# Tags #Numismatics #Byzantine/Coins #Byzantine/Studies #Byzantine/Terminology --- # Article >[! Error] Draft >This article is in its first draft. Errors and inconsistencies are present. ### Introduction >[! Quote] >"The true Byzantine type of coinage commences under Anastasius (491-518), who instituted a monetary reform. During his reign, as well as during that of Justin I. (sic) (518-527), the types of the gold and silver coins are principally the usual Victory holding a globe on which is a cross; or else a large cross, or a staff surmounted by the [Chi-Rho]; whilst the [variations of XP], are of frequent occurrence." > - Frederic W. Madden (1878) What is a true *Byzantine* type coin? Articles like Frederic Madden's written in the 19th century presumed one to know what a Byzantine type coin was. The above quote creates an intriguing conundrum for the study of Roman coins. Superficially, Madden's claim appears logical as currency reform suggests a break from continuity,... First, the definition of a "Byzantine" type coin is solely predicated on the Anastasius' (491-518) monetary reform, which created a new bronze coin called the *follis*. --- ### What is a Coin? chapter: 8. A New Beginning: Cognitive Numismatics I Cognitive numismatics: Cognitive numismatics is a concept introduced in the document that seeks to analyze the mental processes involved in coin engraving and minting. This approach is significant as it provides insights into the craftsmanship and the socio-cultural context of Bactrian coin production, revealing the complexities behind the errors observed in the coins. --- ### Method - Internet archive and why this is a valuable resource. - LLM and scope of application - Check to see if multiple editions exist and how language may differ ### Theory - [[18.01 Wicked Problems]] - [[18.02 Anticolonial]] - [[90.13 Critical Ancient World Studies]] - [[18.19 Object Oriented Ontology]] - [[Entanglement, Material Culture, Colonialism]] - [[Entangled]] # Introduction: In recent years, Byzantine Studies has initiated a reflective process aimed at understanding the implications of the field's origins and their impact on modern scholarship of the East Roman world. Historiographical analysis and sub-disciplinary reflections about the field's nature and substance have refocused scholarly attention on the implications of the field's origins.. Nathan Aschenbrenner and Jake Ransohoff published an edited volume which explores the development of Byzantine Studies in early modern Europe(). Topics range from Heironymus Wolf use of the term in the Byzantine in the sixteenth century to Greek national identity. While others, such as Yannis Stouraitis, have explored the 'Byzantine' subaltern and the implications of Byzantine as an eraser of identities. While scholars begin the call for a new term to call our field, such as Anthony Kaldellis' suggestion of East Roman Studies (), few have taken up this call to arms to de-colonize a field that is both colonizer and colonized(). --- ## The Wicked Problems of Byzantine Studies. ### Wicked Byzantine Problems _Byzantine_ is a buzzword – an adjective – for overly complicated and pointless over-organization; it is a label applied to that part of the Roman Empire to obscure ethnic diversity in order to delineate the Western medieval world from the Greek east or _Graeci_ – a derogatory Latin term embedded with nefarious “connotations of treachery, effeminacy, excessive sophistication, love of luxury, verbal trickery, and cowardice” (Kaldellis, 2019: 12). Though, in the contemporary world, such portrayals are not taken seriously by scholars, they are, nevertheless, baked into the discipline’s history – its very name – a history that continues to influence modern scholarship and permeate public reception of Roman History, Archaeology and Numismatics. What problems does such a label create for those whose professional careers are intertwined with the field's dishonest name? How severe are these problems, and are solutions reasonably obtainable? Byzantine Studies faces a host of problems, some tame, others are 'Wicked Problems'. The very name of the field perpetuates colonial ideologies and tropes that have been well established in monographs and articles produced by our peers. It appears we are at some form of impasse, which I call Wicked *Byzantine* Problems (WBP). John Schofield's book, "Wicked Problems for Archaeologists," is the inspiration for my arguments, although my feelings about the label "Byzantine" have been with me since my undergraduate days. Schofield's book argues that archaeologists have a significant role to play in Wicked Problems, "those problems facing the planet and its inhabitants, present and future, which are hard (if not impossible) to resolve and for which bold, creative, and messy solutions, being those 'that include many different viewpoints when making a decision or establishing policy"[^1] Byzantine Studies does not reside within a singular department in most Western universities. Much of what is included under the auspices of Byzantine Studies, i.e., History, Art History, Archaeology, Epigraphy, Numismatics, and Sigillography, to name a few, is scattered throughout a wide assortment of university departments, such as History, Classics, or Archaeology. The field also suffers