the earliest arab gold coinage / [george c. miles]

8/9/2019 The earliest Arab gold coinage / [George C. Miles]

1/31

THE EARLIEST ARAB GOLD COINAGE

PLATES XLV-XLVII)

G E O R G E

C . M I L E S

The coinage reform of the Umayyad Caliph

'Abd

al-Malik

b,

Marwnhasfor many

years engaged

the

interest

of

students

not

only

of Arab and Byzantine economic and numismatic

history

butalsoofthose whohave been primarily concernedwith

questions

of

iconography.

The

years immediately preceding

the

reform

are

of special interest

to the

latter,

for

within

a

very short period

of

time those responsible

for

designing

the

Arab coinage (both

in the

East, where

the

Sasanian

tradition

prevailed,

and in

Syria

and

Palestine, wherethemodelswereByzantine) abandonedthemoreor

less

faithful

imitations of Zoroastrian and Christian types, then

introduced several remarkable Muslim iconographical

experiments,

and finally fixeduponthe

severe,

non-pictorial, epigraphical

type,

which

by and large was to

characterize Islamic coinage

throughout

the centuries.

1

The year 77 of the Hijrah A . D . 696/7) wascriticalin

the

history

of the gold

dinar,

for it was inthat

year

thatthe first

reformed,purely

epigraphical type was

issued.2

Earlier in the same

year there

had

appeared

the

last

issue of an

experimental icono-

graphical type,

thatof the

Standing Caliph,strack

undoubtedly at

Damascus,sweretheUmayyad dinarsofreformed type. Preceding

The

evolution

is

expertly summarized

by

Philip Grierson

in his

article, 'The

monetary

reforms

o f*A bdal-Malik inJESHOIII 1960), pp.

241

ff . It can be

followed indetailin the

late

JohnWalker'stwoBritish

Museum

catalogues,

A Catalogue

of

th eArab-Sassanian Coins(London, 1941) and A Catalogueof th e

Arab-Byzantine

and

Post-Reform

Umaiyad

Coins

(London,

1956).

S eealso

my

review of

these

two

volumes

in

Ars

Orientalis,

III 1959),

pp.

207-213.Grier-

son's

article

(p.243,n. 2)refers to additional relevant material published

since1956. To these referencesmay beadded: John Walker, Monnaiessas-

sanides et arabes provenant des fouillesde Bichpour in R.

Ghirshman,

Bichpour,Vol.II, Les mosaiqttes sassanides(Paris,

1956),

pp.

185-191;idem,

Oriental coins

from

the excavations at Susa in Numismat ique

Susienne

Memoires

de

la,

Mission

Avcheologique

en

Iran

Vol.

XXXVII,

Paris,

1960),

pp.51-65; and G. C.Miles,

Excavation

Coins from the Persepolis

Region

N e w

York,1959),especiallypp.

25-42.

2

Walker, BMC II

p. 84,no. 186.

205


2/31

2o6 GEORGE C.MILES

the

Standing Caliplidinar was another experimentalissue,an Arab

adaptation of the

solidus

of

Heraclius

with

three

standing figures,

which John Walker dated before

693;

and it

appears that

still

earlier

the Arabs

had struck

copiesofByzantine

solidimodified

by

the removalofChristian symbolsbut without any specific Muslim

characteristics.

WhenWalker completedhiscatalogue of

Arab-Byzantine

coinsonly

twoissuesof

the

StandingCaliphdinar

wereknown

toexist, thoseof

theyears76(695/6)and 77(696/7).Justbeforethe volumewent to

pressI had the

good

fortuneto

receive

a

pencil rubbing

of a

specimen

of

the

year

74

(693/4)which

I

communicated

to

Walker,

and he was

ableto

make mention

of theexistenceofthiscoinin his

preface

and

elsewherein thevolume (pp.vi, xxxi andIv).It is now in thecollection

oftheNational

Museum

ofPakistan, Karachi. Subsequently,in

1963,

I was shown another dinarofthis type, dated 75

(694/5).

This coin has

nowbeen acquired by a private

collector,

Mr. Robert W. Morris, who

has been goodenoughto lend it to me for

close

examination. These

unique

specimens

of the

years

74 and 75 of the

Hijrah deserve

pub-

licationand I amhappyto beabletodescribeandillustratethem

here.3 The occasion also presents a suitable opportunity to bring

together in oneplace all the available information regarding the

Standing Caliph dinars

of 76 and 77

H. swells

the

earlier

transi-

tional

gold

types, to

illustrate

some of them, and to makesomeobser-

vations regarding the

chronology

of these rare and interesting coins.

In the courseofpreparing this article I havefrequently consulted

with

my

friend

Philip Grierson on certain points and he has been

good

enough

to put at my

disposition

the

preliminary drafts

of two

shortpapers which he had contemplated Publishing on the chronology

of

the

earlier issues.

I am

most grateful

to

him

for

thiscourtesy.

Specific

acknowledgment

ofsomeofhiscontributionsto thediscussion

willbefoundin thebodyof thearticle.

The

gold coins described

in the

inventory

that follows may be

grouped under three

headings:

A) Arab imitations of Byzantine

3

May I here

express

my

warm

appreciation to Mr.

Morris

forallowingme to

photograph and publish hisbeautifulcoin; and to Dr. F. A. Khan, Director of

Archaeology

inPakistan, for

permitting

me topublishthe specimenof 74 H.

and to

illustrate

it

from

photographs

kindlyfurnished

me by M. Raoul

Curiel.


3/31

EARLIEST

ARAB GOLD COINAGE 207

solidi;4B) the Arab adaptation ofHeraclius'stypewith

three

stand-

ing figures; C) the

Standing Caliphtype.

A. ARAB

IMITATIONS

OF

BYZANTINE

SOLIDI

1 Imitation

of a

solidus

of

Phocas.

TheCabinet des

Medaillesin

Parishasrecently acquiredanImitation

ofasolidusofPhocas (21

mm.,

4.33 grams), whichM.Jean Lafaurie

proposesto assign to the Sasanians,5 but whichI believeis to be

attributedto the Arabs. An ordinary Constantinopolitan solidus of

Phocas

A.D.

602-610)

is

illustrated

in

PLATE

XLV,

i

6

Note

the

crosses on orb and crownon the

obverse,

the cross on the orb and

the transverse bar of the chrismon on the reverse. The Imitation,

overstruck,

s

Lafaurie observes,

on a

solidus probably

ofMaurice

Tiberiusor ofJustinian, isillustratedinPLATEXLV,2.7Note herethe

omission of the transverse barsof thecrossesand the chrismon.These

indubitably intentional omissions, or deformities, of the Christian

symbolsare comparable to those on the Arab dinars oftypesB and C,

and also to the transf ormation

of

the cross on steps

into

a

starf

termi-

nating

in a globe or

ball

on

certainof

the

earlyArab

gold

coins ofNorth

Africa.

8

The

questionof

theprobable

approximate

date

ofthis

coinand

of

theother issuesofgroupA andgroupBwillbediscussed

below.

2. Imitation of a solidus of Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine.

Property of Mr.George Allen (Hesperia Art) o fPhiladelphia, to

whom

I am

indebted

for

permittingme

to

include thisspecimen

in

the

inventory.

20

mm., 4.36 grams

/

4Surelyto be dismissed

s

pure fantasy is the ingeniousattribution by Prince

Philip of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ofcertain barbarous solidi ofAnthemius and

Heraclius to

Musailimah (the false prophet

of Abu

Bakr's time)

and a

certain Salmn

b.

Rabrah

in the

army

of Abu

'Ubaydullh

b.

al-Jarrh

died 18H .) .

RBN 1891,

pp.297-356,and 1893, pp.

263-278.

5

Imitationd'un

solidus

de

Phocas frappee

par lesSassanides, in

Bulletinde

la Soci ie

frcmfaise de

Num ismatiqite,

Dec.1964,pp. 412-415.

6ANS (ex E. T.Newell

Co ll.), 21

mm.,4.46 gr.,

]/

var.of BMC I, p. 162,no .i

7From

aphotographof a plaster cast madewhenthe coinwas

submitted

to

me

for

examination previous

to its

acquisition

by the

Cabinet

des

Medailles.

The

traces

of the undertype

observed

by

Lafaurie

are

scarcely visible

on the

plaster

castor the photograph.

8

SeeWalker,BMC.II, p. xli and

pls.

X and XL


4/31

2oS GEORGEC.MILES

An example

of

-the prototype,

a

solidus

of

Constantinople,9

is

illustrated

in PLATE

XLV,

3.

