DanubeProvinceScythia

301

Some ASpectS of the monetAry circulAtion in the ByzAntine province of ScythiA

during the 6th–7th centurieS*

Andrei Gândilă (BuchArest)

until the last decades, the study of the Byzantine coin circulation during the 6th–7th centuries Ad attracted only a few scholars involved in Ancient numismatics. Modern approaches, both in numismatics and historical research, made possible a few studies aiming to draw some guidelines on the coin circulation during the early Byzantine period1. the present study does not intend to offer solutions to all the problems raised by the circulation of the early Byzantine coins in scythia, nor does it try to give a final resolution in terms of statistical figures, being just an overview on the matter based on the contributions of a number of Balkans researchers in the past half century. in chronological terms, the starting point of the discussion is the important monetary reform carried out in 498 by emperor Anastasius, which saw the introduction of new copper denominations used in circulation in scythia the whole sixth century and the first decades of the next one. the first years of the reign of heraclius mark the downfall of the danube limes and therefore the end of the coin circulation in the former late roman and early Byzantine province of scythia2. the title announcing a study of the coin circulation during the sixth and seventh century should be seen as the period of time of real coin circulation, which, at least at with the current knowledge, is comprised between the above-mentioned span of time.the present total number of coins, including the single finds yielded by the archaeological excavation and the stray finds coming from all over the province, gathers 2915 specimens from the period Anastasius–heraclius. in what concerns the finding places, the map shows an abundance of coin finds on the coastline of the Black sea and on the danube limes, as well as on the major imperial road crossing through the centre of the province, linking the major fortresses Zaldapa–tropaeum trajani–ulmetum–ibida–noviodunum. the highest density of finding spots is reached during the reigns of Justinian i and Justin ii, while during the last quarter of the 6th

302

Andrei Gândilâ • soMe Aspects of the MonetAry circulAtion in...

and the beginning of the 7th century, coin finds are reported primarily inside the large fortified places.in order to reach certain historical and numismatic conclusions, a comparison will be maintained between the situation in the capital city of tomis3, as well as in the other important centres of the province such as capidava4, istrus5, noviodunum6, dinogetia7, halmyris8, Argamum9, callatis10, Acres11, dionyssopolis12, odartsi13, where significant finds have been reported. the statistical result given by the „dobrudja“ lot signifies an average for the entire province, while the comparative analysis will try to emphasize the peculiarities of the coin circulation in the main early Byzantine towns, and on some occasions, in the larger rural settlements. it is well known that the mere number of coins does not offer an accurate picture of the circulation during a certain period, due to the variety of denominations available on the market as fractions of the follis. therefore the analysis will be opened with a discussion based on the number of nummia per year of reign, which brings a few changes compared to the calculation of the coefficient called „number of coins“. for the sake of the argument one example is worthy to be mentioned: while Justinian i stands in the first position by number of coins, he is surpassed by Justin ii in terms of nummia, due to the massive presence of dekanummia issued by Justinian i, whereas his nephew has less coins found, but of higher denomination. Judging by the nummia per year of reign coefficient, Justin ii leads with 34.11% followed at a considerable distance by Justin i and Justinian i, the latter on a somewhat striking 3d position for a period considered as the peak of the early Byzantine economic and political life. As for the lower part of the classification, heraclius comes with a dramatically low figure of 1.52%. this might be explained by his long reign and the scarcity of his coins in dobrudja, especially after his first six years of reign, when the intensity of coin circulation was comparable to the time of Anastasius. this is a rather surprising association considering the two periods seen as totally different historical moments: the reconstruction process undertaken by Anastasius at the danube14, versus an epoch until lately considered as subsequent to the downfall of the limes15. A more complex picture is drawn by structuring the stray finds according to monetary reforms16 which affect the ratio between the gold solidus and its equivalent in bronze lbs. and therefore in folles, based on the legal weight standard of the follis17.

ActA Musei VArnAensis VІІ–1

1 Acres-Kaliakra; 2 Aegyssus-Tulcea; 3 Agigea; 4 Agighiol; 5 Aphrodision-Topola; 6 Argamum-Jurilovca; 7 Arrubium-Măcin; 8 Arsa; 9 Axiopolis-Cernavoda; 10 Babadag; 11 Băneasa; 12 Bărăganu; 13 Beilic; 14 Beroe-Piatra-Frecăţei; 15 Bizone-Kavarna Harbour;

16 Callatis-Mangalia; 17 Capidava; 18 Capitan Dimitrovo (Hagios Kyrillos?); 19 Carea-Cape Shabla; 20 Carsium-Hârşova; 21 Cerna; 22 Cetatea; 23 Ciobanu; 24 Ciucurova; 25 Cloşca; 26 Corbu de Sus; 27 Costineşti; 28 Crucea; 29 Cuza-Vodă; 30 Dionyssopolis-Bal-chik; 31 Debrene; 32 Dinogetia-Garvăn; 33 Dobromir; 34 Eforie; 35 Enisala; 36 Fântâna Mare; 37 Fântânele; 38 Grădina; 39 Greci; 40 Halmyris-Murighiol; 41 Horia; 42 Hrabro-vo; 43 Ibida-Slava Rusă; 44 Istrus; 45 Igliţa; 46 Istria; 47 Iulia; 48 Lazu; 49 Limanu; 50

Luncaviţa; 51 Măn. Cocoş; 52 Medgidia; 53 Mihai Viteazul; 54 Mihail Kogălniceanu (CT); 55 Mihail Kogălniceanu (TL); 56 Nalbant; 57 Năvodari; 58 Negru-Voda; 59 Niculiţel; 60

Nisipari; 61 Noviodunum-Isaccea; 62 Nufărul; 63 Obrochishte; 64 Odartsi; 65 Osmancea; 66 Ovidiu; 67 Palazu Mare; 68 Piatra; 69 Pietreni; 70 Poarta-Albă; 71 Popina; 72 Rasova (Flaviana?); 73 Sacidava-Dunăreni; 74 Salsovia-Mahmudia; 75 Saraiu; 76 Satu Nou; 77

Sălcioara; 78 Schitu; 79 Seimeni; 80 Sf. Gheorghe; 81 Sinoe; 82 Slava Cercheză; 83 Sv. Ni-cola; 84 Şipotele; 85 Târguşor; 86 Timogittia; 87 Timum-Balgarevo; 88 Tomis-Constanta; 89 Topalu (Gratiana?); 90 Topolog; 91 Topraisar; 92 Tropaeum Trajani-Adamclisi; 93 Tufani; 94 Troesmis-Turcoaia; 95 Tuzla; 96 Ulmeum-Pantelimonu de Sus; 97 Valea Teilor; 98 Valul

lui Traian; 99 Văcăreni; 100 Veteranu; 101 Viile; 102 Vadu; 103 Zaldapa.

Mo

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ii

po

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Vs

eV

Xi

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304


for the first interval (498–512) after the great reform, the coin circulation remains at a rather low level, considering that issues from this period of time are quite scarce in the empire, except for the oriental and danubian limes18, where the early Anastasian folles and half-folles have been found in greater number. A significant increase in the number of finds is reported for the following stage, when both written and archaeological evidence witness an age of reconstruction at the lower danube, especially focused on the major fortified places. it is the case of istrus and dinogetia, where stamped bricks bearing the emperor’s name have been found, or capidava whose walls were rebuild, most likely, during this period. in the capital city of tomis, among other finds, a lead seal of Anastasius has been uncovered. the social and economic life flourished once again proven by the number of private and public constructions erected inside the walls of the larger towns of the province19. despite the achievements in the realms of finance and the special attention shown to this part of the empire, the coin circulation did not reach a spectacular level in the urban centres20 and even less in the rural21 settlements of the province. the reign of Justin i saw a major increase of the coefficient of nummia/ year present on the market, 11.03%, almost double compared to the previous period and also the highest level reached during the interval 498–538, when the number of folles exchanged for a solidus remained unchanged22. his bronze coinage can be divided in two chronological phases – 518–522, with 86 specimens totalizing 2880 nummia and 522–527, represented by 98 coins, for a total of 2630 nummia23. the first phase is therefore better placed, showing a coefficient of 720 nummia per year, while the second gives only a coefficient of 526 nummia per year. in the capital city of tomis we notice a totally different standing. here, the number coins issued by Justin i is placed on the first position with 14.85%, compared to the overall province, where it is placed on the 4th position. A possible explanation could be provided by the repercussions of the invasions led by the Antes and slavs24. they might have affected especially the northern part of dobrudja, judging by the high currency levels noticed in the finds at tomis, callatis25 and capidava. despite the mentioned Barbaric incursions, the reign of Justin i represents a peaceful decade for the border province, as proven by archaeological evidence26 testifying the strengthening of the danube limes. the decisive phase of the reconstruction is known from its detailed description made by procopius in De Aedificiis, as well as from the archaeological research at some important early Byzantine centres: tomis,