from a lack of jobs (Kaldellis 2024) and many who have specialized in a particular area of Byzantine Studies, for example, numismatics, end up teaching in departments under broad mandates. This is not the time or place to discuss the Byzantine job market, but it hints at a growing problem that Byzantinists face: Relevancy. How does the field stay relevant in economic and political turmoil? Where war, climate change, social justice issues and political extremism are on the rise and occupy the public's mind? Do we as a field need to redefine who we are and what we do? To do so insinuates that we understand the character and nature of our field, and we should not be so confident that we do. ### WBP and Numismatics For Byzantine numismatics wicked problems are persuasive in and around the discipline. From heritage crime and antiquities trade, colonial legacies in North America, to the use of a dishonest label that misrepresents Roman and numerous other medieval identities, not to mention the problematic periodization that Byzantine numismatics uses. Indeed, 'Wicked *Byzantine* Problems' need to be addressed if the field is to flourish and maintain some form of social-cultural relevance. However, the potential solutions will be messy and may create more problems than they solve. It is here that we need to seek small wins.[^4] However, in order to achieve a small win, we need to understand the character of our discipline, its substance and the object that we study — Coins. --- ## 'Byzantine' Numismatics: Character and Substance Numismatics is an antiquarian discipline with its roots dating back to Augustus or earlier (Holt). ## What is a Coin? A simple search on Google asking "What is a Coin?" will provide a list of definitions that are all relatively similar in content. "A flat, typically round piece of metal with an official stamp, used as Money."[^2] The first line in Wikipedia states, "A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender."[^3] These searches provide the contemporary definition of what a coin is in modern western societies, particularly the United States and Canada (where this search was performed from). These definitions do not represent the ancient or medieval definitions of a coin... Looking past a coin's physical traits, such as its metal composition and iconography, one can see that its social and cultural meanings are complex, durable, and ever-changing. Durability is not only attested to by a coin's metallic composition - Durability - Entanglement - dependancies - Co-evolved with humans - Temporality - Economic - Cultural - Social - Geographic - linguistic - --- ### Entanglement. ### Western Medieval Studies and *Byzantium*. ### Alternative Approaches to Studying the East Roman Coins ### Towards a Critical Future in East Roman Studies --- ### Related Links [[]] --- # Bibliography ### Primary Sources #### Internet Archive & Google Books #### 16th Century [Epitome dv thresor des antiqvitez](https://archive.org/details/epitomedvthresorstra/page/n10/mode/1up) (Middle French 1553 (1588)) [Epitome Thesauri antiquitatum](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_hhQbkVJz4VEC/mode/1up) (1553) [Prima pars Promptuarii iconum insigniorum à seculo hominum](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_f5FDAAAAcAAJ/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater) (1553) [C. Ivlivs Caesar : sive Historiae imperatorvm Caesarvmqve romanorvm ex antiqvis nvmismatibvs restitvtae liber primvs](https://archive.org/details/civlivscaesarsiv02golt/mode/1up?view=theater) (1563) #### 17th Century [Impp. Romanorum numismatum series. à C. Iulio Cæsare ad Rudolphum II](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_SyTFdx27GKQC) (1605) [The compleat gentleman](https://archive.org/details/bim_early-english-books-1475-1640_the-compleat-gentleman_peacham-henry-the-youn_1622/mode/1up) (1622) See p 61?? [Icones imperatorum Romanorum](https://archive.org/details/iconesimperatorugolt/page/216/mode/1up?q=Conftantinopolim) (1645) [Dissertatio de praestantia et usu numismatum antiquorum - Ezechiel Spanheim](https://books.google.ca/books?id=V9RVAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP5&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=1#v=onepage&q&f=false) (1664) [Ezechielis Spanhemii Dissertationes de praestantia et usu numismatum antiquorum](https://archive.org/details/ezechielisspanhe02span/page/494/mode/1up) (1671) [Imperatorum romanorum numismata ex aere, mediae et minimae formae: descripta & enarrata](https://archive.org/details/imperatorumroman00pati/mode/1up) (1671) [De Byzantinarum rerum scriptoribus Graecis liber - Martin Hanke - Google Books](https://books.google.ca/books?id=CI5JsRocGy4C&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false) (1677) [Historia Byzantina duplici commentario illustrata](https://archive.org/details/historiabyzantin00duca/mode/1up) (1680) [Glossarium ad scriptores mediae & infimae Latinitatis : in quo Latina vocabula novatae significationis, aut usus rarioris, barbara & exotica explicantur](https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008607133) (1681) [La science des medailles](https://archive.org/details/lasciencedesmeda1695jobe/mode/1up) (1695) #### 18th Century [Numismata imperatorum romanorum a Trajano Decio ad Palæologos