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rt C

ultu

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eM

uslim

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nin

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Gro

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LO

ND

ON

AN

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YO

RKCourt Cultures in the

Muslim WorldSeventh to nineteenth centuries

Edited by Albrecht Fuess andJan-Peter Hartung

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al c

hapt

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cont

ribu

tors

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rig

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ess

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aten

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cm

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SOA

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stud

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on th

e M

iddl

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ast;

13)

Incl

udes

bib

liogr

aphi

cal r

efer

ence

s an

d in

dex.

l. Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re—

Cou

rt an

d co

urtie

rs. 2

. Cou

rts

and

cour

tiers

.I.

Fues

s, A

lbre

cht.

II. H

ärtu

ng, J

an-P

eter

.D

S36.

855.

C68

2010

956'

.01—

dc22

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ISB

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(hbk

)IS

BN

978

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4410

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ebk)

List

of

figur

esLi

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f C

ontr

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Intr

oduc

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AL

BR

EC

HT

FU

ES

S A

ND

JA

N-P

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Pol

itic

s

The

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the

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1 D

id t

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uham

mad

kee

p co

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MIC

HA

EL

CO

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2 T

he r

epre

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lam

ic E

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Byz

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inve

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atio

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Abb

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Mus

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HR

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ÜL

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X

xiii 19 21 23 30 54 80 91 93

First published 20 IIby Routledge2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX 14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canadaby Routledge270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Roulledge is un imprint ofthe Taylor & Francis Group,an lnformo business

~ 2011 editorial selection and matter, Albrecht Fuess and Jan-PeterHartung; individual chapters, the contributors.

The right of Albrecht Fuess and Jan-Peter Hartung to be identified aseditors ofth.is work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections77 and 78 of the Copyrigh~ Designs and Patents Act 1988.

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British Library Catalof(Uin}; in Publicalion DoloA catalogue record for this book is availablefrom the British Library

Library ofCongress Cataloging in Publication DataCoun cultures in the Muslim world: seventh to nineteenth centuries Iedited by Albrecht Fuess and Jan-Peter Hartung.

p. em. - (SOAS/Routledge studies on the Middle East; 13)Includes bibliographical references and index.I. Islamic Empire--Court and courtiers. 2. COlUts and courtiers.I. Fuess, Albrecht. II. Hartung, Jan-Peter.DS36.855.C682010956'.0]-Jc22 2010011865

ISBN 978-{)-4 I5-57319-1 (hbk)ISB 978--D-203-844I 0-6 (ebk)

Contents

List offiguresList ofContributors

IntroductionALBRECHT FUESS A D JAN-PETER HARTUNG

PARTIPolitics

The Prophet and the early Caliphates

1 Did the Prophet Mu~ammad keep court?

MICHAEL COOK

2 The representation of the early Islamic Empire

and its religion on coin imagerySTEFAN HEIDEMANN

3 Great estates and elite lifestyles in the Fertile Crescentfrom Byzantium and Sasanian Iran to Islam

HUGH KENNEDY

4 Court and courtiers: A preliminary investigation of

Abbasid terminologyNADIA MARIA EL CHEIKH

Muslim court cultures of the Middle Ages

5 Redressing injustice: Ma.Ziilim jurisdictions at theUmayyad court of C6rdoba (eighth-eleventh

centuries CE)

CHRISTIAN MULLER

xxiii

19

21

23

30

54

80

91

93

viii

Con

tent

s

6 So

cial

elit

es a

t the

Fat

imid

cou

rt

105

PA

UL

E.

WA

LK

ER

7 C

ourt

s, c

apita

ls a

nd k

ings

hip:

Del

hi a

nd i

ts su

ltan

sin

the

thi

rtee

nth

and

four

teen

th c

entu

ries

CE

123

SU

NIL

KU

MA

R

8 B

etw

een

diht

tz a

nd d

ar a

l-ad

l: F

orm

s of

out

door

and

indo

or r

oyal

rep

rese

ntat

ion

at th

e M

amlu

k co

urt

in E

gypt

14

9A

LB

RE

CH

T F

UE

SS

9 T

he M

ongo

l cou

rt in

Bag

hdad

: The

Juw

aynl

bro

ther

sbe

twee

n lo

cal c

ourt

and

cen

tral

cou

rt

168

HE

ND

GIL

LI-

EL

EW

Y

Mus

lim

cou

rt c

ultu

res

of e

arly

mod

erni

ty

183

10

Mon

olith

ic or

dyn

amic

: The

Saf

avid

cou

rt a

nd t

hesu

balte

rn i

n th

e la

te s

even

teen

th C

entu

ry

185

AN

DR

EW

J.

NE

WM

AN

11

Cou

rt c

ultu

re a

nd c

osm

olog

y in

the

Mug

hal E

mpi

re:

H nm

ayün

and

the

fou

ndat

ions

of t

he d

ln-i

ilähl

20

2E

VA

OR

TH

MA

NN

12

Tam

ing

the

trib

al n

ativ

e: C

ourt

cul

ture

and

polit

ics

in e

ight

eent

h C

entu

ry S

hira

z 22

1C

HR

IST

OP

H

WE

RN

ER

13

Glo

bal a

nd l

ocal

pat

tern

s of

com

mun

icat

ion

at t

heco

urt o

f the

Egy

ptia

n kh

ediv

es (1

840-

1880

) 23

5F

EL

IX

KO

NR

AD

PAR

T I

I

Patr

onag

e 25

9

Net

wor

ks o

f pat

rona

ge

261

14

The

adm

inis

trat

iono

fwel

fare

unde

rthe

Mam

luks

26

3L

UC

IAN

R

EIN

FA

ND

T

15

Favo

urit

ism

at t

he O

ttom

an c

ourt

in th

e ei

ghte

enth

Cen

tury

27

3H

EN

NIN

G

SIE

VE

RT

Scie

nces

16

Ena

ctin

g th

e R

ule

of Is

lam

: On

cour

tly p

atro

nage

of

relig

ious

sch

olar

s in

pre

- an

d ea

rly

mod

ern

times

JAN

-PE

TE

R H

ÄR

TU

NG

17

Ayy

ubid

pri

nces

and

thei

r sc

hola

rly

clie

nts

from

the

anci

ent s

cien

ces

SO

NJA

BR

EN

TJE

S

Lit

erat

ure

18

Roy

al d

ishe

s: O

n th

e hi

stor

ical

and

lite

rary

ant

hrop

olog

yof

the

Nea

r an

d M

iddl

e E

ast

ST

EF

AN

LE

DE

R

19

The

Gui

danc

efor

K

ingd

oms:

Fun

ctio

n of

a "

mir

ror

for

prin

ces"

at c

ourt

and

its

repr

esen

tatio

n of

a c

ourt

SY

RIN

X V

ON

HE

ES

Art

and

arc

hite

ctur

e

20

Art

and

arc

hite

ctur

e of

the

Art

uqid

cou

rts

LO

RE

NZ

KO

RN

Con

tent

s ix

293

295

326

357

359

370

383

385

21

Cou

rt p

atro

nage

and

pub

lic s

pace

: A

bu '1

-Has

an §

anl'

al-M

ulk

and

the

art

of P

ersi

antf

ing

the

Oth

er i

n Q

ajar

Ira

n 40

8A

BB

AS

AM

AN

AT

22

The

atre

s of

pow

er a

nd p

iety

: Arc

hite

ctur

e an

d co

urt

cult

ure

in A

wad

h, In

dia

445

HU

SS

EIN

KE

SH

AN

I

Inde

x 47

2

viii Contents

6 Social elites at the Fatimid court

PAUL E. WALKER

7 Courts, capitals and kingship: Delhi and its sultans

in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries CE

SUNIL KUMAR

8 Between dihllz and dar a/-'ad/: Forms of outdoor and

indoor royal representation at the Mamluk court in Egypt

ALBRECHT FUESS

9 The Mongol court in Baghdad: The JuwaynI brothers

between local court and central court

HEND GIlLf-ELEWY

Muslim court clllhi res of early modernity

10 Monolithic or dynamic: The Safavid court and the

subaltern in the late seventeenth century

ANDREW 1. NEWMAN

11 Court culture and cosmology in the Mughal Empire:

Humayiin and the foundations of the dfn-i ilahT

EVA ORTHMANN

105

123

149

168

183

185

202

Sciences

16 Enacting the Rule oflslam: On courtly patronage of

religious scholars in pre- and early modern times

JAN-PETER HAR rUNG

17 Ayyubid princes and their scholarly clients from the

ancient sciences

SONJA BRENTJES

Literature

18 Royal dishes: On the historical and literary anthropology

of the Near and Middle East

STEFAN LEDER

19 The Guidance for Kingdoms: Function of a "mirror

for princes" at court and its representation of a court

SYRINX VON HEES

Art and architecture

20 Art and architecture of the Artuqid courts

LORENZ KORN

Contents ix

293

295

326

357

359

370

383

385

12 Taming the tribal native: Court culture and politics

in eighteenth centu ry Shiraz

CHRISTOPH WERNER

13 Global and local patterns of commu nication at the

court of the Egyptian khedives (1840-1880)

FELIX KONRAD

PART II

Patronage

Networks of patronage

221

235

259

261

21 Court patronage and public space: Abii '1-l;Iasan ~anI'

al-Mulk and the art of PersianiLing the Other in Qajar Iran

ABBAS AMANAT

22 Theatres of power and piety: Architecture and court

culture in Awadh, India

HUSSEIN KESHANI

Index

408

445

472

14 The administration of welfare under the Mamluks 263LUCIAN REINFANDT

15 Favouritism at the Ottoman court in the eighteenth century 273

HENNING SIEVERT

Lis

t of

figu

res

1. l

Ske

tch-

plan

of M

uham

mad

's m

osqu

e in

Med

ina

242.

l H

erac

lius

and

Her

acliu

s C

onst

antin

e, n

omis

ma,

Con

stan

tinop

le,

wit

hout

dat

e [c

. 616

-625

CE

] 31

2.2

Ano

nym

ous,

foll

is,

Con

stan

tino

ple,

reg

nal

year

3 o

f C

onst

ans

II (

643-

644

CE

) 31

2.3

Ano

nym

ous,

/a/5

, Dam

ascu

s, w

itho

ut d

ate

[c. 5

0s/6

60-7

4/69

2]

332.

4 A

nony

mou

s, fa

ls,

Em

esa/

Him

s, w

itho

ut d

ate

[c. 5

0s/6

60s-

74/

692]

; val

idat

ing

mar

k K

AA

ON

and

tay

yib

332.

5 A

nony

mou

s,

nom

ism

a,

with

out

min

t [D

amas

cus?

],

with

out

date

[c.

660

-680

CE

] 34

2.6

Khu

sraw

II, d

rahm

, min

t abb

revi

atio

n 'H

M (H

amad

hän)

, reg

nal

year

29

(618

-619

CE

) 35

2.7

"Yaz

dgar

d II

I", p

osth

umou

s, d

rahm

, abb

revi

atio

n S7

C(S

ijist

än),

regn

al y

ear

"20

YE"

[im

mob

ilize

d da

te, 3

1-c.

41

AH

/651

-c. 6

61 C

E]

362.

8 G

eorg

ia, B

agra

tids,

Ste

pano

s II

(r. 6

39-6

63 C

E), d

rahm

, with

out m

int

[Tiff

is?],

with

out d

ate

362.

9 A

bdal

läh

ibn

Äm

ir,

gove

rnor

of

the

Bas

ra-p

refe

ctur

e, d

rahm

,ab

brev

iati

on D

P (

prob

ably

Fas

ä in

the

Dar

äbji

rd d

istr

ict)

, yea

r43

AH

[im

mob

iliz

ed d

ate,

c. 4

3-47

/663

-668

] 37

2.10

A

bdal

läh

ibn

al-Z

ubay

r, "

amir

of

the

beli

ever

s" i

n Pa

hlav

T,

drah

m,

abbr

evia

tion

D'J

(J

ahru

m

in t

he D

aräb

jird

dis

tric

t),

year

60

YE

(72

/692

) 38

2.11

A

bd

al-M

alik

ibn

A

bdal

läh

ibn

Äm

ir,

Zub

ayri

d go

vern

or,

drah

m,

abbr

evia

tion

BYS

h (B

lshä

pür

in

Färs

),

year

66

AH

(685

-686

CE

) 39

2.12

A

nony

mou

s, d

rahm

, min

t 'K

WL'

(A

qülä

), y

ear

70A

H (

689-

690

CE)

39

2.13

A

bd

al-A

zTz

ibn

Abd

allä

h ib

n 'Ä

mir

, Z

ubay

rid

gove

rnor

,dr

ahm

, abb

revi

atio

n SK

(Si

jist

än),

yea

r 72

AH

(691

-692

CE

) 40

2.14

A

nony

mou

s, n

omis

ma,

wit

hout

min

t [D

amas

cus?

], w

itho

utye

ar [

c. la

te 6

0s-7

2/la

te 6

80s-

691 -6

92 C

E]

412.

15

Ano

nym

ous,

dra

hm, D

amas

cus,

yea

r 72

AH

(69

1-69

2 C

E)

422.

16

Ano

nym

ous,

nom

ism

a, w

itho

ut m

int [

Dam

ascu

s],

wit

hout

dat

e[7

3-74

/692

-694

] 42

Lis

t of

fig

ures

xi

2.17

A

nony

mou

s,

dinä

r,

wit

hout

m

int

[Dam

ascu

s],

year

77

AH

(696

CE

) 43

2.18

A

bd a

l-M

alik

, fal

s, Q

inna

srln

(in

nor

ther

n S

yria

), w

itho

ut d

ate

[74-

77/6

93-6

96]

432.

19

Ano

nym

ous,

dr

ahm

, w

ithou

t m

int

[Dam

ascu

s],

year

75

AH

(694

-695

CE

) 44

2.20

A

nony

mou

s, d

rahm

, w

itho

ut m

int

[Dam

ascu

s],

wit

hout

dat

e[c

. 75

-79/

694-

698]

45

2.21

T

he B

ab a

l-Ä

müd

in

Jeru

sale

m o

n th

e M

adab

a m

ap

462.

22

Ano

nym

ous,

di

när,

w

itho

ut

min

t [D

amas

cus]

, ye

ar

93A

H(7

11-7

12 C

E)

472.

23

Ano

nym

ous,

dir

ham

, Kuf

a, y

ear

79A

H (69

8-69

9 C

E)

488.

l O

ttom

an e

ncam

pmen

t af

ter

the

fall

of S

zige

tvär

, So

uthw

est

Hun

gary

, 15

66

152

8.2

Cai

ro in

Mam

luk

times

15

48.

3 T

he C

itad

elof

Cai

ro

155

8.4

Iwan

of

the

Cit

adel

15

88.

5 Su

ltan

al-N

äsir

Muh

amm

ad o

n hi

s th

rone

15

98.

6 Q

änsa

wh

al-G

haw

r! w

ith

the

nä 'ü

ra

162

8.7

Rec

epti

onof

theA

mba

ssad

ors

163

11.1

L

e G

rand

Mog

ol

211

11.2

P

ictu

re o

f Ja

häng

lr

212

11.3

L

ayou

t of

the

Car

pet

of M

irth

21

311

.4

The

Hor

osco

pe o

f Is

kand

ar S

ult

än

214

11.5

T

he C

eili

ng o

f th

e da

wla

tkhä

nah-

yi k

häss

at

Fat

hpür

STk

rT

215

11.6

St

anda

rd H

oros

cope

Sch

eme

215

12. l

K

artm

Kha

n Z

and

and

his

Cou

rt

224

12.2

K

arTm

Kha

n's

mis

tres

s S

häkh

nubä

t, äs

por

tray

ed b

y E

. Sc

ott

War

ing(

1807

) 22

512

.3

The

two-

side

d co

urt

at S

hira

z 23

120

. l

Bat

man

Suy

u (M

alab

adi)

Bri

dge,

vie

w fr

orn

Eas

t ba

nk

388

20.2

B

atm

an S

uyu

(Mal

abad

i) B

ridg

e, r

elie

f of

Sou

th s

ide

389

20.3

D

iyar

baki

r, U

rfa

Gat

e, r

elie

f ab

ove

lint

el

391

20.4

D

iyar

baki

r, c

itad

el, n

orth

gat

e, i

nter

ior

393

20.5

D

iyar

baki

r, c

itad

el, s

outh

gat

e, e

xter

ior

395

20.6

D

iyar

baki

r, c

itade

l, pa

lace

, gro

und

plan

39

620

.7

Tit

le p

age,

Muh

amm

ad i

bn T

alha

al-

Ada

wI.

al-

'Iqd

al

-far

idli

'l-M

alik

al-S

a'id

39

820

.8

Bro

nze

door

from

the

Gre

at M

osqu

e of

Ciz

re

400

21.1

M

uham

mad

Shä

h, o

il on

can

vas,

145

8/18

42

412

21.2

Sc

enes

fr

om

Haz

är

va y

ak

shab

(O

ne

Tho

usan

d an

d O

neN

ight

s):

Täj

al-

Mul

ük,

the

vizi

er,

and

AzT

z co

nver

sing

wit

hth

e S

hayk

h; in

the

bath

hous

e; o

ut i

n th

e st

reet

41

821

.3

Scen

es

from

H

azär

va

ya

k sh

ab

(One

T

hous

and

and

One

N

ight

s):

Zaw

' al

-Mak

än

figh

ting

the

Eur

opea

ns

List of figures

1.1 Sketch-plan of Muhammad 's mosque in Medina2.1 Heraclius and Hcraclius Constantine, nomisma, Constantinople,

without date [c. 616-625 CE]2.2 Anonymous,Jollis, Constantinople, regnal year 3 of Constans

II (643-644 CE)2.3 Anonymous,fals, Damascus, without date [c. 50s/660-74/692]2.4 Anonymous,Jals, Emesa.fl:lim~, without date [c. 50s/660s-74/

692]; validating mark KAAON and tayyib2.5 Anonymous, nomisma, without mint [Damascus?], without

date [c. 660-680 CE]2.6 Khusraw II, drahm, mint abbreviation 'HM (Hamadhan), regnal

ycar 29 (618--{)19 CE)2.7 "Yazdgard 111", posthumous, drahm, abbreviation SK (Sijistlin),

regnal year "20 YE" [immobilized date, 31--c. 41 AH/65I--c. 661 CE]2.8 Georgia, Bagratids, Stepanos II (r. 639-663 CE), drahm, without mint

[TiflIs?], without date2.9 'Abdallah ibn :A.mir, governor of the Basra-prefecture, drahm,

abbreviation DP (probably Fasa in the Darabjird district), year43AH [immobilized date, c. 43-47/663-668]

2.10 'Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr, "amlr of the believers" in PahlavT,drahm, abbreviation D'J (Jahrum in the Darabjird district),year 60 YE (72/692)

2.11 'Abd ai-Malik ibn 'Abdallah ibn 'Amir, Zubayrid governor,drahm, abbreviation BYSh (BTshapur in Fars), year 66AH(685-686 CE)

2.12 Anonymous, drahm, mint 'KWL' (Aqula), year 70AH (689-690 CE)2.13 'Abd al-'AzTz ibn 'Abdallah ibn 'Amir, Zubayrid governor,

drahm, abbreviation SK (Sijistan), year 72AH (691-692 CE)2.14 Anonymous, nomisma, without mint [Damascus?], without

year [c. late 60s-72/late 680s-691-692 CE]2.15 Anonymous, drahm, Damascus, year 72AH (691-692 CE)2.16 Anonymous, nomisma, without mint [Damascus], without date

[73-74/692-694]

24

31

3133

33

34

35

36

36

37

38

3939

40

4142

42

List offigures xi

2.17 Anonymous, dinar, without mint [Damascus], year 77AH~~ ~

2.18 'Abd al-Malik,Jals, QinnasIin (in northern Syria), without date[74-77/693-696] 43

