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1570 Siege of Famagusta Bezant coin (wild history inside)

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This is inventory but I have one in much lesser grade in my own collection, I'm cheating and showing the better one image



here is a really nice example of this rare bezant issued during the Ottoman siege of
Famagusta in Cyprus. These were emergency currency issued that were to be later redeemed for silver.

The Siege of Famagusta ended after nearly a year on September 17, 1570 and the outcome was a win for the Ottoman Empire after which they controlled the entire island.

A valiant effort was put forward by the men under control of Marc Antonio Bragadin and others, unfortunately they had no chance of winning as they were severely outnumbered and to this day we wonder why the Venetians who held nearby Crete did not send reinforcements...

In the end a surrender was negotiated granting safe passage for anyone wishing to leave, but at the surrender ceremony on August 5th, Ottoman General Lala Mustafa Pasha accused Bragadin of killing Turkish prisoners and hiding munitions. In a fit of rage he pulled a knife out and cut off Bragadin's ear and then ordered his guards to cut off the other and his nose.

In a scene reminiscent of "The Passion of the Christ" they continued to torture him after holding him in prison for a while, finally culminating in the coup de grace of a public nude flaying while tied to a tree.

His body was then quartered and distributed as a war trophy, his skin was stuffed with straw and sewn shut, military insignia was placed on it and it was mounted atop an ox in a mock procession along the streets of Famagusta.

It along with the severed heads of several other Venetian generals was then hoisted as a trophy atop the masthead pennant of the personal galley of Ottoman commander Amir al-bahr Mustafa Pasha to be transported to Sultan Selim II in Constantinople as a gift.

When Bragadin's horrific death was brought to light in Venice he was declared a martyr and his story helped galvanize the Venetian soldiers in the fleet of the Holy League. The soldiers then went on to fight with great zeal and win the decisive victory at the Battle of Lepanto where the combined force of much of Western Europe destroyed the Ottoman fleet.

A Venetian seaman was able to later acquire the skin of Bragadin in 1580 when he was in Constantinople on business. He brought it back to Venice and it was accepted as a returning hero with much rejoicing. The skin was first preserved in the church of San Gregorio and then finally interred with full honors in the Basillica di San Giovanni e Paolo where it remains today.




Venetian

Under authority of Marc Antonio Bragadin

AE Bezant (27mm, 3.0g)

Minted at Famagusta in 1570

Obverse: Lion of St. Mark holding book of Gospels
Inscription: PRO REGNI CYPRI PRESSIDIO
Translation: Essentially this translates to "On behalf of the garrison of the Kingdom of Cyprus"

Reverse: Cupid above
Inscription: VENETOR V FIDES INVIOLABILIS BISANTE, I F mint mark
Translation: "The loyalty of the Venetians is inviolable"


Reference: Paolucci 908
=Recipient of the coveted "You Suck" award 4/28/2014=

Comments

  • sorry the images are the size of the moon, I just hotlinked them from ebay image
    =Recipient of the coveted "You Suck" award 4/28/2014=
  • NapNap Posts: 1,702 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Neat coin. It's nice to be able to link a coin to a historic event like that. Siege coins are completely relate-able, you can imagine the population under hardship, supplies are limited, mercenaries have to be paid something or they will desert to the enemy. Townspeople are forced to bring in their silver and bronze to make into crude coinage.

    I like (though don't own any of) the siege coinage from the English Civil War.

    A "holy grail" for me would be a coin of Constantine XI from the siege of Constantinople in 1453 (made from the silver from Hagia Sofia's treasures, to pay Italian mercenaries), a watershed event in world history. Unfortunately there are <100 known and I'm not the only one who would like one image
  • IosephusIosephus Posts: 872 ✭✭✭
    Interesting history, thanks for posting it!
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