ՍՅՈՒՆԻՔԸ ՈՐՊԵՍ ԱՌԵՎՏՐԱԿԱՆ ԵՎ ՄՇԱԿՈՒԹԱՅԻՆ ԽԱՉՄԵՐՈՒԿ (ԸՍՏ ԴՐԱՄԱԿԱՆ ԳԱՆՁԵՐԻ) / SYUNIK - COMMERCIAL AND CULTURAL CROSSROADS (BY HOARD)

Abstract

Due to its historical, political and geographical position, Syunik has been one of the important junctions of trade routes for centuries. Among the evidence of all this are the numerous found treasures of money and individual coins, covering a long historical period - from antiquity to the late Middle Ages - without a break. In this work, hoards found in different places of Syunik, stored in the History Museum of Armenia, were highlighted. As a result of the study, they were classified by issuing countries, by period, the typology of coins was given, the iconography and the circumstances of their discovery were classified and considered. The hoards include Seleucid, Parthian, Sassanian, Mongolian, Arabic, Persian, Ottoman, Western European and other coins, the study of which may be of great source and significance for solving historical issues. In this context, the study of coins can be of great importance in solving existing geopolitical problems. Money, as an important political, social, economic, historical and cultural object of the country, reveals trade and economic relations between countries in different periods. In this sense, hoards are important. The discovery of numerous hoards confirms the importance of the region in the global process of transit trade, as well as the existing interactions between peoples. The region played an important role in the global trade process, being located on transit routes connecting countries that played a large role in trade relations. It was a connecting link from the trading cities of Persia to Armenia and from here to the important trading centers of the Black Sea. Thus, for centuries, Armenia has been considered an economic buffer country and a neutral area for international trade activities. In this process, the role of the Armenian merchant class in the development of the history, culture and economy of the Armenian people is invaluable. The Armenian merchant class acts as a connecting link between European and Asian countries, promoting the development of cultural exchanges between peoples.