Lot 2562

Description

Georgia, Queen Rusudan, 1223-1247, AE fals, obv. Georgian letters RSN in centre, date in border, rev. Arabic inscription in four lines naming Rusudan, daughter of Queen T'amar, (Lang 13, Langlois 30). Good fine and rare.

Struck during the very troubled early years of Queen Rusudan's reign when her capital, Tbilisi, was captured by the Khwarizmian Mangubarni. Many thousands of the inhabitants lost their lives during the storming of the city in 1226, and many more thousands were massacred afterwards when they refused to convert to Islam. The Georgians briefly returned to Tibilsi in 1227, the year of this issue, but failed to hold the city and were crushed by the Khwarizmians at the battle of Bolnisi in 1228.