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Islamski Novac PDF
Islamski Novac PDF
ATHENIAN
RESULTS OF EXCAVATIONS
CONDUCTED BY
THE AMERICAN SCHOOL OF CLASSICAL STUDIES AT ATHENS
VOLUME IX
BY
GEORGE C. MILES
o go
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c, 0,
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4i~~~a.L
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1962
PUBLISHED WITH THE AID OF A GRANT FROM MR. JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, JR.
All this generous assistance may seem to have deserved a better and a more useful product,
but as Kenneth M. Setton has so properly said at the opening of his Catalan Domination of
Athens, "no chapter in the history of Athens is without importance," and even these unartistic
Turkish coins, crude and clumsy as they are and unsatisfactorily published as they may be,
must be viewed in the light of this dictum. The work, I may add, has been a labor of love in
more senses than one; it has been difficult and in some ways scientifically unrewarding,but on
the other hand the personal compensations-the privilege of working with the Agora staff and
the vistas that have been opened to me as a consequence of my visits to Greece-have been
wholly beyond price.
CATALOGUE
ILKHANID ................................................... 22
SELJfUQSAND SUCCESSORSIN ANATOLIA(?) .................. ... 22
OFEGYPT (?)
MAMLUKS ..................................... 22
LOCAL COINAGE OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 9TH/15TH CENTURY (2) 22
OTTOMAN
SULTANS .............................................. ..22
Pre-Ottoman 1-7 9 9
15th-16th centuries 2474
15th-early 16th c. ? 8 249
1413-1421 8A 1
1481-1512 9-23 183
1512-1520 24-41 356
1520-1566 42-85 177
1566-1574 86-101 85
1574-1595 101A-120 82
ca. 1545-1595 121-129 27
16th c. ? 130-135 181
15th-16th c. 136-137 1133
2474
17th century 127
1595-1603 138-144 17
1603-1617 145-154 25
1618-1622 155-158 8
1622-1623 159 1
1623-1640 160-166 45
ca. 1603-1640 167-168 24
1640-1648 169 2
1648-1691 170-172 5
127
Single issue of 1688 173 485 485
18th centuryto 1789 784
1695-1704 174-176 5
1704-1780 177-199 77
1 There is a discrepancy between this figure and the total given in the summaries in Miss Thompson's catalogue (pp. 82
and 86). This discrepancy is probably to be explained either as a simple miscount or as the result of the preliminary attri-
bution of certain unidentifiable coins to the "Turkish" category.
A few coins found in 1959 are not included in the catalogue but their attributions will be found on p. 59.
Some observations with regard to the significance of these coins are made in the catalogue, p. 21, below.
1
2 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
to 1501); and for the period from 1423 until Bayazid II in 1481 there are no coins whatever.
Then, counting the "probable" coins of Biyazid together with those certainly his, the flow
of coinage increases to 183 specimens for the years 1481 to 1512, and still further to 356 for
the rule of Selim I, 1512 to 1520.
Bearing in mind the complete gap of the period of the Acciajuoli and of Muhammad the
Conqueror(1451-1481), I have been tempted to consider the possibility that some of the very
crude coppers might be assigned to these years. Among the crudest is a class with altogether
unsystematic markings,very few of which bear any resemblanceto Arabic(Turkish)characters.
The fabric of most of these is exceptionally thin and the shape sharply angular; the strips of
metal are sometimes irregularly folded over before striking. A few do reveal traces of what
might be consideredimitations of Turkishinscriptions (e.g., P1. I, nos. 20-26). To accommodate
the notion that this group might be separated from the bulk of unidentifiable early coppers
and assigned to a date earlier than Bayazid II, I have assembled them under catalogue no. 8
(249 specimens) and have, with very considerable reserve, designated them "local coinage of
the second half of the 15th century." It may, however, well be that the class is not to be dis-
tinguished from the much larger group (nos. 130-137), which I have not attempted to attribute
more exactly than to the 15th-16th centuries; on the other hand, it is quite possible that if
any of the coins are in fact to be assigned to the years before Bdyazid II, many of those
catalogued under nos. 136 and 137 should be included under no. 8, especially those of no. 137
which are characterized by their thin fabric.7 After the catalogue was completed I found in
preparing the concordancesof inventory numbers and provenances (see below, p. 19) that the
coins of classes 8 and 136-137 are very frequently closely associated in the excavations; but the
significance of this incidence is diminished by the fact of the lack of homogeneity, by and large,
of the coin finds throughout the excavations (see below, p. 17).
There follow then the coins of Selim I, 1512-1520, and coins probably to be ascribed to this
period, 356 specimens in all (nos. 24-41). These include a very considerablenumber which may
perhaps be local imitationss of Constantinopolitantypes (some of no. 28 and all of no. 30); see
the notes following these two catalogue numbers. The attribution of nos. 37-41 to Selim I is
not certain, but probable. In any case the large number of dated coins (nos. 28 and 33-36)
confirms that we are at this point on firm chronologicalground.
The number of coins definitely attributable to the long reign of Siileymin I the Magnificent
(nos. 42-85) seems, in contrast, curiously small, only 177 specimens. But I have no doubt that
this numberis to be greatly increasedby coins which may well be his but which cannot positively
be assigned to him, that is, many of the coins in various inclusive groups between catalogue
numbers121 and 137. These include a number of specimens of the enigmatic mint, Tripolitza (?),
discussedon pp. 10-14, below, assignedto StileymanI, Selim II or Murid III, and certainly many
of the approximately 1300 coins grouped under nos. 133 to 137. The possibility that many of
the coins catalogued under nos. 136-137 (1133 specimens) and assigned to the broad group
"15th-16th centuries" should be associated with the more restrictive class 8, or alternatively
that the latter should be pooled with nos. 136-137, has been discussed above. See also the
additional note followingno. 137. It may be observedhere that many of the types of arabesques
and ornaments on these early mangersare common to the coins of all the rulers of the 16th
century.
It will be noted that the preponderanceof the 15th-16th century coins from the Agora are
of copper. Of the small silver aqchesthere are only one of Mehmed I, 15 of B~yazid II, four
7See also the note following no. 187 in the catalogue.
8 The word "imitation" here and elsewhere in this introduction and in the catalogue does not mean "counterfeit" or
"forgery" but rather "local or provincial copy."
INTRODUCTION 5
9 He remarks (pp. 168, 179) on their complete absence during the reigns of Mehmed III and Ahmed I.
10See p. 2 and note 3, above.
11 On July 28, 1829, the first coins (phoenix, 10 and 5 lepta, and lepton), struck at Aegina on a press formerly used by
the Knights of Malta, were sent to the National Assembly at Argos. See F. P. Brewer, "The Coins and Currencyof Modern
Greece," American Journal of Numismatics, XI, 1877, p. 57; cf. John Tasoulis in 'AOrlv&x, 1908, pp. 346-348.
12Brewer, loc. cit., and cf. the anecdote recounted by William Miller in "The Early Years of Modern Athens," a lecture
delivered before the Anglo-Hellenic League at Athens, March 27, 1925, p. 8: "The old system of local government by the
'elders' (8llpoyipovres), which had existed during the Turkish period, was still maintained. Their number had been raised
from 4, elected in 1831, to 13, to satisfy all parties, and they were popularly known as •v•paaOIw ('the risen
pov••a
exchange') in allusion to the 13 Turkish paras which the Greek 10 leptd piece fetched at Athens; but it was subsequently
reduced to 8."
6 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
ca. 1828, ca. 1839, and 1916. During the course of the 19th century there is a gradualfalling-off
in the number of Turkish coins, and in the 20th only a handful (aside from the large hoard of
278 specimens, no. 328, possibly the property of a refugee from the First World War or the
Smyrna disaster). The number of pierced coins of the late 18th and of the 19th centuriessuggests
that many of these coins were not actually in circulation but were more commonly worn as
ornaments. In fact one still sees today in jewelers' shops throughout Greecenecklaces made up
entirely of late Turkish silver aqchesor paras.
The absence of gold among the excavation coins is remarkable;only three Turkishgold coins
were found, one of Murid III (101A)and two of MalhmfidII (271 and 272), and it will be recalled
that only one gold coin (Venetian) appears in Miss Thompson's catalogue.13
These would be the most likely locations for a mint in Attica or Boeotia in early Turkish times.
None of these names figuresin Evliya Chelebi'slist of 16 Ottoman mints in Roumeli established
in the time of Siileymin I,14nor do they appearin published Ottoman administrative documents
of the period of Mehmed II and Bdyazid II. But it is, I think, quite obvious that many of the
anepigraphiccoins as well as those which I have classed as imitations of issues of Constantinople
and other mints (e.g., some of nos. 39, 65, 66, 74 and 134, and probably many hundreds of
nos. 136-137) were locally struck; and I am prepared to believe that the mint was in Athens.
It is unfortunate, as remarked above, p. 3, that we have no record of early Turkish coins
excavated or collected elsewhere in Greece, except at Corinth.15The Turkish coins from the
Corinthexcavations have not been published, but I have looked through the scores of thousands
of coins of all periods unearthed there (primarily in search of Arab and Seljfiq coins) and
found very few Turkish coins, a few hundred at most; and of these only a handful are of the
crude 15th-16th century type which has been the chief problem and challenge at the Agora.
This one bit of negative evidence may perhaps be taken as support for the Athenian origin of
the coins under considerationhere. As for the coins of the uncertain mint which I have called
"Tripolis (?)," the relatively large number of them in the excavations suggests the possibility
of there having been some fairly close association between Athens and their place of issuance.
But if these coins travelled from Tripolitza to Athens, why were there none at Corinth? The
question is discussed in more detail below, p. 14.
In the following identifications of the mints represented at the Agora, the arrangement is
alphabetical according to the Turkish spellings. The inclusive dates are those of accession and
death or deposition of the respective rulers.
EUROPE
1. 4.1l or 94,. Edirne = Adrianople. In Turkish Thrace. Approximately 26 specimens.'6
Date range: 816-1049/1413-1640. Adrianople was the earliest Ottoman mint in Europe, the
name first appearingon the coins duringthe period of divided rule following Bdyazid I (805-825/
1402-1422). It may perhaps have been one of the mints at which coins without mint name
were struck even earlier under I For an imperial ordinance of
Murtd (761-792/1360-1389).
about 1477 regulating the striking of copper coins at the "mint of Roumelia" (probablyEdirne),
see Beldiceanu, p. 78, no. 11.
2. 4. IslImbfil = Constantinople. Approximately 200 specimens. Date range: 1115-
Jj•.
1222/1704-1807. This ceremonial name for Constantinople is of course derived from the ver-
nacular name for the capital, Istanbul (probably from the Greek i-s "riv
6"•6v),17providing
14 Evliya Chelebi, Siyahetnamesi, I, Istanbul, 1314 H., pp. 566-567. These are supposedly in chronological order of their
establishment and in his spellings: f, ,, , and a,L
•~r , owa,
,~Y.A of
. , aA~'.No specimens oj..,:o.•., q-'2? v•, •. o.,Chelebiadds
,..y,
- .J many of these have been preserved, so far as I know. Evliya that
<.'j.,
.44•,there.,were 60 mints in the empire, but he names only those of which he had seen coins. Evliya was born in 1611
altogether
and died soon after 1678. For administrative documents of ca. 1454-1482 relating to some of these mints, see Beldiceanu.
15 Surely Turkish coins have been found at many excavation sites in Greece, but so far as I know none has been published
and probably very few have been examined or attributed. Professor Carl W. Blegen has shown me the two or three found at
Pylos. There are very few in the National Numismatic Museum in Athens. There are many in the museums of Herakleion,
Khanya and Rethymno in Crete, but these of course are all of later periods. M. Georges Daux informs me that no Turkish
coins have been found in French excavations on Thasos and few if any at Argos; nor, according to Mr. John Boardman,
have any turned up in British excavations on Chios. Three 18th-19th century Turkish coins from the Olynthos excava-
tions are illustrated in the reports (Excavations at Olynthus, IX, pl. XXXIII, 12 and 28, pp. 248 and 259, and XIV, pl. 173,
16, p. 427), and mention also is made in XIV, p. 427, of 56 "illegible Turkish bronze coins."