2.19 Anonymous, drahm, without mint [Damascus], year 75AH(694-695 CE) 44

2.20 Anonymous, drahm, without mint [Damascus], without date[c. 75-79/694-698] . 45

2.21 The Bab al-'Amiid in Jerusalem OR the Madaba map 462.22 Anonymous, dinar, without mint [Damascus], year 93AH

(711-712cE) 472.23 Anonymous, dirham, Kufa, year 79AH (698-699 CE) 488.1 Ottoman encampment after the fall of Szigetvl1r, Southwest

Hungary, 1566 1528.2 Cairo in Mamluk times 1548.3 The Citadel of Cairo 1558.4 [wan of the Citadel 1588.5 Sultan al-Na~ir Muhammad on his throne 1598.6 Qan$awh al-GhawrT with the na 'ura 1628.7 Reception of the Ambassadors 163

11.1 Le Grand Mogol 21111.2 Picture of JahangTr 21211.3 Layout of the Carpet of Mirth 213I 1.4 The Horoscope ofIskandar Sultan 21411.5 The Ceiling of the dawlatkhanah-yi kha$$ at Fatbpiir STkrl 21511.6 Standard Horoscope Scheme 21512.1 KarTm Khan Zand and his Court 22412.2 KaIim Khan's mist.~ess Shakhnubat, as portrayed by E. Scott

Waring (1807) 22512.3 The two-sided court at Shiraz 23 I20.1 Balman Suyu (Malabadi) Bridge, view from East bank 38820.2 Batman Suyu (Malabadi) Bridge, relief of South side 38920.3 Diyarbaklr, UrfaGate, relief above lintel 39120.4 Diyarbaklr, citadel, north gate, interior 39320.5 Diyarbaklr, citadel, south gate, exterior 39520.6 Diyarbaklr, citadel, palace, ground plan 39620.7 Title page, Mubammad ibn Taiba al-'AdawT. ai- 'Jqd al-farld

WI-Malik ai-Sa 'Id 39820.8 Bronze door from the Great Mosque ofCizre 40021.1 Muhammad Shah, oil on canvas, 1458/1842 41221.2 Scenes from Hazar va yak shab (One Thousand and One

Nights): raj al-MulUk, the vizier, and 'AzTz conversing withthe Shaykh; in the bathhouse; out in the street 418

21.3 Scenes from Hazar va yak shab (One Thousand andOne Nights): Zaw al-Makan fighting the Europeans

xii

Lis

t of

figur

es

(rüm

iyän

);

prin

ce H

ardü

b C

onsu

lting

with

Zät

al

-Daw

wäh

l;pr

ince

Afr

idün

rew

ardi

ng th

e tr

oops

41

921

.4

Scen

es f

rom

Haz

är

va y

ak s

hab

(One

Th

ousa

nd

and

One

Nig

hts}

: N

uzha

t al-

Zam

än's

noc

turn

al p

arty

; Illu

min

atio

n of

the

capi

tal;

Nuz

hat

al-Z

amän

and

pri

nce

Shir

kän

in t

he w

eddi

ngch

ambe

r 42

021

.5

Scen

es f

rom

Haz

är

va y

ak

shab

(O

ne

Thou

sand

an

d O

neN

ight

s):

Ghä

nim

's

mot

her

and

sist

er

alon

g w

ith

Qaw

tal

-Qul

üb

on h

is

beds

ide;

th

e ca

liph

conv

erse

s w

ith

Ja'fa

r;G

häni

m w

ith h

is m

othe

r an

d hi

s si

ster

42

221

.6

Niz

ämiy

yah

pane

ls:

Näs

ir a

l-D

ln S

häh

on t

he t

hron

e w

ith h

isso

ns a

nd w

ith M

lrzä

Äqä

Kha

n N

un a

nd h

is s

on

425

21.7

St

ory

of A

zlm

Kha

n 42

621

.8

Prin

ce A

bd a

l-Sa

mad

Mlr

zä 'I

zz a

l-D

awla

h an

d hi

s at

tend

ants

42

721

.9

Port

raits

of

All

ibn

Abi

Täl

ib i

n an

ill

umin

ated

pag

e re

veri

ngth

e Fi

rst

Shiit

e Im

am,

1277

/186

1 43

021

.10

Illu

stra

tions

fro

m t

he R

üznä

mah

-yi

daw

lat-

i 'a

lliyy

ah-y

i Ir

an:

the

Por

trai

t of N

äsir

al-

Dln

Shä

h; th

e L

ion

and

the

Sun

logo

43

121

.11

Illu

stra

tions

fr

om

Rüz

näm

ah-y

i da

wla

t-i

'alli

yyah

-yi

Iran

:M

irac

le i

n a

loca

l sh

rine

aro

und

Ras

ht;

Sudd

en d

eath

for

a di

shon

est

derv

ish

432

21.1

2 A

bu

'1-H

asan

K

han

Sani

' al

-Mul

k's

seif

po

rtra

it w

ith

his

litho

grap

hic

pres

s 43

422

. l

Plan

of t

he G

reat

Imäm

bäfa

h co

mpl

ex o

f Luc

know

com

mis

sion

edby

Naw

wäb

-vaz

Tr Ä

saf

al-D

awla

h an

d co

mpl

eted

in

1791

44

622

.2

Pla

nofM

achh

TB

hava

n 45

822

.3

Vie

w o

f th

e th

ird

fore

cour

t w

ith t

he F

rida

y M

osqu

e an

d G

reat

Imäm

bäfa

h 45

922

.4

Vie

w o

f ex

teri

or o

f th

e fi

rst

fore

cour

t orj

ilaw

khän

ah

460

22.5

T

he n

aqqä

rkhä

nah

seen

fro

m t

he i

nsid

e of

the

fir

st f

orec

ourt

orjil

awkh

änah

46

122

.6

Vie

w o

f in

teri

or o

f th

e fi

rst

fore

cour

t or

jila

wkh

änah

äs

seen

from

the

Rüm

l Där

väza

h 46

222

.7

Gra

vesi

te o

f Ä

saf

al-D

awla

h in

cen

tral

• int

erio

r ch

ambe

r of

the

Gre

at I

mäm

bäfa

h 46

5

Lis

t of

Con

trib

utor

s

Abb

as A

man

at i

s Pr

ofes

sor

of H

isto

ry a

t Y

ale

Uni

vers

ity a

nd D

irec

tor

of t

heIr

ania

n St

udie

s In

itiat

ive

at Y

ale

Mac

Mil

lan

Cen

ter

for

Inte

rnat

iona

l an

d A

rea

Stu

dies

.R

ecen

t pu

blic

atio

ns in

clud

e: P

ivot

ofth

e U

nive

rse:

Näs

ir a

l-D

m S

häh

Qaj

aran

d th

e Ir

ania

n M

onar

chy,

183

1-18

96 (

Ber

kele

y, C

A: U

CP,

199

7)an

d/f/

7oc-

alyp

tic

Isla

m

and

Iran

ian

Shi'i

sm

(Lon

don:

I.B

. T

auri

s,

2009

).

He

ispr

esen

tly w

riti

ng I

n Se

arch

of

Mod

ern

Iran

: M

emor

y, A

utho

rity

and

Nat

ion-

hood

from

th

e R

ise

ofth

e Sa

favi

d Sh

i'ism

to

the

Isla

mic

Rev

olut

ion

for

Yal

eU

nive

rsity

Pre

ss.

Sonj

a B

rent

jes

is a

sen

ior

rese

arch

er i

n a

proj

ect

of e

xcel

lenc

e of

the

Junt

a de

And

aluc

ia a

t th

e D

epar

tmen

t of

Phi

loso

phy

and

Log

ic,

Uni

vers

ity o

f Se

ville

,Sp

ain.

She

is c

urre

ntly

wor

king

on

an e

ditio

n of

the

olde

st e

xtan

t Ara

bic

man

u-sc

ript

of

Euc

lid'

s E

lem

ents

., th

e B

yzan

tine

elem

ents

in

four

teen

th-c

entu

ry p

or-

tola

n ch

arts

and

var

ious

asp

ects

of

a c

ultu

ral

hist

ory

of t

he m

athe

mat

ical

scie

nces

and

car

togr

aphy

in

Isla

mic

soc

ietie

s un

til t

he e

ight

eent

h C

entu

ry.

Rec

ent

publ

icat

ions

inc

lude

: 'R

evis

itin

g C

atal

an P

orto

lan

Cha

rts:

Do

The

y'C

onta

in E

lem

ents

of

Asi

an P

rove

nanc

e?',

in:

P. F

oret

and

A.

Kap

lony

(ed

s),

The

Jour

ney

of M

ops

and

Imag

es

on t

he S

ilk

Roa

d (L

eide

n: B

rill,

20

08:

pp.

181-

201)

and

'Pat

rona

ge o

fthe

Mat

hem

atic

al S

cien

ces

in I

slam

ic S

ocie

-tie

s: S

truc

ture

and

Rhe

tori

c, I

dent

itie

s an

d O

utco

mes

', in

: E

. R

obso

n an

dJ.

Ste

ndal

l (ed

s),

The

Oxf

ord

Han

dboo

k of

the

His

tory

ofM

athe

mat

ics

(Oxf

ord:

OU

P, 2

008:

pp.

301

-27)

.

Nad

ia M

aria

El C

heik

h is

Pro

fess

or o

f H

isto

ry a

nd s

he h

as s

erve

d äs

Dir

ecto

r of

the

Cen

ter

for

Ara

b an

d M

iddl

e E

aste

rn S

tudi

es a

t the

Am

eric

an U

nive

rsit

y of

Bei

rut.

She

is c

urre

ntly

exp

lori

ng t

he w

orki

ngs

of t

he A

bbas

id c

ourt

thr

ough

an e

xam

inat

ion

ofth

e in

tera

ctio

n of

har

em a

nd c

ourt

in

the

earl

y fo

urth

/tent

hC

entu

ry.

Rec

ent

publ

icat

ions

inc

lude

: B

yzan

tium

V

iew

ed b

y th

e A

rabs

(C

ambr

idge

,M

A:

Har

vard

UP,

200

4);

'Ser

vant

s at

the

Gat

e: E

unuc

hs a

t th

e C

ourt

of

al-M

uqta

dir',

Jou

rnal

oft

he

Soci

al a

nd E

cono

mic

His

tory

oft

he

Ori

ent

48(2

005)

, pp

. 23

4-52

and

'Re-

Vis

iting

the

Abb

asid

Har

ems'

, Jou

rnal

of

Mid

dle

Eas

t W

omen

'sSt

udie

s l

(200

5),p

p.

1-19

.

xii List offigures

(romlyan); prince l:Iardiib consulting with Zat al-DawwahI;prince Afrldiin rewarding the troops

21.4 Scenes from Hazar va yak shab (One Thousand and OneNights): Nuzhat al-Zaman's nocturnal party; Illumination ofthecapital; Nuzhat ai-Zaman and prince Shirkan in the weddingchamber

21.5 Scenes from Hazar va yak shab (One Thousand and OneNights): Ghlinirn's mother and sister along with Qawtal-Quliib on his bedside; the caliph converses with Ja'far;Ghanirn with his mother and his sister

21.6 Ni?amiyyah panels: Na~ir al-DIn Shah on the throne with hissons and with Mirza Aqa Khan Niin and his son

21.7 Story of 'A{:Im Khan21.8 Prince 'Abd al-Samad M"IIZii 'Izz al-Dawlah and his attendants21.9 Portraits of 'Ali ibn AbT Talib in an illuminated page revering

the First Shiite Imam, 1277/186121.10 Illustrations from the Rianamah-yi dawlat-i 'alliyyah-yi Iran:

the Portrait of Nasir ai-DIn Shah; the Lion and the Sun logo21.11 Illustrations from Ruznamah-yi dawlat-i 'alliyyah-yi Iran:

Miracle in a local shrine around Rasht; Sudden death fora dishonest dervish

21.12 Abii '1-l:Ias8O Khan SarlI' al-Mulk's self portrait with hislithographic press

22.1 Plan ofthe Great Imambafah complex ofLucknow commissionedby Nawwab-vazTr A~af al-Dawlah and completed in 179 I

22.2 Plan of MachhI Bhavan22.3 View of the third forecourt with the Friday Mosque and Great

Imambatah22.4 View of exterior of the first forecourt or jilawkhanah22.5 The naqqarkhanah seen from the inside of the first forecourt

or jilawkhanah22.6 View of interior of the first forecourt or jilawkhiinah as seen

from the RiimT Darvazah22.7 Gravesite of Asaf al-Dawlah in central' interior chamber of the

Great Imambafah

419

420

422

425426427

430

431

432

434

446458

459460

461

462

465

List of Contributors

Abbas Amanat is Professor of History at Yale University and Director of theIranian Studies Initiative at Yale MacMillan Center for International and AreaStudies.

Recent publications include: Pivot ofthe Universe: Nii.$ir ai-Din Shah Qajarand the Iranian Monarchy, 1831-1896 (Berkeley, CA: VCP, 1997) and Apoc­alyptic Islam and Iranian Shi'ism (London: I.B. Tauris, 2009). He ispresently writing In Search ofModern Iran: Memory, Authority and Nation­hood from the Rise of the Safavid Shi'ism to the Islamic Revolution for YaleUniversity Press.

Sonja Brentjes is a senior researcher in a project of excellence of the Junta deAndalucia at the Department of Philosophy and Logic, University of Seville,Spain. She is currently working on an edition of the oldest extant Arabic manu­script of Euclid's Elements, the By7.antine elements in fourteenth-century por­tolan charts and various aspects of a cultural history of the mathematicalsciences and cartography in Islamic societies until the eighteenth century.

Recent publications include: 'Revisiting Catalan Portolan Charts: Do They'Contain Elements of Asian Provenance?', in: P. Foret and A. Kaplony (eds),The Journey of Maps and Images on the Silk Road (Leiden: Brill, 2008:pp. 181-20 I ) and 'Patronage of the Mathematical Sciences in Islamic Socie­ties: Structure and Rhetoric, Identities and Outcomes', in: E. Robson and1. Stendall (eds), The OxfordHandbook ofthe History ofMathematics (Oxford:OUP, 2008: pp. 301-27).

Nadia Maria EI Cheikh is Professor ofHistory and she has served as Director ofthe Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies at the American University ofBeirut. She is currently exploring the workings of the Abbasid court throughan exam ination of the interaction of harem and court in the early fourth/tenthcentury.

Recent publications include: Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs (Cambridge,MA: Harvard UP, 2004); 'Servants at the Gate: Eunuchs at the Court ofal·Muqtadir', Journal of the Social and Economic History of the Orient 48(2005), pp. 234-52 and 'Re-Visiting the Abbasid Harems', Journal ofMiddleEast Women's Studies 1 (2005), pp. 1-J 9.

The

rep

rese

ntat

ion

of th

e ea

rly

Isla

mic

Em

pire

and

its

relig

ion

onco

in im

ager

y

Stef

an

Hei

dem

ann

The

cru

cial

ear

ly d

ecad

es

How

did

the

the

olog

y of

Isl

am a

nd i

ts i

dea

of a

n em

pire

evo

lve,

bas

ed o

n th

eH

elle

nist

ic

Rom

ano-

Iran

ian

foun

datio

n,

in t

he f

ace

of C

hris

tiani

ty,

Juda

ism

,N

eo-P

lato

nism

an

d Z

oroa

stri

anis

m?

This

muc

h de

bate

d qu

estio

n ha

s ra

ised

muc

h sc

eptic

ism

and

pol

emic

aga

inst

"es

tabl

ishe

d" k

now

ledg

e an

d its

sou

rces

.T

he e

xtre

me

poin

ts o

f vi

ew t

aken

in

this

con

trove

rsy

are

poss

ible

to

mai

ntai

nbe

caus

e th

ere

are

few

und

ispu

ted

Ara

bic

sour

ces

on t

he f

irst

deca

des

of I

slam

.Si

nce

the

begi

nnin

g of

this

dis

cuss

ion,

in th

e 19

70s,

muc

h pr

ogre

ss h

as b

een

mad

e.In

crea

sing

ly, s

ourc

es h

ave

been

stu

died

that

are

alm

ost i

ndep

ende

nt f

rom

the

Ara

bIs

lam

ic t

radi

tion.

2 In

thi

s di

scou

rse,

the

im

ager

y an

d te

xt o

n co

ins

has

beco

me

mor

e im

port

ant

than

eve

r an

d kn

owle

dge

of t

hese

coi

nage

s ha

s gr

own

trem

en-

dous

ly s

ince

the

19

90s.

Coi

ns

offe

r th

e on

ly

cont

inuo

us a

nd c

onte

mpo

rary

inde

pend

ent

and

prim

ary

sour

ce f

or th

e pe

riod

of th

e ge

nesi

s of

the

new

rel

igio

nan

d its

em

pire

. The

pre

sent

con

trib

utio

n at

tem

pts

to p

rovi

de a

n ov

ervi

ew o

f th

ede

velo

pmen

t of c

oin

imag

ery

and

the

repr

esen

tatio

n of

the

evol

ving

Isla

mic

polit

y,äs

it

is d

iscu

ssed

tod

ay.

Ulti

mat

ely

the

Hel

leni

stic

icon

ogra

phy

with

im

ages

of

deiti

es w

as r

epla

ced

by a

n "i

coni

c" re

pres

enta

tion

of th

e em

pire

by

the

Qur

'äni

cW

ordo

fGod

.3

The

fir

st d

ecad

es:

Rep

rese

nta

tion

of

pow

er a

nd r

elig

ion

/. T

he ea

rly

phas

e: I

mita

tion

of c

oina

ges

In t

he s

even

th C

entu

ry M

usli

m a

rmie

s sw

iftly

con

quer

ed t

hree

maj

or z

ones

of

mon

etar

y ci

rcul

atio

n an

d to

ok o

ver

muc

h of

thei

r fi

scal

and

mon

etar

y or

gani

za-

tion:

in

the

cent

re o

f th

e fo

rmer

Byz

antin

e te

rrito

ries

, in

the

east

of

the

Sasa

nian

Empi

re a

nd in

the

wes

t of

Ger

man

ic N

orth

Afr

ica

and

Spai

n.In

the

Byz

antin

e ter

rito

ries

, th

e w

orkh

orse

of

the

fisca

l cy

cle,

of

taxa

tion

and

stat

e ex

pend

iture

, the

gol

d so

lidus

or

nom

ism

a (s

ee f

igur

e 2.

1) w

as u

sed,

whi

leth

e m

oney

util

ized

for

dai

ly p

urch

ases

was

the

cop

per

folli

s (p

lura

l fo

lles}

(see

fig

ure

2.2)

. In

the

first

dec

ades

afte

r th

e ba

ttle

of Y

arm

ük i

n 63

6 C

E an

d th

ees

tabl

ishm

ent

of t

he T

auru

s bo

rder

zon

e, B

yzan

tine

gol

d an

d co

pper

co

ins

The

earl

y Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re a

nd i

ts r

elig

ion

on c

oin

imag

ery

31

Fig

ure

2. l

Her

acliu

s an

d H

erac

lius

Con

stan

tine,

nom

ism

a, C

onst

antin

ople

, w

ithou

t da

te[c

. 616

-625

CE]

, Ori

enta

l Coi

n C

abin

et J

ena

inv.

no.

200

7-04

-001

(4.2

1 gr

ams)

.

Fig

ure

2.2

Ano

nym

ous,

foll

is,

Con

stan

tinop

le, r

egna

l ye

ar 3

of C

onst

ans

II (

643-

644

CE

),O

rien

tal

Coi

n C

abin

et J

ena

inv.

no.

303

-D05

(4.

