| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 5530 Price realized: 220 CHF (Approx. 250 USD / 232 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | Show similar lots on CoinArchives Find similar lots in upcoming auctions on  |
| Lot description: Kaleb, circa 510-530s. Chrysos (Gold, 16 mm, 1.52 g, 12 h). AΛΗᗺ ᗺAↃΙΛↃVↃ Draped half-length bust of Kaleb to right, wearing tiara and circular earring, holding spear in his right hand and with bracelets on his right arm; to left and right, ears of barley; to inner right, inverted Δ; all within circular border; above, monogram of ከለበ ('klb' = 'Kaleb' in Ge'ez). Rev. ✠Υ✠IOↃ O϶И϶ИИ Draped half-length bust of Kaleb to right, wearing tight-fitting head cloth and circular earring, holding branch in his right hand and with bracelets on his right arm; to left and right, ears of barley; all within circular border; above, monogram of ከለበ ('klb' = 'Kaleb' in Ge'ez). Hahn, Aksumite, 41b. Hahn & Keck, MAKS, 64, 63.21 (this coin). Munro-Hay, AC, type 91-96. Rare. Struck from somewhat worn and corroded dies and with minor traces of mounting, otherwise, very fine. From the Dr. Stephan Coffman Collection, ex Baldwin's FPL, Spring 2017, 78 and from the collection Dr. Lawrence A. Adams, Classical Numismatic Group 100, 7 October 2015, 331, previously acquired from Howard Simmons in August 1999. With the reign of Kaleb, the Axumite Kingdom again enters the light of historiography. Both Byzantine and Islamic sources (notably Procopius, De bell. 1.20.1-8) report that under Kaleb, a Christian king was installed in the Himyarite Kingdom in circa 518, but that he was toppled by Yusuf Dhu Nuwas, a Jewish convert, who pursued a decidedly anti-Christian (and thus anti-Axumite and anti-Byzantine) course. The massacre of the Christian community at Najran in particular greatly impressed the Christian world, and Kaleb invaded southern Arabia once more in circa 525 with approval of the Byzantine emperor, Justin I (although Procopius rather paints Justinian I as the instigator), sweeping away the forces of Yusuf and installing a new local client king named Sumuyafa Ashwa, who was promptly baptized. The conquest would not prove durable, however, as a revolt of Ethiopian troops stationed in Himyar during the next decade saw a certain Abreha rise to power. Though Kaleb attempted to reassert Axumite authority, his attempts were ultimately in vain. His reign would be Axum's swan song, as the kingdom's power and prosperity appear to have steadily declined over the following decades. He is said to have abdicated, dedicating his crown to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and entering a monastery. After his death, Kaleb was canonized, and he is still venerated as Saint Elesbaan in the Orthodox Church today. Interestingly, Kaleb's chrysoi carry a filiation ('YIOC ΘЄΖΑΝΑ' = 'Son of Thezana'), a unique phenomenon in Axumite coinage. It is not entirely clear who this Thezana was - it could be another name of Nezana/Nezool, meaning that Kaleb was of royal blood, or a wholly unknown individual who did not reign at all. If the former is true, Kaleb apparently did not directly succeed his father, perhaps because he was still a minor when the king died. Such a course of events might explain the appearance of his unusual coin legends, which underlined his claim to power through noble parentage. Starting price: 75 CHF |  |
