Dirham of Caliph al-Walid
Type:
Coins
Date:
711/12
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Iran
Medium:
Silver
Dimensions:
2.6 cm
Description:
This silver coin was minted for the Umayyad caliph al-Walid (r.705–15) in 711/12. A few years earlier, his predecessor Abd al-Malik had broken a long tradition of ruler imagery on gold coins, replacing the figures with the Muslim profession of faith and verses from the Qur'an in Arabic. The innovation, which distinguished Islamicate coinage from that of the Byzantines and Sasanians, was soon repeated on silver coins.
The three lines of Kufic script at the center of the obverse repeat the shahada, "There is no god except God alone; He has no equal"; around the circumference is, "In the name of God. This dirham was struck in Sabur in the [hijra] year three and ninety." On the reverse are four lines: "God is one, God the eternal and indivisible who has not begotten and has not been begotten, and there is never his equal" (sura 112). On the rim is "Muhammad is the messenger of God; he sent him with guidance and the true religion to reveal it to all religions, even if the pagans abhor it" (sura 9:33).
Umayyad coins were produced in seventy different mints, all but four in what is now Iraq and Iran. Sabur is used in Arabic epigraphy for Bishapur, a formerly Sasanian city named for Shapur (it means "beautiful [city] of Shapur") in Iran.
The three lines of Kufic script at the center of the obverse repeat the shahada, "There is no god except God alone; He has no equal"; around the circumference is, "In the name of God. This dirham was struck in Sabur in the [hijra] year three and ninety." On the reverse are four lines: "God is one, God the eternal and indivisible who has not begotten and has not been begotten, and there is never his equal" (sura 112). On the rim is "Muhammad is the messenger of God; he sent him with guidance and the true religion to reveal it to all religions, even if the pagans abhor it" (sura 9:33).
Umayyad coins were produced in seventy different mints, all but four in what is now Iraq and Iran. Sabur is used in Arabic epigraphy for Bishapur, a formerly Sasanian city named for Shapur (it means "beautiful [city] of Shapur") in Iran.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
4
Repository and Online Resources:
• Listen to a short podcast by Prof. Marcus Milwright about early Umayyad figural coins of the late seventh century.
Image Credits:
Justine Philip, © Museums Victoria,
This coin is on the Museums Victoria (Australia) website.
