Easy Bates Version 345 Date of Issue

Videos

This is a video of the presentation given virtually on 14/2/2021 to the Coins of the World group.... more This is a video of the presentation given virtually on 14/2/2021 to the Coins of the World group. Although technical problems make the talk difficult to follow, I expanded ad lib to many of the slides with additional information and explanations. There was an interesting question and answer session afterward.

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Maghrib

Ben Lazreg et al., Leptiminus (Lamta) report no. 4 , 2021

Lamta is an ancient site just north of Carthage.

North Africa from Antiquity to Islam: Papers of a Conference held at Bristol, October 1994 (ed. Mark Horton and Thomas Wiedemann; Centre for Mediterranean Studies, University of Bristol, Occasional Paper 13; Bristol, 1995), pp. 12-15 , 1995

It is argued that the earliest Islamic coinage of North Africa was issued simultaneously at two m... more It is argued that the earliest Islamic coinage of North Africa was issued simultaneously at two mints, probably Carthage and al-Qayrawan, first with simple religious statements in Latin and, at Carthage only, copies of images from earlier Roman coins of the city, and then secondly at both places with more accurate translations of the Muslim shahada. During the Arab conquest of al-Andalus similar coins were minted there, with somewhat different translations of the shahada, while minting in North Africa ceased. About 715 coinage in Iberia stopped briefly but a final issue appeared from the mint of Qayrawan. The irregularities in the inscriptions suggest that early Muslims in peripheral provinces were not well informed about the new religious formulas being composed in Damascus and the Eastern provinces. This paper was reprinted in Yarmouk Numismatics 8 (1996). A table omitted in both editions has been inserted in this pdf.

al-Yarmuk li'l-Maskukat, Yarmouk Numismatics , 1996

This is a copy, more attractively typeset, of my paper with the same name published the year prev... more This is a copy, more attractively typeset, of my paper with the same name published the year previously in the proceedings of a conference in Bristol.

The quarter-dinar, a little gold coin that weighed about 1.05 grams, was widely minted and used i... more The quarter-dinar, a little gold coin that weighed about 1.05 grams, was widely minted and used in the Mediterranean world and adjacent Near East from the ninth century to the twelfth. It seems to have been first minted at Siracusa in Sicily in 264 (878), as a replacement for the late Roman tremissis that was minted in that city right up to its conquest by the Arabs.

Recently the precise date has been called into question by Maria Amalia De Luca, whose excellent work "Un contributo al dibattito sulla introduzione del quarto di dinar e sulla sua possibile derivazione da modelli bizantini" is posted on academia.edu, but I still believe the date 264 is probably correct. These little coins, with the date inscription at the outer edge, are often very difficult to attribute.

This review discusses, with some attempts at dry humor, how to understand the coinage of the Aghl... more This review discusses, with some attempts at dry humor, how to understand the coinage of the Aghlabids in ninth-century Ifriqiya (Tunisia), or any coinage of any place and period.

For a subsequent discussion of the coinage of the Aghlabids, see my 2002 article on the origin of the quarter-dinar, also posted.

"This little note traces the coinage of Tilimsan (Tlemcen) from its takeover by the Ottomans in 1... more "This little note traces the coinage of Tilimsan (Tlemcen) from its takeover by the Ottomans in 1556 until the end of its coinage until sometime after 1612. Instead of issuing official-style coinage, the mint produced large gold coins with the inscriptions in a square, like those of the predecessor Ziyanids. This is no surprise, but, evidently without imperial Ottoman guidance, the local officials generated their own versions of Ottoman titulature, with several colloquial features and strange titles in rhymed prose.

Since the article's publication, a few new varieties of the Tilimsan coinage have been published.

Looking at the article again 30 years later, it also typifies an excellent mode of numismatic study: looking at the coinage of a place in chronological order instead of treating it as a part of the coinage of a sultan or dynasty. Anyone who dealt with these coins a few at a time with the names of a single sultan would have great difficulty making the evolutionary connections that enabled the understanding of these coins' inscriptions."

The article describes the Iberian coins then in the coin cabinet of the ANS, including over 5,000... more The article describes the Iberian coins then in the coin cabinet of the ANS, including over 5,000 coins on permanent loan from the HSA, as well as the histories of the two institutions and their founder Archer M. Huntington.

The storage and organization of the collections are also discussed, with information on accessing the coins for research.

Recently the HSA withdrew all their coins and sold the entire collection, Islamic and non-Islamic, at auction, but the buyers did not want the Islamic portion and sold them to a good friend of the ANS who has placed the coins on deposit there with a promise of future donation. As this is written, the coins are being inventoried and returned to their storage boxes and trays.

