COINAGE AND HISTORY IN THE

SEVENTH CENTURY NEAR EAST

2

EDITED BY
ANDREW ODDY

Proceedings of the 12th Seventh Century Syrian

Numismatic Round Table
held at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
on 4th and 5th April 2009

Published in 2010 by the Seventh Century Syrian Numismatic Round table, an informal group of
numismatists and historians whose convenors are Tony Goodwin (a.goodwin2@btopenworld.com),
Andrew Oddy (waoddy@googlemail.com), and Marcus Phillips and Susan Tyler-Smith
(senmerv@hotmail.com).
2010: Copyright is held by the individual authors.
Produced and Distributed by Archetype Publications Ltd, 6 Fitzroy Square, London W1T 5HJ
www.archetype.co.uk
Printed by MPG Biddles Ltd, 24 Rollesby Road, Hardwick Industrial Estate, Kings Lynn, Norfolk
PE30 4LS

ISBN 9781904982623

The publication of this volume has been made possible by generous grants from
Tony Goodwin, Ingrid and Wolfgang Schulze, The Royal Numismatic Society, The
UK Numismatic Trust and the Samir Shamma Fund of Oxford University. The
convenors are extremely grateful to them and to the advertisers:
A H Baldwin & Sons Ltd, London
Jean Elsen & ses Fils s.a., Brussels
Morton and Eden Ltd, London
Simmons Gallery Ltd, London
Tim Wilkes, Sussex

ii

CONTENTS
Preface

iv

The Rise of Islam and Byzantiums Response

James Howard-Johnston

Symbolism on the Syrian Standing Caliph Copper Coins: A contribution to the discussion
Wolfgang Schulze

11

The Standing Caliph Type the object on the reverse

Stefan Heidemann

23

Die Links between Standing Caliph Mints in Jund Qinnasrn

Tony Goodwin

35

A Standing Caliph Fals Issued by Abd al-Rahmn at Sarmn

Tony Goodwin

41

New Fakes of Standing Caliph Coins

Ingrid Schulze

45

Heraclean Folles of Jerusalem

Steve Mansfield

49

New Evidence for Coin Circulation in Byzantine and Early Islamic Egypt
Tasha Vorderstrasse

57

The Single Standing Figure Type of Tiberias/Tabariya

Marcus Phillips

61

More about the coinage in Syria under Persian rule (610-630) (summary)
Henri Pottier

79

Numismatics and the History of early Islamic Syria

Robert G. Hoyland

81

Constantine IV as a Prototype for Early Islamic Coins

Andrew Oddy

95

The al-waf lillh Coinage: A study of style (work in progress)

