a byzantine weight validated by al-walid / by george c. miles
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
1/19
A
BYZANTINE WEIGHT
VALIDATED BY
AL-WALÎD
BY
GEORGE C.
MILES
The
American
umismaticociety
BROADWAY
T
5ÓTHTREET
NEW ORK
1939
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
2/19
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
3/19
NUMISMATIC
NOTES
AND MONOGRAPHS
Number
87
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
4/19
Numismatic
otes
and Monographs
is
devoted
o
essays
nd
treatises
n
sub-
jects
relating
to
coins
paper
money
medals
and decorations
nd is
uniform
with
Hispanic
Notes
and
Monographs
published
by
the
Hispanic
Society
of
America
nd
with Indian
Notes and
Monographs
ssued
y
the
Museum
f the
American
ndian
Heye
Foundation.
Publication
Committee
Agnes
Baldwin
Brett
Chairman
Stephen
H.
P.
Pell
Thomas .
Mabbott
Editorial
Staff
Sydney
hilip
Noe
Editor
Sawyer
McA.
Mosser
Associateditor
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
5/19
COPYRIGHT
939
Y
THE
MERICAN
UMISMATIC
OCIETY
THE
NTELLIGENCER
RINTINGO.
LANCASTER
A.
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:38 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
6/19
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
7/19
Obverse
nd Reverse
f
ByzantineWeight
from he Collectionof
E
T
Newell
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
8/19
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
9/19
A BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
VALIDATED
BY
AL-WALÍD
By GeorgeC. Miles
The
names of the
Umayyad
Caliphs
Abd
al-
ivi lik nd his
on, l-Walld,
re ssociated
ot
nly
with he
pread
f
slameast
and
west
by
force
f
arms
ut also
with he
nternal
evelopment
f
the
state
and the
pursuits
f
peace.
'Abd al-Malik
especially
s credited
with
significant
eforms
n
administration,
nd under
l-Walīd
hese
reforms
were
ontinued
nd extended.
Two
innovationsf
a
nationalist
haracter
ntroduced
uring
he
period
of Abd l-Malik's ule 65-86A. H./685-705. D.)
are well-known:
he creation
f
a
purely
Arab
coinage
o
supplant
he mitative
yzantine-Arab
and
Sasanian-Arab
ssues, nd,
venmore
mportant,
the
change
of
the
language
n whichthe
state
registers
ere
kept
from
ersian
nd
Greek
nd
Coptic
o
Arabic.
In
the
matter
f the
coinage,
both historical
tradition
nd
archaeological
vidence
that
s,
the
coins
themselves)
re
in
agreement
hat the re-
formedoinagewas introducedetween 5and 77A.
H.;
thereafterhe ld makeshift
yzantine
ypes
for
he
dinar
nd
fais
n the
West
nd
the
dapted
Sasanian
irham
n
the
East
(except
n
Tabaristān)
were
bandoned.
The
change
was
not
a
difficult
oneto
effect:he
Christian
nd Zoroastrian
nsignia
together
ith he
mperial yzantine
nd Persian
portraits
ere
liminated,
nd
the rea
occupied
y
1
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
10/19
2 A
BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
these
figures
n the
mitation
oinage
was utilized
for Islamic
inscriptions,
hile
marginal egends
were dded
to
record he
date, nd,
n
the
case
of
the dirhamthe mint s well. The standardsnd
weights
emained
ssentially
he
same.
But
the
linguistic
eformn
the
diwanwas a farmore om-
plicated
nd troublesomeffair.
The new
order
could not
be
introduced
ver
night.
Even
in the
great
ities,
ecretaries hocouldwrite rabic
ad
to be trained
n
thewhole
omplex
usiness
f ad-
ministration
nd the
keeping
f the state
records
(matters
bout
which heArabsknew
ery
ittle
t
that
earlyperiod),
while n most f the
provinces
Arabicwas stillvirtually foreignanguage. It is
not
surprising
hatthe
reformrdered
y
Abd
al-
Malik and
naively
eported y
the historians
n
terms
mplying
hatthe
change
was an immediate
fait
ccompli,
as rather
gradual
rocess
arried
on
during
herest f that
Caliph's
ife nd
brought
to
completionnly
n
the
years
f al-Walïd's
eign
(86-96
A. H.
/705-
15
A.