Egypt

Museum Notes , 1977

Rivista Italiana di Numismatica e Scienze Affini , 1993

This paper describes how Fatimid glass coin weights were used to measure payments in Egypt, and t... more This paper describes how Fatimid glass coin weights were used to measure payments in Egypt, and the impossibility of their use as some sort of small money.

A survey of the last Roman and earliest Arab coinage of Egypt, the latter being coins of Alexandr... more A survey of the last Roman and earliest Arab coinage of Egypt, the latter being coins of Alexandria that simply continued the very last Roman issues of the city, followed by various coins evidently Arab (or at least evidently post-Roman), with images and symbols adapted from the Roman coinage.

Yemen

Thesis for the Ph.D. in Islamic History from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civiliz... more Thesis for the Ph.D. in Islamic History from the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, June 1975. Contents:

BACKGROUND

I. SOURCES FOR THE HISTORY OF YEMEN IN THE SIXTH/TWELFTH CENTURY

II. THE GEOGRAPHY OF YEMEN

III. THE EARLIER HISTORY OF YEMEN

YEMEN IN THE MID—SIXTH/TWELFTH CENTURY

IV. THE TAYYIBÎ ISMÂ'ÎLÎS

V. THE ZURAI'IDS OF ADEN

VI. THE HÂTIMIDs OF SAN'Â'

VII. THE MAHDIDS OF ZABÎD

THE AYYUBID CONQUEST OF YEMEN

VIII. WHY DID THE AIYUBIDS CONQUER YEMEN?

IX. TÜRÂNSHÂH IN YEMEN: THE INITIAL CONQUESTS, 569-71/1174-76

X. TÜRÂNSHÂH'S GOVERNORS: INTERREGNUM, 571-79/1176-84

XI. THE REIGN OF TUGHTAKÎN AND THE COMPLETION OF THE CONQUEST, 579-93/1184-97

XII. THE REIGN OF AL-MU'IZZ ISMÂ'ÎL, 593-98/1197-1202

CONCLUSION

XIII. YEMEN IN THE SIXTH/TWELFTH CENTURY: TRANSITIONS

Argues that the chapter in `Umara's history is entirely an interpolation, by another hand of the ... more Argues that the chapter in `Umara's history is entirely an interpolation, by another hand of the 6-7th/12-13th centuries, with no valid new information on the history of the Isma`ilis in Yemen. It was originally published as "The Chapter on the Fatimid Da'is in Yemen in the Ta'rikh of 'Umara (d. 569/1174): An Interpolation," in Studies in the History of Arabia, I: Sources for the History of Arabia, 2 (Riyad, 1979), 51-61.

This article discusses the `Adan coinage of the 12th-century Isma`ili Sulayhid/Zuray`id dynasties... more This article discusses the `Adan coinage of the 12th-century Isma`ili Sulayhid/Zuray`id dynasties in the light of the author's Ph.D. research on their relationship to the Fatimid caliphate, in particular the reaction of the Yemenis to the disappearance of al-Amir's successor Tayyib, resulting in a schism in the Isma`ili movement that still exists.
Because the article is unillustrated and depends heavily on Lowick's 1964 article for details of the coins, I have taken the liberty of appending the latter in this pdf.

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Ben Lazreg et al., Leptiminus (Lamta) report no. 4 , 2021

Lamta is an ancient site just north of Carthage.

al-Yarmuk li'l-Maskukat, Yarmouk Numismatics , 1996

For a subsequent discussion of the coinage of the Aghlabids, see my 2002 article on the origin of the quarter-dinar, also posted.

Since the article's publication, a few new varieties of the Tilimsan coinage have been published.

The storage and organization of the collections are also discussed, with information on accessing the coins for research.

Museum Notes , 1977

Rivista Italiana di Numismatica e Scienze Affini , 1993

BACKGROUND

I. SOURCES FOR THE HISTORY OF YEMEN IN THE SIXTH/TWELFTH CENTURY

II. THE GEOGRAPHY OF YEMEN

III. THE EARLIER HISTORY OF YEMEN

YEMEN IN THE MID—SIXTH/TWELFTH CENTURY

IV. THE TAYYIBÎ ISMÂ'ÎLÎS

V. THE ZURAI'IDS OF ADEN

VI. THE HÂTIMIDs OF SAN'Â'

VII. THE MAHDIDS OF ZABÎD

THE AYYUBID CONQUEST OF YEMEN

VIII. WHY DID THE AIYUBIDS CONQUER YEMEN?

IX. TÜRÂNSHÂH IN YEMEN: THE INITIAL CONQUESTS, 569-71/1174-76

X. TÜRÂNSHÂH'S GOVERNORS: INTERREGNUM, 571-79/1176-84

XI. THE REIGN OF TUGHTAKÎN AND THE COMPLETION OF THE CONQUEST, 579-93/1184-97

XII. THE REIGN OF AL-MU'IZZ ISMÂ'ÎL, 593-98/1197-1202

CONCLUSION

XIII. YEMEN IN THE SIXTH/TWELFTH CENTURY: TRANSITIONS

Arabian Studies

The History of the Crusades, VI , 1989

This chapter of The History of the Crusades covers the gold and silver coins minted by Crusaders ... more This chapter of The History of the Crusades covers the gold and silver coins minted by Crusaders in the Levant copying or adapting certain Muslim coins of the area. D. M. Metcalf wrote the parts on gold coins and Michael L. Bates those on silver, with mutual editing.