305


ulmetum, Aegyssus, halmyris, istrus, dinogetia, libida, Argamum, troesmis, or the fortress callatis where a very suggestive inscription has been found – Ιουστινιανοũ τοũ φιλοκτίστου27. four currency reforms divide the long reign of Justinian i: 527–538, 538–542, 542–550 and 550–565. during the first stage, while the value of the copper issues remains stable, an important decrease can be noticed down to 7.83%, at the province level, and a sharper one in the northern part of scythia, with 6.66% at the major fortress of noviodunum. procopius informs about the military events unfolded in the area: for three years the Byzantine general chilbudios achieved major victories against the Barbarian tribes north of the danube, but soon after his death, the enemy took the initiative and „from then on the river was always easy to cross by the Barbarians and rome’s wealth easy to reach“28. We cannot be certain to what extent this Barbarian military success which took place north of the danube affected also the territory of scythia in the realms of numismatics a more precise chronology divides this period as follows: 527–532, giving a coefficient nummia per year of 176, while the second, 532–538, yields 218 nummia per year. Although the difference is not very striking, one still has to wonder how can the first period of time generously praised by procopius for its major military achievements to present a smaller figure in terms of coin circulation, compared to a second period when the border was more insecure. it could be possible that scythia was not economically influenced on the short term by the events placed upper on the danube. the reform of 538 introduced the regular dating on copper issues, which permits from this point a closer survey on the yearly volume of coins entering the provincial market. the short interval (538–542) until the next currency reform provides a higher coefficient of 10.54%. An interesting development can be observed in the case of the fortress noviodunum indicating a severe downfall to 2.16%, which might be related to the coutrigur attack in 54029. the same explanation could be supposed for the situation at troesmis, where only one specimen is available for this interval, dated 539–540, while at niculiţel in the rural area close to noviodunum, two issues dated 541–542 have been found. on the contrary, the results from the fortresses halmyris and dinogetia, also situated in the northern part of the province, show a significant higher figure up to 20.03% for the latter. in what concerns the average of the currency volume for the entire province, this time interval marks two peaks, the highest

306


of all his reign: 539–540 (1165 nummia) and 541–542 (1000 nummia), noticing the downfall in-between during the coutrigur invasion, 540–541 (400 nummia). the third stage (542–550) points out another reduction in the quantity of currency entering the provincial market down to 5.54%. Although its location is not certain, the granting of the fortress turris to the Antes in 546 for defence purposes30 seems to have had a powerful effect on the coin circulation.

Table 1. Number of coins, nummia and nummia per year of reign.

emperor coins coins/year nummia % position nummia/

year % position

Anastasius І 179 8.95 4290 6.33 V 214.5 4.69 ViiJustin i 303 33.66 7970 11.76 III 885.5 19.36 IIJustinian i 947 24.92 19941 29.42 II 524.7 11.47 IIIJustin ii 867 66.69 20280 29.92 I 1560 34.11 Itiberius ii 79 19.75 2095 3.09 Viii 523.7 11.45 iVMaurice 338 16.9 7810 11.52 iV 390.5 8.54 Viphocas 130 16.25 3240 4.78 Vi 405 8.86 Vheraclius 72 2.32 2156 3.18 Vii 69.5 1.52 ViiitotAl 2915 67782 100% 4573.4 100%

Table 2. Yearly coefficients upon monetary reforms.

emperor reformcoins/year of reform

coeff.c/y

position

nummia/y. of ref.

coeff.n/y

% coeff.n/y

position

Anastasius i 498–512512–518

37/14100/6

2.6416.66

XiVVi

1080/143010/6

77.14501.66

0.96%6.24%

XiVVi

Justin i 518–527 273/9 30.33 III 7970/9 885.55 11.03% IIIJustinian i 527–538

538–542542–550550–565

226/11108/4126/8221/15

20.5427

15.7514.73

ViVViiX

6915/113385/43562/84132/15

628.63846.25445.25275.46

7.83%10.54%5.54%3.43%

ViVViiXii

Justin ii 565–570570–578

237/5359/8

47.444.87

III

6835/511160/8

13671395

17.02%17.37%

III

tiberius iiconstantine

578–580580–582

20/219/2

109.5

XiXii

750/2740/2

375370

4.67%4.61%

XXi

Maurice 582–602 303/20 15.15 Viii 7810/20 390.5 4.86% iXphocas 602–610 119/8 14.87 iX 3240/8 405 5.04% Viiiheraclius 610–641

(610–616)60/31 (48/6)

1.93 (8)

XV(Xiii)

2156/31 (1840/6)

69.54 (306.66

0.86% (3.71%)

XV(Xiii)

307


8201165

4001000

540720

255510

390440

450200

160140

31060

250580

460300

340290

130270

240380

230

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

538-539539-540540-541541-542542-543543-544544-545545-546546-547547-548548-549549-550550-551551-552552-553553-554554-555555-556556-557557-558558-559559-560560-561561-562562-563563-564564-565

C o in vo lum e/ year o f re ignJustin ian I (538-565)

the large coin hoard of Anadolchioi, close to tomis, may have been buried during the same military events, judging by the last coin in the hoard dated 545/54631. Another coin hoard, in the southern part of the province, at Kavarna, ends with coins dated 543/544 and might be related to the same context32. observing the annual evolution of the coin volume for the entire province, we notice the peak reached in 543–544 followed by a sudden decrease the next two years, marked by the emperor’s intention to settle the Antes north of the delta (544) and the already mentioned granting of turris (546). during the last part of the reign (550–565) the decline is even more severe, the coefficient dropping to a dramatic 3.43%. the involution is probably caused by the settlement of the slavs in the centre of the province, at ulmetum33, and their attacks southwards to thrace, in 550–551. during this year the coin circulation in scythia records the lowest value so far (160 nummia). in the interval prior to the great coutrigurs offensive in 559, the yearly coin volume improves for the last time during the long reign of Justinian. the attack initiated by the coutrigur tribes in 559 seriously affected the territory of scythia. the hardest blow is received by the fortresses on the danube. At dinogetia the coin finds are missing for a period of ten years (557/8–566/7)34, while at capidava we notice several gapes for the interval 553/4–565/635. in the hoard found at topalu, near capidava, issues from 556/7 to 561/2 are missing as well36.

Coin volume/year of reign Justinian I (538–565).

308


in 562 the huns and Bulgarians invade the empire, while the Avars led by Baian threaten to take up scythia. from the numismatic point of view, the coin flow drops dramatically in 560/1, only seven coins having been found until this moment. for the last stage of the reign we notice a considerable number of dekanummia entering the market, especially during the interval 555–565 (91 sp.), almost half of them being struck at nicomedia (40 sp.). the tendency appears very clear in the cases of tomis37 or halmyris38. Justin ii accedes to the throne in a difficult moment for the empire, both political and economic, after his uncle’s tremendous activity which taxed the empire to the very limits of its resources. the new emperor was obliged to order a debasement of the follis, therefore increasing the inflation process already mounting during the last years of Justinian. in terms of monetary reforms the reign of Justin ii can be divided in two stages, 565–570 and 570–578. the first period produces a spectacular growth up to 17.02%. Judging by the follis/ solidus ratio, it seems to be a rather inflationist tendency than a real economic boost39. however, for the first two years the coin volume maintains at a rather low level, possibly due to the Avar invasion of 56640, for the next years to witness a tremendous rise up to an absolute peak of 2740 nummia in 570/571. Among the finds we notice the presence of a large quantity of half-folles issued at

230

490

1160

2400

2555

2740

1600

1180

1520

2180

960

800

220

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000

565-566

566-567

567-568

568-569

569-570

570-571

571-572

572-573

573-574

574-575

575-576

576-577

577-578

C o in vo lum e/ year o f re ignJustin II (565-578)

Coin volume/year of reign Justinian II (565–578).

309


thessalonica. they represent almost half of the total number of specimens during the years 566/7 (11 sp.), 567/8 (19 sp.), 568/9 (37 sp.), 569/70 (33 sp.), 574/5 (37 sp.) Actually, the large scale diffusion of the thessalonica issues represents a phenomenon whose origins are to be found during the last five years of Justinian. the flow abruptly dropped after 572, as Baian initiated a new offensive (573)41, only to reach a new and final peak in 574/5 (1460 nummia). this might be a possible effect of the donativa, a phenomenon that can also be observed five years before. the reign ends with low values during the years of slavic invasions started in 57642. the troubled times in the province are witnessed by three coin hoards concealed one in Barbaricum at Gropeni43 (577/8) and two in scythia. the later ones, ending with issues dated 574/5 and 576/7 were found both inside the walls of the fortress halmyris lying on a burned layer44. despite the small chronological gape noticed by the latest coins of the hoards, they were probably buried with the same occasion. At the same time, in the fortress Beroe the coin circulation ends with a coin dated 575/6, found also in a burned level45, while at capidava the phase n 2 ends during the same events46.

A new reform is applied to the copper coinage during the first two regnal years of tiberius ii constantine as sole ruler. the emperor attempted to re-establish the former weight standard introduced by Justinian, as well as its ratio to the solidus. this measure was not to last throughout his reign, as the value of the follis soon dropped. in scythia the two stages (578–580 and 580–582) are equally balanced and both very far from the previous coefficient from the reign of Justin ii. nevertheless, a peak is noticed in the first year (630 nummia), which coincides with the attack led by Baian against the slavs, as part of the agreement settled by tiberius while he was co-emperor47. interesting enough is the fact that both at tomis and dinogetia coin finds from the first stage are completely missing.

630

120

540

200

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

578-579

579-580

580-581

581-582C o in vo lum e/ year o f re ign

T iberius II C onstan tine (578-582)

Coin volume/year of reign Tiberius II Constantine (578–582).