16 Totals in some instances are approximate because attributions to given mints are sometimes
problematical or are based
on analogies; also the mint name is effaced on many coins which can often with reasonable certainty be assigned to a given
mint.
17 R. M. Dawkins
("The Place-names of Later Greece," Transactions of the Philological Society, London, 1933, p. 32)
believes that this traditional etymology is, despite criticisms, probably the correct one.
THE MINTS 9
by its spelling and pronunciation a fanciful Moslem etymology for the name, i.e., "Islam-
abundant."
3. y0 1. Uskiib = Skoplje, Macedonia. One specimen, 926/1520. Uskiib first appears as an
Ottoman mint under Mehmed II in 880 1475. The silver utilized at this mint probably was
mined at Noviberda (see below).'s
4. 31}. Belgrdd = Belgrade, Serbia. Four specimens. Date range: 926-1049/1520-1640.
Belgrad, which fell to the Turks in 1521, first appears as an Ottoman mint during the reign of
Siileymdn the Magnificent,i.e., at the time of the earliest specimen found in the excavations
(no.46).
5. itW. Chdnichd = Cajnibe, Cajnice, Chainiche, Chayniche, in southern Bosnia, 38 miles
southeast of Sarajevo. Three specimens. Date range: 9822-1026/1574-1617. The town was
one of the first in Bosnia to be taken by the Turks; coins were first issued there in the rule of
Siileymdn the Magnificent.'9Ismd'il Ghalib identified the mint correctly;20 Khalil Edhem,
spelling the name 4, mistakenly placed it in the vilayet of Trebizond (Giimiish-
or 4~i
.•L.
Khane).21 In some catalogues the name is wrongly transcribed4A'U,"Khinje."22
6. Sidre Qapisi (or Qapsi, Qapusu), Greek Xt81np6Kauaa,later Sider6kapsi,
•..
Sidherokapsa, southeast of Salonika, not far from Nizvoro in the mountainous area of the
Chalcidice known as Mademochoria. Four specimens. Dates: 926 and 933/1520-1527. The
earliest known issue of the mint is dated 926. The important silver and gold mines in this area
were exploited in Byzantine times, if not in antiquity. We know from an imperialOttoman
document dating from the early part of the reign of Meit.medII that the Christianminers here
operated under regulations similar to those obtaining at Qaratova (see below).23The English
traveller John Covel mentions Sider6kapsiin connection with his visit to Mt. Athos in 1677.24
Silver was still being extracted at Sidherokapsawhen Leake visited the region in 1806.25 For
further details, with full documentation, see Robert Anhegger's Beitrage.26
Ismd'il Ghdliband Lane-Poole transcribed the name "Sidrekaysi, Sidreh-Keysee,"but Khalil
Edhem rendered it more correctly "Sidre Qapisi." It is not certain whether the 15th century
Turkishform of the name was "Sidre Qapsi" or "Sidre Qapisi"(one cannot tell from the Turkish
orthography), but at all events it is evident that the Turkish name was derived from the By-
zantine •T~68p6Kauao,27and that ultimately the secondhalf of the name, Qapwls,was a folk-etymolo-
gizing adjustment to make the toponym mean Demir Qapsss, "Iron Gate."28Evliya Chelebi,
who visited the place in the second half of the 17th century, spelled the name . or
and speculated in his usual ingenious fashion on its etymology. ,.
g.,29
Very curious is a muling of an aqcheof this mint with one of Qaratova (no. 50). The implication
would be that on occasion dies were interchanged between these two mints, or perhapseven
that the dies of one of these mints were engraved at the other. In any case the muling is inter-
18Zambaur, Prdgungen, p. 146.
19 Ibid., p. 147.
20
Ghalib,p. U.
21
Edhem, pp. 259, 387. Cf. also Halil Inalclk, s.v. Dar al-darb, Encyclopaedia of Isldm2, where the mint (Djandja) is,
I think mistakenly, identified with "a small town to the north of Erzindjsn."
22
E.g., BM, pp. 58, 94 and 130.
23 Beldiceanu, p. 138, no. 48, where
interesting details of these operations are given.
24 See F. W. Hasluck, Annual of the British School at Athens, XVII, 1910-11, p. 113.
25 W. M. Leake, Travelsin NorthernGreece,III, London, 1835, pp. 159-161; Ghalib, p. L;; Edhem, p. 287.
26 Pp. 180ff.
27 The second element -Kavaa, pronounced -kafsa, could easily become -kapsa in Turkish.
2
Cf. Speros Vryonis Jr., "The Question of the Byzantine Mines," Speculum, XXXVII, 1962, pp. 13-14, where the
Byzantine name is documented and other important references are cited.
29 Evliya Chelebi, Siyahetnamesi, VIII, Istanbul, 1928, pp. 100-102.
10 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
esting confirmationof the close administrative relationship between Sidre Qapisi and Qaratova
hinted at in the Ottoman archival document cited above.
7. or Serbernije = Srebrenica, Srebrenitsa, in easternmost Bosnia, near the
•j. -'.,..
Drina, 45 miles east-northeast of Sarajevo.Five specimens.Date: 926/1520. The earliest known
issue of the mint is of this year. The mines in this region supplied Pannonia and Dalmatia with
silver in Roman times. The name first appears in history in 1376 and a document of 1417
mentions it as a mint. After a temporary occupation between 1430 and 1443 the town was
definitively captured by the Turks in 1462. The mines themselves were taken in 1454. Some
gold also was mined here, but as the name indicates it was known chiefly for its silver.30
8. 3, or )j,. Serez, Sirfiz = Serrai, Siruz, Seres, Serres, in Macedonia, 40 miles east-
northeast of Salonika. Approximately 10 specimens. Dates: 918?, 928?/1512?, 1521-2? Serez,
taken by the Turks in 1383, was the second Ottoman mint town in Europe, the earliest known
issue dating from 816/1413-14. Valuable details on minting processes and mint administration
at Serez are given in 15th century documents published by Beldiceanu;31and silver mines near
Serez are mentioned in 15th century literature.32
In all probability there are many more coins from this mint at the Agora than I have been
able to identify positively. The name, particularly in its short form ,, is subject to deformed
and cryptic writing on both the silver and the copper coins, and frequently may be disguised
as an apparently meaningless wavy line.
9. . .. ? TRBL... = Tripolitza, modem Tripolis, in the Peloponnesus? Approximately
120 specimens. Dates: 952, 95x, 9(7 ?)8, 97x, 981, 982, 98(5 ?), 986?, 98x/ca. 1543-ca. 1579.
Three other dates, 959, 960 and 974, are furnished by coins and a lead seal of the same mint
published by Khalil Edhem (see below).
Brief mention has been made above (pp. 4, 8) of the embarra~ssing problem of the identifi-
cation of this mint. The specimens from the excavations are catalogued under nos. 75, 92-95,
97-99, 115-119, and 121-125. On no single specimen is the legend completely preserved, and
on most specimens only a letter or two are visible. Many of the coins have been attributed to
the mint on the basis of the similarity of the obverse designs to those of the obverses of others
on which a few letters of the reverse legend are preserved; it is possible that some of these may
actually be the products of another mint, and the total may therefore be exaggerated. So far
as I can make it out, the legend has in general this appearance: This I would take
.
to be >. es, or perhaps .... ..y), if the name is not completely preserved,
• that is, "copper
coin of TRBLS,"or of "TRBLS..".33
A few specimens of this obscure mint have been published: 'Ali (see p. 20) 95 (misread
Edhem 1061-1062 (dated 959 and mint name read sLu ,•J.),
with the comment that it might
Edhem 1062-1063 (dates effaced, slightly variant obverse design), Edhem 1065 (datebe,4y.),
effaced,
variant obverse design), Edhem 1066 (dated 960, mint name read 3b[L]), Edhem 1347 (dated
986 and mint name read b Edhem 1348 (dated 986 by analogy with one in a private
[l,]),
collection in Turkey, and mint name read and Khalil Edhem, QirshuiinMiihr Qataloghu,
>.,[,]),
Constantinople, 1321, p. 64 (drawing of the reverse of one of the specimens in the Istanbul
Museum,no date visible, legend read .MA c.j). Also a lead seal dated 974 (Edhem, Qfirshin, no.
30Beldiceanu, no. 7, p. 73, no. 8, p. 74; Anhegger, pp. 134-136; Zambaur, Prdgungen,p. 147; Ghalib, p. L; Edhem, p. 288.
31 Beldiceanu, nos. 1, 13-16, 59, pp. 65, 79-85, 154-156. Cf. F. Babinger, Encyclopaedia of
Islanm, s.v. Serres.
82 Anhegger, p. 178.
One specimen, no. 115, Plate IV, 15, while resembling this legend in general outline, appears not to read
...,1, but
33
something like If others on which virtually nothing but the letter L, and traces of j are preserved are also to be
read so, the argument,
_.i. already tenuous, for attributing all these coins to TRBLwould be severely shaken.
THE MINTS 11
60, with legend also read .~IA .6) is obviously a product of the same locality. Drawings of the
reverse of this lead seal and of the reverse of the coin mentioned immediately above are
illustrated in Plate III, 69 and 70.
The four preserved letters of the mint name (if it is a mint name) immediately bring to
mind some form of the Tardblusor Tar&bulus,that is, Tripoli. Two mints by this
name are known: Tripoli name,.lfl,
of Syria (Tarablus al-Shdm) and Tripoli of North Africa (Tardblus
al-Gharb,i.e., Tripoli of the West). Neither of these can, in my opinion, be the mint represented
by these coins. The Syrian Tripoli was in Ottoman hands early in the 16th century, but there
is no recordof there having been an Ottomanmint there at any time (althoughthere was of course
a mint in this place under earlier rulers). It might be argued, despite the lack of corroborative
testimony, that these coins are in themselves evidence of a Turkish mint at that locality, but
against such an assumption are two almost conclusive numismatic and historical arguments:
the fabric is altogether unlike that of contemporary coins of Syrian mints, and secondly, it is
wholly improbable that copper coins would migrate in any quantity from Syria to Athens.
The same counter-argumentswould apply with equal force in the case of the North African
Tripoli, and here there is furthermore a chronologicalobjection: the North African town was
not taken by the Turks until 1551 and some of our coins are dated as early as 1545. It is true
that Tripoliin North Africais a recognizedOttomanmint fromthe time of Siileyman the Magnifi-
cent down into the 19th century, but again the fabric is totally differentfrom that of the coins
in question.
The fabric and the designs of these coins are so similar to those of the bulk of the 16th century
coppers found in the excavations, and the quantity of specimens from this mint is so consider-
able, that there is every reason to seek an attribution somewhere on Greek soil not too far
from Athens. None of the localities in Attica or Boeotia which one might a priori consider a
likely place for a 16th century Turkishmint (see pp. 7-8, above) has a name in any way resembling
the letters on the coins under discussion. The only possibility that has occurredto me is Tripo-
litza (now Tpfrro;ts)in the Peloponnesus. Despite rather formidableobjections I propose, with
hesitation and reserve, to attribute these coins to that town.34
The principal questions to be resolved are these: did there in 1545 exist in the Peloponnesus
a town with the Turkish name of Tripolitza, or the like; secondly, is it likely that a Turkish
mint should have operated in this town down to approximately 1579; and, a further consider-
ation, is it probable or improbablethat copper coins from this mint circulated in Athens ? The
first question can, I think, be answered affirmatively. To the other two the weight of evidence
suggests a negative answer, but in each case there is just enough doubt to justify a closer
examination of the problems involved.
The names Tripolis and Tripolitzaas applied to the present capital of the eparchy of Manti-
neia and of the nome of Arkadia35have nothing to do with "three cities," whether a synoikismos
of the inhabitants of Kacnia, Afhrotvaand N4)vaKptS (Pausanias, VIII, 27, 4),36 or of Tegea,
Mantineia and Pallantium,37or of mediaeval Moukhli,38Nestanes and Thana. The modern
name Tripolis derives from Tripolitza, and the latter from a purely Slavic name Drobolitsa
(and variant spellings), meaning apparently "plain of oaks" (cf. Russian drova, "wood," and
pole, "field, ground"). The association with the idea of "three cities" is the result of popular
etymology. Tripolitza officially became Tripolis because the -itsa or -itza ending was known
to be Slavic; the Slavic origin of the first part of the name had been forgotten. Within recent
memory Tripolisis said to have been calledDrobolts& by Arkadianpeasants;39 perhaps it still is.