In this e-mail exchange, Prof. Andras Hamori states that figures transmitted from the accounts of... more In this e-mail exchange, Prof. Andras Hamori states that figures transmitted from the accounts of Sayf al-Dawla, Hamdanid king of Aleppo 945-67 show that the poet al-Mutanabbi received 35,000 dinars in regal gifts over a little more than four years, and asks what that might be worth in modern terms.

I suggest that US coin of the late 19th century can provide a proxy evaluation for coins of northern Syria in the 10th century. The standard gold dinar of the era can be estimated as $2.82 in US gold currency. Mutanabbi's income over four years can be estimated then as $98,832.34. For many reasons, this figure is only a guess, but most would agree that a man whose income came to $25,000 a year in 19th-century US currency was a person of substantial wealth.

The figure can be plausibly rendered into 2005 money using the price of gold metal in that year, making Mutanabbi's income $2,228,643.54. Again, a fictitious number, about $555,000 per year, a very comfortable income but not enough to make him super-rich. One would like to know how Mutanabbi's income (which would have been larger than these figures indicate, since Sayf al-Dawla's gifts were surely not his only revenue) compared to that of Sayf al-Dawla and of leading military and civil officers of his reign.

Similar results, purely indicative, would be obtained from turning Mutanabbi's 35,000 dinars into any 19th-century gold currency, such as the pound, the yen, the mark or the franc.

Grierson's 1963 JESHO article is not helpful because of erroneous statements of fact and assumpti... more Grierson's 1963 JESHO article is not helpful because of erroneous statements of fact and assumptions. Coin weight standards in the caliphate cannot be generalized, but must be determined by examination of the evidence in each of the many countries ruled by the Umayyads.

In my previous work on the copper coinage of Bilad al-Sham with images drawn from seventh-century... more In my previous work on the copper coinage of Bilad al-Sham with images drawn from seventh-century Roman coinage, I have tried to distinguish official issues produced by order of the caliph from the many irregular, probably private, issues that imitate Roman or Arab official issues.

Only recently I noticed a macro-feature that should have been obvious but has not previously been noted. There are coppers from ten different cities with the mint name expressed in full in Greek. There is no prototype for this, except perhaps some much earlier issue of cities under the Greek kings or Roman rule. All these issues have legible meaningful inscriptions and images in addition to the full Greek city names.

Except for two other issues possibly official, the rest of the "Arab-Byzantine" copper coinage has to be classified as imitative, probably issued privately.

This is the first of my articles on the introduction of coinage in Bilad al-Sham. There are state... more This is the first of my articles on the introduction of coinage in Bilad al-Sham. There are statements that I would not repeat today, but also some insights that haven't been improved upon. This appeared in a 1976 pamphlet from the American Numismatic Society, A Colloquium in Memory of George Carpenter Miles, 1904-1975, which is now available in full for free download from the Hathi Trust.

The Islamic coins were from the 8th to early 9th centurys, and again from the 11th-12th centuries... more The Islamic coins were from the 8th to early 9th centurys, and again from the 11th-12th centuries. The European coins were from the latter period.

Numismatic Chronicle , 1996

Acceso de usuarios registrados. Acceso de usuarios registrados Usuario Contraseña. ...

Some 27 Islamic coins and several European ones included some interesting pieces.

Chapter XI of Volume VI of The History of the Crusades, ed. Kenneth Setton. Written with David M.... more Chapter XI of Volume VI of The History of the Crusades, ed. Kenneth Setton. Written with David M. Metcalf of the Ashmolean Museum, the work is intended to cover all aspects of the Crusader coinages with Arabic inscriptions, as well as the Muslim coinage of the Fertile Crescent in the Crusading period. This pdf includes the list of illustrated coins and the plates.

This article examines Crusader Arabic dirhams of Acre copying Ayyubid dirhams of Aleppo and Damas... more This article examines Crusader Arabic dirhams of Acre copying Ayyubid dirhams of Aleppo and Damascus, distinguishable from the prototypes only by their anachronistic dates, and suggests reasons for the Crusader practice.