Note

the

crosses

on the crowns, the

cross

in the field to the

right

of the

head

of

Heraclius,

and the

cross

on

stepson the reverse. On the Imitation

PLATE

XLV,4) theobverse

legendis

bungled

although a

few letters

arerecognizable, the cross in

the field has been eliminated entirely, the cross on

Heraclms s crown

has

been altered

and

appears

rather to be a

staff

similar to the trans-

formed cross on steps on the previoustype. Also the

place

of the cross

on

the crown of Heraclius Constantine has been taken by a simple

ball or pellet. On the reverse the transverse bar of the cross on

steps

hasbeen removed, although the horizontalbar at the top of

the cross is preserved

s

on certain of the

early North

A frican

gold.10

The

reverse legend

is

clumsily engraved

and the A s are

upside down.

3.Imitation

of a solidus

of

Heraclius and Heracliits

Constantine

Propertyof Dr. Paul Bedoukian,w hohaskindlylent the coin to

me forstudy. 21

mm.,

4.44 gr. PLATE XLV,6).

Theprototypeof this imitation isillustrated in PLATE XLV,

5.

11

Here

againitwillbeobserved

that

on theimitationthecrosseson the

crowns

worn

by the

imperial

figures

have been

deformed, that the

cross

in the field between the two heads is lacking,that the obverse

legend

is

bungled (the

only

recognizable

letters are

at the

top),

and

that

the staff on steps on the reverse resembles

that

on no. 2, above.

The engraving

on the

busts

on the

obverse

is

very crude, while

the

reverse, exceptfor the elimination of the transverse bar of the cross,

isquitea faithful copyof theprototype. The A ofVICTORIA is on its

side.

This specimenis

reported

to have been in ahoard of gold coins

foundnear or at Daphne, near Antioch. The hoard, acquired by Dr.

Bedoukianin

November

1965,

consisted

of 64

Byzantine

solidi, one

semissisandthis

imitation.

The

Byzantine coins

in the

hoard were

the

following:

9

ANS

(ex Gautier Coll.), 21mm., 4.41

gr.,

|Cf. MC I, p. 187, no.

18,

datableA .D .613-629.

10See Walker, MCII, pp.

xli

and

xliii,

andpls. X and XI.

11

A

specimen

from

the hoardmentioned below, propertyof Dr. Bedoukian,

2imm., 4.48 gr.,\ Cf. MCI, p. 189, no.41,datable 629-631.


5/31

EARLIEST

ARAB GOLD COINAGE

209

Maurice

Tiberius 582-602),

BMCByz

2 ff.

Phocas

602-610),

BMCByz. i f f . 23

HeracliusandHeraclius Constantine

613-629)

,12

BMCByz. 10

ff. 25

Heraclius

and

Heraclius Constantine

629-631),

BMCByz. 39f f 5

Heraclius, Heraclius Constantine and Heraclonas

632-641),

BMCByz.

46ff.

2

Constans II

ca.651-659),BMCByz.

27 f f 3

Constans II andConstantineIV 654-659),

BMCByz.

38f f

2

Constans

II and

Constantine

IV

659-668),

BMCByz.

53

ff.

Constans II,

BMCByz.

69f f semissis)

i;

Constantine IV ca. 670-680),BMCByz.

7

f f 3

4. Imitation

of a solidus

of

Heraclius

Heraclius Constantine

and

Heraclonas

British

Museum, 20 mm.,4.46grams. Walker, BMC II, p.

18,

no. 54. PLATE

XLV,

8)

An

exampleof the general Byzantine prototype is

illustrated

in

Plate

XLV,

7_13

On the imitation note that the crosses have been

removedfromthe crowns and orbs, and on the reverse the transverse

arm of the cross onstepsis lacking

s

on nos. 2 and 3.It is to be

observed alsothatthe Heraclian monogramin the reversefield has

beeneliminated but

that

the

letters

l and Bappear

left

and

right

of

the

vertical

shaft seebelow,

p.

228).

5.

Imitation

o f a solidus of

H eraclius

Heraclius Constantine and

Heraclonas

A

specimen very like

no. 4 has

been brought

to my

attention

by

Mr.

Philip Grierson, who in 1961 received a pencil rubbing of the

coin from

a NewYork dealer.The specimenwas at that time the

property

of

aSouth Americancollector.Ihave examinedtherubbing,

averyunsatisfactoryone,butclear enoughtoshowthatthecoinis in

12

I

follow

Philip

Grierson

in

NC

1959, pp.

152-154,

in dating the

solidi

of

Heraclius.

18ANS48.19 ex

Gautier

ColL), 20mm., 4.40gr.,|Cf.BMC

I

p.191,no.

61,

datable 632-641.

14 Notes13


6/31

210

GEORGE C.

MILES

all respects similar to no.4 except that the letter I appears in the

reverse field at the left of the cross and the letter T at the

right.

T he

letters

following

A V

M

are not

certain.

B. A R A B A D A P T A T I O N OF

HER A CLIUS S

TYPE WITH THREE

S TANDINGFIGURES

The obverse of this type is in general similar to the obverse of no. 4,

but

with

theeliminationof thevertical shafts eventhevestigesof the

crosses on the crowns have disappeared, and the orbs have been

converted into a sort of knob terminating the vertical line,in origin

the edge of the imperial robe but now giving the impression of a

staff,

14

eventhough

the

vertical line does

in

fact

join the

bottom

hem

of

the robe. On the reverse the deformed cross on steps

occupies

the

center of the field and the vertical

shaft

terminates in a knob. This

symbol appears

on half

dinars

of

North

Africa and

Spain,

on a

bronze

of North

Africa

dated

80

H. (A.D. 699},

15

and also on the

Standing Caliph type of dinars described below. To the

left

of the

shaft

appears

the letterB, to the

right

the

letter 1

The

surrounding

legend

in simple

Kufic

characters reads eJb-j l Y i i V t t \ ^

4 lJ ;

JU*,

In thenameofAllah, thereis no god butAllah,he is

one; Muhammadis the messenger of Allah, thus unmistakably

establishingtheAraband Muslim characterof thecoin.

Eight specimensofthisissue have been recorded.16

6.AmericanNum isma tic Society (permanent

loan from

the

Uni-

versity

Museum,

Philadelphia),

20

mm., 4.35grams,

/

Miles,

ANSMN

3(1948),p. 97, no.

i

(PLATEXLV,9)

7 British

M useum,

21 mm .,4.42 grams. Walker, BMQXX (1955-

56),p.15,no. 6. (PLATEXLV, 10)

14Perhaps the qadib? Seebelow,p.220,and myarticle Mihrb and'Anazah:

a study in earlyIsiamiciconography, inArchaeologica Orientalia inMemoriam

Ernst Herzfeld (Locust

Valley,

1952), p. 165.

16SeeWalker, BMC II, pp.xli,xliiiand

pls.

X and XI.

16The

inventory

which follows

corrects

and

Supplements

a

listing

in my

article,

A Byzantine

bronze weight

in the

name

of

Bisr

b. Marwn, , in

Arabica

IX

(1962),

p. 116, n. 2.

Now there arenine specimens: while this articlewas inpressDr.PaulBe-

doukianhas

acquired

one (4.40gr.).

f co


7/31

EARLIEST

RAB GOLD COINAGE

211.

8. Staatliche Museen, Berlin, 19

mm.,

4.50 grams. H.

Ntzel,

Katalog dero rientalischen Mnzen, I (Berlin, 1898), no. 21, pl.I, S

(wrongly

marked

M ).

See Lane-Poole,

1875,

pp.

256-257,

no.

8j

Philippe

de Saxe-Cobourg, RBN 1891, p.

305;

H.

Ntzel

in Tnidi

Moskovskago

Numizinaticheskago Obshchestva

III, 1905,

pl. V, 5

Walker,BMC II, p. 18, B.2.

9.

Cabinet

des

Medailles,

Paris, 18 mm.,

4.40 grams.

H.

Lavoix,

Catalogue des

monnaies musuUnanes

de la

Bibliotheque

Nationale I

(Paris,

1887),

no. 26. Not

illustrated.

10.

Arkeoloji

Mzeleri,

Istanbul,

19 mm., 4.29 grams. Ism Il,

Ghlib,

Meskkt-i

QadTme-i Islmiyeh Qataloghi I (Constantinople

1312H . ),no. 50. Not illustrated.

11.

Property of M meN.

Kapamadji, Paris,

21

mm.,

4.32 grams,

Mentioned

by J.

Lafaurie

in

Bulletin de la Societe Fmngaise 'd

Numismatique,Dec.