Ingrid Schulze

iii

111

PREFACE
This volume contains all but one of the papers presented at the 12th meeting of the Seventh Century
Syrian Numismatic Round Table held in Cambridge in April 2009. The Round Table is a forum for
the presentation of new, and not always complete, research, and, as such, for many years was not
formally published. Many of the papers given at these meetings were subsequently published in the
Newsletter, subsequently the Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society. In fact, the first six
meetings at the British Museum in April 1992, July 1993, December 1995, December 1996, April
1998, March 2000 were held under the auspices of the Oriental Numismatic Society. By the London
meeting of March 2000, however, the Round Table was operating independently and went on to
hold the next meeting, also in London, in October 2001. The meeting of November 2002 was held
in Birmingham and was spread over two days, as have been all the subsequent meetings in
November 2003 at Oxford, April 2005 in Cambridge, May 2007 in Birmingham, and the meeting
reported here in Cambridge.
The study of the so-called Arab-Byzantine coinage struck in Syria (modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel,
The Palestinian Territories and Jordan) has made great strides forward in the last 30 years with the
publication of catalogues of collections in the Ahli Bank in Amman, the Ashmolean Museum in
Oxford, the Khalili Collection in London, the Dumbarton Oaks Collection in Washington DC, and
the University Collection in Tbingen. These monographs, together with innumerable papers in
journals, have revolutionised the study of the coinage struck in Syria following the fall of the
Byzantine Empire in that region. Most rewarding is the increasing attempts to relate the coins to the
known history of the early Islamic State and the Umayyad Empire.
Not least, a number of die studies have shown that the coinages of Scythopolis/Baisan, Baalbek,
Emesa/Hims, and pseudo-Damascus were prolific and clearly produced in well organised mints.
For instance, only a few years ago the coins of Scythopolis were regarded as very rare with only
about 30 recorded. Now that number is well into three figures with new specimens appearing all
the time.
Of course, the growing popularity of Arab-Byzantine coins has its downside in the appearance of
modern forgeries, as exemplified by one paper in this volume. Forgeries of the earliest Islamic gold
dinars have been known for decades, but now numismatists are having to contend with modern
copies of bronze coins, and very convincing some of them are too.
The one great lacuna in the subject is the dearth of coins from excavations or with secure
provenances as a result of field walking. Sadly, most coins available for study can only be localised
according to the origin of the dealer offering specimens for sale, and that is far from reliable as the
number of Arab-Byzantine coins currently offered by a dealer in Dubai testifies. Hence it is not
safe to assume that coins have not crossed modern frontiers before being offered for sale in Europe
or the USA.
On a practical note, I must express my heartfelt thanks to Ingrid and Wolfgang Schulze who
carefully read the final text and discovered numerous mistakes and inconsistencies. Those that
remain are the fault of the editor.
Andrew Oddy

28 June 2010

iv

A. Oddy (ed.): Coinage and History in the Seventh Century Near East II, Proceedings of the 12th Seventh Century
Syrian Numismatic Round Table held at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge on 4th and 5th April 2009, (2010)
pp. 111 121

The al-waf lillh Coinage

A study of style (work in progress)
Ingrid Schulze 1

Class I

Class II

Fig. 1

The al-waf lillh coinage is usually assumed to be part of the Umayyad Imperial Image series.3
However, the al-waf lillh coins are mintless. On the obverse we see a standing figure imitating
Byzantine prototypes. Most of the coins have an unusual design of the robe: two curved lines
crossing diagonally. The reverses show the cursive m with the Arabic inscription al-waf lillh,
which means Allah is to be trusted or Honesty belongs to Allah or Loyalty to Allah, beneath.
Nearly half of the coins also have this slogan on the obverse, left or right of the figure.
Alexander Kirkbride was the first to publish such coins in 1948.4 The great bulk of them have been
found within the so-called Irbid Hoard, a part of which was published by Rachel Milstein in 1989.5
There we have 41 al-waf lillh coins together with 11 other mintless specimens and 100 Umayyad
Imperial Image coins, mostly from the Pseudo-Damascus mint. A greater part of the Irbid Hoard
(about 500 coins, including 200 al-waf lillh coins) was bought by the Cabinet des Mdailles in
Paris and is currently being researched by Rika Gyselen and Tony Goodwin.
1

Ingrid Schulze is an independent scholar

ingridschulze@wg-s.de
The al-waf lillh coins are usually very badly struck and found in a poor condition. Often an exact attribution to a
certain Class was only possible by comparing the details of several coins from the same die. The pictures presented here
show the best specimens I could find to illustrate the different classes. Fig. 1 picture 3 is reproduced by courtesy of
Nayef Goussous.
3
SICA = S Album and T Goodwin, Sylloge of Islamic Coins in the Ashmolean: Vol. 1, The Pre-Reform coinage of
the Early Islamic Period, Oxford 2002, 90.
4
A S Kirkbride, Coins of the Arab-Byzantine transition period, Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in
Palestine 13 (1947-1948) 59-63, nos 17 and 18.
5
R Milstein, A Hoard of Early Arab Figurative Coins, Israel Numismatic Journal 10 (1988-89) 3-26.
2

