The Story Behind the Strike
Constantine VI became sole emperor under the regency of his mother Irene, but his reign was marked by conflict over who truly governed. This solidus belongs to the dynastic visual system inherited from Leo III: Leo IV and the young Constantine appear together, while Leo III and Constantine V occupy the reverse. Four rulers make the succession seem orderly, although the living politics behind it were anything but. The bent fabric and scuffs record the specimen’s material history. Its portraits preserve the official family narrative that preceded Irene’s assumption of power in her own name.