Description

• Emperor Constantine was the first Christian emperor of Rome, later known as Constantine I or Constantine the Great. He ruled from 306 to 337 AD unified the Western and Eastern halves of the Roman Empire and proceeded to create a new capital at Constantinople (Istanbul) which was later to become the centre of power for the Byzantine Empire. Under his rule, Christianity began to spread throughout the Roman Empire. Constantine also issued the Edict of Milan, which granted religious tolerance to all religions within the empire.
• The term "Follis" is typically used to refer to a large bronze coin of the late Roman Empire introduced in about 294 AD, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian and then revalued under Constantine's monetary reforms. It weighed some 10 grams and had a small percentage of silver. The term is often used interchangeably with the terms AE and Nummus. Later research suggests that Nummus is the correct term used at the time. At the end of the 5th century, the Byzantine Empire (eastern Roman Empire) introduced a copper Follis coin worth 40 nummi. It soon became the standard coin used for trade and commerce. The follis continued to be minted until the 5th century AD.