Who is Giorgi Acknowledged on the Coins of Tamar and Giorgi?

Abstract

The attribution of certain medieval Georgian coin type, minted in the name of Giorgi and Tamar is disputable. Who was this Giorgi: the King Giorgi III, Queen Tamar’s father and prede - cessor, who could issue this coin type in 1179 or 1179-1184 time period, having crowned his daughter in 1179; Giorgi the Russian, Tamar’s first husband and co-ruler, during their short (1185- 1187) marriage or later while being the nominal leader of rebellion (1191); or King Giorgi IV Lasha, Tamars son and co-ruler first (approximately, second half of the 1200s), then successor (after 1210)? Yevgeniy Pakhomov argues that the coin type was issued in the name of Giorgi the Russian), while David Kapanadze attempts to demonstrate that it could be issued only by Gior - gi III. With the first point agree Tamar Lomouri and Alexey Bykov, with second one − David Lang, Giorgi and Tedo Dundua, Maia Pataridze . Having reviewed the arguments of both researchers Yevgeniy Pakhomov and David Kapanadze, as well as additional evidences, we concluded, that the coin type under the consid - eration was probably issued in the name of Giorgi the Russian, either in 1185-1187 or 1191. We have demonstrated that David Kapanadze’s criticism of Yevgeniy Pakhomov is unsubstantiated and irrelevant, whereas Kapanadze’s additional argument (considering the legends on the coin type issued in the name of Tamar and her second husband, David) is methodologically wrong as well. Additional arguments (like technical peculiarities of the coins, how the names of Giorgi and Tamar are shortened, the rarity of the coin type, the fact that some specimens were re-struck from the coins of Giorgi III) convince us that Giorgi mentioned in the coin’s legend should be identified with Giorgi the Russian’s with more probability than with Giorgi III.