"This is my working note file for coins minted in the city Halab (Aleppo in northern Syria). It i... more "This is my working note file for coins minted in the city Halab (Aleppo in northern Syria). It is not systematic or complete. The record was begun about 1972 on 3x5 cards and there are still many such cards not transcribed to the digital record. On the positive side, in addition to the listings of known examples year by year, there are comments and suggestions about the coins and the history of the mint. Anyone working on the coinage or history of Aleppo may find something of interest here. If not, contact me--possibly I may have more information to pass on or add to the record."

Armenian Numismatic Journal , 1989

It is proposed that, in the Marwanid period (79-132), the various provinces of the Caucasus regio... more It is proposed that, in the Marwanid period (79-132), the various provinces of the Caucasus region had only a single silver coin mint that was located at the residence of the regional governor, and moved from place to place as he did, each time assuming the name of the city or province--with a few exceptions. Since the article was written, some new issues of the region have been discovered, which complicate the picture.

The mint name al-Muhammadiyya appears on two different dirham series in the reign of al-Rashid, o... more The mint name al-Muhammadiyya appears on two different dirham series in the reign of al-Rashid, one from the well-known eastern capital al-Rayy and another place that can now be identified as the same as the mint Ma`din Bajunays, "the mine of Bajunays," because of the continuity of officials' names on the last issues of the one and the first issues of the second. The beginning of this second Muhammadiyya series can also be connected with predecessor dirhams with the mint names Harunabad and then al-Haruniyya. These four mint names, Harunabad, al-Haruniyya, al-Muhammadiyya, and Ma`din Bajunays, would all be issues of a stronghold (madina) built to control the mine, in the southern Armenian province Apahunis to the north of Lake Van. This is the mine mentioned by the Armenian historian Ghevond that relieved the country from the burden of taxation.

"This is my working file for coins minted in the city al-Mawsil (Mosul or Mosil in the Diyar Rabi... more "This is my working file for coins minted in the city al-Mawsil (Mosul or Mosil in the Diyar Rabi`a district of al-Jazira province; today in northern Iraq). It is not systematic or complete. The record was begun about 1972 on 3x5 cards and there are still many such cards not transcribed to the digital record. On the positive side, in addition to the listings of known examples year by year, there are comments and suggestions about the coins and the history of the mint.In particular, the Umayyad period is scarcely noted here, since it's covered in other publications (Klat for dirhams, Rotter and Album, Checklist, for fulus). I have more notes that I'd be glad to share with anyone working on Umayyad Mosul, or any period in the city's history.Anyone working on the coinage or history of Mosul may find something of interest here. If not, contact me--possibly I may have more information to pass on or add to the record."

draft

The traditional names for the early caliphates, invented in later times, do not accurately identi... more The traditional names for the early caliphates, invented in later times, do not accurately identify the political entities that shaped the history of the first Islamic century, and thus the subsequent history of the Islamic polities. This listing assumes that anyone called "Amīr al-Mu'minīn" was a caliph, an independent sovereign, for himself and his followers. Of course, no such person was considered legitimate and sovereign by other persons who claimed the title "Amīr al-Mu'minīn" or swore allegiance to such a person. It is not certain that the Arabic word "khilāfa," "caliphate," was in official use generally in the early period, but it is the common and handiest term for such a regime.

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , 2022

The present note offers a new, and hopefully more nuanced, reading for a cryptic marginal legend ... more The present note offers a new, and hopefully more nuanced, reading for a cryptic marginal legend on an issue of the Umayyad-era rebel ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ashʿath (d. circa 85 AH/704 CE). Comparing this legend with several marginal legends of like character, and contextualising the formulae within contemporary religious idiom as expressed in late ancient Arabic-Islamic epigraphy, it is argued that all these legends contain proper nouns invariably belonging to the issuing authority, in conjunction with invocations addressed to God, in an attempt to establish a hierarchic relationship between the two. Drawing on literary sources, it is then demonstrated that the legend of the Ibn al-Ashʿath issue does indeed mention the name of an individual, the local governor, Kharasha ibn Masʿūd ibn Wathīma, a new name in the repertoire of governors known through Arab-Sasanian coinage. Based on these results, a case for further reliance on literary, epigraphic, papyrological, and other forms of evidence in the study of numismatics is made. A new chronology, based on numismatic evidence, for Ibn al-Ashʿath's rebellion is also proposed.

This presentation clarifies the history of Iran's coinage in the half-century 651-705 by dividing... more This presentation clarifies the history of Iran's coinage in the half-century 651-705 by dividing it into 12 phases or episodes that bring together the coinage of various cities and years into historical association. There is also a link to my presentation of the subject 12/12/2020 in the American Numismatic Society's Money Talks series.

