This chapter explores the transformation of coinage in Late Antiquity, examining its economic, political and cultural significance between the third and eighth centuries. It analyses a wide range of numismatic materials, including Roman, Byzantine and early Islamic coinage, to trace how monetary systems evolved in response to imperial policies and economic shifts. The study emphasises the transition from the traditional Roman denarius system to the solidus-based economy introduced by Constantine, in which the solidus became the dominant currency across the Byzantine world. It also examines how coinage functioned as a tool of imperial propaganda. A central argument is that changes in coin iconography reflect broader cultural and religious transformations. The adoption of Christian symbols such as the Chi-Rho and crosses on Byzantine coinage marked a shift from classical motifs to explicitly religious imagery. The chapter also highlights how early Islamic rulers adapted Byzantine coin models, gradually replacing human portraits with inscriptions emphasising monotheism. By considering regional variations, the study examines the persistence of local minting traditions and the interaction between different monetary economies. Thus, it demonstrates that coinage in Late Antiquity was more than a medium of exchange – it was a powerful instrument of ideological messaging and state control.

This chapter looks at “new men” who created ruling dynasties, beginning with the foundation legends of the Piasts of Poland and Premyslids of Bohemia and moving on to Adam of Dryburgh ’s portrayal of the roots of the major dynasties of his own day. Dynasties that came to power through usurpation, such as the Carolingians and Capetians, sought to stress or fabricate biological links with the previous dynasty, just as the marriage of Henry I of England and his queen Edith/Matilda could be seen as uniting the blood of the Wessex and Norman kings. New dynasties often meant exclusion of members of old dynasties, and two notable examples of such excluded dynasts, Charles of Lorraine and Edgar Atheling, are discussed. The most remarkable new dynasties were those that founded new kingdoms, such as the Norman kingdom of Sicily.