Coin of Maurice Tiberius c. 586 - 587

This is a bronze coin of Maurice Tiberius, who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 582 to 602 AD. The coin offers a glimpse into the visual culture of a society where politics and religion were deeply intertwined. One side shows the emperor's portrait, reinforcing his authority. The other features the Christogram, an early Christian symbol combining the Greek letters Chi and Rho, representing Christ. By the late sixth century, the Byzantine Empire was a major power, straddling Europe and Asia. The emperor in Constantinople oversaw a complex bureaucracy and a powerful military. The empire’s visual language deliberately used imagery to reinforce social hierarchy. To understand this coin fully, we turn to numismatic catalogues, archaeological reports, and Byzantine histories. These resources reveal the coin's role in the empire's economic and ideological systems. It's a reminder that art objects are always embedded in their social and institutional contexts.