The great ruler Stephen the Great, outstanding army commander and diplomat, was also concerned during his life with the economic prosperity of the country, supporting the development of crafts, trade and fairs. During his reign, groși and half groși minted in the dinar system were issued, a monetary system introduced in Moldova during the last reign of Petru Aron (1455-1457).
The coins were minted from silver of superior title, those that reflect stability in the economic life of the country at that time. Their masterful execution at the Suceava mint is among the beautiful artistic achievements during the reign of Stephen the Great.
During his reign, two types of issues were minted, for the two denominations: groși and half groși.
Type I issues have a split shield on the obverse; in the first quarter appears a rose surmounted by a cross and three fascias, in the second quarter. For the epigraph issues (groși), the image is accompanied by the circular legend with the name of the issuer: + STEFANVS VOIEVODA. On the other side appears the bour's head with a star between the horns accompanied by the heraldic furniture - the rose and the contoured crescent, placed to the right and left of the bour's head; circular legend: MOLDAVIE COIN.
On type II coins in the shield on the obverse appears a patriarchal cross (double) and the legend STEFANVSVOIEVOD or abbreviated STEFANVSVOIE. On the reverse, as in type I, the bour's head with heraldic attributes is preserved: rose right/crescent left and crescent right/rose left. A star or rose appears between the ox's horns. The legend accompanying the face with the bour head is MONETAMOLDAVI or abbreviated MONETAMOLDA.
The dating of Stephen the Great's coins is still under discussion. According to one opinion, type I issues were minted between 1457-1476, and type II between 1480/1481-1505 (Octavian Iliescu), and another 1465/1467-1475/1476 for type I and 1476/1479-1497 for type II (Ernest Oberländer-Târnoveanu).
The coins in this showcase were discovered during the archaeological excavations at Orheiul Vechi (Trebujeni, Orhei district) in the 6th and 7th decades of the 20th century:
1. Type I money issues, groși, silver 2. Type II money issues, groși, silver 3. Type II coin issue, half groși, silver
Aspects of interrelation of Christian folk beliefs and funeral ritual of in the Early Middle Ages in central and south-eastern Europe
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
The article examines aspects of interaction and confrontation between Christianity on the one hand and folk beliefs and common traditions on the other. Examples of clashes between Christian doctrine with folk beliefs (customs and superstitions), and the attacks of the former on the latter are offered. Attempts to extirpate these beliefs by verbal exposure, by church decrees, epistles and decretals, other state legislations in the West and East could not solve the problem. Pre-Christian beliefs and ceremonies were still in use at the periphery of the Christian world during the early and late Middle Ages.
Modern ethnographic research confirms the survival of pre-Christian traditions in different spheres of the material and spiritual life of the population of the south-eastern Europe. Conflicting opinions of various scholars (archaeologists, historians, ethnographers, anthropologists and others) concerning the reasons of such a stable and long preservation of pagan beliefs are summarized.
The most vivid signs of the so called “orthodox paganism” are revealed in the funeral rituals and customs of the population in Central and South-Eastern Europe. Funeral rituals by cremation were still in use at the end of the I - beginning of the II millennium in Central and South-Eastern Europe including territories inhabited by Romanized population to the East of the Carpathian Mountains. Opinions explaining such phenomenon by poly-ethnic population to the East of the Carpathian Mountains. Opinions explaining such phenomenon by poly-ethnic structure of the population of the Carpathian region during the early Middle Ages are refuted. A comprehensive analysis reveals a presence of insignificant share of heterogeneous elements in the material culture and also certain stabilization in the funeral rites by the beginning of the II millennium which is connected with a nearly complete Christianization of populations of the Central and South-Eastern Europe and creation of centralized states and churches.
Ion Tentiuc
About horse rider pendants from the early Medieval period in the Prut-Dniester area
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Ion Tentiuc
Sergiu Musteață, Populația spațiului pruto-nistrean în secolele VIII-IX. Editura Pontos, Chișinău 2005, 189 p., rezumat în limba engleză, indice, 10 tabele, 7 diagrame, 4 hărți, 78 planșe cu figuri, 12 foto, ISBN 9975-926-43-6
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Ion Tentiuc
Sergiu Matveev, Procesele etno-culturale din spațiul carpato-nistrean în secolele II-XIV. Istoriografia sovietică. Chișinău: Pontos, 2009, 230 p. text + 5 tabele
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Ion Tentiuc
Les carreaux des poêles avec l’images heraldiques de Căușeni
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Ion Tentiuc
Profesorul, savantul și omul de cultură Gheorghe Postică la 60 de ani
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
The great ruler Stephen the Great, outstanding army commander and diplomat, was also concerned during his life with the economic prosperity of the country, supporting the development of crafts, trade and fairs. During his reign, groși and half groși minted in the dinar system were issued, a monetary system introduced in Moldova during the last reign of Petru Aron (1455-1457)...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
