Solidus of Theophilus - the same age as the first information about Rus'

An interesting coin was sold on Violity, the same age as the first information about the history of our country in the period immediately preceding the early era of Kievan Rus. The coin was minted during the reign of Emperor Theophilus, the second emperor of the Amorite dynasty, who ruled from 829 to 842. 

Having headed the empire after the death of his father, the emperor inherited a difficult religious situation caused by the struggle of iconoclasts and iconodules. During the reign of the emperor, iconoclasm was the official state ideology. The emperor was well educated, versed in the sciences, arts, architecture, literature, and music. Under the leadership of the emperor, new fortifications were actively built, a new hippodrome was created, beautiful palaces and other ceremonial buildings. The emperor was extremely intolerant of cases of corruption and arbitrariness of officials and associates, for which he punished very severely, sometimes disproportionately to the deed. The financial and economic state of the empire was excellent. The main problem in the life of the empire at that time was the continuous war with the Arabs, which was fought on land and sea. On the sea, the Arabs captured the island of Crete and fought for the island of Sicily, on land, after the first successes, Theophilus suffered a heavy defeat and barely escaped himself in 838 , his hometown of Amorite was stormed and destroyed. The traditional ally in the fight against the Arabs, the Khazar Kaganate, not only could not provide assistance, but itself, from about 822, was subjected to cruel raids by the Magyars, who, crossing the Volga from the territory of Southern Siberia, captured the south of the modern territory of Ukraine. At the request of the Khazars, for defense against the Magyars, Byzantium, under Emperor Theophilus, built the Sarkel fortress on the Don. On the obverse of the coin we see the image of Theophilus in imperial regalia, on the reverse of the deceased son Constantine and father - Emperor Michael, the founder of the Amorite dynasty. How the coin got to the territory of modern Ukraine and by whom it was lost, we never know for sure. But it is very likely that they were one of the first representatives of Rus' at the court of the Byzantine emperor. These people were part of the embassy of the Byzantine emperor Theophilus to the court of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious. The Bertinian annals of the Frankish empire tell us that in June 839, representatives of the people of Ros arrived with an embassy, who were sent to Byzantium by their kagan. The Byzantine emperor in a letter asked the Franks to help the Rus return home, since the south of the modern territory of Ukraine was captured by the hordes of the Magyars, as mentioned above. Thus, the coin has not only numismatic, but also great historical significance. Do not miss the next numismatic rarity in the section Golden and electrum coins of ancient and medieval states.