Solidus (coin) in the context of "Soldo"

The Roman army (Latin: exercitus Romanus) served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC – AD 476/1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed AD 476/480) and the Eastern Roman Empire (collapsed AD 1453). It is thus a term that broadly spans approximately 2,206 years, during which the force underwent numerous permutations in size, composition, organization, equipment and tactics, while conserving a core of lasting traditions.

Byzantine currency, money used in the Eastern Roman Empire after the fall of the West, consisted of mainly two types of coins: gold solidi and hyperpyra and a variety of clearly valued bronze coins. By the 15th century, the currency was issued only in debased silver stavrata and minor copper coins with no gold issue. The Byzantine Empire established and operated several mints throughout its history. Aside from the main metropolitan mint in the capital, Constantinople, a varying number of provincial mints were also established in other urban centres, especially during the 6th century.

Most provincial mints except for Syracuse were closed or lost to Arab Muslim invasions in the Mediterranean Region by the mid-7th century onwards. After the loss of Syracuse in 878, Constantinople became the sole mint for gold and silver coinage until the late 11th century, when major provincial mints began to re-appear. Many mints, both imperial and, as the Byzantine Empire fragmented, belonging to autonomous local rulers, were operated in the 12th to 14th centuries. Constantinople and Trebizond, capital of the independent Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461), survived until the invasion of Anatolia by the Ottoman Turks in the mid-15th century.

The aureus (pl. aurei, 'golden') was the main gold coin of ancient Rome from the 1st century BC to the early 4th century AD, when it was replaced by the solidus. This type of coin was sporadically issued during the Republic and standardized during the Empire, originally valued at 25 silver denarii and 100 sestertii. It was about the same size as the denarius, but heavier than the denarius since gold is denser than silver.

The miliarense (neuter form of the late Latin miliarensis, "pertaining to a thousand"; plural: miliarensia) was a large silver coin, introduced to the late Roman monetary system in the early 4th century. It was struck with variable fineness, generally with a weight between 3.8 and 6.0 grams, and a diameter of c. 23–24 mm. The miliarense was struck first under Constantine the Great (r. 306–337).

There were two kinds of miliarense coins: light and heavy. It took 14 heavy miliarensia and 18 light miliarensia to equal one gold solidus (as also introduced by Constantine). Miliarensia are highly desired by numismatists of the present day, due to both the rarity of the denomination (far less common than the siliqua) and the often exquisite execution of both bust and reverse types, which led to many being used as pendants or mounted in antiquity.

A gastald (Latin gastaldus or castaldus; Italian gastaldo or guastaldo) was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldate, gastaldia or castaldia) with civil, martial, and judicial powers.

By the Edictum Rothari of 643, the gastalds were given the civil authority in the cities and the reeves the like authority in the countryside. Under the Lombard dominion, territories were delimited by giudicati or "judgments" among the several gastalds. From the immediate region of Parma and of Piacenza, numerous such giudicati survive, which cover the range of Lombard rule. The documents follow the same formalized structure, of which one between the gastald Daghiberto and the gastald Immo was adjudged by Adaloald, at Ticino, November 615.

The tablion (Greek: ταβλίον) was a rectangular or trapezoidal panel embroidered on the ceremonial mantle (chlamys) of courtiers during the Byzantine Empire.

The tablia were chosen to contrast with the mantle colour, and sewn pairwise on the front edges of the mantle. They could be further decorated with embroidered designs or images of the emperor. The emperor's mantle originally (in the 4th century) featured tablia sewn almost at the bottom of the mantle, below the knees, but from the 6th century they were moved to the centre of the mantle opening. As the chlamys was the chief civilian court dress, the tablion was a part of male court costume, and had to be purchased by the office-holders (for example, a patrikios paid 24 gold solidi in the 9th century). The only women allowed to wear a chlamys and tablion were the empresses. In the middle Byzantine period, the chlamys is much more richly decorated, but is sometimes depicted without tablia. The exact significance of this is unclear, although it has been suggested that it might denote lower court ranks.

The hyperpyron (Greek: νόμισμα ὑπέρπυρον, nómisma hypérpyron lit. 'highly refined') was a Byzantine coin in use during the late Middle Ages, replacing the solidus as the Byzantine Empire's standard gold coinage in the 11th century. It was introduced by emperor Alexios I Komnenos.

A centime (from Latin: centesimus) is a fractional monetary unit. It equals one-hundredth of a franc in Switzerland, one-hundredth of a dinar in Algeria, and one-hundredth of a dirham in Morocco. It was formerly worth one-hundredth of a franc in other Francophone countries, such as Belgium and France, until the adoption of the euro.

In France, the usage of centime goes back to the introduction of the decimal monetary system under Napoleon. This system aimed at replacing non-decimal fractions of older coins. A five-centime coin was known as a sou, i.e. a solidus or shilling.