310


the coin supply during the reign of Maurice tiberius regresses to a value (4.86%) lower than the one from the last stage of Anastasius. At halmyris we learn of a more dramatic situation (2.64%), marked also by a lack of finds for a decade 589/90–600/1. Meanwhile, the coin circulation seems more active on the seaside areas, at callatis and especially tomis (10.28%). the Avar offensive of 585–586 seems to have affected only the southern part of scythia, since the campaign followed the route Bononia–ratiaria–durostorum–tropaeum–Zaldapa–Marcianopolis48 and the coin supply re-mains at a rather stable level throughout the province49. the town of tro-paeum was ravaged. for a long time scholars considered that it was never to recover after this moment, until coins from the next period were found50. Meanwhile, Zaldapa managed to survive the attack51. the imperial army regrouped and the counteroffensive led by commentiolus during the next year pushed the Avars as far as the city of tomis52. on the danube, at capidava, coin finds start from 587/8, while at Axiopolis the only specimen of Maurice is dated 590/1. Both coins come from the layer of the reconstruction process initiated after the Avar attack. in this respect, two last peaks are noticed in 587/8 and 591/2. during 592/3 another slavic attack may have occurred in scythia53, as the coin circulation ends at dinogetia54 and troesmis55, in 591/2, along with the phase iVB at istrus56 (after 593) and the hoard of tropaeum (after 590/1)57. during the year 595 another slavic invasion is mentioned in the southern part of scythia, when Zaldapa was sacked and the capital tomis besieged58. here, as a direct consequence, the coin finds for the year 595/6 are missing. for the entire province the currency flow drops three times compared to the previous year, never to recover until the end of Maurice’s reign. connected to these events are probably two hoards concealed at istrus. the so-called „temple“ and „thermes“ hoards seem to close with coins dated 593/4 and 594/559. Another hoard was found on the danube’s left bank, in Barbaricum, at unirea, with a terminus post quem 594/5, possibly related to the same slavic attack60. the reign of phocas brings a considerable number of coin finds in scythia, meaning the control was partially restored after the crisis of the year 602. the rebellion led by phocas in 602 had undergone rather far from the territory of scythia, and did not affect the province on the long term, as it was once believed61. nevertheless the fortress of sacidava, close to the border with Moesia ii, was sacked, as the archaeologists found a burned level that can be dated based on a coin, post 599/60062. A small hoard from istrus ends also with a coin dated 600/163. Although found in a

311


rather uncertain archaeological context, it could testify that the town was endangered during the same events. no more than four specimens dating from 602 were found in scythia up to this moment, two of them at tomis64, but the coin circulation soon recovered up to 420 nummia in the next year and during the following period, possibly as a consequence of the peace treaty arranged with the Avars. it is worthy to mention that no coin hoard is doubtlessly buried in scythia during the reign of phocas and the trend is similar in the whole danube area65. the last years of phocas saw a military breakdown in Asia, where important towns fell to the persians and in the Balkans, where the Avars attacked once again. the coin circulation reaches a dramatic level from 608 and it will not recover until the first years of emperor heraclius. until 616, the nummia per year coefficient still indicates a coin circulation in scythia, while the next period provides only a few specimens, the last one being dated 629/3066. the final breakdown of the limes could be placed around year 615, when the coin circulation ends in the major fortresses of the province: capidava 612/367, ibida 612/368, istrus 613/469, halmyris 613/470, Aegyssus 613/471, Argamum 613/472, tomis 613/473, Acres 613/474, Axiopolis 614/575, ulmetum 614/576, sacidava 615/677. in the rural areas the most recent coins, dated 613, come from the settlements at sinoe78 and topolog79. however the copper issues dated between 616 and 629 are

230

580

425

490

640

840

520

580

360

660

280

250

460

160

100

100

20

40

60

180

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

582-583

583-584

584-585

585-586

586-587

587-588

588-589

589-590

590-591

591-592

592-593

593-594

594-595

595-596

596-597

597-598

598-599

599-600

600-601

601-602

C o in vo lum e/ year o f re ignM aurice T ibe rius (582-602)

Coin volume/year of reign Maurice Tiberius (582–602).

312


120

420

260

340

500

310

160

80

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

602-603

603-604

604-605

605-606

606-607

607-608

608-609

609-610

C o in vo lum e/ year o f re ignP hocas (602-610)

generally scarce throughout the empire. to provide only one example, in constantinople itself, out of 36 coins covering the entire reign of heraclius, only one specimen is dated to this interval80.Judging by the intensity of the coin circulation, the dismantlement of the defence system started from the last decades of the sixth century, when

60

200

440

560

160

80

20

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

40

0

0

12

120

0 100 200 300 400 500 600

610-611

611-612

612-613

613-614

614-615

615-616

616-617

617-618

618-619

619-620

620-621

621-622

622-623

623-624

624-625

625-626

626-627

627-628

628-629

629-630C o in vo lum e/ year o f re ign

H erac lius (610-641)

Coin volume/year of reign Rhocas (602–610).

Coin volume/year of reign Heraclius (610–641).

313


some of the scythian fortifications lost their urban profile, the military and strategic function maintaining only in a few strongholds along the seaside during the reign of heraclius81. the development in scythia can be ascribed to the political events of the period, reflected in the fluctuations of the coin circulation. the downfall of 615 is taking place at a time when the persians were ravaging Asia Minor and the important mints of and cyzicus (614/5) and nicomedia (617/8) were temporarily shut-down82. soon the slavic tribes launched a powerful offensive in the Balkans reaching its climax with the siege of thessalonica, and constantinople in 626. A short revival occurred in 629–631, which coincides with the emperor’s final defeat of the persians, reflected also in the few specimens from this period found in scythia83. later developments in coinage during the century did not find any response on the scythian market, as the province was mostly out of the empire’s sphere of influence. copper coins from the second half of the 7th century are very scarce in dobrudja and far from a genuine circulating level84. they witness only the survival of some strategic but isolated areas still being under the control of the Byzantine empire85.the exchange-rate between copper and gold was mentioned as a more reliable

Nummia/year of reform vs.solid/year of reform.

610–616

602–610

582–602

580–582

578–580

570–578

565–570

550–565

542–550

538–542

527–538

518–527

512–518

498–512 0,960,91

6,246,18

11,0311,09

7,837,82

10.5418,18

11,095,545,63

3,4311,82

17,02

17,378,73

7,824,67

2,734,61

2,814,86

2,915,04

2,183,71

solidi/year of reform (hahn) nummia/year of reform

314


indicator of the coin circulation and the true value of the copper currency present on the market. Based on the calculations made by Wolfgang hahn86, the coin sample from scythia can be divided according to eight monetary reforms, with the results expressed in fractions of the solidus. the new approach brings a few important changes into discussion. for the interval 498–538 the standing remains fairly balanced. the peak reached during the reign of Justin i is thus confirmed, surpassing the coefficient from the first stage of Justinian’s reign. A spectacular overturning occurs after the reform of the year 538, when Justinian introduced a heavier follis, one of the few occasions in Byzantine history when the face-value of the copper coinage began to approach its bullion-value. therefore it provides higher figures compared to the nummia per year calculation, bringing this reform interval (538–542) on the first place of the overall classification. the coin circulation during Justinian’s reign is far more intense than it was expected upon the nummia results, which totalized 27.34%, compared to 42.72%. the reign of Justin ii is characterized by an abundance of currency on the market. the number of folles exchanged for a solidus rises to 525 and than to 720, meaning inflation and economic crisis explained above by the precarious political and financial situation of the empire. Although with a doubtless progress compared to the disastrous last stage of Justinian’s reign, the reform performed by Justin ii was not meant to last, as the following period brings gradually lower values. An ambitious reform is attempted by tiberius ii constantine who tries to lift the weight of the follis to a previous value of the period 550–565. the empire is economically incapable of sustaining such an effort and his initiative is brought to a quick end by a new reduction in weight and a debasement in relation to the solidus. the decline is inevitable and within two years the exchange rate reaches 600 folles / solidus, maintained for the following decades. Another important issue is establishing the presence and proportion of mints to supply the provincial market, judging by a sample of 2370 specimens with a clear mint attribution. A comparison with the results provided by the main fortresses of the province could also prove useful for any fluctuations that might have occurred at certain moments87. the metropolitan mint has the most important presence among the coin finds, followed far behind by the provincial mints of nicomedia and thessalonica, balanced in terms of number of coins. We should take into

315


account the fact that thessalonica struck especially half-folles, while nicomedia issued more folles, therefore nicomedia being higher ranked in what concerns the number of nummia. the once extensive system of roman provincial mints had collapsed by the time of Anastasius’ accession, when only constantinople and thessalonica remained in business, the latter issuing only gold denominations. the vast majority of coins found in scythia dating from this period are issued by the metropolitan mint (94.37%), assisted by nicomedia, re-commissioned after the reform of 498, and to a lesser degree by Antioch, opened in 512. no coins struck at thessalonica are present among the coin finds until the reign of Justinianus, when new copper denominations were created. the reign of Justin i saw a further extension of the mint system by the re-opening of cyzicus destined to supply the diocese Asiana and only with a symbolical presence in scythia at this point. the nicomedia mint plays a more important role as shown particularly at tomis (22.72%), on the Black sea coast88. the highest expansion of the provincial mint system was reached during Justinian’s long reign when no less than seven mints supplied scythia, although constantinople maintains a very high percentage (65.23%). nevertheless, nicomedia and even Antioch are more present on the market, while thessalonica provides only few specimens, usually half-folles dating from the last years of his reign. important changes occurred during the reign of Justin ii when the market was invaded by half-folles issued at thessalonica (27.61%), a tendency applied to all the major centres of the province. later on, the reign of tiberius ii saw a new overturning, nicomedia taking thessalonica’s place in terms of coin supply, while Antioch became more active. during the reign of Maurice, thessalonica and its half-folles partially regain the former position in a rather balanced classification of the five important mints, whereas for the reign of phocas we have to notice the important number of coins brought from cyzicus, unparalleled throughout the period. the troubled times of the first half of the seventh century saw a rapid reduction in the number of mints, first Antioch, then nicomedia, cyzicus and thessalonica, all with a constant presence in scythia throughout the sixth century. the metropolitan mint regains once more its overwhelming percentage (69.84%) from the first half of the century. As a result of the reform of coinage carried out at the end of the fifth century,

