Monetary History of Sicily   Naxos Naxos was the first Greek colony to be founded in Sicily around 734 BC. The colonists originated from Euboia (Chalkidians). Naxos was located on the rich and fertile upper west coast of Sicily in the shaddow of Mt Etna. Despite being the first Greek colony, Naxos also lived in […]

Monetary History of Macedonia Demetrius Poliorcetes “The Besieger” 294-288 BC Demetrius I Poliorcetes (“the besieger”) (c.337-283 BC) was the son of Antignos I the One-Eyed. He aided his father in what became the epic wars of theDiadochi (dìàd´ekì) [=successors]. In 308 BC, Demetrius I succeeded in defeating Ptolemy I of Egypt in a naval battle off the coast […]

Monetary History of Macedonia Alexander III The Great (339-323 BC) Alexander was born to the Olympias and Philip II. According to legend, Alexander was born on the same day as the Temple to Artemis at Ephesus (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.) was burned down. No one knows for certain, but it […]

Monetary History of Macedonia Philip II (382-336 BC) Philip II of Macedonia (382-336 BC) was king of Macedonia between 359 and 336 BC. and father of Alexander the Great. Philip was born in the city of Pella, which was the capital of ancient Macedonia. Philip II was held as a hostage by the rival Greek […]

Monetary History of Egypt Ptolemaic Dynasty Ptolemy I Soter (367?-283 BC) As king of Egypt 305 – 283 BC General of Alexander The Great Founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty Upon the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC at the age of 32, the newly created Greek Empire fragmented. No one general or heir was strong […]

  ©Copyright June 1988 The story of paper money goes back a long way. One could argue that its first emergence was even before 2500BC in Bablyon. For the sake of convienence, banking transactions took place in the form of a clay tablet which served as a “letter or credit.” While such forms of money […]

Part IV of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  1700-Date As with most wars, noble motives are usually portrayed in some slogan that attempts to hide the true underlying financial incentives. The English Crown’s attempt to control and prevent irresponsible paper money issues among the Colonies, […]

Part II of IV—A Brief History of World Credit & Interest Rates by Martin A. Armstrong ©Copyright PEI  500 AD-1700 AD The fate of the Roman Empire of the West had been cast with the sack of Rome in 410 AD by the Goths followed by the Vandals in 455 AD. What was once Rome […]

Julian Usurper of Pannonia 285 AD Marcus Aurelius Julianus was most likely the governor Moesia. Following the death of the emperor Carus and Numerian, the empire fell into the hands of Carinus as sole ruler. The turmoil and economic conditions of the empire were still in a state of flux and no doubt this led to Julian successfully mounting a […]

Carinus 283 – 285 AD Marcus Aurelius Carinus was the elder son of the Emperor Carus born about 249 – 250 AD. During the spring of 283AD, Carinus was given the rank of Caesar shortly after his father’s accession to the throne. Carinus remained behind in Rome in the West when his father and younger brother, Numerian set out for the […]