As for Drobolitsa (Drobolitza,Dorboglitza,Drobogliza,Droboliza, Droboliz, NTpoi.rrohrTL&, etc.,
etc., and such as
popularizations 'Y~po1rowrrL& and "YSCopMohrl[&, etc.),40 it seems that this town
during the later Middle Ages replaced Tavia as the principal town of Arkadia, the latter's
in
predecessor early mediaeval times having been Nikli, which in turn had replaced the ancient
Tegea as the capital of the area.41None of these cities was built on the actual site of its pre-
decessor, but there can be little doubt that the neighbouring dead cities (especially Tegea)
were quarried at various times by the inhabitants of Tripolitza.4 Contrary to the belief held
some years ago that Tripolitza did not exist before the 18th or 17th century,43 it is now evident
that the town was founded well before the 17th century and perhaps as early as the period of
R. Loenertz, "Pour l'histoire du P6loponese au XIVe sidcle (18382-1404)," ltudes Byzantines, I, 1943, Bucharest, 1944
pp. 152-196.
W. Miller, Essays on the Latin Orient, Cambridge, 1921.
G. Papandreou, art. TpiCroXiS in Eleutheroudaki's *EyKUKAOhWorra1K6v AEgK6v,Vol. 12, Athens, 1931, pp. 281-282.
Pauly-Wissowa, art. Tripolis.
Pouqueville's Reise durch Morea und Albanien, ... in den Jahren 1798, 1799, 1800 und 1801, transl. K. E. M. Miiller,
Leipzig, 1805.
L. Ross, Wanderungenin Griechenlandim Gefolgedes Kdnigs Ottound der K6nigin Amalie, Halle, 1851.
M. B. Sakellarios, 'H sho.or6vviaoo,Athens, 1939.
Sh. SAmi, Qdmifsal-A'l&m,VI, Constantinople, 1898.
C. Sathas, Documentsrelatifs l'histoirede la Grlce au Moyen Age, Paris, 1880-1890.
J. W. Zinkeisen, Geschichtedes osmanischenReiches in Europa, II, III, Gotha, 1854-1855.
May I express here my warm thanks to Franz Babinger, Roderic H. Davison, Halil Sahillioglu, Kenneth M. Setton,
George C. Soulis, George Stamires and Peter Topping whom I have consulted in connection with the "Tripolitza problem"
and who have offered useful suggestions. I should add, however, that the conclusions arrived at in the following pages are
mine, not theirs; there was among most of these and other scholars a consensus that Tripolitza was an improbable location
for an Ottoman mint in the 16th century.
3 The best concise summary of the history of Tripolitza is in Alexopoulos, loc. cit.
86 Cf.
Pauly-Wissowa, loc. cit.
11
See, for example, Bursian, II, p. 221; Ross, I, p. 224; and cf. Leake, II, pp. 335-6.
S8Curtius (I, p. 234) supposes Moukhli to have been the capital of Arkadia in mediaeval times; on the location of Moukhli
see Leake, loc. cit., and on its history and archaeology, Darko.
39Dawkins, pp. 19-20.
40 See especially Bees, 'H
Tpfirot (where many variant spellings of the name are given); Dawkins, loc. cit., and Grit-
sopoulos.
41Bon, p. 59; Lambros, p. 815.
42
See, for example, Krause, p. 344; Bursian, II, p. 221; Ross, I, p. 225; and Pouqueville, I, p. 53, where interesting details
of the use of classical remains in the Turkish mosques are given.
AsCf. Fallmerayer, II, p. 436; Ross, I, p. 224.
THE MINTS 183
the Palaeologan Despotate of the Morea.44To judge by 15th-16th century maps there appears
at least to have existed a castle by the name of Drobolitza,etc. (distinct from that of Moukhli
and the town of Nikli), and its location, although often only vaguely indicated in the center of
Arkadia,45was in all probability on the site of Tripolitza.46In fact, an important fortress by the
name of Drobolitzais listed in a 16th century catalogue of Venetian castles in the Morea, with
the notation that is was already in ruins in 1467.47 The fact that official Greek chroniclersand
men of letters used classical names such as Mantinea and do not mention towns with to them
barbaric names such as Drobolitzahas been explained either as the result of their ignorance of
the actual contemporary state of the Peloponnesus or as evidence of what might be called a
sense of delicacy in refusing to admit that foreign invaders had brought about changes in the
classical toponymy of Greece.48
It would seem, then, that Drobolitza,later Trapolitza,Tripolitza,had existed well before the
middle of the 16th century, and in all probability existed when the Ottomans first entered the
peninsula toward the end of the 14th century.49As for the Turkish version of the name I am
unfortunately unable to cite a 16th century Turkish authority, although doubtless such could
be found if one had access to the relevant archives. In the 17th century, however, we have a
goodwitness in the famousTurkishtravellerEvliya Chelebi(see p. 8, note 14, above),50who visited
Tripolitza between 1668 and 1670.51 He calls it or , Tarapulichsa or
•.. ? ..o
Tarabulidjsa,and as usual he displays his etymological virtuosity by explaining that in Greek
the name means "bird-cage" or "hen-coop": Greek pulya, "birds," pulichsa, the diminutive.
He does not explain tara. I do not know whether the rather difficult combination of consonants
lichsa or lidisa is Evliya Chelebi's own invention or whether the name was actually spelled
thus in his day. In any case, it eventually becomes , Tarabpolicha,52Tarabolusa,53
Tarapolizza,54Tarapolitza,55TapapVroi-rTa,and many other A•• Greek transcribed variants. It
is certainly not unreasonable that any of these forms should have become assimilated to the
familiar name (Arabic-Turkish)Tardblusor Tarabulus.
One or two details in Evliya Chelebi's account are interesting and of value in the present
discussion. In the first place, he calls the place "the ancient city" of Tarabulichsa.The year of
its conquest by Qdsim Pasha from the Venetians is left blank, but he says that the castle on
the west side of the town was originally captured by Muhammadthe Conqueror,56that it was
then reoccupied by the unbelievers, and thereafter was reconqueredin the time of Siileyman
the Magnificent. The castle itself was unoccupied in Evliya's day, but the city was then the
seat of the vayvodalikof the pasha of Mora.57Most interesting is the fact that Evliya gives the
texts of two inscriptions that he saw at Tripolitza (he was a good epigraphist): one dated 1067
(1656/7) on the ablution tank of the Great Mosque; the other dated 1034 or 1035 (1624-1626)
on a tekkeor dervish convent. The fact that the town was sufficiently prominent to have had a
tekkewith an apparently well carved inscription in the first quarter of the 17th century and a
"Great Mosque"just after the middle of that century, along with Evliya's characterization of
the town as "ancient," is not without significance in support of the argument that Tripolitza
might possibly have had enough importance in the mid-16th century to have been the location
of an Ottoman mint. But however well established or important it may have been, it would
seem doubtful that it was the Turkish "capital" of the Moreain the 16th century, although it
became so later. The first Turkish administrative center was perhaps Leontarion,58and later
it appears to have been transferred at times to Mistra, Modon (Methone),59and Nauplia.60
I have found no clear indication that Tripolitza was the seat of the pasha of the sandjak of the
Morea before the 17th century.6i This does not, however, exclude the possibility that a mint
issuing copper coins could have been located there in the 16th century.
Shortly after Evliya Chelebi'svisit, in 1684-1687, the Venetians recovered all of the Morea
(except Mistra and Monemvasia)and held the peninsula until the Turkish reconquest of 1715,
whereupon the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718 officially recognized the Ottoman reoccupation.62
From 1786 until 1821 Tripolitza was again in Turkish hands and was the seat of a pasha of
"three tails" (beylerbey),governor of the vilayet of Mora.63
Finally, there remains the disturbing question of the presence in considerable numbers of
copper mdngtrs of TRBL(= Tarabulichsa,etc.?) in Athens. Certainly one has good reason to
argue that it would be unlikely that these humble coins should have circulated so far from
their place of mintage. On the other hand there is no evidence of the existence of a copper mint
closerthan Serez (see pp. 7 and 10, above), unless indeed, as I have suggested (pp. 7-8), there was
in Athens itself a local mint whereimitations of the coppersof Constantinople,Brusa, Adrianople,
Serez, etc., were issued. Tripolitzais in fact not as distant as these cities; and if it were granted
that these coins might have been struck at Tripolitza and that the Athenians, lacking an official
mint of their own, made use of any small change that came their way, then there is no reason
why such coins should not have migrated from Arkadia to Attica. I have observed (p. 8)
that their absence from the excavations at Corinthis a further argument against the proposed
identification of this mint; but here again a counter-argumentcould be proposed.Trade between
the central Peloponnesus and Attica may in this period have moved more commonly by sea
from Nauplia to Piraeus than over the difficult land route via Corinth. We are so poorly in-
formed on commerceand administrationin this part of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century
that any further discussion of this aspect of the question would be purely speculative.
To sum up, I would conclude that Drobolitza= Tarabulichsawas in existence before 952/1545,
that the preserved letters TRBLmight represent a Turkish spelling (in part, at least) of this
name, that there might just possibly have been an Ottoman mint there in 1543-1579, and that
it is not impossible that copper coins from Tripolitza circulated in Athens during this period.
10. Qaratova = Kratovo, about 38 miles east of Skoplje in (Yugoslav) Macedonia.
,j,).
Nine specimens. Date range: 886-982/1481-1574. The town was captured by the Turks as
early as 792/1390. The earliest known issue of the mint dates from the rule of B~yazid II
(886/1481), but an imperial ordinance dated 1475 regulating the operations of the mine and
stipulating punishments for counterfeitersimplies that the mint already existed at that date.64
Lead and silver mines located here were exploited from Roman times down into the first half
of the 19th century.65For a muling of a Qaratova aqchewith one of Sidre Qapisi, see above,
pp. 9-10. Closerelationsappearto have existed also between the mining operations of Novdberda
(see below) and Qaratova.66
11.
c4.l;. Qustantiniya = Constantinople. Approximately 1700 specimens and certainly
many more on which the mint name is effaced. Date range: 903-1339/1497-1921. Also from the
capital mint are the coins bearing the name Isldmbfil. The earliest known Ottoman issues of
Constantinople date from 886/1481, sixteen years before the earliest coin found in the exca-
vations. In the catalogue the name is always given in its familiar English spelling rather than
in the cumbersome Turkish transliteration.
12. ~A9. Qfichaniye = Qiichbna, Majdan Kucajna, in eastern Serbia, near Kubevo,
26 miles east-southeast of Pozarevac (Passarowitz), southeast of Belgrade. One specimen,
attribution uncertain. Date: 98229/1574?Silver and lead mines were located here.67 The earliest
known issue is dated 926/1520.
13. Novdberda = Novobrdo (German Nyeuberghe, Italian Novomonte), in southern
,.•.14 miles east-southeast of Pri'tina. Three
Serbia, specimens. Date range: 926-1012/1520-1603.
The earliest known issue of the mint bearing this version of the Turkishname is dated 926/1520,
but for earlier issues see below. Novobrdo was the richest city in the old kingdom of Serbia,
famous for its gold and silver mines and an important trade center. It was taken by the Turks
for the first time in 845/1441, was then recovered by the Serbs and was finally definitively
captured by Muhammedthe Conquerorin 859/1455.68A number of imperial ordinances of the
third quarter of the 15th century and later are preserved, regulating the operation of the
mines and the mint and providing for the demonetization of earlier aqchesand the issue of new
ones.69There is little doubt that the Turkish Novdberda and Novdr, or Nevar (see below) are
two renderings of the same name.
14. jj. Novdr (or Never) = in all probability Novdberda (Novobrdo), see no. 13, above.