316


a whole new range of copper denominations was created as multiple of the basic nummus. therefore a matter worthy to discuss would be the variety and proportion of various denominations found in scythia. the results are primarily connected with the market demands, but also with some local peculiarities in the mints’ activity, sometimes specialized in providing certain denominations as shown above. in the time of emperor Anastasius we notice the prevalence of half-folles, a rather common feature throughout the period, istrus alone providing a larger number of folles89. Jumping to the age of Justinian, the most striking would be the large number of dekanummia (257 sp.), most of them entering scythia during the last ten years of the reign. even more, at tomis the number of dekanummia represents almost half of the entire batch from Justinianus90.smaller denominations also maintain a high percentage at tomis during the reign of Justin ii, when pentanummia enter the town in great numbers (31.88%) and to a lesser degree in the other fortresses. the reform attempted by tiberius ii insured the presence of small copper in scythia and even of a few scarcer specimens of three-quarter folles. starting with the reign of Maurice tiberius, the number of smaller denominations begins to decrease in the coin finds and they finally disappear from the market in the time of heraclius, when the majority of coins are pieces of forty nummia91.

Table 3. The coin distribution upon mints.

mint numberof coins % position number

of nummia % position

constantinople 1443 60.89% I 41050 63.60% Ithessalonica 320 13.50% III 6288 9.74% IIInicomedia 369 15.60% II 10600 16.42% IIcyzicus 127 5.35% iV 3655 5.66% iVAntioch 86 3.62% V 2440 3.78% VAlexandria 5 0.21% Vii 81 0.12% Viiicarthage 10 0.43% Vi 215 0.33% Virome 3 0.12% iX 30 0.04% Xravenna 1 0.04% Xi 40 0.06% iXcherson 4 0.16% Viii 105 0.16% ViiMon. Milit. imit. 2 0.08% X 30 0.04% XtotAl 2370 100% 64534 100%

317


Table 4. The coin distribution upon mints and issuers. M

int

Ana

stasiu

s

Just

in i

Just

inia

n i

Justi

n ii

tibe

rius i

i

Mau

rice

phoc

as

her

acliu

s

constantinople 94.37% 84.33% 65.23% 44.52% 50% 53.45% 59.13% 69.84%thessalonica – – 4.84% 27.61% 6.95% 24.26% 4.35% 1.59%nicomedia 4.22% 10.82% 16.60% 19.82% 31.95% 12.13% 14.78% 17.46%cyzicus – 2.61% 5.88% 5.94% 1.38% 6.89% 16.52% 1.59%Antioch 1.41% 1.87% 5.75% 2.11% 9.72% 2.62% 4.35% –carthage – – 1.31% – – – 0.87% –ravenna – – – – – – – 1.59%rome – – 0.39% – – – – -Alexandria – – – – – – – 7.93%cherson – 0.37% – – – 0.65% – –

the statistical study of the officinae has never been the subject of a major approach, but the development of the Byzantine studies and the scholarly attention paid to the early Byzantine coin circulation may fit a future article on the distribution of officinae among the finds yielded by the major cities of the empire. table 6 provides the statistics for the province of scythia and the first conclusions can be drawn, especially for the central mint, with the largest number of coin finds. the five officinae are quite balanced in the overall record of the period, with a small prevalence of the first officina92. What seems interesting is the fact that, despite the relative equilibrium of the total figures, inside every reign the results are rather unbalanced: the time of Anastasius brings especially issues bearing the mark of the fifth officina, while Justinian, Maurice and heraclius provide more specimens issued at the first officina, to mention only the most striking differences. the mint of nicomedia shows the same trend, with a highly balanced overall statistic, but with fluctuations for each reign. the relatively low number of coins minted in cyzicus, found in scythia, permits only a general conclusion leading to a quite even repartition of the two officinae. the largest number of coins struck at Antioch bears the mark of the third officina, a situation similar to saraçhane, Amaseia and sardis. the archaeological excavations at Antioch yielded as well a large number of coins isued at the third officina, although surpassed in number by the first officina.

318


the present survey and its statistical results will eventually be updated after new coin finds and possibly after the publication of some important samples still unpublished after a long time93. Although the main trends in the coin circulation could still stand in the years to come, further developments might prove valuable in the debate around the political and economical events underwent at the lower danube during its last century under roman rule.

Table 5. The coin distribution upon denominations and issuers.

emperordenominAtion/ coinS / %

m ΛΓ ΧΧΧ Κ iS iB i e totalAnastasius i 78/47.86 – – 82/50.31 – – 2/1.22 1/0.61 163Justin i 146/52.33 – – 111/39.78 – – 6/2.15 16/5.74 279Justinian i 375/43.06 1/0.11 – 193/22.16 7/0.80 – 257/29.51 38/4.36 871Justin ii 363/42.06 – – 378/43.80 – – 3/0.35 119/13.79 863tiberius ii 41/51.90 – 3/3.80 24/30.38 – – 5/6.33 6/7.59 79Maurice 126/34.71 – – 204/56.20 – – 26/7.16 7/1.93 363phocas 54/37.76 – 1/0.70 85/59.44 – – 2/1.40 1/0.70 143heraclius 58/81.70 – – 12/16.90 – 1/1.40 – – 71totAl 1241/43.82 1/0.03 4/0.14 1089/38.46 7/0.25 1/0.03 301/10.63 188/6.64 2832

Table 6. Officinae. Number of coins and % of the total for each reign per mint.

emperorconstantinople nicomedia cyzicus Antioch

totalA B Γ Δ e A B A B A B Γ Δ

Anastasius i 13 / 12.74

20 / 19.61

11 / 10.78

16 / 15.87

42 / 41.18

2 /66.67

1 /33.33 – – – – – – 105

Justin i 29 / 18.71

35 / 22.58

38 / 24.52

26 / 16.77

27 / 17.42

7 /38.88

11 /61.12

1 /25

3 /75

1 /50 – 1 /

50 – 179

Justinian i 63 / 26.04

41 / 16.95

46 /19

53 / 21.9

39 / 16.11

21 /55.26

17 /44.74

6 /37.5

10 /62.5

3 /17.65

4 /23.53

8 /47.05

2 /11.77 313

Justin ii 37 / 16.16

55 / 24.02

56 / 24.45

44 / 19.21

37 / 16.16

34 /45.95

40 /54.05

12 /66.67

6 /33.33 – 2 /

28.575 /

71.43 – 328

tiberius iiconstan-tine

2 / 9.52

6 / 28.57

3 / 14.29

4 / 19.05

6 / 28.57

6 /37.5

10 /62.5 – – – 1 /

100 – – 38

Mauricetiberius

43 / 35.54

24 / 19.83

14 / 11.57

21 / 17.36

19 / 15.7

13 /52

12 /48

7 /53.85

6 /46.15 – – – – 159

phocas 6 / 14.63

6 / 14.63

6 / 14.63

12 / 29.27

11 / 26.83

6 /54.54

5 45.46

8 /66.67

4 /33.33 – – – – 64

heraclius 11 / 30.56

8 / 22.22

7 / 19.44

6 / 1.67

4 / 11.11

2 /66.67

1 /33.33

1 /100 – – – – – 40

totAl 204 /21.54

195 /20.59

181 /19.11

182 /19.22

185 /19.54

91 /48.41

97 /51.59

35 /54.69

29 /45.31

4 /14.81

7 /25.93

14 /51.85

2 /7.41 1226

319


AppendiXTable 1. Coins with certain date.

yeAr

numBer of coinS/ nummiA/ mintc

on

th

e

nic

cy

z

An

t

Al

e

cA

r

ro

m

rAv

mo

mil

?

