The Islamic Coins From 1-100 AH / 622-719 CE
After the Muslims defeated the armies of Byzantine and Sassanian empires, there came the need to administer the conquered territories. The early Muslim from Arabia did not have a sophisticated system like that of the two defeated empires. So, the best recourse for them was to maintain the existing administrative systems just like other conquerers before and after them did. However, the early Muslims inherited two different administrative systems from the conquered two empires. Hence they had to maintain two parallel administrative systems one in the east and another in the west, which differed in their languages, culture, monetary systems and controls. The Muslims maintained these parallel systems for over 50 years until the reforms of the Umayyad caliph ‘Abd al-Malik.
Before the reforms of ‘Abd al-Malik, the Muslims used the existing monetary systems of their Sassanian and the Byzantine predecessors. There is a debate concerning the earliest coinage and their dating. Some argue that Muslims started striking coinage almost immediately as they did in the former Sassanian domain. Other argue that the Muslims did not strike coins in the former Byzantine realms until the reign of ‘Abd al-Malik. However, the middle ground appears to be more appropriate as the the coinage of the era before the advent of ‘Abd al-Malik was very complex. At some point in time, both in the east and in the west, the Islamic empire started to make its presence known via the coins that circulated in their domains. Initially, the changes were very minor with the addition of short phrases in Arabic and/or the addition of hijra dates. These lasted until a complete reform of the administrative system by ‘Abd al-Malik who united it in Arabic and changed the coinage drastically to what we essentially call as Islamic coins. The reformed coinage of ‘Abd al-Malik was different from its earlier predecessors in epigraphy as well as religious content. The new coins asserted the oneness of Allah and Muḥammad as His last Messenger.
Our aims here are quite modest. We would like to display the unique Islamic coins between 1-100 AH / 622-719 CE. These coins are unique in the sense of epigraphy as well as the religious content and not unique with respect to where they were minted.
Looking for something similar? Try
The Qur'anic Manuscripts | Arabic & Islamic Inscriptions | Arabic Papyri
1. Chronological Arrangement Of Islamic Coins From 1st Century AH
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh ("In the name of God").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: lillāh ("Unto God").
Arab-Sassanian Coin Of Mu‘āwiya, Darabgird, Frozen In Year 43 AH / 663-664 CE.
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse field has Maawia amir i-wruishnikan ("Mu‘āwiya, commander of the faithful") written in the Middle Persian. Obverse margin: bism Allāh ("In the name of God").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh al-malik ("In the name of God, the King").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh rabbī ("In the name of God, my Lord").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. It comes with a hephtalite countermark and testmark. Obverse margin: bism Allāh rabb al-ḥukm ("In the name of God, the Lord of judgement").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: Ṭalha lillāh ("Ṭalha, unto God").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. It comes with a hephtalite countermark and testmark. Obverse margin: bism Allāh al-‘azīz ("In the name of God, the Great").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh / Muḥammad rasūl / Allāh ("In the name of God, Muḥammad is the messenger of God"). This is the earliest occurance of the name "Muḥammad" in a dated Muslim text.
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust with Pahlavi afzut before bust. Obverse margin: bism Allāh ("In the name of God") in the second quadrant of obverse margin. Reverse field: Fire altar between mint (Dārābjird) and date, in margin afzut (Pahlavi) and baraka ("blessing").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: lillāh al-ḥamd ("Unto God be praise").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh ("In the name of God") BPRWY (in Middle Persian) with a countermark lillāh ("Unto God") in the fourth quadrant.
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh / bakr bihi ("In the name of God. This was initiated by").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Written in Arabic to downwards to the right of the bust: Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ("Muḥammad is the messenger of God"). The conventional Pahlavi benediction formula khurra afzut is behind the bust. Obverse margin: bism Allāh ("In the name of God"). This is an extremely rare coin and marks the initial steps of ‘Abd al-Malik's monetary reforms in Damascus.
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh walī al-Amr ("In the name of God, the Master of affairs"). This is a lesser known slogan of the Kharijites.
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh / lā-ilaha il-Allāh wa / ḥdahu Muḥammad ra / sūl Allāh ("In the name of God. There is no god but God alone. Muḥammad is the messenger of God").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust. In the place of the usual Sassanian fire-altar and two attendants, three bearded figures standing, the central one facing with hands raised on either side of his head, in an attitude of prayer, with smaller figures left and right, respectively, having their heads turned toward him. Obverse margin: bism Allāh / lā-ilaha il-Allāh / waḥdahu Muḥammad / rasūl Allāh ("In the name of God. There is no god but God alone. Muḥammad is the messenger of God").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust. In the place of the usual Sassanian fire-altar and two attendants, three bearded figures standing, the central one facing with hands raised on either side of his head, in an attitude of prayer, with smaller figures left and right, respectively, having their heads turned toward him. Obverse margin: bism Allāh Muḥammad / rasūl Allāh ("In the name of God. Muḥammad is the messenger of God").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: lā ḥukm illā lillāh ("Judgement belongs to God alone"), the typical Kharijite slogan.
