Coinage of the Arab Amirs of Crete

Author
Miles, George Carpenter, 1904-1975
Series
Numismatic Notes and Monographs
Publisher
American Numismatic Society
Place
New York
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Donum
Source
Worldcat
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Worldcat Works
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HathiTrust

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CC BY-NC

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Open access edition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Program.

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CLASSIFICATION OF THE COINS

While I am still quite uncertain about many aspects of the chronological arrangement of the coins and the identity of several of their issuers, the present illustrated publication may serve the useful purpose of bringing still more specimens to light and perhaps thereby providing additional information of eventual use in arriving at a more definitive arrangement of the coins. This in turn may result in a more acceptable reconstruction of the chronology and genealogy of the dynasty than those tentatively offered by Walker and Mrs. Welin and by me at the First Cretological Congress and at the Dumbarton Oaks symposium in 1963 (published in D.O.Papers, 18, pp. 11–15).2

We are confronted with three major difficulties in establishing a firm chronological arrangement of the coins: 1) the fact that the copper coins, which constitute the bulk of the preserved coinage, are all undated and present relatively few stylistic differences; 2) the lack of any lapidary epigraphical remains of the Amirs; and 3) the extremely fragmentary and in general unsatisfactory written historical testimony, both Arabic and Byzantine. To summarize very briefly what we know from the latter sources: the Greek historians give us the names of Apokhaps, Saipis, Babdel, Zerkounis, Kouroupas and Anemas (Fig. 1); and from the Arab historians we have the names of Shu'ayb the Cordoban, of his son 'Isâ, of his grandson abū-Ḥafṣ 'Umar the conqueror of Crete, of his great-grandson abū-'Amr Shu'ayb, and of 'Abd al-'Azīz b. Shu'ayb, the last of the Amirs (Fig. 2). An isolated Arabic source3 provides us with another genealogical tree: 'Umar (a gentleman with literary propensities taken captive in 961) son of 'Isâ, son of Muḥammad, son of Yūsuf, son of (?) abū-Ḥafṣ (Fig. 3).4 The names in the Byzantine sources are not all recognizable, but Apokhaps is certainly abū-Ḥafṣ, Saipis undoubtedly Shu'ayb, Babdel and Zerkounis probably abū-'Abdullāh and Zerqūn (but neither name occurs in the Arabic sources), and Kouroupas is certainly 'Abd al-'Azīz (Fig. 4). Anemas does not come into consideration as he did not rule but was taken prisoner by Nicephoros Phocas and died in 972 fighting on the Byzantine side against the Russians.

As for dates, we know from the written sources that abū-Ḥafṣ 'Umar conquered Crete about 213 H./A.D. 828 and that he was still alive in 238 H./A.D. 852–3; that Saipis evidently ruled during the period of Michael III (A.D. 842867) and may still have been alive in A.D. 875; that Babdel was contemporary with Leo VI the Wise (A.D. 886–912); that Kouroupas was taken captive by Nicephoros Phocas in 961; that the writer 'Umar was alive after 350 H./A.D. 961; and that Anemas, as mentioned above, died in 972. Then we have the few dates provided by the dinars and dirhems which will be discussed in some detail below. In my articles in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά, 1961–62, and in D.O. Papers, 18 (1964), I presented a tentative genealogical tree attempting to account for all the names preserved in the written sources and on the coins known at that time.5 This table, with some additions, is reproduced in Fig. 5. I have perhaps been over-zealous in trying to make all these names fit into one familial and dynastic table, and I am even less confident today than I was in 1961 about the reliability of this genealogy. In Κρητικὰ Χρονικά, 1961–62 (pp. 69–71) I wrote: "I would be the first to admit that in my effort to include all the names appearing on the coinage I may have created more Amirs of Crete than ever existed. Before these recent numismatic discoveries we had at the most the names of five amirs; now we have eleven. I have had to do a lot of guess-work. A search among the Arabic historians and chroniclers for the new names—that is, the new names on the coins—has been uniformly unsuccessful. Among several possibilities of error in this genealogy are: the uncertainty that exists, where the word bin ("son of") is lacking on the coin, as to which man is the father and which the son; whether in fact one is the son of the other (he might be unrelated, and simply a lieutenant); whether all are actually descendants of abū-Ḥafṣ; whether an individual named perhaps as heir apparent on the coinage ever succeeded to the rule; and whether (a disturbing thought) there may have been rival amirs on the island, minting coins independently and contemporaneously. Or, even more upsetting, might some of these individuals have come from beyond Crete, from Sicily, for example?" And in D.O. Papers, 18 (p. 15), I repeated these warnings and reservations and added, with reference to the possibilty of rival amirs: "We have a hint in a few lines toward the end of Theodosios Diakonos' account of the reconquest that this may have been the case: in the last days of the siege of Khandaq, 'Cretans, not rulers of the land but inhabitants of crags and caves, descended from the mountains.' Their leader was Karamountes (ό Καραμούντης), 'the old man steeped in slaughter, the young dragon of olden days, the one who purposed through all his life to hold the Cretans in rein.'"