augustos](https://archive.org/details/gri_33125012238768/mode/1up) (1718) compare periodization to Montfaucon [Paleographia Graeca: sive, De ortu et progressu literarum Graecarum Montfaucon](https://books.google.ca/books?id=zHAsAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false) (1718) [Antiquity explained and represented in figures ... : Montfaucon](https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008723468/page/n7/mode/1up?view=theater) (1719) [Numismata Imperatorum Romanorum praestantiora a Julio Caesare ad postumum usque per Joannem Vaillant.](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RVE_KFKIVWQC/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater) (1743) [De imperatorum constantinopolitanorum seu inferioris aevi vel imperii uti vocant numismatibus](https://archive.org/details/deimperatorumcon00duca/mode/1up) (1755) [Glossarium novum ad scriptores medii aevi - P. Carpentier](https://books.google.ca/books?id=7HyKzgEACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false) (1766) has corrections and updates to Du Cange's _Dissertatio_ on Byzantine coins. [Istituzione antiquario-numismatica](https://archive.org/details/gri_33125011202641/page/n6/mode/1up) (1772) [Doctrina numorum veterum](https://archive.org/details/doctrinanumorum00unkngoog/mode/1up) (1792) #### 19th Century [Essai de classification des suites monétaires byzantines](https://archive.org/details/essaideclassifi00unkngoog/page/n6/mode/1up) (1836) [Lettres du Baron Marchant sur la numismatique et l'histoire](https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=gzQGAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PP4&hl=en) (1851 Nouvelle Édition). [Description generale des monnaies byzantines](https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=ucm.5325084214&seq=1) (1862) #### 20th century [Catalogue Of The Imperial Byzantine Coins In The British Museum VOL I : Wroth, Warwick ](https://archive.org/details/catalogueofimper00wrot/page/n8/mode/1up) **Joseph Hilarius von Eckhel (1737-1798)** [Doctrina nvmorvm vetervm conscripta a Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/doctrinanumorum12unkngoog/page/n7/mode/1up) (Part 1 vol I: 1792) [Doctrina Nvmorvm Vetervm Conscripta A Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/dbc.wroc.pl.BOss_XVIII_37330v2) (Part 1 vol II: 1794) Files need to be downloaded?? [Doctrina nvmorvm vetervm conscripta a Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/doctrinanvmorvm03grangoog/page/n5/mode/1up) (Part 1 vol II: 1839 Second edition) [Doctrina Nvmorvm Vetervm Conscripta A Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/dbc.wroc.pl.BOss_XVIII_37330v3/page/n6/mode/1up) (Part I vol III: 1794) [Doctrina nvmorvm vetervm conscripta a Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/doctrinanvmorvm00grangoog/page/n5/mode/1up) ( Part 1 vol III: 1828 Second edition) [Doctrina Nvmorvm Vetervm Conscripta A Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/dbc.wroc.pl.BOss_XVIII_37330v4/page/n6/mode/1up) (Part 1 vol IV: 1794) [Doctrina nvmorvm vetervm conscripta a Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/doctrinanvmorvm05grangoog/page/n7/mode/1up) (Part 1 vol IV: 1828 Second edition) [Doctrina Nvmorvm Vetervm Conscripta A Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/dbc.wroc.pl.BOss_XVIII_37330v5/page/n6/mode/1up) (Part 2 vol V: 1795) [Doctrina nvmorvm vetervm conscripta a Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/doctrinanumorum01millgoog/page/n10/mode/2up) (Second edition???) [Doctrina Nvmorvm Vetervm Conscripta A Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/dbc.wroc.pl.BOss_XVIII_37330v6/page/n6/mode/1up) (Part 2 vol VI: 1796) [Doctrina nvmorvm vetervm conscripta a Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_3rOyZTcZXGIC/page/n3/mode/1up) (Part 2 vol VI: 1828 Second Edition) [Doctrina Nvmorvm Vetervm Conscripta A Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/dbc.wroc.pl.BOss_XVIII_37330v7/page/n6/mode/1up) (Part 2 vol VII: 1797) [Doctrina nvmorvm vetervm conscripta a Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/doctrinanvmorvm02grangoog/page/n5/mode/1up) (Part 2 vol VII: 1828 Second edition) [Doctrina Nvmorvm Vetervm Conscripta A Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/dbc.wroc.pl.BOss_XVIII_37330v8/page/n6/mode/1up) (Part 2 vol VIII: 1798) [Doctrina nvmorvm vetervm conscripta a Josepho Eckhel](https://archive.org/details/doctrinanvmorvm06grangoog/page/n5/mode/1up) (Part 2 vol VIII: 1828 Second edition) *Seals/Sigillography* [De veteribus Germanorum aliarumque nationum sigillis](https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_odPmuItct9gC/mode/1up) (1709) compare language difference #### Dumbarton Oaks [Imperatorum Romanorum numismata a Pompeio Magno ad Heraclium](https://www.dopapers.org/rare-books/imperatorum-romanorum-numismata-a-pompeio-magno-ad-heraclium) (1683) [Les Cesars de l'empereur Julien](https://www.doaks.org/resources/online-exhibits/ces-pieces-immortelles/17th-century-b/les-cesars-de-lempereur-julien) (1683) Not sure if needed. Need to Find. ### Secondary Sources --- ### Footnotes [^1]: Schofield (4) [^2]: Google Search Engine Dictionary, accessed May 1st, 2025. [^3]: "Coin," *Wikipedia*, accessed May 1st, 2025. Other examples are... [^4]: Schofield (3-4)