Tari (coin)
Tari ( Arabic طري, DMG ṭarī "tender, green, fresh, new"), also taro , tarino , was the name of a coin in Sicily , Malta and in southern Italy .
Saracen coins of the Fatimids and Calbites in southern Italy
During the Saracen rule over Sicily (conquest by Aghlabids between 827 and 902) and parts of southern Italy, a small gold coin weighing 0.8 to 1 g (fineness of approx. 70%) was minted there from around the early 10th century and originally as 'rubai tari' ('new quarter dinars'), shortened to 'tari', which only meant 'new'. This error already appears in a document from the year 922. In an Amalfi contract , a “tari” is the equivalent of a quarter of a dinar.
At that time only the Arab empires and Byzantium minted gold coins, while northern Italy did not introduce them until the second half of the 13th century. In contrast, the south of the peninsula traded on a large scale with Constantinople as well as with the Muslim metropolises Tunis and Alexandria and Cairo . In addition, large parts of southern Italy were Byzantine until the second half of the 11th century.
Southern Italian commercial centers
The oldest coin of this kind, which was minted in a Christian area, namely in Salerno , dates from the year 1012. Another is known from the year 1057; she comes from Amalfi . Both cities were in intensive trade with the Muslim states of North Africa and southern Italy.
In the 9th century, Amalfi made itself independent between Byzantium, Muslim empires and the Lombards. Amalfi became one of the leading trading powers. In 846 the city sent ships to defend Rome , together with Naples and Gaeta they succeeded in defeating the Saracen fleet at Ostia . Amalfi was level with Genoa , Pisa and Venice . His merchants maintained bases in Umayyad Cordoba , Syrian Antioch , Cairo , Constantinople and the Byzantine Durazzo on the coast of Albania. Arab travelers praised it as the "richest and most glamorous city" in the Longobard Empire. At that time the republic only included the neighboring towns of Atrani , Ravello , Scala , Minuto, Maiori and Minori in addition to the city itself . In 1073 the Normans conquered the city. As a result of the anti-autonomous policy towards the cities, Amalfi lost its importance above all to Venice, Pisa and Genoa. Two Pisan naval attacks in 1135 and 1137 put an end to the trading metropolis for good.
Normans
Even after the Norman conquest, the coin in Sicily continued to be minted with Kufic (Arabic) script. The appearance of the coin changed only slowly after the Norman conquest of southern Italy (until 1071) and Sicily (1061-1091). One side of the coin was marked with a cross, the other remained unchanged. Until 1156 only copper and gold coins circulated in the Norman Empire, but silver also accumulated there. Now silver coins were increasingly emerging.
Staufer and Anjou
The coin, from which multiple pieces were minted, remained an important means of payment in southern Italy and Sicily well into the 13th century under Charles I of Anjou . Messina , Palermo , Amalfi and Brindisi are important mints here . The gold tari or taren, which minted the Amalfi coin from September 1221, probably served primarily to publicize the imperial fame of Frederick II. For this purpose, Friedrich released the Augustals, but they could not prevail over the Tari permanently.
Aragon and Spain
During the Spanish rule in the Kingdom of Naples, a silver coin of the same name began to be minted around 1500 and was in use for around 300 years.
Malta
The Order of St. John on Malta also issued such silver coins from around 1530, later also in copper.
See also
literature
- Philip Grierson : Tarion . In: Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium , Volume 3, New York, Oxford 1991, p. 2012.
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ Riccardo Filangieri di Candida: Codice diplomatico amalfitano , vol. 1: Le pergamene di Amalfi dell'Archivio di Stato di Napoli (907-1200) , Naples 1917, p. 3.
- ^ Peter Spufford: Money and its Use in Medieval Europe , Cambridge University Press 1989, p. 146.
- ↑ Wolfgang Stürner: Friedrich II. , Primus Verlag, Darmstadt 2000, p. 31.