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Fig. 1

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Fig. 2

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Fig. 3

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Fig. 4

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Fig. 5

In Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1961–62 (p. 72), I had the temerity to suggest approximate dates for each of the individuals named on the coins. This was reckless enough, but inexcusable was an error which I committed in that table by assigning dates ca. A.D. 855–880 to Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar, when we know that he struck dinars in 884–5, 888–9 and 894–5!6 Now, after long deliberation and many frustrating attempts to fix approximate dates for each of the copper issues in the corpus on the basis of my tentative genealogical table, I have come to the conclusion that it would, in the present state of our knowledge, be wiser not to try to assign precise or even approximate dates to many of the issues but rather to present a simple, purely numismatic, classification of the coins, together with a brief commentary on their characteristics and such chronological indications as are selfevident. Some of the issues can of course be exactly or approximately dated. These are:

Class A, fulūs of 'Umar b. 'Īsâ: between 232 H./A.D. 847 and 247 H./A.D. 861. The terminal date is provided by the name of the Caliph.

Classes B and C, dinars of Shu'ayb: 271 H./A.D. 884–5.

Class D, dinar of Shu'ayb: 275 H./A.D. 888–9.

Class E, dinars of Shu'ayb: 281 H./A.D. 894–5.

Classes F, G, H, I and J, fulūs of Shu'ayb: between ca. 250 H./A.D. 864 and ca. 281 H./A.D. 895.

Class K, fulūs of Shu'ayb and 'Umar: between ca. 250 H./A.D. 864 and ca. 281 H./A.D. 895. One is tempted to separate these chronologically from Classes F–J and to give them a later date on the grounds that only after a certain interval did Shu'ayb put the name of his heir on the obverse; but this is speculative.

Class R, dirhem of Aḥmad b. 'Umar: 326 H./A.D. 937–8.

Class S, dinar of 'Ali b. Aḥmad: 337 (?) H./A.D. 948–9.

Class T, dinar of 'Ali b. Aḥmad: 340 (?) H./A.D. 951–2.

Class U, dinar of 'Abd al-'Azīz b. Shu'ayb: 343 H./A.D. 954–5.

Class V, dirhem of 'Abd al-'Azīz b. Shu'ayb: 350 H./A.D. 961.

As for Classes L, M, N, O and P, fulūs of Muḥammad b. Shu'ayb, Yūsuf (b.?) 'Umar, Shu'ayb (b.?) Aḥmad, 'Ali b. Aḥmad (and 'Ali [b.?] Aḥmad), although they may have followed in roughly the chronological order suggested by my proposed genealogical table, I would now for the time being group them all between approximately 281 H./A.D. 895 and about 330 H./A.D. 941–2, a date which might fall within the reign of 'Ali b. Aḥmad of the dinars of 337 (?) and 340 (?) H. All these coppers have in common with most of Shu'ayb's and Shu'ayb/'Umar's coins (Classes F–K) the curious distribution of the words of the declaration of faith in the obverse area, with the word lā' at the end of the second line, and a quite similar fabric. They cannot be too far removed in date from Classes F–K. Finally, the fulūs of Class Q, 'Ali b. Yūsuf, are quite distinctive in appearance, with somewhat more careful epigraphy and with the full name (son and father) on one side of the coin; I would place them toward the end of the dynasty, i.e., somewhere between ca. 330 H./A.D. 941–2 and the accession of 'Abd al-'Azīz (no later than 343 H./A.D. 954–5). 'Abd al-'Azīz was said to have been an old man when he was captured, but perhaps he did not succeed to the rule until he was already advanced in age.