1964, p. 4i3-17

PLATE XLVI, i)

12. In the

trade,

present whereabouts

unknown,

20

mm., 4.48

grams.

Santamaria

Auction Catalogue, Rome, May 4,

1961,

no.277.,

13. In an unidentified private

collection, Rome,

1956. Penci,

rubbing communicated to meby Mr. R. E. Hecht,

Jr.

18

I have

been

able to distinguish two

obverse

and three

reverse

dies;

of

this

issue. Obverse A ) : nos. 6, 8, 9,

n

Obverse

(B):

nos. 7,12,,

and

(probably)

13.

Reverse (a): nos. 6, 8, 9,

n

Reverse (b): nos.

7,

12.Reverse

c ) :

13.

An illustration of the

Istanbul

specimen, no.

10,,

has recently appeared in

Islam Ansiklopedisi,

s.v.

sikke, fasc. 108,

(Istanbul,

1966), pl. I,i The

obverse

die is perhaps

(A),

the reverse;

almostcertainly

a),

but the quality of the reproduction is such that

positive

identification cannot

be

made.

Thepencil rubbings of no.

13,

are notvery clear.

171am indebted to Mme Kapamadji for

providing

me with a photograph

(taken at the

Cabinet

des

Med ailles)

of

this specimen.

18In the

listing referred

to in n.16

above,

I

expressed

the

opinion

that

this,

specimen

might

be the same s the oneoffered bySantamaria (no.

12

above ,

but a

reexamination

of the

pencil rubbing

shows

that

it is

not.

4


8/31

212

GEORGE

C.MILES

C.

S TANDING CALIPH DINARS

Year

74

14.Standing

CaliphDinar,

74 H.

(A.D.693/4). NationalMuseum

of

Pakistan (NM1957.1036),

18.7

mm.,4.39 grams. See Walker, BMC,

II, pp. vi,xxxi,Iv. (PLATEXLVI,2)

Obv.:Standingfigure oftheCaliph, wearing Arab

headdress

19and

robe,righthand restingonhiltof sword inscabbardhanging

diag-

onally

from thewaist,

left

hand resting onscabbard;cord,

termi-

nating

in

three

Strands, dangling

from

region

of the

waist

below

the

Caliph's right elbow. Margmal legend, beginning at 12:30 o'clock:

4

J y JU^

sJb-2 4 5 i 1

4 J i

V

s

Area enclosed

by a

partly

linear, partly beaded border.

Rev.:

Shaft, or

staff,

terminating

in orb or

knob,

on

four

steps.

Marginallegend, beginning

at 12:30

o'clock:

tjyu*j x>j \ ^ J

JA

e i f ^ > m t^ j "In the

name

of

Allah,

this dinar

was struck in the

year 74. Scratched

in the

right

field

theletters:

c X < ^ .

Area enclosedby alinear border.

Year

75

15. Standing Caliph Dinar, 75 H. (A.D.694/5). Robert W.Morris

Collection. 21mm., 4.46 grams,/ (PLATE XLVI, 3 and PLATE

XLVII,10,enlarged).

Obv,:

Similar

to no.

14, with

variations

in

design

of

robe

and

scab-

bard.

Rev.:

Similar to no.14,but date reads:

fjv^j

A L , in the

year 75.

19

Walker was

convinced

BMC II, p.xxx)thattheCaliph bothon the

dinars

and on most of the

coppers

is

wearing

the

kfiyah. Stickel,

Lavoix,

Ntzel

andCottevielle-Giraudet thought

he was

bare-headed.There

are

goodargu-

ments

onboth sides. Myfriend Paul

Balog

hasdrawn myattention to the

figure

of

the

Caliph

atKhirbat

al-Mafjar

(R.

W.

Hamilton,

Quav tevly ofthe

Department ofAntiquities in Palestine,XIV, 1950, pl.XLV,

2), so

similar

in

general

appearanceto the figure on thecoins.Herecertainlythehairis exposed.


9/31

EARLIEST ARAB GOLD COINAGE 213

Year76

Two

specimensofthis yearare

known

toexist,and a

third

has

been

reported.20

16.StandingC aliphDinar 76 H. A.D.695/6).CabinetdesMedailles,

Paris,

20

mm., 4.48 grams. Lavoix,

I, no.

1677

(55

bis)

= H.Sau-

vaire, RBN

1860,

p. 325=Tiesenhausen, Moneti Vostochnago

Khalifata (St. Petersburg, 1873), no. 62

=

Walker,

BMC II

p. 42,

no. P.13. PLATE

XLVI,

4)

Obv.: Similar

to no.

14, with variations

in

design

of

robe

and

scabbard.

Rev.

Similar to no.14,butpart ofmarginal legend off fian, and

datereads:

,jvu* j

C^> 5x^, in the year 76.

17. Standing Caliph Dinar 76 H. A.D. 695/6). British Museum,

20mm.,

3.99 grams (damaged). J. Walker, BM QXX

(1955-56),

p.15,no. 7.

PLATE

XLVI,5

Obv .

Samedie

s

no.16.

Rev.

Same

die

s

no.

16.

Year

77

Twospecimensofthisyearareknowntoexist,and athirdhasbeen

reported.

21

18. Standing Caliph Dinar 77 H. A.D.696/7). Formerly in the

Grossherzogliche Orientalische

Mnzcabinet

zu

Jena,

22 20mm .,

4.45grams. J. G.Stickel,

Handbuch

zur

morgenlndischen

Mnz-

kunde, II (Leipzig, 1870), no. 34= Trudi Moskovskago Numiz-

maticheskago Obshchestva, III

1905,

pl.V, 7 =

Walker,

BMC II,

p. 43,footnoteto no. P.14.

20

AninformantinBeirut

told

me in 1963

thatthere

was aspecimen in Bagh-

dad.

>

B^.W^-

(fc *v

21

The

same informant

reportedaspecimen in Baghdad.

221have been

reliably

informed that

the

Jena collection eventually

was

transferred

to

Gotha.

In

August

1965,in

reply

to my

request

for aphotograph

ofthisdinaraletter from theDirector of theSchlossmuseum Gotha

informed

me

thatthe coin couldnot befound.Stickel'sillustration is aline-drawing,

but

Ntzel's,

in theMoscowTrudi is

from

a

photograph.


10/31

214 GEORGE

C.MILES

Obv.:Similar to no.14, with variations in design of robe and

scabbard.

Rev.:

Similar

to no.

14,

but

date reads:

^jw^j

u

< & * ,

in

the

year 77.

19.Standing C aliph Dinar

77 H.

(A.D .696/7).Cabinet

des

Medailles,

Paris, 20 mm.,4.44 grams.23Lavoix, I, no. 56 Tiesenhausen, no.

63=Walker, BMCII, p. 43, no. P.

14

=A ndre Grabar,

L Icono-

clasmeByzantin(Paris,1957),fig. 62.

(PLATEXLVI,

6)

Obv.:

Samediesno.18.

Rev.:Similarto no. 18

(different

die).24

Laterinthe

same

year,77 H.

(A.D.

696/7),s

mentioned

above,

the

reformf the gold coinage takesplaceand the

iconographical

type is

superseded

by the purely epigraphical type, ofwhicha specimen is

illustrated

in

Plate

XLVI,7.25The obverse bears the shahadah,or

declaration offaith,in the area, Qur'n, IX, 33 in the margin, and

thereversehas

part

ofQur'n,CXII in theareaand the

date

formula

inthe margin.

With

the

recovery

of thespecimens

dated

74 and 75 H. the

develop-

ment of the Arab dinar between693 and 697 is nowmostsatis-

factorily

documented. Onecannot,ofcourse,statecategoricallythat

the

Standing Caliph dinarmade

its first

appearance

in the

year

74,

but the

probability

thatnoearlier issueof thetypewillturnup is

strengthened by two reports preserved in Baldhuri's Futh al-

Buldn* 6one to the

effect

that eA bdal-Malikwas the first to strike

goldcoins, in the year 74 H. ; the other statingthat A bdal-Malik

struck dinars

in 74 H. and

again

in 75 H.

These reports

are in

cnflict

with other traditions relating that Mu'wiyah (41-60H.) struck

23

Lavoix

gives

the weight s

4.41

gr., but according to Information

accom-

panying the

plastercastkindlyfurnishedme

by the

Cabinet

des

Medailles,

the

weight is4.44gr.

21N iitx.cl'sphotographofthe Jena

specimen

makcs die comparisonspossible.