Approximately 13 specimens. Date range 886-974/1481-1566. The name in this form, evidently
a Turkish simplification of Novobrdo, occurs first on a coin of II.70 Beginning with
the the two names Murtd
Stileymnn Magnificent appear simultaneously on different issues.7
15. Yenishehir = Larisa, in Thessaly. One specimen. Date: 1003/1595. I know of no
specimen •.C.of this mint earlier than this date. Apparently Larisa was called Yenishehir by the
Turks from the time of their conquest of the area and was still known to them by this name
early in the present century.72I think it unlikely that the Yenishehir represented on this coin
is the town of that name east of Brusa. The Turks distinguished between the two by calling
Larisa "Yenishehir-i Fanar," that is, "New City of Fandr," after Fandri, the site of ancient
'ledbv between Karditsa and Trikkala.73
AsIA
16. Amdsya = ancient Amaseia, in northern Anatolia, 50 miles southwest of Samsun.
Threec•W.
specimens. Date range: 926-1003/1520-1595. The earliest known Ottoman coin of
Amisya dates from the time of Mehmed Chelebi, 806-816/1403-1413.
17. i.1.Amid = Amida, Diyarbekir (Diyarbaklr),on the Tigris in Kurdistan. One specimen.
Date: 982/1574. The earliest issue of the Ottoman mint at Amid is dated 918/1512.
18. 4 ,I. Engfiriye = Ankara, Angora, ancient Ancyra, now the capital of the Turkish
Republic. One specimen. Date: 886/1481. The earliest Ottoman coin of Ankara is dated 825/
1421-22.
19. 4j.. Bursa = Brusa, Brussa, etc., ancient Prusa, in Bithynia, earliest capital of the
Ottomans. Six or more specimens (cf. no. 65). Date range: 923-9282/1517-1522? The earliest
Ottoman coin of Brusa, in fact probably the earliest coin struck by the Ottomans, is dated
727/1326-27." The name of the mint is variously spelled in early Ottoman times, L,, L,. <J.,
20. ~. Halab = Aleppo, Syria. Two specimens. Date: 926/1520. The earliest Ottoman
issue of Halab dates from the immediately preceding year, 925.
21. jz.. Dimishq (Dimashq) = Damascus, Syria. One specimen. Date: 982/1574. The
earliest Ottoman issue of Damascus is dated 923/1517.
22. Ai. Toqit = Tokat, in Anatolia, 45 miles northwest of Sivas on the Yesil Irmak. One
specimen. Date: 1012/1603. The earliest known issue of Toqat appearsto date from the previous
reign, 1003/1595.
AFRICA
23.,. Tiinis = Tunis,in Tunisia.Six specimens. Daterange:10192-1334/16102-1916.
The earliest Ottoman coins of Tunis date from the reign of Murid III
(982-1003/1574-1595).
24. f , At . = in
Tarablfis, Tarablus (-i Gharb) Tripoli Tripolitania. Eight specimens.
Date range: 1027 ?-1223/1617 -1839. The earliest Ottoman issue of Tripoli dates from the
time of Stileyman the Magnificent (926-974/1520-1566).75
25. 4. Misr, Masr = Cairo,Egypt. Approximately 830 specimens and
certainly many more
on which the mint name is effaced. Date range: 982-1327/1574-1918. Ottoman coins were
first struck in Egypt in 926/1520. The majority of the coins of Misr found in the excavations
are the paper-thin aqchesof the late 18th and early 19th centuries. One of the three gold coins
unearthed in the Agora is of the Egyptian mint (no. 101 A).
73
SAmi, loc. cit.; Leake, op. cit., IV, pp. 270, 509-511.
4*I. Hakki Uzungarilih, "Gazi Orhan Begin Huikiimdaroldugu Tarih ve ilk sikkesi," Belleten IX, 1945,
reference to this article in the Encyclopaedia of Islam2, s.v. Bursa, should be corrected pp. 207-211. The
GGhalib, no. 290. Cf. p. 11, above. (Belleten IX, not X).
DISTRIBUTION OF THE COINS IN THE EXCAVATIONS
An analysis of the distribution and archaeologicalcontexts of the Islamic coins found in the
Agora reveals relatively little of value to the excavator. The provenance of two of the three
9th or 10th century Arab coins is discussed on p. 21. As for the Turkish coins, they were
scattered widely throughout the excavations and were absent only in the lowest undisturbed
areas. With few exceptions there was little homogeneity in the groups of coins found at a
given place and level; more frequently than not the range of dates in any sizable lot of coins
from one find-spot ranged from the Hellenistic period to the 19th century. However, a few
generalizations can be made:
1. The copper coinage of the 15th-16th centuries was found in almost every section, but heavy
concentrations, to the virtual exclusion of later Ottoman coins, occurredin the following areas:
a) Sections AA, BB and HH. Professor Thompson and Mr. John Travlos, Architect of the
Agora, are of the opinion that the majority of these coins probably are to be associated with
the Panathenaic Way and the east-west road that was blocked in the 17th century by the
construction of the Churchof Christ.
b) Sections P and 1. These also probably are to be associated with a road, an important one
which followed the general line of the Panathenaic Way but which kept somewhat closer to
the Stoa of Attalos.
c) Sections r, NN and 00. These areas fall outside the western limits of habitation in the
15th-16th centuries. They lie, however, to either side of an important road which led into the
settlement at a point a little to the northwest of the Areopagus. Mr. Travlos suggests that a
Turkish market may have met in this area.
d) Sections Z, IT,FT and ci. No particular significance appears to attach to these concen-
trations.
2. It is unfortunate that the coins provide virtually no evidence for the dating of the Turkish
pottery found in the excavations. In the ten deposits studied by Miss Alison Frantz76there
were only three Turkish coins: an illegible copper of the late 15th or 16th century (inventory
no. 657.3, catalogue no. 136) in Group 3;77 a para of 'Abd til-Hamid I (1774-1789) struck in
Egypt (inventory no. 1770.17, catalogue no. 255) in Group 6; and a disintegrated, probably
Turkish copper (not catalogued) in Group 9.
The provenances of the several hoards78are given in the catalogue, and the exact find-spot
of every coin in the excavations can be determined by the use of the concordances described
on p. 19, below.
76
Alison Frantz, "Turkish Pottery from the Agora," Hesperia, XI, 1942, pp. 1-28.
" This coin ("identified as before the
eighteenth century") was mentioned in Miss Frantz's article, p. 8.
78 Catalogue nos. 167, 178, 258, 286, 287, 828 and 884.
2
ARRANGEMENT OF THE CATALOGUE
The catalogue is basically numismatic and is arranged chronologically, a separate number
being given to each issue, or, where mint, exact date or other particularizationis absent, to
coins with common characteristicsand attributable to approximate dates. Within each reign or
period the entries are arranged in the following order: a) metal (gold and silver first, then
copper); b) date, or approximate date ;79 c) mint, where present, the mint names being in the
order of the Arabic alphabet.
Brief identification is followed, wherever possible, by a reference to a similar published type
(abbreviations below, p. 20); where "cf." precedes the reference only approximate similarity
to the published issue is implied. Descriptions have been kept to the barest minimum, in the
case of the earlier coins because of the virtual impossibility of describing the design or pseudo-
legend, and in that of the 17th-20th century coins because the types are conventional and are
described in full in published catalogues. The early copper coinage is plentifully illustrated in
the plates with two main objectives in view: to assist the excavator of other sites in which
Turkish coins of this period may occur, and in the hope that numismatists more experienced
than I in this field may be able to deciphersome of the "inscriptions"or otherwiseto contribute
toward the more specific attribution of these obscure coins. It is understood that many coins
with incomplete or effaced dates or mints are included under a given catalogue number by
analogy with more perfectly preserved specimens. Following the identification and reference
is the indication of the number of specimens and the diameter or average diameter, and the
plate reference.
Some thought was given to the desirability of giving after each catalogue entry the actual
envelope number of each specimen so that the reader could track each coin back to its exact
provenance. The idea was abandoned for several reasons: the printing of these thousands of
numbers would have added greatly to the expense of publication and also would have been
meaningless without the inclusion of several bulky concordancesthat would enable the reader
to associate the envelope number with the relevant page in the field note-books. Furthermore,
given the relative unimportance of the material with respect to the history of the Agora, it
was evident that the number of archaeologists who might want to know the identification of a
particular coin, or where a certain type of coin was found, or the number of numismatists who
might want to determine either, would be extremely limited. The cost and effort of printing all
this apparatus would indeed have been altogether disproportionateto its scientific value.
The record of the provenance of every coin has, nevertheless, been kept, and is available to
any who may wish to consult it, in several copies in the library of the American School of
Classical Studies at Athens, in the catalogue room of the Stoa of Attalos and at the Institute
for Advanced Study in Princeton. A few words about the mechanics of these records are
79
Dates are given according to the Hijrah calendar followed by an oblique stroke and the equivalent Christian date.
Dates on Turkish coins are sometimes specific, but more frequently they are simply the accession date of the sultan, followed
or supplemented after 1171/1757, by the regnal year. Where no regnal year is present, or where it has been effaced, the
Christian date given is the equivalent of the accession year. From the time of Mahmild I (1143/1730) on, where no letter or
regnal year is given after the accession date, it is understood that the letter or date is effaced. From 1171/1757 on, the
presentation of annual issues is consolidated for simplification under single catalogue numbers. The letter X means that a
digit or other figure is missing.
ARRANGEMENTOF THE CATALOGUE 19
necessary. When I began the study of the coins at the Agora they were in their original field
envelopes, the non-Turkish coins having been removed as catalogued and placed in separate
envelopes. Each field envelope (of course with accompanying data with regard to date and
place of finding) contained anywhere from one to a score or more coins. Within each envelope
the coins were numbered consecutively, these numbers corresponding to entries in the field
note-books for that section, level and date. These field envelopes (more than 2700 containing
Turkishcoins)80were then numberedconsecutively ("inventorynumbers").Upon the completion
of the catalogue the following concordances (numbering incidentally 150 typewritten pages)
were compiled:
1. A list of individual coins by their inventory numbers together with their sub-numbersand
of their correspondingcatalogue numbers.
2. A list of inventory numbers and of their correspondingfield note-book pages.
3. A list of catalogue numbers and the inventory numbers of the coins grouped under each
catalogue number.
4. A list of find locations and of relevant inventory numbers.
These concordancestogether with the printed catalogue itself make it possible to:
1. Determine the identity of any single coin accordingto its inventory number. For example,
in ConcordanceNo. 1, inventory no. 30.2 shows this coin to have the catalogue number 65.
2. Determine what coins were found at a given location. For example, to learn what coins
were found at the spot recorded in Section AA, field note-book I, p. 95, consult Concordance
No. 4, find inventory no. 30 and by reference to ConcordanceNo. 1, determine that inventory
no. 30.2 is catalogued under no. 65 (Edirne or Bursa, or local imitation, ca. 928 ?/ca. 1521-22 ?,
etc.).
3. Determine the find-spot of any coin in the catalogue. For example, to determine the find-
spot of one of the coins included in catalogue no. 65, consult ConcordanceNo. 3 and find inven-
tory no. 30.2. Then consult ConcordanceNo. 2 and find for this inventory number Section AA,
note-book I, p. 95.
In consulting these concordances it will be found that many inventory sub-numbers are
lacking. For example, inventory no. 1083 has only the sub-numbers1083.8, 1083.9 and 1083.11.
The missing sub-numbersrepresent Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Frankish, Venetian or modern
coins originally in the same envelope.
80 Fourteen scattered consecutive numbers are omitted from the concordances because it was found, after
they had been
numbered, that these envelopes contained no Turkish coins.
CATALOGUE
The followingabbreviationsare used in referringto publishedtypes:
'Ali = a seriesof articlesentitled )k J . -- )4C?
oL.. ..1 ("Anonymousand datelesscoins -
Coinswith simple ornaments")publishedin Ta'rfkh-i'Osmdni .jEndfiimeniMedjmu'ast,Vol. V, 1330,Vol. VI,
1331 and Vol. VII, 1332, Istanbul.
BM = Stanley Lane-Poole,Catalogueof OrientalCoins in the BritishMuseum,Vols. VIII and X, London,
1883and1890.
Edhem = Khalil Edhem, Meskiikdt-i'Osmdnfye(Part VI of Miize-yi Humayiin: Meskiikat-iQadime-yi
IsldmfyeQatdloght),Constantinople,1334.
Ghalib = Ismi'il Ghdlib, Taqvfm-iMeskii'kit-i'Osm'dnye,Constantinople,1307.
Othertitles are citedin full.