80 g

ram

s).

rem

aine

d in

circ

ulat

ion

in S

yria

, pr

obab

ly

until

the

ref

orm

s of

Abd

al-

Mal

ik(r

. 685

-705

CE)

in 7

7-9/

696-

9. T

he o

bver

se o

f the

folle

s sh

ows t

he e

mpe

ror

or th

eem

pero

rs—

here

(se

e fig

ure

2.2)

the

Stan

ding

figu

re o

f C

onst

ans

II (r

. 641

-68

CE)

wea

ring

a c

row

n w

ith a

cro

ss,

hold

ing

a gl

obus

cru

cige

r in

one

han

d an

d a

long

cros

s in

the

othe

r. O

n th

e re

vers

e th

e m

ind

icat

es th

e G

reek

num

eral

40,

the

mar

kof

val

ue o

f th

e St

anda

rd c

oppe

r co

in.

Arc

haeo

logi

cal

findi

ngs

show

tha

t fr

omab

out

641

CE

on,

Con

stan

tinop

le c

ontin

ued

to s

uppl

y su

bsta

ntia

l qu

antit

ies

ofne

wly

min

ted

copp

er c

oins

to i

ts lo

st p

rovi

nces

of

Syri

a an

d no

rthe

rn M

esop

ota-

mia

. T

he i

mpo

rtat

ion

of C

onst

ans

II fo

lles

slow

ed d

own

and

cam

e to

a h

alt

inab

out

655

to 6

58 C

E.4 H

ow s

houl

d th

is c

ontin

ued

impo

rtat

ion

of c

oppe

r co

ins

toth

e lo

st p

rovi

nces

be

inte

rpre

ted

polit

ical

ly?

Rom

e-B

yzan

tium

stil

l th

ough

t of

itsel

f äs

the

uni

vers

al w

orld

em

pire

, bu

t w

ith s

oft

bord

ers,

not

äs

a st

ate

in t

hem

oder

n se

nse

with

wel

l-de

fine

d bo

rder

s th

at p

rovi

de S

epar

atio

n in

a n

umbe

r of

The early Islamic Empire and its religion on coin imagery 31

Figure 2.2 Anonymous,follis, Constantinople, regnal year 3 ofConstans II (643-{)44 CF),

Oriental Coin Cabinet lena inv. no. 303-D05 (4.80 grams).

Figure 2./ Heraclius and Heraclius Constantine, nomisma, Constantinople, without date[c. 616-625 CEl, Oriental Coin Cabinet lena inv. no. 2007-04-00 I (4.21 grams).

remained in circulation in Syria, probably until the reforms of 'Abd ai-Malik(r. 685-705 CE) in 77-9/696-9. The obverse ofthefolles shows the emperor ortheemperors-here (see figure 2.2) the standing figure of Constans II (r. 641--68 CE)

wearing a crown with a cross, holding a globus cruciger in one hand and a longcross in the other. On the reverse the m indicates the Greek numeral 40, the markof value of the standard copper coin. Archaeological findings show that fromabout 641 CE on, Constantinople continued to supply substantial quantities ofnewly minted copper coins to its lost provinces of Syria and northern Mesopota­mia. The importation of Constans II folies slowed down and came to a halt inabout 655 to 658 CE.4 How should this continued importation of copper coins tothe lost provinces be interpreted politically? Rome-Byzantium still thought ofitself as the universal world empire, but with soft borders, not as a state in themodem sense with well-defined borders that provide separation in a number of

2 The representation of the earlyIslamic Empire and its religion oncoin imagery

Stefan Heidemann

The crucial early decades I

How did the theology of Islam and its idea of an empire evolve, based on theHellenistic Romano-Iranian foundation, in the face of Christianity, Judaism,Neo-Platonism and Zoroastrianism? This much debated question has raisedmuch scepticism and polemic against "established" knowledge and its sources.The extreme points of view taken in this controversy are possible to maintainbecause there are few undisputed Arabic sources on the first decades of Islam.Since the beginning ofthis discussion, in the 1970s, much progress has been made.Increasingly, sources have been studied that are almost independent from the ArabIslamic tradition.2 In this discourse, the imagery and text on coins has becomemore important than ever and knowledge of these coinages has grown tremen­dously since the 1990s. Coins offer the only continuous and contemporaryindependent and primary source for the period of the genesis of the new religionand its empire. The present contribution attempts to provide an overview of thedevelopment orcoin imagery and the representation of the evolving Islamic pulity,as it is discussed today. Ultimately the Hellenistic iconography with images ofdeities was replaced by an "iconic" representation of the empire by the Qur'anicWord ofGod.3

The first decades: Representation of p,ower and religion

1. The early phase: Imitation ofcoinages

In the seventh century Muslim armies swiftly conquered three major zones ofmonetary circulation and took over much of their fiscal and monetary organiza­tion: in the centre of the former Byzantine territories, in the east of the SasanianEmpire and in the west of Germanic North Africa and Spain.

[n the Byzantine territories, the workhorse of the fiscal cycle, of taxation andstate expenditure, the gold solidus or nomisma (see figure 2.1) was used, whilethe money utilized for daily purchases was the copper foUis (plural folies)(see figure 2.2). In the first decades after the battle of YarmOk in 636 CE and theestablishment of the Taurus border zone, Byzantine gold and copper coins

32

Stef

an

Hei

dem

ann

resp

ects

. Ear

ly I

slam

, out

side

the

Hija

z, w

as th

e el

ite re

ligio

n of

a tr

ibal

ly o

rgan

-iz

ed m

ilita

ry. D

urin

g th

e pe

riod

of c

onqu

est,

thef

iitüh

, th

e Is

lam

ic r

elig

ion

pos-

sess

ed o

nly

a ru

dim

enta

ry th

eolo

gy, w

hich

was

pro

babl

y ev

en m

ore

basi

c am

ong

mili

tary

uni

ts. A

t tha

t tim

e Is

lam

wou

ld a

lmos

t cer

tain

ly n

ot h

ave

been

per

ceiv

edäs

a n

ew a

nd e

qual

rel

igio

n by

Out

side

rs, e

spec

ially

whe

n co

mpa

red

with

the

soph

istic

ated

and

div

erse

Chr

istia

n th

eolo

gy a

nd th

e ot

her c

onte

mpo

rary

relig

ions

such

äs

Juda

ism

, Zor

oast

riani

sm,

or t

he p

agan

pan

theo

n tu

rned

int

o its

lat

ene

o-Pl

aton

ic fo

rm. C

onte

mpo

rary

Byz

antiu

m m

ight

hav

e se

en t

he c

onqu

est ä

s a

men

acin

g re

belli

on re

sulti

ng i

n a

tem

pora

ry l

oss

of a

utho

rity

and—

if th

ey h

adno

ticed

the

rel

igio

us d

imen

sion

at

all—

äs a

n A

rab

here

sy o

f Jud

aeo-

Chr

istia

nor

igin

.5Nei

ther

per

cept

ion

wou

ld h

ave

nece

ssar

ily c

halle

nged

the

univ

ersa

l cla

imof

the

all-e

mbr

acin

g R

oman

Em

pire

, sin

ce t

he id

ea o

f R

ome

was

neu

tral t

o re

li-gi

on. U

pris

ings

, ter

ritor

ial

loss

es a

nd g

ains

, and

her

esie

s co

nstit

uted

a re

curr

ent

chal

leng

e du

ring

the m

ore

than

mill

enni

um o

f Rom

an h

isto

ry. T

his e

arly

Situ

atio

nca

n be

com

pare

d in

cer

tain

resp

ects

with

the

hist

oric

al S

ituat

ion

of th

e G

erm

anic

mig

ratio

n an

d co

nque

st o

f the

Wes

tern

Rom

an E

mpi

re.

For

thes

e ea

rly d

ecad

es t

here

is

no c

onte

mpo

rary

ev

iden

ce t

hat

the

Ara

b-Is

lam

ic le

ader

s de

velo

ped

an im

peria

l ide

olog

y of

thei

r ow

n. T

he id

ea o

f hav

ing

a un

iver

sal e

mpi

re is

diff

eren

t fro

m h

avin

g a

stat

e, w

ith in

stitu

tions

and

a g

over

n-in

g bo

dy. A

s le

ader

s of

the

vict

orio

us A

rab

arm

ies,

insp

ired

by th

e te

achi

ngs

ofth

e ne

w P

roph

et, t

hey

wer

e pr

obab

ly a

t fir

st c

onte

nt w

ith t

heir

de f

acto

rul

e.D

espi

te th

eir s

ucce

ssfu

l co

nque

sts,

the

Ara

b-Is

lam

ic e

lite

may

hav

e th

ough

t tha

tun

iver

sal r

ule

coul

d on

ly b

e ac

hiev

ed w

ithin

the

fram

ewor

k of

the

Rom

an E

mpi

rew

ith it

s cap

ital a

t Con

stan

tinop

le. W

hat e

vide

nce

wou

ld s

uppo

rt su

ch a

hyp

othe

-si

s? F

irst,

the

idea

of R

ome

was

wid

espr

ead

and

hist

oric

ally

pow

erfu

l als

o in

Asi

aun

til th

e O

ttom

an p

erio

d.6 T

he A

rab

popu

latio

n an

d tri

bes

in B

iläd

al-S

häm

and

north

ern

Mes

opot

amia

, esp

ecia

lly th

e G

hass

anid

s, w

ere

expo

sed

to t

he id

ea o

fR

ome

for

alm

ost

800

year

s. S

econ

dly,

fre

quen

t an

d la

rge-

scal

e at

tem

pts

toco

nque

r Con

stan

tinop

le w

ere

vent

ured

in

the

perio

d un

der

stud

y un

til a

bout

the

time

of th

e up

risin

g of

the

calip

h A

bdal

läh

ibn

al-Z

ubay

r in

the

680s

CE.

Thi

rdly

,al

-Buk

härl

(d. 2

56/8

70) r

elat

es a

had

lth o

f the

Pro

phet

who

cal

led

for t

he c

onqu

est

of R

ome

(Con

stan

tinop

le),

sayi

ng t

hat

until

tha

t ha

d be

en a

ccom

plis

hed

ther

ew

ould

be

no D

ay o

f Jud

gem

ent.7

Thi

s ca

n be

read

to m

ean

that

the

Day

ofJ

udge

-m

ent w

ill c

ome

only

afte

r the

cre

atio

n of

the

(Rom

an) u

nive

rsal

em

pire

of I

slam

icde

nom

inat

ion.

Alre

ady

durin

g th

e Pe

rsia

n oc

cupa

tion

of S

yria

and

nor

ther

n M

esop

otam

ia,

loca

l im

itatio

ns o

f cur

rent

Byz

antin

e co

pper

coi

ns s

uppl

emen

ted

the c

ircu

latin

gsto

ck.8

Whe

n th

e im

port

of th

e af

orem

entio

ned

Con

stan

s \\f

olle

s fa

ded

out,

imita

-tio

ns w

ere

stru

ck in

muc

h la

rger

qua

ntiti

es p

roba

bly

until

the

mid

-660

s or

eve

nun

til a

bout

670

CE.

The

mos

t com

mon

ly im

itate

d ty

pe w

as th

e th

en-c

urre

nt"s

tand

-in

g em

pero

r" o

f Con

stans

II. T

hese

coi

ns a

re e

ncou

nter

ed i

n a

broa

d va

riety

. The

irm

ints

cann

ot y

et b

e lo

cate

d.9 W

e do

not k

now

who

the

regu

latin

g au

thor

ities

wer

e.W

e kn

ow fr

om th

e re

ports

on

theß

itüh

that

the

Chr

istia

n ur

ban

and

paro

chia

l elit

ere

pres

ente

d th

e ci

ties w

hen

deal

ing

with

Isla

mic

mili

tary

trib

al le

ader

s an

d w

ere

the

mai

nsta

y of

the

early

Um

ayya

d ci

vil a

dmin

istra

tion.

The

earl

y Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re a

nd i

ts r

elig

ion

on c

oin

imag

ery

33

2.

The

ph

ase

of

diss

ocia

tion

: U

may

yad

"Im

peri

al I

mag

e "

cop

pers

The

next

pha

se, a

fter

impo

rtatio

n an

d im

itatio

n, ca

n be

ass

umed

to h

ave

begu

n in

the

660-

70s

CE du

ring

the

reig

n of

Mu'

äwiy

a. I

t end

ed a

roun

d th

e ye

ars

691-

4 CE

, the

year

s of

the

Mar

wän

id re

form

s.10

Luke

Tre

adw

ell a

ssum

ed th

at th

ere

was

som

e so

rtof

coo

rdin

atio

n in

the

mai

n pr

ovin

cial

min

ts in

Syr

ia, i

f no

t a c

entra

l po

licy.

His

assu

mpt

ion

com

plem

ents

the p

ictu

re o

f a m

ore

pror

ioun

ced

role

by

Mu'

äwiy

a in

stat

ebu

ildin

g, th

at is

now

bec

omin

g ap

pare

nt fr

om in

scrip

tions

and

papy

ri (se

e fig

ures

2.3

and

2.4)

.11 T

hese

so-c

alle

d "I

mpe

rial

Imag

e" co

pper

s stil

l dep

ict B

yzan

tine

empe

rors

and

cros

ses.

Offi

cial

ly r

ecog

nize

d re

gulä

r min

ts w

ere

set u

p an

d na

med

on

the

coin

s,in

Gre

ek a

nd/o

r Ara

bic.

Val

idat

ing

expr

essio

ns i

n bo

th la

ngua

ges,

such

äs

kalö

n or

tayy

ib (

both

mea

ning

"go

od")

, bis

mi

'lläh

("in

the

nam

e of

God

")12

or o

ther

s w

ere

incl

uded

in

the

desig

n. T

his

esta

blish

ed A

rabi

c äs

the

lang

uage

of

the

valid

atin

gau

thor

ity. A

lmos

t no

atte

mpt

was

mad

e to

repr

esen

t the

new

stat

e or r

elig

ion o

n co

ins.

Petty

coi

nage

, firs

t and

fore

mos

t, se

rved

äs a

mea

ns o

f exc

hang

e.

Fig

ure

2.3

Ano

nym

ous,

fals

, D

amas

cus,

with

out d

ate

[c. 5

0s/6

60-7

4/69

2], O

rien

tal C

oin

Cab

inet

Jen

a in

v. n

o. 3

03-D

09 (3

.84

gram

s).

Fig

ure

2.4

Ano

nym

ous.

/a/s

, Em

esa/

Him

s, w

ithou

t dat

e [c

. 50s

/660

s-74

/692

]; v

alid

atin

gm

ark

KA

AO

N

and

tayy

ib;

Ori

enta

l C

oin

Cab

inet

Jen

a in

v.

no.

303-

C08

(3.8

5 gr

ams)

.

32 Stefan Heidemann

respects. Early Islam, outside the Hijaz, was the elite religion of a tribally organ­ized military. During the period of conquest, the jUtub, the Islamic religion pos­sessed only a rudimentary theology, which was probably even more basic amongmilitary units. At that time Islam would almost certainly not have been perceivedas a new and equal religion by outsiders, especially when compared with the~ophisticated and diverse Christian theology and the other contemporary religionssuch as Judaism, Zoroastrianism, or the pagan pantheon turned into its lateneo-Platonic form. Contemporary Byzantium might have seen the conquest as amenacing rebellion resulting in a temporary loss of authority and-if they hadnoticed the religious dimension at all-as an Arab heresy of Judaeo-Christianorigin.5Neither perception would have necessarily challenged the universal claimof the all-embracing Roman Empire, since the idea of Rome was neutral to reli­gion. Uprisings, territorial losses and gains, and heresies constituted a recurrentchallenge during the more than millennium of Roman history. This early situationcan be compared in certain respects with the historical situation of the Germanicmigration and conquest of the Western Roman Empire.

For these early decades there is no contemporary evidence that the Arab­Islamic leaders developed an imperial ideology of their own. The idea of havinga universal empire is different trom having a state, with institutions and a govern­ing body. As leaders of the victorious Arab armies, inspired by the teachings ofthe new Prophet, they were probably at first content with their de facto rule.Despite their successful conquests, the Arab-Islamic elite may have thought thatuniversal rule could only be achieved within the framework of the Roman Empirewith it~ capital at Constantinople. What evidence would support such a hypothe­sis? First, the idea ofRome was widespread and historically powerful also in Asiauntil the Ottoman period.6 The Arab population and tribes in BiUid ai-Sham andnorthern Mesopotamia, especially the Ghassanids, were exposed to the idea ofRome for almost 80r) years. Secondly, frequent and large-scale attempts toconquer Constantinople. were ventured in the period under study until about thetime of the uprising of the caliph 'Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr in the 680s CPo Thirdly,al-Bukhari (d. 256/870) relates a badith ofthe Prophet who called for the conquestof Rome (Constantinople), saying that until that had been accomplished therewould be no Day of Judgement. 7 This can be read to mean that the Day ofJudge­ment will come only after the creation of the (Roman) universal empire ofIslamicdenomination.

Already during the Persian occupation of Syria and northern Mesopotamia,local imitations of current Byzantine copper coins supplemented the circulatingstock.! When the inlport ofthe aforementioned Constans IIfoUes faded out, imita­tions were struck in much larger quantities probably until the mid-660s or evenuntil about 670 CEo The most commonly imitated type was the then-current "stand­ing emperor" ofConstans II. These coins are encountered in a broad variety. Theirmints cannot yet be located.9 We do not know who the regulating authorities were.We know from the reports on thejUtub that the Christian urhan and paroch.ial eliterepresented the cities when dealing with Islamic military tribal leaders and werethe mainstay of the early Umayyad civil administration.

The early Islamic Empire and its religion on coin imagery 33

2. The phase ofdissociation: Umayyad "Imperial Image" coppers

The next phase, after importation and imitation, can be assumed to have begun in the66G-70s CE during the reign of Mu'awiya It ended aruund the years 69l-4 CE, theyears of the Marwanid reforms.'" Luke Treadwell assumed that there was some sortof coordination in tht: main provincial mints in Syria, if not a central policy. Hisassumption complements the picture ofa more pronounCed role by Mu'awiya in statebuilding, that is now becoming apparent from inscriptions and papyri (see figures 2.3and 2.4).11 These so-called "Imperial Image" coppers still depict Byzantine emperorsand crosses. Officially recognized regular mints were set up and named on the coins,in Greek and/or Arabic. Validating expressions in both languages, such as kal6n or.tayyib (both meaning "good"), bismi 'Uiih ("in the name of God")'2 or others wereincluded in the design. This established Arabic as the language of the validatingauthority. Almost no attempt was made to represent the new state or religion on coins.Petty coinage, first and foremost, served as a means ofexchange.

I , , .I rc'· ,

I ,, J ) ;,i j ,) {I.,

\\

It

.1J I..\I ,

'. ,It.,\i~.·.4:{/'

Figure 2.3 Anonymous,fals, Damascus, without date [c. 50s/660-74/692], Oriental CoinCabinet Jena inv. no. 303-009 (3.84 grams).

Figure 2.4 Anonymous,fals, Emesa/I:Iim~, without date [c. 50s/660s-74/692]; validatingmark KAAON and !G)yib; Oriental Coin Cabinet Jena inv. no. 303-C08(3.85 grams).

34

Stef

an

Hei

dem

ann

Fig

ure

2.5

Ano

nym

ous,

nom

ism

a, w

ithou

t min

t [D

amas

cus?

], w

ithou

t dat

e [c

. 660

-680

CE

],Is

lam

ic C

oin

Auc

tions

(200

6),

no.

13 (

4.42

gra

ms)

.

An

awar

enes

s of

the

cros

s äs

a s

ymbo

l ca

n be

see

n in

a c

ompa

rativ

ely

lim

ited

seri

es o

f im

itat

ive

gold

coi

ns,

prob

ably

str

uck

in D

amas

cus,

clo

sely

cop

ying

ano

mis

ma

of H

erac

lius

and

his

son

Her

acliu

s C

onst

antin

e, w

ith s

light

ly b

lund

ered

Gre

ek l

egen

ds (

see

figu

re 2

.5).

The

pro

min

ent

"cro

ss o

n St

eps"

on

the

reve

rse

(see

fig

ure

2.1)

was

tran

sfor

med

int

o a

"bar

on

a po

le o

n st

eps"

. H

oard

evi

denc

esu

gges

ts a

dat

e fo

r the

se im

itatio

ns n

ot m

uch

late

r th

an 6

80 C

E, a

roun

d th

e pe

riod

of M

u'äw

iya.