25ANS

(permanent loan f ron i

the Universily Museum, Philadelphia, 20

mm.,

4.21gr. SeeANSMN 3(1948),p. 97, no. 2. The

only

otherspecimens of

this

year,

sofarsIknow,are:BritishMuseum (Walker,BMCII, p. 84, no.186);

Cairo,

formerly

Khedivial

Library

(S.

Lane-Poole,

Cot.

o/

...

Arabic

Coins

.. .

in theKhedivial Library at Cairo

London, 1897,

no.i ; and

four

(or five ?)

specimenscitedby Tiesenhausen, no.273.

26Ed. de

Goeje,

pp.

467-468.


11/31

EARLIEST

ARAB GOLD C OINAGE

215

gold coins,

27 specifically goldcoins depictingthe

sword-girt

Caliph,28

but thereis, of course, no numismatic evidence

whatever

to

support

these traditions and it

would

seem almost certain

that

theyare re-

flections of a

misunderstanding

or

even

of an

intent

to

credit

the

firstofthe Umayyadcaliphs

with

an important Innovation. Walker29

was

prepared

to

believe that some

of the

Standing Caliph bronze

coins may

have

been issued during the reign of Mu'wiyah, and

accordingly he assigns the Standing Caliph bronzes without the

Caliph's name or titles to ca. 670-685,

those

without the Caliph's

name

but withtitles to ca.670-690,and those with*Abd

al-Malik's

nameobviously

t

o

685-705.

He

support

his

argument

by

reference

to the reverse types (i.e., uncial and cursive M's in contrast with the

deformed cross on steps), but I do not grasp the cogency of this

argument s there are Standing Caliph bronzes with each of the

three reverse types.

It isrnyown conclusion

that

the Standing Caliph bronzes began to

be issuedunder eAbd

al-Malik roughly

at thesametimesthegold,

that

is

probably

in the

year7411. A.D. 693/4).30Most important

in

this

connection is the obvious relationship between the Standing

Caliph

motif

and thesolidiof

Justinian

II

portraying

the

Byzantine

emperorstanding

and

holding

the

cross

on

steps. Certainly

it was

this

latter issue which inspired the Standing Caliph type, the Arabre-

sponse in the ideological andiconographicalwarbetweenByzantium

and the Arabs.

81

The date now accepted for the introduction of

Justinian's new

type,

a specimen of which is

illustrated

in PLATE

XLVI,

8,32is

6^2^ just

a

year before

our

fLrst

recorded Standing

27

Cf. Walker,BMC II, pp.xxv,

xxxi,

Iv.

28

Maqrizi, Shudhr al- uqd (facsimile text

L. A. Mayer,

Alexandria, 1933,

p. 4).

29BMC

II, pp.xxxi-xxxii.

30Grierson

in

JESHO 1960,

pp.

246-247,

is

also

of

this

opinion.

31The

question

of therelationshipbetweenthe twocoinsandtheirchronology

has

bcen much discusscd. See, for examplc, in the more

rcccnt

liiorature:

Walker,BMC II,

pp.

liv-lv;

A.

Grubar,

L conoclasme

Byzantin

(l'aris,1957),

pp.

67-74; J-D.

Breckenridge,

TheNumismatic

Iconography

ofJustinian II

(New York, 1959),

pp.

69-77;OlegGrabar, Islamic

Art and

Byzantium,

Dumbarton

Oaks

Paper

s,

18

(1964),

p.

Si. Stickel's

discussion

Handb^tch,

II,

pp.43-55),

published

in1870,is excellent.

32ANS (ex E. T.Newell

Coll.j,

19

mm.,

4.31gr. > f .

83Breckenridge,

op.cit., pp. 22, 90,

dates

type II to 692-695.P. D. Whitting


12/31

2i6

GEORGE

C.

MILES

Caliphdinar.Inthis

connection

it

should

be

observedthatamong

the

rare Arab-Sasanian coinswith reverse types

bearing the

Standing

Caliph,

obviously borrowed

from

the

Arab-Byzantine

type,

there

is

nopositive evidencethat

would

point to an

earlier

date for thesword-

girt Caliph.

The

remarkable Arab-Sasanian style dirhem

of

Standing

Caliph

type

PLTE

XLVI,9),probablystrackin Damascus, is

dated

75

H . A.D.

694/5)J8 None

of the

Arab-Sasanian coppers portraying

the

Standing Caliphis dated, but I have assigned one

from

the exca-

vations

atIstakhrto ca.80-85

H.,35

and

there

is no

reason

to

believe

that

any of the othersisearlier.

Before

turning to the questionof the datingof the Arab

dinars

before

the

year

74

H.,

I

should'like

to

discuss .a

few

details

of the

portrayalof the Standing Caliph. One detail inparticularmay be a

matter

ofsomeinterestin the

history

of

early Islamic iconography.

It is, Ibelieve, self-evident,

s

statedabove,

that

thestandingfigure

onthe

Arab coins

was

designedwith

the

thought

of

producing

arival,

sotospeak,of therepresentation of theemperor,

that

is, a

figure

of

the samegeneral appearance, but specifically Araband Muslims

opposed

to Byzantine and Christian. The emperor wears acrown;

the caliph

wears

the

kuyah-?

The

emperorholds

a

cross;

the

caliph

carries

a

sword and

is

prepared

to

draw

it

against

the

enemies

of

Islam. The emperor wears the loros, the broadembroideredandbe-

in

his review of

Breckenridge's

book

Num. Circ.,

Jan., 1960, p. 4) does not

questionthischronology.

34Two.specimens are known:ZubowCollection,HistoricalMuseum, Moscow

(Walker,

BMC I, p.

25) ;

and M.

Azizbeglou

Collection,

Teheran

(J.

Walker,

Some

newArab-Sassanian Coins, NC1952,p. no, no. 4 G. C. Miles, Ars

Orientalis,III, 1959,pl.i,no. 2). The

latter

specimen

is illustrated here. The

reproduction in

Walker's publication, copied

in

mine

in

AO,

isslightlyen-

larged; the

actualdiameter

is 33

mm.,

the weight3.75gr.

85

G. C.

Miles,Excavation Coins from thePevsepolis Region(NewYork, 1959),

p. 33, no.143. Theothers are: several in the

Teheran

Museum and in the

Cabinet

desMe'dilles,

Paris

(J. M.

Unvala,NC

1937,pp. 289-291,

nos.

13

19);andthreespecimensfrom Susa (J.Walker inAvchaeologicaOrientalia in

Memoriam Ernst Herzfeld, Locust Valley, 1952, pp. 240-241, nos. 8-10

=

Walker, BMC II, p. 82,nos. Teh. 2 and

Teh.

3); cf.

J.Walker

in Numis-

matique

Susienne

MMAI,

Vol.

XXXVII,

Paris,

1960),

pp.

56-57,

nos.

VIII

andVllla-d.

36But his

long

hairandbeardalso

resemblethose

ofChriston the

Byzantine

coin;and see n.ig,above.


13/31

EARLIEST ARAB GOLD

COINAGE 217

jeweled

scarf, over

the upper

part

of his body;

37 the caliph wears

a

robe

or

mantle, presumably

the

burdah

of the

Prophet.38

A

particular

featureof the

representation

of the

loros

on the

Byzantine solidus

is

the mannerin which the end of the scarf is

brought

over the em-

peror sleftarm and hangsdownin

front.

Now thedetail on the Arab

dinar

to

which special attention

is to be

drawn

may or may not

have

been

inspired by

this

depiction of the loros,

but

in any case I am of

the opinion,

unfrtunately without

being able to

document

it,

that

this detail has

some

specifkally Arab, and probably Islamic, sig-

nificance. I refer to the cord, most frequentlyterminating inthree

strands, which hangs down

from

the

right side

of the

caliph s

waist,

or

from

hisright

forearm

orwrist.

This detail is represented in various ways, but in one form or

anotherit isalmost always present. On thedinarof the year 74 there

appear to be three distinct strands that descend

from

the waist at a

point just below

the elbow,

although

the

Separation

is not

clear

for

theirentire length PLATE

XLVI, 2, and

Fig.

i).On

that

of the

year

75

the cord

distinctly

beginss a single strand, descending

from

the

area of the

forearm,

and is divided into three

parts

at a point a

little

belowmid-length PLATE XLVI,

3, and

Fig.

2). On the

Paris

and

BritishMuseum specimensof the year 76 (both from the same die)

theupper portionof the cord, descendingfrom nearthe elbow, again

is single and the division into three strands occurs near the bottom

PLATEXLVI,

4, 5, and

Fig.

