Naslov
Coins from Bribir (Varvaria). Súhrn : Mince z Bribiru ; Varvaria
(Coins from Bribir (Varvaria))

Autori
Mirnik, Ivan

Izvornik
Slovenská numizmatika (0081-0088) 18 (2007); 157-180

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
numismatics; numismatic topography; Bribir; Varvaria; Croatia

Sažetak
Coins from Bribir in Dalmatia are discussed in this paper, catalogued with the help of NUMIZ, a computer programme, developed by the Slovene National Museum Numismatic Cabinet. Bribir (Varvaria) near Skradin (Scardona), situated in Dalmatia's hinterland, is one of the most impressive and beautiful archaeological sites in Croatia. In the valley nearby there was a Neolithic settlement, whereas on Glavica, there was a settlement already in the 1st millenium B.C. It was already fortified by the Liburnians even before the arrival of the Romans. The latter continued to fortify the town and gave it a municipal status. During the Migration period it was abandoned, and again settled by the Croats. Its hey-day the mediaeval Bribir had in the 13th and 14th centuries, as the seat of the Šubić clan. Early in the 16th c the Turks destroyed the town. There is a modern cemetery on the site, as well as two houses, one constructed to house the archaeologists, the other one for the archaeological finds. On December 20, 1988, at 7 PM, a memorable exhibition was opened at the Arts and Crafs Museum in Zagreb, called: "Bribir in the Mediaeval Period". A catalogue accompanied this exhibition (Bribir u srednjem vijeku. Zagreb, 1996). Among the exhibits there were mediaeval coins found in the second half of the 20th c on this important site, such as Byzantine, Hungarian, Veronese, Spalatine, Tyrolene, Venetian, Slavonian etc coins. A survey of these coins was written by Vedrana Delonga of the Split Museum of Croatian Antiquities (Delonga 1987). A significant fact, which must not be overlooked is that there was a mint in Bribir in the early 14th c., when the mighty lords Paul II ("Paulus, banus Chroatorum et tocius Bosne dominus"), his brother Mladen I, and his son Mladen II struck silver coins imitating Venetian grossi of the Matapan type, now very rare and sought for (Rengjeo 1959: 64-65, Nos. 731-746 ; Delonga 1987: 110-111). Four of such grossi of Paul of Bribir were found as far away as Dobrište near Tetovo in Macedonia in a hoard in 1935, also consisting of Serbian and Venetian coins (Mirnik, 1981:107, No. 470) V. Delonga also described the unique discovery of the seal of the above mentioned count Paul of Bribir, found in Zadar in 1961 (Delonga, 1987a: 113, 115). This Paul Šubić's minor seal of copper is inscribed in Gothic majuscular letters: Paulus de Breberioi Banus Croatorum DNS et Bosne, and was found in Zadar during the 1961 excavations. In the field there is the eagle's wing and above it a helmet with a floral crest ; it is flanked by two branches with flowers (6Omm ; AMZadar ; Belošević 1965). This seal can be dated to the period between 1299 and 1312. The site of Bribir - the early Roman town of Varvaria - has for more than a century caused much interest. Many scholars have written about it and excavations have been undertaken by several eminent archaeologists. The fortified site is very ancient, starting with prehistory and was permanently inhabited, until the Turkish invasion. It was for the first time mentioned by Constantine the Porphyrogenitus as the district of Brebera. Here are discussed the finds of coins, largely discovered during the archaeological excavations, undertaken by the late Stjepan Gunjača, and as by his collaborators and successors. All this numismatic material was kindly put at my disposal by my colleagues: the late Zlatko Gunjača, Marina Šegvić, Zdenko Brusić, and old inventories of the Zadar Archaeological Museum were shown to me by Branka Nedved - my thanks go to all of them. Some material used to be kept at the archaeological collection, on the site of Bribirska Glavica itself. Other coins are preserved at the Museum of Croatian Antiquities in Split, the Zadar Archaeological Museum, or the City Museum in Šibenik. Most probably there are more specimens in the Numismatic Collection of the Split Archaeological Museum, collected by Don Frane Bulić, unfortunately we lack any reliable data. The former Numismatic Collection of the Archaeological Museum at Saint Donatus Church in Zadar contained thirty-odd coins from Bribir. Nowadays these speciment are most probably deposited at the Archaeological Museum in Venice. According to the old inventory they were the following: 1-2. Roman republican coins (2) (Inv.No. 268) 3. Augustus (27.B.C.