Gold Solidus of Justinian II (Second Reign Sole Issue)

Historical Context

Justinian II was the last reigning emperor of the Heraclian dynasty, initially governing from 685 to 695 CE. His initial decade on the throne brought significant domestic reform and institutional centralization, as well as a watershed iconographic transformation. Following Canon 82 of the Quinisext Council held in 692 CE, which decreed that Jesus Christ should be depicted in human form rather than through symbolic allegory, Justinian became the first Roman ruler to place the image of Christ on the obverse of imperial coinage, relegating his own imperial portrait to the reverse.

In 695 CE, a palace rebellion deposed Justinian, subjected him to rhinotomy - the mutilation of his nose to disqualify him from imperial office - and banished him to Cherson in the Crimea. Staging an unprecedented political recovery, Justinian escaped custody, formed diplomatic and military pacts with the Khazars and Khan Tervel of the Bulgars, and laid siege to Constantinople in the summer of 705 CE. Regaining the capital, he executed the usurpers Leontius and Tiberius III Apsimarus, reclaiming the throne as Justinian II Rhinotmetos.

Immediately upon securing the Great Palace, Justinian resumed gold coin production at the Constantinople mint, initiating this inaugural sole-ruler series. The reverse depicts him standing alone in the ceremonial consular loros, brandishing a cross potent and a globus cruciger bearing the inscription PAX. This solitary visual program was extremely short-lived; within months, his Khazar empress Theodora arrived in the capital accompanied by their infant son Tiberius, whom Justinian crowned as Augustus. The solo type was promptly superseded by a joint-rule design featuring both father and son, leaving the sole-reign solidus of 705 CE as an ephemeral transitional emission.

Obverse Iconographic Composition

The obverse composition displays a frontal, half-length bust of Christ Pantokrator. This design departs markedly from the iconic portrait used during Justinian's first reign, which portrayed Christ with long, flowing locks and a full beard inspired by classical representations of Olympian Zeus. The second-reign emission introduces an alternative iconographic tradition characterized by short, tight curls covering the head in tight rows and framed by a closely trimmed beard and mustache.

Behind Christ's head extend the three visible arms of a plain cross, without an enclosing circular nimbus ring. He wears a classical tunic and a draped pallium slung over his left shoulder. His right hand is raised in front of his chest in an authoritative gesture of blessing, while his left arm cradles a Book of Gospels adorned with jeweled ornamentation along the cover. The engraving renders the figure with stark, front-facing intensity, emphasizing the corporal reality of the Incarnation in direct harmony with the theological dictates of the late seventh-century councils.

Obverse Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The obverse legend encircles the bust in a continuous clockwise arc along the perimeter, executed in late Roman uncial script with distinct Byzantine letterforms.

• Language: Latin with Greek abbreviations.
• Institutional Inscription Reading: dN IhS ChS REX REGNANTIUM
• Epigraphic Letterforms on Series Dies: ∂N IҺS CҺS RЄX RЄGNANTIЧM
• Transliteration: Dominus Iesus Christus Rex Regnantium
• Translation: "Lord Jesus Christ, King of Kings" (or "King of those who rule")

Epigraphically, the inscription combines traditional Latin administrative language with Greek contractions for the sacred name, rendering Iesus Christus through the nomina sacra abbreviations IhS ChS. The formula proclaims Christ as the ultimate universal sovereign, subordinated to no earthly monarch, an ideological framework that cast the Byzantine emperor not as an autonomous autocrat, but as the servant and earthly representative of Christ.

Reverse Iconographic Composition

The reverse presents a solitary facing bust of Justinian II, rendered with an individualized mustache and a short, squared beard. He wears an imperial crown surmounted by a small cross on the circlet, with lateral pendilia draping downward to frame his temples. The emperor is clad in the consular loros, a broad, jewel-encrusted ceremonial scarf folded across the chest and draped over the arm, worn to celebrate his assumption of the consulship upon entering the capital.

In his right hand, Justinian elevates a cross potent mounted upon a three-stepped base. In his left hand, he supports a globus cruciger surmounted by a patriarchal cross, with the sphere engraved with the Latin word PAX. The imperial figure dominates the field, running directly down toward the lower perimeter. Unusually for Byzantine gold coinage of the late seventh and early eighth centuries, the traditional mintmark CONOB and workshop officina numerals are completely omitted, leaving the imperial figure and accompanying acclamation to occupy the entire reverse die face.

Reverse Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The reverse features two distinct Latin epigraphic components: an acclamatory border legend and an incised programmatic inscription upon the globus cruciger.