3).Finally, on the two

specimens

of the

year

77

(both

from the

same die)

the

cord hangs

in a

single strand

from

a point just below the elbow and is divided into three tassels

very near the bottom

PLATE

XLVI, 6, and Fig.

4).

39

Here the single

stand is represented by a series of closely placed dots,

giving

the

impressionthat

the cord is knotted or woven.

On

the

bronze coins

of

Standing Caliph type

this

detail

of the

costume varies considerably

at the

different mints.

At

Iliy Filstm

(Jerusalem) three short strands are bunched closely at the waist

37See

Breckenridge,

op.

cit.,

pp.

35-36.

38

For

Muhammad s

burdah

(also

burd ,

see

Dozy,

Dictionnaire

ditailU

des

noms des vetements (Amsterdam, 1845), pp. 59-64; A. J. Wensink, A

Handbook

of eavly Muhammadan Tradi t ion (Leiden, 1927), p. 46.

39I am indebted to

Miss

Joan E. Fisher for

ihese drawings.


14/31

l

GEORGE C.MILES

Fig.

i

Fig. 3

Fig.

2

Fig.

(PLATE XLVII,1-2)

;

40at

iHalab

and Manbij,two Strands or aloop

(PLATEXLVII, 3-4);41

at

Halab,

two

longStrands

or

perhaps only

one, if theinnerlineistakensthe

e ge

o f the robe) (PLATEXLVII,

40?

A NS64.139

(gift

ofMrs. RogerW.Straus);ANS ex-E.T.Newell Coll.=

M II,

pl.VI,

ANS.5).

41A NS 54.119 purchased in

Beirut);

ANS 49.163

ex-W.

L.Wright Coll.).


15/31

EARLIEST

ARAB

GOLD COINAGE

219

5);42at

Hirns

and

Sarmln,

along

single

strand (PLATEXLVII,

6-7);

43

at Qinnasrin,a

single broad patterned band

(PLATEXLVII,8)

;

44and

at 'Amman,

three

distinct

strands quite clearly hanging

from the

wrist

or forearm

(PLATE

XLVII,

g).

45

Other

variations can be ob-

served inplates

VI-VIII

of

Walker's

catalogue.48 On the dirhemof

Arab-Sasanian type in the Azizbeglou collection (PLATE XLVI, 9)

there

are two

strands, closely bunched, descending

fromtheelbowor

the waist; in theline

drawing representing

thespecimenin

Moscow

no

cords

are

visible.

How

is

this

detailof the

Caliph's

dress to beinterpreted?Stickel,

referring

to

comments

by

Fraehn

in an

article

not

accessible

to

m e,

47

suggested

three

possibilities: a

rosary ( Rosenkrantz ),

a

broa.d

loosesleeve ( ein langervomrechten Arme herabhngender Schlapp-

rmel ),

or a

whip

with

three lashes ( die j s Peitsche,

die

Omar

zuerst einfhrte,

eine

dreiriemige

Peitsche, or the Chalifen-

peitsche ).

In

his

description of the

Jena

dinar he speaks of it san

object

with

a

corded

or

braided(?)

haft endingin

three points ( ein

Gegenstandmit

umwickeltem Stiele,

in

drei Spitzen

auslaufend.

,

.

das ist jedenfalls die

Chalifenpeitsche ).

Ntzel, in describing the

same specimen, uses the words vom r. Arm hngen anscheinend

Bnder herab, i.e., whatappear to be ribbons (orcords). Walker48

suggested the possibility thatthe cord or cords represent the

ends

of

the girdle.

Grabar

49

implies

thatthe

detail

in

question

is the

vestige

of

the end of the loros

depicted

on the

solidus

ofJustinian.

These are,

to

my

knowledge,

theonlypublishedinterpretations.

42

ANS

54.119

(purchased inBeirut)

G. C.

Miles,

Ars

Orientalis

III

(1959),

pl.I,

18.

43ANS63.197(purchased inBeirut);ANS47.99 (giftof H. W.Bell).

44ANS

(unrecorded

provenance).

45ANS 54.112 (gift ofHenri

Seyrig)

= G. C.

Miles,

Ars

Orientalis

III

(1959),

pl.I,21.

46

Walker (pp.

xxix-xxx) notedsome

of the

characteristics

at

different

mints:

at

'Amman

the bands

seem

tofall

almostlike

a

maniple,

onsome

specimens

of

Halab the object

appears

saloopor a

single

band;at

some

other mints

(Harrn,al-Ruhand mintless ),the

bands

areomitted.

47In

ErgzgsU z.

Jenaisch. Lit.-Ztg.

1882,

No. 57, p.70;

Stickel,Handbuch II

pp.

26-27, 43-

48P.xxix.

49

DOPapers18(1964),

p.

71.


16/31

220 GEORGE

C.MILES

I have spent a good

deal

of time and have taxed the patience and

goodnatureofmanyfriendsintryingto find asatisfactory answerto

this

iconographical riddle.

I

nrast

confess

at the

outset

that I

have

failed.

I am notsatisfied

that

any one of the published interpretations

ismoreconvincing than another,nor do I find any of the alternative

Solutions

proposed

bythosewithwhomI

have discussed

thematter

wholly satisfactory. Despite my failureto solvethe problem I am

still

convincedthat there

is a

problem

and

that this detail

of the

Caliph's dressor"outfit" has ameaning,thatitconveyed

something

quite

intelligibleand

significant

to

e

Abdal-Malik's contemporaries.

One

mightthen dismissthematter with this

confession

offailure,but

in

view

of the

effort that

has

been expended

in examining the

various

possibilities it may be ofsome use to

future

inquirers, if any, to

summarize

the lines of investigation I have pursued.

Beforediscussingthepublished interpretations Ishouldmake the

general

observationthatthereseemsto be no evidence

that,

with the

possibleexception

of

the signet ring and cord (seebelow,pp.

223 ),

this

detail represents

any of the official

insignia

of the

Caliphrecognized

in

written

tradition. Thereare noauthentic detailed descriptionsof

the ceremonial

dress

of the

orthodox

or the

Umayyad Caliphs s there

are of the

*Abbsids.

50Abu Bakr presided over the prayers in the

izr

(a close-fitting

garment wrapped around

the

waist

and legs) and

rid acapeorcloak

worn

overthe shoulders).51 It isonlyin the

'Abbsid

period

that

certain relics of the Prophet are generally

recognizeds theall-important Caliphalinsignia ^lmahor

shrah]

:

the

mantle burdah],

the

staff qadib) and/or

the

sword,

and the seal

orsignet ring

khtam

or

khtim}.

sz

In

later

times

many

otherinsignia

50Professor G.LeviDellaVida kindly referred nie toHill

al-Sbi',

Rusm

dar

al-khilfah

(ed. 'Awd, Baghdad,1964, pp.

90-91)

andE.Tyan,Institutions

du droit public

musulman,

I (Paris, 1954), PP-489-496.

"Reuben Levy,

"Notes

on

costume from

Arabic

sources,"

JRAS

(Great

Britain

andIreland),

1935,

p.328.

52See,forexample, Ibn Khaldn, Muqadd imah (ed. Quatremere), II, p. 57

(=F.Rosenthal transL, Pantheon Books,

1958,

II, p.65),whereinspeakingof

thesealhesays, "The ruler. . .

wore

theseal ringsaninsignia, exactlysthe

Prophet's

cloak

al-burdah]

and stick

al-qadlb)

were

used

in the

'Abbsid

dynasty."

Seealso Tabari III, p.455, with referenceto the

succession

of

al-Mahdi,andTabariIII, p.1646,on the occasionof the recognition of the

Caliph al-Mu'tazz; also I> .

Sourdel, "Questions

de

ce're'monial

c

Abbaside,"


17/31

EARLIEST

A R A B

GOLD COINAGE

221

and

accoutrementsplayed

a

part

in

great

ceremonies,53but

they

can

haveno

relevance here.

As

for

the

published

interpretations mentioned

above:

1.

Rosenkrantz ,

orrosary. I

have

found no

evidencethat

the

Prophet

or the

earlyCaliphscarried

a

rosary,

nor

would

it in any

case

have

dangled fromthe position usually depicted on the coins.

2. Ein langer. . .Schlapprmel ,orbroad

loose

sleeve.In avery

fewcases the dangling

object

might perhaps be interpreted

s

such a

sleeve,

but in the

great majority

of

examples

it in no way

resembles

a

sleeve;

and

also

it

might

be

remarked

that

excessively wide sleeves

weretraditionally condemned.

54

3.

