Cylinder seal impressions occur in many contexts in the ancient Near East. This disssertation focuses specifically on the function of sealing in the manipulation of state resources (land, labor, and goods) in second millennium B.C. Syria. The sources of information utilized in this study include textual references to sealing practices, sealed documents, bullae, and the seals themselves. The archives of Mari, Alalah, and Ugarit are particularly important as they provide textual and archaeological information on seals and sealing within the physical and institutional context of the palace, the center of state administration. Chapter 1 surveys the previous research on seals and sealing and briefly outlines Syrian geography and political history in the second millennium B.C. Chapter 2 examines the physical qualities of the seals--materials, methods of production, distribution and style. Chapter 3 addresses the problem of the physical and institutional context of seal use. A functional division between legal and administrative texts is reflected in the use of seals on them. On both types of documents, however, the use of a seal acknowledges the obligation of the sealer. The nature of that obligation varies with the contents of the text itself. Chapter 4 evaluates the use of seals on legal texts in palace archives. Most of these sealed documents record land grants. The historical trend in second millennium Syria is to an increasing involvement of heads-of-state in granting state land. Other sealed legal documents were kept in palace archives because the participants were in some way associated with the palace. Chapter 5 details the administrative use of seals at Mari. Receipts and expenditures are the most common sealed documents. The use of seals on these texts signals the acceptance by the sealer of responsibility for the goods or actions described therein. The conclusions (Chapter 6) summarize the differences in sealing practices in Mari, Alalah and Ugarit in light of the different historical circumstances and political needs of each state.

This dissertation uses all of the available evidence provided by coins to construct a numismatic history of the early Islamic precious metal coinage of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. The dissertation begins with a review of the analysis undertaken by earlier scholars, followed by an explanation of the adopted methodology, including the approach to the primary and secondary sources and the description of the methods used in the metrological, metallurgical, and die estimation analyses. The balance of the dissertation is divided into three sections. The first section is the typology, which divides the coinage into four series: Series 1, the Two Imperial Bust type; Series 2, the Latin Epigraphic type; Series 3, the Bilingual type; and Series 4, the Post-Reform type. The typology analyses each series in detail. This section also discusses the iconographical elements of the coinage, with a further chapter providing an analysis of certain anomalous examples that do not readily fit into the typology. The second section encompasses the analysis of the metrological and metallurgical aspects of the coinage and the estimation of the number of dies for each series. The final section combines the numismatic evidence and the historical record provided by a variety of secondary sources into a numismatic history of the two regions. This section includes a discussion of the historical context prior to, during, and after the Muslim conquest of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, as well as a discussion of find spots and circulation. The dissertation concludes with a comparison of the evolution of the precious metal coinage in North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula to the evolution of Islamic coinage in other regions of the Umayyad Caliphate and an exploration of the underlying nature of the coinage (i.e. regional, Imperial, etc.).

The focus of this thesis is the nature of the interaction between the civic elites and the civic coinage for which they were responsible. The Roman Province of Asia provides the ideal context for the study of local elites and their coinage because of the prevalence and prominence of the names of individual local notables, henceforth known as eponyms, recorded in civic coin legends. By combining the study of the function of coin eponyms and the prosopographical analysis of individual eponyms in the epigraphic record, it is possible to identify and explain the profound changes that affected civic coin production in the first three centuries AD. Local elites perceived coinage not only in terms of a functional means of exchange, but as a medium for personal and civic display. In this way the local elites exploited coin iconography in ways that paralleled other media of monumental display. New coin legends were developed, which identified explicitly the dedicatory nature of the coinage and the iconographic repertoire of coin types was radically expanded to express the cultural agendas and priorities of the civic elites. The first half of the thesis is devoted to the study of the relationship between office holding and coinage and the development of coin legend formulae during the first three centuries AD. The pattern and distribution of the various legend formulae is analysed in order to determine the extent of the eponym’s involvement in the production of coinage. In particular, this section intends to establish the extent to which coinage production was funded privately. The fourth chapter is arranged into a series of case studies discussing individual cases of personalized coin iconography. The final chapter of the thesis outlines how the civic elite’s conceptualization of coinage changed over the course of this period. It is argued that contact with the Roman monetary tradition affected civic elites’ attitude to coinage and that this manifested itself in the iconography and the fabric of the coins themselves.