• Language: Latin
• Institutional Marginal Reading: DN IUSTINIANUS MULTUS AN
• Epigraphic Letterforms on Series Dies: ∂N IЧSTINIANЧS MЧLTЧS AN
• Marginal Transliteration: Dominus Noster Iustinianus Multos Annos
• Marginal Translation: "Our Lord Justinian, [may you reign for] many years!"
• Field Inscription: PAX ("Peace"), engraved horizontally across the globe

Epigraphically, the phrase MULTUS AN represents a Latinization of the classical acclamation multos annos, functioning as the western linguistic equivalent to the Byzantine imperial polychronion chanted by circus factions and the army during imperial coronations and formal adventus ceremonies. The inclusion of the word PAX directly upon the globus cruciger provides a striking programmatic message, projecting the re-establishment of civil and religious harmony following a decade of usurpation and political chaos.

Typology and Documented Variants

Gold solidi of Justinian II's second reign struck at the Constantinople mint are categorized into two fundamental typological classes based on the composition of the imperial face:

• Class I: Sole Reign of Justinian II (c. 705–706 CE)

  • Design: Obverse carries the curly-haired Christ Pantokrator; reverse carries the solitary bust of Justinian II holding the stepped cross potent and PAX globe.
  • Standard Corpus Classifications: Sear 1413; Dumbarton Oaks Collection Vol. II, Part 2, No. 1; Moneta Imperii Byzantini III, No. 1.
  • Documented Die Variants: Minor variations appear in the termination of the reverse acclamation (reading MULTUS AN or MULTUS A) and slight differences in the proportions of the stepped base of the cross potent.
  • Institutional Example: Cleveland Museum of Art accession 2012.47 (reported institutional data: diameter 2 cm, mass 4.48 g).

• Class II: Joint Reign of Justinian II and Tiberius (c. 705/706–711 CE)

  • Design: Obverse retains the curly-haired Christ Pantokrator; reverse depicts two figures, showing Justinian II alongside his young co-emperor son Tiberius, jointly grasping a central cross potent.
  • Standard Corpus Classifications: Sear 1414; Dumbarton Oaks Collection Vol. II, Part 2, No. 2a–b; Moneta Imperii Byzantini III, No. 2a–b.
  • Institutional Comparison: Cleveland Museum of Art accession 1968.57 (reported institutional data: diameter 20 mm, mass 3.95 g). This specimen represents the later joint-reign type and must not be conflated with the solitary 705 CE issue.

While specimens of Class I generally share a consistent metropolitan die style and a theoretical alignment near the standard sixth-hour mark, individual institutional holdings such as CMA 2012.47 have not officially published a die axis or metallurgical assay.

Scholarly Debates and Attribution Limitations

The iconography and chronology of this transitional solidus have generated notable discussion among Byzantine numismatists and art historians:

• The Nature of the Type B Christ: Numismatic art historian James D. Breckenridge proposed that the second-reign bust of Christ, distinguished by tight curls and a trimmed beard, derived from a Syrian or "Semitic" iconographic tradition distinct from the classical Hellenistic type used during the first reign. Breckenridge suggested that Justinian encountered this artistic tradition during his Crimean and steppe exile, selecting it deliberately upon his return to reinforce a distinct theological identity. In contrast, Philip Grierson and subsequent scholars argued that both iconographic archetypes existed contemporaneously within metropolitan Byzantine church art, viewing the shift as a stylistic preference of the imperial workshop rather than an ideological realignment. In the absence of contemporary textual records detailing the die engravers' artistic briefs, the exact motivation remains speculative.

• The PAX Inscription: The explicit appearance of the word PAX on the globe is unique in eighth-century Byzantine coinage. Scholars remain divided over whether this inscription commemorated the formal peace treaty negotiated with Khan Tervel of Bulgaria - whose allied forces proved decisive in recapturing the throne - or operated as domestic political propaganda asserting the divinely restored stability of the Heraclian dynasty.

• Chronological Limits and Physical Constraints: The precise date separating Class I and Class II rests entirely on the arrival of Empress Theodora and the coronation of the child Tiberius. While institutional records such as the Cleveland Museum of Art record an accession date of 705, Tiberius's coronation may have taken place in late 705 or early 706 CE. Consequently, the sole-reign solidi represent an extremely constrained production bracket. Furthermore, specific institutional specimens like CMA 2012.47 require independent metallurgical verification, as gold fineness and die alignment remain unverified in published institutional catalogues.

References

1. Solidus of Justinian II (Accession 2012.47). The Cleveland Museum of Art, online collections record
2. Solidus with Justinian II Rhinometus and His Son Tiberius (Accession 1968.57). The Cleveland Museum of Art, online collections record
3. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, Volume II, Part 2: Heraclius Constantine to Theodosius III (641–717). pp. 644–646, no. 1 (Justinian II Second Reign, Class I)
4. Byzantine Coins and Their Values (2nd ed.). p. 271, no. 1413 (Justinian II Second Reign, sole rule solidus)
5. The Numismatic Iconography of Justinian II (685–695, 705–711 A.D.). Numismatic Notes and Monographs No. 144, pp. 46–62 (Type B Christ Pantokrator)
6. Triton IX, Lot 1621 (Justinian II Second Reign Solidus, DOC 1 / SB 1413). Classical Numismatic Group, 10 January 2006, lot 1621