13 A

t thi

s st

age

and

in th

is i

cono

grap

hic

cont

ext

the

new

des

ign

was

prob

ably

reg

arde

d fi

rst

of a

ll äs

a m

util

ated

cro

ss.

The

cro

ss m

ight

hav

e be

enpe

rcei

ved

äs m

ore

than

mer

ely

a C

hris

tian

rel

igio

us s

ymbo

l an

d id

entif

ied

also

wit

h th

e ri

val

Byz

anti

ne E

mpi

re. T

hus

it co

uld

also

be

term

ed a

de-

Byz

anti

nize

dcr

oss.

14

3.

Thef

orm

er

Sasa

nian

rea

lm

How

did

the

curr

ency

and

vis

ual r

epre

sent

atio

n of

pow

er a

nd r

elig

ion

deve

lop

inth

e ne

wly

con

quer

ed l

ands

of I

raq

and

Iran

? T

he c

entr

aliz

ed S

asan

ian

Em

pire

was

atta

cked

at

its a

poge

e, d

espi

te t

he d

evas

tatio

n an

d ch

aos

caus

ed b

y th

e af

term

ath

of H

erac

lius

' vic

tory

. E

ven

afte

r th

e as

sass

inat

ion

of K

husr

aw I

I (r

. 59

0/1-

628

CE)

in 6

28 a

nd t

he a

lmos

t co

mpl

ete

anni

hila

tion

of

the

arm

y in

the

bat

tle o

fN

ihäw

and

in 6

41 C

E, i

nsti

tuti

ons

and

the

mon

etar

y ec

onom

y re

mai

ned

larg

ely

inta

ct.

The

cen

tral

ized

Sas

ania

n st

ate

enab

led

the

conq

uero

rs t

o ta

ke o

ver

the

adm

inis

trat

ion

swif

tly.

In t

he S

asan

ian

Em

pire

the

coi

nage

of

the

fisc

al c

ycle

was

the

uni

form

sil

ver

drah

m o

f ab

out 4

.2 g

ram

s th

at w

as s

truc

k du

ring

the

reig

n of

Khu

sraw

II

in a

bout

34 m

ints

. The

typ

ical

lat

e Sa

sani

an d

rahm

(se

e fi

gure

2.6

) sh

ows

on th

e ob

vers

eth

e po

rtra

it of

the

shäh

änsh

äh—

eith

er K

husr

aw I

I or

Yaz

dgar

d II

I (r

. 632

-51

CE

);th

eir

port

raits

are

alm

ost i

dent

ical

—w

ith

an e

norm

ous

win

ged

crow

n äs

a s

ign

ofhi

s ro

yalt

y. O

n th

e re

vers

e si

de t

he f

ire

alta

r se

rved

äs

the

cent

ral

sym

bol

ofZ

oroa

stri

anis

m,

the

dual

isti

c Ir

ania

n re

ligi

on. P

ries

t at

tend

ants

sta

nd o

n ei

ther

The

earl

y Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re a

nd i

ts r

elig

ion

on c

oin

imag

ery

35

Fig

ure

2.6

Khu

sraw

II,

dr

ahm

, m

int

abbr

evia

tion

'HM

(H

amad

hän)

, re

gnal

yea

r 29

(618

-619

CE

), O

rien

tal

Coi

n C

abin

et J

ena

inv.

no.

302

-B05

(3.

46 g

ram

s).

side

. B

esid

e th

em a

re a

bbre

viat

ions

ind

icat

ing

the

min

t and

the

regn

al y

ear

of th

eru

ler.

Few

coi

ns w

ere

min

ted

betw

een

the

deci

sive

bat

tle o

f N

ihäw

and

in 6

41 C

E(r

egna

l ye

ar 1

0) a

nd t

he a

ssas

sina

tion

of Y

azdg

ard

III

in h

is l

ast

retr

eat

in M

arw

in 6

51 C

E (

regn

al y

ear

20).

Coi

ns s

truc

k in

the

con

quer

ed t

erri

tori

es a

re a

lmos

tin

dist

ingu

isha

ble

from

tho

se s

truc

k un

der

the

auth

ority

of

Yaz

dgar

d II

I, e

xcep

tth

at t

he m

ints

lay

outs

ide

his

shri

nkin

g re

alm

.15

The

nex

t pha

se l

ay b

etw

een

regn

al y

ear

20 o

f Y

azdg

ard

and

abou

t 30

Yaz

dgar

dE

ra (

YE

) co

rres

pond

ing

with

31-

41/6

51-6

1. I

n co

ntra

st to

Byz

antiu

m, t

he S

asan

ian

Em

pire

col

laps

ed c

ompl

etel

y an

d th

e sh

ähän

shäh

'?, c

laim

to u

nive

rsal

rule

end

ed. T

heIs

lam

ic c

onqu

eror

s di

d no

t at

tem

pt t

o m

aint

ain

this

cla

im u

ntil

the

Abb

asid

s. T

heou

tlook

of

the

Syria

n U

may

yads

was

dif

fere

nt,

follo

win

g fr

om th

e R

oman

trad

ition

.C

oins

con

tinue

d to

be

stru

ck i

n th

e na

mes

and

with

the

portr

aits

of

"Khu

sraw

II"

or

"Yaz

dgar

d II

I" a

nd w

ith th

e fi

re a

ltar

and

its a

ttend

ants

. The

dat

ing

rem

aine

d ac

cord

-in

g to

the

reg

nal

year

s of

Yaz

dgar

d (s

ee f

igur

e 2.

7).

Freq

uent

ly,

but

not

alw

ays,

addi

tiona

l Ara

bic

vali

dati

ng ex

pres

sion

s ap

pear

(the

y ar

e st

ill h

ere

and

appe

ar)

in th

eob

vers

e m

argi

n us

uall

y in

the

seco

nd q

uadr

ant,

such

äs

bism

i 'll

äh (

"in

the

nam

e of

God

") o

rjay

yid

("go

od")

. T

hese

gen

eral

exp

ress

ions

hav

e no

spe

cifi

cally

Isl

amic

conn

otat

ion.

The

res

ulti

ng p

ictu

re f

or t

he e

arly

dec

ades

see

ms

to c

orre

spon

d to

aSi

tuat

ion

in w

hich

the

Sasa

nian

adm

inis

trat

ion r

emai

ned

oper

atio

nal o

r la

gely

inta

ct,

but

func

tione

d on

ly a

t a p

rovi

ncia

l lev

el a

nd w

as re

spon

sibl

e to

Ara

b go

vern

ors.

16 In

the

30s/

650s

the

min

t au

thor

ities

beg

an d

atin

g co

ins

wit

h H

ijri

year

s w

ritte

n in

Pahl

avI.1

7 The

int

rodu

ctio

n of

the

new

era

in

coin

s in

dica

tes

that

the a

dmin

istr

ativ

eA

rab

elite

wer

e be

com

ing

awar

e of

its

Isl

amic

iden

tity

but

ther

e w

as s

till

no o

vert

repr

esen

tatio

n of

the

Isla

mic

rel

igio

n an

d its

em

pire

.C

onte

mpo

rary

Geo

rgia

sh

ows

that

rel

igio

us i

cono

grap

hic

Sym

bols

wer

e of

impo

rtan

ce i

n co

in i

mag

ery

else

whe

re.

Chr

istia

n G

eorg

ia h

ad b

elon

ged

to t

he

34 Stefan Heidemann

Figure 2.5 Anonymous, nomisma, without mint [Damascus?], without date [c. 660-680 CE],Islamic Coin Auctions (2006), no. 13 (4.42 grams).

An awareness of the cross as a symbol can be seen in a comparatively limitedseries of imitative gold coins, probably struck in Damascus, closely copying anomisma of Heraclius and his son Heraclius Constantine, with slightly blunderedGreek legends (see figure 2.5). The prominent "cross on steps" on the reverse(see figure 2.1) was transformed into a "bar on a pole on steps". Hoard evidencesuggests a date for these imitations not much later than 680 CE, around the periodof Mu'awiya. JJ At this stage and in this iconographic context the new design wasprobably regarded first of all as a mutilated cross. The cross might have beenperceived as more than merely a Christian religious symbol and identified alsowith the rival Byzantine Empire. Thus it could also be termed a de-Byzantinizedcross.1 4

3. The former Sasafliafl realm

How did the currency and visual representation of power and religioll develop inthe newly conquered lands of Iraq and Iran? Thc centralized Sasanian Empire wasattacked at its apogee, despite the devastation and chaos caused by the aftermathof Heraclius' victory. Even after the assassination of Khusraw II (r. 590/1--628CE) in 628 and the almost complete alUlihilation of the army in the battle ofNihiiwand in 641 CE, institutions and the monetary economy remained largelyintact. The centralized Sasanian state enabled the conquerors to take over theadministration swiftly.

In the Sasanian Empire the coinage of the fiscal cycle was the uniform silverdrahm of about 4.2 grams that was struck during the reign of Khusraw II in about34 mints. The typical late Sasanian drahm (see figure 2.6) shows on the obversethe portrait of the shiihiinshiih---either Khusraw [[ or Yazdgard JII (r. 632-51 CE);

their portraits are almost identical-with an enormous winged crown as a sign ofhis royalty. On the reverse side the fire altar served as the central symbol ofZoroastrianism, the dualistic Iranian religion. Priest attendants stand on either

The early Islamic Empire and its religion on coin imagery 35

Figure 2.6 Khusraw II, drahm, mint abbreviation 'HM (Hamadhiin), regnal year 29(618---{j19 CE), Oriental Coin Cabinet lena inv. no. 302-B05 (3.46 grams).

side. Beside them are abbreviations indicating the mint and the regnal year of theruler. Few coins were minted between the decisive battle ofNihawand in 641 CE

(regnal year 10) and the assassination of Yazdgard III in his last retreat in Marwin 651 CE (regnal year 20). Coins struck in the conquered territories are almostindistinguishable from those struck under the authority of Yazdgard III, exceptthat the mints lay outside his shrinking realm. ll

The next phase lay between regnal year 20 ofYazdgard and about 30 YazdgardEra (YE) corresponding with 31--41/651~1. In contrast to Byzantium, the SasanianEmpire collapsed completely and the shiihanshiih's claim to universal rule ended. TheIslamic conquerors did not attempt to maintain this claim until the Abbasids. Theoutlook ofthe Syrian Umayyads was different, following from the Roman tradition.Coins continued to be struck in the names and with the portraits of "Khusraw II" or"Yazdgard III" and with the fire altar and its attendants. The dating remained accord­ing to the regnal years of Yazdgard (see figure 2.7). Frequently, but not always,additional Arabic validating expressions appear (they are still here and appear) in theobverse margin usually in the second quadrant, such as bismi 'Uiih ("in the name ofGod") or jayyid ("good"). These general expressions have no specifically Islamicconnotation. n1e resulting picture for the early decades seems to correspond to asituation in which the Sasanian administration remained operational or lagely intact,but functioned only at a provincial level and was responsible to Arab govemors. 16 [nthe 30sl650s the mint authorities began dating coins with Hijn years written inPahlavL I7 The introduction of the new era in coins indicates that the administrativeArab elite were becoming aware of its Islamic identity but there was still no overtrepresentation of the Islamic religion and its empire.

Contemporary Georgia shows that religious iconographic symbols were ofimportance in coin imagery elsewhere. Christian Georgia had belonged to the

Fig

ure

2,7

"Yaz

dgar

d II

I", p

osth

umou

s, d

rahm

, ab

brev

iatio

n SK

(Si

jistä

n),

regn

al y

ear

"20

YE"

[im

mob

ilize

d da

te, 3

1-c.

41

AH

/651

-c. 6

61 C

E], O

rien

tal C

oin

Cab

inet

Jena

inv.

no.

304

-C04

(3.

49 g

ram

s).

Fig

ure

2.8

Geo

rgia

, Bag

ratid

s, S

tepa

nos

II (

r. 6

39-6

63 C

E), d

rahm

, with

out m

int

[Tif

lls?]

,w

ithou

t dat

e; O

rien

tal C

oin

Cab

inet

Jen

a in

v. n

o. 3

02-C

04 (

3.03

gra

ms)

.

Sasa

nian

rea

lm.

A s

trong

sen

se o

f re

ligi

ous

iden

tity

is f

ound

her

e. N

ew c

oins

,su

pple

men

ting

the

circ

ulat

ing

stoc

k of

dra

hms

(see

fig

ure

2.8)

, sho

w o

n th

eob

vers

e a

port

rait

rese

mbl

ing

that

of

Hor

miz

d IV

(r. 5

79-9

0 CE

), bu

t the

Geo

rgia

nin

scrip

tion

nam

es th

e B

agra

tid k

ing

Step

anos

who

rei

gned

18^

3/63

9-63

. O

n th

ere

vers

e th

e fi

re a

ltar w

as d

istin

ctly

rep

lace

d by

a C

hris

tian

alta

r with

a c

ross

on

top.

The

thi

rd a

nd f

ourth

pha

ses1

8 of

dev

elop

men

t cov

er a

ppro

xim

atel

y th

e ye

ars

40-7

2/66

1-81

, tha

t is,

the

Sufy

änid

per

iod

up to

the

Szco

nd f

itna.

As

in S

yria

, a

The

earl

y Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re a

nd i

ts r

elig

ion

on c

oin

imag

ery

37

Fig

ure

2.9

'Abd

allä

h ib

n 'Ä

mir

, go

vem

or o

f th

e B

asra

-pre

fect

ure,

dra

hm,

abbr

evia

tion

DP

(p

roba

bly

Fasä

in

the

Där

äbjir

d di

stri

ct),

yea

r 43

AH

[im

mob

ilize

d da

te,

c. 4

3-47

/663

-668

], O

rient

al C

oin

Cab

inet

Jen

a in

v. n

o. 2

005-

15-0

02 (4

.04

gram

s).

grad

ual

regu

lari

zatio

n of

the

adm

inis

trat

ion,

inc

ludi

ng m

inti

ng, i

s vi

sibl

e on

the

coin

s. T

he n

ames

ofK

husr

aw

and

Yazd

gard

wer

e re

plac

ed,

at f

irst

occ

asio

nally

and

then

reg

ular

ly f

rom

50/

671,

with

the

nam

es o

f th

e pr

ovin

cial

gov

erno

rs in

Pahl

avT

scri

pt (

see

figu

re 2

.9).

At m

any

min

ts th

e Y

azdg

ard

era

ceas

ed t

o be

use

dan

d w

as r

epla

ced

with

the

Hijr

T ye

ar.

Som

e ye

ars

afte

r th

e Fi

rstfi

tna,

bet

wee

n 65

6 an

d 66

1 C

E, U

may

yad

gove

rnor

sbe

gan

to a

ffirm

the

ir r

ule

with

a re

fere

nce

to G

od in

Ara

bic

in th

e ob

vers

e m

argi

n.T

he fi

rst w

as th

e go

vern

or o

f the

Eas

t, Z

iyäd

ib-n

Abi

Suf

yän

(r. 6

70-8

4 CE

). Si

nce

47/6

67-8

he

regu

larl

y pr

omul

gate

d hi

s au

thor

ity w

ith t

he l

egen

d bi

smi

'lläh

rabb

i, "I

n th

e na

me

of G

od, m

y L

ord"

. O

ther

gov

erno

rs f

ollo

wed

thi

s ex

ampl

e.19

4.

The

Seco

nd f

ltna—

Zuba

yrid

and

Khü

rijit

e ch

alle

nges

The

Sec

ond

fitna

—th

e Z

ubay

rid

mov

emen

t an

d ca

lipha

te o

f Ib

n al

-Zub

ayr

betw

een

681

and

693

CE—

and

the

muc

h fi

erce

r K

häri

jite

chal

leng

e be

twee

n 68

7an

d 69

7 C

E co

nsti

tute

the

fift

h ph

ase,

and

mar

k a

wat

ersh

ed in

the

prog

ress

tow

ards

a cl

ear

icon

ogra

phic

exp

ress

ion

of t

he n

ew r

elig

ion

and

stat

e.

Abd

allä

h ib

nal

-Zub

ayr w

as a

clo

se, v

ener

ated

mem

ber o

f the

fam

ily o

f the

Pro

phet

. He

emph

a-si

zed

the

relig

ious

cha

ract

er o

f th

e ca

lipha

te a

nd d

eman

ded

a st

ate

in a

ccor

danc

ew

ith t

he p

rinc

iple

s of

Isl

am.

Aft

er M

u'äw

iya'

s de

ath

in 6

0/68

0, I

bn a

l-Z

ubay

rst

rong

ly o

ppos

ed t

he S

ufyä

nid

clai

m t

o th

e ca

lipha

te a

nd w

as s

uppo

rted

in

man

ypa

rts

of th

e em

pire

.In

62/

681-

2 A

bdal

läh

ibn

al-Z

ubay

r's n

ame

firs

t app

eare

d on

coi

ns o

f Kir

män

.In

64/

684,

the

coi

ns s

how

that

he

assu

med

the

im

peri

al ti

tle

"am

ir o

f th

e be

liev

-er

s" (s

ee fi

gure

2.1

0). I

n th

e ye

ar 6

7/68

7 hi

s br

othe

r Mus

'ab

secu

red

Bas

ra in

Iraq

Figure 2.9 'Abdallah ibn 'Arnir, governor of the Basra-prefecture, drahm, abbreviationDP (probably Fasa in the Darabjird district), year 43AH [immobilized date,c. 43-47/663-668], Oriental Coin CabinetJena inv. no. 2005-15-002 (4.04 grams).

gradual regularization of the administration, including minting, is visible on thecoins. The names of Khusraw and Yazdgard were replaced, at first occasionallyand then regularly from 50/671, with the names of the provincial governors inPahlavi' script (see figure 2.9). At many mints the Yazdgard era ceased to be usedand was replaced with the Hijri' year.

Some years after the Firstfitna, between 656 and 661 CE, Umayyad governorsbegan to affirm their rule with a reference to God in Arabic in the obverse margin.The first was the governor of the East, Ziyad itn Abi' SufYan (r. 670-84 CE). Since47/667-8 he regularly promulgated his authority with the legend bismi 'Uiihrabbi, "In the name of God, my Lord". Other g~vernors followed this example.19

The early Islamic Empire and its religion on coin imagery 37

4. The Second fitna-Zllbayrid and Khiirijite challenges

The Second fitna-the Zubayrid movement and caliphate of Ibn al-Zubayrbetween 681 and 693 cE-and the much fiercer Kharijite challenge between 687and 697 CE constitute the fifth phase, and mark a watershed in the progress towardsa clear iconographic expression of the new religion and state. 'Abdallah ibnal-Zubayr was a close, venerated member of the family ofthe Prophet. He empha­sized the religious character of the caliphate and demanded a state in accordancewith the principles of Islam. After Mu'awiya's death in 60/680, Ibn al-Zubayrstrongly opposed the SufYanid claim to the caliphate and was supported in manyparts of the empire.

In 62/681-2 'Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr's name first appeared on coins ofKirman.In 64/684, the coins show that he assumed the imperial title "amir of the believ­ers" (see figure 2.10). In the year 67/687 his brother Mu~'ab secured Basra in Iraq

Figure 2.8 Georgia, Bagratids, Stepanos II (r. 639--663 CE), drahm, without mint [TillIs?],without date; Oriental Coin Cabinet lena inv. no. 302-C04 (3.03 grams).

Figure 2.7 "Yazdgard 1If", posthwnous, drahm, abbreviation SK (Sijistan), regnal year"20 YE" [immobilized date, 31-<:. 41 AH/65 1-<:. 661 CEl. Oriental Coin Cabinetlena inv. no. 304-C04 (3.49 grams).