Chalifenpeitsche ,

or Caliph'swhip, which 4

Umar

first intro-

duced. The whip

(dirrah)

of the Caliph

*Umar,

withwhich he issaid

to have scourged dishonest merchants, drunkards and other

offenders

on

the

spot

she roamed the markets by day and thestreetsby

night,

is wellknownin

traditional

literature. Tabari, for exaraple,55

says:

l^, t-^y^j s j J l J -

^y

Jjljj There is aproverb

Umar's

whip

is more terrible than another's

sword. 56

He is reported to

have beaten one of his own sons to death (with a

wh ip?

for

drunkenness.

57But

there

is, I

gather,

no

evidence whateverthat

the

whipwas an officialelement of the early Caliph's ceremonial dress or

Rev. des tudes

Islamiques,

1960,

p.

135;

M.

Canard, Ceremonial fat imite

et ceremonial

byzantin,

Byzantion,

31

(1951),

p.

389.

Levy, op.

cit.,

pp.

330-331,

mentions

the occasionwhen

al-Amln

during the storming ofBaghdad

in198H. was

forced

to

send

out the r id (orburdah) ,

sword

and staff stokens

of

defeat.

For the

burdah

see

especially Dozy,

op.

cit.,

pp.

59-64,

and

Wensinck,

op.cit.,p. 46.Al-Mansris

credited with

the

adoption

of the burdahs

part

of

the

omcialcostume

of the Caliph (Levy, op.cit.,p.

330).

For the

qadib

see the

references in my article referred to above (n.

14 ,

p.

165;

and Levy, op.

cit-,

p.

329.

For the

seal

(khtimor

khtani)

seeJ5M.

1

,

s.v.,

and

Wensinck,

op.

e i l ? . -

s.v. seal-ring.

53

Canard,

op.cit.,p.

388,

and L. A.

Mayer,

Mamluk

Costume

(Geneva,

19521 ,

passim.

54 I

owe

this

latter

observation

to

Joseph

Schacht.

Mas'di (Mtirj, VII,

p. 402) says that the 'Abbsid Caliph

al-Musta'In

introduced the practice

ofwearing wide sleeves,

a l-akmm

a l-wsi ah .Al-Tirmidhl, however,wrotethat

the companions

wore wide sleeves (Wensinck,

op.

cit.,

p.

46).

55

Tabari

I, p.

2749;

and cf.

idem,

I, p.

2571.

56Sir

William Muir,

TheC aliphate yd

ed., London, 1898),

p.

202.

57

Al-Nuwairi,Nihyat al-amb,IV(Cairo,

1935),

p. 90; seeTabariI, p.2388,.


18/31

222 GEORGE C.MILES

equipment.58 Therecognized insigniaof the 'AbbsidCaliphshave

been

briefly

discussed above. In

short,

whilesomeof the represen-

tations,

perhaps especially those

with

tliree strands

or

lashes,

do

resembleawhiphanging from the

Caliph's

arm or waistthereis no

literary documentatiorithatwouldsupportthisInterpretation

of the

object.

4. Ntzel's description

( Bnder ,

ribbons or cords) suggestsno

specificInterpretation.

5. Walker's Suggestionthat the cord or cords may represent the

ends

of thegirdleisplausible.Theusual wordfor themilitary girdle,

sword

belt

orbaldricis

mintaqah

later

known

s

hiysah.

59

It appears

that

among

the

Symbols

of

officeintroduced

by the

Umayyads

was a

special girdle

of

silver,60

but

there

is no

testimonythatthis

was one of

theprime insigniaof the Caliph.Ifindeedtheobjectis the end of the

girdle,

we must assume

that

the die-engravers wereattempting to

represent

somethmg

hanging

from the

waist,

not from the arm

or

wrist.

6.

There

can, of

course,

belittle

doubtthatboth

the

general

con-

cept

of the

Standing Caliph

figure and

certain

of the

details were

inspired

by

Justinian II's

standing

emperor

type, and it is by no

meansunlikely

thatthe end of the

loros hanging over

the emperor's

armmay well have provided the idea for a

similar

or parallel icono-

graphic

elernent

on the Arabcoin.But whilesGrabar suggests, the

numismatic prototype of the dangling object may be the loros, it

581am indebted to

Giorgio Levi Della Vida

and to

Muhammad

abu'l-Faraj

al-'Ush

for

combing

theliteraturefor any

reference

that

might

suggest

that

the

dirrah

was an

officialemblem

of the Caliph. The

former

has pointed out to

me

thatthe

whip

was

carrieds

a

symbol

ofofficeby the

muhtasib

and

thatthis

practice might perhaps

be traced

back

to the

example

of'Umar.Cf. E. W.

Lane,An account of themannersand customsof themodernEgyptians (sth

ed.,

London, 1871), I, p.

155, where

mention ismade of

on-the-spot

flogging of

dishonest

merchants,

etc.,by themuhtasib.

59

Dozy,

op.

cit.,

p.

145;

and

Mayer,

op.

cit.,

pp.

25-27, with fllreferences

to

Maqrizi

and Qalqashandiin n. 8, p. 25.

coLevy, op.

cit.,

p.

329.

Mas'di, in the same

passage cited

in n. 54above,

rites:

iJ JI

s\ \j

jklxlij C /U I

4iJi

L U U

The Caliph al-Mu'tazzissaidtohave beenthe first to use

gold

for thepurpose,

and inMamluktimes the girdle was of silver, silvergilt,or even of gold (Mayer,

op.cit., p.

25). Dozy

(loc.

cit.) observes

that the mintaqahor hiysah was

always

of

silver

or

gold, neverleather

or

cloth.


19/31

EARLIEST ARAB GOL COINAGE 223

is no longer the

loros

but rather an Arab and Moslemceremonial

detail designedtotakeitsplace.

It

remains

to

speak

of a

few

other

possible interpretations, some

that haveoccurred to nieand others

that

havebeensuggested by

scholars

with

whoraI

have discussed

the

problem.

7.Mandil (orm indil}. Professor Joseph Schacht,to

whom

I am

indebted

for a

search

in the

relevant

literature,includingthe Madkhal

of Ibn al-Hjj, has suggested the possibility of the

mandil.

It is

defined

in

variousways

but chieflysa

sort

ofhandkerchiefortowel

attached to the girdle.61Levy (op. cit., p. 327) mentionsthemandfl s

one

item

in a

complete

outfit

of

silken garments presented

to a

poet

by the

famous

minister

Shib

Ism'ilb.'Abbd.

8.Fatilh.

Professor

S. D.

Goitein

has

calledmy attention

to a

possible connection between the cord or cords and the Hebrew

petillm

Arabic

fatloh, cord

or

wick .

In

Genesis

38:18

Tamar

demands

of

Judah three

tokens or

pledges

in

order that

she may

identify

him

s

the man

who lay

with her:

thy

signet, and thy

bracelets

[or

cords],

and thystaff; and in

Genesis

38:25:

the signet,

and bracelets [orcords], and

staff.

Obviously

these three

were

a

man's

most personalidentifyingbelongings or insignia. According

to

Speiser,

who

translates

the

passage,

your

seal-and-cord,

and the

staff youcarry, the first two words go together, i.e., the seal on the

cord, 62and heobserves

that

inancient

Semitic times

thecylinder

sealwas of allthingsthemost important meansof identification, and

thatit was

pierced

for

Suspension.

Soalso,

Speiserremarks,

was the

staff

a

distinctive means

of

identification;

cuneiform

records

of the

old

Babylonian period

often

mention

the

bukanum

anobject which

looked

like a

pestle

and

which

changed

hands

tosymbolizethe

con-

61

Dozy,

op.

cit.,

pp.

414-418,esp.

p.

414,

n.

i

62E. A.

Speiser, Tlie

Anchov

Bible:Genesis,

Introduction and

Notes (New York,

1964),p.298,n. 18. Professor Goitein,

however,

writesmethathe disagrees

with Speiserintraiislating seal-and-cord

sthough

thecord were

only

a

means of carrying the seal, for the Hebrew

text,

especially in v. 25, does not

permit

such anInterpretation. HermannGunkel,Genesis

(6th

ed., Gttingen,

1964),

p.

416,

translates

Siegelring,

Kette

und

Stab,

and

remarks

that

the

ancient Egyptians

and the

Arabs wore such cords with amulets attached.

J.

Wellhausen

Reste

arabischenHeident^lms,srded., Berlin,

1961,pp.

165-166)

speaksof

amulet

cords worn aroundthe

waist.


