Solidus of Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine, and Heraclonas

Solidus of Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine, and Heraclonas

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Herakleios included his sons' portraits on his coins to ensure that his subjects would expect them to succeed him. Some of the earliest Arab coins minted in Syria in the later 600s mimicked his coins. Coins connected an emperor to his subjects. He paid the army in coins, received taxes in coins, and was responsible for maintaining their weight and purity. These coins of early Byzantine emperors conveyed imperial ideals through inscriptions and images.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Solidus of Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine, and HeraclonasSolidus of Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine, and HeraclonasSolidus of Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine, and HeraclonasSolidus of Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine, and HeraclonasSolidus of Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine, and Heraclonas

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.