36 Stefan Heidemann

Sasanian realm. A strong sense of religious identity is found here. New coins,supplementing the circulating stock of drahms (see figure 2.8), show on theobverse a portrait resembling that ofHormizd IV (r. 579-90 CE), but the Georgianinscription names the Bagratid king Stepanos who reigned 18--43/639--63. On thereverse the fire altar was distinctly replaced by a Christian altar with a cross on top.

The third and fourth phases '8 of development cover approximately the years40-72/661-81, that is, the SufYanid period up to the Secondfitna. As in Syria, a

38

Stef

an H

eide

man

nTh

e ea

rly

Isla

mic

Em

pire

and

its

rel

igio

n on

coi

n im

ager

y 39

Fig

ure

2. W

'A

bdal

läh

ibn

al-Z

ubay

r, "

amTr

of t

he b

elie

vers

" in

Pah

lavT

, dra

hm, a

bbre

via-

tion

D 'J

(Jah

rum

in

the

Där

äbjir

d di

stri

ct),

yea

r 60

YE

(72/

692)

, "O

rient

al C

oin

Cab

inet

Jen

a in

v. n

o. 2

005-

15-0

04 (

4.12

gra

tns)

.

and

the

terr

itori

es to

the

east

äs

far ä

s Si

jistä

n. T

he U

may

yads

seem

ed t

o ha

ve l

ost

thei

r cau

se. T

he c

oin

desi

gns

of th

e Z

ubay

rid

gove

rnor

s in

Iraq

and

Ira

n re

mai

ned

alm

ost

the

sam

e äs

bef

ore,

with

the

port

rait

of th

e sh

ähän

shäh

, the

fir

e al

tar,

and

its a

ttend

ants

.B

etw

een

the

year

s 66

/685

and

69/

688-

9, t

he Z

ubay

rid

gove

rnor

of

the

Eas

tpl

aced

the

leg

end

Muh

amm

ad r

asül

Alla

h—"M

uham

mad

is

the

mes

seng

er

ofG

od"—

in A

rabi

c in

the

obve

rse

mar

gin

of th

e co

ins

for t

he fi

rst t

ime.

The

se w

ere

stru

ck in

BTs

häpü

r in

the

Färs

pro

vinc

e (s

ee f

igur

e 2.

11).

Prob

ably

in 7

0/68

9-90

,ac

cord

ing

to a

num

ism

atic

ana

lysi

s by

Lut

z Il

isch

, th

e Z

ubay

rid

auth

oriti

es o

fA

qülä

, the

old

er tw

in c

ity ju

st n

orth

of

the

impo

rtan

t gar

riso

n to

wn

Kuf

a, w

ent a

step

fur

ther

.20 C

oins

wer

e cr

eate

d w

ith

the

nam

e of

"M

uham

mad

[is

] the

mes

sen-

ger o

f God

" in

fron

t of t

he p

ortr

ait o

f the

shä

häns

häh

and—

for

the

firs

t tim

e—th

epr

ofes

sion

of

faith

and

the

unity

of

God

, th

e sh

ahäd

a,21

was

pla

ced

in A

rabi

c in

the

obve

rse

mar

gin

(see

fig

ure

2.12

): b

ism

i 'll

äh l

ä üä

ha il

lä '

lläh

wah

dahü

("I

nth

e na

me

of G

od, t

here

is n

o de

ity o

ther

than

God

, H

e is

alo

ne")

. A

lso

in 7

0/68

9-90

, an

anon

ymou

s coi

n w

ith

the

Pahl

avl

insc

ript

ion

"Muh

amm

ad i

s th

e M

esse

n-ge

r of

God

" in

pla

ce o

f th

e go

vern

or's

nam

e w

as s

truc

k in

Kir

män

pro

vinc

e, th

enpr

obab

ly u

nder

Khä

rijit

e co

ntro

l.22 T

he Z

ubay

rids

and

Khä

rijit

es t

hus

prop

agat

edth

e ne

w I

slam

ic im

peri

al ru

le w

ith

refe

renc

e to

the

Prop

het a

nd p

utat

ive2

3 fou

nder

of t

he s

tate

. T

he a

ckno

wle

dgem

ent

and

invo

catio

n of

the

mes

seng

er-s

hip

ofM

uham

mad

was

obv

ious

ly fu

ndam

enta

l to

the

new

rel

igio

n. E

ven

ideo

logi

call

yop

pose

d gr

oups

refe

rred

to

him

in

this

way

. Wit

h th

e gr

owin

g de

bate

ove

r a

com

-m

unity

bui

lt on

Isla

mic

pri

ncip

les,

the

repr

esen

tatio

n of

Isla

m a

nd it

s sta

te b

ecam

ees

sent

ial

for t

he le

gitim

izat

ion

of p

ower

.24 T

hese

cha

nges

wer

e th

e fi

rst s

ucce

ssfu

lat

tem

pts

in c

oin

prot

ocol

whi

ch h

eral

ded

the

next

dec

isiv

e ch

ange

s in

the

rel

i-gi

ous

and

impe

rial

self

-im

age

of th

e el

ite.

Fig

ure

2.11

'A

bd a

l-M

alik

ibn

'Abd

allä

h ib

n 'A

mir

, Zub

ayri

d go

vern

or, d

rahm

, ab

brev

ia-

tion

BYS

h (B

Tsh

äpür

in F

ärs)

, yea

r 66

AH

(68

5-68

6 C

E), A

shm

olea

n M

useu

m,

Oxf

ord,

in:

Alb

um/G

oodw

in (

2002

), no

. 15

2.

Fig

ure

2.12

Ano

nym

ous,

dra

hm, m

int

'KW

L' (

Aqü

lä),

year

70A

H (6

89-6

90 C

E); S

othe

by's

(198

3),

no. 8

0.

In th

e ye

ar 7

2/69

1-2,

the

Zub

ayri

d go

vern

or o

f the

rem

ote

prov

ince

of

Sijis

tän

in s

outh

-eas

tern

Ira

n, b

roth

er o

f th

e af

orem

entio

ned

inno

vativ

e go

vern

or o

f th

eE

ast,

wen

t a s

tep

furt

her

by re

plac

ing

the

Zor

oast

rian

fire

alta

r and

atte

ndan

ts w

ith

a pr

ofes

sion

of t

he n

ew f

aith

; Ira

j Moc

hiri

tran

scri

bed

the

Pahl

avT

insc

ript

ion t

hus:

"Sev

enty

-tw

o/O

ne G

od b

ut

he/a

noth

er

God

doe

s no

t ex

ist/M

uham

mad

[is

]th

e m

esse

nger

of G

od/S

K [

min

t abb

revi

atio

n fo

r Si

jistä

n]"

(see

figu

re 2

.13)

.25 T

hesh

ahäd

a ap

pear

s he

re in

Pah

lavl

scr

ipt a

nd i

n th

e Pe

rsia

n la

ngua

ge. R

epla

cing

the

38 Stefan Heidemann

Figure 2./0 'Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr, "amlr of the believers" in Pahlavl, drahm, abbrevia­tionD'J(Jahrwn in the Darabjird district), year 60 YE (72/692), briental CoinCabinet Jena inv. no. 2005-15-004 (4.12 grams).

and the territories to the east as far as Sijistiin. The Umayyads seemed to have losttheir cause. The coin designs ofthe Zubayrid governors in Iraq and Ir~n remainedalmost the same as before, with the portrait of the shOhiinshah, the fire altar, andits attendants.

Between the years 66/685 and 69/688-9, the Zubayrid governor of the Eastplaced the legend Mu/:1ammad rasul Alliih-"Mu1:Jarnmad is the messenger ofGod"-in Arabic in the obverse margin of the coins for the first time. These werestruck in Bishapiir in the Fars province (see figure 2.11). Probably in 70/689-90,according to a numismatic analysis by Lutz Ilisch, the Zubayrid authorities ofAqiila, the older twin city just north of the important garrison town Kufa, went astep further. 20 Coins were created with the name of"Mul:lammad [is] the messen­ger of God" in front of the portrait of the shiihiinshiih and-for the first time-theprofession of faith and the unity of God, the shahiida, 21 was placed in Arabic inthe obverse margin (see figure 2.12): bismi 'lliih Iii iliiha illii 'lliih wafidahu ("Inthe name of God, there is no deity other than God, He is aJone"). Also in 70/689­90, an anonymous coin with the Pahlavl inscription "Mul:lammad is the Messen­ger of God" in place of the governor's name was struck in Kirrnan province, thenprobably under Kharijite control. 22 The Zubayrids and Kharijites thus propagatedthe new Islamic imperial rule with reference to the Prophet and putative23 founderof the state. The acknowledgement and invocation of the messenger-ship ofMul:lammad was obviously fundamental to the new religion. Even ideologicallyopposed groups referred to him in this way. With the growing debate over a com­munity built on Islamic principles, the representation oflslam and its state becameessential for the legitimization of power.2

' These changes were the first successfulattempts in coin protocol which heralded the next decisive changes in the rei i­gious and imperial self-image of the elite.

The early Islamic Empire and its religion on coin imagery 39

Figure 2. JJ 'Abd ai-Malik ibn 'Abdallah ibn 'knir, Zubayrid governor, drahm, abbrevia­tion BYSh (BTshapur in Fars), year 66AH (685-686 CE), Ashmolean Museum,Oxford, in: Album/Goodwin (2002), no. 152.

Figure 2. J2 Anonymous, drahm, mint 'KWL' (Aqiila), year70AH (689-690 CE); Sotheby's(1983). no. 80.

In the year 72/691-2, the Zubayrid governor of the remote province ofSijistiinin south-eastern Iran, brother of the aforementioned innovative governor of theEast, went a step further by replacing the Zoroastrian fire altar and attendants witha profession of the new faith; Iraj Mochiri transcribed the Pahlavl inscription thus:"Seventy-two/One God but he/another God does not exist/Muhammad [is]the messenger ofGod/SK [mint abbreviation for Sij istiin]" (see figure 2.13)25 Theshahiida appears here in Pahlavl script and in the Persian language. Replacing the

40

Stef

an

Hei

dem

ann

Fig

ure

2.13

'A

bdal

-'AzT

z ih

n 'A

bdal

läh

ibn

'Am

ir, Z

ubay

rid

gove

rnor

, dr

ahm

,'abb

re\\a

-tio

n SK

(Si

jistä

n), y

ear

72A

H (6

91 -6

92 C

E), c

oll.

Moh

sen

Faro

ughi

(cou

rtes

y of

Stua

rt S

ears

).

fire

alta

r in

the

sam

e w

ay ä

s th

e al

tar

wit

h a

cros

s fr

om G

eorg

ia d

id, t

he s

hahä

da,

is t

he f

irst

kno

wn

"ico

nic"

sym

bol

of t

he I

slam

ic r

elig

ion

and

its e

mpi

re.

The

Zub

ayri

d go

vern

ors

had

targ

eted

the

ide

olog

ical

and

rel

igio

us d

efic

ienc

ies

of th

eSu

fyän

id U

may

yad

regi

me.

In

the

prov

ince

s un

der

Khä

rijit

e co

ntro

l, Is

lam

ic re

li-

giou

s Pr

opag

anda

add

ress

ed t

he c

ruci

al q

uest

ion

of l

egiti

mat

e po

wer

: lä

huk

ma

illä

li'll

äh (

"Gui

danc

e/So

vere

ignt

y be

long

s on

ly t

o G

od")

and

bis

mi

'Höh

wal

l'l-

amr

("In

th

e na

me

of G

od,

the

mas

ter

of a

utho

rity

").2

6 In

72/

691-

2, t

heM

arw

änid

s re

conq

uere

d Ir

aq, a

nd i

n 73

/692

, br

utal

ly s

uppr

esse

d th

e ca

liph

ate

of'A

bdal

läh

ibn

al-Z

ubay

r in

Mec

ca

The

id

eolo

gica

lly

muc

h m

ore

aggr

essi

veK

häri

jite

mov

emen

t, th

ough

, st

ill c

ontr

olle

d m

uch

of I

ran.

Fin

din

g a

new

id

eolo

gica

l fo

rmu

la f

or t

he

Um

ayya

d E

mp

ire

The

ref

orm

s an

d ac

tivi

ties

of

Abd

al-

Mal

ik i

bn M

arw

än a

nd b

is o

mni

pote

nt g

ov-

erno

r of

the

Eas

t, al

-Haj

jäj

ibn

Yüs

uf, c

an b

e se

en o

n th

e on

e ba

nd ä

s an

atte

mpt

to i

nteg

rale

the

def

eate

d m

oder

ate

Zub

ayri

d m

ovem

ent a

nd o

n th

e ot

her

band

, äs

a fo

rcef

ul r

eact

ion

to t

he o

ngoi

ng a

nd i

deol

ogic

ally

muc

h m

ore

pote

nt K

häri

jite

chal

leng

e. A

t th

e la

test

at t

his

tim

e, i

f no

t be

fore

, th

e id

ea o

f a

univ

ersa

l Is

lam

icE

mpi

re i

n its

ow

n id

eolo

gica

l ri

ght

aros

e. M

ecca

was

too

far

aw

ay f

or a

rep

re-

sent

ativ

e im

peri

al re

ligi

ous

cult

to

be s

ucce

ssfu

lly c

ontr

olle

d. I

n 72

/691

-2 A

bdal

-Mal

ik b

uilt

the

pres

ent

Dom

e of

the

Roc

k an

d th

e A

qsä

Mos

que

in J

erus

alem

,pr

obab

ly t

he f

irst

arc

hite

ctur

al m

anif

esta

tion

s of

the

new

Isl

amic

Em

pire

. T

hech

oice

of

Jeru

sale

m p

lace

d th

e im

peri

al s

tate

rel

igio

n in

the

trad

ition

of J

udai

sman

d C

hris

tiani

ty a

nd in

the

cent

re o

f th

e m

edie

val

wor

ld.

The

ele

men

ts o

f tra

ditio

nal

coin

des

ign

wer

e re

cons

ider

ed ä

s w

ell.

Tw

o ne

ces-

sitie

s ha

d to

be

bala

nced

: fir

st, t

he c

onse

rvat

ism

of

prec

ious

met

al c

oin

desi

gn to

The

earl

y Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re a

nd i

ts r

elig

ion

on c

oin

imag

ery

41

mak

e th

e co

ins

acce

ptab

le, a

nd se

cond

ly, t

he n

eed

to c

reat

e a

sym

bolic

rhet

oric

for

both

Isl

am a

nd it

s em

pire

. Bet

wee

n 72

/691

-2 a

nd 7

7/69

6-7,

the

Mar

wän

id a

dmin

-is

trat

ion

expe

rim

ente

d w

ith n

ew S

ymbo

ls a

nd d

esig

ns; n

ot a

ll th

e im

ager

y is

ful

lyun

ders

tood

tod

ay.

A r

ecur

rent

them

e w

as th

e in

clus

ion

of th

e fo

rmul

a M

uham

mad

rasü

l A

llah

, and

inc

reas

ingl

y th

e pr

ofes

sion

of

the

unity

of

God

. T

hese

le

gend

sw

ere

the

sym

bol

of I

slam

com

para

ble

to t

he c

ross

, fi

re a

ltar

and

men

orah

.M

uham

mad

, th

e al

l-bu

t-hu

man

mes

seng

er o

f G

od,

was

rai

sed

to a

pos

ition

alm

ost

äs s

acre

d äs

the

div

ine

reve

latio

n its

elf.

The

ana

chro

nist

ic i

cono

grap

hic

Sym

bols

on t

he c

oins

, ho

wev

er,

wer

e se

cond

ary

-in i

deol

ogic

al t

erm

s an

d ha

d to

ser

ve ä

sre

cogn

izab

le m

arks

of

valu

e. B

ased

on

the

Zub

ayri

d sl

ogan

s on

coi

ns,

the

sear

chfo

r ap

prop

riat

e ne

w d

esig

ns a

nd s

ymbo

lic r

epre

sent

atio

ns o

f the

Mar

wän

id E

mpi

rese

ems

to h

ave

star

ted

in D

amas

cus

in 7

2/69

1-2.

Wit

h th

e ex

cept

ion

of s

ome

copp

ers

the

new

em

issi

ons

wer

e an

onym

ous.

The

se e

xper

imen

ts f

ollo

wed

a d

iffe

r-en

t but

rel

ated

cou

rse

in S

yria

, in

the

supe

r-pr

ovin

ces

of K

ufa

and

Bas

ra a

nd in

the

nort

hern

pro

vinc

es (

Jazl

ra, A

rmen

ia a

nd A

zerb

aija

n).2

7

At t

he la

test

in

72/6

91-2

, A

bd a

l-M

alik

beg

an t

o ex

peri

men

t with

coi

n de

sign

sin

Syr

ia.

His

adm

inis

trat

ion

chos

e ye

t an

othe

r ci

rcul

atin

g ty

pe o

f H

erac

lius

'no

mis

ma

äs a

mod

el, i

niti

ally

leav

ing

the

anac

hron

istic

Gre

ek i

nscr

iptio

n in

pla

ce(s

ee f

igur

e 2.

14).

The

obv

erse

sho

ws

thre

e St

andi

ng e

mpe

rors

stil

l w

eari

ng t

iny

cros

ses

on t

op o

f th

eir

crow

ns.

On

the

reve

rse

the

cros

s, ä

s th

e sy

mbo

l of

the

Chr

isti

an B

yzan

tine

Em

pire

, w

as r

epla

ced

by a

"ba

r on

a p

ole

on s

teps

". T

heem

blem

s of

the

riv

al C

hris

tian

Em

pire

wer

e gr

adua

lly

rem

oved

, w

hile

the

reco

g-ni

zabl

e de

sign

pat

tern

of

the

circ

ulat

ing

Byz

anti

ne g

old

coin

age

was

ret

aine

d.28

Bef

ore

72/6

91-2

, si

lver

dra

hms

wer

e no

t kn

own

to b

e m

inte

d in

Syr

ia.

The

new

Mar

wän

id D

amas

cus

drah

ms

(see

fig

ure

2.15

) w

ere

mod

elle

d on

the

curr

ent

Sasa

nian

dra

hm r

etai

ning

the

imag

es o

f th

e sh

ähän

shäh

and

the

fir

e al

tar

wit

hat

tend

ants

. T

he c

oins

are

ano

nym

ous;

the

invo

cati

on M

uham

mad

ras

ül A

llah

inA

rabi

c is

pla

ced

in f

ront

of t

he p

ortr

ait,

how

ever

at f

irst

wit

hout

the

prof

essi

on o

fth

e un

ity

of G

od.2

9 T

he Z

ubay

rid

Prop

agan

da

was

ado

pted

äs

suit

able

for

the

ongo

ing

pow

er s

trug

gle

with

the

Khä

riji

tes.

Fro

m 7

2/69

1-2

to 7

4/69

3^4,

the

Fig

ure

2.14

Ano

nym

ous,

nom

ism

a, w

itho

ut

min

t [D

amas

cus?

], w

itho

ut y

ear

[c.

late

60s-

72/l

ate

680<

r-69

1-69

2 C

E], S

pink

(198

6), n

o. 8

6.

40 Stefan Heidemann

Figure 2./3 'Abd al-'AzTz ibn' Abdallah ibn' Amir, Zubayrid governor, drahm, abbrevia­tionSK (Sijistiin), year 72AH(691-{;92 CE), coil. Mohsen Faroughi (courtesy ofStuart Sears).

fire altar in the same way as the altar with a cross rrom Georgia did, the shahiida,is the first known "iconic" symbol of the Islamic religion and its empire. TheZubayrid governors had targeted the ideological and religious deficiencies of theSuryanid Umayyad regime. In the provinces under Kharijite control, Islamic reli­gious propaganda addressed the crucial question of legitimate power: la bukmailla li'llah ("Guidance/Sovereignty belongs only to God") and bismi 'llah wall'I-amr ("In the name of God, the master of authority").26 In 72/691-2, theMarwanids reconquered Iraq, and in 73/692, brutally suppressed the caliphate of'Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr in Mecca The ideologically much more aggressiveKharijite movement, though, still controlled much oflran.