1 K. A. Kcaomoprl, cH BcaaiTAotl-ricS BVucrnviSXvppf-rov,Kpl'tnK& XpOVlK&, XIII, 1959, pp. 31-32. The published illus-
trations of this and another Arab coin found at this site (pl. 12) are barely legible, but I had the privilege of examining the coins
myself on December 1, 1958, and at that time I furnished Mr. Kalokyri with the readings reproduced in this article.
CATALOGUE 21
Only one other specimen of this type has, so far as I know, come to light: a coin in the
Historical Museum in Herakleion (KprTItK& XpovtK&, X, 1956, no. 21). The relationship between
the two names is uncertain: is this Shu'ayb a son of Ahmad, or is Ahmad a son of Shu'ayb, or
is there no filial relationship? Very tentatively I am supposing that the coin was issued by a
certain Shu'ayb b. Ahmad and that he was a brother of 'Ali b. Ahlmad(no. 2, above).
The coin was found in 1939 in Turkish fill in the same general area of the excavations as
no. 2, that is, on the southeast slope of the Kolonos Agoraios (grid reference B 17). As in the
case of no. 2, associated coins have no relevance; they range from Hellenistic to Turkish times.
This specimen was mentioned in my article, "The Arab Mosque in Athens," Hesperia, XXV,
1956, p. 344, note 71.
In the present state of our knowledge these coins struck in Crete during the Arab occupation
of the island cannot be dated exactly but it is safe to say that they were issued from the
second half of the 9th century into the second quarter of the 10th.2This period, and the century
and a half preceding it, is perhaps the dimmest in the whole history of the Agora. Aside from
the lack of archaeological evidence of structural or ceramic nature, the paucity of Byzantine
coins of these years found in the excavations is striking testimony to the decline and poverty
of the city.3 Few if any conclusions can be drawn from the presence of three Arab coins in the
vast area of the excavations, but one can hint at least at the possibility of commerce of some sort
between Arab-occupiedCrete and the mainland of Greece. I have seen two other examples of
this coinage in antique shops in Athens and have recorded eight specimens found in the exca-
vations at Corinth.We know also that some years later, probably in the second half of the 10th
century or early in the llth, there appears to have existed an Arab mosque in Athens,4 sug-
gesting the presence of an Arab colony in the city if not a temporary military occupation.
For a detailed account of the excavations in the area in which two of the three Arab coins
were found, see Rodney S. Young, "An Industrial District of Ancient Athens," Hesperia, XX,
1951, pp. 134ff., especially pp. 286-287 where the period in question is dealt with.
2
I hope eventually to be able to date the various Arab issues of Crete more accurately after making a thorough revision of
the genealogy of the Amirs based on the evidence of all the known coins and on written Arabic and Byzantine testimony.
This study, a preliminary, only partially documented, version of which was given at the Cretological Congress mentioned
above, is under preparation.
s Cf. The Athenian Agora, II, pp. 4, 85-86, and MargaretThompson, "Some Unpublished Bronze Money of the Early
Eighth
- Cf. Century," Hesperia, IX, 1940, pp. 358-380.
the article referred to above, Hesperia, XXV, 1956, pp. 329-344.
22 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
ILKHANID (2)
4. Illegible coins with characteristics suggestive of the coinage of the Ilkhdnids (Mongols
of Persia), probably 8th/14th c.
2 specimens (one IR)
OTTOMAN SULTANS
MEHMED I, 816-824/1413-1421
Silver
8A. Edirne. 816. Edhem 112. Ghalib 28.
1 specimen PLATE I, 26a
See p. 3, above. This coin predates the definitive occupation of Athens by approxi-
mately 45 years.
Copper
18. Constantinople. 903/1497-8. Edhem 454.
2 specimens PLATE I, 32-33
One of these (Plate I, 33) is struck with parts of the obverse and reverse dies on both sides.
19. Constantinople.91(2 ?)/1506-7 ?
1 specimen PLATE I, 34
The coin is largely effaced, but the reverse appears to have a three-line legend (separatedby
horizontal bars) with Qustantinlya on the second line, and 91(2 ?) on the third.
20. Constantinople. No date. Cf. Edhem 474.
1 specimen PLATE I, 35
The obverse is effaced, but the reverse is similar to Edhem 474, which has an anepigraphic
stellar figure obverse.
21. Probably Bdyazid II. Mint and date if any illegible.
2 specimens PLATE I, 36
Large heavy characters, with suggestion of ?
4.
22. Probably Bayazid II. No mint, no date. Anepigraphic.
152 specimens (8 to 16 mm., mostly 11 to 12 mm.) PLATE I, 37-42
This anonymous, dateless type with stellar figure on both sides occurs in several varieties.
The assignment of these coins to B~yazid II is hypothetical but reasonable.'Ali (no. 87) describes
a coin with a somewhat similar obverse but an epigraphicalreverse, and assigns it to Siileyman I,
but (p. 101) he points out that the stellar figure already occurs under B~yazid. In Edhem's
catalogue there are a number of types with somewhat similar simple designs assigned to
B~yazid. I am inclined to believe that these anepigraphictypes are not likely to be later than
B~yazid II.
Not all these coins are identical in design. Plate I, 40-41, for example, are variants of the
common type. Plate I, 42 is of thin fabric and is perhaps related to Class 8.
23. Probably B~yazid II. Stellar figure on one side, effaced or illegible inscription on the
other.
10 specimens (9 to 13 mm.) PLATE I, 43
24 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
SELIM I, 918-926/1512-1520
Silver
24. Edirne (2). Date effaced. Cf. Edhem 643.
1 specimen
25. Qaratova. 918 ?. Cf. Edhem 676.
1 specimen
26. Mint and date effaced.
1 specimen
27. Selim I (?). Illegible. Syrian mint(?).
1 specimen
Copper
28. Constantinople. 918. Edhem 631.
163 specimens (11 to 15 mm.) PLATE I, 44-55
PLATE II, 1-7
Many of these, including a number whose inscriptions appear to be retrograde, are in all
probability local imitations. Plate II, 4 and 5 are examples of retrogradedies, and Plate II, 6 and
7 are typical of the crude fabric of many of these coins. Both sides of Plate II, 2 are overstruck
or restruck.
29. Constantinople (?). 918 ?.
2 specimens(10 to 13 mm.) PLATE II, 8
These are mulings of two obverses similar to the obverse of no. 28.
30. Possible imitations of no. 28, and related coins.
102 specimens(9 to 16 mm.) PLATE II, 9-20
These coins are even cruder than those imitations which I have classed with no. 28, above.
While the imitations grouped with the Constantinople-918type are almost certainly copies of
that type, those which I have included here are a further step removed, so to speak, from the
prototype and in some cases perhaps have no specific prototype. Their legends are not only
illiterate but only in a general way do they imitate authentic legends of about this period.
Accurate dating is of course out of the question, but I have placed them here under Selim I
because many bear characteristics resembling those of no. 28.
Included in this group are some (for example, Plate II, 16-20) whose fabric resembles that
of the class which I have assigned to the 15th century (no. 8).
31. Edirne. 91x. Cf. Edhem 645 (Edirne, 923).
1 specimen
Edhem 645 has an obverse not unlike this, but the reverse is different.
32. Mint effaced. 918 ?.
1 specimen PLATE II, 21
33. Constantinople. 922/1516. Edhem 641.
10 specimens (13 to 17 mm.) PLATE II, 22-24
The obverse segments read y.• ?r*, the reverse • -.- J. One specimen (Plate II, 24)
appears to be a variant.
34. Bursa. 923/1517. Probably similar to Edhem 659.
1 specimen PLATE II, 25
CATALOGUE 25
Only one of these is certainly of the cited type; the other two probably are.
37. Probably Selim I. Constantinople and no mint name. No date. Cf. 'Ali 80.
40 specimens (11 to 17 mm.) PLATE II, 27-34
Coins of this type were assigned to Selim I by 'Ali, and I accept this attribution as reason-
able. Some specimens have ' and LL4 (frequently very debased) at the top and bottom
respectively of the reverse; .
sometimes ~1-i appears to be at the top; others have scrolls in
place of these words but are in other respects similar.
38. Imitations and probable imitations of no. 37.
12 specimens (9 to 14 mm.) PLATE II, 35-36
The fabric of the specimenillustratedin Plate II, 36 resembles that of the class grouped under
no. 8.
39. Probably Selim I. Constantinople,possibly Serez, and no mint name. No date.
14 specimens (11 to 15 mm.) PLATE II, 37-44
I have assigned this group to Selim I on the basis of a general resemblance to the type of
no. 37. Some specimens evidently bear the name of Constantinople (Plate II, 37-38); others
might be interpreted as reading "Serez" (Plate II, 39-41); others have "illiterate" legends or
bear probable imitations of these names (Plate II, 42-44). The obverse has a small central star
within a hexagonal figure whose points terminate in a sort of trefoil; the several varieties of
reverse have the formula .o .yp and the mint name (or imitation thereof), sometimes
separated by horizontal lines.
40. Possibly Selim I. No mint or date.
1 specimen PLATE II, 45
This specimen is perhaps an imitation of type 39. One side has a star within a hexagon, the
other a disorganized pattern of crisscrosses and dots. The fabric, thin and folded, resembles
that of type 8.
41. Selim I (?). Serez (?). No date.
1 specimen PLATE II, 46
The obverse, partly retrograde,suggests the usual legend of Selim I. The coin is obviously
an imitation.
SUiLEYMAN I, 926-974/1520-1566
Silver
42. Edirne. (926). Edhem 765.
1 specimen
43. Edirne (?). (926). Cf. Edhem 765 ?
1 specimen
44. Uskiib. 926. Edhem 781.
1 specimen PLATE II, 47
45. Amisya. 926. Edhem 787.
2 specimens
26 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
Copper
62. Qaratova. 926. Cf. Edhem 982.
1 specimen PLATE III,
3
This specimen resembles Edhem 982, which however is silver. Coppers of Qaratova appear
to be hitherto unknown.
63. Uncertain mint. 926.
1 specimen PLATE III, 4
The mint name appears to begin with a sad. The date is clear. Except for a rosette the reverse
is almost entirely obliterated.
64. Edirne. (928 ?)/1521-2 2. Cf. Edhem 768.
7 specimens(10-17 mm.) PLATE III, 5-7
The specimen published by Edhem is dated 928. There are several variants of this and the
following related types: the stars and pellets on the obverse are not always present, and the
position of the large , on the reverse varies.
66. Edirne or Bursa, or local imitations. Ca. 928 ?/ca. 1521-2 ?. Cf. Edhem 768 and 835.
17 specimens(10-17 mm.) PLATE III, 8-13
The obverses (figure side) of these coins resemble the immediately preceding type (no. 64),
but the reverses are illegible, even when not badly worn or damaged. Edhem 835 is a coin of
Bursa dated 928 resembling the Edirne issue. Most of these specimens are probably local
imitations of the Edirne or Bursa types.
66. Serez (?). Ca. 928 ?/ ca. 1521-2 ?. Cf. Edhem 768 and 835.
6 specimens(14-16 mm.) PLATE III, 14-15
These resemble nos. 64-65, but the reverse bears a group of letters which might possibly be
read as but this attribution is offered without much confidence. Perhaps the
).w ("Serez"),
group belongs with the local imitations of class 65.
67. Uncertain mint. Ca. 928 ?/ca. 1521-2 ?.
2 specimens PLATE III, 16
Similar to nos. 64-66, but the mint name (if not a meaningless imitation) is illegible.
68. No mint. Ca. 928 ?/ca. 1521-2 ?
1 specimen PLATE III, 17
Obviously an imitation of types 64-67, with a completely unintelligible and disorganized
reverse.
69. No mint. Ca. 928 ?/ca. 1521-2 ?.
1 specimen PLATE III, 18
The knotted figure, similar to the obverse of nos. 64-68, appears on both sides. No legend.
70. Mint effaced or no mint. Ca. 928 ?/ca. 1521-2 ?.
32 specimens (10-17 mm.)
One side of these specimens carries the knotted figure of nos. 64-69; the other side is obscure
or effaced.
71. Mint ? 92x ?.
1 specimen (13 mm.)
28 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
Copper
90. Constantinople. 974.
1 specimen PLATE III, 43
The obverse is obscure but appears to have a knot and sprig design. It is not similar to
Edhem 1077-1084.