111

In the past numismatists like Michael Bates, Luke Treadwell and Charles Karukstis have written or
spoken about the Milstein part of the Irbid Hoard.6 They all complained that only a few coins are
illustrated in the publication.
The aim of this article is not to reconsider or to re-evalue the Irbid Hoard. Instead I will for the
first time present a typology and classification but not a die study of the al-waf lillh coins.
My basis is 221 specimens in private collections7 and other examples illustrated in literature and
trade. The examination of these coins shows some interesting results and raises the question of
whether the al-waf lillh coins were minted as hitherto accepted in only one mint or rather in
several mints. Certain stylistic features of the al-waf lillh coins connect with other related coin
series. Finally I want to discuss the where, when and who question within the historical context.
The obverse dies
The al-waf lillh coinage is split up into two main classes:
Class I obverse without slogan (Types A to G)
Class II obverse with slogan (Types H to Q)
The different types of each class are defined by distinguishing marks appearing on the obverses.
Class I is subdivided into Types A to G, described briefly thus:
Type A

figure only (49 coins)

Type B

three tassels at the left waistline of the figure (13 coins)

Type C

single Greek letter left or right of the figure (16 coins)

Type D

knot and stylistically related coins (17 coins)

The knot is mentioned by Milstein8 as the knot of a shawl at the left waistline of the
figure. Her interpretation is questionable. Eleven coins with the same obverse die9
show variations in the appearance of the object in question, which might also be a bag
or simply a mistake in the die.

Type E

ribbon (3 coins)
This small group shows a special design in every respect. The figure looks as if it is
being hanged by a ribbon going from its neck to the upper right field, and the depiction
of the arm and the robe differs from all other coins of the series.

Type F

trefoils (7 coins) instead of crosses on the staff, on the globe, and on the head

Type G

bird left of the figure (14 coins), sometimes with additional decorations

M Bates, Byzantine Coinage and its imitations. Arab coinage and its imitations: Arab-Byzantine coinage, ARAM 6
(1994) 381-403 (389); L Treadwell, The chronology of the pre-reform copper coinage of early Islamic Syria,
Supplement to ONS Newsletter 162 (2000) 1-14 (6-10); C Karukstis, Comments on the al-waf lillh coinage,
unpublished paper, given at the ANS Arab-Byzantine Forum, November 1997.
7
I am deeply indebted to my British friends in the Seventh Century Syrian Numismatic Round Table for placing their
collections at my disposal. Without their support this study could not have been made. My sincere thanks go to my
husband Wolfgang for his never ending help and encouragement.
8
Milstein op. cit. nos 27-32, Pl. 1, 27.
9
Cf. e.g. SNAT = L Ilisch, Sylloge Nummorum Arabicorum Tbingen IVa, Tbingen, 1993, nos 513 and 514; SICA
op. cit. no. 601; M el-Kholi, Neue Aspekte zu arabo-byzantinischen Mnzen mit Kaiserbild, in: Syrien Von den
Aposteln zu den Kalifen, Mainz, 1993, 501-509, no. 45.

112

Fig. 2: Class I obverse types A to G

Types H to Q of Class II with the slogan on the obverse can be summarized thus:
Type H

slogan left, bird right (47 coins) with the slogan going downward and the bird in the
lower right field. It is a difficult type to identify because on most of the coins either
only the slogan or only the bird is visible. Die duplicates can help the identification.
For an example see fig. 3 where H(1) and H(2) are struck from the same die.

Type I

slogan left, bird questionable (9 coins) is a provisional type in so far as the bird is not
visible due to the poor condition of the coins.

Type J

slogan left, right arm missing (8 coins) with an additional wavy line in the upper
right and in the lower right field

Type K

slogan right, right arm reduced (15 coins) with the slogan going upward; the right
arm is reduced to a small stroke going to the staff; small dots either side of the head.