totA

l

498–507 13/370 – 1/20 – – – – – – – – 14/390507–512 23/690 – – – – – – – – – – 23/690512–518 95/2880 – 3/70 – 2/60 – – – – – – 100/3010518–522 80/2660 – 3/120 2/60 – – – – – – 1/40 86/2880522–527 86/2220 – 9/290 3/120 – – – – – – – 98/2630518–527 53/1750 – 15/360 – 5/100 – – – – – 15/230 88/2440527–532 19/780 – – – 3/60 – – – – – 1/40 23/880532–538 29/1140 – – – 5/130 – 1/40 – – – – 35/1310527–538 140/3840 – 15/445 – 8/240 – 1/40 – – – 4/160 168/4725538–539 18/560 – 6/200 1/20 1/40 – – – – – 26/820539–540 20/660 – 7/220 – 5/180 – 6/105 – – – – 38/1165540–541 10/330 – 1/40 – – – 1/10 – – 1/20 – 13/400541–542 22/730 – 6/200 1/20 – – – – – – 2/50 31/1000542–547 – 4/64 – – – – – – – – – 4/64542–543 15/380 – 2/80 2/80 – – – – – – – 19/540543–544 14/470 – 5/180 2/60 – – – – – – 1/10 22/720544–545 8/155 – 3/100 – – – – – – – – 11/255545–546 6/210 – 5/180 3/80 1/40 – – – – – – 15/510546–547 11/280 – 1/40 – – – – – – – 3/70 15/390547–548 8/200 – 2/60 4/140 1/20 – – 2/20 – – – 17/440548–549 9/230 – – 4/160 2/60 – – – – – – 15/450549–550 4/80 – 2/40 2/80 – – – – – – – 8/200550–551 3/60 – – 1/40 1/20 – – – – – 1/40 6/160551–552 1/20 – – 2/80 2/40 – – – – – – 5/140547–552 – 1/16 – – – – – – – – – 1/16552–557 – 1/16 – – – – – – – – – 1/16552–553 5/100 – 2/40 1/40 4/120 – – – – 1/10 – 13/310553–554 3/60 – – – – – – – – – – 3/60554–555 5/160 – 2/50 – 1/40 – – – – – – 8/250555–556 15/420 – 4/100 2/60 – – – – – – – 21/580556–557 12/240 – 9/90 1/40 1/20 – – – – – 3/30 26/420557–558 8/220 – – 1/40 1/40 – – – – – – 10/300558–559 9/150 – 9/130 2/20 1/20 – – – – – 2/20 23/340559–560 9/120 – 3/40 1/10 3/120 – – – – – – 16/290560–561 2/20 – 3/30 – 2/80 – – – – – – 7/130561–562 8/110 1/20 9/90 3/30 – – – 1/10 – 1/10 23/270

320


yeAr

numBer of coinS/ nummiA/ mint

co

n

th

e

nic

cy

z

An

t

Al

e

cA

r

ro

m

rAv

mo

mil

?

totA

l

562–563 5/80 6/120 3/30 – – – – – – – 1/10 15/240563–564 7/70 11/220 3/30 3/30 – – – – – – 3/30 27/380564–565 5/50 6/120 2/20 – 1/20 – – – – – 2/20 16/230565–566 3/120 1/20 1/40 1/10 1/40 – – – – – – 7/230566–567 5/200 11/210 2/80 – – – – – – – – 18/490567–568 14/420 19/380 5/180 4/140 – – – – – – 1/40 43/1160568–569 32/1200 37/740 10/380 – – – – – – – 2/80 81/2400569–570 28/980 33/660 21/800 1/40 4/55 – – – – – 1/20 88/2555570–571 44/1560 11/220 23/780 6/140 1/40 – – – – – – 85/2740571–572 25/820 7/140 15/520 – 3/120 – – – – – – 50/1600572–573 17/580 6/120 10/340 3/100 1/20 – – – – – 1/20 38/1180573–574 23/900 1/20 10/380 4/120 2/80 – – – – – 1/20 41/1520574–575 19/680 37/740 12/400 10/360 – – – – – – – 78/2180575–576 11/420 11/220 8/240 2/80 – – – – – – – 32/960576–577 11/440 1/20 6/140 6/140 1/20 – – – – – – 25/760577–578 1/40 6/120 2/40 – – – – – – – 1/20 10/220578–579 9/350 2/40 3/120 – 3/120 – – – – – – 17/630579–580 1/40 – – – 2/80 – – – – – – 3/120580–581 8/320 1/20 5/200 – – – – – – – – 14/540581–582 2/80 – – 1/40 2/80 – – – – – – 5/200582–583 10/130 3/60 1/40 – – – – – – – – 14/230583–584 12/320 7/140 2/80 1/40 – – – – – – – 22/580584–585 7/185 5/100 2/60 1/40 1/40 – – – – – – 16/425585–586 11/360 5/90 – 1/40 – – – – – – – 17/490586–587 13/360 10/200 2/40 – 1/20 – – – – – 1/20 27/640587–588 6/160 6/120 12/400 5/160 – – – – – – – 29/840588-589 12/360 1/20 3/100 1/40 – – – – – – – 17/520589-590 14/360 2/40 2/60 3/120 – – – – – – – 21/580590–591 10/340 – – 1/20 – – – – – – – 11/360591–592 11/300 8/160 4/160 – 2/40 – – – – – – 25/660592–593 6/140 3/60 1/20 2/60 – – – – – – – 12/280593–594 5/140 3/50 – – 3/60 – – – – – – 11/250594–595 7/240 4/80 2/80 1/40 1/20 – – – – – – 15/460595–596 3/120 – 1/40 – – – – – – – – 4/160596–597 1/20 2/40 1/40 – – – – – – – – 4/100597–598 3/100 – – – – – – – – – – 3/100598–599 – – – – – – – – – – 1/20 1/20599–600 2/40 – – – – – – – – – – 2/40600–601 1/20 2/40 – – – – – – – – – 3/60

321


yeAr

numBer of coinS/ nummiA/ mint

co

n

th

e

nic

cy

z

An

t

Al

e

cA

r

ro

m

rAv

mo

mil

?

totA

l

601–602 2/80 3/60 – 1/40 – – – – – – – 6/180602–603 3/80 – – 1/40 – – – – – – – 4/120603–604 7/280 – 1/20 4/80 1/40 – – – – – – 13/420604–605 4/160 – 2/40 2/40 1/20 – – – – – – 9/260605–606 2/80 – 2/60 4/140 2/60 – – – – – – 10/340606–607 6/240 – 5/180 1/20 – – 1/20 – – – 1/40 14/500607–608 4/160 – 3/110 1/40 – – – – – – – 8/310608–609 3/120 – 1/20 – 1/20 – – – – – – 5/160609–610 – – 1/40 1/40 – – – – – – – 2/80610–611 2/60 – – – – – – – – – – 2/60611–612 3/100 – 2/60 1/40 – – – – – – – 6/200612–613 8/320 – 3/120 – – – – – – – – 11/440613–614 11/440 – 2/80 – – – – – – – 1/40 14/560614–615 4/160 – – – – – – – – – – 4/160615–616 2/80 – – – – – – – – – – 2/80616–617 – 1/20 – – – – – – – – – 1/20617–618 – – – – – – – – – – – –618–619 – – – – – – – – – – – –619–620 – – – – – – – – – – – –620–621 – – – – – – – – – – – –621–622 – – – – – – – – – – – –622–623 – – – – – – – – – – – –623–624 – – – – – – – – – – – –624–625 – – – – – – – – – – – –625–626 – – – – – – – – 1/40 – – 1/40626–627 – – – – – – – – – – – –627–628 – – – – – – – – – – – –628–629 – – – – – 1/12 – – – – – 1/12629–630 4/120 – – – – – – – – – – 4/120totAl 1232/

37820281/5526

321/9785

111/3420

83/2425

1/12

10/215

3/30

1/40

2/30

51/1080

2096/60383

322


Table 2. Coins with uncertain date.

emperornumBer of coinS/ nummiA/ mint

con the nic cyz Ant Ale che ? totAlAnastasius i 1/20 – – – – – – 10/180 11/200Justin i – – – – – – 1/20 – 1/20Justinian i 38/630 5/82 12/200 4/70 – 1/33 1/5 56/920 117/1940Justin ii 84/745 18/360 16/110 7/65 3/15 – – 52/990 180/2285tiberius ii 15/215 1/20 14/330 – – – – 3/40 33/605Maurice 14/185 7/140 2/15 2/20 – – 2/80 16/395 43/835phocas 37/645 4/80 1/40 3/80 – – – 9/205 54/1050heraclius 8/300 – 1/40 – – 2/24 – 3/100 14/4646th c. 14/490 4/80 2/80 – – 1/12 – 53/660 74/1322

totAl 211/3230

39/762

48/815

16/235

3/15

4/69

4/105

202/3490

527/8721

Table 3. A comparative survey upon nummia per year of reign.% of the coefficientS nummiA/ yeAr of reign

em

per

or

tom

is

istr

us

nov

iodu

num

din

oget

ia

hal

myr

is

cal

latis

Arg

amum

Acr

es

oda

rtsi

cap

idav

a

Anastasius 2.75 4.38 5.09 6.43 7.49 5.19 2.37 5.00 7.08 3.64Justin i 21.40 12.87 20.61 17.68 21.21 32.52 10.85 13.55 20.00 23.87Justinian i 9.55 11.29 10.04 13.50 12.35 15.92 13.21 4.22 14.01 10.44Justin ii 24.81 31.35 32.78 41.80 40.04 16.61 40.63 26.44 39.52 45.94tiberius ii 6.80 20.39 11.16 3.85 9.14 14.88 7.89 13.88 9.76 4.55Maurice 14.82 11.41 9.72 16.72 5.48 8.65 15.19 11.88 1.57 7.46phocas 19.87 8.30 10.56 – 3.29 6.23 9.86 25.00 0.15 4.10

Table 4. A comparative survey upon reigns and monetary reforms.