Finding a new ideological formula for the Umayyad Empire

The reforms and activities of 'Abd ai-Malik ibn Marwan and his omnipotent gov­ernor of the East, al-l;.la,Uaj ibn Yiisuf, can be seen on the one hand as an attemptto integrate the defeated moderate Zubayrid movement and on the other hand, asa forceful reaction to the ongoing and ideologically much more potent Kharijitechallenge. At the latest at this time, if not before, the idea of a universal IslamicEmpire in its own ideological right arose. Mecca was too far away for a repre­sentative imperial religious cult to be successfully controlled. In 72/691-2 'Abdai-Malik built the present Dome of the Rock and the Aq~a Mosque in Jemsalem,probably the first architectural manifestations of the new Islamic Empire. Thechoice of Jerusalem placed the imperial state religion in the tradition of Judaismand Christianity and in the centre of the medieval world.

The elements of traditional coin design were reconsidered as well. Two neces­sities had to be balanced: first, the conservatism of precious metal coin design to

The early Islamic Empire and its religion on coin imagery 41

make the coins acceptable, and secondly, the need to create a symbolic rhetoric forboth Islam and its empire. Between 72/691 -2 and 77/696-7, the Marwanid admin­istration experimented with new symbols and designs; notall the imagery is fullyunderstood today. A recurrent theme was the inclusion of the formula MubammadrasUi Allah, and increasingly the profession of the unity of God. These legendswere the symbol of Islam comparable to the cross, fire altar and menorah.Mubammad, the all-but-hUlllan messenger of G~d, was raised to a position almostas sacred as the divine revelation itself. The anachronistic iconographic symbolson the coins, however, were secondary ·in ideological terms and had to serve asrecognizable marks of value. Based on the Zubayrid slogans on coins, the searchfor appropriate new designs and symbolic representations of the Marwanid Empireseems to have started in Damascus in 72/691-2. With the exception of somecoppers the new emissions were anonymous. These experiments followed a differ­ent but related course in Syria, in the super-provinces ofKufa and Basra and in thenorthern provinces (JazTra, Armenia and Azerbaijan).27

At the latest in 72/691-2, 'Abd ai-Malik began to experiment with coin designsin Syria. His administration chose yet another circulating type of Heraclius'nomisma as a model, initially leaving the anachronistic Greek inscription in place(see figure 2.14). The obverse shows three standing emperors still wearing tinycrosses on top of their crowns. On the reverse the cross, as the symbol of theChristian Byzantine Empire, was replaced by a "bar on a pole on steps". Theemblems of the rival Christian Empire were gradually removed, while the recog­nizable design pattern of the circulating Byzantine gold coinage was retained.28

Before 72/691-2, silver drahms were not known to be minted in Syria. Thenew Marwanid Damascus drahms (see figure 2.15) were modelled on the currentSasanian drahm retaining the images of the shahanshah and the fire altar withattendants. The coins are anonymous; the invocation Mubammad rasal Allah inArabic is placed in front of the portrait, however at first without the profession ofthe unity of God. 29 The Zubayrid propaganda was adopted as suitable for theongoing power struggle with the Kharijites. From 72/691-2 to 74/693-4, the

Figure 2./4 Anonymous, nomisma, without mint [Damascus?], without year [c. late60s-72/late 680Hi91-{;92 CEJ, Spink (l9R6), no. 86.

42

Stef

an

Hei

dem

ann

The

earl

y Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re a

nd i

ts r

elig

ion

on c

oin

imag

ery

43

Fig

ure

2.15

A

nony

mou

s, d

rahm

, Dam

ascu

s, y

ear 7

2AH

(691

-692

CE)

; Peu

s (20

04),

ho. 9

88(3

.8 g

ram

s).

Fig

ure

2.16

Ano

nym

ous,

nom

ism

a, w

ithou

t min

t [D

amas

cus]

, with

out d

ate

[73-

74/6

92-

694]

,Spi

nk(1

986)

, no.

87.

nam

e K

husr

aw i

n Pa

hlav

T is

aga

in f

ound

in-

fron

t of

the

port

rait

so th

at th

e de

sign

,w

ith th

e ex

cept

ion

of th

e A

rabi

c in

voca

tion

of M

uham

mad

on

the

mar

gin,

rem

ains

the

reco

gniz

able

Sta

ndar

d dr

ahm

des

ign.

30 I

n th

e ye

ar 7

3/69

2-3

the

invo

catio

nof

the

mes

seng

er o

f God

, Muh

amm

ad, w

as s

uppl

emen

ted

wit

h an

Ara

bic

shah

äda

in th

e ob

vers

e m

argi

n of

the

silv

er, a

nd p

roba

bly

also

on

the

unda

ted

gold

coi

ns o

fD

amas

cus

(see

fig

ures

2.1

6 an

d 2.

17),

and

on

the

drah

ms

of K

ufa

too.

The

gol

d co

inag

e fo

llow

ed t

he s

ame

cour

se.

Prob

ably

in

73/6

91-2

, but

bef

ore

the

year

74/

693-

4, th

e cr

osse

s w

ere

fina

lly re

mov

ed fr

om t

he c

onve

ntio

nal m

ean-

ingl

ess

imag

e of

the

empe

rors

and

the

sym

bol

on t

he r

ever

se w

as r

epla

ced

by a

"glo

be o

n a

pole

on

Step

s".31

Pro

babl

y pa

rall

el to

the

sil

ver

issu

e of

73/

691-

2, th

epr

ofes

sion

of

faith

, in

clud

ing

the

unity

of

God

and

the

invo

cati

on o

f th

e m

esse

n-ge

r of

God

, M

uham

mad

, en

circ

led

the

cent

ral

sym

bol

(see

fig

ure

2.16

). T

he

Fig

ure

2.17

Ano

nym

ous,

din

är, w

ithou

t m

int [

Dam

ascu

s],

year

77A

H (6

96 C

E),

Ori

enta

lC

oin

Cab

inet

Jen

a in

v. n

o. 3

03-A

02 (4

.45

gram

s).

Fig

ure

2.18

'A

bd a

l-M

alik

,/a/5

, Q

inna

srin

(in

nor

ther

n Sy

ria)

, w

ithou

t da

te [

74-7

7/69

3-69

6], O

rien

tal C

oin

Cab

inet

Jena

inv.

no.

303

-F08

(3.1

5 gr

ams)

.

"glo

be o

n a

pole

on

Step

s" a

nd th

ese

invo

catio

ns h

ad b

y th

en b

ecom

e fr

eque

ntly

used

Sym

bols

.32B

etw

een

the

year

s 74/6

93^

and

77/

696,

the

next

ide

olog

ical

ly m

ore

cons

ist-

ent,

inde

ed a

lmos

t uni

fied

, ic

onog

raph

ic r

epre

sent

atio

n of

the

empi

re w

as c

reat

edfo

r Sy

ria,

in

gold

, cop

per

and

silv

er (s

ee f

igur

es 2

.17

to 2

.19)

. The

obv

erse

of

the

gold

and

cop

per

coin

s sh

ows

the

imag

e of

the

Stan

ding

cali

ph. T

he p

reci

ous

met

alco

ins

are

anon

ymou

s,

givi

ng o

nly

titl

es,

but

som

e co

pper

iss

ues

nam

e A

bdal

-Mal

ik (

see

figu

re 2

.18)

. An

impo

rtan

t mar

k of

the

figu

re's

impe

rial

Sta

tus

is h

islo

ng, b

road

sw

ord

shea

thed

in

a sc

abba

rd,

the

hilt

firm

ly i

n hi

s gr

ip. O

n th

e go

lddi

när,

the

ca

liph

is s

urro

unde

d by

the

sh

ahäd

a an

d th

e in

voca

tion

of

the

mes

seng

er-s

hip

of M

uham

mad

. The

reve

rse

repe

ats

the

"glo

be o

n a

pole

on

Step

s"m

otif

; th

e de

sign

was

mod

ifie

d on

cop

per

coin

s. T

he r

ever

se u

ses

the

fam

iliä

r"g

lobe

on

a po

le o

n st

eps"

des

ign

but

wit

h th

e ad

diti

on o

f an

ell

ipse

, thu

s re

sem

-bl

ing

the

Gre

ek l

ette

rpA

/. T

he p

reci

se r

ende

ring

of t

he "

glob

e (o

r ot

her

tops

) on

a

Figure 2.18 'Abd ai-Malik, Jals, Qinnasnn (in northern Syria), without date [74-77/693-696], Oriental Coin Cabinet .rena inv. no. 303-F08 (3.15 grams).

The early Islamic Empire and its religion on coin imagery 43

Figure 2.17 Anonymous, dinar, without mint [Damascus], year 77m (696 CE), OrientalCoin Cabinet Jena inv. no. 303-A02 (4.45 grams).

"globe on a pole on steps" and these invocations had by then become frequentlyused symbols. J2

Between the years 74/693-4 and 77/696, the next ideologically more consist­ent, indeed almost unified, iconographic representation of the empire was createdfor Syria, in gold, copper and silver (see figures 2.17 to 2.19). The obverse of thegold and copper coins shows the image of the standing caliph. The precious metalcoins are anonymous, giving only titles. but some copper issues name i\bdaI-Malik (see figure 2.18). An important mark of the figure's imperial status is hislong, broad sword sheathed in a scabbard, the hilt firmly in his grip. On the golddfniir, the caliph is surrounded by the shahiida and the invocation of themessenger-ship ofMubammad. The reverse repeats the "globe on a pole on steps"motif; the design was modified on copper coins. The reverse uses the familiar"globe on a pole on steps" design but with the addition of an ellipse, thus resem­bling the Greek letter phi. The precise rendering of the "globe (or other tops) on a

Figuri? 2./6 Anonymous, nom;'\'ma, without mint [Damascus], without date [73-.74/692~

694], Spink (1986), no. 87.

42 Stefan Heidemann

Figure 2.15 Anonymous, drahm, Damascus, year 72AH (691-692 CE); Peus (2004), 00.988(3.8 grams).

name Khusraw in PahlavT is again found in-front of the portrait so that the design,with the exception ofthe Arabic invocation ofMuJ~ammadon the margin, remainsthe recognizable standard drahm design30 In the year 73/692-3 the invocationof the messenger ofGod, Mubammad, was supplemented with an Arabic shahadain the obverse margin of the silver, and probably also on the undated gold coins ofDamascus (see figures 2.16 and 2.17), and on the drahms ofKufa too.

The gold coinage followed the same course. Probably in 73/691 ~2, but beforethe year 74/693-4, the crosses were finally removed from the conventional mean­ingless image of the emperors and the symbol on the reverse was replaced by a"globe on a pole on steps".J1 Probably parallel to the silver issue of 73/69 1-2, theprofession offaith, including the unity of God and the invocation of the messen­ger of God, MuJwmmad, encircled the central symbol (set: figure 2.16). The

44

Stef

an

Hei

dem

ann

Fig

ure

2.19

A

nony

mou

s,dr

ahm

,wit

hout

min

t[D

amas

cus]

,yea

r75A

H(6

94-6

95cE

),G

orny

and

Mos

ch (

2007

), no

. 559

9 (3

.34

gram

s).

pole

" w

ith e

llips

e mot

if v

arie

d co

nsid

erab

ly a

t the

dif

fere

nt m

ints

in B

iläd

al-S

häm

and

the

wes

tern

Jaz

lra.

On

the

silv

er c

oins

in

Dam

ascu

s in

75/

694-

5, th

e Im

age

ofth

e sh

ähän

shäh

rem

aine

d on

the

obv

erse

äs

the

icon

ic m

ark

of t

he d

rahm

. T

heSt

andi

ng r

uler

is

plac

ed o

n th

e re

vers

e (s

ee f

igur

e 2.

19).

On

eith

er s

ide

of h

isim

age,

the

tit

le a

mir

al-

mu

'min

in w

as i

nscr

ibed

for

the

fir

st t

ime

in t

he A

rabi

cla

ngua

ge a

nd s

crip

t. A

sec

ond

titl

e is

fou

nd h

ere

for t

he fi

rst t

ime

on a

dat

ed d

ocu-

men

t äs

wel

l, th

e di

vina

tion

of

the

empe

ror

äs k

halif

at

Alla

h ("

depu

ty o

f G

od")

.T

he t

itle

enh

ance

d hi

s cl

aim

to

poli

tico

-rel

igio

us l

eade

rshi

p.33

The

dep

icti

on o

f a r

uler

on

both

sid

es m

ay n

ot h

ave

bcen

a s

atis

fact

ory

desi

gn,

äs T

read

wel

l su

gges

ted.

The

sol

utio

n w

as p

roba

bly

a ne

vv t

ype

wit

h th

e ca

liph

'sha

lf b

ust

and

the

arch

. It

did

not

ent

irel

y de

viat

e fr

om

the

acce

pted

Sa

sani

anap

pear

ance

ofd

rahm

s bu

t ne

vert

hele

ss c

reat

ed a

n id

eolo

gica

lly

mor

e co

nsis

tent

desi

gn (

see

figu

re 2

.20)

. It w

as a

lso

anon

ymou

s, b

ut w

ith i

mpe

rial

tit

les,

thou

gh it

bear

s ne

ithe

r m

int

nor

date

. It

was

pre

sum

ably

str

uck

in D

amas

cus

betw

een

75/6

94-5

and

79/

697-

8. I

nste

ad o

f the

con

vent

iona

l por

trai

t of t

he s

hähä

nshä

h, a

new

hal

f-le

ngth

por

trai

t w

as c

reat

ed.

It w

as c

lose

to

Sasa

nian

ico

nogr

aphy

, bu

tdi

stin

ctiv

e. T

he f

igur

e's

hand

fir

mly

hol

ds t

he h

ilt

of h

is b

road

, sh

eath

ed,

swor

dsi

mil

ar t

o th

e St

andi

ng c

alip

h ty

pe.

Thi

s ne

wly

cre

ated

im

age

can

be u

nder

stoo

däs

the

rep

rese

ntat

ion

of t

he c

alip

h ty

pe.

The

nam

e "K

husr

aw",

pla

ced

agai

n in

fron

t of

the

port

rait,

has

bee

n re

duce

d to

a m

eani

ngle

ss p

art o

f a

conv

enti

onal

coi

nde

sign

. T

he m

argi

n ca

rrie

s th

e sh

ahäd

a an

d th

e re

fere

nce

to M

uham

mad

that

had

beco

me

the

norm

by

then

. T

he r

ever

se s

how

s an

arc

h on

col

umns

wit

h ca

pita

ls.

On

eith

er s

ide

of t

he a

rch

are

the

impe

rial

tit

les,

"am

ir o

f th

e be

liev

ers"

and

"dep

uty

of G

od",

äs

on t

he S

tand

ing

calip

h dr

ahm

s. T

he a

rch

cove

rs a

lan

ce o

rsp

ear,

and

on

eith

er si

de i

s the

ins

crip

tion

nasr

Alla

h ("

Vic

tory

of

God

") o

r nas

ara

All

ah ("

May

God

giv

e as

sist

ance

"). T

read

wel

l di

scar

ded

earl

ier i

nter

pret

atio

ns o

f

The

earl

y Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re a

nd i

ts r

elig

ion

on c

oin

imag

ery

45

Fig

ure

2.20

Ano

nym

ous,

dra

hm, w

ithou

t m

int

[Dam

ascu

s],

with

out

date

[c.

75-

79/6

94-

698]

, B

aldw

in's

(20

01),

no.

1569

.

the

arch

äs

a pr

ayer

-nic

he (m

ihra

b) f

or a

rt h

isto

ry r

easo

ns. T

his

kind

of

deco

ratio

nw

as m

ainl

y pa

rt o

f a

late

Rom

an c

onve

ntio

n to

fra

me

any

imag

e, h

ere

a la

nce,

whi

ch i

s, a

ccor

ding

to

the

insc

ript

ion,

a s

ymbo

l of

vic

tory

.34T

he i

cono

grap

hic

sign

ific

ance

of

the

"bar

/glo

be o

n a

pole

on

Step

s" a

nd i

tsva

riat

ions

is

no l

onge

r kn

own.

The

dif

fere

nt r

epre

sent

atio

ns m

ust

be c

onsi

dere

däs

a g

roup

, bu

t th

ey l

ack

an u

nam

bigu

ous

coun

terp

art

in t

he g

row

ing

corp

us o

fea

rly

Isla

mic

im

ager

y. V

ario

us i

nter

pret

atio

ns h

ave

been

sug

gest

ed,

but

none

is

enti

rely

sat

isfa

ctor

y be

caus

e of

the

lac

k of

par

alle

l so

urce

s in

lite

ratu

re a

nd ic

o-no

grap

hy.

In 1

967

Geo

rge

C. M

iles

saw

it ä

s a

qadT

b, a

cer

emon

ial

staf

f or

rod

.35A

lter

nati

vely

, in

1999

Nad

ia J

amil

inte

rpre

ted

the

sym

bol ä

s th

e qu

tb o

r om

pha-

los,

the

lync

hpin

of t

he w

orld

, a p

aral

lel t

o th

e cr

oss

of G

olga

tha,

whi

ch is

see

n on

Byz

anti

ne g

old

nom

ism

a (s

ee f

igur

e 2.

1). T

his

wou

ld p

oint

to

Jeru

sale

m,

the

cent

re o

f th

e im

peri

al re

ligio

us c

ult.

Acc

ordi

ng t

o N

adia

Jam

il, t

he ro

tatio

n of

the

wor

ld m

ight

be

visu

ally

exp

ress

ed i

n th

e el

lipse

on

the

copp

er c

oins

(se

e fi

gure

2.18

). T

he S

ugge

sted

for

esho

rten

ing

pers

pect

ive

of a

mov

emen

t, th

ough

, ra

ises

seri

ous

doub

ts a

bout

suc

h a

theo

ry.3

6

Han

swul

f B

loed

horn

su

gges

ted

anot

her

plau

sibl

e In

terp

reta

tion.

37

On

the

fam

ous

mos

aic

map

of

Jeru

sale

m i

n M

adab

a (s

ixth

Cen

tury

CE

) a m

onum

enta

lR

oman

col

umn

is d

epic

ted

äs a

pol

e on

Ste

ps w

ith

som

ethi

ng o

n to

p (c

apit

al,

glob

e?)

stan

ding

on

the

plaz

a be

fore

the

nor

ther

n ga

te o

f th

e ci

ty (

toda

y th

eD

amas

cus

Gat

e) (

see

figu

re 2

.21)

. In

the

earl

y Is

lam

ic p

erio

d th

is c

olum

n se

ems

to h

ave

been

stil

l a

land

mar

k. A

l-M

uqad

dasI

(d.

381

/991

)38

and

othe

r w

rite

rskn

ew t

he n

earb

y ga

te ä

s th

at o

f th

e "c

olum

n,"

Bäb

al-

Am

üd.