Type L

slogan right, right arm reduced, bird left (2 coins)

Type M

slogan left, Greek letter right (3 coins)10

Type N

slogan left with first letter missing, Greek letters right (4 coins)

Type O

slogan left retrograde (9 coins)

Type P

slogan left, bird right (2 coins), differentiated from Type H by the extraordinary style
with an unusual large bird, crescents either side of the figures head and a thin arm

Type Q

slogan right, staff and globe reversed (3 coins)

10

Cf. SICA op. cit. no. 597

113

H(1)

H(2)

L11

P(1)

P(2)

Fig. 3: Class II obverse types H to Q

The reverse dies
There are two criteria for a classification of the reverse dies. The main criterion is the symbol or
Greek letters either side of the m:

Fig. 4: Reverses main criteria

In this illustration s1 indicates a bulls head, s2 a bird/duck/cock, and x indicates a Greek letter,
usually A, N, H, O, with N and occasionally retrograde; the crosses and symbols are sometimes
accompanied by big dots or small circles below or above; crescent, star and wavy line sometimes
occur on either side of the cross above.
The secondary criterion for classification is the decoration between the limbs of the m:

Fig. 5: Reverses secondary criteria

For illustration a selection of typical reverses:

1b

11

2b(1)

2b(2)

3a

Milstein op. cit. Pl. 1, no. 11; see too SICA op. cit. no. 599

114

4a

5f

6a

7b

8c

9e

10a

10b

10d

Fig. 6
Even without a detailed die study, it is possible to observe a relationship between the two criteria in
that reverses 1 to 4 (cross and symbol) are not combined with reverses c, d, e, and f. The next step
is to examine the relationship between obverses and reverses, and here again there is a rule in that
reverses 1 to 4 are not to found in Class II. In other words an obverse die with slogan is never
combined with a reverse die with cross or symbol.
Die links
Within the large number of coins of type A and of type H, many of them have been struck from the
same pair of dies (up to seven duplicates were observed). Furthermore many die links occur within
the different types.

Fig. 7: die links within type O

The next question has to be whether there are die links between different types and there are, but
restricted to within each class.
A

E12

Fig. 8: die links within Class I (AE13 and BF) and within Class II (HK)
It is thus possible to make a preliminary division of the al-waf lillh coinage into two Classes with
different features:

12
13

Fig. 8 Type E = Milstein op. cit. no. 26; courtesy of the Israel Museum Jerusalem, no. 12756
A further link to Type F is recorded.

115

Class I without slogan on obverse and with cross and/or symbol on reverse (119 coins)
Class II with slogan on obverse and combinations of two to six letters on reverse (102
coins)
These two classes are not die linked.
If this observation is confirmed by the 200 coins in Paris14, it is possible that the al-waf lillh coins
were struck at more than one mint or in several successive stages of minting. However, the known
provenances are the same for both Classes with slightly coins more from Jordan than from Israel.
The average weights are nearly identical; a little bit less than 4g.
Countermarks
Five of the listed coins are countermarked, two of them with the c/m A915, a Greek monogram; one
is B4 and another B6, both seem to mean jayyid = good (cf. fig. 7). The fifth specimen is illegible.
All countermarks are on the reverses, three of them applied over the slogan.
Overstrikes
It is interesting to note, that the al-waf lillh coins are almost never overstruck on older coins.
Within the 221 coins examined, only one overstrike was found, possibly on a Pseudo-Byzantine
coin.
Relationships with other Series
There are great stylistic differences within the al-waf lillh coinage; some features are exclusively
found here. The slogan al-waf lillh is never used elsewhere, and the reverse types D and E (three
cross hatches and double wavy lines) are not found outside the al-waf lillh coinage, while stars
within the cursive m, a familiar decoration on coins of the Pseudo-Damascus mint, never occur on
al-waf lillh coins. On the other hand quite a lot of features from the al-waf lillh coins are found
at other mints, in particular Tiberias/Tabariya:

3
Fig. 9

Stylistic parallels to some standing figure coins16: the posture of the figure, three tassels and a
diagonal pattern of the robe (no. 1 - al-waf lillh, no. 2 - Tiberias), and dots within the m, star and
crescent either side of the cross above the m (no. 3 - al-waf lillh, no. 4 - Tiberias).