D.),
or,
in
some
areas,
even
ater.1
1
The
year
1A. H.
s
usually
iven
s
the ate f Abd l-
Malik's
rder
ffecting
he
hange
rom
reeko
Arabic
n
Syria
(BalSdhuri,
utūķ
l-Buldän,
d. e
Goeje,
g.
93
»
ransi.,
. K.
Hitti,he riginsf heslamictate,.Y„ 1916,g. 01;Mä-
wardi,
itäb
l-Ahkām
l-Sulļānīyah,
d.
Enger,
onn,853,
p.
349-350).
he
hange
rom
ersian
o
Arabic
n
l-'Iräq
nd
he
eastern
rovinces
nder
l-Hajjäj
ay
ave
een
arlier. l-
Jahshiyäri
nhisKitäbl-Wuzarä'
o'l-Kuttäb
ed.
n
facsimile,
Hans .
Mžik,
ibliothekrabischer
istoriker
nd
Geographen,
Leipzig,
926,
ol.
7a)
ives
specific
ate,
8
A.
H.,
whilehe
other
istorians
onot ate
he
vent
xactly
ut onnect
t
with
the
eath
f
he
amous
ecretary,
SdhSnfarrQkh,
n82
or
83
(BalSdhuri,
ext,
p.
00-301
*
ransi.,
p. 65-466;
bn-KhaldQn,
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
11/19
A
BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
3
From the collection f
Mr. EdwardT. Newell
comes remarkable
ouvenir
f
these imes
f ad-
ministrative
djustment,Byzantine
ronze
eight
inscribed ithwhatmight ecalled validationy
the
Caliph
l-Walīd. Mr.
Newellhas
kindly
er-
mittedme to
study
nd
publish
his
nteresting
piece;
for his
privilege
nd for
many
ther avours
I am
most
rateful
o him.
The
weight
s
a
circular
disk
diameter,
5.5
mm;
hickness,
mm)
with
two-grooved
ooled
profile,
he
piece having
een
turned n
a
lathe,
he
traces f the ive and
dead
centers
fwhich
re evident
n
slight
epressions
t
the exact center
f
the obverse nd
reverse. On
theobverse, ithin borderonsistingfrecurrent
semicircles
earing
ots
withinnd
at the
points
f
junction
f
the
semicircles,
s
a Greek
ross
the
horizontal
rm
patté);
nd,
left
nd
right
espect-
ively,
he etters and
B,
i.
e.,
oô-fxíoci
úo,
r two
ounces.
Border nd area are each enclosed
by
slightly
aised
idges,
nd
n
the enters
a
lowboss
bearing
he
mprint
f the athe
pindle.
Around
the
periphery
f the smooth
ndecorated
everse
runs
deep,
clearly
ncisedArabic
nscription
n
Muqaddamah,d.Quatremèie,oticest xtraitsvol. 7, 858,.
18;
ee
aetani,
hronographia
slamica
I4,
g.
89,
orhe ate
of ādhānfarrūkh's
eath).
M.
prengling,
n
polemic
rticle
n
whichew
rabists,
iving
r
dead,
ome ff
nscathed,
rgues
quite
onvincingly
orhe 8date f
l-Jahshiyāri;
he
anguage
reformas
robably
nitiated
uring
ādhānfarrūkh's
ifetime,
while
ālih
.
Abd
l-Rahmān
as is
ecretary
From
ersian
o
Arabic,
nAmericanournal
f
emitic
anguages
nd iteratures
Vol.
VI,
April,
939,
p.
90, 95,
11).
For
he
hange
rom
Coptic
ndGreeko
Arabicn
Egypt,
ee
elow.
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
12/19
4 A
BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
plain
Kufic
characters:
*X)'
jJj}'
JJI
Ac-
ross hecenter,nslightlyargeretters,he nscrip-tionis
completed
iththe words:
'y«*'
The
egend
an
be translated:
In
the
name f
God;
Muhammad
s
the
Messenger
f
God;
Equity
s
God's.
This
is
[a weight]
f
two
ounces
which
1
Abdullāh
l-Walïd,2
ommander
f the
Faithful,
has
established.