I would hesitate to assign even an approximate date to the two very problematical coins in Class W. They appear to be sui generis. They might, along with the single coin in Class X, more properly be classified among the unidentifiable coins of Class Y, but I have given them a separate entry because of the great interest they would have if the mint name of Iqrītish is indeed present.

One final general observation may be made about the names on the coins. One might hope that the choice of obverse or reverse for the position of the names might give some clue as to who was the ruler and who the heir designate or deputy, or who the father and who the son (where ibn is, or seems to be, lacking). But I fear that this is not the case: no clear pattern emerges. One can only say that the reverse appears to be the preferred position for the principal name. Here is a summary of the evidence:

Class Obverse Reverse
A Full name of ruler Name of Caliph
B–E "Immobilized"? name Name of Caliph and ruler
F–J No name Name of ruler
K Name Name
L X, son of Y
M Name Name
N Name Name
O Y X, son of
P (son of?) Y X
Q No name X, son of Y
R Y X, (son of?)
S Y Name of Caliph and X, son of
T (Y?) (Name of Caliph and X, son of?)
U son of Y Name of Caliph and X
V son of Y Name of Caliph and X

End Notes

2
The definitive history of the Arab occupation of Crete, based on all the Arabic and Greek written sources and on the archaeological evidence, has yet to be written. This numismatic corpus is offered as a contribution toward such a history. The basic bibliography relating to the primary written source material and the commentary by modern historians will be found in the footnotes in Miles, D. O. Papers, 18, pp. 10–17, especially footnotes 45 and 50. To the references given there may be added: Aly Mohamed Fahmy, Muslim Sea-Power in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Seventh to the Tenth Century A.D. — Studies in Naval Organization, Tipografia Don Bosco (Alexandria, 1950); Farhat Dachraoui, "La Crète dans le conflit entre Byzance et al-Mu'izz," Les Cahiers de Tunisie, 1959, pp. 307–318; Hélène Ahrweiler, Byzance et la Mer (Paris, 1966). S. M. Imamuddin's "Cordovan Muslim Rule in Iqritish (Crete)," in Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, 1960, pp. 297–312, adds nothing to the record.
3
Al-Ḥimyari: see E. Lévi-Provengal, "Une description arabe inédite de la Créte," Studi orientalistici in onore di Giorgio Levi Della Vida, II (Rome, 1956), p. 54.
4
See figs. 5, 6 and 7 in Miles, "Genealogy," and figs. A, B, C and D in Miles, D. O. Papers, 18.
5
Fig. 7 in the former article, fig. E in the latter. Neither of these tables takes into consideration the newly discovered copper coin of 'Umar b. 'Īsâ (?) or the problematical dinar of 340 H.
6
My attention was first drawn to this unhappy contradiction in dates by Mrs. Alice-Mary Talbot. The error doubtless had its origin in my attempt to provide enough years in the latter part of the chronology to account for all the names preserved on the coins in dynastic succession.

COLLECTIONS

The coins included in the corpus are to be found in the following collections, arranged alphabetically according to the cities or places in which the collections are (or were, as of the latest information available) located:

  • Alexandria, Egypt, Greek Gymnasium.
  • Allentown, Pennsylvania, collection of Jesse A. Yockers.
  • Arkadi Monastery, Rethymnon nome, Crete.
  • Athens, Greece, Agora Excavations.
  • Athens, Greece, National Museum.
  • Athens, Greece, antique dealer.
  • Berlin, Germany, Staatliche Museen.
  • Cairo, Egypt, National Library.
  • Copenhagen, Denmark, Royal Coin Cabinet.
  • Corinth, Greece, American Excavations.
  • Herakleion, Crete, Archaeological Museum.
  • Herakleion, Crete, Historical Museum.
  • Herakleion, Crete, collection of Nikolaos Metaxas.
  • Herakleion, Crete, private collection.
  • Istanbul, Turkey, Archaeological Museum.
  • Istanbul, Turkey, Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi.
  • Istanbul, Turkey, private collection.
  • Khamalevri, Rethymnon nome, Crete, village school.
  • Khanya, Crete, Archaeological Museum.
  • Leningrad, U.S.S.R., Hermitage Museum.
  • London, England, British Museum.
  • London, Collection of Richard Falkiner.
  • Madrid, Spain, Museo Arqueológico Nacional.
  • Madrid, Spain, Vives collection.
  • Milan, Italy, Museo Stefano de Mainoni.
  • New York, N.Y., American Numismatic Society.
  • Oxford, England, Ashmolean Museum.
  • Padova, Italy, Museo Cufico Naniano.
  • Paris, France, Cabinet des Médailles.
  • Rethymnon, Crete, Museum.
  • Rome, Italy, collection of Dr. Paul Balog.
  • Stockholm, Sweden, Royal Coin Cabinet.
  • Viannos, Herakleion nome, Crete, Gymnasium.
  • Washington, D.C., collection of David G. Briggs.
  • Yannoudi, Rethymnon nome, Crete, collection of Gen. Youloundas.
  • Location unknown (Soret collection).
  • Location unknown (Fraehn manuscript reference).

It should be noted that I have examined at first hand or by means of photographs all the specimens except those in Berlin, the National Library in Cairo, the private and bank collections in Istanbul, Leningrad, the Vives collection in Madrid, Milan, Padua and, obviously, "location unknown." The occasions when I examined the coins at various localities in Crete and in several European museums are noted in the corpus.7 Those from the Agora Excavations I have handled several times. The specimens from the Corinth Excavations I found and photographed after a long search through all the excavation coins there during several visits in 1958 and 1960.

Every effort has been made to trace and record the original provenances of the specimens in the corpus, but in many cases the information has not been recoverable. As might be expected, Crete is the provenance of the largest number of coins: 196 specimens in all. The next largest number (aside from the 43 of unknown provenance) is from mainland Greece, 15 in all, of which 11 specimens are from the scientifically controlled excavations in the Athenian Agora and Corinth. In my paper read at the International Numismatic Congress in Rome in 1961 I offered a few suggestions with regard to the significance of the distribution of coins of the Amirs found on Greek soil, and the relevant paragraphs are perhaps worth repeating here.8

The finds both on the mainland and on the island itself are of very real interest. The large number of specimens found in Crete—large, that is, in proportion to the total of this class known—constitutes eloquent confirmation of John Walker's attribution of these coins to the Amirs of Crete .... As for the specimens found in the excavations of the Athenian Agora and the others of Athenian provenance, there are several possible explanations. I am tempted to connect their presence with the remarkable Arab mosque inscription, fragments of which were found in and near the Agora. I cannot at this time go into the many problems raised by this inscription and must refer those interested to my article on the subject in Hesperia .9 The exact, or even approximate, date of this inscription is uncertain; it may be 10th century, it may be 11th. As for the Cretan coins of Athenian provenance, several of them are certainly 9th century and two of them are probably 10th. At all events, we have here additional evidence of the probable presence of Arabs in Athens in the 9th or 10th century, in what capacity we are not certain, whether piratical, warlike, captive, trading or transient. I say "probable" presence, because we cannot of course exclude the possibility that the coins were brought back from Crete by Greek merchants or liberated prisoners from one of the frequent Arab raids on Greek soil. It has incidentally been a great disappointment to me that I have been unable to find any Arab coins on the island of Aegina (not far removed from Athens), where we know that Arabs—almost certainly from Crete—descended frequently early in the 9th century and were in occupation for several years toward the very end of that century.10

