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Follis - Nikephoros II Phokas Constantinopolis
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 963-969 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Nikephoros II Phokas came to the throne in 963 not through dynastic succession but through military coup, leveraging his fame as the general who had recaptured Cilicia and parts of Syria from the Hamdanid emirate. His six-year reign was defined by near-constant campaigning — Aleppo fell to Byzantine forces in 962, Cyprus was retaken — yet domestic finances were strained enough that he debased subsidiary coinage and drew fierce criticism from the clergy for taxing church properties.
He was murdered in his bedchamber in December 969 by his own nephew, John Tzimiskes, with the probable complicity of Empress Theophano.