There
re
several
rrors
n
gram-
mar:
the
demonstrative
nd
relative
ronouns
o
not
agree
n
gender,
he
denomination
s in the
wrong
ase,
nd
the
principal
tatement
s
faulty
n
that
heverb
hould
e followed
y
a
personal
ro-
noun,but thesentences neverthelesscceptable
and there
s no
question
f
the
authenticity
f the
colloquial
phraseology
r
of the
epigraphy.
Al-
Wafāf
ïllâhi
or amara1
lāhu
bťl-wafďi
s found
quite
commonly
n
Umayyad
opper
coins
and
glass
weights. Wuqlyatayn
s of course
he
oblique
dual
of
wuqîyah,
erived
rom
he Greek
úyxřa,
n
turn
from
atin
uncia.
The
form
qïyah
*-*?•)
is
actually
referred
n dictionaries
nd
in
modern
speech,
ut the
word
s
invariably
pelledwuqîyah
on the
glassweights,
nd
thisform s
given
s
a
colloquiallternatey exicographers.3
«
Abdullah,
s titleorne
y
ll
he
aliphs,
s n
he rue
ense
Servant
f
God.
thinkhat
herean
eno
doubt
hat
l-
Walïd
,
not
l-Walid
I,
who
uled
or
nly
little
ore
han
year125-126
.
H.
743-744
.
D.)
s
he
aliph
n
uestion.
he
discussion
elowhould
end
o
orroborate
he orrectnessf his
assumption.
*
E.
g.,
äj
l-'
rils,
,
pp.
96-397.
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
13/19
A BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
5
Although
he
inscription
tates that al-Walld
established
literally
created )
his
weight,
t
is
evident that
the
Arabic sentence s
essentially
merely translationf theGreek twoounces n
the
bverse,
nd we have
here
simple
onfirmation
or
validation
f
an
already xisting
weight
nd
standard.
The Arabic
tatement,hen,
erves o
informhe
Arabic-reading
erchantnd customer
that
the
weight
s that
of two
ounces,
nd also
to
makeknown
hefact
hat he
highest
uthority
n
theState
pronounces
he
Arabic
Islamic)
wuqîyah
to be
the
egal
equivalent
f the
Byzantine
Chris-
tian)
ounce.
According
o Sir
Flinders
etrie,4
he
Roman ibra and ts twelfthart, heuncia isde-
rived
rom
heEtruscan
ound,
which,
n
turn,
as
based n
the
Aeginetan
tandard
f
12.88
rams
the
pound
=
25
X
12.88),
n
origin
he
Egyptian eqa
of 12.96
rams.
In
actual
practice
he
uncia
varied
considerably
t differentimes
and in
different
areas,
anging
rom 5.46
grams
n the
tandard
f
six
Attic rachmae
o 28.20
the
Phoenician
tater).
Mr.
Newell's
weight
ow
weighs
2.15
rams;
t
has
lost
little,
robably
ot
more
han
gram, hrough
wear,
light
carring
f
he
aised bverse
dges,
nd
the ncisingf theArabic nscription.fwe arbi-
trarily
llow
gram
or oss f
weight
nd
a
fraction
ofa
gram
or
riginal eficiency
e would
rrive t
a
figure
f
pproximately
6.80
rams
or he
riginal
ounce
n this
ase,
which
would
all n
with wo
of
4
Measures
nd
Weights
London,934,
p.
0-21,
nd
Ancient
Weights
ndMesaures
British
chool
f
Archaeology
n
Egypt,
vol.
9),
ondon,
926,
g.
5.
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
14/19
6 A BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
Petrie'
hypothetical
roups
f
uncia
weights,
hose
of the aurei and solidi and
of the
Roman trade
standard,
xtending
rom
11-422
grains
26.63-
27.34 grams).5 The presentweights f similar
pieces
f
circular orm
ublished
y
Petrie or
Uni-
versity
ollege,
ondon,
ary,
when
educed o
the
one uncia
unit,
rom
5.53to
27.73
grams,
wide
range
whichs more
robably
ue to errornd wear
than to
a
diversity
f
standards. Four
circular
pieces
three
f one uncia and one of
three)
n
the
BritishMuseum
published
y
Dalton6
how
26.15
to 26.70
grams
or heuncia
unit.