20/31

224 GEORGE C.MILES

clusion

of

certain types

of

transactions.63Certainlytheobject

on

the

reverse

of the

coins

of

typesA I

, B and C, and on

certain

of the

North

African

and

Spanish coins

of

Arab-Byzantine type,

i.e.,

the

symbol

which

took the

place

of the Christian cross, may be interpreted

s

a

staff. Might

not the

eords

on

ourcoins

be the

fatiiah, designed

to

representthe

cords

and

signet,

thelatterofcoursebeing too

small

for

the

die-engraver

to

depict

on the

coin? But

on the

other hand

there is noevidencethattheearly

Moslem

Arab carried his seal ring

on

acord.64

9.Tikkah.

I

owealsotoProfessorGoiteinanalternative Suggestion.

The

tikkah

65

is usually

defined

sabandorcord

used

toholdup the

drawers;

theirends,inLane's timeinEgypt,wereembroidered with

coloredsilks.Admittedlythis cord

was

ordinarily concealedunder

the

outer clothing,

but,

according to

al-Washsh',

66 the tikkah was

associated with the seal in the same manner

s

thatdiscussedin the

preceding paragraph. Also,my friend Muhammad

abu'l-Faraj

al-

*Ushpointsout

that

al-Washsh'usestheword

tikkah

in the same

sense

sm intaqah(see above, paragraph

5).

10.

Dhu bah.

67

The lexicographers

define

this

word s

anything

thathangsdown

loosely;...

theendofawhip;.

thethongorcord

whichisattachedto thehilt ofa

sword)

andwhichissometimes also

made

fastto theguard,and atother

times

hangs

loose

anddangles. 68

Afterthisdigression I return now to the question of the dating of

the

dinars

(or

more

properly perhaps Arab

solidi )

which preceded

63See

also Gustaf Dalman,

Arbeit

und

Sitte

in

Palstina

Vol.

V

(Gtersloh,

1937).

PP-

277-278.

64

In the

hadith

the

principalconcern

is

with

the

proper hand

and finger on

whichtheringis

worn,

themetal,inscriptions,etc.SeeWensinck,op.cit., s.v.

seal-ring.

65Lane,

Lexicon

I

p.

310,

Dozy, op.

cit.,

pp.

95-99;

cf.Lane,

Modern Egypt-

ians I p. 36.

66Kitb

al-Muwaslislia (ed.Brnnow,Leiden,1887), pp.

125,

173.

67Lane,Lexicon I, p.949.

68Cf. F. W. Schwarzlose,Die

Waffen

deralten

Araber

(Leipzig, 1886), p.

165,

in

the sectionon the sword: AmGriff befand

sich

einRiemer oder eineRiemer-

schlinge,

ZA*/*,

welche

mit

einem Nagel

daran

befestigt

war,

und an der das

Schwerclt aufgehngtwurde. Thesedefinitionswouldbeattractivewereit not

for

the

factthat

inmost

cases

the object

definitely

does not

hangdown

from

the

hilt

of the

sword.


21/31

EARLIEST

ARAB

GOLD COINAGE

225

the

Standing Caliph type

of 74 H. ( A . D .

693/4). Walker assigned

the

type with

the

three

de-Christianized

standing

figures,accompanied

by the

Muslim declaration

of

faith (nos.

6-13,

above)

to a

date

before

A . D .693, and remarked that thesepiecesin all probability

were

struck

a

year

or two before... 74H . 69 So far

s

Iknow,theonly

scholar to have questioned this approximate dating is M.

Jean

Lafaurie, who, in two

articles

in the Bulletinde

la

Societefran aise de

Numismatique, and at the Spoleto

Sym posium

ofigo,

71

arguesthat

the Paris

specimen, bought from Moissenet

in 1862

(no.

9,

above),

probably

came,not

frorn

the

Autun

find

s stated

by

Lavoix,

72 but

from

the Buis hoard ofMerovingian coins, buried accordingto Le

Gentilhommein641,73and

that

the

Arab Imitation must have been

issuedbetween

636 and 640.

Lafaurie's

dating is based partly on the

probabilitythattheimitationisnearlycontemporarywiththeoriginal

type

of

Heraclius (ca.

632-641),

partly

on his

interpretation

of the

letters

I

s

an

indiction

figure

(636/7),

and

partly

on the

Buis hoard

evidence. I do not find

these arguments convincing.

One can

cite

manyinstancesof barbaric imitationsofearlier, rather than nearly

contemporary, types; the indiction figures can be

differently

inter-

preted (see

below,

n. 75); and the association of the Paris coin

with the Buis hoard is by no means certain. Lafaurie

himself

uses

cautious language: IIestplus probableque cesmonnaies provien-

nent

reellement

d'un

lot

disperse

de la trouvaille de

monnaies

merovingiennes...

,

and

comme

aucune autre trouvaille

faite

vers cette

epoque [1856] n'a ete

signalee dans

la region d'Autun,

j'ai

crupouvoir.attribuer au

me me

tresor les piecesacheteesen1862

Moissenet,

etc.;

and,

although Lavoix said

that

the

coin

was

found

at Autun, la dispersion des pieces du tresor de Buis des

s

decouverte permet de supposer avec quelque chanced'exactitude

that

the coin came fromthe Buis hoard.

In the preliminary draft of an article on the date of the transitional

69Walker,BMC II, p.

18.

70April 1959, pp. 295-297, and December 1964,pp.412-415.

71Mo neta

e

scambi

nell alto

medioevo (Spoleto, 1961),

p.

253.

72

I, pp.

XIII-XIV;

see J.

Duplessy,

La

circulation

des

monnaies

arabes en

Europe occidentaleduVHIeauXlllesiecle, RN

1956,

p.121,no.i.

73P. Le Gentilhomme,

Les

monnaies merovingiennes de la

trouvaille

de

Buis,

RN

1938,pp.133-168.

5 Notes 3


22/31

6

GEORGEC.MILES

gold

coinage, Philip Griersonwrites: The association

of the

Buis

hoard withthe

dinar

and thetwo Merovingian tremisses saidtohave

been

found

with the

former

is at the best no

more

than

a

conjecture

which

is based simplyonthe factthatthe coins were acquired in the

same part of France at dates not far removed from one another;

thereis nodocumentary

evidence

to

support

it. It

also seems very

unlikelythatthe various scholars of the time who interested them-

selves

in the

hoard

Anatole

de Charmasse,

Harold

de

Fontenay,

Benjamin

Fillon, Anatole

de

Barthelemy

wouldhave omitted

to

mentionso remarkable a

coin

s the

dinar

if it had

made

a

part

of the

hoard.

We do not

even know

the

source

of

Lavoix's

assertion

that

the

three coins werefoundtogether,presumablyit

was

based

on

what

the

seller

of the

coinstold

the

museum,

but we are in no

position

to

judge

how

far it can bereliedon.Possibly the twoMerovingian coins were

indeed strays

from the

Buis hoard,

and the

dinar came from else-

where.

The evidence is so uncertain that we must be content to

remain

in

ignorance.

All

that

one can be

reasonably

sure of isthat the

dinar is

much

toolateto have

formed

part of the hoard, andthatthe

dating of thelatteris not an elementthatneedbetakeninto account

in

establishing

the

chronology

of the

earliest Islamic gold coins.

With regard to Lafaurie's proposed rcdating of the transitional

dinar (type B) to ca. 636-640, Philip Grierson has

written

methathe

considers

this

to be out of thequestion. It istruethatit bearsno

date, but it is impossible to separate it fromthe group of transitional

dinars and dirhams of 72-77H. which began with experimental

modifications

of

traditional

Byzantineand

Sasanian types

and

ended

with

the

purely epigraphic'types'which became normal

for

Islamic

coins.

The argument that because its'obverse type shows three

standing figures it

must have been nearly contemporary with

the

similar

type of

Heraclius

and his two

sons

carries no weight at all.

The comparable north

African

series of dinars and their fractions,

whichare

undated

but

must havebeenstruck between

the

capture

of

Carthage

by the

Arabs

in 695 and the

introduction

of a

dated series

of

adifferent typein703/4 (Indiction

II),

arealso copied

from

solidiof

Heraclius which ceased

to be

struck overhalf

a

Century

earlier.The

reason in both caseswas nodoubt the same:these coinswere

cir-

culatingingreat quantitiesat thedatewhentheArabs conqueredthe


23/31

EARLIEST ARAB

GOLD COINAGE

country,and sincethey hadnever been withdrawn and replaced by

other types, s they had inside the imperial frontiers, they were

familir

to all and

therefore provided

an

acceptable model

for the

Islamic mints.