-14 A.D.), MB (Inv.No. 557, acquired 1907) 4. Tiberius (14-37) (Inv.No. 607, acquired l908) 5. Domitianus (81-96) (Inv.No. 626, acquired 1909) 6. Faustina I (105-140) (Inv.No. 268) 7. Commodus (176-192) (Inv.No. 607, acquired 1908) 8. Gordianus III (238-244) (Inv.No. 268) 9. Salonina (253-268) (Inv.No. 268) 10. Claudius II (268-270) (Inv.Nos. 268 ; 903, acquired 1911) 11-13. Constantinus I (306/7-337)(?) (3) (Inv.Nos. 268 ; 524, acquired 1907) 14. Crispus (-326) (Inv.No.1408, acquired 1961) 15. Constantius II (323-361) (Inv.No. 268) 16. Constans (333-350) (Inv. No. 524, acquired 1907) 17. Valentinianus I (364-375) (?) (Inv.No. 990, acquired 1912) 18. Theodosius I (379-395) (?) (Inv.No. 524, acquired 1907) 19. Francesco Dandolo (1328-1339) (Inv.No. 524, acquired 1907) 20. Venice, Andrea Dandolo (1343-1354) (Inv.No. 268) 21. Venice, Michele Steno (1400-1414) (Inv.No. 524, acquired 1907) 22. Venice, Leonardo Loredan (1501-1521)(Inv.No. 903, acquired 1911) 23-24. Venice, gazzetta da due soldi, "Justitiam diligite" (2) (Inv.No. 268 ; 524, acquired 1907) 25. Venice, uncertain copper piece (Inv.No. 268) 26. Venice, Dalmatia and Albania, gazzetta (Inv.No. 524, acquired 1907) 27-28. Hungary, denarii, not determined (2) (Inv.No. 268) 29. Hungary, Ludovic I (1342-1382), denarius (Inv.No. 903, acquired 1911) 30. Hungary, Ferdinand I (1527-1564) (?) (Inv.No. 990, acquired 1912) 31. grossus, not determined (? ; Inv.No.524, acquired 1907) One must emphasize that the coins catalogued under No. 268 were partly found at Gjevrska, and partly at Bribir around 1900. From nearby Ostrovica in the Zadar inventory one can find information about the following coin finds: 1. Rome, republic, Procilia (Inv.No. 645, acquired 1909.) 2. Faustina I (105-140) (Inv.No. 388, acquired after 1903.) 3. Marcus Aurelius (161-180) (Inv. No. 388, acquired after 1903.) 4. Julia Mamaea (-235)(Inv. No. 388, acquired after 1903.) 5. Gordianus III (238-244) (Inv. Nos. 388, acquired after 1903 ; 645, acquired 1909.) 6. Aurelianus (270-275) (Inv. No. 645, acquired 1909.) 7. Galeria Valeria (-314) (Inv. No. 645, acquired 1909.) 8. Licinius I (307-323) (Inv. No. 388, acquired after 1903.) 9. Constantinus I (306/7-337) (Inv. No. 645, acquired 1909.) 10. Honorius (395-423) (Inv. No. 645, acquired 1909.) According to the material which was put at our disposal, there were three Greek coins, two Roman republican, 139 Roman imperial, three Byzantine and 52 mediaeval and modern coins. One of the most important coins found at Bribir is a rare cast-bronze Roman republican semis from the mint of Luceria from the 2nd c. B.C., which was for the first time mentioned by the late Mate Suić in1968. (Suić 1968: 28, Pl. I, 2). It is one half of an as in the half-uncial system, with the head of Jupiter, turned to the right, on the obverse, and with a prow of a ship on the reverse. This semis is one more testimony of the overseas trade links between Liburnia and Italy. More recent numismatic finds from Bribir, dating from the 6th c. A.D. onwards were discussed by V. Delonga, within the frame of the catalogue of the previously mentioned exhibition (Delonga 1987: 108-112). Among the earliest specimens of Byzantine coins there was a solidus of Justinian I, struck at Ravenna (Delonga 1981: 210, No. 10), as well as a decanummium, struck at Rome. Chronologically it is followed by a follis of Leo VI (886-912) or Romanus I (919-944), which was not on show, as well as a scyphate trachy from the 11th or 12th c. The last Byzantine coin was issued under Alexius III Angelus Comnenus (1195-1203). In the 13th and 14th centuries small silver coins from Italy found their way to Bribir - those of Mantua, Padua, Verona, and particularly Venetian coins. Venetian currency remained in circulation for several centuries, even after the Turkish destruction of Bribir. Most frequently they were copper gazzettas of the 17th and 18th centuries, struck for the Venetian Dalmatian and Albania (Delonga 1987: 109), sometimes also for Crete, Corfu and Cephalonia and Zante - even the poorest shepherd was able to own a few. Pierced coins or tokens, made by Cornelius or Lazarus Gottlieb Lauffer of Nuremberg. The Ottoman occupation is witnessed by one single akcha. Hungarian coins, according to the individual