This presentation describes the basic features of Iran's coinage 651-710 CE. The coins had the sa... more This presentation describes the basic features of Iran's coinage 651-710 CE. The coins had the same design as the last coins of the Sasanian empire, which ended in 651, with the emperor in the middle of the universe on the obverse and a fire altar guarded by the emperor also in the center of the universe on the reverse. Four inscriptions make these silver issues historically important. Each coin names the authority behind the issue; the earliest name Khosro, fictitious, the last great emperor, but soon, the names of Arab officials appear, some 46 in all. These names are mostly written in Persian script. Also on the obverse, in the margin, each coin has a religious inscription in Arabic. These vary as time goes on, telling something about the beliefs of the authorities. On the reverse there is a date, the year of issue; despite problems of interpretation, these give the exact date of this mini-document on silver. And, there is a short abbreviation of 2, 3, 4 or more letters specifying the city where the coin was struck. In 698 CE these coins were officially replaced by anonymous all-Arabic issues with no images, but a few Arab-Sasanian issues were struck in obscure corners and war-torn regions until the last of this series in 705 CE.

When the Arabs took control, the Sogdian city Bukhara, for well over a century, had been issuing ... more When the Arabs took control, the Sogdian city Bukhara, for well over a century, had been issuing a distinctive coinage derived from a Sasanian prototype with the name of its lord, the Bukhara-Khuda. When the Muslims took firm control of the city, the coinage was continued with the names of Arab governors of the Abbasid region Khurasan, starting in 755 CE. Working on the Bukhara coinage in its historical, geographical, administrative and numismatic context, it is easy to put the series in order and assign firm dates to most of the issues. It seems that some of the issues came from Samarqand. The last of the Abbasid series has the name of `Ali b. `Isa b. Mahan, who was removed in 807. There is one last issue in the name of "al-Khaqan al-A`zam" that is very like the coins with "`Ali," but the Khaqan cannot be identified. This presentation was made at the 2017 B. D. Kochnev Seminar in Central Asian and Middle Eastern Numismatics at Hofstra University, organized by Prof. Alexandr Naymark.

notes on coin issues of the Bukhara mint NB: incomplete, constantly updated; inquire for latest v... more notes on coin issues of the Bukhara mint
NB: incomplete, constantly updated; inquire for latest version, or about the specific period of interest. Much of my work (including GC Miles') is still on 3x5 cards, but I transfer these to the digital version as requested or necessary.

A table showing the correspondence of Hijra, Yazdigird era, post-Yazdigird era, and Common Era da... more A table showing the correspondence of Hijra, Yazdigird era, post-Yazdigird era, and Common Era dates 620-819, It can be used for month to month comparisons, although all the months have not been filled in.

Italiam Fato Profvgi, Hesperinaque venerunt litora: Numismatic Studies Dedicated to Vladimir and Elivar Eliza Clain-Stefanelli (Publications d'Histoire de l'Art et d'Archéologie de l'Université Catholique de Louvain, 70; Numismatica Lovaniensia, 12; Louvain-la-Neuve, 1996) , 1996

The inscriptions on a dinar dated 200 Hijra are identical to those on a dirham issue of the city ... more The inscriptions on a dinar dated 200 Hijra are identical to those on a dirham issue of the city of Wasit in that year, and unlike those of any other issue. This fact, and an examination of the location and zone of authority of the persons named on the coin, enables the attribution of the coin to Wasit.

in Italiam Fato Profvgi, Hesperinaque venerunt litora: Numismatic Studies Dedicated to Vladimir and Elivar Eliza Clain-Stefanelli (Publications d'Histoire de l'Art et d'Archéologie de l'Université Catholique de Louvain, 70; Numismatica Lovaniensia, 12; Louvain-la-Neuve, 1996), pp. 33-36.

indispensable, excellent work; needs more cross-referencing

This preliminary compilation examines the coinage of Marw after the appearance of the Arabs there... more This preliminary compilation examines the coinage of Marw after the appearance of the Arabs there in 651. The coins are quite rare, at least so far as is now known. Except for an issue with the false date 20, the coins are dated from 22 to 32. These dates could be interpreted as Yazdagird III regnal dates (= 653-64 CE) or post-Yazdagird dates beginning in the year of his death (= 673-85), or possibly some in the one era and some in the other. More material is needed for further progress. Two copper issues of Marw are also included.

The newly loaded pdf is text-enabled. The article describes the several series of coins of Sasani... more The newly loaded pdf is text-enabled. The article describes the several series of coins of Sasanian type issued under Arab rule:

the coinage of Iran in the first decades of Arab rule, 651-704
transitional Sasanian style issues of Syria
barbarous issues of Sistan and the Kabul region in the 8th century
issues of the Abbasid governors of Tabaristan
issues of Bukhara in the Abbasid period

A lot has happened since the article was published in 1986. It omits the Arab-Sasanian coins of the Caucasus, which were unattributed at the time of writing. The coinage of Gozgan is neglected--again, it was largely unattributed and unrecognized as a series. The coins with earliest dates attributed to Arab rule now appear to be imitations or emergency issues of later decades.