The evidence of some connection between the Cretan Arabs and Corinth is even more impressive than that for Athens and raises equally if not more intriguing questions. Some of the coins are almost certainly of the 9th century; and as for 'Ali b. Yūsuf and 'Ali b. Aḥmad, I am not yet prepared to assign them dates, but they probably lived in the 10th century (before 961).11 What this connection may have been is by no means certain. We have written documentation for Arab raiding incursions in the Corinth area about 879;12 and even as early as 805 or 807, before the definitive Arab occupation of Crete, Byzantine troops stationed in Corinth may have been involved—although perhaps not as actively as St. Andrew—in the defense of Patras against Slavs who had called upon the Arabs to assist them in their attack.13 While a temporary Arab occupation of Corinth is by no means a possibility to be excluded, we should recall that it was in the reign of Theophilus (829–842) that the Byzantine numismatic evidence in the excavations begins again to be more plentiful, and I am prepared to believe that the coins of the Amirs at Corinth are more probably tokens of a trade relationship between the Byzantine city and Arab Crete than traces of warlike activity on the site. As I have pointed out on other occasions,14 I am of the opinion that we must revise the traditional point of view with respect to the Arabs of Crete, that they were exclusively barbarian pirates, and that we should recognize the possibility that even in the midst of their piratical raids on the islands and the mainland they may have been at least intermediaries in the exchange of commodities and culture. At all events, the presence of these coins at various spots in Corinth is, I think, an interesting bit of fresh and authentic documentation in the obscure mediaeval history of the city; in other words, primary source material which should not be neglected and which is unlikely to be supplemented or corroborated by contemporary written authority.

End Notes

7
I trust the more serious-minded readers of this monograph will condone a few unscholarly notes recounting the circumstances in which I found and recorded some of the specimens. If such readers should find these anecdotes frivolous they can ignore them. Others, I hope, may derive some vicarious pleasure from sharing with me the recollection of incidents which have brightened my path in the long pursuit of the coinage of the obscure and elusive dynasty of the Amirs of Crete. May I take this opportunity to acknowledge with much appreciation my debt to the American Philosophical Society, the American Council of Learned Societies, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and the American Numismatic Society, all of which institutions or organizations have helped me from time to time since 1956 with grants and fellowships or with other facilities in my study of Arab-Byzantine relations in the Aegean area.
8
Miles, "Circulation of Islamic Coinage," pp. 494–495.
9
George C. Miles, Hesperia 1956, pp. 329–344.
10
See, for example, the authorities quoted by Kenneth M. Setton, in AJA, 58 (1954). P· 314·
11
Now see above, p. 7.
12
References in Setton, AJA, 58 (1954), P· 312; see also J. H. Finley Jr., "Corinth in the Middle Ages," Speculum, VII (1932), p. 481.
13
Finley, Speculum, VII (1932), p. 480; Setton, AJA, 58 (1954), p. 311 · For the account of St. Andrew's intervention in the siege of Patras, see K. M. Setton, "The Bulgars in the Balkans and the Occupation of Corinth in the Seventh Century," Speculum, XXV (1950), P· 514.
14
E.g., in Κρητικὰ Κρονικά, 1956, p. 367.

