Description
This gold nomisma, minted between 1042 and 1055 CE, shows Christ wearing a cross and in one hand holding the gospels. On the reverse Constantine IX holds a globes crucigar (cross on a globe) in one hand and a military standard (labarum) in the other. The emperor of this time was viewed as kind of conduit between Christians and God. Just from this coin, a lot can be learned about the hierarchy of the Byzantine Empire. First and foremost was Jesus and God, but a close second was the emperor. This sort of visualization of divine sanction is seen throughout the pagan and Christian Roman empire.