This paper takes up the question of the first use of caliphal titles in the form of individual pe... more This paper takes up the question of the first use of caliphal titles in the form of individual personal honorifics by al-Mansur and al-Mahdi in 145 H. The circumstances of the decision are analyzed in the light of the numismatic evidence from al-Rayy, where al-Mahdi Muhammad was governor (al-Mansur does not seem to have used his title on coins). The young governor was called al-Mahdi on a coin of Samarqand two years before the events that led to the new official titles. An examination of eastern copper coinage in the first two decades of Abbasid rule, with other literary evidence, suggests that some partisans of the dynasty had for long regarded him as the expected Mahdi of the end of the world.

I thought this paper was one of my more brillant efforts, but it turned out to be completely wron... more I thought this paper was one of my more brillant efforts, but it turned out to be completely wrong in its conclusion. Lutz Ilisch pointed out (Oriental Numismatic Society Newsletter 176 2003, 5), that the dirham is more likely to be an 8th-century Moroccan imitation. The point had been discussed earlier in the Yahoo Islamic Coins Group website, 2001 and 2002, and was first corrected in a private communication to the author by Gert Rispling. I quite agree with Rispling, Ilisch, and others: the dirham was minted in Morocco in the 8th century.

The methodology I used might still be useful, particularly the notes about style, design, measurements and eipigraphy of Umayyad dirhams. They do not all look alike!

"" A hoard of 76 Umayyad and Abbasid dirhams found at Nippur. Every coin is illustrated in the f... more ""
A hoard of 76 Umayyad and Abbasid dirhams found at Nippur. Every coin is illustrated in the figures. The coins were found in "stacks," actually wrapped in cloth in columns. The impress of the cloth can still be seen in an image of the coins as found.

The latest date in the hoard is 177 (793-94). Most of the coins were from mints in Iraq, but one came from Walila (Volubilis) in Morocco, and others came from various places in the Middle East.

Although I suggest in the article that the hoard was a "savings hoard," accumulated by the owner over the years whenever he had some extra dirhams to put away (and perhaps diminished whenever he had to draw on it), I no longer believe very strongly in "savings hoards." Rather, I suspect this was an accumulation of obsolete coins, pulled from circulation during the transition to the new-style coinage of al-Ma'mun, and put aside as a reserve. The outdated coins still had their silver value and could not be further reduced by demonetization. Moreover, as silver with an identifying stamp, they were doubtless fungible in bulk, with a better price in the marketplace than could be obtained by taking them to the mint where a charge was levied for refining and restriking. Since they had no surplus value, they were "good money" in relation to the new standard dirhams in circulation.

Such hoards are rather common, mostly identifiable by terminal dates in the very early 3rd century. These dates do not indicate that they were buried in response to civil war conditions--often, the latest coins are slightly later than the conclusion of the war--but rather reflect the fact that the old silver coinage came to an end about 206 in Baghdad and elsewhere as the changeover was made. These hoards, often including silver coins from as far back as the sixth century, are to be considered reserve stores of "old money," not as emergency hoards drawn from current circulation.""

The complete volume with a cleaner copy of the article can be downloaded at http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/oic/oic23.html.

In the context of historical events and the dirham coinage of the period, early Abbasid gold dina... more In the context of historical events and the dirham coinage of the period, early Abbasid gold dinars, which have no mint name on the coin, can be assigned to specific cities.

In the mid-tenth century, Rudhbar in Daylam was held by the family of Justan. This unpublished pa... more In the mid-tenth century, Rudhbar in Daylam was held by the family of Justan. This unpublished paper presents a unique dinar of Manadhar, son of Justan, who was at that time otherwise unrecorded in numismatics. The paper, prepared in 1977, seems to have gone unpublished because I never got a good photograph of the coin. The pdf includes the 5-page manuscript, the photos and data cards relating to the coin, and correspondence with the Bank Sepah, Teheran, which had acquired the coin. Further questions about the coin are welcome, but the pdf really contains all I know about it.

Journal of Near Eastern Studies , 1981

"This is my working file for coins minted in the city Isbahan, now Isfahan, in western Iran. It i... more "This is my working file for coins minted in the city Isbahan, now Isfahan, in western Iran. It is not systematic or complete. The record was begun about 1972 on 3x5 cards and there are still many such cards not transcribed to the digital record. On the positive side, in addition to the listings of known examples year by year, there are comments and suggestions about the coins and the history of the mint.Anyone working on the coinage or history of Isbahan may find something of interest here. If not, write to me--possibly I may have more information to pass on or add to the record.Metropolitan Isbahan also produced coins with the mint names GD, Jayy, and Isfahan. GD and Jayy, which are respectively the Pahlavi and Arabic names of the same place, are in separate records. Write to me for more information on those mints. Isfahan is the Persian form of the name, used later and still today."

