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Drachm - Mu`awiya first Umayyad caliph
| Issuer | Umayyad Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 663 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Sasanian-style bust of the ruler facing right at center, wearing an elaborate mural crown surmounted by a winged symbol, with beaded collar and draped shoulders rendered in the late Sasanian artistic tradition. A beaded inner border encircles the bust, with Psalter Pahlavi legends flanking the portrait in the inner field to the left and right. An Arabic bismillah inscription appears in the outer margin, reflecting the early Umayyad practice of adding Islamic legends to Sasanian-derived coin types. Crescents or ornamental devices appear at the lateral margins outside the inner border. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | ஃ ஃ بسم الله (Translation: Pahlavi: Mu`awiya commander of the believers. Arabic: In the name of Allah) |
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| Additional information |
Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan became caliph in 661 following the First Fitna, the civil war that fractured early Islam after the assassination of 'Uthman. Rather than immediately overhaul the monetary system he inherited, he retained Sasanian-derived drachm types — the caliphate's treasury needed functional coinage fast, and striking familiar forms reduced resistance in the former Persian provinces where these coins circulated. Album 14 covers this transitional phase, where Arab-Sasanian issues bear governor names or the caliph's name in Pahlavi alongside increasingly abbreviated Zoroastrian fire-altar imagery.
The 663 date places this coin among the earliest issues of Mu'awiya's reign, struck while he was still consolidating control over Iraq and the eastern territories.