91. Constantinople. 977/1569-70. Cf. Edhem 1077.
4 specimens(12-16 mm.) PLATE III, 44-45
These are probably similarto the coin describedby Edhem, who points out that the arabesque
is like one on a coin of Selim I (Edhem 634).
92. Tripolitza (?). [9](7 ?)8/1570-1 ?
1 specimen PLATE III, 46
See pp. 10-14.
93. Tripolitza (?). 97x/ca. 1562-1572.
1 specimen PLATE III, 47
The obverse is perhaps related to the type of the year 982 (see no. 98, below). See pp. 10-14.
94. Tripolitza (?). 97x/ca. 1562-1572.
2 specimens PLATE III, 48-49
The obverse type is indeterminate. See pp. 10-14.
95. Tripolitza (?) 97x/ca. 1562-1572.
1 specimen PLATE III, 50
The obverse is effaced. See pp. 10-14.
96. Constantinople. (980 /1572-3 ?). Probably similar to Edhem 1080 (dated 980).
1 specimen PLATE III, 51
Copper
115. Tripolitza (?). 98(5 ?)/157(7-8 ?).
1 specimen PLATE IV, 15
The obverse type is an obscure geometrical figure. The inscription on the reverse in general
resembles that of the other coins which I have assigned to Tripolitza (nos. 75, 92-95, 97-99,
116-119, 121-125), but the letters appear to be something like this: . It may perhaps
be a differentmint. This is the specimen referredto in the preliminarydiscussion (p. 10, note 33)
which shakes any conviction I might have in the attribution of these coins to Tripolitza.
116. Tripolitza (2). Perhaps 986/1578-9.
23 specimens (10-16 mm.) PLATE IV, 16-30
These coins are probably similar to Edhem 1348, dated 986 by comparison with a better
preserved specimen in a private collection. Edhem read and entered the specimen under
the heading of "Tarablfis."The obverse figure, perhaps not
.[,I]always identical, is not unlike that
of no. 75, above, of the year 952.
117. Tripolitza (?). Date lacking, probably ca. 986/ca. 1578-9.
9 specimens (11-15 mm.) PLATE IV, 31-36
The obverse of these in general resembles that of no. 116.
118. Tripolitza (?). [9]8x, probably 986/1578-9.
4 specimens (9-12 mm.) PLATE IV, 87-40
Similar to Edhem 1347, dated 986. Edhem transcribed:
[C].L
32 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
125. [Siileymin I, Selim II or Murad III]. [Tripolitza?]. Possibly ca. 952-98x/ca. 1545-1581.
3 specimens (10-13 mm.) PLATE IV, 55-57
Possibly imitations of type 124. Two specimens (Plate IV, 55 and 57) are curious examples
with a series of verticals on the reverse, which might be interpreted as vestiges of the mint
legend.
126. [Saileymdn I, Selim II or Murad III]. Ca. 926-1003/ca. 1520-1595. Novdberda. Date
effaced.
1 specimen PLATE IV, 58
The coin appearsto be copper,and if so it is, to my knowledge, the first known specimen in this
metal.
127. Constantinople. 988/1580-1. Edhem 1180-1182.
2 specimens (12-15 mm.) PLATE IV, 59
128. Constantinople. Date effaced, ca. 98x/ca. 1574-1581. Cf. Edhem 1175ff.
1 specimen PLATE IV, 60
Somewhat similar types in Edhem's catalogue are dated in the 980's.
129. [Probably Selim II or
Murtd III]. Halab. Ca. 974-1003/1566-1595.
1 specimen (AR,16 mm.)
CATALOGUE 88
Silver
135. Unidentifiable probably 10th/16th c. silver aqches.
28 specimens (Ai, ca. 10-14 mm.)
Many specimens included under no. 136 might have been placed in this category, but it was
not until rather late in my preliminary classification of the coins that I realized that thinness
might constitute a criterion of some sort for classification. Toward the end I began to note
this characteristic on the cards, but it was then too late and impractical to begin again and
reexamine the many hundreds of "illegible ribbons" and reclassify them consistently according
to their thickness or thinness. Aside from other considerations,the expenditure of this time and
effort seemed scarcely justifiable in view of the fact that I was unable to establish any different
chronological or other significant attribution for these two characteristics. Whether the thin
fabric has any significance, either chronologicalor geographical,must remain an open question.
3
34 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
In any case it seemed to me perhaps worthwhile to preserve in the published catalogue this
differentiationin fabric at least wherever I had made a note of it. In this connection attention
is drawn to the discussion of class 8 in the introduction. A few characteristic specimens of the
thin, usually sharply rectangular, frequently folded fabric are illustrated in the plate.
Copper
144. Mint effaced. [1003?].
2 specimens (13-16 mm.)
COSMiNII, 1027-1031/1618-1622
Silver
155. Tarblus. [1027 ?].
2 specimens (18 mm.)
Not in Ghalib or the BM.
156. Misr. [1027 ?].
1 specimen PLATE V, 33
Not in Ghalib or the BM. zok in the center.
157. Misr (2). [1027 ?].
1 specimen PLATE V, 34
Not in Ghalib or the BM; it differs from Ghalib 491 of Misr. ~ in the center.
158. Mint effaced. 1027 and [1027]. .
4 specimens (10-12 mm.)
IBRAHIM, 1049-1058/1640-1648
Silver
169. Constantinople. 1049. Ghalib 516-519.
2 specimens (13.5-15 mm.) PLATE V, 48
StULEYMiANII, 1099-1102/1687-1691
Silver
172. Constantinople. [10]9x ?.
1 specimen PLATE V, 49
The attribution is uncertain. I find nothing similar in Ghalib or the BM.
Copper
173. Constantinople. 1099/1688. Ghalib 566.
485 specimens (19-20 mm.) PLATE V, 505
5 The well-preserved specimen illustrated is not from the Agora excavations but in the collection of the American Numis-
matic Society.
CATALOGUE 87
One group of 103 specimens of this issue was found together below the foundations of a
modern house in the northwest corner of the Agora (grid reference K 9); and another lot of 27
pieces, stuck together by oxidization, was found in a mass of plaster in the middle of the Agora
(grid reference K-M 9-11). The remainder were scattered throughout the excavations. Many
specimens are pierced.
Brief mention of this plentiful issue has been made in the introduction (p. 5). The accession
of Siileymin II occurred at a time when the OttomanEmpire was in dire economic straits and
various efforts were made to remedy the critical fiscal situation. Among these expedients was
the decision to issue a copper token coinage to take the place of silver, and in ShawwMl1099
(August 1688) a firman authorized the striking of this coin. A special mint was set up for this
purpose in the quarter of Constantinopleknown as TaushdnTashi, apparently on the site of the
abandoned pre-conquest Byzantine mint. New machinery was installed under the direction of
an ingenious Italian renegade by the name of Mustafa Agha (also known as Hezdrfenn), whose
idea it had been to issue this token coinage, and an Englishman by the name of Morgan; and
at this mint (as well as later at a mint in Sarajevo) these new-style emergency mdnghtrswere
forthwith issued in immense quantities, 800 of the coins being minted from one oke (2.8 pounds)
of copper. At first the new coin was officially valued at one-half of the aqche,but a few months
later (Safar 1100/December 1688) continuing inflation caused the mdnghtrto be equated with
the silver at 1:1. Evidently the situation was even further exacerbated by the importation of
counterfeit mdngh'rs of this type from Europe. Eventually the unfortunate Hezdrfenn was
blamed for the fiscal crisis and had to pay for the experiment with his life."
Some observations with regard to the possible relevance of the quantity of this issue found
in the Agora will be found in the introduction, p. 5.
MAHMLtDI, 1143-1168/1730-1754
Silver
200. Tardblus (North Africa). [1143 ?].
1 specimen (13 mm.)
201. Constantinople. 1143/ . Guriish.Cf. Ghalib 675-678.
1 specimen (39 mm.) PLATE V, 57
202. Constantinople. 1143. Gurftsh.Cf. Ghalib 675-678.
1 specimen (40 mm.)
203. Constantinople. [1143 ?]. Onliiq.Cf. Ghalib 685-688?
1 specimen (24 mm.)
204. Constantinople.81143/1,. Para. Ghalib 693.
4 specimens
These paras and those catalogued under nos. 205-212, below, range between 14 and 17 mm.
in diameter. Where no letter follows the date, the letter is effaced on the coin.
205. Constantinople. 1143/t. Para. Ghalib 691.
4 specimens
206. Constantinople. 1143/6. Para. Ghalib 692.
8 specimens
207. Constantinople. 1143/,,. Para. Ghalib 697.
1 specimen
208. Constantinople. 1143/j? Para. Cf. Ghalib 691-698.
1 specimen
209. Constantinople. 1143/j. Para. Ghalib 694.
6 specimens
210. Constantinople. 1143 o. Para. Ghalib 695.
2 specimens
211. Constantinople. 1143/.. Para. Cf. Ghalib 691-698.
2 specimens
212. Constantinople. 1143 and [1143]. Para. Cf. Ghalib 691-698.
40 specimens
213. Constantinople. 1143/,.. Aqche.Cf. Ghalib 699-701.
1 specimen
This aqcheand those catalogued under nos. 214-218, below, range between 11 and 12 mm.
in diameter.
214. Constantinople. Aqche. Cf. Ghalib 699-701.
1 specimen 1143/,,.
'OSMiNIII, 1168-1171/1754-1757
Silver9
225. Constantinople. 1168/[. Para. Ghalib 741.
2 specimens (15-16 mm.)
226. Constantinople. 1168/L (?). Para. Cf. Ghalib 741-742.
1 specimen
227. Constantinople. 1168. Para. Cf. Ghalib 741-742.
1 specimen
228. Constantinople. 1168/:. Aqche. Ghalib 743.
1 specimen PLATE V, 58
229. Misr. 1168/: (2). Para. Cf. Ghalib 747.
1 specimen
This and the following paras of Misr are paper-thin and range between 15 and 16 mm. in
diameter.
230. Misr. 1168/,. Para. Cf. Ghalib 747.
1 specimen
MUSTAFAIII, 1171-1187/1757-1774
Silver1o
234. Isldmbfil. 1171 with regnal year/1757-1765. Para. Cf. Ghalib 786-788.
22 specimens (14-16 mm.)
REGNALYEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
1 1
2 2
3 4
4? 1
5 2
7 4
8 7 (one an imitation ?)
9 (Ghalib 786) 1
235. Islimbil. 1171 with abbreviated Hijrah year/1766-1773. Para. Cf. Ghalib 786-788.
28 specimens (14-16 mm.)
YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
80 1
81 3 (one a counterfeit?)
82 5
83 (Ghalib 787) 5
84 4
86 (Ghalib 788) 4
87 6
236. Islmbill. 1171, year effaced. Para. Cf. Ghalib 786-788.
16 specimens (14-16 mm.)
237. Islimbil. 1171:84. Aqche. Cf. Ghalib 789.
2 specimens (11.5-13 mm.)
238. Islimbiil. 1171: 86. Aqche. Cf. Ghalib 789.
1 specimen (12 mm.)
239. Constantinople. 1171 with various years and letters. Para. Cf. Ghalib 798.
7 specimens (14-16 mm.)
YEAR OR LETTER NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
1
U, 1
J,
6 1
7 1
10 These coins are paper-thin. Many are pierced.
42 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
J,"1
Ia 2 PLATE V, 59
.f 1
241. Misr. 1171 with regnal year/1757-1764. Para. Cf. Ghalib 809-812.
8 specimens (14-16 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
1 (Ghalib 811) 4
2 2
4 1
8 1
242. Misr. 1171 with abbreviated Hijrah year/1767-1773. Para. Cf. Ghalib 809-812.
10 specimens (14-16 mm.)
YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
81 1
82 1
83 2
86 3
87 2
200 ? 1
243. Misr. 1171, year effaced. Para. Cf. Ghalib 809-812.
12 specimens (14-16 mm.)
244. Mint effaced. [1171]. Para? Uniface.
4 specimens (15-16 mm.)
245. Mint effaced. [1171 ?]. Aqche? Uniface. Cf. Ghalib 790?
1 specimen (14 mm.)
Other coins of Mugtafa III, found in hoards, are catalogued under nos. 258 and 286, below.
