THE UMAYYAD DYNASTY, AH 41-132 (661-750). AN EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTION OF UMAYYAD COINAGE. AN UNPUBLISHED DIRHAM STRUCK IN AL-BASRA : A CHALLENGE TO CENTRAL AUTHORITY. Hisham, AH 105-125 (724-743). Dirham AH 109 (727-28), al-Basra. Inscription centrale sur trois lignes, entourée d'une légende circulaire / Inscription centrale sur quatre lignes entourée d'une légende circulaire. 2,36g. A - ; Klat - ; Shams Eshragh -.

Très bel exemplaire. Unique.

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This previously unrecorded coin from al-Basra is an extraordinary discovery, because it fits neatly with another unique dirham of al-Kufa dated AH 108 (Klat 547, 1 reference) and provides an interesting glimpse into the political situation in Iraq during the governorship of Khalid bin ‘Abd Allah al-Qasri, who occupied a position analogous to that of al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf, a previous governor and principal advisor to the Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik. What can this coin tell us? First of all, the pattern of five single annulets found in the obverse margin are not those that appeared on Khalid’s coins while he was governor of Iraq and master of the mint in Wasit. Those coins placed three double annulets in the obverse margin so that they could be easily distinguished from coins from the mints that did not lie under his jurisdiction. Khalid was particularly insistent that all Iraqi mint activity should be centralised in Wasit. These two coins of al-Kufa and al-Basra provide evidence that there must have been civil unrest in the province during these years and it is no surprise that the two cities appear to have been the traditional focal points for unrest in southern Iraq. Both mints had been reopened by the Caliph ‘Umar II bin ‘Abd al-‘Aziz in the year AH 100 and both were closed three years later by Yazid II bin ‘Abd al-Malik, and it is likely that both cities felt slighted by the loss of their prestigious mints. The Wasit mint was active in the years 108 and 109, which provides evidence that Wasit continued to be under Khalid’s control. Chronicles that do not provide firm dates mention the unrest in Iraq during Khalid’s governorship, which can now, thanks to these two coins, be narrowed down to at least the years AH 108 and 109. The extreme rarity of both pieces suggests that additional rebel coinages may eventually be identified.