Very Rare Issue under Theodore Gabras

248, Lot: 486. Estimate $200. Sold for $4000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Alexius I Comnenus. 1081-1118. Æ Follis (26mm, 3.78 g, 4h). Trebizond mint. Struck circa 1091 under Theodore Gabras, Duke of Trebizond. Virgin, nimbate, wearing tunic and maphorion / Pelleted ornaments around Φ/ Φ-Π/ X. Bendall, “The mint of Trebizond under Alexius I and the Gabrades,” NC 1977, issue 6; SB -; DOC 6. Fine, brown patina. Very rare.

The region of Trebizond had been captured by the Turks following the disastrous battle of Manzikert. In 1075, soldier and nobleman Theodore Gabras defeated the occupiers and returned the region to Christian hands. Gabras afterwards ruled over the region, regarding it as his own private domain, while still maintaining at least nominal allegiance to the emperor. Accordingly, Constantinople kept close watch over him and held his son Gregory hostage for a number of years. Upon the death of his father, Gregory assumed leadership of the Trebizond and entered into open rebellion against Alexius. Although the emperor soon quelled the rebellion, the Gabras family was allowed to maintain control over the region until the 1140’s.