Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Tremissis - Kaleb
| Issuer | Aksum |
|---|---|
| Year | 515-535 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Gold |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Greek |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Bust of the king facing right, shown in profile within a wreath border, rendered in a simplified stylized manner consistent with Aksumite gold coinage of the early sixth century. The portrait is encircled by a laurel or olive wreath forming the inner border. The Greek legend is distributed around the outer field of the coin, separated by cross symbols, identifying the king by his royal patronymic. The overall design reflects Byzantine artistic influence adapted to local Aksumite iconographic conventions. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Kaleb ruled Aksum at the height of its regional power, launching a military campaign across the Red Sea into South Arabia around 518 AD in response to the persecution of Christians in the Himyarite kingdom — an intervention that temporarily installed an Aksumite-backed Christian king in Yemen. His coinage circulated across a trade network stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to India, carried by merchants operating out of Adulis, Aksum's principal port.
According to later Ethiopian tradition, Kaleb abdicated and retired to a monastery, sending his crown to Jerusalem.