Nikephoros

Intro ...

(1078-1081)

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CONSTANTINOPLE

Nicephorus III (1078-1081). El Histamenon nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1881.

Obv: Christ seated facing on throne without back, wearing numbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction and holding book of Gospels on left; on either side of nimbus, ıc—xc; double border.

Rev: + ɴıᴋʜϕ Δєc ᴛω ʀᴏᴛᴀɴıᴀᴛ (or similar). Nicephoros, standing facing on footstool, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum (with X on shaft) and globus cruciger; double border.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). El Histamenon nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1882.

Obv: Christ seated facing on throne with back, wearing numbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction and holding book of Gospels on left; on either side of nimbus (sometimes on either side of throne), ıc—xc; double border.

Rev: + ɴıᴋʜϕᴘ Δєcⲡ ᴛω ʀᴏᴛᴀɴıᴀᴛ (or similar). Nicephoros, standing facing on footstool, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum and globus cruciger; double border.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). El Histamenon nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1883.

Obv: Bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; on either side, ıc—xc; double border.

Rev: + ɴıᴋʜϕᴘ Δєcⲡ (or similar). Bust facing, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding long cross and globus cruciger; double border.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). El Histamenon nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1883ᴀ.

Obv: Bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; on either side, ıc—xc (rarely also with pellets in upper field to left and right); double border.

Rev: + ɴıᴋʜ …….. Bust facing, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum (sometimes with pellet on shaft) and globus cruciger; double border.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). El Tetarteron nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1884.

Obv: Bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; on either side, ıc—xc; single border.

Rev: + ɴıᴋʜϕ Δєc ᴛω ʀᴏᴛᴀɴıᴀᴛ (or similar). Nicephoros, standing facing on footstool, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum (with X on shaft) and globus cruciger; single border.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). El Tetarteron nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1884ᴀ.

Obv: Bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; on either side, ıc—xc; single border.

Rev: + ɴᴋʜϕᴏᴘᴏc ᴛω ʀᴏᴛᴀɴıᴀᴛ. Nicephoros, standing facing on footstool, bearded, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum and globus cruciger; single border.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). El Tetarteron nomisma. Constantinople mint. Sear 1884ʙ.

Obv: Bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; on either side, ıc—xc.

Rev: + ɴıᴋʜϕᴘ Δєcⲡᴛ (or similar). Bust facing, bearded, wearing crown and jewelled chlamys, and holding labarum and globus cruciger.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). AR Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1885.

Obv: + ⲑᴋє ʀᴏʜⲑєı ᴛω ᴄω Δ૪ᴧ (or similar). The Virgin orans standing facing on footstool, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium; usually in field to left, ᴍᴘ; to right, ⲑᴠ; double border.

Rev: + ɴıᴋʜϕ Δєᴄ ᴛω ʀᴏᴛᴀɴ (or similar). Nicephoros, bearded, standing facing, wearing crown and military attire, consisting of cuirass, tunic, cloak and high boots; holding long cross in right hand, and resting left on sheath containing sword; double border.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). AR Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1886.

Obv: єɴ ᴛᴏᴠᴛω ɴıᴋᴀᴛє ɴıᴋʜϕ ᴋᴀı ᴍᴀᴘıᴀ. Cross crosslet on globus resting on three steps; at center of cross, x; on shaft, pellet within crescent; in field to left, facing bust of Nicephorus, bearded, wearing crown and jewelled chlamys; to right, facing bust of Maria, wearing crown and loros; triple border.

Rev: + ɴıᴋʜϕᴘ / ᴋᴀı ᴍᴀᴘıᴀ / ⲡıᴄᴛᴏı ʀᴀ / ᴄıᴧєıᴄ ᴘω / ᴍᴀıωɴ in five lines; above, — + —; beneath, — · —; triple border.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). AR ⅔ Miliaresion. Constantinople mint. Sear 1887.

Obv: Facing bust of the Virgin orans, nimbate and wearing pallium and maphorium; on either side, ᴍᴘ—ⲑᴠ.

Rev: + ɴıᴋʜϕᴘ Δєc ᴛω ʀᴏᴛᴀɴıᴀᴛ. Nicephoros, bearded, standing facing, wearing crown and loros, and holding labarum (with X on shaft) and globus cruciger.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). Æ Follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1888.

Obv: No legend. Three-quarter length figure of Christ standing facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; in field to left, ıc over large star; to right, xc over large star [ıc and xc have lines above].

Rev: Cross with globule at each extremity; at center, circle containing star of eight rays; in angles, c—ϕ / ɴ—Δ.

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Nicephorus III (1078-1081). Æ Follis. Constantinople mint. Sear 1889.

Obv: No legend. Bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, holding book of Gospels in left; in field to left, ıc; to right, xc [ıc and xc have lines above].

Rev: Latin cross (with x at center), with globule and two pellets at each extremity; in lower field, on either side, floral ornament; in upper field, on either side, crescent.

Notes: Anonymous Follis Class I.