O trabalho aqui apresentado visa levantar as denominações presentes em contextos do norte e centro-norte da Europa. Buscando compreender as dinâmicas entre Roma, através suas províncias e os povos locais os quais as fontes textuais chamam de germânicos. Este trabalho visa compreender quais são os processos e relações estabelecidas entre Roma e os locais a partir da moeda e como estes povos irão compreender e utilizar das moedas em seu universo. / This work here presented aim to showcase the denominations present in northern and central european contexts. Aiming the comprehension of the dinamics between Rome, with their provinces, and the local peoples in wich the latin texts call germanicus. At the same time this work presents possible explanations to the ocurrence of a diverse body of coin types and denominations, the Roman and locals connections through the use of coins and possible interpretaions for the uses made by the local peoples.

The messages in the imagery on Byzantine coins, although often neglected by scholars, were a key means of projecting imperial power. Emperors could project power via dress, ceremonial, and displays, but these methods would not have reached all subjects. Byzantine coins had the advantage of reaching all subjects, as the Byzantine economy was fundamentally monetized. Military symbols (figures, dress, and weapons), whose study has been rather overlooked, formed an important part of this imagery. Whilst military symbols disappeared from Byzantine coins in the early eighth century, and were absent for some three centuries, they were reintroduced in the mid-eleventh century and appeared until 1394/5. Their importance is indicated by the fact that military types comprised over half the overall total of types for some emperors. This study examines military symbols on Byzantine coins from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries, and notes also imperial representations in other media. The numismatic sources for this study are the collections in the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, and Dumbarton Oaks. The general conclusions are that military symbols were used most frequently from 1204 to 1261, less frequently from 1261 to 1394/5, and least frequently from 1042 to 1204. The variety of military saints portrayed increased at first, but declined in the fourteenth century, until only St Demetrios remained, but in the highest status: riding with the emperor.

In the eleventh century the arrival of the Turks from Central Asia resulted in complex socio-economic and political changes in Upper Mesopotamia (al-Jazīra), Diyār Rūm (Asia Minor) and part of Syria (Diyār Shām). The social, cultural, military and economic life of the Turks intertwined with the native culture and heritage of Greeks, Armenians and Syrians living in those territories. Having as starting point the multifaceted encounters some of the important issues I am addressing in my thesis are the important trade routes that crossed Turkmen-dominated areas in the late middle ages; monetary traffic; mines and mints in operation under the Turkmen rule. As the history of that multicultural environment can best be understood and explained through the coin evidence, a big part of my project will cover numismatic evidence. In this context, my study will focus on the socio-economic and cultural relations and interactions between the Byzantines, old inhabitants, the Turkish newcomers and the western powers in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in the light of the coins and investigate some questions: Why did the Turkmens issue the Greek and bilingual (Greek-Arabic) coins and seals? Why did the Turkmens borrow images (particularly Byzantine style imagery) from the cultural heritage of the areas they ruled?

Seit 20 Jahren verzeichnet Christian Edmond Dekesel (Gent/Belgien) in aller Welt numismatische Literatur des 16. bis 18. Jahrhunderts. Dass die SLUB und das Münzkabinett der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden zusammen die beste europäische Büchersammlung des 18. Jahrhunderts besitzen, davon ist er überzeugt. Dies war auch ein Grund, warum die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) eine Tagung über „Numismatik und Geldgeschichte im Zeitalter der Aufklärung“ mit Teilnehmern aus acht Ländern gefördert hat (SLUB, 5. –9. Mai).

Texte remanié de : Thesis : ? : University of Sydney : ? / Bibliogr. p. [227]-246. Index.

Based on the author's Thesis (doctoral)--Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [503]-515) and indexes.

Based on the author's Thesis (doctoral)--Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [503]-515) and indexes.