The Confrontation of Images

C05　—　Chain of people

In the same decade, two empires gave opposite answers. An emperor who minted the face of God, and a caliph who chose only words. This was the greatest theological debate ever conducted on coinage.

Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama　／　Reading time (main text): About 6 min (2,913 characters of text at 500 chars/min; exercises and readings not included)　／　Beyond the text: 5 exercises · 2 coins · 5 readings

What this course teaches you to do

• Can explain the "theological debate on coinage" of 692–696, including the logic of both sides.
• Can state the path by which Iconoclasm affected coin design.
• Can position the "borrowing" of an enemy's iconography and script as a derivative of confrontation.
• Can discuss the modern forms of iconographic confrontation (faceless currency, text-only payments).

Lessons (6)

1. The Emperor Who Engraved the Face of God — 692God, not the emperor, appeared on the coinage. It was a declaration of faith and the beginning of a fierce controversy.
2. The Caliph Who Responded with Writing — 696Erase the face, leave only the words. The opposite answer was an equally consistent expression of an opposite faith.
3. An Internal Backlash — The Lineage of IconoclasmThe confrontation continued not only between empires but also within each one. Eight hundred years later, a storm swept through the Low Countries.
4. Copying the Enemy's Answer — A Twist in the ConfrontationEven in the midst of confrontation, kings copied the enemy's style. Aspiration moves faster than doctrine.
5. Hybrid Coinage — Physical Evidence of an EncounterA Buddhist king with a Greek face. On the periphery of confrontation, two civilizations coexisted on a single coin.
6. The Confrontation Today — In an Age Without FacesThe Euro chose fictional bridges, payment apps chose only letters and numbers. The confrontation is not over; it has just grown quiet.

Readings (5)

• Byzantium　Overview: 2,700 years of the world　AD 692　The Face of God
  Section 1. The moment a god was struck on a coin, and the controversy it caused.
• Byzantium　Overview: 2,700 years of the world　AD 696　Damascus
  Section 2. A completely opposite answer. The other party in the confrontation.
• The eve　Netherlands　August 1566　Western Flanders, a church
  Section 3. The use of force 800 years later. The question is not settled.
• Offa's penny　Britain　the later 8th century　The far trade routes out of Mercia
  Section 4. A twist in the confrontation. A king's physical evidence copying the enemy's style.
• Hellenism　Overview: 2,700 years of the world　155 BC　Menander's India
  Section 5. A coin from the periphery that chose coexistence over confrontation.

Assessment

5 exercises in this course (4 check, 1 compare, 0 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.