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Miliaresion - Mstislav Volodimirovich the Brave
| Issuer | Principality of Tmutarakan |
|---|---|
| Year | 990-1024 |
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| Reference(s) | Golenko I#4-5 |
| Obverse description | Crude hammered field depicting a patriarchal or processional cross rising from a stepped base, with pellets or globules arranged symmetrically on either side of the cross shaft, imitating Byzantine miliaresion iconography. The design is rendered in a highly debased and barbarous style characteristic of Tmutarakan imitative coinage, with the cross dominating the central field. Surface heavily corroded and encrusted, consistent with the irregular flan typical of this series. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Flat, largely plain reverse field with scattered raised pellets and irregular surface relief, typical of the poorly struck reverses found on Tmutarakan bronze imitations of Byzantine miliaresia. No coherent inscription or figural type is discernible, reflecting the pronounced debasement of the prototype and the rudimentary minting practices of the Principality. The flan is irregular and shows significant encrustation and patination. |
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| Additional information |
Tmutarakan occupied a peculiar geographic pocket — a semi-autonomous Rus' principality wedged between the Khazar remnants and the Byzantine sphere on the Taman Peninsula — and its coinage reflects exactly that tension. Mstislav Volodimirovich, who ruled there before his famous defeat of the Kasog prince Rededya in single combat, issued these pieces in conscious imitation of Byzantine miliaresia, borrowing imperial monetary forms for a polity that was never quite Byzantine and never quite Kievan.
The Golenko classification separates this type across two die groupings, suggesting more than one production episode within the reign.