Mikhail the son of Petre Barataev (Baratashvili) founder of Georgian numismatics

Abstract

The article is dedicated to the life and work of Prince Mikhail Barataev the son of Petre (Baratashvili, 1784–1856), the founder of Georgian scientific numismatics. Born in the Russian city of Simbirsk into the family of Baratashvili who had accompanied King Vakhtang VI into exile. Barataev arrived in Georgia in 1839 and served as head of the Transcaucasian Customs Office. During his stay, he collected and studied a unique set of Georgian coins. In 1844, he published in St. Petersburg a fundamental monograph titled Numismatic Facts of the Kingdom of Georgia, written in Russian, Georgian, and French, devoted to Georgian coinage from the 5th to the 18th centuries. The book played a significant role in awakening Georgian national self-awareness.

Barataev was the first to describe, classify, and date Georgian coins, thereby laying the foundations for Georgian scientific numismatics and its terminology. He also invented an original method for reproducing coin impressions. Despite being highly recognized in Europe, his contribution remained largely unappreciated in Georgia. Unfortunately, his unique collection was lost — the Georgian coins were acquired by the Berlin Museum, while the remaining pieces dispersed into private collections. Barataev’s scholarly successor is considered to be E.A. Pakhomov, who published The Coins of Georgia in 1910.

Barataev’s contribution to the development of Georgian historiography is immense, and it is essential that his role in Georgian culture be duly acknowledged