Although
have
chosen
he
circular
ieces
s
comparative
aterial,
it s very oubtfulhat he hape f theweightan
be taken s a criterionf basic
standard,
ince
he
style
f
decoration
nd
epigraphy
s
the
same
on
numerous
yzantine
ncia and
nomisma
weights
regardless
f
shape,
which s
sometimes
ircular,
sometimes
quare,
ometimes
olygonal.
With
regard
o
the
weight
f
the
Umayyad
wuqîyah
r
ūqīyaĶ
we havetwo
ources
f
nforma-
tion the ccounts f
Arabhistoriansho
ouched
n
metrology,
nd the
glass
coin
weights
hat
have
survived nd are
preserved
n
museums
r
private
collections. he immenseuantity fmaterialn
6
Petrie,
ncient
eights
nd
Measures,
g.
6 nd
lates
LVI,
LU.
nd 1II.
•
O.
M.
Dalton,
atalogue
f
arly
hristian
ntiquities,
tc.,
London,
901,
p.
5-96
nos. 60, 64, 65,
78).
No. 78
s
illustratednd as
profile
imilar
o he
eight
nder
iscussion.
Otherllustrations
f
Byzantine
ncia
ungia)
f his orm
re
o
befound
n
Petrie,
p.
it.,
lates
IV-XV,
otably
os.
310,
5319,
nd
376,
nd
late
VI,
n
the
ray
f
he
emarkably
preserved
ox
f
weights.
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
15/19
A BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
7
Arab
metrology
rom rabic
ources
athered ears
ago
by
H.
Sauvaire7 emonstrated
factwhichs in
no
way
surprising,
hat
n
the
matter f
weight
standardsherewasa great ivergencehroughout
the
ges
nd
n
different
arts
f
the
Muslimworld.
However,
everal acts
which oncern s are almost
universally
greed
upon:
in
early
timesthe rati
{libra)
was made
up
of
welve
uqîyahs
unciae
-
so
also
generally
oday
and the
wuqîyah,
lthough
t
varied
normously,
as
more ften han not the
equivalent
f about
seven
mithqals
r ten dirhams.
The
weight
f
thedirham
as to the
mithqãl
s 7 is
to
10;
and the
mithqãl
as
equivalent
o the
egal
dīnār . e.,4.25grams.8 heresultantiguref2.97
grams
orthe
dirham
greesquite
well
with the
weight
f
ctual
dirhams
nd the
glass
oin
weights;
but
our
two-wuqîyah
iece
s
obviously
uch nder
weight
f
we
accept
he
tandard
f 1
wuqîyah
10
dirhams
approximately
9.70
grams.
Also the
ratiwas
generally
28
4/7
irhams
9
gain
too
high
for he
present
iece.
Turning
o the
glass
weights,
which hould e
more
eliable,
etrie as
attempted
7
Matériaux
our
ervir
V
istoiree
a
numismatique
tde a
métrologieusulmanesinJournalsiatique,thnd th eries.See speciallyorhe uqlyah8theries,ol. , 884,p. 80-397,
and
ol.
,
pp.
01-304.
8
auvaire
op.
it.,
th
eries,
ol.
,
pp.
39-440)
asmistaken
in
ccepting
he
irham
eight
f
he
gyptian
ommissionf
1845
3.0898rams)
sthe
eight
f
he
oin,
nd husnvalidated
all
f is
alculations
cf.
.
von
ambaur
n
he
ncyclopaedia
f
Isiàm,
. v.
Dirham).
ee
lso . v.
Bergmann,
ieNominale
er
Münzreform
er
halifen
bdulmelik,
n
itzungsberichte
er
hil.-
hist.lasse
er .Ak. er
W/ss.,ien,
ol.
5,
870,
p.
39-266.
•Sauvaire,
p.
it.,
th
eries,
ol.
,
pp.
07-316.
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
16/19
8
A
BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
to
show10
hat,
s
with he
Roman ncia nd
Byzan-
tine
ungia
there
were everal
wuqïyah
tandards
influenced
y
various
ocal
metrologicaleritages.
