Tiberius III Gold Solidus: Military Portraiture and the Stepped Cross

Historical Context

Tiberius III, originally named Apsimar (Greek: Ἀψίμαρος), ruled the Byzantine Empire from 698 to 705 CE during the turbulent era known to modern historiography as the 'Twenty Years' Anarchy' (695–717 CE). His accession emerged directly from the geopolitical collapse of Byzantine North Africa. In 697–698 CE, the Umayyad Caliphate seized Carthage, extinguishing Roman authority in the region. The Emperor Leontius dispatched a naval relief expedition under the patrician John, but the fleet failed to reverse the loss and was driven from African waters. Fearing imperial execution upon their return, naval officers and crews mutinied at Crete, elevating Apsimar, then the droungarios (admiral) of the Cibyrrhaeots, as Augustus.

Apsimar directed the fleet to Constantinople, where factional sympathizers among the Greens assisted in breaching the capital's defences. Upon seizing power, he assumed the imperial name Tiberius. Leontius was deposed, subjected to the slitting of his nose in retaliation for the identical mutilation he had previously inflicted upon Justinian II, and exiled to the monastery of Dalmatou.

Tiberius III's seven-year reign was characterized by energetic military organization. Appointing his brother Heraclius as supreme commander (monostrategos) of the Anatolic themes, the imperial regime launched sustained counter-offensives across Cilicia and northern Syria between 700 and 704 CE, checking Arab advances, capturing Samosata, and stabilizing the eastern frontier. Concurrently, the emperor repaired and heightened the seaward fortifications of Constantinople.

His rule collapsed in the summer of 705 CE when the deposed emperor Justinian II escaped exile in Cherson, secured an alliance with Khan Tervel of Bulgaria, and marched on Constantinople. Exploiting an unused aqueduct channel beneath the walls near the Palace of Blachernae, Justinian and a small band penetrated the city. Tiberius III fled toward Sozopolis in Thrace but was captured. In February 706 CE, Justinian staged a triumphal spectacle in the Hippodrome of Constantinople, where Tiberius III and Leontius were exhibited in chains, trampled beneath the victor's feet to public chants of Psalm 91:13, and subsequently decapitated at the Kynegion.

Obverse: Iconographic Composition

The obverse design of Tiberius III's gold solidus marks a distinct visual break from the iconography of his immediate predecessors. Justinian II had instituted the revolutionary facing bust of Christ Pantocrator on his solidi, relegating the emperor to the reverse, while Leontius had presented himself in consular or ceremonial robes (loros) holding the akakia. Tiberius III deliberately discarded both presentations, returning to an aggressively militaristic posture.

The emperor is depicted facing forward as a commander in armor. He wears a cuirass with distinct plate lamellae and a low crown topped by a cross on a central circlet. In his right hand, held across his chest diagonally toward his left shoulder, he grips a transverse spear. Resting on his left shoulder is a circular shield decorated in low relief with a classical Roman triumph scene: an imperial cavalryman galloping to the right and spearing a fallen foe.

On the specimen preserved in the Cleveland Museum of Art (accession 1968.58 / 1968.58.a), the portrait displays detailed facial characteristics, including a combed moustache, a short pointed beard, and clearly engraved cuirass details. Institutional documentation records the diameter as 2 cm (20 mm) and the weight as 4.4 g (0.16 oz.), consistent with standard unclipped solidi of the period.

Obverse: Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The obverse legend continues the traditional Latin titulature of the Byzantine imperial office, rendered in the mixed late Roman and Byzantine epigraphic script standard in the late 7th century:

• Language: Latin.
• Script: Epigraphic Byzantine Latin uncials, displaying Greek influence such as lunate epsilon (Є) and uncial Ч for V.
• Verified Series Legend: D TIbERIЧS PЄ AV (with occasional minor die variants such as D TIBERIUS PE AV or d TIbERI-ЧS PЄ AV).
• Observed Inscription (CMA 1968.58.a): d t I b Є R I - Ч S P Є A V
• Transliteration: D[ominus] Tiberius Pe[rpetuus] Au[gustus].
• English Translation: 'Lord Tiberius, Perpetual Augustus.'
• Arrangement: The legend runs clockwise along the beaded perimeter rim, divided into two arcs at the apex by the cross surmounting the emperor's crown.

Reverse: Iconographic Composition

The reverse design retains the stepped cross motif originally introduced under Emperor Heraclius, which served as the primary reverse type for Byzantine solidi throughout the 7th century.

The composition presents a Latin cross potent, distinguished by small perpendicular bars capping each of its four arms. The cross is anchored upon a base set atop three stepped tiers. Below the lowest tier runs a horizontal baseline demarcating the exergual segment. The field is clear of subsidiary symbols or religious figures, focusing compositional attention entirely on the cross as an emblem of imperial victory and divine favor.

On the Cleveland Museum of Art specimen (1968.58.b), the cross and stepped base are struck in centered relief within an unbroken inner circle, framed by the marginal inscription and an outer beaded border. The letters of the mint formula occupy the lower horizontal register below the base.