PROVENANCES

Locality 15 image CU Total
Crete 197
Afrati (Herakleion nome) Άϕρατί 1
Ag. Ioannis (Herakleion nome) Άγιος Ίωάννης 2
Ambelouzos (Herakleion nome) Άμπελούζος 1
Arkadi Monastery, SW of (Rethymnon nome) Άρκάδι 1
Arkhanai (Herakleion nome) Άρχάναι 3
Avdou (Herakleion nome) Άβδοῦ 1
Bendevi Kamara (Herakleion nome) Μπενδεβί Καμάρα 1
Dafnes (Herakleion nome) Δαϕνές 1
Eleutherna (Rethymnon nome) Έλεύθερνα 1
Ellenika Knosou (Herakleion nome) Έλληνικὰ Κνωσοῦ 1
Garypa Pediados (Herakleion nome) Γαρύπα Πεδιάδος 1
Gergeri (Herakleion nome) Γέργερη 1
Gortyna or Gortys (Herakleion nome) Γόρτυνα 2
Herakleion Ήράκλειον 60
Herakleion district (the city or environs) 14
Herakleion airport 1
Herakleion nome, presumably 2
Locality image CU Total
Inion (Herakleion nome) Ἴνιον 1
Kalo Khorio Pediados (Herakleion nome) Καλὸ Χωριὸ Πεδιάδος 1
Kastelli Pediados (Herakleion nome) Καστέλλι Πεδιάδος 1
Khamalevri (Rethymnon nome) Χαμαλεῦρι 1
Khanya nome, presumably Χανιά 3
Khersonesos (Herakleion nome) Χερσόνησος 1
Khoustouliana (Herakleion nome) Χουστουλιανά 1
Knosos (Herakleion nome) Κνωσός 4
Knosos, river by (Herakleion nome) 2
Kounavoi Pediados (Herakleion nome) Κουνάβοι Πεδιάδος 3
Mastampas or Mastaba (Herakleion nome) Μασταμπάς 1
Melidokhori (Herakleion nome) Μελιδοχώρι 3
Mesa Katsabas (Herakleion nome) Μέσα Κατσαμπάς 1
Mesara plain (Herakleion nome) Μεσαρά 1
Meseleroi (Lasithi nome) Μεσελέροι 1
Metropolis (Herakleion nome) Μητρόπολης 4
Pakio (Rethymnon nome) Πακιό 1
Phaistos or Ag. Triada (Herakleion nome) Φαιστός-Άγία Τριάδα 6
Phoinikia (Herakleion nome) Φοινικιά 3
Plora (Herakleion nome) Πλώρα 1
Rethymnon nome, presumably Ρέθυμνον 7
Rotasi (Herakleion nome) Ροτάσι 1
Tylisos (Herakleion nome) Τύλισος 1
Vyzari (Rethymnon nome) Βυζάρι 2
Xyda Pediados (Herakleion nome) Ξιδᾶ 2
Yannoudi (Rethymnon nome) Γιαννοῦδι 1
Crete, precise locality unknown 43
Crete, almost certainly 1 5
Probably Crete or Greek mainland 1 1
Greek Mainland 15
Athenian Agora 3
Corinth Excavations 8
Macedonia (?) 1
Greece, precise locality unknown 3
Probably Anatolian Turkey 1 1
Probably Egypt 1 2 3
Egypt or Greek mainland 1 1
Egypt or Syria 2 2
Syria or Palestine 1 1
Sweden, probably Gotland 1 1
Probably Spain 3 3
Unknown 5 1 37 43
TOTAL 10 2 256 268
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End Notes

15
The transliteration of Greek place names always presents a problem. A number of inconsistencies will be found in the system, or lack of system, which I have adopted, but the general objective has been to present a reasonably acceptable compromise between the Greek spelling and present-day pronunciation.

METROLOGY

Little can be said about the metrology of the coinage. The recorded weights of Shu'ayb's dinars and of the dinar of 'Abd al-'Azīz b. Shu'ayb approach the classical Arab standard: 4.00, 4.14 (2), 4.20 and 4.25 grams. The one recorded weight of 'Ali b. Aḥmad is light (3.85 grams). The two dirhems are pierced and badly clipped; their weights have no significance. The weights of relatively few of the copper fulūs are recorded. For Arab coppers, and especially in their worn and usually corroded condition, they are surprisingly consistent in weight. The coins of classes G, H and I are light (three weigh less than a gram and six others less than 2 grams), but the majority of the recorded weights of the other fulūs fall between 2.17 and 2.99 grams; only three weigh less than 2 grams, and five more than 3 grams, the heaviest being 3.53 grams.


THE CORPUS

Bibliography

In addition to the articles dealing specifically or incidentally with the coins of the Amirs of Crete cited on pp. vii–viii, above, the following catalogues are referred to by abbreviated title in the corpus and commentary:

