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The first Arabic coinage of Georgian monarchs: rediscovering the Specie of Davit IV the Builder (1089-1125), King of Kings and Sword of Messiah
Paghava, Irakli
2012
Abstract
We discovered, presented and reviewed seven completely new specimens of the
coin type issued by a certain Davit, King of Kings and Sword of Messiah, and
represented by a unique piece before.
The study of this coinage is far from being complete due to the poor state of
preservation of the extant specimens, particularly of their margins (future
discoveries of the bigger pieces may shed more light upon this issue). However,
the reexamination and reconsideration of the central legends led to their
alternative reconstruction, providing valuable data and indicating that Davit
V, son of Dimitri (I) minted no coinage (or that none survived), and the coin
type previously attributed to this Georgian King was in effect issued by Davit IV
the Builder, son of Giorgi (II); most probably, despite some discrepancies, it
constituted the currency described, albeit somewhat imprecisely, by Al-F!riq".
The incessant, as it was thought earlier, 12th-13th c. emissions of the Georgian
monarchs now are interrupted at the short reign of Davit V; however, on the
other hand, the numismatic legacy of Davit IV reign was enriched by a very
noteworthy coin type, providing very valuable information for the research of
the numismatic, and, more generally, political, economical and cultural history
of Georgia and the whole region in that epoch.
Series
Polymnia: Numismatica antica e medievale. Studi
3
Publisher
EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste
Source
Irakli Paghava, "The first Arabic coinage of Georgian monarchs: rediscovering the Specie of Davit IV the Builder (1089-1125), King of Kings and Sword of Messiah", in Bruno Callegher e Arianna D'Ottone (a cura di): The 3rd Simone Assemani Symposium on Islamic Coins, Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2012, pp. 220-261.
Languages
en
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