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The effective reign of Nicephorus III dates from his occupation of Constantinople on 3 April 1078. It lasted for three years almost to the day. Botaniates may once have been a competent general, but he was by now an incapable figurehead. The occupation of Asia Minor by the Turks continued almost unchecked, and a series of pretenders threatened his position at home. His marriage was a major scandal. His second wife Berdena, who had been acclaimed at the same time as himself, died shortly afterward, and he determined to strengthen his position by marrying some member of the former ruling house, who would bring with her both the aura of royalty and the support of the powerful Ducas family. His choice lay between Eudocia Macrembolitissa, widow of Constantine X, Eudocia’s daughter Zoe, and Eudocia’s daughter-in-law Maria of Alania, wife of the deposed Michael VII. His choice fell on Maria, who was apparently the most attractive, and, despite the fact that her husband was still alive, a complaisant priest was found to marry them. For a time things went well, but he had not reckoned on Maria's devotion to the interests of her son Constantine by her first marriage. When Botaniates thought of settling the throne on one of his own relatives, Nicephorus Synadenos, Maria invoked the help of Alexius Comnenus, who felt himself inadequately rewarded for his immense services to Botaniates and feared the enmity of some of the emperor's most intimate counselors. Inthelastweek of March 1081 Alexius was proclaimed emperor inThrace, and his troops entered the capital on the morning of 1 April. Nicephorus abdicated the same day, taking refuge in Saint Sophia; he was then transferred to the monastery of the Peribleptos, where he accepted most unwillingly the monastic habit and died shortly afterward? Alexius was presumably proclaimed in the city on the 1st and crowned on the 4th, duly fulfilling his part of the bargain with Maria by recognizing the young Constantine’s former rank as basileus and betrothing him to his daughter Anna.

The reign of Nicephorus saw a further deplorable debasement of the supposedly “gold” coinage, which was by now poor-quality electrum; his coins rarely rise above nine carats in fineness. Maria of Alania is associated with him on some of his silver but not on any of his gold, though she had figured on the tetartera of Michael VII. His reign is one of the very few in Byzantine history in which pretenders to the throne struck coins without having occupied Constantinople and received the crown at the patriarch’s hands.

Three classes of histamena and two of tetartera were struck during the reign. Class II of the histamenon has for its types a bust of Christ and a bust of the emperor; Classes II and III have a seated Christ and a standing emperor, but the throne of Christ on Class II is square-backed and on Class III it is without back. Classes II and III give Nicephorus his family name of Botaniates, so their attribution is not in doubt. Class I, which like Class II is very rare, merely calls him despotes. One is consequently tempted to attribute it to one of the other Nicephori who set themselves up during his reign, the more so since the portrait is rather different—the face is longer and narrower than that of most coins of Class III—and there are minor divergences in detail, such as pendilia ending in three pearls instead of two. Specimens of Class III with a rather long, narrow face do, however, occur, and contemporary allusions to staurobotaniati, which can only refer to these coins— on Classes II and III the emperor holds a labarum, not a cross scepter—make their attribution to Botaniates certain. I would suggest that they represent the first issue of the reign—a very brief one, to judge both from their rarity and from their absence from the Dinogetia hoard—but that with Bryennius’ refusal to accept terms in April 1078 it was thought expedient to put the emperor's family name on the coins and thus avoid uncertainty regarding the particular Nicephorus whom they represented. The reason for the transition from Class II (very rare) to Class III (very common) is obscure. The most obvious difference in the imperial figures is the absence of an X on the staff of the labarum in Class II, but there is also a curious pear-shaped object hanging from the emperor's hand in Class III.

Class I of the tetarteron, with a bust of Christ and one of the emperor, corresponds to Class I of the histamenon; it has the same portrait and the title of despot only, besides being extremely rare. Class II, with a bust of Christ and a standing figure of the emperor, divides into two sub-classes, a very rare one corresponding to Class II of the histamenon having no X on the staff of the labarum and a slightly commoner one, corresponding to Class III of the histamenon, having an X on the staff. The tetarteron must have been struck in only small quantities, and is of very poor metal indeed.

There are two classes of miliaresia, both of badly debased silver and usually found in a much damaged condition. The types correspond to those of the preceding reign: a concave coin having effigies of the Virgin and the emperor standing, with a pellet beneath the emperor's arm as on similar coins of Michael VII; a flat coin having on the obverse a cross and two busts and on the reverse an inscription. There is also, at Dumbarton Oaks, what from its obverse type, a bust of the Virgin, should perhaps be regarded as a two-thirds miliaresion, though the texture of the coin gives the impression of being silvered copper. Sabatier published a further silver piece having on the obverse a bust of the Virgin and on the reverse an inscription giving Nicephorus the title of σεβαστος, but this was not at that time used for emperors and Wroth explains it, I believe correctly, as an impression in silver of a seal, or perhaps a seal described in error as a coin.

The signed folles which can be attributed to Nicephorus III have on the obverse a three-quarter length figure of Christ, with a star on either side, and on the reverse the letters CΦNΔ in the angles of a cross having in its center a star within a circle. That Φ stands for ΦVΛATTЄ we know, from seals, so the letters must represent Σταυρε φυλαττε Nικηφορον δεσποτη. The effigy of Christ, that of the icon in the Chalcoprateia known as the Christ Antiphonetes, is discussed in the Introduction.

Anonymous Folles of Class I are shown by the evidence of overstriking to belong to the reign of Nicephorus III. His copper coinage is astonishingly common for so short a reign.

(from DOC vol. lll)

Coinage