14

Recently I had the opportunity to catalogue many more al-waf lillh coins in the Israel Museum and from a private
collection in Great Britain. This new material, as yet not added to this study, confirms the present result.
15
The classifications of the countermarks are to be found in the list of T Goodwin, Countermarks from the Arab
Conquest, in: W Schulze and T Goodwin, Countermarking in Seventh Century Syria, Supplement to ONS Newsletter
183 (2005) 42.
16
cf. Y Meshorer, An enigmatic Arab-Byzantine coin, INJ 3 (1965/66) 32-36; C Karukstis, Meshorers Enigmatic
Coin Revisited, unpublished paper, given at the ANS Arab-Byzantine Forum V (1999); idem, Another Visit to
Meshorers enigmatic coin, in Supplement to ONS Journal 193 (2007) 40-42.

116

 The reverse symbols bulls head17 and bird/duck appear as officina symbol on three figure
coins of Tabariya (no. 5).18
Tassels at the waist, the diagonal pattern of the robe and even an O in the upper right field (fig. 10
no. 1) also occur on some coins of the Pseudo-Damascus mint:

219

3
Fig. 10

Fig. 10 no. 5 has the letter in the upper right field (instead of O) and no tassels at the waist, but
the design of the robe and the large bird without pedestal is reminiscent of the al-waf lillh coins.
These are the only style-based relationships to the Umayyad Imperial Image coins. However, two
single letters lead in a different direction; the Greek letter (rho) and the letter A written in a
special way.
The on some reverses of the al-waf lillh coins is confusing. Generally the (meaningless) letters
are supposedly derived from the inscription ANA-NEOS of the Byzantine prototype of Constans II,
sometimes with H instead of N. What, however, is the origin of the , which is sometimes written
retrograde?

3
Fig. 11

The explanation could be that the die cutter was familiar with the rho from another mint. In this
case the connections could be with the standing figure coins of Jerusalem with IPO-COY-MN
(of the people of Jerusalem) written on the reverse (no. 3), to Gerasa with PACON written
17

For bulls head see W Schulze, Symbolism on the Syrian Standing Caliph copper coins : A contribution to the
discussion, fig. 24 (this volume 18).
18
Both symbols are also found on Umayyad post-reform coins without mint, attributed to Filastin/al-Urdunn, cf. SNAT
op. cit., 44-47.
19
See also Milstein op. cit. no. 75.

117

retrograde on the obverse (no. 4) and again to Tiberias where some of the standing figure coins
show the mint name on the obverse beginning right of the figure as TIBEIC-OS (no. 5)20. On
most of the three figure coins of Tabariya the rho looks more like a stroke.
The special A is written with a diagonal stroke to the left or to the right instead of an angle between
the limbs. This unusual letter form appears on some interesting coin series.

Fig. 12
Fig. 12 shows some of the connections based on the special A (no. 1 reverse detail enlarged) and in
addition an unusual design of the figures left shoulder (no. 2). At a first glance, nos 3 and 4 look
like Pseudo-Byzantine coins. A die link (obverse of nos 4 and 5) leads to a series characterized by a
horizontal S in the exergue.21 It is obvious that other features of the coins with a horizontal S are
reminiscent of the al-waf lillh coins: besides the special A and a diagonal line on the robe there
are trefoils on the head, instead of a cross, (no. 6) and dots within the m, and the typical slightly
bent posture of the figure on al-waf lillh coins (no. 7).

20

cf. also S Qedar, Copper Coinage of Syria in the Seventh and Eighth Century A.D., INJ 10 (1998-9) 27-39, pl. 5,
no. 14.
21
See A Oddy, Imitations of Constans II Folles of Class 1 or 4 Struck in Syria, Numismatic Circular (1995) 142-3

