A Tang Dynasty Coin in 13th-Century Corinth: Context and Transmission

by Ching-Yuan Wu

Hesperia, Volume 93, Issue 1
Page(s): 83-143
Stable URL: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/922193
Year: 2024
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ABSTRACT:

During the 1960 campaign of the Corinth Excavations, a Tang Dynasty coin was found in an ash and charcoal layer with deposits from the mid- to late 13th century CE and earlier. Considering similar coin finds from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, and the Chui Region, Kyrgyzstan, this article argues that the Corinth Tang coin is likely an Anxi Protectorate issue, though a Chui valley origin cannot be ruled out. This article discusses the origins, survival, and mobility of this minimal-value cash coin in a web of Eurasian connections, with particular focus on the connectivity of the Church of the East and the Jewish merchant network from the 8th to the 13th century CE.