Catalog
Miliaresion - Michael VII Doukas
| Issuer | Byzantine Empire (Byzantine states) |
|---|---|
| Year | |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.39 g |
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| Obverse description | The Theotokos (Mother of God) depicted in the orans posture, standing facing front with both arms raised and hands open in prayer. The figure is rendered in the hieratic Byzantine style with stylized drapery folds. A circular legend in Greek characters surrounds the central image, invoking divine intercession. The scyphate flan imparts a characteristic concavity to the design, consistent with late 11th-century Byzantine silver coinage. |
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| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | +ΘKE ROHΘЄI TⲰ CⲰ ΔOVΛⲰ |
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| Additional information |
Michael VII Doukas ruled from 1071 to 1078, a reign bracketed by catastrophe. The Battle of Manzikert in 1071 had just shattered Byzantine control of Anatolia before he even took the throne, and his government's fiscal response — debasing the gold nomisma so aggressively that contemporaries coined the term tetarteron as an insult — made silver issues like this miliaresion increasingly marginal in daily transactions. Michael was ultimately deposed by Nikephoros Botaneiates and retired to a monastery, later becoming Archbishop of Ephesus.