% of the coefficientS nummiA/ yeAr of reform

emperor reform tomis istrus noviodunum dinogetia halmyris odartsi capidava

Anastasius i 498–512512–518

1.293.27

0.566.06

0.256.48

1.606.57

0.266.61

1.139.41

0.974.53

Justin i 518–527 14.85 7.06 10.30 8.81 10.23 10.30 13.79Justinian i 527–538

538–542542–550550–565

7.247.624.875.41

10.079.314.742.18

6.662.169.773.11

7.3720.034.962.08

6.7917.65

62.91

11.768.354.864.70

8.5013.437.651.81

Justin ii 565–570570–578

13.3314.24

11.2718

17.3018.85

19.2320.99

1520.91

13.9924.42

17.6722.09

323


% of the coefficientS nummiA/ yeAr of reform

emperor reform tomis istrus noviodunum dinogetia halmyris odartsi capidava

tiberius iiconstantine

578–580580–582

–3.81

9.949.94

4.328.65

– –

8.82–

4.056.08

2.55–

Maurice 582–602 10.28 6.26 4.32 8.33 2.64 0.81 5.10phocas 602–610 13.79 4.24 8.04 – 1.58 0.08 1. 91

Table 5. A comparative survey upon mints.

mint tomis istrus noviodunum dinogetia halmyris odartsi capidavaconstantinople 58.50 63.26 55.22 57.53 60.74 64.08 56thessalonica 17.42 13.60 22.38 17.80 14.95 9.86 16.67nicomedia 13.27 13.26 14.17 17.80 15.88 16.20 17.33cyzicus 7.05 4.42 3.73 2.73 4.67 5.63 5.33Antioch 2.90 4.42 2.23 2.73 3.73 2.82 4.67Alexandria 0.41 – – – – – –carthage 0.41 1.02 – 1.36 – 1.41 –rome – – 0.72 – – – –MoMiliM – – 1.49 – – – –

_______________________

* An early version of this paper has been published in cn, 9–11, 2005, pp. 109–166.1 g. custurea. date noi privind circulaţia monedei bizantine în dobrogea (sec.

V–Vii). – pontica, 37–38, 2004–2005, pp. 491–535; e. oberländertârnoveanu. Aux origines économiques du Moyen Age au Bas-danube: notes sur l’ évolution des échanges monétaires dans la zone rurale de dobrudja et au nord-est de la Bulgarie aux Vie–Xe siècles. – in: studia historica et theologica. omagiu prof. emilian popescu, 2003, pp. 211–226; e. oberländertârnoveanu. la monnaie dans l’espace rural byzantin des Balkans orientaux – un essai de synthèse au commencement du XXie siècle. – peuce, 14, 2003, pp. 341–379; fl. curta. invasion or inflation? sixth-to seventh-century Byzantine coin hoards in eastern and southeastern europe. – Anniin, 43, 1996, pp. 65–124; c. preda. scurtă privire asupra descoperirilor monetare bizantine din dobrogea. – Bsnr, 90–91, 1996–1997, 144–145, pp. 97–126; gh. poenaru Bordea, e. nicolae, A. popescu. contributions numismatiques à l’histoire de noviodunum aux Vie–Viie siècles. – scn, 11, 1995, pp. 135–161; i. Jordanov. dobrudza (491–1092) – selon les données de la numismatique et de la sphragistique, in dobrudza. – in: etudes ethno-culturelles. sofia, 1987, pp. 182–207; Gh. Poenaru Bordea, R. Ocheşeanu. probleme istorice dobrogene (secolele Vi–Vii) în lumina monedelor bizantine din colecţia Muzeului de istorie naţională şi Arheologie din constantza. – sciVA, 3, 1980, pp. 377–396; v. popovic. la descente des Koutrigours, des slaves et des Avars vers la Mer egée:

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le témoinage de l’archéologie. – crAi, 1978, pp. 596–648; gh. poenaru Bordea. Monnaies byzantines des Vie–Viie siècles en dobroudja. – in: Actes de XiVe congrès international des études Byzantines. Bucharest, iii, 1976, pp. 203–214; gh. poenaru Bordea. Monede bizantine de bronz din secolele V–Vii în dobrogea. – BMi, 1971, pp. 51–57; J. Juroukova. les invasions slaves au sud du danube d’après les trésors monétaires en Bulgarie. – Byzantinobulgarica, iii, 1969, pp. 255–263; J. Juroukova. particularités dans la circulation des monnaies byzantines du Vie–Viie s. sur le littoral occidental de la Mer noire. – Byzantinobulgarica, ii, 1966, pp. 223–227.

2 At this point the latest coin issued by heraclius to be found in dobrudja are two folles struck in constantinople, and 629/630 (both found at Mangalia in the ancient callatis area); see: R. Ocheşeanu. câteva monede bizantine din secolele Vii–Xi. – pontica, 14, 1981, p. 312; o. iliescu. Însemnări privitoare la descoperiri monetare. – scn, 2, 1958, p. 453; Gh. Poenaru Bordea, R. Ocheşeanu. probleme istorice dobrogene (secolele Vi–Vii)..., p. 390, fn. 37 and two half-folles dated to the same year, one of them found in the ancient carsium area. see: g. custurea. unele aspecte privind penetraţia monedei bizantine în dobrogea în secolele Vii–X. – pontica, 19, 1986; Gh. Poenaru Bordea, R. Ocheşeanu, Al. Popeea. Monnaies Byzantines du Musée de constanta (roumanie). Wetteren, 2004, p. 126.

3 th. isvoranu, gh. poenaru Bordea. Monede bizantine de la tomis şi împrejurimi în colecţia institutului de Arheologie „Vasile pârvan“. – in: simpozion de numismatică. Bucureşti, 2003, pp. 137–161.

4 A. Gândilă. the last stage of early Byzantine capidava and the numismatic evidence. – cn, 12, under print.

5 h. nubar in: c. preda, h. nubar. histria iii. descoperirile monetare, 1914–1970. Bucharest, 1973, pp. 198–233; gh. poenaru Bordea in: Al. Suceveanu. histria Vi. les thermes romains. Bucharest, 1982, pp. 154–158; gh. poenaru Bordea, e. nicolae, A. popescu. contributions numismatiques à l’histoire de noviodunum aux Vie–Viie siècles, pp. 135–161.

6 gh. poenaru Bordea, e. nicolae, A. popescu. op. cit., pp. 135–161. 7 B. mitrea. Monedele şi prăbuşirea dinogeţiei la sfârşitul secolului Vi. – pontica,

7, 1974, pp. 49–72. 8 gh. poenaru Bordea in Al. Suceveanu, m. zahariade, fl. topoleanu and gh.

poenaru Bordea. halmyris i. cluj napoca, 2003, pp. 142–189. 9 m. iacob, gh. poenaru Bordea. les monnaies des iVe–Viie siècles découvertes

à Argamum (scythie Mineure). – in: Xii. internationaler numismatischer Kongress Berlin 1997, Akten-proceedings-Actes, ii, Berlin, 2000, p. 780–792.

10 Gh. Poenaru Bordea, R. Ocheşeanu, A. Popescu. Monede greceşti, romane şi bizantine din dobrogea în colecţia muzeului din Brăila. – scn, 12, 1998, p. 83–117.

11 В. Парушев. Античните монети от Калиакра. – Известия на Народния музей–Варна, 27, 1991, с. 26–31.

12 И. Йорданов. Нумизматичната колекция на археологическия музей Бал-чик – исторически извор за историята на града и околностите му. – in: Балчик – древност и съвремие. Балчик, 1990, с. 55.

13 S. torbatov. coin circulation in the hill-top settlement near odartsi (310–610 Ad) (in Bulgarian with summary in english). Велико Търново, 2003.

14 i. Barnea. contributions to dobrudja history under Anastasius i. – dacia, n. s., 4, 1960, pp. 363–374; gh. poenaru Bordea. Monede bizantine de bronz din secolele V–Vii în dobrogea, p. 53; Al. Barnea. la dobroudja aux iVe–Viie siècles n. è. – in:

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Al. Suceveanu, Al. Barnea. la dobroudja romaine. Bucharest, 1991, p. 171. 15 i. Barnea. perioada dominatului (sec. iV–Vii). – in: r. vulpe, i. Barnea. din

istoria dobrogei, ii. romanii la dunărea de Jos. Bucharest, 1968, p. 438; m. Sâmpetru. situaţia imperiului romano-bizantin la dunărea de Jos la sfârşitul secolului al Vi-lea şi începutul celui de al Vii-lea. – sciV, 22, 1971, 2, pp. 228–229. see also the recent studies dealing with the dissolution of the roman limes during heraclius: Al. Barnea, in Al. Suceveanu, Al. Barnea. op. cit., pp. 176–177; Al. madgearu. the province of scythia and the Avaro-slavic invasions (576–626). – Bs, 37, 1, 1996, pp. 52–55; Al. madgearu. the downfall of the lower danubian late roman frontier. – rrh, 36, 1997, 3–4, pp. 315–336; fl. curta. the Making of the slavs: history and Archaeology of the lower danube region. cambridge, 2001, p. 189.

16 due to the necessity of using only the coin finds that can be dated very precisely, an important number of coins was withdrawn from this particular statistical table, as their state of preservation did not permit an accurate dating or simply because the coin types do not give enough information for a very precise dating. one of the best examples are the smaller denominations issued in the name of tiberius ii constantine, whose short reign, even more, has two stages according to the monetary reforms carried out; therefore no less than 33 coins were excluded from the table, almost half of the entire batch. table 2 from the appendix shows also important number of coins from the reigns of Justinian and Justin ii that could not be dated. on the counterpart, all the coin finds from the reigns of Maurice, phocas or Justin i are present in the table, as no monetary reforms were performed throughout their reigns, meaning that in the case of an ideal situation where all coin finds can be dated with maximum accuracy, these last mentioned reigns would provide even lesser figures in the statistics.

