Anonymous Folles Found in Parion Excavations Abstract
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SELEVCIA IX, 2019, 335-358 Makale Geliş | Received : 29 Mart 2019 ISSN 2148-4120 Makale Kabul | Accepted : 15 Mayıs 2019 Anonymous Folles Found in Parion Excavations Vedat Keleş – Kasım Oyarçin* Abstract Th e ancient city of Parion is located in Kemer village, within the borders of Biga district of modern-day Çanakkale province. Th e city, which was established as a Greek colony at the end of the 8th century BC, had a colonial city status in the Roman Period. Parion did not lose its importance in the Byzantine Period and became one of the important episcopal centers of the region. As a result of the excavations carried out in the ancient city of Parion between 2006-2018, 53 Anonymous Folles were recovered. Within the scope of excavation, these coins were compared with the published samples of Anonymous Folles found in the Anatolian collections, museums and archaeological excavations by giving the variances according to the types and findings areas of Anonymous Folles and the variance of the type of these coins was seen to be in the same direction with the findings of the Anatolian archaeological excavations. All of the Anonymous Folles found in the archaeological excavations in Parion were discovered in the additions of the structures of Roman Era, which show that the usage of these structures continued even if they received functional changes by additions and restorations in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. It is one of the most important data supporting both the fact that the settlement continued there and the city did not lose its position as an important port city in the era the findings of the Anonymous Folles were minted, in Parion. Th is excavation has an important place in terms of including the samples of * Prof. Dr. Vedat Keleş, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Science and Letters, Department of Archaeology, Samsun/Turkey. ([email protected]). orcid no: 0000-0001-9521-6469 Asist. Prof. Dr. Kasım Oyarçin, Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Science and Letters, Department of Archaeology, Samsun/Turkey. ([email protected]). orcid no: 0000-0001-5994-8638 Vedat Keleş – Kasım Oyarçin double minted Anonymous Folles seen rarely in Anatolian also there are almost no published samples of the Anonymous Folles in the cities found around Parion despite the fact that there are many publications on the Anonymous Folles findings of common areas of Anatolia. Keywords: Parion, Episcopal, Byzantine, Coin, Anonymous Folles. Parion Kazılarında Bulunan Anonim Follisler Öz Antik Parion Kenti, günümüz Çanakkale ili Biga ilçesi sınırları içerisindeki, Kemer Köyü’nde yer almaktadır. MÖ 8. yüzyıl sonlarında bir Grek kolonisi olarak kurulan kent, Roma Dönemi’nde de koloni kenti statüsüne sahip olmuştur. Parion, Bizans Dönemi’nde de önemini kaybetmemiş ve bölgenin önemli piskoposluk merkezlerinden biri olmuştur. Çalışma kapsamında, Parion antik kentinde 2006-2018 yılı kazı çalışmaları sonucunda ele geçen 53 Anonim Follis birimindeki sikke buluntuları incelenmiştir. Çalışma kapsamında, Anonim Follislerin tiplere ve buluntu alanlarına göre dağılımı verilerek, Anadolu’daki kazılarda, müzelerde ve koleksiyonlarda bulunan Anonim Follis örnekleriyle karşılaştırılmış ve sikkelerin tiplere göre dağılımının Anadolu buluntularıyla aynı doğrultuda olduğu görülmüştür. Parion kazılarında bulunan Anonim Follislerin tamamının, Roma Dönemi yapılarının eklenti bölümlerinde ele geçmesi, bu yapıların MS 10. ve 11. yüzyıllarda da çeşitli eklenti ve onarımlarla işlev değişikliğine uğrasa da kullanımlarının devam ettiğini göstermektedir. Anonim Follis buluntuları darp edildikleri dönemde, Parion’da hem yerleşimin devam ettiğini hem de kentin önemli bir liman kenti olma özelliğini kaybetmediğini destekleyen önemli verilerden biridir. Çalışma, Anadolu genelindeki Anonim Follis buluntularının yayımlandığı birçok yayın olmasına rağmen, Parion çevresinde bulunan kentlerin Anonim Follis buluntularının yayımlanmış örneklerinin yok denecek kadar az olması ayrıca, Anadolu’da nadir görülen çift darplı Anonim Follis örneklerini içermesi açısından da önemli bir yere sahiptir. Anahtar Sözcükler: Parion, Piskoposluk, Bizans, Sikke, Anonim Follis. 