Khazar "Moses coin"
Type:
Coins
Date:
837/38
Medium:
Silver
Description:
This coin was discovered as part of a large hoard at a farm on the island of Gotland (Sweden) but it reads "Ard al-Khazar" (Land of the Khazars), meaning that it was minted in Khazaria. The Khazars were a Turkic ethnic group in Eurasia (parts of modern-day Ukraine and Russia) with a major trading empire. The so-called Moses coin is one of the few pieces of material evidence that members of the Khazar ruling elite were Jewish converts. In imitation of coins from the Islamicate world, its incription reads "Moses is the messenger of God" instead of "Muhammad is the messenger of God." This coin also offers evidence of Khazaria's trade with Northern Europe. Other Moses coins have been found in Russia, Estonia, and Finland.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
5
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
Tags:
Western Asian,
Jewish,
Ideology,
Arabic,
Coins,
Metalwork,
Islamicate
