A note reconsidering the message of Heraclius’ silver hexagram, circa AD 615
The hexagram was first minted during the darkest days of the final Roman-Persian War (602-628) when Roman fortunes were at their lowest. As a result, commentators have read the coin’s novel inscription, Deus Adiuta Romanis (God, help the Romans) as evidence for the ’stressful and desperate’ state of...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
De Gruyter
[2019]
|
| In: |
Byzantinische Zeitschrift
Year: 2019, Volume: 112, Issue: 1, Pages: 221-232 |
| Further subjects: | B
Byzantine studies
B Patristics B Theologie und Religion B Altertumswissenschaften B History B Diverses B Historische Epochen |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The hexagram was first minted during the darkest days of the final Roman-Persian War (602-628) when Roman fortunes were at their lowest. As a result, commentators have read the coin’s novel inscription, Deus Adiuta Romanis (God, help the Romans) as evidence for the ’stressful and desperate’ state of the empire. This paper presents the case that reading the coin alongside evidence for popular military practices instead paints a picture of the Roman state apparatus deftly manipulating mass propaganda. For the Romans in the 610s, these new coins signalled not defeatism but defiance and the promise of victory.null |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1868-9027 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Byzantinische Zeitschrift
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/bz-2019-0011 |