Theonly ieces hat hould omento onsideration
in the
present
ase are
the
early,
ompletely
re-
served
lass
weights
marked
ith he
word
wuqïyah
or its
fractions.11
hilethere
re
some
amazing
divergences
n
the
weights
f
the
known
pecimens,
it
appears
that
the
wuqïyah
nit was
around31
grams there
re too
fewwell
preserved
ieces
o
warrant he
quoting
f
a
more
xact
figure).
This,
as
Petrie
points
ut,
s
far
higher
han the
usual
Roman
uncia
but
therewas
a
specially
heavy
varietynEgypt,nfluencedybeingnoctodrachmofthePtolemaic rAlexandrian
ystem. 12
ome
10
ir
linders
etrie,
lass
tamps
nd
Weights
British
chool
of
Archaeology
n
Egypt,
ol.
0), ondon,
926,
g.
3 nd
late
XXVI.His
alculationsre
erhaps
oo
efined,
onsidering
he
relative
carcity
f
material
earingirectly
n
he
wuqïyah,
nd
the eferences
n
he
wuqïyah
ablesre
onfusing,
f
notncorrect
in
ome
articulars.
»
The
ollowing
uqïyahlass eights
re
nown
o
me:
tanley
Lane-Poole,
atalogue
f
Arabic
lass
Weights
n he
ritish
u-
seum,ondon,
891,
os.
8, 7G,
5;
auvaire,
p.
it.,
th
eries,
Vol.
,
pg.
97
cf.
.
T.
Rogers,
lasss
Material
or
tandard
Coin
Weights,
n
Numismatic
hronicle,
873,
g.
8);
.
Casanova,
Catalogue
es
pièces
e
verre
.. de
a
collection
ouquet
(Mémoires. . de aMissionrchéologiquerançaiseuCaire,
Vol.
I,
e
ascicule),
aris,893,
g.
85
four
pecimens);
etrie,
Glass
tamps
nd
Weights,
os.
54-256;
nd
our
pecimens
n
he
Museumf
he
merican
umismatic
ociety,
ew
ork.
have
not
een
note
escribing
20
wuqïyahlass
eight
n
Annales
e
l'Institut
'Études
rientales
e
a
Faculté
es
ettres
e
'Université
d'Alger
Vol.
ll,
pp.
-18.
12
lass
tamps
nd
Weights,
.
10. The
ange
f
wuqiyahs
according
o
Petrie's
alculationss for
he
most
art
etween
roughly
8K
nd 1
grams.
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
17/19
A BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
9
Arabic
ronze
uninscribed) weights
isted ut
not
described
n
full
by
Petrie all ntoa lower
ange
around
6
grams,
nd
these,
n his
pinion,
epresent
a continuationfthe Roman nciastandard; ut
they
re
the
exception
ather han
the
rule.
It
appears
then
that
in
general
he
Arabicwritten
authoritiesnd
the
glassweights
re
in
quite
fair
conformity,
nd
we
must raw
he conclusionhat
the
wuqîyah
alidated
y
al-Walīd
s attested
y
Mr. Newell's
weight
as
notthe
ounce
epresented
by
the
glass
weights.
It remainso
make few emarksbout hedate
and
probable lace
of manufacture
f
the
weight
under iscussion.Mr.Newell oesnotrecallwhere
he
acquired
he
piece.
Even
f
hiswere
nown,
he
inferencehat he
place
f
purchase
ere he
ame
s
the
place
f
origin
ould
ot
be
ustifiable,
owever
plausible.
n all
probability
he
riginal
rovenance
ofthe
weight
s
Egypt,
lthough
heres
no conclu-
sive evidence hat it
may
not
have been
Syria.
Weights
fthis
ype
re
usually
ssigned
o
the5th
or 6th
Centuries;
he
presence
f theGreek
ross
n
itself
recludes
n
earlier
ating.
In this
articular
instancet
is
unlikely
hatthe
official
ho
caused
al-Walîd'sname and order o be inscribed ould
have hosen
weight
more
han,
ay,
fifty
ears
ld
if this
ssumption
s
correct,
e can
then
ostulate
themiddle
th
Century
s
the
pproximate
ate
of
the
manufacture
f the
piece.
