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Roman AE Of Constantinopolis (AD 330-346) Epfig Hoard NGC

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In the year 330, Constantine the Great-established a city on the Bosporus, what had been a sleepy town called Byzantium. He christened the new city, New Rome, but it came to be known as the City of Constantine—Constantinople. Constantinopolis, as it was known at the time, was also the name given to the deity—the pagan goddess who was appointed to protect the new city. From 330 to 340 AD, Constantine and his sons struck a coin commemorating the founding of the city, as well as the goddess. The portrait shows her helmeted bust dressed in military garb, carrying a spear, surrounded by her name.- -The coin's reverse shows the goddess Victoria, inspired by Nike in Greek mythology. But she looks somewhat different. The reverse of the coin is shown on the front of the holder. Why? There is a reason for this. In 312 AD, Constantine began the process of converting the official religion of the Roman Empire to Christianity, but still needed to transition the population from traditional paganism. One of the effects of this was the evolving design of the image of Victoria, who gradually, over the years morphed into the image of a ”Guardian Angel.“

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Constantinople^[a] (see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman empires between its consecration in 330 until 1930, when it was renamed to Istanbul. Initially as New Rome, Constantinople was founded in 324 during the reign of Constantine the Great on the site of the existing settlement of Byzantium, and shortly thereafter in 330 became the capital of the Roman Empire. Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century, Constantinople remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire; 330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). Following the Turkish War of Independence, the Turkish capital then moved to Ankara. Although the city had been known as Istanbul since 1453, it was officially renamed as Istanbul on 28 March 1930, the city is today the largest city in Europe, straddling the Bosporus strait and lying in both Europe and Asia, and the financial center of Turkey.

In 324, following the reunification of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, the ancient city of Byzantium was selected to serve as the new capital of the Roman Empire, and the city was renamed Nova Roma, or 'New Rome', by Emperor Constantine the Great. On 11 May 330, it was renamed Constantinople and dedicated to Constantine.^[6] Constantinople is generally considered to be the center and the "cradle of Orthodox Christian civilization".^[7]^[8] From the mid-5th century to the early 13th century, Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest city in Europe.^[9] The city became famous for its architectural masterpieces, such as Hagia Sophia, the cathedral of the Eastern Orthodox Church, which served as the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; the sacred Imperial Palace, where the emperors lived; the Hippodrome; the Golden Gate of the Land Walls; and opulent aristocratic palaces. The University of Constantinople was founded in the 5th century and contained artistic and literary treasures before it was sacked in 1204 and 1453,^[10] including its vast Imperial Library which contained the remnants of the Library of Alexandria and had 100,000 volumes.^[11] The city was the home of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and guardian of Christendom's holiest relics, such as the Crown of Thorns and the True Cross.