# Solidus (Coin) of Empress Irene

- By: Byzantine (now Istanbul, Turkey)
- Date: 797-802
- Medium: Gold
- Classification: Coin
- Dimensions: Diam.: 2.2 cm (7/8 in.)
- Culture: Istanbul
- Credit line: Gift of the Classical Art Society
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/221685)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/1077864b-02c8-e469-70a0-2ee1926300ad/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Coins were the ideal way for Byzantine rulers to rapidly circulate their images throughout the empire and beyond, since they were used to pay for imported merchandise and foreign mercenaries. They could also be employed as powerful vehicles for propaganda, promoting messages of dynastic legitimacy and the divine source of the emperor’s right to rule.

After Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine emperors adopted Christian themes and symbols, most notably the cross, to stand for both the religion and the political state. The previously ubiquitous profile portrait head of coins of the Roman Empire was replaced by frontal or full-body depictions. Christ dominated the iconography, and Greek titles and phrases came to replace the Latin ones.

Irene was one of only three female rulers to hold sole power in the 1,100-year-long history of the Byzantine Empire. This rare coin, minted during her reign, not surprisingly incorporates remarkable iconographical innovations, with every detail stressing her sole imperial authority. She is designated basilissa (empress) in the inscription, the first time this title is present in Byzantine coinage. Her image…

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0