Byzantine, Justinian I, AE decanummium, Rome, c. 547-9 AD, large I in wreath, stars

Justinian recaptured Rome in 536 AD, and the city was thence to be under Byzantine rule until 751 AD. But the hopes of recreating the Roman Empire (Renovatio imperii) were soon dashed by the terrible plague of 541-9 AD which killed around a fifth of the Empire's population and depopulated most of the important Italian cities.