336 Anonymous Folles Found in Parion Excavations Th e ancient city of Parion is located in Kemer village, within the borders of Biga district of modern-day Çanakkale province. (Plt. 1). Th e city, which was established as a Greek colony at the end of the 8th century BC, had a colonial city status in the Roman Period. Parion did not lose its importance in the Byzantine Period and became one of the important episcopal centers of the region. Th e first episcopal center was founded during the reign of Emperor Diocletianus in Parion. According to the 36th Canon of the Trullan Synod; in 692 AD, 17 episcopal centers’ names were found in the Hellespontos region; one of them was Parion. According to consul records, Carolus Saneto Paula states that there were 19 episcopal centers, including Parion1. Th e city of Parion, which was archbishopric in 640 AD, maintained its status until the end of the 13th century AD2. Th e seals of bishops named Euthymios and Konstantinos, who lived in the 9th century AD and Proedror, who lived in between AD 10th-11th centuries are important data indicating that the city was an important archbishopric center in the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Period3. Another data showing the importance of the ancient city of Parion in 10th-11th centuries AD is the findings of Anonymous Folles coins. As a result of the excavations carried out in the ancient city of Parion between 2006-2018, 53 Anonymous Folles were recovered (Graph 1). Th e Anonymous Folles were fi rstly minted4 during the reign of Emperor Ioannes I Tzimiskes (969-976 AD) of the Macedonian Dynasty and were uninterruptedly minted until the economic reform of Alexius I Comnenus in 1092 AD5. Th e most important feature distinguishing Anonymous Folles from the previous coins is that the names and titles of the emperors who brought the coins into circulation during their reigns were not included in the inscriptions on the coin. Obverse of the coins depicts Jesus, and their reverse have diff erent types of depictions, such as the legend of “IһSЧS XRISTЧS bASILЄЧ’ bASILЄ” and its 1 Türker 2008, 516. 2 Laurent V/I, 641; DOC 3a, 112. 3 DOC 3a, 112; Keleş 2016, 194. 4 Th e reason why Ioannes I Tzimiskes minted coins that did not include his name and titles, could be thought that it was because of the consequence of the tragic murder of his ancestor, the emperor before him, Nikephoros II Phokas (Demirel Gökalp 2009a, 219; Kılıç 2014, 180). 5 DOC 3/2, 634; Grierson 1999, 21; Demirel Gökalp 2009a, 218. 337 Vedat Keleş – Kasım Oyarçin variations, the bust of Virgin Mary, diff erent types of crosses surrounded by the legend of “IC XC NI KA” or decorated in detail6. Anonymous Folles were divided into 15 diff erent groups according to the letters by the researchers considering the diff erences on their obverse and reverse. Nowadays, the system used in the classifi cation of Anonymous Folles was developed by M. Th ompson based on the double-sided coins found in the excavations carried out in the Agora of Athens7. Th e Anonymous Folles found in the excavations in Parion are dated to periods between 970/976 AD and 1075/1080 AD. Upon reviewing the studies on Anonymous Folles throughout excavations8, museums9 and collections10 in the Anatolia11, we can see that Anonymous Folles coin types in the A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I group are common, while H, J, K, L, M, N types are among the rare types (Graph 2). Upon examining the type distribution of 53 coins obtained in the ancient city of Parion as a result of the excavations in 2006-2018, we can say that this situation 6 DOC 3/2, 636-637; Demirel Gökalp 2009a, 220. 7 Th ompson 1954, 73-74. 8 Antiochia ad Orontes see: Waage 1952, 182; Troia see: Bellinger 1961; Sardis see: Bates 1971, 128-138; Buttrey 1981, 206-207; Evans 2018, 243-244; Side see: Atlan 1976, 93-94; Ephesus see: Foss 1979; Saraçhane see: Hendy 1986, 353-356; Pergamon see: Bendall et. al. 1993, 59-60; Arykanda see: Tek 2002, 189-190; Kyzikos see: Köker 2007, 313; Marmaray-Metro see: Tekin 2009, 279-288; Amorium see: Katsari et. al. 2012, 170; Aizanoi see: Köker 2013, 147-148; Andriake see: Bulut – Şengül 2014, 103; Smyrna see: Ersoy et. al. 2014, 82-93; Ünal-Ersoy 2017, 265; Edirne (Hadrianopolis) Tower see: Çantay 2008, 151-152; Erol Özdizbay 2014, 273-274; Nysa see: Özbil 2014, 431; Pisidia Antiokheia see: Sancaktar 2013, 372-374; Sancaktar 2014, 519-520; Kadıkalesi/Anaia see: Ünal-Bülbül 2015, 120; Paphlagonia Hadrianoupolis see: Lafl ı et. al. 2016, 201-202. 9 Amasra Museum see: Ireland – Ateşoğlu 1996, 132-137; Amasya Museum see: Ireland 2000, 111-116; Isparta Museum see: Demirel Gökalp 2007, 319-339; Erzurum Museum see: Özyurt Özcan 2007, 1-16; Malatya Museum see: Demirel Gökalp 2009a, 217-250; Demirel Gökalp 2011, 195; Yalvaç Museum see: Demirel Gökalp 2009b, 103-121, Sinop Museum see: Casey 2010, 88-90; Kayseri and Niğde Museum see: Metivier - Prignet 2010, 577-618; Kuva-yi Milliye Museum see: Ünal 2010, 85-108; Manisa Museum see: Ünal 2012, 72-86; Çorum Museum see: Çizmeli Öğün – Özbil 2012, 169; Adana Museum see: Buyruk 2014, 21-25; Bilecik Museum see: Demirel Gökalp 2014a, 11-28; Kayseri Museum see: Yuka 2015, 90-115; Bolu Museum see: Kılıç 2016, 315-339; Kütahya Museum see: Demirel Gökalp 2017a, 86-107. 10 Yapı Kredi Collection see: Tekin 1999, 173-185; Tunay Demran Collection see: Ünal et. al. 2017, 82-91. 11 For the type circulation of the published Anonymous Folles found in Anatolia, see: Demirel Gökalp 2009a, 217-250; Metivier - Prignet 2010, 577-618; Kılıç 2016, 315- 339. 338 Anonymous Folles Found in Parion Excavations is also valid for Anonymous Folles fi nds in Parion. Th e most common example of the Anonymous Folles found in the excavations in Parion is the A2 type, as in the case of Anatolia12.