BMC IX — Stanley Lane-Poole, Catalogue of Oriental Coins in the British Museum, Vol. IX, Additions to the Oriental Collection, 1876–1888, Part I (London, 1889).
Codera, Tratado — F. Codera y Zaidín, Tratado de numismática arábigo-española (Madrid, 1879).
Ghālib — Ismā'īl Ghālib, Meskūkāt-i qadīmeh-yi islāmīyah qatalōghi, I (Constantinople, 1312 H.).
Khedivial Library — Stanley Lane-Poole, Catalogue of the Collection of Arabic Coins Preserved in the Khedivial Library at Cairo (London, 1897).
Lavoix — H. Lavoix, Catalogue des monnaies musulmanes de la Bibliothèque Nationale, I (Paris, 1887).
Mainoni — G. Schiepati, Descrizione di alcune monete cufiche del Museo di Stefano de Mainoni (Milan, 1820).
Markov — A. Markov, Inventarnii Katalog musulmanskikh Monet (St. Petersburg, 1896).
Miles, Umayyads of Spain — George C. Miles, The Coinage of the Umayyads of Spain (New York, 1950).
Museo Cufico Naniano — Simone Assemani, Museo Cufico Naniano (Padova, 1787).
Nützel — H. Nützel, Katalog der orientalischen Münzen, I (Berlin, 1898).
Østrup — J. Østrup, Catalogue des monnaies arabes et turques du Cabinet Royal des Médailles du Musée National de Copenhague (Copenhagen, 1938).
Rogers, NC 1883 — E. T. Rogers Bey, "Catalogue of the collection of Mohammadan coins belonging to E. T. Rogers Bey," Numismatic Chronicle, 1883, pp. 202–260.
Soret, RNB 1854 — F. Soret, "Lettre à M. Sawelief," Revue de la Numismatique Belge, 1854, PP. 273–299, 377–416.
Tiesenhausen — W. Tiesenhausen, Moneti vostochnago khalifata (St. Petersburg, 1873).
Vives, Dinastías — Antonio Vives y Escudero, Monedas de las dinastías arábigo-españolas (Madrid, 1893).

Class A
Abū-Ḥafṣ 'Umar b. 'Isâ

Fals

Obverse

لااله الا

الله وحده

لا شريك له

[sic] عمر بن عسى

Beaded border.

Reverse

محمد

رسول الله

المتوكل

[sic] على الله

Traces of beaded border.

1. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ 17 mm. ( Plate I, 1)

Provenance: Mesa Katsabas, Crete.

2. ANS. Æ 18 mm., 2.52 gr. ( Plate I, 2)

Provenance: Crete.

No. 2, the specimen in the American Numismatic Society and the less well preserved, was the first of these two coins to be discovered. It was bought from an antique dealer in Herakleion in 1965 by Mr. Jere L. Bacharach and was presented by him to the museum (accession no. 66.70). Only the ' of 'Umar is entirely clear, and, as on no. 1, 'Isâ appears to be defectively spelled, lacking one tooth. The first two lines of the reverse are badly struck; al-Mutawakkil is quite clear, but the last line is very obscure. Despite the uncertainties in the reading of the name on the obverse I concluded that this, at the time unique, coin could be attributed to the conqueror of the island, abū-Ḥafṣ 'Umar b. 'Isâ. Specimen no. 1, examined in May 1967, provided welcome confirmation of the readings of the names on obverse and reverse and assured the correctness of the attribution. The name on the reverse is that of the 'Abbāsid Caliph al-Mutawakkil 'alâ'llāh, who reigned from 232 to 247 H./A.D. 847–861. Therefore the issue must date not earlier than 232/847, about twenty years after the conquest, and not later than 247/861, some ten years after a date when, according to Tabari, abū-Ḥafṣ was still alive. Both A. Bykov and I16 have argued against attributing any coins to the conqueror on the grounds that in his time the Arabs in Crete would have lacked the necessary technicians and equipment to issue coins, but it is now apparent that this argument is no longer valid. On the other hand these coins may have been struck for 'Umar outside of Crete, perhaps in Egypt or in Spain.

Mesa Katsabas (Μέσα Κατσαμπάς), the provenance of no. 1, is a suburb of Herakleion situated just south of the coastal road which leads eastward from the city. The exact provenance of no. 2 cannot be determined but the coin was almost certainly found in Crete.

Class B
Shu'ayb b. abi-Ḥafṣ 'Umar

Dinar, 271 H. (type a)

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده

لا شريك له

جعفر

Reverse

لله

محمد

رسول

الله

المعتمد على الله

شعيب

Inner margin:

[sic] بسم الله ضرب هذا الدرهم سنة احد

[abbreviated?] وسبعين وماتين

Outer margin: Qur'ān XXX, 3–4.