118

Fig. 13
The special A (no. 1 reverse detail enlarged) also leads to another coin family, struck on thick
square flans with the words muhammad and bad interchangeably in the exergue of the reverse and
to the left of the standing figure (no. 2), and to coins of the same fabric but with a palm branch
replacing the figure (no. 3). It is said that the Paris part of the Irbid hoard includes some square
flan coins which probably will help. A stylistic connection from the square flan figure goes to a
small series of coins (nos. 4 and 5) which is difficult to classify. Are they Pseudo-Byzantine coins
or should they be classified as Umayyad Imperial Image coins, like the square flan coins according
to SICA22? It is not the aim of this article to discuss the existing theories and datings23 for these
series. The only intention is to point out stylistic relationships in view of characteristic trademarks
of the die cutters. Another common feature is a retrograde left of the figure, which can be found
on al-waf lillh coins, the square-flan coins and a few Pseudo-Damascus coins. The last coin of
figure 13 (no. 6) finally leads again to Tabariya.
Provisional Conclusions
Some of the features of the al-waf lillh coins are observed in other series. This could be explained
by travelling die cutters working for several towns when there was a lack of small change and new
copper coins were needed. The mint of Tiberias/Tabariya possibly worked simultaneously with the
al-waf lillh mint(s): we saw the close connection to the single figure type of the Greek series. The
stylistic relation between Tabariya and al-waf lillh because of the bulls heads and the birds or
ducks indicates that these symbols must have had a certain importance for the region, and they
continue to be used on post-reform coins.
There is also a relationship between the al-waf lillh coins and the Pseudo-Damascus coins.
However, no stylistic connection at all is observed between the regular coins of Damascus and the
al-waf lillh coins.
Where? When? Who?
Where was the al-waf lillh coinage minted?
The answer is very clear and already worked out by Luke Treadwell.24 The archaeological results25
and evidence from the numismatic trade prove that the al-waf lillh coins are exclusively from the
22

SICA op. cit., 90

For further reading: C Foss, Anomalous Arab-Byzantine coins Some Problems and Suggestions, ONS Newsletter
166 (2001) 5-12; idem, Arab-Byzantine coins. An introduction, with a catalogue of the Dumbarton Oaks Collection,
Washington, 2008, 31-35; C Karukstis, A Note on the Localization of Pseudo-Byzantine Coinage in Syria,
Numismatic Circular (2000) 158
24
Treadwell op. cit., 9
25
The recently published excavations in the House of the Bronzes in Tiberias do not give much new insight. Among
150 discovered coins were only 6 Umayyad Imperial Image coins (1 Damascus, 1 Baalbek, 2 Tabariya (3 figure type)
and 2 illegible items) found as isolated coins and within a hoard one coin of the square flan type (cf. fig 13 no. 2)
Bijovsky, Gabriela and Berman, Ariel, The Coins, in: Hirschfeld, Yizhar and Gutfeld, Oren, Tiberias: Excavations in
the House of the Bronzes, Final Report, Volume 1, QEDEM 48 2008, 63-105, nos 28-33 and no. 8.
The coins excavated in Nabratein (25 kilometres north of Tiberias) are of much more interest here: Besides 4 PseudoByzantine coins, 30 Umayyad Imperial Image coins have been found (5 Damascus, 16 Pseudo-Damascus, 7 al-waf
23

