin to adopt his general, Tiberius, as his heir and co-ruler, and subsequently to retire from the business of government altogether.
By the time this follis was struck in the eleventh year of Justin's reign, the emperor was already exhibiting fits of madness. His mental infirmities began just a few years prior, during his war against Sasanid Persia. After the fall of Dara, a major Byzantine stronghold in Upper Mesopotamia, to the Sasanians under Khusro I, the Byzantine emperor was said to have lost his mind. This in turn lead Justin to adopt his general, Tiberius, as his heir and co-ruler, and subsequently to retire from the business of government altogether.