247. Constantinople. 1187 with regnal year/1774-1789. Para. Cf. Ghalib 858-861.
50 specimens (15 mm.)"
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
1 1
2 (Ghalib 858) 2
3 8
4 9
5 (Ghalib 859) 1
6 5
7 2
8 2
9 3
10 1
11 4
12 3
14 7
15 1
16 (Ghalib 861) 1
248. Constantinople. 1187, year effaced. Para. Cf. Ghalib 858-861.
12 specimens (15 mm.)
249. Constantinople. 1187:5 ?/1778 ? Aqche.Cf. Ghalib 862-865.
1 specimen (11 mm.)
250. Constantinople. 1187:7/1780. Aqche.Cf. Ghalib 862-865.
1 specimen (12 mm.)
251. Misr. 1187 with regnal year/1774-1781. Para. Cf. Ghalib 875-877.
23 specimens (14-16 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
1 (Ghalib 876) 1
2 (Ghalib 877) 6
3 5
5 1
7 1
8 9
252. Misr. 1187 with figure 200. Para. Cf. Ghalib 875-877.
4 specimens (14-16 mm.)
253. Misr. 1187 with figure 201. Para. Cf. Ghalib 875-877.
1 specimen (15 mm.)
254. Misr. 1187 with letter >. Para. Cf. Ghalib 875-877.
2 specimens (14-16 mm.)
255. Misr.1187, without regnal year or letter, or such effaced or illegible. Para. Cf. Ghalib875.
82 specimens (14-16 mm.)
Other paras and aqchesof 'Abd ill-Hamid I, found in hoards, are catalogued under nos. 258,
286 and 287, below.
"1
These coins and the following paras and aqchesare paper-thin. Many are pierced.
44 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
256. Mint effaced. 1187, regnal year or letter effaced or illegible. Para.
5 specimens (14-16 mm.)
Copper
257. Tar4blus (North Africa). Date, if any, effaced. Cf. BM VIII, 737 (dated 1188).
8 specimens (20-22 mm.)
258. Hoard of silver coins of Mahmfid I, 'OsmSn III, Mustafa III and 'Abd iil-Hamid I,
1148-1203/1780-1789.
178 specimens (15-40 mm.)12
MINT DATE DIAMETER DENOMINATION REFERENCE NUMBER OF
SPECIMENS
260. Unidentifiable Syrian silver, ca. 11th-end of 12th c./ca. 17th-end of 18th c.
1 specimen (15.5 mm.)
261. Unidentifiable Syrian silver, ca. 11th-end of 12th c./ca. 17th-end of 18th c.
2 specimens (18 mm.)
262. Unidentifiable probably Syrian copper, ca. 11th-end of 12th c./ca. 17th-end of 18th c.
2 specimens (17-21 mm.) PLATE V, 60
263. Unidentifiable probably North African silver, ca. 11th-end of 12th c./ ca. 17th-end of
18th c.
1 specimen (9 mm.)
264. Unidentifiable small silver coins, ca. 11th-end of 12th c./ca. 17th-end of 18th c.
36 specimens (9-16 mm.)
14 These
paras are paper-thin and most are pierced. Some are uniface. A good many are undoubtedly jewelers' imitations.
CATALOGUE 47
Copper
269. Tardblus (North Africa). Date?
1 specimen PLATE V, 61
Ca. 1171-1222/CA.1757-1807
Silver
270. Islambfil. Date and ruler effaced.
3 specimens (14-16 mm.)
The approximate dating of these paper-thin paras is based upon their fabric and the use of
the mint name Islhmbfil.
IV, 1222-1223/1807-1808
MUSTAFA
One coin of Mustafa IV was found in a hoard catalogued under no. 287, below.
Silver
273. Tarlblus (North Africa). 1223:24/1830-1. Ghurish. Cf. Ghalib 1091-1092.
1 specimen (37 mm.)
274. Constantinople. 1223:15/1821-2. Djedid ikilik. Ghalib 1004.
1 specimen (38 mm.)
275. Constantinople. 1223:22/1828-9. Djedid beshlik. Ghalib 1012.
1 specimen (38 mm.)
48 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
Other coins of Mahmiid II, found in hoards, are catalogued under nos. 286, 287 and 328
below.
286. Hoard of paper-thin silver coins of Mustafa III, 'Abd iil-Hamid I, Selim III and
MahmfidII, 1171-1223+/1757-ca. 1839.
11 specimens (13-15 mm.)
MINT DATE DIAMETER DENOMINATION REFERENCE NUMBER OF
SPECIMENS
Misr 1171/1 ? 14 Aqche Cf. Ghalib 811 1
,, 1187/x 15 Para Cf. Ghalib 875 3
,, 1203/x 15 Para Cf. Ghalib 920 2
,, 1223/x 14 Aqche Cf. Ghalib 2
1071-1073 ?
,, ca. 1171-1223+ 14 Aqche 1
Mint effaced ca. 1171-1223+ 13 Aqche 2
These coins were found on March 21, 1938, in late fill over a broken floor to the south of the
Eleusinion and east of the late Roman fortification (grid reference U 22).
287. Hoard of paper-thin silver coins of 'Abd ill-Hamid I, Selim III, Mustafa IV and
Mahmiid II, 1187-ca. 1244/1774-ca. 1828.
68 specimens (13-15 mm.)
MINT DATE DIAMETER DENOMINATION REFERENCE NUMBER OF
SPECIMENS
Misr 1187/x 15 Para Cf. Ghalib 875 1
,, 1203/x 15 Para Cf. Ghalib 920 2
,, 1222/x 14 Para Cf. Ghalib 946 1
Constantinople 1223/7 13 Para Cf. Ghalib 990-992 ? 1
,, 1223/17 18 Para Cf. Ghalib 1034 ? 1
,, 1223/18 18 Para Cf. Ghalib 1034 ? 1
,, 1223/x 15 Para 1
CATALOGUE 51
do
52 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
Copper
292. Constantinople. 1255 with regnal year/1846-1859. Ghuri~sh.Cf. Ghalib 1168.
11 specimens (37 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
9 1
19 7 PLATE VI, 1-2
20 1
21 1
x 1
One of the specimens of the regnal year 19 (Plate VI, 2) bears at least three counterstamps:
on the toghra side a) the Greekletters AU, and b) an involved Turkishinscriptionin a cartouche,
only partially preserved; and on the other face, the Greek script capital A. By comparing the
Turkish counterstamp with similar ones more perfectly preserved in the collection of the
American Numismatic Society I have been able to identify the legend as ta, i.e.,
"Municipality of Ploumari." Ah stands for Afipos VRoupapiov. Beneath *.
the Turkish
counterstamp are traces of another stamp, probably a script capital rr, which is to be read
together with the letter on the other side as MTouvpapt.
These, and a number of other curious countermarkson copper coins of 'Abd fil-Medjidand
'Abd iil-'Aziz, have not, so far as I know, been thoroughly studied, although doubtless there
are still living inhabitants of the areas in which these coins circulated who could explain fully
their meaning and purpose. The indefatigable F. W. Hasluck collected a number of specimens
(now in the British Museum) and in a posthumous article8sidentified and commented on some
of them. With regard to the countermarkedcoppers of Ploumari (Pilmar in Turkish), a town
on the south coast of Mytilene and under Turkish rule the capital of a qaza of the same name,
Hasluck states that the copper piasters of 'Abd fil-Medjidwere issued by the government to
the island at 20 paras and were then withdrawn and issued again at the same value by the
Municipality of Ploumari with the additional counterstamp AU. The cursive capital counter-
mark was said to be that of the church of Ploumari.19 Hasluck adds that "now" (his travels
rr,
in Greece and Turkey were in the years 1899-1916) these coins passed freely at 5 paras along
the Asiatic coast opposite Mytilene. This piece (and others of the same general type) appear
to represent two sorts of token coinage, municipal and church, the Turkish stamps and the
An having been placed on the coin by the municipality and the ir?perhaps by the clergy.
Dates sometimes accompany the Turkish legends: I have seen, for example, 1301 (1883-4) on
one of Mytilene, and 1306 (1888-9) on one of Ploumari. In general, the circulation of these and
17About 15 of these are uniface
(toghra only).
F. W. Hasluck, "The Levantine Coinage," Num. Chron.1921, pp. 72ff. The church community countermarked Turkish
18
coppers of the island of Thasos are described and illustrated by John FF. Baker-Penoyre, J. H. S., XXIX, 1909, pp. 248-250.
19 Hasluck
(op. cit., p. 74, note 87) actually wrote A(rlpapXETov)l
n(oulPapiov) (sic), but had he lived to see these notes
through the press he would no doubt have corrected this to read A(fipos) l(houovapfov).
CATALOGUE 58
other types of tokens in the Aegean area seems to have been occasioned by a shortage of small
change.
Another countermarkedpiaster (of 'Abd uil-'Aziz)is described under no. 304, below.
293. Constantinople. 1255 with regnal year/1839-1842. Yirmi parahlk.Cf. Ghalib 1150-1151.
22 specimens (20 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
1 (Ghalib 1150) 6
2 (Ghalib 1151) 4
3 5
4 4
x 3
294. Constantinople. 1255 with regnal year/1857-1859. Yirmi paralhk.Cf. Ghalib 1169.
4 specimens (31 mm.)
REGNAL
YEAR NUMBER
OFSPECIMENS
20 1
21 3
295. Constantinople. 1255 with regnal year/1839-1840. On paralhk.Cf. Ghalib 1152-1153.
3 specimens (17 mm.)
REGNAL
YEAR NUMBER
OFSPECIMENS
1 2
2 1
296. Constantinople. 1255 with regnal year/1853-1859. On paralhk.Cf. Ghalib 1170.
13 specimens (27 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
16 2
19 5
20 2
21 1
x 3
297. Constantinople. 1255 with regnal year/1850-1857. Besh
parahk. Cf. Ghalib 1171.
12 specimens (22 mm.)
REONALYEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
13 2
14 1
15 1
16 1
17 1
18 1
19 3
x 2
Copper
302. Tfinis. 1289/1872. Two kharriibah.Ghalib 1233.
1 specimen (31 mm.)
303. Constantinople. 1277:4/1863-4. Ghuriish.Cf. Ghalib 1210.
1 specimen (37 mm.)
304. Constantinople.1277:x. Ghuriish.Cf. Ghalib 1210.
1 specimen PLATE VI, 4
This specimen bears five counterstamps: on the toghra side a) the Greek letters ATT, b) and
c) two cartouches with complex Turkish legends, and a
d) single Greek letter (2); and on the
other face of the coin, e) a Greekscript capital A. Enough is preserved of one of the two Turkish
cartouches to identify it as •. L, "Municipalityof Ploumari"; the other may be , 4 4..-•,
"Municipalityof Mytilene" (a known counterstamp). The Ploumari MunicipalityTurkishstamp
as well as the ATTand 'rr?stamps are discussed above under no. 292.
305. Constantinople. 1277 with regnal year/1861-1864. On paralhk.Cf. Ghalib 1214.
13 specimens (31-32 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
1 1
4 11
x 1
306. Constantinople. 1277 with regnal year/1861-1864. On paralzk.Cf. Ghalib 1212.
12 specimens (28 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
1 (Ghalib 1212) 2
4 8
x 2
CATALOGUE 55
ILLEGIBLE TURKISHCOINSBEFORE1293/1876
CENTURY
18TH/19TH
313. 12 specimens
Copper
315. [Tinis]. Date effaced. Muhammadal-HAdi. 1320-1324/1902-1906.
1 specimen (27 mm.)
316. Constantinople. 1293 with regnal year/1878-1888(?). Besh parahk. Cf. Ghalib 1260.
16 specimens (22 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR 'NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
3 8
4 4
183 1
x 3
317. Constantinople. 1293 with regnal year/1900-1904. On paraltk.
13 specimens (18 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
26 4
27 8
30 1
318. Constantinople. 1293 with regnal year/1899-1901. Besh paralhk.
8 specimens (15 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
25 2
27 1
319. Misr. 1293 with regnal year/1886-1906. One-half of one-tenth ghuriish (2 para). Cf.
Ghalib 1285.
2 specimens (20 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
12 1
32 1
320. Medalet, date effaced 1908, commemoratingthe proclamation of the constitution.
1 specimen (27 mm.)