Ömer Diler. Islamic Mints: Islâm darp yerleri. 3 vols. Istanbul, 2009. ISBN 978-975-8428-2. Ömer ... more Ömer Diler. Islamic Mints: Islâm darp yerleri. 3 vols. Istanbul, 2009. ISBN 978-975-8428-2. Ömer Diler died rather prematurely in 2005. His widow Emine Nur Diler saw his second book, Ilhanlar: Iran Mogollarini Sikkeleri, to the press in 2006, and has now brought out Diler's magnum opus with the help of two of Ömer's friends, J. C. Hinrichs and Gero Kurkman. The book is in three huge volumes (217 x 305 mm., a total of 1793 numbered pages plus front matter and 8 maps; 5.8 kilograms!) with very attractive card covers. Although the book is privately published (no publisher is named), it is distributed by Spink and has their logo on the back cover. At this time, there is no indication that it is available for public sale, but obviously it will be. This is a major new work for Islamic numismatics. Diler began work on the book in the 1970's, but left it unfinished. His wife and friends have finished it as they think he would have wished, using "common sense, numismatic knowledge, and his notes." The production reflects enormous credit on Diler, his wife Emina Nur, and his friends. The book is pretty much bilingual, in English and Turkish, throughout. The English, by Emina Nur, seems to be impeccable. Volume I begins with a foreword and acknowledgments; and then a list of abbreviations used in the book with their English and Turkish equivalents; a glossary of terms used; a table of the transcription (actually, transliteration) of Arabic; an English-Turkish dictionary of common terms; a list of Hijri month names and their abbreviations; a table of the diwani numerals; a second table of the Arabic alphabet with the transliteration and name of each letter; a description of the dating systems, Hijri and others, used on Islamic coins; and a "Guide to the Book" explaining the elements of each mint entry. All these lists and tables are reprinted on an eight-page removable pullout in the first volume. The listing of mints then begins, with Abarquh. Actually, the first entry, in a different format, is for a mint, Abadan min al-Ahwaz, that has been listed before, by Zambaur in his Münzprägungen, but is now known not ever to have existed. Such entries are preceded with an asterisk instead of a large-type headline, with a prose explanation of the name, the error, and the correct reading. An important difference between this listing and Zambaur's, and a major improvement, is the inclusion of Islamic mints in South and Southeast Asia. The entry for each actual mint gives the mint name in large bold type with full transliteration (macrons and dots), followed by the Turkish name in smaller type, the name in Arabic script, and a map citation (more later on the maps). All of this

This is a note record for copper coins (AE) issued in the caliphal era (632-945) without a mint ... more This is a note record for copper coins (AE) issued in the caliphal era (632-945) without a mint name on the coin--exceptional, but not exactly uncommon. "no mint" is a numisgeek phrase for such coins. I call attention to a statement by the great numismatist D. M. Metcalf: "every coin has a mint, and it is the numismatist's basic task to establish with as much certainty and precision as possible where, and when, each piece was struck." In many cases, the issuing mint for these coins has been identified and a cross-reference has been placed in the record for the issues of that city in my notes, which is where the information belongs, but despite its inanity, "no mint" is still a useful category for anything like a database.

In the seventh century, there were (at least) two mithqal standards, the 4.25 mithqal of Mecca an... more In the seventh century, there were (at least) two mithqal standards, the 4.25 mithqal of Mecca and Madina, and the 4.10 full weight silver drahm of Iran, considered as another mithqal (Baladhur, Futuh, ). The Hijaz mithqal was the standard adopted by Abd al-Malik for the new Islamic dinar of 77, but the eastern reformed dirham of 78-79 was 7/10th of the Iranian mithqal. Both mithqals, despite their difference, can be traced back to the Athenian drachma, which circulated and was imitated in Arabia, and which was the basis for the successive Alexander, Seleucid, Arsacid, and Sasanian coinages of Iran, declining to the lower mithqal standard only in the 6-7th centuries.

This encyclopedia article traces the history of the Islamic dirham, primarily in Iran and the eas... more This encyclopedia article traces the history of the Islamic dirham, primarily in Iran and the eastern provinces.

This article traces the history of the gold dinar, mainly in Iran.

Revue Suisse de numismatique , Jan 1, 1986

Iranian Numismatic Studies: A Volume in Honor of Stephen Album (Lancaster PA and London, 2017) , 2017

The meaning of personal names on coins of the Abbasid caliphate was different in two phases, sepa... more The meaning of personal names on coins of the Abbasid caliphate was different in two phases, separated by a brief transitional period.