finds from Glavica, began to arrive in the 11th and 12th centuries, and there are also denarii of Ludovic I the Great (1342-1382), who played a very important role in the history of Dalmatia and also of Bribir. It was he who took away Ostrovica from the family of Šubić and in exchange gave them the demesne of Zrin in 1347. From that moment on the Counts of Bribir became the Counts of Zrin (Zrinski, Serin, Zrinyi) and continued to prosper until 1703, when the last issue, Ivan IV Antun Balthasar died in Graz. On Glavica itself three bagattins of Split from the late 13th c were also found. (Delonga 1987: 108, 111). This range of numismatic material is broadened by a silver kreuzer of Tyrol under Meinhard II from the second half of the 13th c. Only two coin hoards are known to have been exacated at Glavica. Several letters exchanged in 1913 between Fra Lujo Marun from Knin and Professor Josip Brunšmid speak about a handful of c. eighteen coins of the 12th-14th centuries: Venetian (Orio Malipiero, 1178-1192 - 12 specimens), Austrian (Vienna, 14th c - 5 specimens) and German silverlings (Oettingen: Heinrich I of Lower Bavaria, ?1236-1290 - 1 specimen) (Mirnik 1981: 105, No. 459 ; Delonga 1987: 109), found wrapped in a piece of cloth. The other modest silver treasure, still unpublished in detail, was found in 1961 on the southern side of St. Mary's Church, next to its final buttress flanking the entrance. It also dates from the 14th c - there were 63 specimens of Venetian, one Anconitan and one Slavonian silverling. Among the Venetian coins there were three grossi of Giovanni Soranzo (1312-1328), three grossi and 46 soldini of Francesco Dandolo (1329-1339), six soldini of Bartolommeo Gradenigo (1339-1342), and three grossi and three soldini of Andrea Dandolo (1343-1354). The city of Ancona was represented by a copper soldino. In addition there was one denarius struck by Stephen IV Babonić (1310-1316), banus of Slavonia, one denarius and two half-denarii of Mikac Mihaljević (1325-1343), also banus of Slavonia. The latter are a proof that the connections between the coastal region and the Slavonian part of the kingdom remained constant and good (Delonga 1987:109). A comparison of the individual finds of coins from Glavica with coin hoards and sporadic finds from Central Dalmatia, shows that they do not differ from the already established pattern of coin circulation from the 13th c onwards. When mentioning small silver change, one must also remember the well-known hoard of piccoli, or bagattini from a grave at Nerežišća on the island of Brač, found in 1927. It contained a coin of each of the Venetian dodges Orio Malipiero and Enrico Dandolo, three Veronese of Friedrich II the Swabian, and 30 autonomous silverlings of Split (Mirnik 1974 ; 1981: 112, No.508). At Slatine on the island Čiovo a treasure of c. 700 small silver coins was unearthed in 1897: of Split were 691 the remainder were Venetian specimens struck under Enrico Dandolo and Giovanni Dandolo (Mirnik 1981: 115, No. 532). At Split itself, a hoard of c. 16 local bagattini were found about 1800 (Mirnik 1981: 115, No. 535). Further on, in 1962 a treasure was found at Trilj ; it consisted of coins of Friedrich II from Brindisi (2) and Verona (2), Venetian piccoli of Orio Malipiero (16) plus 82 specimens of autonomous piccoli of Split (Mirnik 1981: 166, No. 543). In 1896 at Žažvić near Skradin there was a treasure trove consisting entirely of Split bagattini (Mirnik 1981: 118, No.559), and something similar (106 specimens) from Muć was once in possession of the collector Doimo Savo. These small silver coins are sometimes mentioned in documents written on the Croatian coast, dating from the 13th and 14th centuries. We find formulations, such as: librae denariorum Venetie (or venetorum) paruorum ; libre de dinari pizoli da Venesia ; librae solidis denariorum paruorum ; romanati paruorum ; soldi denariorum venetorum paruorum ; marcae denariorum paruorum venetorum etc. Larger denominations were grossi: grossi ; librae bonorum denariorum grosorum venetorum ; librae bonorum denariorum grossorum venetorum in pecunia numerata. Gold at this time was at first still Byzantine, later Florentine as well: romanati ; yperperi ; byzantini aurei ; or for instance: et a quolibet eorum in solidum quinquaginta bonos florenos de auro (1281), and in weighed quantities: auri librae ; unciae auri.

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