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Dirham - Anonymous al-Kufa
| Issuer | Umayyad Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 698-750 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.89 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field bearing a multi-line Arabic inscription arranged horizontally, containing the Quranic verse from Surah Al-Ikhlas (112) attesting to the oneness of God. An inner circle frames the central epigraphic panel, while the outer marginal legend in Arabic script records the mint, date, or additional religious formulae running around the entire circumference. The design is strictly calligraphic with no decorative elements beyond the concentric framing lines, consistent with the post-reform Umayyad dirham standard established at the Kufa mint. The irregular hammered flan shows characteristic die-shift and edge irregularities. |
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| Mintage | ND (698-750) |
| Additional information |
The anonymous Kufic dirham was the direct product of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan's sweeping monetary reform of 696–698 CE, which abolished the Sasanian-derived drachm coinage and its figural imagery in favor of an entirely epigraphic design — a deliberate and politically charged break from Byzantine and Persian numismatic convention. The reform was partly provoked by a dispute with the Byzantine emperor Justinian II over the legends on Arab-Byzantine coins, which had carried Christian inscriptions the Umayyad administration could no longer tolerate on an Islamic coinage.
Al-Kufa served as one of the principal mint cities for this output, its attribution confirmed through die studies rather than any mint name struck on the coin itself.