MONETARY ECONOMY OF THE 11TH CENTURY BAGRATID GEORGIA
MONETARY ECONOMY OF THE 11TH CENTURY BAGRATID GEORGIA

Summary/Abstract: The goal of this article is to research the monetary economy of Georgia in the long 11th century (975-1122). We focus on the Kingdom of Egrisi, a state created by the Georgian branch of the Bagratid family. By monetary economy, we refer to the study of the monies circulating within the realm in the designated area and epoch, and the extent of monetization of the state and society. Our study material comprises local both written/epigraphic and monetary sources concerning monetary circulation and monetary relations. We endeavoured to base our reasoning on a comparative analysis of the narrative and monetary evidence. Meta-analysis of both monetary evidence and written/epigraphic primary sources leads us to conclude that the economy of the Kingdom of Egrisi in the long 11th century was partially a monetary one. It comprised a substantial monetary component, based on a dual system of circulating gold and silver currencies: (a) Byzantine gold histamena of various emperors of decreasing fineness, and later hyperpyra; (b) Georgian (but not Byzantine!) silver coins, initially possibly Georgian imitations of Kufic dirhams (dramas?), and even original Kufic dirhams, later replaced by silver coins issued by Bagrat IV, Giorgi II, and Davit IV, styled after the 2/3 miliaresia of Constantine IX (bearing the Byzantine-derived designation of azhura). In the extreme eastward province of Kartli, the already degraded Islamic coinage of Tiflis entered the monetary circulation of the Kingdom of Egrisi, though its share was supposedly minimal. Nevertheless, the extent of monetization was rather limited, and mostly applied to the wealthy, - i.e. the church, royal authorities, and nobility. Remarkably, the concept of paying in hard was not entirely unfamiliar even to the population in mountainous peripheries. Prevalence of barter trade over monetary transactions was overwhelming, at least in rural areas (regrettably, no data exist for urban centres). The Dats’erili of the Abbot of [Church of] St. Nik’olaos with its tens of transactions recorded reflects a partially barter economy. Monetization of day-to-day petty transactions appears rather limited. Anonymous Byzantine folles of relatively low value have been found in some number, including in hoards, on the historical territory of the Kingdom of Egrisi. These could be interpreted as an evidence of the petty trade, save for the suspicion that many (if not all) were imported into this area much later, already in the 12th and 13th centuries.

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