Phase I: All the persons named on coins in the first Abbasid period, from the advent of the dynasty in 132 (750) until the reign of al-Ma'mun, can be considered as governors over the places where coins with their name were minted. No one, not the wazirs, not the sworn successors (wali al-`ahd), not even the caliphs themselves, was named because of his or her status or rank. For example, the successors, such as al-Amin, al-Ma'mun, and al-Mu'taman under the caliph al-Rashid, were named only in territories where they had been appointed governor. Had they been named as successors or "heirs," they would have been named everywhere. The same is true of the wazirs, such as Ja`far and Khalid the Barmakids. Even the caliph is not always named on coins; perhaps roughly half of the time, and often with different nomenclature in different cities. The rule for the caliph is not clearly understood, but it seems possible that the caliphs were named in provinces that they held directly, administering them through `amils, agents, while they were not named in provinces that they had assigned to a wali, who was "attached," as the administrative designation implies, to a province as his personal possession (at the caliph's pleasure, of course). The result of this nomenclature is to make Abbasid coins of the period, whether gold, silver, or copper, into little administrative documents showing who was in charge in each city in a specific year.

Transitional period:Al-Ma'mun began introducing significant changes to the coinage even before he controlled the entire caliphate. In 206 (821-22), he introduced in Baghdad new gold and silver coinages, with the same religious inscriptions as before but with no personal names at all--they were completely anonymous with uniform inscriptions. This new pattern was extended to most other provinces during his reign, except that in the northern frontier provinces governed by the caliph's son, the old system ran on until the latter's death in 223 (838).

Phase 2: Beginning with his first full year of rule, 219 (834-35) al-Ma'mun's successor put his title al-Mu`tasim billah on gold and silver coins. In contrast to the old practice, he was named at all mints in the caliphate and always in the same way. In sum, all precious metal coins throughout his realm had exactly the same inscriptions, except for the words dinar, gold coin, or dirham, silver coin. His immediate successors followed the same practice. In 236 (851-52), however, a favored successor was named for the first time on the uniform caliphate coinage; in 269 (881-82) a wazir was named, and in 329 (940-41) the warlord of Bagdad itself. More significantly for the long term, in 277 (891) a provincial governor was allowed to have his name on the coins of his city. When the Buyid warlords seized control of the caliph and his government, the process was completed: almost all Abbasid coins named one or more provincial secular authorities in addition to the caliph and his sworn successor if there was one. Until the end of the caliphate in 656 (1258), its coins document the hierarchy of power in each city. Thenceforth, only the names of secular rulers appear on Islamic coins.

This is a database in table form of personal names and titles that I have encountered on coins. I... more This is a database in table form of personal names and titles that I have encountered on coins. It is hardly complete, but at least is more ample for nomenclature that has given me problems. It is text-searchable. Please read the full introduction for more information.

Note the PDF title includes a date. If your copy of this document is old, look for a newer one on academia. Or send me a message asking for the latest version, or for more information on a specific person, dynasty, or title. I use this in my own work and update it frequently.

This book, extremely important for the study of late antique and early Islamic hoards, is describ... more This book, extremely important for the study of late antique and early Islamic hoards, is described. The only critical remark notes the authors' reliance on a great clichè of numismatics, the savings hoard, accumulated by a single family over the decades and centuries so as to include, for example, coins from Kavad I (484-531) and from al-Ma'mun (811-33). I argued that this concept is nonsense: one can only conclude, I said, that old coins and new were in circulation together and buried together. Now (2017) I would substitute a different analysis: that hoards should be divided into those of current coins, hidden usually in an emergency, and those of old coins, no longer usable in government or the market place, but serving as a reliable store of value, fungible because bankers and moneychangers knew the value of each category, or treated all old coins as a single commodity with a commercial value. The many hoards of the early third/ninth century itemized by Gyselen & Kalus in addition to the two they published can be accounted for by the coinage reform of al-Ma'mun, which turned huge quantities of Abbasid and other Islamic silver coins into "old money," to be thrown in with the already demonetized Umayyad and Sasanian-type silver coins. This mass of "branded" silver bullion, which could not be again demonetized, was a safe medium for the storage of wealth, especially stores hidden away as security against family and community disasters. The post-reform issues of al-Ma'mun's later reign and of his successors into the tenth century are very seldom found mixed with the pre-reform issues and their predecessors, except in northern European hoards ("Viking" hoards) where all the coins were non-monetary "old coins."

This little talk was prepared for an audience of professors and graduate students in ancient hist... more This little talk was prepared for an audience of professors and graduate students in ancient history with little or no previous knowledge of monetary history. It's an attempt to summarize the principal features of pre-industrial coin production and circulation.

Suggestions are welcome.

prattacte1968.blogspot.com

Source: https://numismatics.academia.edu/MichaelBates

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