Lot 1269
Irene. Gold Solidus (3.76 g), 797-802. Syracuse, 798-802. [EI]-RIN bASILIS, crowned bust of Irene facing, wearing loros, holding globus cruciger and cross-tipped scepter; in left field, pellet. Rev. [EIRIN] bASIL[I]S, crowned bust of Irene facing, wear loros, holding globus cruciger and cross-tipped scepter; in left field, C; in field to right, I. (DOC -; Anastasi 455; Spahr -; SB -). Very rare. Mint state. Estimate $6,000UP
Irene was a notable figure in early Byzantine history, and was the wife of Leo IV as well as the mother of Constantine VI. Although Leo was an increasingly intolerant iconoclast, Irene secretly venerated icons; according to tradition, when he discovered some of her icons she had concealed he reportedly refused to share the marriage bed with her thereafter. Nevertheless, when Leo died, Irene became regent for the young Constantine, and she used her authority to bring an end to the divisive iconoclast movement in the Byzantine Empire in 787, greatly improving relations with the Papacy and the Latin West. When Constantine VI came of age, Irene refused to give up her power and assumed the title of empress in her own right. However, in 802 she was overthrown in a palace coup and replaced on the throne by Nikephoros, her former minister of finance. Irene was exiled to Lesbos where she spent the single year that remained of her life spinning wool to support herself.
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| Realized $6,490 |
