Vadas Ferenc (szerk.): A Wosinszky Mór Múzeum Évkönyve 15. (Szekszárd, 1990)

Handelsbeziehungen - Thomas S. Noonan: Scandinavian-Russian-Islamic trade in the ninth century

Based on our very imperfect data, I have estimated that around 55,000 dirhams imported from the Near East to European Russia in the ninth century are now known. Of this total, slightly over 60% (34,370) remained in European Russia while just under 40% (20,760) were re-exported from Russia to the Baltic. Of the dirhams sent to the Baltic, about 60% (12,570) went to Sweden, around one-third (6890) reached Poland and north Germany, less than 1% (145) were deposited in Denmark, and slightly more than 5% (1155) appeared in the southeastern Baltic (NOONAN, in the press B). These figures show that Islamic-Russian-Scandinavian trade was substantial in the ninth century and that Russia was far more than just an intermediary in this trade. European Russia, in itself, was a major consumer of Islamic dirhams, i.e., silver. At the same time, I estimate that we have information on almost 105,000 dirhams exported from European Russia to the Baltic during the tenth century (NOONAN, in the press B). If the ninth-century trade between Russia and the Baltic was large, this trade was five times larger in the tenth century! Dirhams were not exported from the Near East to European Russia or from European Russia to the Baltic at constant rate. The volume of imports and exports varied considerably over the course of time. Unfortunately, we cannot yet measure these variations precisely. Since a hoard can be dated with some precision by its most recent coin, it is possible to determine the number of hoards and the approximate number of dirhams deposited each decade in Russia and the Baltic. These figures show great differences (NOONAN, in the press B, Table Q), differences best illustrated by the following table. The Number of Dirhams in Ninth-Century Hoards from European Russia and the Baltic (in percentages) Decade Percentage Decade 780s ,1 840s 790s 2,3 850s 800s 3,0 860s 810s 10,5 870s 820s 5,8 880s 830s 8,0 890s The above data would suggest that dirham imports from the Near East into eastern and northern Europe peaked in the 860s with other high points dating to the 810s, 840s, and 870s. Conversely, imports seem to have been much more modest between 780 and 809, in the 820s and 830s, in the 850s, and at the end of the ninth century. Unfortunately, there is a serious problem in correlating the number of dirhams deposited each decade with fluctuations in the volume of dirham imports. Some silver coins circulated for over a century in the Near East before they were deposited while others were buried very soon after being issued. It can be assumed that dirhams also circulated within European Russia and the Baltic for different periods of time before being concealed in the ground. Consequently, a hoard deposited in Sweden during the 870s probably contained a number of dirhams that had circulated within Sweden or European Russia for some time prior to 870. But, there is no way we can now determine which dirhams these were or how long they Percentage 15,7 3,2 28,3 13,8 4,1 5,1