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Struck just after the Roman Empire irreparably severed into Western and Eastern realms, this bronze nummus reflects an even more profound divergence: the leveraging of Rome's ancient pagan roots to forge a new Christian reality. Minted around the turn of the 5th century AD, this coin features Aelia Eudoxia (died 404 AD), an Eastern Empress who wielded unprecedented secular authority in the face of a growing power struggle between the Roman Church and State.
Eudoxia was wedded to Arcadius, son of Theodosius I, shortly after the latter's death in 395 AD. This union was the result of political maneuvering by the court eunuch Eutropius, who orchestrated the marriage to thwart the ambitions of a rival minister, Rufinus, who had intended for the young emperor to marry his own daughter. Because Arcadius proved to be a notoriously lethargic and easily manipulated ruler, Eudoxia eventually orchestrated Eutropius's downfall and filled the resulting power vacuum herself. By 400 AD, she was officially elevated to the rank of Augusta, becoming the de facto ruler of the Eastern Roman world.
Her unprecedented authority is vividly documented in the coinage issued under her name. Although the imperial mints officially operated under the authority of her husband, Arcadius, Eudoxia’s dominant influence over Constantinople’s governance almost certainly extended to the propagandistic design of these coins. This nummus provides a prime example of this ideological messaging. The core theme can be found on the reverse, where Eudoxia employs the same visual strategy initiated by her predecessor and mother-in-law, Aelia Flaccilla: the figure of the winged goddess Victory. For over a millennium, Victory — Nike to the Greeks — was a foundational pagan deity and the ultimate symbol of Roman supremacy. While the pagan goddess's appearance here might seem contradictory, closer inspection reveals a twist. Victory is not holding a traditional military standard; instead, she reaches out to trace the Chi-Rho — Christianity's sacred monogram — upon a shield. This imagery deliberately evokes the legacy of Constantine the Great, who famously adopted the symbol following a divine vision to rally his troops at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Completing the scene on the coin's reverse is the legend SALVS REI-PVBLICAE ("The Salvation of the Republic"). Together, the text and iconography serve as a stark declaration of the prevailing power dynamic: while the new God protects the state, the imperium remains firmly in the driver's seat. The Christian faith is being harnessed to support the empire, not the other way around.
The most assertive political statement, however, is found on the coin’s obverse. Reaching down from the top edge of the coin is the
Manus Dei — the literal Hand of God — placing the diadem upon her head. Eudoxia was the first living Roman empress to utilize this specific motif, a device that first appeared over half a century earlier on the posthumous coinage of Constantine the Great to welcome the deceased emperor into heaven. Intentionally or not, such imagery served as a weapon against Eudoxia's rivals within the Church, especially Archbishop John Chrysostom, who frequently condemned her political supremacy and lifestyle. The imagery on this coin is consistent with Eudoxia's modus operandi, a declaration to the Roman world that her imperial status was bestowed directly from the singular god Himself.
Coin Details: EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE, Aelia Eudoxia, 400-404AD, Antioch, AE3 (Nummus), Obverse: Pearl-diademed, draped bust right, wearing necklace and earrings, crowned by hand of God, AEL EVDO-XIA AVG, Reverse: Victory seated right on cuirass, pointing to a shield inscribed Chi-Rho which rests on a low column, SALVS REI-PVBLICAE, ANTΓ (mintmark of Antioch, third officina) in exergue, References: RIC X Antioch 104; Sear 20895.
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