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Byzantine Empire
Anonymous Class C
Bronze Follis 28mm (8.33 grams)
Struck during the reign of Michael IV 1034-1041 A.D.
Reference: Sear 1825
+ЄMMANOVHΛ – Three-quarter length figure of Christ Antiphonetes standing facing, wearing nimbus crown, pallium and colobium, and raising right hand in benediction; in left hand, book of Gospels; in field to left, IC; to right, XC.
Jeweled cross cross, with pellet at each extremity; in the angles, IC -XC / NI – KA (“May Jesus Christ Conquer”).
For more than a century, the production of Follis denomination Byzantine coins had religious Christian motifs which included included Jesus Christ, and even Virgin Mary. These coins were designed to honor Christ and recognize the subservient role of the Byzantine emperor, with many of the reverse inscriptions translating to “Jesus Christ King of Kings” and “May Jesus Christ Conquer”. The Follis denomination coins were the largest bronze denomination coins issued by the Byzantine empire, and their large size, along with the Christian motif make them a popular coin type for collectors. This series ran from the period of Byzantine emperors John I (969-976 A.D.) to Alexius I (1081-1118 A.D.). The accepted classification was originally devised by Miss Margaret Thompson with her study of these types of coins. World famous numismatic author, David R. Sear adopted this classification system for his book entitled, Byzantine Coins and Their Values. The references about this coin site Mr. Sear’s book by the number that they appear in that work. The class types of coins included Class A1, Class A2, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E, Class F, Class G, Class H, Class I, Class J, Class K. Read more and see examples of these coins by reading the JESUS CHRIST Anonymous Class A-N Byzantine Follis Coins Reference.
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Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5 BC/BCE – c. 30 AD/CE), also referred to as Jesus Christ or simply Jesus, is the central figure of Christianity. Most Christian denominations venerate him as God the Son incarnated and believe that he rose from the dead after being crucified.
 The principal sources of information regarding Jesus are the four canonical gospels, and most critical scholars find them, at least the Synoptic Gospels, useful for reconstructing Jesus’ life and teachings. Some scholars believe apocryphal texts such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel according to the Hebrews are also relevant.
Most critical historians agree that Jesus was a Jew who was regarded as a teacher and healer, that he was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect Judaea, Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire. Critical Biblical scholars and historians have offered competing descriptions of Jesus as a self-described Messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement. Most contemporary scholars of the Historical Jesus consider him to have been an independent, charismatic founder of a Jewish restoration movement, anticipating an imminent apocalypse. Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus’ “Kingdom of God” meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse.
Christians traditionally believe that Jesus was born of a virgin:529–32 performed miracles,:358–59 founded the Church, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven,:616–20 from which he will return.:1091–109 Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited Messiah promised in the Old Testament and as God, arguing that he fulfilled many Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, one of three divine persons of a reject Trinitarianism Trinity, wholly or partly, believing it to be non-scriptural.
 Michael IV the Paphlagonian (Greek: Mikhaēl IV Paphlagōn), (1010 – December 10, 1041), was Eastern Roman Emperor from April 11, 1034 to December 10, 1041. He owed his elevation to Empress Zoe, daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII and wife of Romanos III Argyros.
Michael came from a family of Paphlagonian peasants, one of whom, the parakoimomenos John the Eunuch had come to preside over the woman’s quarters at the imperial palace. John brought his younger brothers into the court and there the empress Zoe became enamoured of Michael, who became her chamberlain. Zoe and Michael decided to use a slow poison to kill Zoe’s husband Romanos III. However, becoming impatient with the poison, they drowned him and Zoe immediately married Michael, on April 11, 1034. Michael IV was also proclaimed emperor and reigned together with Zoe until his death in 1041.
Michael IV was handsome, clever, and generous, but he was uneducated and suffered from epileptic fits. Therefore he left the government in the hands of his brother John, who had already become an influential minister of Constantine VIII and Romanos III. John’s reforms of the army and financial system revived for a while the strength of the Empire, which held its own successfully against its foreign enemies. But the increase in taxation caused discontent among both nobles and commoners. John’s monopoly of the government led to several failed conspiracies against him in 1034, 1037, 1038, and 1040 one of which was led by the Empress Zoe herself. The last conspiracy involved the patrician Michael Keroularios, who became a monk to save his life and was later elected as patriarch of Constantinople.
On the eastern frontier the important fortress of Edessa was relieved after a prolonged siege. On the western front the Muslims were almost driven out of Sicily by George Maniakes (who campaigned there between 1037 and 1040). Maniakes fell out with his Lombard allies, however, and lost the support of the Lombards and Normans. After the recall of Maniakes most of the Sicilian conquests were lost (1041), and a subsequent expedition against the Italian Normans suffered several defeats.
In the north the Serbs revolted successfully in 1040, as did the Bulgarians in western Bulgaria and Macedonia in the same year. This revolt was partly caused by the heavy taxation in coin imposed on Bulgaria at the time, but it aimed at the restoration of the Bulgarian state under the leadership of Peter Delyan. Although Michael IV was chased out of the vicinity of Thessalonica by the rebels, he returned with an army of 40,000 men in 1041 assisted by Norse mercenaries including the future King Harald III of Norway. The military success of the Romans was aided by internal dissention among the Bulgarians and eventually their leaders were defeated and captured. Michael IV returned to Constantinople in triumph but he was now decrepit with illness and died on December 10, 1041.
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