119

junds Filastin and al-Urdunn. This result is confirmed by my own experience; as far as the
provenance of the coins described here is known, they are exclusively from Israel and Jordan.
Furthermore this is in harmony with the stylistic relationships presented here. As we have seen,
there are connections between the al-waf lillh coinage and the standing figure coins of Greektype from Tiberias/Tabariya, the square flan coins and the coins with horizontal S, and the two latter
series are also exclusively found in Israel and Jordan.
Let us take a look at the historical background. If we presume that the al-waf lillh coins were
struck before the accession of Abd al-Malik it is obvious to consider the years just before, the years
when the second fitna, the civil war, reached Syria.26
It was in the first half of the year 684 when the rule of the Umayyads collapsed in the Hejaz, in all
provinces outside of Syria and in greater parts of Syria itself. The Umayyads were involved in
battles for the succession of the caliphate after Yazid I had died in November 683 and his successor
Muawiya II had died two months later. In February 684 Ibn al-Zubayr was proclaimed caliph in
Mecca. Marwan who should have become the successor of Muawiya II, left Damascus and went to
Tadmur to think about the new situation. In the end he was ready to join the Zubayrids. But
governors loyal to the Umayyads, in particular Ubaidallh from Iraq, came to Tadmur and tried to
persuade him to fight for the Umayyad caliphate.
In this phase without a leader the Umayyad control of Syria began to crumble. In the beginning of
the year 684 a revolt against the Umayyad rule started in the jund Qinnasrin. At the same time and
this is important for the discussion here in the junds Filastin and al-Urdunn another revolt started
against the Umayyads. Here the tribe of the udam declared itself for Ibn al-Zubayr.
The political situation was completely chaotic: street fighting between pro-Zubayrids and proUmayyads was not unusual even in front of the mosque of Damascus. At the same time the people
of Syria were suffering from natural disasters: a very hard winter had destroyed the olive trees, a lot
of cattle had died, and to make matters worse, famine and plague spread.
In the middle of the year 684 a conference took place in the traditional Beduin meeting place
abiya, about 80 km east of Tabariya, where Marwan was paid homage as caliph by some tribes
which were still pro-Umayyad (like the Calb). His final acclamation happened some weeks later in
Damascus. Marwan was successful in re-conquering the jund Filastin, but only for a short time. At
the end of the year the Byzantine fleet conquered Ascalon, Akko and Caesarea, and when Marwan
died in April 685, Filastin changed sides again in favour of Ibn al-Zubayr. It was not until the
summer 685 that the new caliph, Abd al-Malik, was successful in getting Filastin under Umayyad
control.
There are thus many reasons to believe in a lack of small change during the troubled years 684/85 in
the junds Filastin and al-Urdunn, when the udam were loyal to the Zubayrid party. In addition we
can assume that people there were excluded from the Umayyad money resources. The Umayyads
were preoccupied in attempting to regain power the situation was dangerous and hanging in the
balance.
lillh and 2 Tiberias (one standing figure, cf. fig. 9 nos. 2 and 4) Bijovsky, Gabriela, Numismatic Report, in: Meyers,
E. M. and Meyers, C. L., Meiron Excavation Project Volume VI, Excavations at Ancient Nabratein: Synagogue and
Environs, Winona Lake, Indiana 2009, pp 374-395, nos 92-106, 108-113 and 115-123.
The coins excavated in Tel Rehov (south of Beth Shean / Scythopolis / Baisan) have a similar composition as those
from Nabratein. They will be published in the near future by Nitzan Amitai-Preiss. Information kindly supplied by
Gabriela Bijovsky.
26
The following historical description is based on the most detailed discussion of the second fitna by G Rotter, Die
Umayyaden und der zweite Brgerkrieg (680-692), Wiesbaden, 1982. For a short summary see G R Hawting, The first
dynasty of Islam. The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750, 2nd edition, London-New York (2000) 46-57.

120

It seems therefore very probable that the leader of the tribe of the udam, Natil b. Qais, used his
authority to call together die cutters and other staff from different mints in the region, perhaps from
small mints which formerly produced Pseudo-Byzantine coins or from Tiberias/Tabariya and/or
Jerusalem, to arrange the minting of the al-waf lillh coins. This was done not only to provide
small change,27 but also as political propaganda for the Zubayrids against the Umayyads.28 If this is
the case, the al-waf lillh coinage is not part of the Umayyad Imperial Image coinage.29
If this and the proposed dating is correct, the next step will be to draw the consequences for the
classification and dating of the related series described above. Besides the al-waf lillh minting it
may be necessary to postulate a number of local issues struck in Filastin and/or al-Urdunn when
these junds were not under Umayyad control. These would belong between the Pseudo-Byzantine
and the Umayyad Imperial Image coinages.

27

Also the poor quality of the al-waf lillh coins is consistent with describing them as emergency issue.
The regime of Ibn al-Zubayr was marked by its piety. So far the coins struck by one of his governors in Iran 685-687
bearing the shahda are said to be the first with an Islamic slogan. In the light of the new dating of the al-waf lillh
coins into the years 684/85, we have to revise this observation.
29
Recently similar conclusions were made about the small three figure type coins of Tiberias Foss op. cit. (2008) 57
and 63.
28

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