17 W. hahn. Moneta imperii Byzantini, i. Wien, 1973, p. 27, ii, 1975, pp. 14–17 and iii, 1981, p. 16; see also: Jp. callu. le tarif d’Abydos et la reforme monétaire d’Anastase. – in: the iXth numismatic congres, Berna 10–15 september 1979, pp. 731–740; m. f. hendy. studies in the Byzantine Monetary economy c. 300–1450. cambridge, 1985, p. 478.

18 d. m. metcalf. the origin of the Anastasian currency reform. Amsterdam, 1969, pp. 94–99. the hoard of cudalbi, Galatz county, in „Barbaricum“, contains small module folles dating from this early period. first published by i. dimian – i. dimian. câteva descoperiri monetare bizantine pe teritoriul rpr. – scn, 1, 1957, pp. 190–191 and later republished by o. iliescu. tezaurul de monede bizantine de la cudalbi. – in: creşterea colecţiilor, 43–44, 1973, pp. 9–14, ns. 12–39; see also the updated table in fl. curta. invasion or inflation?..., p. 118.

19 i. Barnea. contributions to dobrudja history under Anastasius i, pp. 363–373; Al. Barnea. la dobroudja aux iVe–Viie siècles n. è., p. 171; fl. curta. the Making…, pp. 124–126.

20 Appendix, table 3 and 4. Also see the statistical results for the fortresses at dionyssopolis, Acres, Bizone and odartsi: S. torbatov. op. cit., p. 198, pp. 207–209.

21 e. oberländertârnoveanu. la monnaie dans l’espace rural byzantin des Balkans orientaux ..., p. 348.

22 W. hahn. op. cit., i, pp. 19–27 (360 folles/solidus).23 this figures should be taken with the reserve that an important number of

nummia (2440), could not be dated precisely due to the state of preservation. the same advice is to be taken for the first stage of Justinianus, when 4725 nummia could be only dated roughly 527–538.

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24 Al. Barnea. la dobroudja aux iVe–Viie siècles n. è., p. 172. 25 Gh. Poenaru Bordea, R. Ocheşeanu, A. Popescu. Monede greceşti, romane şi

bizantine din dobrogea..., p. 100–101. in connexion with the same events could be put the the hoard from cudalbi ended with issues dated 522–527 (see fn. 18).

26 Al. Barnea. la dobroudja aux iVe–Viie siècles n. è., p. 172. 27 i. Barnea. perioada dominatului (sec. iV–Vii), p. 424.28 procopius. de bello Gothico, iii, 14, 6. 29 i. Barnea. perioada dominatului (sec. iV–Vii), p. 417; gh. poenaru Bordea,

e. nicolae, A. popescu. contributions numismatiques à l’histoire de noviodunum aux Vie–Viie siècles, p. 151.

30 procopius. de bello Gothico, iii, 14, 32–33; i. Barnea. perioada dominatului (sec. iV–Vii), p. 418; gh. poenaru Bordea, e. nicolae, A. popescu. contributions numismatiques à l’histoire de noviodunum aux Vie–Viie siècles, p. 152. for the location of turris at Barboşi (Galatz county) stands the offer made by Justinian to the Antes two years earlier, to settle as foederates on the territory between the danube delta and the river dnister; see: Al. madgearu. the placement of the fortress turris. – Bs, 33, 2, 1992, pp. 203–208. Another hypothesis tries to place turris at tyras (cetatea Albă), see: d. gh. teodor. romanitatea carpato-dunăreană şi Bizanţul în veacurile V–Xi e. n. iaşi, 1981, p. 18.

31 B. mitrea. un tezaur de monede bizantine descoperit la constanta. – pontica, 16, 1983, pp. 239–262; gh. poenaru Bordea, e. nicolae, A. popescu. contributions numismatiques à l’histoire de noviodunum aux Vie–Viie siècles, p. 152 and fn. 36.

32 В. Иванов. Няколко монетни находки от Южна Добруджа. – in: Добруджа, 12, 1995, с. 311.

33 Al. Barnea. la dobroudja aux iVe–Viie siècles n. è...., p. 173. 34 B. mitrea. Monedele şi prăbuşirea dinogeţiei la sfârşitul secolului Vi, p. 65, nr.

21 and p. 66, nr. 33; i. Barnea. l’incendie de la cité de dinogetia au Vie s. – dacia n. s., 10, 1966, pp. 237–259.

35 An. Vertan, G. Custurea, G. Talmaţchi. descoperiri monetare în dobrogea (Xiii). – pontica, 32, 1999, p. 351.

36 i. dimian. câteva descoperiri monetare bizantine pe teritoriul rpr, pp. 191–192; V. Popović. une invasion slave sous Justin ii inconnue des sources éctrites. – numizmatičar, 4, 1981, p. 113.

37 th. isvoranu, gh. poenaru Bordea. Monede bizantine de la tomis…, pp. 156–157.

38 gh. poenaru Bordea in Al. Suceveanu et al. halmyris i, p. 182. 39 gh. poenaru Bordea. Monnaies byzantines des Vie–Viie siècles en dobroudja

..., p. 207. 40 Al. Barnea. la dobroudja aux iVe–Viie siècles n. è., p. 175. 41 i. Barnea. perioada dominatului (sec. iV–Vii), p. 431. 42 Al. madgearu. the province of scythia and the Avaro-slavic invasions (576–

626), pp. 37–38. 43 i. dimian. câteva descoperiri monetare bizantine pe teritoriul rpr, pp. 193–

194; c. chiriac. câteva consideraţii asupra tezaurului de monede bizantine de la Gropeni (jud. Brăila). – in: istros, 1, 1980, pp. 257–262.

44 Cr. Opaiţ. descoperiri monetare în fortificaţia de la independenţa, judeţul tulcea. – peuce, 10, 1991, pp. 477–481; gh. poenaru Bordea in Al. Suceveanu et al. halmyris i, pp. 163–170.

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45 d. vâlceanu, Al. Barnea. ceramica lucrată cu mâna la piatra-frecăţei, in sciVA, 26, 1975, 1, p. 215.

46 I. Opriş. ceramica romană târzie şi paleobizantină de la capidava în contextul descoperirilor de la dunărea de Jos (sec. iV–Vi p. chr). Bucharest, 2003, p. 33; z. covacef. cercetările din sectorul V al cetăţii capidava. – McA, Braşov, 1983, p. 361.

47 Al. madgearu. the province of scythia and the Avaro-slavic invasions (576–626), p. 42; c. chiriac. expediţia avară din 578–579 şi evidenţa numismatică. – Arheologia Moldovei, 16, 1993, pp. 191–203.

48 Al. madgearu. the province of scythia and the Avaro-slavic invasions (576–626), pp. 43–45.

49 gh. poenaru Bordea, e. nicolae, A. popescu. contributions numismatiques à l’histoire de noviodunum aux Vie–Viie siècles, p. 152.

50 v. parvan. cetatea tropaeum. consideraţii istorice. Bucharest, 1912, pp. 190–191; i. Barnea. perioada dominatului (sec. iV–Vii), p. 433. A specimen dating from 590/1 was reported by gh. poenaru Bordea. Quelques monnaies trouvées à Adamclisi et la fin de civitas tropaensium. – dacia, n. s., 12, 1968, pp. 410–411; Another confirmation comes from the small hoard found in 1993 (see below fn. 57).

51 v. velkov. cities in thrace and dacia in late Antiquity (studies and Materials). Amsterdam, 1977, p. 54; Al. Barnea. la dobroudja aux iVe–Viie siècles n. è., p. 199; S. torbatov. Zaldapa (in Bulgarian with summary in english). – in: roman and early Byzantine settlements in Bulgaria. sofia, 2003, p. 107.

52 i. Barnea. perioada dominatului (sec. iV–Vii), pp. 433–434. 53 Al. madgearu. the province of scythia and the Avaro-slavic invasions (576–

626), p. 49. 54 B. mitrea. Monedele şi prăbuşirea dinogeţiei la sfârşitul secolului Vi, p. 69 (no.

64).55 e. oberländertârnoveanu. Monede antice şi bizantine descoperite la

troesmis. – peuce, 8, 1980, p. 274 (no. 177).56 Al. Suceveanu, c. Scorpan. stratigrafia histriei romane târzii în lumina

săpăturilor din 1969 şi 1970. – pontica, 4, 1971, pp. 159–162. 57 I. Bogdan Cătăniciu, Gh. Poenaru Bordea. un mic tezaur de monede bizantine

descoperit la tropaeum traiani. – Bsnr, 90–91, 1996–1997, pp. 85–95. A second hoard found at tropaeum in 1908 could be related to these events. unfortunatelly, it is only partially preserved and its last available coin is dated 584/5; see R. Ocheşeanu. tezaurul de monede bizantine descoperit la tropaeum traiani în campania arheologică din anul 1908. – scn, 11, 1995, pp. 163–182.

58 Al. madgearu. the province of scythia and the Avaro-slavic invasions (576–626), p. 50, fn. 84 with the bibliography.

59 h. nubar in: c. preda, h. nubar. histria iii. descoperirile monetare, 1914–1970, pp. 229–233; gh. poenaru Bordea in Al. Suceveanu et al. halmyris i, pр. 157–158.

60 i. dimian. câteva descoperiri monetare bizantine pe teritoriul rpr, pp. 413–416; v. Butnariu. răspândirea monedelor bizantine din secolele Vi–Vii în teritoriile carpato-dunărene. – Bsnr, 77–79, 1983–1985, 131–133, p. 228; connected to the slavic attack are a number of coin hoards in the danube area: fl. curta. invasion or inflation?…, pp. 156–161 (nos. 163–170).