Or,
f t
be
objected
that
he
weight
as
probably
adebeforehe
Arab
conquest
Syria
n
635,
Egypt
n
641),
we
may
t
least
ropose
he
irst
uarter
f he
7th
entury
s
a
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
18/19
10
A
BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
terminus
quo
In
any
case there
s a
strong
ikeli-
hood
hat
his
weight
s
to
be
placed
ater
han he
date
usually
ssigned
o
similar
ieces.
As for he
date of theArabicvalidation,t clearlymustfall
between 6
and
96
A.
H.
(705-715
A.
D.),
the
years
of
al-Walïd's
eign.
Several
glass stamps
arlier
than his re
known,
ut theearliest
lass
weights
were ssued
when
Usāmah b.
Zayd
was
Finance
Minister
n
Egypt;
one
is
dated
n the
year
96.13
This
weight,
herefore,
s
an
Arab
weight, roviding
it were
not
engraved
n
the ast
year
of
al-Walïd's
reign,
ntedates he
earliest
nown
lass weights,
and
s of
bout
qual
date with he
very
nteresting
bronzeweightssuedbyal-Hajjāj andpublishedfew
years
go by
Mr.
John
Walker.14
f
Egypt
be
the
provenance
f
our
piece,
we
may
assume
hat
the fficial
ho
gave
he rder o nscribehe
weight
was
Qurrah
.
Sharlk,
Governorf
Egypt
from 0
to 96
A.
H.,
a
manof
considerablealent
whowas
appointed y
al-Walïd
o
carry
ut the
new
dmin-
istrative
eforms
n
that
province,
nd who
s
known
to
us not
nly
n the
histories
ut lso
throughlass
stamps
nd certain
apyri.15
We
have it on
the
15
. T.
Rogers,
npublished
lass
Weights
nd
Measures,
n
J.R.A.S.,N.S.,Vol. ,pg. 07.Cf. etrie,lasstampsnd
Weights,
g.
.
14
.
Walker,
ome
ecentrientaloin
Acquisitions
f
the
British
useum,
n
Numismatic
hronicle
1935,
p.
246-248.
This
weight
s inscribed:
j-j
A*-«
0/Ä4
L
t
. e. six
mithqãls.
15
.H.
Becker,
apyrichott-Reinhardt,
(Vol.
ll of
Veröffent-
lichungen
usder
Heidelberger
apyrus-Sammlung),eidelberg,
t906.
H.
Lammens
as
ontributed
monograph
n
Qurrah:
This content downloaded from 83.85.134.3 on Wed, 03 Feb 2016 11:12:43 UTCAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
8/20/2019 A Byzantine weight validated by Al-Walid / by George C. Miles
19/19
A BYZANTINE
WEIGHT
11
authority
f al-Kindi16hat heorderwas
given
o
change
he
records
n
Egypt
ntoArabic
n
the
year
87,
early
n
al-Walld's
reign.
As elsewhere
he
changewasaccomplishednly radually;hepapyri
demonstratehat here as
official
ilingualism
nto
the
beginning
f
the 2nd
Century
f the
Hijrah.17
There re Greek-
rabic
dicts ated
87,
91,
nd
101
A.
H.,
and Greek nd
Coptic
were sed
n
theout-
lying
rovinces
ntilmuch ater.
This
weight,
hen,
with
ts 'nationalistic'
Arabic
inscription,
atable
bout
90
A. H.
/708-709
.
D.,
is an
interesting
nd valuable ocument
eflecting
general
endency
nd
the
specific
eforms hich
werebeing ntroduced hile the great Umayyad
period
was
at
its
highest
evel.
UnGouverneur
mayyade'ÊgyPle
Qorra
bn
arík,
'après
es
papyrus
rabes
in
Études
ur
eSièclees
mayyades,
eyrouth,
1930,
p.
05-323.
16
d.
Rhuvon
uest,
he
overnors
nd
udges
f gypt,
.
J.
W.Gibb
emorial
eries,
ol.
IX,
eyden,
912,
p.
8-59.
17
ecker,
p.
it.,
p.
7-29. f.Walther
jörkman,eiträge
zur
eschichteer taatskanzlei
m
slamischen
gypten,
amburg,
1928,
p.
-3.