Catalog
Bezant - Hugh I
| Issuer | Kingdom of Cyprus |
|---|---|
| Year | 1205-1218 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Reverse description | Facing full-length figure of King Hugh I of Cyprus, depicted in Byzantine imperial style, standing erect and wearing a crown adorned with pendilia. The king holds a patriarchal cross in his right hand and an orb or sceptre in his left, with both attributes rendered in bold relief. Flanking crosses appear in the field to either side of the royal figure. The Latin legend HVGO REX CYPRI is distributed around the figure within a beaded inner border, with a second beaded circle forming the outer border of the flan. The overall design closely follows Byzantine prototypes, reflecting the Lusignan dynasty's adoption of Eastern iconographic conventions. |
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| Additional information |
Hugh I inherited Cyprus as a minor in 1205 following the death of his father Amalric II, ruling initially under the regency of Walter of Montbéliard. The electrum bezant — a deliberate echo of Byzantine nomisma coinage — was Cyprus's attempt to assert commercial credibility in Levantine trade networks dominated by harder currency. The alloy itself signals compromise: insufficient gold supply on the island, but a need to pass in markets that demanded the appearance of specie.
Hugh came of age around 1210 and would go on to receive formal recognition as a vassal king from Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II at the Council of Limassol in 1218, the same year his coinage ceased.