Top:
Silver Decadrachm, 390 BCE. This coin was minted in Syracuse in Sicily, and depicts a charioteer crowned by Victory, illustrating the cultural importance of games. Source Ashmolean Museum Oxford.
Middle:
Silver Tetradrachm, minted at Alexandria, Egypt, during the reign of Ptolemy I, 310-305 BCE. The Macedonian dynasty of the Ptolemies ruled Egypt from the death of Alexander to that of Cleopatra in 30 BCE. Source Ashmolean Museum Oxford.
Bottom:
Silver Tetradrachm, minted for Lysimachus, 280 BCE. The Macedonian Athena is shown here, in the ideological service of another of Alexander's successors, Lysimach. Source Ashmolean Museum Oxford.
Top Right:
Azilises, Silver Tetradrachm, minted at Taxila. Azilises was king of the Indo-Scythians in the mid 1st century BCE. An Indian goddess is flanked by two elephants, surrounded by Kharoshthi legend declaring Azilises king of kings.
Bottom Right: Azes, Silver Tetradrachm, This coin of the Indo-Scythian king Azes second half of the 1st century BCE. Depicts Zeus wielding a thunderbolt surrounded by Kharoshthi.

Top Left:
Julius Caesar, Silver Denarius, minted at Rome, 44 BCE. Portrait of Julius Caesar dating to the year of his assassination. Source Ashmolean Museum Oxford.

Middle:
Octavian, Silver Denarius, minted in Italy. Portrait of Octavian at the time of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BCE. Source Ashmolean Museum Oxford.
Bottom:
Nero Brass Sestertius, minted at Rome. The coin depicts the arch erected at Rome under Nero between AD 58 and AD 62, to celebrate victories against the Parthians, a warlike people from a region southeast of the Caspian Sea. Source Ashmolean Museum Oxford.
Top:
Trajan, Brass Sestertius, minted at Rome, 106 AD. Trajan riding down an enemy, celebrating his conquest of Dacia in AD 106. The subjection to Rome gave the country its modern name (Romania). Source Ashmolean Museum Oxford.
Bottom Right: Commodus, Brass Sestertius, minted at Rome, 172-3 AD. The bountiful emperor to be Commodus as Caesar, making handouts of cash to his people.

Bottom Left:
Edgar reigned between 959 and 975 AD. Courtesy of British Museum London. Bottom: Canute (Reigned 1016-1035 AD). Courtesy of British Museum, London.
Bottom Left:

King Charlemagne
Charlemagne was the most famous ruler of the Middle Ages. He became king of the Franks in 768 ADHe went on to conquer much of western Europe and unite it under one great empire. Silver and gold statue encrusted with emeralds and rubies by an unknown sculptor (about 1349 AD.
Top:
Alfred (Reigned 871-899 AD.). Courtesy of British Museum, London.

Middle Right:
Offa (Reigned 757-796 AD.). Courtesy Of British Museum, London.
Right:
King Charles I £3 Coin, Oxford mint, 1642-6 AD.

This coin was struck during the Civil War, when Charles I made Oxford his headquarters, as London and the Mint there were held by Parliament.

Oxford Crown of King Charles I, 1644 AD.
The obverse, seen here, shows the city of Oxford depicted beneath the king's horse; the legend on the reverse summarizes Charles l's war aims as support for the Protestant religion, the laws of England and a free Parliament.

Right: Henry VIII Gold Medal, I545 AD.
Henry VIII Gold Medal, I545 AD. As a consequence of Henry VIII's break with Rome, he claimed to be the 'Supreme Head of the Church in England'. This medal by Henry Basse records the King's full titles, in Latin on the obverse, surrounding his portrait (left), and Greek and Hebrew on the reverse.

Germanic Invasions
The Germanic peoples came from Scandinavia in northern Europe. They began moving into Central Europe in about 1000 B.C. By the A.D. 200's, they occupied regions in the Rhine and Danube river basins along the northern and northeastern boundaries of the Roman Empire. Some Germans adopted the civilization of their Roman neighbors. They traded with Roman merchants, learned to farm the land, and accepted Christianity as their religion.

Barbarian Invasions
The barbarian invasions divided the huge Roman Empire into many kingdoms. The barbarians were loyal only to their tribal chiefs or to their own families. Each tribe kept its own laws and customs. As a result, the strong central and local governments of the Romans disappeared. In the Roman Empire, a strong system of laws protected the citizens and gave them the safety and security that comes from law and order.

Lifestyle
Europe during the 900's was poor, underdeveloped, and thinly populated. At least half the land could not be farmed because of thick forests or swamps. War, disease, famine, and a low birth rate kept the population small.