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Document Details :

Title: Towards the Social and Economic Situation in Georgia in the 11th Century (Prices according to Nikorcmideli's Dacerili)
Author(s): TSURTSUMIA, Mamuka
Journal: Byzantion
Volume: 89    Date: 2019   
Pages: 447-477
DOI: 10.2143/BYZ.89.0.3287080

Abstract :
The present article discusses the Records of the Hegoumen of Nikorcmida, written in the second half of the 11th century by the abbot of the Nikorcminda monastery in Rača, in Western Georgia. The Records list almost eighty purchase deeds, donations, details of building work and other deals, presenting us with rich data on the social and economic history of the period. Forty two deeds provide valuable insight into the price setting in 11th-century Georgia. The study reveals certain regularities in these deeds, which allows for an establishment of basic prices and agricultural units. The article discusses the value of monetary units, fiscal units, the salary of clergymen, as well as prices for land, labor, tools, armament, luxury goods and books. These data, drawn from the Records, present us with a picture of medieval Georgian economics in which natural economics prevailed, although cash was used for trade.

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