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust. In the place of the usual fire-altar and the two attendants, a standing figure of the caliph, bearded and with his right hand resting on his sword-hilt in the attitude of the imām delivering a khutba. Kufic legends on sides running downwards khalfat (sic) Allāh / amīr al-mu'minīn ("khalifa of God, Commander of the Faithful"). Obverse margin: bism Allāh / lā-ilaha il-Allāh / waḥdahu Muḥammad ra / sūl Allāh ("In the name of God. There is no god but God alone. Muḥammad is the messenger of God").
Obverse field has an image of the caliph standing in the centre, bearing a sword in a scabbard. Obverse margin: bism Allāh lā-ilaha il-Allāh wa / ḥdahu Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ("In the name of God. There is no god but God alone. Muḥammad is the messenger of God"). Reverse field shows a mutiliated cross on steps along with the date. The "standing-caliph" coin was only minted for three years (74-77 AH / 693-697 CE) before giving way to a wholly aniconic form, that is, engraved only with words and no images at all.
The aniconic reformed silver coinage of ‘Abd al-Malik was different from its earlier predecessors in epigraphy as well as religious content.
The differences between the reformed Umayyad gold and silver coins are quite subtle. The obverse margin in gold became the reverse margin in silver. The reverse margin in gold became obverse margin in silver. The silver also adds wa-lam yakun lahu kufūwan aḥad ("And there is none like unto Him") which is absent in the gold.
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: quwwat Yazīd billāh ("Strength of Yazīd is from God").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: lā-ilaha il-Allāh wahdahu Muḥammad rasūl Allāh ("There is no god but God alone, Muḥammad is the messenger of God").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh / rabb ḥarasahu ("In the name of God. May God protect him").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh / baraka ("In the name of God. Blessing").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust, but with a new type of head-dress with a top like weather-vane. On the reverse side, in place of the usual Sassanian fire-altar and two attendents, a standing figure, facing, in armour, wearing helmet with "weather-vane" like that on the obverse side and holding in his left hand a spear, while grasping with his right hand a sword in its scabbard. Obverse margin: bism Allāh / al-Aẓīm ("In the name of God, the Mighty").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: bism Allāh / ‘Amr lillāh ("In the name of God. ‘Amr, unto God").
Typical late Arab-Sassanian bust and fire-altar with attendants. Obverse margin: MY (Pahlavi) / bism Allāh / al-‘izza lillāh ("In the name of God. Unto God belongs the honour").
Coin weights were made to correspond to the weights of particular coin denominations, and the denomination in question was usually indicated in the design. Measuring the weight of a coin is an objective measurement. It can be repeated and it will come out the same time and time again and by different people. The purpose of the coins weights was to check the weight of coin in circulation and ensure that coin received was of good quality. Normally they would correspond to the lowest weight at which the coin remained legal tender. They could be used to guard against clipped, worn or counterfeit coin and to check the standards of foreign coin permitted in currency.
This is a unique coin weight in bronze was issued by the authority of the Umayyad governor al-Hajjāj ibn Yūsuf. Walker identified it as a weight of six mithqāls (= six dīnārs, in modern terms 25.5 gms). It weighs 25.14 gms, very close to Walker's suggested six mithqāls.
The weight of ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Marwān's (r. 65-86 AH / 685-705 CE) glass piece, 4.29 gms, shows that it must be dated to the latter part of his governorship in Egypt, for it is clearly on the standard introduced for the dīnār in ‘Abd al-Malik's coinage reform, which came into effect, for the gold coinage, in 77 AH / 696-697 CE. The standard is normally calculated at 4.25 gms. Other than the coins themselves it is one of the earliest, perhaps the earliest, of the documents we possess for the standard of the reform dīnār.
This disc type weight is well known to have been used under Byzantine rule in the sixth century. Only one half of the weight survives.
Albeit not an Islamic coin, this unique dīnār or the gold coin of King Offa of Mercia is generally considered as one of the rarest and most remarkable coins in the world. This piece is considered to be a copy of an Arab dīnār of the year 157 AH issued by caliph al-Mansūr, and was issued in, or more probably, subsequently to the year 774 CE.
The corpus of dated Muslim texts until 72 AH / 691 CE for the study of early Islam.
The corpus of dated texts containing the Qur'an from 1-100 AH / 622-719 CE proving the early codification of the Qur'an in Arabic.
The corpus of dated non-scriptural Muslim and non-Muslim texts mentioning Prophet Muhammad from the first Islamic century.
© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.