Such

mon

olit

hic

colu

mns

sym

boliz

ed u

rban

and

civ

ic p

ride

and

wer

e a

com

mon

fea

ture

in

late

Rom

an a

nd e

ven

Um

ayya

d ci

ties,

and

the

refo

re u

nder

stan

dabl

e ev

en w

itho

ut a

spec

ific

allu

sion

to

Jeru

sale

m.3

9 In

thi

s in

terp

reta

tion

the

pell

et o

n th

e to

p of

the

pole

on

the

coin

s m

ight

repr

esen

t a

glob

e w

itho

ut a

cro

ss a

nd th

e ba

r m

ight

44 Siefan Hc:idemann

Figure 2./9 Anonymous,drahm, withoutmint (Damascus],year75AH (694-695cE), Gornyand Masch (2007), no. 5599 (3.34 grams). ;.

pole" with ellipse motifvaried considerably at the different mints in Biliid ai-Shamand the western JazTra. On the silver coins in Damascus in 75/694-5, the image ofthe shahanshah remained on the obverse as the iconic mark of the drahm. Thestanding ruler is placed on the reverse (see figure 2.l9). On either side of hisimage, the title amlr al-mu 'minfn was inscribed for the first time in the Arabiclanguage and script. A second title is found here for the first time on a dated docu­ment as well, the divination of the emperor as khalifal Allah ("deputy of God").The title enhanced his claim to politico-religious leadershipH

The depiction of a ruler on both sides may not have b.::en a satisfactory design,as Treadwell suggested. The solution was probably a new type with the caliph'shalf bust and the arch. It did not entirely deviate from the accepted Sasanianappearance of drahms but nevertheless created an ideologically more consistentdesign (see figure 2.20). It was also anonymous, but with imperial titles, though itbears neither mint nor date. It was presumably struck in Damascus between75/694-5 and 79/b97-8. Instead of the conventional portrait of the shahanshah, anew half-length portrait was created. It was close to Sasanian iconography, butdistinctive. The figure's hand firmly holds the hilt of his broad, sheathed, swordsimilar to the standing caliph type. This newly created image can be understoodas the representation of the caliph type. The name "Khusraw", placed again infront ofthc portrait, has been reduced to a meaningless part ofa conventional coindesign. The margin carries the shahiida and the reference to Mu!:Jammad that hadbecome the norm by then. The reverse shows an arch on columns with capitals.On either side of the arch are the imperial titles, "amlr of the believers" and"deputy of God", as on the standing caliph drahms. The arch covers a lance orspear, and on either side is the inscription nasr Allah ("Victory ofGod") or na.~ara

Allah ("May God give assistance"). Treadwell discarded earlier interpretations of

The early Islamic Empire and its religion on coin imagery 45

Figure 2.20 Anonymous, drahm, without mint [Damascus], without date [c. 75-79/694­698], Baldwin's (2001), no. 1569.

the arch as a prayer-niche (mibrab) for art history reasons. This kind ofdecorationwas mainly part of a late Roman convention to frame any image, here a lance,which is, according to the inscription, a symbol ofvictory.34 .

The iconographic significance of the "bar/globe on a pole on steps" and Itsvariations is no longer known. The different representations must be consideredas a group, but they lack an unambiguous counterpart in the growing corpus ~fearly Islamic imagery. Various interpretations havc been suggested, but none IS

entirely satisfactory because of the lack of parallel sources in literature and ico­nography. In 1967 George C. Miles saw it as a qar,lfb, a ceremonial staff or rod.

J'

Alternatively, in 1999 Nadia Jamil interpreted the symbol as the qu!b or ompha­los, the Iyncnpin ofthe world, a parallel to the cross of Golgatha, which is seen on

, Byzantine gold nomisma (see figure 2.1). This would point to Jerusalem, thecentre of the imperial religious cult. According to Nadia Jamil, the rotation of theworld might be visually expressed in the ellipse on the copper coins (see figure2.18). The suggested foreshortening perspective of a movement, though, raisesserious doubts about such a theory.36

Hanswulf Bloedhorn suggested another plausible interpretation.37 On thefamous mosaic map of Jerusalem in Madaba (sixth century CE) a monumentalRoman column is depicted as a pole on steps with something on top (capital,globe?) standing on the plaza before the northern gate of the city (today theDamascus Gate) (see figure 2.21). In the early Islamic pcriod this colwl1n seemsto have been still a landmark. AI-Muqadda~T (d. 381/991)38 and other writersknew the nearby gate as that of the "column," Bab al-iimiid. Such monolithiccolumns symbolized urban and civic pride and were a common feature in lateRoman and even Umayyad cities, and therefore undcrstandable even without aspecific allusion to Jerusalern 39 In this interpretation the pellet on the top ofthe pole on the coins might represent a globe without a cross and the bar might

46

Stef

an H

eide

man

n

Fig

ure

2.2

1 T

he Z

to&

al-

Äm

üd

in

Jeru

sale

m o

n th

e M

adab

a m

ap.

Phot

o: D

avid

Bjo

rgen

(20

05),

Wik

iped

ia, M

adab

a (D

ec.

2007

).

repr

esen

t an

empt

y pl

atfo

rm o

r ca

pita

l. T

he u

rban

col

umn

wou

ld th

en b

e a

non-

relig

ious

sym

bol a

nd c

lose

eno

ugh

to th

e B

yzan

tine

Chr

istia

n "c

ross

on

Step

s" t

ose

rve

äs a

reco

gniz

able

mar

k of

val

ue. T

his

func

tion

of t

he s

ymbo

l is

appa

rent

on

Nor

th A

fric

an g

old

coin

s. T

he m

ark

for

the

Byz

antin

e se

mis

sis

was

the

cro

ssSt

andi

ng o

n a

glob

e; th

is w

as c

ontin

ued

äs a

"gl

obe

on a

pol

e on

Ste

ps"

for I

slam

icse

mis

ses.

The

sign

for

the

Byz

antin

e tr

emis

sis,

a c

ross

pot

ent,

was

tran

sfor

med

on

the

Isla

mic

thul

th i

nto

the

earl

y Is

lam

ic "

bar

on a

pol

e on

Ste

ps".

40 I

n Sy

ria t

heon

ly g

old

coin

stru

ck w

as th

e no

mis

mal

dinä

r. A

dis

tingu

ishi

ng m

ark

for a

den

om-

inat

ion

was

not

nec

essa

ry, b

ut a

reco

gniz

able

des

ign

conn

ecte

d th

e di

när

wit

h th

epr

evio

us B

yzan

tine n

omis

ma.

The

"st

eps"

of

the

cros

s po

tent

was

the

mos

t di

s-tin

ct d

esig

n el

emen

t of

the

reve

rse.

In

the

peri

od o

f Mu'

äwiy

a th

e "b

ar o

n a

pole

on s

teps

" ha

d pr

obab

ly ap

pear

ed f

or th

e fir

st ti

me

(see

fig

ure

2.5)

; it i

s not

pos

sibl

eto

Int

erpr

et i

t äs

oth

er t

han

a de

-Chr

istia

nize

d or

de-

Byz

antin

ized

obj

ect

on"s

teps

". I

t be

cam

e a

cons

erva

tive

sym

bol

for

the

valu

e of

the

coi

n, l

ike

the

shäh

änsh

äh.

The

p/z

/-sha

ped

sym

bol

on s

teps

on

the

copp

er c

oins

sho

uld

beco

nsid

ered

äs

a m

ere

mar

k of

val

ue to

o, r

epla

cing

the

Gre

ek M

or

m.

It m

ight

thus

sim

ply

be re

gard

ed ä

s be

ing

a G

reek

/?///

forf

ollis

äs

Joh

n W

alke

r allu

ded.

41

Wha

teve

r th

e or

igin

al s

ymbo

lic m

eani

ng o

f th

ese

imag

es m

ight

hav

e be

en, i

t was

obvi

ousl

y se

cond

ary

to t

heir

fun

ctio

n äs

mar

ks o

f va

lue

and

feil

into

obl

ivio

n

The

earl

y Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re a

nd i

ts r

elig

ion

on c

oin

imag

ery

47

afte

r A

bd a

l-M

alik

's re

form

s. T

he l

ance

and

the

glob

e/ba

r on

a p

ole

on s

teps

or

colu

mn

shou

ld b

e se

en ä

s no

n-ve

nera

ted

obje

cts

of p

ride

, po

wer

and

vic

tory

and

äs a

sub

stitu

te fo

r the

Sym

bols

of th

e ot

her r

elig

ions

.

The

pro

fess

ion

of f

aith

äs

the

sym

bol

of r

elig

ion

and

the

Wor

d of

God

äs

the

sym

bol

of t

he U

nive

rsal

Em

pire

Bet

wee

n la

te 7

7/69

6 an

d 79

/699

, the

def

initi

ve sy

mbo

lic r

epre

sent

atio

n of

Isl

aman

d th

e Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re w

as i

ntro

duce

d1 o

n co

inag

e. T

his

occu

rred

im

med

iate

lyaf

ter

the

vict

ory

over

the

Khä

rijite

cal

iph

Qat

arT

ibn

al-F

ujä

'a (r

. 69-

79/6

89-9

9),

and

mus

t be

seen

äs

an a

ttem

pt to

leg

itim

ize

Mar

wän

id r

ule

in th

e en

tire

empi

rew

ith I

slam

ic P

ropa

gand

a co

mm

on to

all

Mus

lim fa

ctio

ns. T

his

refo

rm w

as o

rgan

-iz

ed b

y th

e ca

liph

in D

amas

cus

in c

lose

coo

pera

tion

with

al-

Haj

jäj

ibn

Yüs

uf, t

hesu

prem

e go

vern

or o

f the

for

mer

Sas

ania

n ea

st. I

n 77

/696

new

din

ärs

wer

e st

ruck

(see

fig

ure

2.22

), pr

obab

ly in

Dam

ascu

s. T

hey

bear

the

new

rel

igio

us S

ymbo

ls o

fIs

lam

and

the

empi

re, t

he s

hahä

da, e

ncirc

led

by th

e Q

ur a

nic

risä

la, t

he p

roph

etic

mis

sion

of

Muh

amm

ad (

shor

tene

d ve

rsio

n of

Qur

an

9:33

), an

d on

the

opp

osite

side

the

Wor

d of

God

, th

e be

ginn

ing

of t

he s

ürat

ikh

läs

(sho

rten

ed v

arie

ty o

fQ

ur a

n 11

2), s

urro

unde

d by

the

date

of t

he s

trik

ing.

Late

in th

e ye

ar 7

8/69

7-8

al-H

ajjä

j ibn

Yüs

uf o

rder

ed t

he re

form

of t

he d

irha

ms

in h

is r

ealm

. The

new

coi

ns w

eigh

ed a

bout

2.8

to 2

.9 g

ram

s w

ith

slig

ht r

egio

nal

diff

eren

ces.

The

new

des

ign

was

ver

y si

mila

r to

tha

t of

the

new

din

ärs,

but

in

addi

tion

carr

ied

the

min

t nam

e. A

s fa

r äs

we

can

curr

ently

tei

l, th

e re

form

beg

anin

Kuf

a, A

zerb

aija

n, A

rmen

ia, J

ayy

and

Shaq

q al

-Tay

mar

a in

the

Jibä

l. Th

e fo

l-lo

win

g ye

ar s

aw th

e ad

optio

n of

the

new

des

ign

by m

ore

than

40

min

ts a

ll ov

er th

eea

st (

see

figu

re 2

.23)

, m

any

of t

hem

in

the

form

er r

egio

ns o

f K

häri

jite

dom

i-na

nce—

and

in th

e im

peri

al ca

pita

l Dam

ascu

s.42

Unt

il th

e tim

e of

the

A'b

basi

d ca

liph

al-M

ansü

r (r

. 754

-75

CE)

, pre

ciou

s m

etal

coin

s re

mai

ned

anon

ymou

s. N

ot o

nly

the

nam

e of

the

rule

r but

als

o hi

s im

age

was

rem

oved

fro

m a

ny r

epre

sent

atio

n of

the

em

pire

on

prec

ious

met

al c

oins

. T

his

cons

titut

ed

a hi

stor

ical

ly u

npre

cede

nted

br

each

with

Hel

leni

stic

coi

n im

ager

y

Fig

ure

2.22

Ano

nym

ous,

din

är,

with

out

min

t [D

amas

cus]

, ye

ar 9

3AH

(71

1-71

2 C

E),

Ori

enta

l C

oin

Cab

inet

Jen

a in

v. n

o. 3

06-A

02 (

4.23

gra

ms)

.

46 Stefan Heidemann

Fi[!;Ure 2.21 The Bab al- iimiid in Jerusalem on the Madaba map.

Photo: David Bjorgen (2005), Wikipedia, Madaba (Dec. 2007).

represent an empty platform or capital. The urban column would then be a non­religious symbol and close enough to the Byzantine Christian "cross on steps" toserve as a recognizable mark of value. This function of the symbol is apparent onNorth African gold coins. The mark for the Byzantine semissis was the crossstanding on a globe; this was continued as a "globe on a pole on steps" for Islamicsemisses. The sign for the Byzantine tremissis, a cross potent, was transformed onthe Islamic thulth into the early Islamic "bar on a pole on steps".40 In Syria theonly gold coin struck was the nomisma/dlniir. A distinguishing mark for a denom­ination was not necessary, but a recognizable design connected the dInar with theprevious Byzantine nomisma. The "steps" of the cross potent was the most dis­tinct design element of the reverse. In the period of Mu' awiya the "bar on a poleon steps" had probably appeared for the first time (see figure 2.5); it is not possibleto interpret it as other than a de-Christianized or de-Byzantinized object on"steps". It became a conservative symbol for the value of the coin, like theshahiinshiih. The phi-shaped symbol on steps on the copper coins should beconsidered as a mere mark of value too. replacing the Greek M or m. It mightthus simply be regarded as being a Greek phi forfollis as John Walker alluded.41

Whatever the original symbolic meaning of these images might have been, it wasobviously secondary to their function as marks of value and fell into oblivion

The early Islamic Empire and its religion on coin imagery 47

after 'Abd ai-Malik's reforms. The lance and the globe/bar on a pole on steps orcolumn should be seen as non-venerated objects of pride, power and victory andas a substitute for the symbols of the other religions.

The profession of faith as the symbol of religion and theWord of God as the symbol of the Universal Empire

Between late 77/696 and 79/699, the definitive symbolic representation of Islamand the Islamic Empire was introduced on coinage. This occurred immediatelyafter the victory over the Kharijite caliph Qatari' ibn aI-Fujii 'a (r. 69-79/689-99),and must be seen as an attempt to legitimize Marwanid rule in the entire empirewith Islamic propaganda common to all Muslim factions. This reform was organ­ized by the caliph in Damascus in close cooperation with al-I:Iajjiij ibn YUsuf, thesupreme governor of the former Sasanian east. In 77/696 new dinars were struck(see figure 2.22), probably in Damascus. They bear the new religious symbols ofIslam and the empire, the shahiida, encircled by the Qur'iinic risala, the propheticmission of Mul;Jammad (shortened version of Qur'an 9:33), and on the oppositeside the Word of God, the beginning of the surat ikhla$ (shortened variety ofQur'an 112), surrounded by the date of the striking.

Late in the year 78/697-'j1, al-I:Iajjaj ibn YUsufordered the reform of the dirhamsin his realm. The new coins weighed about 2.8 to 2.9 grams with slight regionaldifferences. The new design was very similar to that of the new dinars, but inaddition carried the mint name. As far as we can currently tell, the reform beganin Kufa, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Jayy and Shaqq al-Taymara in the Jibal. The fol­lowing year saw the adoption of the new design by more than 40 mints all over theeast (see figure 2.23), many of them in the former regions of Kharijite domi­nance-and in the imperial capital Damasclls42

Until the time of the A'bbasid caliph al-Man~Ur (r. 754-75 eE), precious metalcoins remained anonymou<.. Not only the name of the ruler but also his image was

/ removed from any representation of the empire on precious metal coins. Thisconstituted a historically unprecedented breach with Hellenistic coin imagery

)\ .\\i1ft '. ~ '.

,. /\mH'.(-~~~J"J - r~ .I I I \.'·lj '\~"Jt1,

> . 1. \ ' ~ lo'!f'.' ...,\1 t, \.... t. I.i.~~~\ ;l.'tJ' , ) 1'), f',~ ,I" ' , . ....!.. r

'" 1/,,'I {' ". :,,\S..' ,!_'" I ~ , \. \ \-f'"'. "~"+'

Figure 2.22 Anonymous, dinar, without mint [Damascus], year 93AH (711-712 er),Oriental Coin Cabinet lena inv. no. 306-A02 (4.23 grams).

48

Stef

an H

eide

man

n

Fig

ure

2.23

Ano

nym

ous,

dir

ham

, Kuf

a, y

ear

79A

H (

698-

699

CE

), O

rien

tal

Coi

n C

abin

etJe

na i

nv. n

o. 3

05-H

10 (

2.87

gra

ms)

.

goin

g ba

ck a

bout

a m

illen

nium

in

the

Rom

an w

est

and

the

Iran

ian

east

. The

pat

hfo

r th

e ch

ange

was

lai

d du

ring

the

Zub

ayri

d an

d K

häri

jite

war

s by

the

alm

ost

com

plet

e Se

para

tion

of th

e m

eani

ngle

ss im

ages

, se

rvin

g äs

mer

e m

arks

of

valu

e,an

d th

e A

rabi

c in

scri

ptio

ns c

arry

ing

ideo

logi

cal

mes

sage

s.O

n th

e si

lver

coi

ns th

e ru

ler's

sid

e be

ars

the

Wor

d of

God

, the

sür

at a

l-ik

hläs

,su

rrou

nded

by

the

risä

la th

at r

epre

sent

s th

e so

vere

ignt

y of

God

, alm

ost a

con

ces-

sion

to K

häri

jite

thin

king

. The

sha

häda

is

foun

d on

the

oppo

site

sid

e. O

n co

ins

inth

e H

elle

nist

ic t

radi

tion

the

latte

r is

the

sid

e us

ed f

or r

elig

ious

Sym

bols

. T

hean

icon

ism

of

the

prec

ious

met

al c

oins

for

cir

cula

tion

was

the

res

ult o

f th

e ne

wic

onic

sym

bols

: the

Qur

ani

c W

ord

of G

od ä

s an

exp

ress

ion

of s

over

eign

ty a

ndth

e pr

ofes

sion

of

faith

äs

an e

xpre

ssio

n of

reli

gion

. A

nony

mity

did

not

mea

nm

odes

ty, b

ecau

se th

e ne

w I

slam

ic u

nive

rsal

em

pero

r cl

aim

ed to

be

noth

ing

less

than

kha

lifat

Alla

h (d

eput

y of

God

). T

his p

resu

ppos

es a

n en

tirel

y ne

w u

nder

stan

d-in

g of

the

role

of t

he I

slam

ic E

mpi

re a

nd it

s re

ligio

n.

Sum

mar

y of

the

his

tory

of

coin

age

and

the

repr

esen

tati

on o

fE

mpi

re a

nd r

elig

ion

Coi

n ic

onog

raph

y re

veal

s the

ear

ly s

earc

h fo

r an

iden

tity

of th

e A

rab

Isla

mic

stat

eth

at u

ltim

atel

y le

d to

a su

itabl

e fo

rmul

a to

repr

esen

t the

new

, all-

embr

acin

g un

iver

-sa

l Isl

amic

Em

pire

in it

s ow

n id

eolo

gica

l rig

ht. U

ntil

the

perio

d of

the

Zub

ayri

d an

dK

härij

ite w

ars,

alm

ost

no d

istin

ct i

mpe

rial

repr

esen

tatio

n on

coi

ns c

an b

e di

s-ce

rned

. Rep

eate

d at

tem

pts t

o co

nque

r Con

stan

tinop

le c

an b

e in

terp

rete

d äs

the w

ish

of th

e th

en-n

ew A

rab-

Isla

mic

elit

e to

inh

erit

the

Rom

an c

laim

to

univ

ersa

l ru

ler-

ship

. Fro

m a

bout

the

late

650

s C

E un

til th

e up

risi

ng o

f A

bdal

läh

ibn

al-Z

ubay

r, th

eSe

cond

fitn

a, m

intin

g w

as g

radu

ally

reg

ulat

ed a

t th

e le

vel

of t

he p

rovi

nces

and

dist

rict

s. B

ut t

he i

mag

es o

f a

Byz

antin

e em

pero

r w

ith a

cro

ss i

nsig

nia,

the

The

earl

y Is

lam

ic E

mpi

re a

nd i

ts r

elig

ion

on c

oin

imag

ery

49

portr

ait

ofsh

ähän

shäh

an

d th

e sy

mbo

l of

Zor

oast

rian

ism

, th

e fi

re a

ltar,

rem

aine

dth

e St

anda

rd d

esig

ns u

ntil

the

reig

n of

Abd

al-

Mal

ik. T

he m

ost

seri

ous

polit

ical

,m

ilita

ry a

nd i

deol

ogic

al c

halle

nge

to th

e U

may

yad

regi

me

was

the

Seco

nd fi

tna,

the

calip

hate

of

Abd

allä

h ib

n al

-Zub

ayr

betw

een

62/6

81-2

and

73/

692

and

the

even

mor

e ag

gres

sive

Khä

rijit

e m

ovem

ent

betw

een

68/6

87 a

nd I

S/69

1. F

or th

efir

st t

ime,

äs

a m

anif

esta

tion

of t

he n

ew I

slam

ic im

peri

al s

elf-

cons

ciou

snes

s, i

n66

/685

-6,

Zub

ayri

d go

vern

ors

put

the

invo

catio

n of

the

m

esse

nger

-shi

p of

Muh

amm

ad o

n th

e co

ins;

the

n, p

resu

mab

ly i

n 70

/689

-90,

ext

ende

d it

with

the

prof

essi

on o

f the

uni

ty o

f God

. In

72/6

9 K

2, o

ne Z

ubay

rid

gove

rnor

eve

n re

plac

edth

e fir

e al

tar

of Z

oroa

stria

nism

with

thes

e in

voca

tions

in

the

Pers

ian

lang

uage

and

writ

ten

in th

e Pa

hlav

l scr

ipt.