Reverse: Epigraphy and Inscriptions

The reverse inscriptions consist of an invocational victory formula encircling the cross and an administrative mintmark in the exergue:

• Language: Latin, terminating with a Greek numeral representing the mint workshop.
• Script: Byzantine Latin capital and uncial letterforms.
• Verified Series Legend: VICTORIA AVGЧ followed by an officina control character.
• Observed Legend (CMA 1968.58.b): V I C T O R I A - A V Ϛ Ч [ ]
• Exergue: CONOB
• Transliteration: Victoria Augu[sti] + workshop mark; exergue: CON[stantinopoli] OB[ryzum].
• English Translation: 'Victory of the Augustus'; exergue: 'Constantinople, refined gold.'
• Arrangement: The victory inscription begins at the lower left (~7:30) and runs clockwise along the perimeter. The formula CONOB is centered horizontally beneath the lowest step.
• Officina Marker on CMA 1968.58.b: Following AVϚЧ, a single character appears at the 3:30 position close to the edge of the flan. Because the letter is partially off-flan and truncated at the rim, its triangular stroke cannot be identified decisively as A (officina 1) or Δ (officina 4) without a direct die comparison.

Typology and Documented Variants

The gold solidi struck for Tiberius III at Constantinople constitute a single typological group, classified as Sear BCV 1360, Hahn MIB III 1, and Dumbarton Oaks Class 1. Individual issues within this series are differentiated by the terminal workshop (officina) letter on the reverse.

Constantinople Solidus Variants (Sear 1360 / DOC Class 1)

In Philip Grierson's arrangement in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection catalogue, sub-varieties reflect specific specimens in the collection rather than a continuous theoretical sequence:

• DOC 1a: Officina A (1st workshop)
• DOC 1b: Officina B (2nd workshop)
• DOC 1c: Officina Δ (4th workshop; the Dumbarton Oaks collection lacked an officina Γ specimen)
• DOC 1d: Officina Є (5th workshop)
• DOC 1e: Officina S or Ϛ (6th workshop)
• DOC 1f: Officina Z (7th workshop)
• DOC 1g: Officina H (8th workshop)
• DOC 1h: Officina Θ (9th workshop)
• DOC 1i: Officina I (10th workshop)

Fractional Gold Denominations (Constantinople)

• Semissis (Sear 1362; DOC Class 3): Theoretical mass of ~2.2 g; obverse bust resembling the solidus, but the reverse cross potent rests upon a globe above a base, inscribed VICTORIA AVGЧS without an officina letter.
• Tremissis (Sear 1363; DOC Class 4): Theoretical mass of ~1.4 g; obverse bust depicted without the transverse spear; reverse features a cross potent on a globe.

Provincial Solidus Issues

• Syracuse Mint (Sear 1380; DOC Class 21): Struck on smaller, thicker flans in lower-purity electrum or pale gold; distinctive local engraving style, often accompanied by field control letters or stars.
• Italian Mints (Rome/Ravenna/Naples) (Sear 1397, 1406; DOC Classes 27–31, 36–38): Marked by coarser execution, altered lettering (e.g., D TIDEP-IUS), and characteristic regional flan fabric.

Scholarly Debates and Attribution Limitations

Ideological Meaning of the Iconographic Shift

Early numismatic scholarship, including 19th-century commentary by J.B. Bury, occasionally speculated that the removal of Christ's image from the coinage under Leontius and Tiberius III foreshadowed the 8th-century Iconoclastic crisis. Modern numismatists, such as James D. Breckenridge and Philip Grierson, have rejected this theological interpretation. The cross potent on steps was maintained across all gold denominations, confirming continuing orthodox Christian imagery. The reintroduction of the transverse spear and the charging horseman shield was instead an act of military propaganda, crafted to legitimize an emperor elevated by naval mutiny during severe external crises.

The Etymology of 'Apsimar'

The origins of Tiberius III's birth name, Apsimar (Ἀψίμαρος), remain subject to scholarly debate. Bury proposed a Gepidic or Gothic derivation, interpreting it as evidence of Germanic federates residing in Anatolia. Modern linguistic authorities and the Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium treat this as unproven, noting alternative hypotheses that propose Turkic, Slavic, or Iranian roots. Contemporary historical sources provide no ethnic attribution.

Attribution Parameters for CMA 1968.58

While institutional records verify the coin as a Constantinople solidus (Sear 1360 / DOC 1) measuring 20 mm in diameter and weighing 4.4 g, the strike truncation of the terminal reverse character precludes definitive assignment to a specific workshop sub-variety. Furthermore, the museum record does not include die axis orientation or a non-destructive metallurgical assay.

References

1. Cleveland Museum of Art: Solidus with Tiberius III Apsimarus (1968.58). Accession no. 1968.58 (parts 1968.58.a and 1968.58.b)
2. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, Vol. 2, Part 2. pp. 622–628, pl. XLV
3. A History of the Later Roman Empire from Arcadius to Irene (395 A.D. to 800 A.D.), Vol. 2. pp. 354–358
4. The Numismatic Iconography of Justinian II (685–695, 705–711 A.D.). pp. 13–15, 84–89
5. Numista: Solidus - Tiberius III Apsimar (Constantinople). Piece #95757