This

would

be

true

even

for

north Afr ica , since

though Carthage did not fall

till

695,

greatparts

of the hinterland had

been in Arabhands since the 4o s. Moreover to assumethat the

transitionaldinars

[of type B]

date

from ca. 640 would

imply

that the

reverse type of thepillar-on-steps,

replacing

the Byzantinecross-on-

steps,

wasdevisedat

thistime

and then abandoned, to be

revived

again half a Centurylaterfor the coins with standing caliph obverses.

There is in fact no good case at all for dating the dinars [of type B]

any

eaiiierthan ca.691.

In short, there is, I believe, no reason to d i ffer with Walker's

yearor two

before 693 dating;

and in my

opinion

it is

safe

to say

that this

gold adaptation

of the

Heraclius

three-figure

type wi t fc

Kufic legendis to be assignedto 72 or 73

H .,

thatis

A.D.

gi-gs.74

The following

succession

of

events

may be

proposed:

in

691

or 692

(72H) the

Damascus

mint

struck

the

gold adaptation with Kufic

legend;

in 692 (72 or 73

H.)

Justinian

II

issued

his new

type;

in 693

(74

H.)cA bd

al-Malik responded with

the

Standing Caliph dinar.75

74While the bronze uls

with

the threestandingfiguresmaywellbeearlier

(Walker suggests ca.

A .D.

650,thatis, ca. 30H. ) ,theseimitationsretain their

purely Byzantinecharacteristics

and no

effor t

wasmadeto

remove

the

Christian

symbols.

I

refer

to

Walker, BMC

II,

class

(d),

pp.

15-17.

75

Some time

ago

Philip Grierson suggested

to methatthe lettersB l on the

reverse of the dinars under discussion (nos.6-13, above) and the letters l

and I

F

on the

imitations without

Kuf i c

legend (nos.

4 and 5,

above)

may

represent the f igures 12 and 13, and that they might be indiction or r egna i

dates.If oneassumed the reignin question to be cAbd

al-Malik's,

the dates

would be 77 or 78H .,which ofcourse wouldbe too late, uniessoneassumed

that

therewasmore

than

one Arab mint issuing goldat thistime,onecon-

tinuingto strikeimitations, the other issuingthe newStanding Caliph type.

This seems

to me

very unlikely. Walker BMC

II, p.

18, note

to no. 54)

believed

the B to be a

debased form

of the Heraclian

monogram which appenrs

on

theprototype. Lane-Poolesuggested that i B was

simply

a reversal of the

value letters on Byzantine bronze of Alexandria. Returning to

Grierson's

alternatives,

if, on the

otherhand,

the

f igureswere indictions,

the

dates

w o ul d

be

639-640, 654-655,

669-670,684-685,

or

699-700,

none

of

which

w o ul d ,

in

my opinion,be

suitable. Furthermore,

Grierson

has

pointed out to me

that

indictions

are not

likely

on

coinsfrom easternmints, althoughthey were

in

use

in

North Af r ica

and Spain.

15*


24/31

228 GEORGE C.

MILES

It

remainstomake

some

suggestions withregardto thedatingof

the

imitations

which

preceded

Class

B,thatis ofthosewhichbearno

Kufic

legends

to

identify themselves

s

Arab

issues

and

which

are

re-

cognizable s

such only by the defacementor elimination of the

crosses. These are the ones grouped in Class A, i.e., the imitation of

Phocas (no.

i),theimitationsof

Heraclius

andHeraclius

Constantine

nos.2 and 3), and the imitationsofHeraclius, Heraclius Constantine

andHeraclonas

(nos.

4 and

5).

Ofthese

only

two

have been hitherto

published

anddiscussed, nos. and 4.Walker dated the latterca.

690

;76

wh'ile

Griersonmentionsit,77 he does not suggest adate,

al~

though in the

rough

draft

of an

article

on the

subject

of

nos.

4 and 5

seep.

209)

he

inclined toward reading

l B and

I Ps

theregnal

dates

12

and 13of

'Abdal-Malik'sreign, i.e., 76/77

H. and

77/78

H.

Lafaurie

78

implies

that

it is to beplaced, along withtheadaptation ofClassB,

before 640,

an early

dating which

seems to

me,

and to

Grierson,

most unlikely.

As for no.i the

imitation

of a

solidus

of

Phocas,

the

only

published opinion

isthatof

Lafaurie.

He

argues

thatthe

coin

is

a Sasanian issue, struck perhaps at an itinerant mint or inDamascus

or

Jerusalem

sometime

between

611

and

630.

As

in the

case

of no. 4

hebelievesthatthe imitation must be nearlycontemporarywith its

prototype, andsthe Sasanians invaded Syria

shortlyafter

the

fall

of

Phocas they must have been responsible for striking the coin.

Inimical

to

Christianity,

butwishingtoplace

into

circulationagold

cointhatwouldbeacceptable to the

local

inhabitants, theyelimi-

natedtheChristian

Symbols

fromtheByzantine prototype.Lafaurie's

argument isbasedin part on the evidence of the Buishoard(see

p. 225, above) and its bearing on his proposed datingofClass

B:

Le

tresordeBuis vient, malgrece qui a

pu tre

dit, apporterlapreuve

que

cesimitations alegende

coufique,

datent de laconquetede la

Syrie

et de la

Palestine

et ne

sont

pas des

imitations

de

prototypes

vieuxde plus de cinquante ans

comme

celaest actuellement

propose.

ImustsaythatI amskepticalnotonly aboutthetenuousassociation

of one of the specimensofClassB (no.9)withthe Buis hoard, but

also about

the

possibility

of theSasanians'

having issued

an

imitation

solidus

during their temporary occupation

of

Syria.

76Walker, BMC II pp.xxiv-xxv,and

18.

77

JESHO

III (1960), p.242,n. 3. 78See nn. 5 and 70above.


25/31

EARLIEST ARAB GOLD COINAGE 229

It seems to me

much more

probable that all five imitations of

Class A are Arab issues and

that

theyall date f rom very shortly before

the

adaptation

of

691

or

692.

The transformation of the

crosses

and

orbs into

staffs, or the

like,

on the Phocas

Imitation

is

comparable

to

that

on the Arab issue of Class B, on the reverses of the dated issues

ofClassC, and on the North

African

andSpanish issues. Noneof the

lattercan be dated before about 80H ./A.D.699 at the earliest. So also

with

theother

type

of

deformation

of the

cross,

the

horizontal

bar on

top of the shaf tonsteps,which appearson theimitationsofHeraclms

and Heraclius Constantine and of Heraclius and his two sons, com-

parable again

to

some

of the

North

African

issues.

The

idea

of

omit-

ting ortransforming the Christian symbols, retained on the bronze

issuesofSyriaandPalestineuntilatleast650,didnot,in myopinion,

occur

to the Arabs until just before the

events

leadingup to the

issuance

ofClassesB and C and the finaleliminationoficonography

in 77H ./A.D.696-7. So also in Iran the Sasanian

portraiture

and Zoroastrian

symbolism

was

retained

by the

Arabs until

the

several transitional issues were experimented with just

before

the

reform.

As Ihave said (p.225, above),Idisagree with Lafaurie in his

conclusionthatthe imitations must follow very closely in time

a f ter

their prototypes; note, for example, in the very field which we are

discussing,

the

Arab imitations

of

Justin

and

Sophia (A.D.565-578),79

a

type

dating

f rom

long

before

the

Arab conquest. Finally,

the con-

tents o f

the

hoard

in

which

one of the

imitations

of

Heraclius

and

Heraclius Constantine (no.

3) was

found

is of

interest

and

relevance.

The

prevalent

gold

coins

in

circulation

at the

time

of

burial,

ca. 680

or

shortly thereafter, appear

to

have been those

of

Heraclius

and

Heraclms Constantine of 613-629 (25 specimens) and of Phocas,

602-610 (23 specimens), and the Arab imitation copies one of these

then commonsolidi.It

would,

Ithink,at this stage befoolhardyto

attempt to propose different approximate dates

fo r

each of the

several imitations of Class A (they may be roughly contemporary with

each

other),

and Iwill ventureto sayonlythattheyare to be dated in

the

decade before

691 and

probably closer

to 690thanto 68o.

80

Walker, MCII, pp.

1-3.

80A very

brief

version ofthispaper was presented orally at the Third

Con-

gress of Arabic and

Islamic Studies

at Ravello on September 5,

1966.


26/31


27/31

XLV

RLI ST

R B GOLD COIN GE


28/31


29/31

XLVI

RLI ST

R B GOLD COIN GE


30/31


31/31

XLVII

r

the earliest arab gold coinage / [george c. miles]

Documents