Thes

e ic

onic

Sta

tem

ents

are

ind

eed

the

first

sym

bols

of Is

lam

and

com

para

ble

to th

e cr

oss,

fire

alta

r an

d m

enor

ah.

In t

he p

erio

d be

twee

n 72

/691

and

77-

78/6

94-8

, th

e ex

peri

men

ts o

f A

bdal

-Mal

ik a

nd a

l-Haj

jäj

ibn

Yüs

uf c

an b

e se

en ä

s a

resp

onse

to

thes

e ch

alle

nges

, in

an a

ttem

pt to

inte

gral

e th

e Z

ubay

rid

mov

emen

t and

to fa

ce th

e id

eolo

gica

l Khä

rijit

em

enac

e. A

fter

the

sup

pres

sion

of

the

Khä

rijit

es i

n th

e ye

ars

77-7

8/69

6-8,

coi

nde

sign

was

radi

cally

cha

nged

. Pre

ciou

s m

etal

coi

nage

fin

ally

bec

ame

anon

ymou

s;ic

onog

raph

ic r

epre

sent

atio

ns w

ere

aban

done

d. T

he I

slam

ic E

mpi

re h

ad fi

nally

foun

d its

dis

tinct

ive

sym

bolic

for

m o

f re

pres

enta

tion:

the

bar

e ic

onic

Wor

d of

God

, the

sür

a 11

2, re

pres

entin

g th

e so

vere

ignt

y of

the

new

uni

vers

al e

mpi

re, a

long

with

the

pro

phet

ic m

issi

on o

f M

uham

mad

(Q

ur'ä

n 9:

33)

and

the

prof

essi

on o

ffa

ith, t

he s

hahä

da, w

hich

sym

boliz

ed th

e ne

w d

istin

ct r

elig

ion.

Not

es

1 A

det

aile

d an

d fu

lly a

nnot

ated

Ver

sion

of t

his

cont

ribu

tion

can

be f

ound

in H

eide

man

n(2

009)

.2

See

Sive

rs (2

003)

; H

oyla

nd (

1997

); J

ohns

(20

03).

3 Fo

r an

int

rodu

ctio

n to

the

num

ism

atic

s of

thi

s tr

ansi

tion

perio

d, s

ee S

ears

(19

97);

Hei

dem

ann

(199

8);

Tre

adw

ell

(200

0);

Foss

(20

04);

Alb

um/G

oodw

in (

2002

) O

ddy

(200

4);

Phil

lips

(200

4);

Goo

dwin

(20

05).

4 Se

e Ph

illip

s/G

oodw

in

(199

7);

Hei

dem

ann

(199

8);

Foss

(19

94-9

); W

alm

sley

(19

99);

Potti

er/S

chul

ze/S

chul

ze (

2008

).5

See

Hoy

land

(19

97),

523-

47, e

sp.

535-

8.6

See

Hum

bach

(198

3);

idem

(198

7);

Tho

rau

(200

4).

7 S

eeA

bel(

1958

).8

See

Potti

er (2

004)

; G

oodw

in (

2004

); P

ottie

r/Sc

hulz

e/Sc

hulz

e (2

007)

; id

em (2

008)

.9

See

Alb

um/G

oodw

in (

2002

); P

ottie

r/Sc

hulz

e/Sc

hulz

e (2

008)

.10

See

Tre

adw

ell (

2000

), 2-

6.11

See

Don

ner

(198

6); F

oss

(200

2b);

Hoy

land

(20

06).

12 T

hese

sho

rt e

xpre

ssio

ns h

ave

no s

peci

fic r

elig

ious

con

nota

tion.

13 S

ee F

oss

(200

2b).

14 I

n B

yzan

tium

the

cro

ss b

ecam

e al

mos

t an

impe

rial

sym

bol

that

den

oted

the

vic

tory

of

the

empe

ror o

ver

bis

enem

ies.

See

Moo

rhea

d (1

985)

, 17

8.15

See

Tyl

er-S

mith

(20

00).

16 S

ee S

ears

(19

97),

377^

02;

Alb

um/G

oodw

in (

2002

), 3

4-7.

17 S

ee i

bid.

, 8f.

18 T

he p

hase

s ar

e ac

cord

ing

to A

lbum

in ib

id.

19 S

ee ib

id.,

12-5

; Se

ars

(200

3a).

48 Stefan Heidemann

. '. /

,.' ., . J

', /"111.•. ,).:>...\ ' ... . ' , , 1 ~ , :~ .. \.,.:.,.

'J:, .;, II ),\1 .~ \\\)• / • I ") .• I .! \

,ltr: 1,,'d/l.;;)Ji i \./ J' '/." \ I I ./ " \'I} '1 .) I I

'\: "'/,.; ,'::';;:;;/

Figure 2.23 Anonymous, dirham, Kufa, year 79AH (698--699 CE), Oriental Coin Cabinetlena inv. no. 305-HIO (2.87 grams).

going back about a millennium in the Roman west and the Iranian east. The pathfor the change was laid during the Zubayrid and K1liirijite wars by the almostcomplete separation of the meaningless images, serving as mere marks of value,and the Arabic inscriptions carrying ideological messages.

On the silver coins the ruler's side bears the Word of God, the surat al-ikhlii$,surrounded by the risiila that represents the sovereignty of God, almost a conces­sion to Khiirijite thinking. The shahada is found on the opposite side. On coins inthe Hellenistic tradition the latter is the side used for religious symbols. Theaniconism of the precious metal coins for circulation was the result of the newiconic symbols: the Quranic Word of God as an expression of sovereignty andthe profession of faith as an expression of- religion. Anonymity did not meanmodesty, because the new Islamic universal emperor claimed to be nothing lessthan khalifat Allah (deputy ofGod). This presupposes an entirely new understand­ing of the role of the Islamic Empire and its religion.

Summary of the history of coinage and the representation ofEmpire and religion

Coin iconography reveals the early search for an identity of the Arab Islamic statethat ultimately led to a suitable forn1Ula to represent the new, all-embracing univer­sal Islamic Empire in its own ideological right. Until the period of the Zubayrid andKhiirijite wars, almost no distinct imperial representation on coins can be dis­cerned. Repeated attempts to conquer Constantinople can be interpreted as the wishof the then-new Arab-Islamic elite to inherit the Roman claim to universal ruler­ship. From about the late 650s CE until the uprising of 'Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr, theSecond fitna, minting was gradually regulated at the level of the provincesand districts. But the images of a Byzantine emperor with a cross insignia, the

The early Islamic Empire and its religion on coin imagery 49

portrait of shiihiinshiih and the symbol of Zoroastrianism, the fire altar, remainedthe standard designs until the reign of Abd aI-Malik. The most serious political,military and ideological challenge to the Umayyad regime was the Secondfitna,the caliphate of Abdallah ibn al-Zubayr between 62/681-2 and 73/692 and theeven more aggressive Kharijite movement between 68/687 and 78/697. For thefirst time, as a manifestation of the new Islamic imperial self-consciousness, in66/685--6, Zubayrid governors put the invocation of the messenger-ship ofMuhammad on the coins; then, presumably in 70/689-90, extended it with theprofession of the unity of God. In 72/691~2, one Zubayrid governor even replacedthe fire altar of Zoroastrianism with these invocations in the Persian language andwritten in the Pahlavi script. These iconic statements are indeed the first symbolsof Islam and comparable to the cross, fire aitar and menorah.

In the period between 72/691 and 77-78/694--8, the experiments of Abdai-Malik and al-ijajjaj ibn Yfisuf can be seen as a response to these challenges, inan attempt to integrate the Zubayrid movement and to face the ideological Kharijitemenace. After the suppression of the Kharijites in the years 77-78/696--f5, coindesign was radically changed. Precious metal coinage finally became anonymous;iconographic representations were abandoned. The Islamic Empire had finallyfound its distinctive symbolic form of representation: the bare iconic Word ofGod, the sura 112, representing the sovereignty ofthe new universal empire, alongwith the prophetic mission of Muhammad (Qur'iin 9:33) and the profession offaith, the shahiida, which symbolized the new distinct religion.

Notes

I Adetailed and fully annotated version of this contribution can be fOlUld in Heidemann(2009).

2 See Sivers (2003); Hoyland (1997); Jolms (2003).3 For an introduction to the numismatics of this transition period, see Sears (1997);

Heidemann (1998); Treadwell (2000); Foss (2004); Album/Goodwin (2002) Oddy(2004); Phillips (2004); Goodwin (2005).

4 See Phillips/Goodwin (1997); Heidemann (1998); Foss (1994-9); Walmsley (1999);Pottier/Schulze/Schulze (2008).

5 See Hoyland (1997), 523-47, esp. 535-8.6 See Humbach (1983); idem (1987); Thorau (2004).7 See Abel (1958).8 See Pottier (2004); Goodwin (2004); Pottier/Schulze/Schulze (2007); idem (2008).9 See Album/Goodwin (2002); Pottier/Schulze/Schulze (2008).

J0 See Treadwell (2000), 2--6.II See Donner (1986); Foss (2002b); Hoyland (2006).12 These short expressions have no specific religious connotation.13 See Foss t2002b).14 In Byzantium the cross became almost an imperial symbol that denoted the victory of

the emperor over his enemies. See Moorhead (1985), 178.15 See Tyler-Smith (2000).16 See Sears (1997), 377-402; Album/Goodwin (2002), 34-7.17 See ibid., 8f.18 The phases are according to Album in ibid.19 See ibid., 12-5; Sears (2003a).

50

Stef

an

Hei

dem

ann

20 S

ee I

lisch

(200

7).

21 I

n th

is c

ontr

ibut

ion t

he te

rm s

hahä

da d

enot

es o

nly

the

prof

essi

on o

f th

e un

ity o

f G

od.

22 S

ee F

oss

(200

5).

For t

he h

isto

ry o

f th

e K

häri

jites

, see

idem

(20

02).

23 A

s fo

unde

r of

an

empi

re,

the

Prop

het

Muh

amm

ad i

s äs

put

ativ

e äs

Osm

än f

or t

heO

ttom

an E

mpi

re an

d R

omul

us a

nd R

emus

or

Aen

eas

for t

he R

oman

Em

pire

.24

See

Don

ner

(200

2-3)

, 40f

.25

See

Moc

hiri

(198

6),

168-

72; I

lisch

(l9

92).

26 S

ee F

oss

(200

2a);

Sea

rs (

2003

a).

27 F

or th

e de

velo

pmen

ts in

the

prov

ince

s, s

ee T

read

wel

l (1

999)

, Sea

rs (

2003

b).

28 S

eeM

iles

(196

7),2

09f,

nos.

4f.

29 S

ee S

ears

(199

5); i

dem

(200

3b);

Ilis

ch (

2007

).30

See

Wal

ker (

1941

), 23

no.

DD

1 (7

4h);

Mile

s (1

952)

, pl

. xx

viii

no.

4 (7

4h,

coll.

P.

Bal

og);

Mile

s (19

57),

191f

no.

6 (7

2h);

Bat

es (

1986

), 24

3f; S

ham

s Is

hräq

(199

0), 9

5 no

.13

7 (7

3h);

Jazz

ar (2

000)

, (72

h);

Alb

um/G

oodw

in (2

002)

, no

. 278

(72h

), no

. 279

(73

h).

31

See

Bat

es (

1986

), 24

6.32

See

Mile

s (l

967

), 21

Of.

33 F

or th

e co

ntro

vers

ial d

iscu

ssio

n ab

out t

his

title

, se

e R

otte

r (1

982)

, 33-

5;

Cro

ne/H

inds

(198

7), 4

-23,

esp

. 20f

and

n. 8

1; M

adel

ung

(199

7), 4

6 n.

51.

34 F

or th

is ty

pe, s

ee T

read

wel

l (1

999)

; id

em (

2005

).35

See

Mile

s (1

967)

, 20

8; 2

12.

36 J

amil

(l99

9).

37 B

rief

per

sona

l com

mun

icat

ion,

emai

l dat

ed 3

Mar

ch 2

007.

38 S

eeal

-Muq

adda

sT(1

906)

, 16

7.39

See

Arn

ould

(19

98);

idem

(19

99),

109;

Bau

man

n (2

000)

. O

n th

e m

osai

cs i

n th

e L

ion

chur

ch a

nd in

St S

teph

en's

chur

ch in

Um

m a

l-R

asäs

in J

orda

n a

sim

ilar

colu

mn

at th

ein

tra-

mur

al s

ide

of th

e ga

te is

vis

ible

. In

the

cent

re o

f th

e fo

rum

of J

eras

h a

colu

mn

may

also

hav

e st

ood.

See

Har

ding

(19

49),

14.

40 F

or th

e B

yzan

tine

deno

min

atio

ns, s

ee W

alke

r (1

956)

, xxx

ii, x

l-xl

i, 64

-78;

Bal

ague

r(1

976)

; Hah

n (1

981)

; Bat

es (

1992

), 27

2f, 2

82; B

ates

(19

96).

41

See

Wal

ker (

l941

), x

xüi.

42 S

ee K

lat (

2002

).

Bib

liog

raph

^

Abe

l, A

. (19

58) '

Un

hadl

t sur

la p

rise

de

Rom

e da

ns la

trad

ition

esch

atol

ogiq

ue d

e l'I

slam

',A

rabi

ca 5

, pp.

1-1

4.A

lbum

, S.

and

Goo

dwin

, T.

(200

2) S

yllo

ge o

f Is

lam

ic C

oins

in

the

Ash

mol

ean

i: T

hePr

e-Re

form

C

oina

ge o

fthe

Ear

ly I

slam

ic P

erio

d, O

xfor

d: A

shm

olea

n M

useu

m.

Arn

ould

, C

. (1

998)

'R

emar

ques

sur

la

plac

e et

la

fonc

tion

de l

a po

rte d

e D

amas

(po

rtero

mai

ne)

dans

la c

ite d

'Ael

ia C

apito

lina'

, Ze

itsch

rift

des

Deu

tsch

en P

aläs

tina-

Ver

eins

114:

2,pp

. 17

9-83

.A

rnou

ld, C

. (19

99)

'La

porte

de

Dam

as (

port

e ro

mai

ne) ä

Jer

usal

em: Q

uelq

ues

ques

tions

d'ur

bani

sme'

, Rev

ue B

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', O

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5) 'A

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50 Stefan Heidemann

20 See !lisch (2007).21 [n this contribution the term shahada denotes only the profession of the unity of God.22 See Foss (2005). For the history of the Kharijites, see idem (2002).23 As founder of an empire, the Prophet Mul)ammad is as putative as Osman for the

Ottoman Empire and Romulus and Remus or Aeneas for the Roman Empire.24 See Donner (2002-3), 40f.25 Sec Mochiri (1986),168-72; lIisch (1992).26 See Foss (2002a); Sears (2003a).27 For the developments in the provinces, see Treadwell (1999). Sears (2003b).28 See Miles (1967), 209f, nos. 4f.29 See Sears (1995); idem (2003b); lIisch (2007).30 See Walker (1941),23 no. DDI (74h); Miles (1952), pI. xxviii no. 4 (7411, coil. P.

Balog); Miles (1957), 191 f no. 6 (72h); Bates (1986), 243f; Shams Ishraq (1990), 95 no.m (73h); Jazzar (2000), (72h); Album/Goodwin (2002), no. 278 (72h), no. 279 (73h).

31 See Bates (I (86),246.32 See Miles (1967), 21Of.33 For the controversial discussion about this title, see Rotter (1982),33-5; CronelHinds

(1987), 4-23, esp. 20f and n. 81; Madelung (1997), 46 n. 51.34 For this type, see Treadwell (1999); idem (2005).35 See Miles (1967), 208; 212.36 Jamil (1999).37 Briefpersonal conununication, email dated 3 March 2007.38 See al-Muqaddasi" (1906), 167.39 See Arnould (1998); idem (1999), 109; Baumann (2000). On the mosaics in the Lion

church and in St Stephen's church in Umm al-Rasas in Jordan a similar column at theintra-mural side of tile gate is visible. In the centre of the forum ofJerash a column mayalso have stood. See Harding (1949), 14.

40 For thc Byzantine denominations, see Walker (1956), xxxii, xl-xli, 64-7R; Balaguer(1976); Hahn (1981); Bates (1992), 272f, 282; Bates (1996).

41 See Walker(1941), xxiii.42 See Klat (2002).

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d D

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e O

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'The

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d R

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ics

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7-20

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(199

7) A

Mon

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y H

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f Ir

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500

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750,

unp

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PhD

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Uni

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) 'T

he

Leg

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al

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Um

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nmen

t in

Seve

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Cen

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'Bef

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Nor

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53

Sham

s Is

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. (1

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N

akhu

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si

kkah

ä-yi

im

pirä

türT

-yi

islä

m,

Isfa

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D

afta

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arha

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isht

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P. v

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His

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'Von

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Tor

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um W

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chaf

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nspr

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Sult

an M

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und

dem

Wie

dera

ufle

ben

des

Zw

eika

iser

prob

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s nac

hde

r E

robe

rung

Kon

stan

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tori

sche

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Tre

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999)

The

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'The

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e Pr

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ge o

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',Su

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Soc

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"Mih

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Sacr

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"? A

Rec

onsi

dera

tion

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nE

arly

Mar

wan

id S

ilver

Dra

chm

', M

uqar

nas

30, p

p.

1-28

.T

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-Sm

ith, S

. (20

00)

'Coi

nage

in th

e N

ame

of Y

azdg

erd

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632

-651

) and

the

Ara

bC

onqu

est

of I

ran'

, Num

ism

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le 1

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p. 1

35-7

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41)

A C

atal

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e M

uham

mad

an

Coi

ns i

n th

e B

ritis

h M

useu

m I

: A

Cat

alog

ue o

f Ara

b-Sa

ssan

ian

Coi

ns (U

mai

yad

Gov

erno

rs i

n th

e E

ast,

Ara

b-E

phth

alite

s,'A

bbäs

id G

over

nors

in

Taba

rist

än a

nd B

ukhä

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Lon

don:

The

Bri

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Mus

eum

.(1

956)

A C

atal

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ofth

e M

uham

mad

an C

oins

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the

Bri

tish

Mus

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H:

A C

ata-

logu

e of

A

rab-

Byz

antin

e an

d P

ost-

Ref

orm

U

mai

yad

Coi

ns,

Lon

don:

The

Bri

tish

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eum

.W

alm

sley

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. (1

999)

'C

oin

Freq

uenc

ies

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ixth

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Sev

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C

entu

ry P

ales

tine

and

Ara

bia:

Soc

ial

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Eco

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ic I

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', Jo

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l of

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ic a

ndSo

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His

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e O

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t 42,

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326

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a)

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n c

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04)

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983)

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986)

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8, I

SFeb

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