Crossedflags with the words "justice," "equality," 491, "fraternity."
d., it-,
Other coins of 'Abd til-Hamid II found in a hoard are catalogued under no. 328, below.
MEHIMEDV, 1327-1336/1909-1918
Nickel
321. Tfinis. 1334/1916-A. 5 centimes.
1 specimen (25 mm.)
322. Constantinople. 1327 with regnal year/1912-1916. 40 para.
8 specimens (24 mm.)
REGNAL YEAR NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
5 1
8 2
323. Constantinople. 1327 with regnal year/1910-1918. 20 para.
3 specimens (21 mm.)
CATALOGUE 57
328. Hoard of silver, copper and nickel coins of MahmlidII, 'Abd til-Medjid,'Abd iil-Hamid II
and MehmedV, 1223-1334/1808-1916.
278 specimens (16-27 mm.)
MINT DATE DIAMETER DENOMINATION REFERENCE NUMBER OF
SPECIMENS
Silver
Constantinople 1223/x 27 Ghuriish Cf. Ghalib 1019-1022 1
1223/4 21 10 para Cf. Ghalib 987 1
1223/24 21 20 para Ghalib 1024 1
1223/27 21 20 para Ghalib 1027 5
1223/28 21 20 para Ghalib 1028 1
1223/29 21 20 para Ghalib 1029 7
,, 1223/31 21 20 para Ghalib 1031 2
Copper
Constantinople 1255/2 20 20 para Ghalib 1151 3
,, 1255/4 20 20 para Cf. Ghalib 1150-1151 4
,, 1255/x 20 20 para ,, 3
1255/5 17.5 10 para Cf. Ghalib 1152-1158 1
,, 17.5 10 para 1
,, 1255/x ,,
,, [1223 or 1255] 21 20 para 9
,, 1293/25 18 10 para 4
,, 1293/26 18 10 para 12
,, 1293/27 18 10 para 16
58 THE ATHENIAN AGORA: THE ISLAMIC COINS
MEVHMEDVI, 1336-1341/1918-1922
Nickel
329. Constantinople. 1336:4/1920-1. 40 para.
1 specimen (24 mm.)
TOKENS
330. Brass. Istanbul-Galata bridge tokens, 20th century. 20 para.
8 specimens (19 mm.)
331. Imitations of gold coins of MalhimidII, roughly the type of Ghalib 973.
8 specimens (12-20 mm.)
CATALOGUE 59
332. Imitations of silver coins of MahlmiidII, Constantinople and Misr, 1223 H. Some are
uniface.
9 specimens (12-21 mm.)
333. Imitations of coins of Mahlmid II, North African types.
4 specimens (15-16 mm., one 86 mm.)
334. Imitation toghra on one face, central star and 5 surroundingcrescents, enclosed by a
border of stars, on the other.
819 specimens (15-22 mm.)
804 of these were found together in a modem cesspool on the northeast slope of the Areopagus
(grid reference 0 20). There was no trace of a container but almost all of this lot appearedin
the same shovelful of earth.
335. Anomalous types with unintelligible imitation Turkish characters.
7 specimens (13-20 mm.) PLATE VI, 5
Not included in the catalogue are 24 Turkish coins found at various spots during the course
of limited excavations and cleaning operations in the spring and summer of 1959 (in sections
EA and HA). These coins can be assigned to the following catalogue types:
CATALOGUENO. NUMBER OF SPECIMENS
8 1
114 1
136 8
137 1
152 1
173 2
175a (Ghalib 588) 1
182 1
202a (Ghalib 683) 1
243 2
264 1
266 1
283 1
336 2
INVENTORY NUMBERS OF COINS ILLUSTRATED
IN THE PLATES
PLATE INV. NO. PLATE INV. NO. PLATE INV. NO. PLATE INV. NO. PLATE INV. NO.
I 1 2717.1 I 47 86.47 II 88 1864.4 III 28 1342.28 IV 2 389.11
2 2719.8 48 740.4 89 2243.7 29 151.2 3 1182.3
8 1870.128 49 1579.8 40 584.3 30 781.13 4 2265.3
4 1450.1 50 1116.18 41 1042.6 381 2551.16 5 550.8
5 2362.2 51 1855.22 42 2476.4 32 2388.5 6 612.3
6 37.8 52 1903.11 43 2080.12 33 2435.5 7 2215.7
7 182.16 53 2379.30 44 753.26 34 2524.1 8 1724.8
8 812.89 54 138583.5 45 1559.14 35 363.25 9 2124.24
9 147.13 55 1937.6 46 2392.1 86 2082.7 10 1639.1
10 2067.14 II 1 1119.23 47 711.11a 37 212.6 11 1614.5
11 2066.15 2 23889.98 48 570.5 38 1158.11 12 1310.8
12 2172.5 3 2479.7 49 191.13 39 1608.2 13 1486.12
13 2245.11 4 561.2 50 1960.1 40 2452.24 14 259.9
14 791.2 5 1656.11 51 175.3388 41 1815.5 15 835.5
15 1677.20 6 1122.49 52 175.34 42 1574.3 16 205.18
16 2246.8 7 1423.19 53 1809.4 43 303.1 17 467.5
17 615.3 8 1824.2 54 2026.4 44 419.8 18 579.39
18 848.5 9 21.41 55 1202.13 45 1348.1 19 586.2
19 324.82 10 2535.8 56 272.16 46 2628.1 20 686.8
20 513.1 11 84.37 III 1 2518.2 47 2507.14 21 999.14
21 615.6 12 1304.4 2 428.2 48 868.11 22 1180.7
22 1657.3 18 2502.2 8 610.1 49 1788.4 23 1208.2
23 49.45 14 1551.5 4 2282.57 50 1792.2 24 1233.2
24 797.6 15 2245.8 5 1418.8 51 467.6 25 1236.8
25 1698.5 16 1501.11 6 2252.1 52 188.10 26 1290.6
26 2245.7 17 2000.14 7 1647.8 53 245.13 27 1321.5
27 2477.5 18 2356.2 8 52.29 54 47.41 28 1428.4
28 2018.17 19 2385.12 9 852.21 55 50.23 29 1862.14
29 60.24 20 162.11 10 1062.10 56 50.26 30 2716.7
30 1101.19 21 840.2 11 1859.5 57 229.10 31 84.18
31 1658.15 22 1158.12 12 1983.3 58 246.41 32 327.6
32 2487.7 23 2537.3 13 2615.5 59 445.7 33 422.1
33 583.27 24 1881.3 14 1494.7 60 516.3 34 983.27
34 765.49 25 623.12 15 2468.7 61 670.5 35 1527.17
35 2514.1 26 2703.8 16 1562.25 62 879.3 36 2328.23
36 554.16 27 846.20 17 2090.11 63 898.1 37 245.6
37 1559.15 28 2385.21 18 54.17 64 1472.391 38 257.2
38 1950.7 29 139.30 19 2521.2 65 1712.23 39 402.15
39 36.49 30 1952.3 20 792.41 66 2521.3 40 1483.87
40 1395.12 31 901.2 21 1062.8 67 2704.2 41 218.49
41 2331.28 32 2437.8 22 601.86 68 2583.2 42 614.4
42 2248.3 33 2087.15 23 1859.8 69 Istanbul 43 189.5
43 44.50 34 415.2 24 105.4 Museum 44 406.8
44 1230.5 35 2182.1 25 1672.6 70 Istanbul 45 410.137
45 1119.28 36 2245.9 26 2695.6 Museum 46 801.7
46 798.15 37 1091.2 27 2550.6 IV 1 334.6 47 935.2
INVENTORY NUMBERS OF COINS ILLUSTRATED IN THE PLATES 61
PLATE INV. NO. PLATE INV. NO. PLATE INV. NO. PLATE INV. NO. PLATE INV. NO.
IV 48 1344.1 IV 68 993.19 V 11 280.9 V 31 2164.3 V 51 1513.9
49 192.7 69 2485.15 12 553.15 32 1546.1 52 985.23
50 191.11 70 2535.9 13 799.22 33 1308.1 53 2042.7
51 402.19 71 588.9 14 854.55 34 232.103 54 1051.4
52 879.8 72 376.23 15 2387.14 35 223.39 55 1772.2
53 1026.3 73 502.4 16 2394.1 36 1137.16 56 1597.20
54 1591.7 74 2198.26 17 54.14 37 278.1 57 651.1
55 242.29 75 2372.5 18 776.18 38 278.2 58 2126.17
56 363.32 76 54.18 19 1358.1 39 278.3 59 2190.14
57 367.29 77 324.83 20 1659.3a 40 278.5 60 191.3
58 1659.3 V 1 622.3 21 1910.1 41 278.8 61 862.28
59 451.4 2 434.3 22 1131.6 42 278.10 62 1727.28
60 1268.4 3 1222.3 23 2064.1 43 278.11 63 J21
61 1058.11 4 1307.5 24 2578.5 44 278.14 64 J21
62 2339.92 5 2035.5 25 41.57 45 390.33 65 B428
63 2382.28 6 2203.4 26 1781.8 46 1379.3 66 B428
64 34.35 7 336.49 27 2132.5 47 2402.24 VI 1 2519.7
65 307.3 8 1968.2 28 2044.1 48 1309.8 2 1899.2
66 752.20 9 2229.17 29 314.37 49 495.6 3 1184.388
67 836.14 10 24.9 80 291.3 50 ANS 4 832.3
5 2555.33
INDEX OF MINTS
Adrianople,see Edirne MajdanKu6ajna,see Qfichiniye
Amaseia,see Amasya Masr,see Misr
Amdsya7, 16, 25, 30 Misr7, 16, 30-81, 84-36, 39-47, 49-51, 54-57, 59
Amid 7, 16, 30
Amida, see Amid Nevir, see Novir
Aleppo,see Halab Noviberda 7, 15, 26, 34
Ancyra, see Enguriye Novdr7, 15, 23, 26
Angora,see Engiiriye Novobrdo,see Novdberda
Ankara,see Engiiriye
Prusa, see Bursa
Belgrid 7, 9, 26, 35
Belgrade,see Belgraid Qaratova7, 9, 14-15, 23-24, 26-27, 29
Brusa, see Bursa Qfich~na,see Qiichiniye
Brussa, see Bursa Qfichiniye7, 15, 31
Bursa7, 14, 16, 24, 27 Qustantiniya,see Constantinople
910 1 1 2
** ** .. ..
14 15
0* 16 17 18
19 20 21
2 23
24 27 28 29
25
2626a
30 31 32 33
35 38 39 40
36 37
42 443 5
4
46 47
49 50
PLATE II
~ o
•8
!9 •10.
12 13 14 15 16
1718 19 20 21
26
27
28
28
29
31 32 33 34
37 38 39
41 42 43 44
4546 47484950
PLATE III
1 2 46
S19
7 0•211
11 17
1617
20 21 2
25 26 27
29 30 31 32 33
237
0
* ge*
* *
40 42 43 44
5860 62 48
PLATE IV
8
8
12
.1
S5 16 17 1819
20 21 22 23 2425
293303
28 31
612728
32 33 34 35 36 37
38s 41 42 44
45 46 47 48 49 50 51
53 56 58
O 7
54
61
65 6 68 69 70
PLATEV
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
..eOg... 101112 13 14 16
24 25 26
18 19 20 21 2223
278 29 30 132
33 34 35 36
3738
39 40 43 44
41 42
45 46 47 48 49
51 52 53 5
50
54
511
PLATEVI
•
"•
.." ,./
- ,•~~
. .. •, -
2
..•.
" " • • t ? I
?
?
.~n
?.
0~C
, •,•
.,.. .
,.
. a.
-a2L '.o
..-A-,•-..v
.r' :. .?,.,.448-. ., •.-.
?C4. %c Z
- .. , , ....:t.......i%,.
?6 d
#-ttl
......... • . __ - -
,•
xw?-s'' "!~
. -r,. ...
*
. .
??.:••-•.-_•_,•o
C.....UL?'.AtZ?!.-
___ . :'
1-
' 44 ,
,
,4r' ., .,. ,•i
i9i
T-
•' .
.
. .. ,* . -. - .. -J -
. . ?,
, .. ..
po t? 11121 -*--
'IV4