Folia archeologica 20.

Gedai István: Numizmatikai adatok a dukátus kérdéséhez

NUMISMATIC DATES TO THE QUESTION OFTHE DUCHY During the Xlth century it happened from time to time on the territory of, the Hungarian Kingdom that one third of the country was submitted to the Dux, a younger brother of the King. The territory of the Duchy extended mainly over the eastern part of the country, embracing the counties Bihar, Ung, Borsova, Békés, Zaránd, Nyir, Zemplén and Hont; the counties Nyitra, Nógrád and Krassó were also attached to the Duchy. The population of the Duchy consisted of peoples attached to the Hungarians during the time of the Hungarian Conquest. Among them the Ismaelits of Mohammedan faith, or Saracens - Böszörmény s in Hungarian - played a very special role. They were mainly engaged in the economical and financial life, from among them toll-collectors, money-changers, tenants of Treasury estates and revenues were chosen. Their activity was often reproved in our charters. There is a numismatic phenomenon confirming their activity mentioned here. During the Mongol invasion, in 1241, almost everybody had to hide his valuables and most likely the major part of the fugitives could not return to their homes any more. In this time the Friesach denarii minted in Carinthia circulated in the Carpathian basin and according to their find map the territory of a certain find group and the central settlements of the above mentioned ethnic group show an exact congruence. Another numismatic problem related to the Duchy is the minting of the Dukes. It is a very remarkable symptom, for in Hungary the right of coinage belonged always to the regalia never bestowed upon anybody. Exceptions from this rule were only the two dukes in the Xlth century, Béla and Géza, and the town of Buda for some years at the beginning of the XlVth century who had coins minted with their own names. It was assumed that till the XHIth century there was only one mint in Hungary, that of Esztergom. There are, however, several signs indicating that the ducal mintages could not be issued there, the most important being that the relation between king and duke used to be exceedingly strained, even to the point of an open feud. These circumstances made the use of a common mint impossible. There are some numismatic phenomena pointing at the fact that the dukes were in the possession of a mint of their own. In the first instance the average weights don't tally, the royal and ducal coins having been made by different standards of coinage. There are differences occurring among their legends : the coins of King Endre I. (1046-1060) bear the legend PANONEIA on their reverse, whereas those of his brother Béla are inscripted PANNÓNIA. The separation of the legends is constant, they never mix with each other. Not going farther than observing this difference, we have to point to the fact that the form PANONEIA