Persian banks of Babylonia and currencies

The banks - babylonian temples

We have talked about to the babylonian cities like cities temple, to emphasize the importance that this place of cult had in the sineof the civilization that we commented. Around III the millenium BC arose and they spread zigurats, towers that rose in terracesdecreasing, with a temple in the peak and outer stairs of access (the tower of Biblical Babel is most famous).Although with the passage of time the monarchy was holding fast more and more, the sacerdotal class continued occupying a position of the great prestigeand enjoying enormous privileges: besides to control the instruction and the culture, also she was depositaria of the economic power. Intemples were accumulated, in effect, fabulous wealth originating partly of the offerings of the faithfuls and partly of the yield ofterritories and of the manufactures that belonged to the divinity. The gold along with stored in the sacred places the stone samplesthat they served as units of weight, generally zoomorfas, that is in animal form: in Babylonia they had duck figure; in Egypt,probably in memory of the use of the cattle in the first interchanges, their aspect era of ox head.The temples thus became official places of verification of weights and measures, besides to be destined to , because eachcity had an own system of ponderales norms. At the outset, the transactions were developed inside the enclosuresasylums, before the priests, whom they controlled that they were correct and they guaranteed his legality printing seals.The accumulation in the temples of these contracts, the precious metal deposits, always in increase, and the necessity of a management and oneaccounting of the bottoms, determined that in the cult places the first commercial banks were created.In a moment, in addition to the banks temple the private banks arose, like testimony of the great capacity of this enterprising town. Withthe first bankers did not take in spreading the credit activity. The granted loans were burdened with the highest interests,and it mainly for trade names. Who obtained a loan enjoyed or a relieved position or he was proprietor, and she couldto obtain to great benefits thanks to this new availability of wealth: thus, it could to improve his cultures and to gathermore abundant harvests, and to increase to the acquisitions in foreign countries and revenderias with highest gains.

Systems of weights and measures

Even being the mesopotámicos towns very advanced and organized, they had not gotten to use the currency. The system was used to relatethe merchandize, in the transactions, with a product pattern, that not only was the gold and the silver, but also the barley. Indeed in thisproduct is based the metric system of the Babylonians, called sexagesimai because it rested in 60 number and its manifold andsubmultiples. A total of 180 grains of barley constituted the sicio (8 grams), and 60 sicios formed the mine (half kilo). In the vertex ofsystem was the talent, that it came near to the 30 kilos. This system was used in all East during many centuries, and it spreadalso in Greece until the introduction of the decimal system, more practitioner and based on the ten fingers. One always was exclusivelyponderal parameter, and never became currency.Also the gold and the silver, at this first moment, were used according to a proportion of weight: gold 1, silver 13.5, according to the relation between yearto pave and lunar month. We know the great value that had the astrology, astronomy and the mathematical one for the babylonian society, andimportance of these disciplines got to condition the metric systems.After the 1200 BC, the political panorama of Smaller Asia underwent remarkable and fundamental transformations: throughout the coasts one beganthe first Greek colonization, in the interior was born several independent kingdoms, like the one of the frigios, and later (centuries VII-VI BC)kingdom of Lydia, with capital in Sardes. In this kingdom, heir of the great mesopotámica culture, the dynasty of the Mermnadas emitted pieces ofmetal, already heavy and assayed, guaranteed by the real symbol: the lion head that we found in the first electron currencies. !>

The Persian currencies of

The bimetallic system, based on a fixed relation between gold and silver, was adopted by the Persians when, in the century I BC, conqueredIt fights, all the Greek Anatolia, cities of the coast and Babylonia (539 year BC). With Darío 1 (years 522-486 BC), the empire reached oneenormous extension: it included/understood the Egypt Stop, the Asian plains until lndo, the Caucasus and the desiedo of Arabia, covering about 7.000.000kM2. Its work of organization was important, because it tried to conciliate a strong central control with the local traditions.The monetary circulation inside the empire took place in dáricos (of the name of Darío) of gold and in sicios of silver. And others,for the first time in the history of the numismatist, they represented in the obverse a armed human figure with arc and sends: the picture of the Great oneKing, with the uniform of the arqueros of its guard. In these currencies they coexist of way significant and modern the concept to be able regal,that it legitimizes the piece, and the distinguishing characteristic of Darío and the kings who followed one another in the dynasty of the Aqueménidas: its paper ofthe great military and conquerors.The dáricos of gold weighed 8.5 grams, and the sicio of silver maintained with gold a relation of 1:1 3 and 1/3; therefore, a dárico correspondedto 1 1 2 grams of silver. This criterion was based on the postulate of which between gold and silver there was a always fixed relation. Even inarchaic commercial system like the Persian, was not possible to maintain this proportion without falsear the rules of the market immutable. Then (liketoday) this relation varied of independent way for reasons of speculation, tesaurización or production.