Justinian II (A.D. 685-695; 705-11) was the first emperor to include a bust of Christ on his coins. During his first reign (A.D. 685-695), he issued solidi with a bust-length portrait of Christ in which Christ is depicted with long hair and a beard. Christ is shown frontally, staring directly out at the spectator. The image of Christ was probably based on a famous mosaic of Christ once located at the entrance to the imperial palace but now lost. It is a type known as the Pantokrator or Ruler of the World. This representation of Christ was to provide the model for the most popular type of portrait of Christ used on later Byzantine solidi. During Justinian's second reign (A.D. 705-11), he issued a solidus with a very different effigy of Christ (no. 139). Christ is still shown bust length and facing the spectator but the majestic and venerable image of the Pantokrator has been replaced by a much more youthful looking Christ. Christ appears curly-haired and with a very short beard that makes him look almost beardless. This type of image of Christ is known as the Syrian type after similar youthful depictions of Christ popular in the eastern Mediterranean. It is not known why the youthful Christ type supplanted the Pantokrator type on the solidi of Justinian's second reign.

The adoption of a portrait of Christ necessitated a change in the position of the imperial portrait. Up until the reign of Justinian II, the imperial portrait had been invariably placed on the obverse or primary face of the coin in order to reflect the overriding importance accorded the imperial effigy. When an image of Christ was included on the coin, the hierarchy of types was disturbed because the image of Christ took precedence over that of the emperor. As a result the portrait of Christ was placed on the obverse and the imperial effigy, displaced by the image of Christ, was relegated to the reverse.

The period of the Iconoclastic Controversy (A.D. 726-843) had a significant impact on coin design. Following growing concern over the appropriateness of venerating religious images, in A.D. 726 they were banned completely. The bust of Christ, introduced by Justinian II, was officially proscribed and could no longer appear on coins. The prohibition of religious images was so strong that even the cross potent only rarely appeared on the reverse of solidi during this period. There was, however, no prohibition of imperial effigies and they became the dominant type for both the obverse and reverse of coins. Emperors included the images of their junior colleagues, usually their son or sons, and even of deceased ancestors along with their own effigies on their coins (e.g. no. 141). Although the empress Irene (A.D. 797-802) briefly rescinded the ban on religious images, the remaining prejudice against them probably accounts for the unusual solidi issued during her sole reign on which her identical portrait appears on both the obverse and reverse (no. 142).

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