KARDEZ: COIN OF CILICIAN ARMENIA
Kardez, 1226-1270: Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
ND (no date).
Ruler: King of Cilician Armenia Hethum I (1226-1270).
+ ՀԵԹՈՒՄ ԹԱԳԱՒՈՐ ՀԱՅՈՑ: Hethum (Hetoum) King of Armenians.
King on throne with mace and cross.
ՇԻՆԵԱԼ Ի ՔԱՂԱՔՆ Ի ՍԻՍ: Struck (minted) in the city of Sis /capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia during 1198-1375; nowadays — the city of Kozan in Turkey/.
Cross and crescent in one of the quadrants.
Hethum I is the only Armenian king who managed to rule the country for as many as 45 years; the period of his reign is considered the heyday of the culture of Cilician Armenia.
- Copper: 24 mm - 4.12 g
- Reference price: 20$
COIN KARDEZ — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- ARMENIAN KINGDOM OF CILICIA (13th-14th centuries): kardez = 4 pogh = 1/2 tank = 1/10 tram or 1/10 takvorin (in different historical periods)
KARDEZ as coin name.
Kardez — copper old coin of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (or Cilician Armenia) during the 13th-14th centuries. The mentioned Armenian state existed in the 11th-14th centuries on the lands of modern Turkey.
The kardez coins of Cilician Armenia are known at least of six rulers: Hethum I, Levon II, Hethum II, Smbat, Constantine II, Levon III... First, they played the role of an exchange coin of silver tram (until 1301), later — takvorin.
A distinctive feature of all kardez coins is a characteristic cross on the reverse of the coin. On the obverse, different subjects were placed: a portrait of the ruler, a horseman, a lion... The legend contained the name of the ruler of Armenia and the location of the Mint (as a rule, the capital: the city of Sis).
The name of the kardez coin probably comes from the Turkish "kardeş": "brother" (rather weak version, unconfirmed).
