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Ishmael
In: Toronto
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| TheTeslarian wrote: | | Since there is no doubt that the eastern and western empires were connected... |
I'm afraid I don't even believe they existed.
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AJMorton
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The wonder of ancient coins is that they allow us to put faces to the long list of emperor's names. Any orthodox inventory of Roman boss-men is validated by the existence of thousands and thousands of minted coins, all corresponding to the right names and places referred to by academia.
This is the second time, Ish, you have told me that you feel their existence may be disputable. Can you tell me why? Don't get me wrong, I am always open to the idea that something historical may not have existed (wouldn't be the first time - won't be the last) but if I become even a little convinced, I would have to forget about my work on Roman Scotland. On the one hand this would be a pity. On the other, it would relieve the hatred I have for the Roman Empire and reduce my workload considerably (and my transport bills).
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Hatty
Site Admin
In: Berkshire
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| I studied Latin and Classical history and the neglect of eastern empire studies was shocking |
It's true that history in schools consists almost entirely of European studies - who decides the curriculum and why?
| ...the contrast between those minted in the west and those minted in the east is so profound that even an amateur can determine roughly where each coin was minted. I won't tell you what the main difference is |
Had a quick look at Byzantine coins on wiki and was struck by the distinctive Byzantine stylisation of the face, it's the staring eyes perhaps which are so unnerving, quite unlike the typical august Roman profiles. Was the workmanship of coins from the different parts of the empire of equal merit?
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TelMiles
In: London
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In what sense do you believe they didn't exist, Ish?
_________________
Against all Gods.
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AJMorton
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| Hatty wrote: | | ...the contrast between those minted in the west and those minted in the east is so profound that even an amateur can determine roughly where each coin was minted. I won't tell you what the main difference is |
Had a quick look at Byzantine coins on wiki and was struck by the distinctive Byzantine stylisation of the face, it's the staring eyes perhaps which are so unnerving, quite unlike the typical august Roman profiles. Was the workmanship of coins from the different parts of the empire of equal merit? |
It's certainly an anomaly that the quality of workmanship decreased as time passed. But the biggest difference between Roman coins (those minted before the Byzantine empire really took off and when Roman Emperors were still in charge in both east and west) is the language and lettering used. In the west, from Britain to North Africa and Italy, familiar Latin was used on the edge of the coin. In the east it was Greek. So if you find a Roman coin with Greek lettering, it was almost certainly minted in the Eastern Empire.
Although it is possible that none of the coins actually exist.
As a side note, I am quite proficient at identifying Roman, Byzantine, medieval and early modern coins (1500AD - 1800AD). I get a buzz from it so please feel free to send me images of any coins you may have for identification. It will be no trouble at all.
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