The Ḥammūdid Caliphate: A New Look through the Lens of Numismatics (original) (raw)

The Numismatic Evidence for the Reign of Aḥmad b. Ṭūlūn (254 –270/868-883). In Al-Usur al-Wusta 25 (2017)

This paper re-examines the reign of Aḥmad b. Ṭūlūn (254–270/868-883), taking account of the currently available numismatic evidence. It argues for a reappraisal of the crucial triangular relationship between Ibn Ṭūlūn, the caliph al-Muʿtamid ʿalā Allāh (256–279/869-892) and the latter’s brother Abū Aḥmad (known as al-Muwaffaq billāh from 261/874). The rise of the Tulunids is situated within the context of the weakening of the Abbasid unitary state in the middle of the third century AH/ninth century CE, and the emergence of powerful provincial governors whose rise to power anticipated the eclipse of the caliphal state in the fourth/tenth century. The value of the numismatic evidence lies mainly in the names and titles that occur on the coins. These allow the historian to control the sometimes contradictory narrative of the textual sources and also raise questions about the nature and extent of Tulunid autonomy.

HISTORY OF THE MUSAFIRID DYNASTY BASED ON NUMISMATIC EVIDENCE

Historicus, 2023

The Musafirid dynasty was a ruling family in northwest Iran; their power peaked in the 4th century AH (10 th cen. AD). This paper aims to study their history based on numismatic evidence and historical sources to shed more light on the developments of their era. Based on this study, it's evident that the Musafirids were followers of the Isma'ili Qarmati Shi'i faith. However, they outwardly accepted the religious and political leadership of the Abbasid caliphs as a political ploy. The Musafirids established strong ties with the powerful (Twelver) Shi'ite regime of their time, the Buyids, and were subject to their control. At some point in their history, they had paid political allegiance to the Fatimids, the Isma'ili rulers of North Africa. The names and titles of different ministers and rulers of the Musafirid dynasty on the coins of this period show their importance and rank in the political hierarchy. This study is a descriptive analysis with library-based data collection.

Dirham mint of the Northern Provinces of the Umayyad Caliphate

Armenian Numismatic Journal, 1989

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.

A Numismatic History of the Early Islamic Precious Metal Coinage of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula (VOL. 1)

2014

This dissertation uses all of the available evidence provided by coins to construct a numismatic history of the early Islamic precious metal coinage of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. The dissertation begins with a review of the analysis undertaken by earlier scholars, followed by an explanation of the adopted methodology, including the approach to the primary and secondary sources and the description of the methods used in the metrological, metallurgical, and die estimation analyses. The balance of the dissertation is divided into three sections. The first section is the typology, which divides the coinage into four series: Series 1, the Two Imperial Bust type; Series 2, the Latin Epigraphic type; Series 3, the Bilingual type; and Series 4, the Post-Reform type. The typology analyses each series in detail. This section also discusses the iconographical elements of the coinage, with a further chapter providing an analysis of certain anomalous examples that do not readily fit into the typology. The second section encompasses the analysis of the metrological and metallurgical aspects of the coinage and the estimation of the number of dies for each series. The final section combines the numismatic evidence and the historical record provided by a variety of secondary sources into a numismatic history of the two regions. This section includes a discussion of the historical context prior to, during, and after the Muslim conquest of North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, as well as a discussion of find spots and circulation. The dissertation concludes with a comparison of the evolution of the precious metal coinage in North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula to the evolution of Islamic coinage in other regions of the Umayyad Caliphate and an exploration of the underlying nature of the coinage (i.e. regional, Imperial, etc.).