61 for a detailed discussion on the subject see: Al. madgearu. the province of scythia and the Avaro-slavic invasions (576–626), p. 49.

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62 c. Scorpan. date arheologice referitoare la sec. Vi–Vii pe teritoriul dobrogei. – pontica, 5, 1972, p. 358. the stratigraphy drawn by c, scorpan was disputed by p. diaconu – p. diaconu. despre sacidava şi „stratigrafia“ ei – sciVA, 31, 1980, 1, pр. 123–130.

63 h. nubar in: c. preda, h. nubar. histria iii. descoperirile monetare, 1914–1970, p. 231.

64 th. isvoranu, gh. poenaru Bordea. Monede bizantine de la tomis…, pp. 157–158.

65 fl. curta. invasion or inflation?…, p. 164, with just four hoards reported of which three comprise only gold coins. otherwise, on the territory of romania only one hoard includes coins from phocas, found in „Barbaricum“ at obârşeni, Vaslui county; see: i. dimian. câteva descoperiri monetare bizantine pe teritoriul rpr, p. 196; v. Butnariu. răspândirea monedelor bizantine din secolele Vi–Vii în teritoriile carpato-dunărene, p. 230; fl. curta. invasion or inflation?…, p. 168.

66 see fn. 2.67 A. Gândilă. early Byzantine capidava: the numismatic evidence. – cn, 12–13,

2006–2007, p. 120.68 An. vertan, g. custurea. descoperiri monetare în dobrogea (X). – pontica,

28–29, 1995–1996, p. 318.69 h. nubar. Monede bizantine de la începutul secolului Vii şi sfârşitul cetăţii

histria. – scn, 3, 1960, p. 189. 70 gh. poenaru Bordea in Al. Suceveanu et al. halmyris i, p. 186. 71 e. oberländertârnoveanu. Monede bizantine din secolele Vii–X descoperite

în nordul dobrogei. – scn, 7, 1980, p. 163. 72 m. iacob, gh. poenaru Bordea. les monnaies des iVe–Viie siècles découvertes

à Argamum (scythie Mineure), pp. 780–792.73 th. isvoranu, gh. poenaru Bordea. Monede bizantine de la tomis…, p. 154,

table 6. 74 В. Парушев. Античните монети от Калиакра, c. 31.75 Gh. Poenaru Bordea, R. Ocheşeanu. tezaurul de monede bizantine de aur

descoperit în săpăturile din anul 1899 de la Axiopolis. – Bsnr, 78–79, 1983–1985, 131–133, p. 191.

76 B. mitrea. découvertes de monnaies antiques et byzantines en roumanie. – dacia n. s., 1966, p. 413.

77 An. Vertan, G. Custurea, G. Talmaţchi. descoperiri monetare în dobrogea (Xiii), p. 355.

78 i. dimian. câteva descoperiri monetare bizantine pe teritoriul rpr, p. 200. 79 e. oberländertârnoveanu. la monnaie dans l’espace rural byzantin des

Balkans orientaux..., p. 376, fn. 119. 80 r. m. harrison, m. v. gill, m. f. hendy, S. J. hill, d. Brothwell. excavations at

saraçhane in istanbul. Vol. i, chapter 12: the coins. princeton, 1986, pp. 309–313.81 Al. madgearu. continuitate şi discontinuitate culturală la dunărea de Jos în secolele

Vii–Viii. Bucharest, 1997, pp. 104–107 and fig. 53; Al. Barnea. einige Bemerkungen zur chronologie des limes an der unteren donau in spätrömischer Zeit. – dacia, n. s., 34, 1990, pp. 283–290; S. torbatov. the defence system of the late roman province of scythia (the end of the 3rd–the 7th century Ad) (in Bulgarian with summary in english). Велико Търново, 2002, passim. coin finds from the sea coast fortresses as tomis, callatis or Acres provide a fairly larger number of specimens from both phocas and heraclius, proving that the strategic imperial coastline road was still under the empire’s control.

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82 m. f. hendy. studies in the Byzantine Monetary economy c. 300–1450, p. 498. 83 e. oberländertârnoveanu. Monnaies byzantines des Viie–Xe siècles découvertes

à silistra dans la collection de l’académicien péricle papahagi, conservées au cabinet des Médailles du Musée national d’histoire de roumanieл – cn, 7, 1996, p. 104.

84 for a full record of the 7th century coin finds in dobrudja see: e. oberländertârnoveanu. Monnaies byzantines des Viie–Xe siècles découvertes à silistra…, p. 104, fn. 34, pp. 105–106, fns. 41, 43 and 44. Added are three folles from the recently published collection of the museum in constanta.

85 o. damian. despre prezenţa politică bizantină la dunărea de jos în secolele Vii–X, in prinos lui petre diaconu la 80 de ani. Brăila, 2004, p. 284sq.

86 see fn. 17. such an approach was undertaken more than two decades ago concerning the important collection at the Museum in constanta: gh. poenaru Bordea, R. Ocheşeanu. probleme istorice dobrogene (secolele Vi–Vii), pp. 377–396; Gh. Poenaru Bordea, R. Ocheşeanu, Al. Popeea. Monnaies Byzantines du Musée de constanta (roumanie), pp. 5–16.

87 see appendix, table 5. 88 th. isvoranu, gh. poenaru Bordea. Monede bizantine de la tomis…, p. 154,

table 5. 89 gh. poenaru Bordea, e. nicolae, A. popescu. contributions numismatiques à

l’histoire de noviodunum aux Vie–Viie siècles, p. 143, table 10. 90 th. isvoranu, gh. poenaru Bordea. Monede bizantine de la tomis…, p. 152,

table 2. the presence of lower denominations in high numbers is a good indicator of a healthy monetary economy. tomis is one of the few towns at the lower danube where the ratio between folles and lower denominations is balanced and can be compared with Greek or Middle eastern urban centres where this situation is more common. see for instance corinth, K. m. edwards. corinth Vi. coins, 1896–1929, cambridge MA, 1933, and the subsequent reports in Hesperia; Berytus: K. Butcher. Archaeology of the Beirut souks 1. small change in Ancient Beirut: the coin finds from Bey 006 and Bey 045: iron Age, hellenistic roman and Byzantine periods, Berytus, 45–46, 2001–2002; Antioch: d. B. Waage. Antioch-on-the-orontes. Vol. iV, part 2: Greek, roman, Byzantine and crusaders’ coins. princeton–london–the hague, 1952.

91 f. curta. Byzantium in dark-Age Greece (the numismatic evidence in its Balkan context). – Іn: Byzantine and Modern Greek studies, 29, 2, 2005, p. 124. see also the coin finds from the shipwreck at yassi Ada: J. m. fagerlie, in g. f. Bass, f.h van doornick Jr. et alii. yassi Ada. Vol. i: A seventh-century Byzantine shipwreck. chapter Vii: the coins. texas, 1982, pp. 145–154, where no half-folles were reported among the 47 coins dated to the reign of heraclius.

92 As a comparison, the statistics i have made for the published coins of: sarachane (m. f. hendy. excavations at saraçhane in istanbul, pp. 278–313) show the prevalence of the second officina, while at Amaseia (S. ireland. Greek, roman and Byzantine coins in the Museum at Amasya. london, 2000, pp. 101–109) the fifth officina is more present and so is at Antioch (d. B. Waage. Antioch-on-the-orontes, pp. 148–164), but not at sardis (g. e. Bates. Byzantine coins. cambridge, 1971, pp. 19–112; h. W. Bell. sardis. Vol. Xi, part i, 1910–1914: coins. leiden, 1916, pp. 76–95), where the second officina and the first, to some extent, are found in greater numbers.

93 R. Ocheşeanu. Monede antice şi bizantine descoperite la tropaeum traiani, mss, 1976; gh. poenaru Bordea, e. nicolae. catalogul monedelor bizantine din colecţia institutului de Arheologie „Vasile pârvan“, mss, 1987.

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НякоИ асПектИ На моНетНото обращеНИе ВъВ ВИзаНтИЙската

ПроВИНцИя скИтИя През VI И VII В.

АНДрей ГАНДИлА (БуКурещ)

В проучването е разгледано подробно обращението на византийски бронзови монети във византийската провинция Скития през Vi и Vii в. За статистическия анализ е използвана информацията от близо 3000 монети, които са намерени на територията на провинцията.

Най-голям брой монети са били в обращение през първата половина на Vi в. След средата на века политическото и икономическото поло-жение в империята се променя. Многобройните варварски нашествия в балканските провинции водят до инфлация и намаляване на обема използвани монети, а реалната стойност на медните фолиси спрямо златния солид намалява. През последната четвърт на Vi в. западните сектори на дунавската граница падат в ръцете на аварите, но Империята запазва прекия контрол върху Скития до първите десетилетия на Vii в. По това време се наблюдава прекъсване на монетооборота в повечето крепости по границата и във вътрешността на провинцията.

Над 60% от монетите, намерени в Скития, са били отсечени в Кон-стантинопол, а повечето от останалите – в Тесалоника, Никомедия и Кизик. Броят на монетите, които са отсечени в Антиохия или в запад-ните монетарници, е незначителен.

Най-често срещаните медни монети са фолиси, следвани от поло-вин фолиси. Монетите от по-малък номинал са само 15%, което показ-ва, че пазарът е бил недостатъчно развит и са се извършвали само малки, ежедневни сделки.

Превод от английски език на Людмила Ковачева

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