Margin: Qur'ān IX, 33.

Area enclosed by linear border; margin enclosed by linear border.

1. British Museum, London. Ꜹ 21 mm., 4.14 gr. ( Plate I, 3)

Provenance: almost certainly Crete.

This specimen was published by Walker, NC 1953, p. 126, no. 1 (also illustrated in Miles, "Genealogy," fig. 1). It came from the collection of Col. J. S. Cameron, bequeathed to the British Museum in 1947 (6.6.1947, 1585). As Walker observed, Col. Cameron's coins were collected by him almost exclusively in Crete (see G. K. Jenkins, "The Cameron Collection of Cretan Coins," NC 1949, p. 36). Both obverse and reverse dies are different from those of type b, below. Walker gave the weight as 4.13 gr., but Mr. Lowick of the British Museum has informed me that 4.14 gr. is the correct weight.

This dinar, dated 271 H./A.D. 884–5, bears three names: al-Mu'tamid 'alâ'llāh, Ja'far and Shu'ayb. There is no difficulty about identifying the first and third names, those of the 'Abbāsid Caliph (256–279 H./A.D. 870–892) to whom Shu'ayb, the Amir of Crete, theoretically owed allegiance. The name of Ja'far poses a problem. Walker quite logically assumed17 that this represents the name of the Caliph's son who, according to the chronicles, had been named heir apparent and received the honorific title of al-Mufawwiḍ ilâ'llāh in 261 H./A.D. 875,18 and whose name appears on many coins of al-Mu'tamid. Actually the name Ja'far occurs sporadically on both dinars and dirhems at a number of mints from as early as 256 H. down to 266 H.;19 and the honorific al-Mufawwiḍ appears on certain coins for the first time in 260 and continues (with one or two years not represented in the preserved corpus) down to 278 H.20 In 279 H./A.D. 892 al-Mu'tadid, destined to become the next Caliph in the same year, was designated heir apparent in place of Ja'far al-Mufawwid.21 For us, in our consideration of the significance of the name Ja'far on Shu'ayb's dinar of 271 (and those of 275 and 281), the important fact is that at other mints in the 'Abbāsid realm Ja'far's name ceases to appear on the coins in 266 (or perhaps 264). One wonders whether Walker's assumption that the name Ja'far on Shu'ayb's dinars represents the Caliph's son is correct. Crete's isolation from the rest of the 'Abbāsid empire might explain the anomaly of the retention of the name of the deceased Caliph on the issue of 281 (see below, Class E), but the gap of five (or perhaps seven) years between the last occurrence of the name Ja'far elsewhere and its appearance in Crete seems entirely too great for us to accept the identification without question. Might not the name here rather be that of Shu'ayb's own heir designate? And might not Ja'far be the given name of either Babdel (abū- 'Abdullāh) or of Zerkunis of the Byzantine chronicles? But if Ja'far is the name of a Cretan Arab why does it not appear on any of the copper coins? The problem remains unsolved.

At all events the date 271, along with the dates 275 and 281, give us a few firm chronological data for the period of Shu'ayb's rule. Unfortunately these dates do not tally too well with the indications in the Byzantine chronicles, according to which Saipis ruled during the reign of Michael III, 842–867, and was perhaps still alive in 875; while "Babdel" was a contemporary of Leo VI the Wise, 886–912. Combining the numismatic and the written indications we must assume that Shu'ayb's rule lasted for about 50 years, a very long reign for a prince who, we gather, "lived dangerously."

End Notes

16
Bykov, p. 66; Miles, "Genealogy," p. 71.
17
Walker, NC 1953, p. 127.
18
Ṭabari, III, p. 1890.
19
I have reviewed the principal relevant catalogues and the collection of the American Numismatic Society and I find that the name of Ja'far appears on either dinars or dirhems in 256–266 H. (with the exception of 262 and 265, but these are probably simply dates which have not been preserved) at the following mints: Armīnīyah, Adharbayjān, al-Ahwāz, al-Basrah, Ḥulwān, Armīnīyah, Samarra, Fāris, al-Kūfah, Madīnat al-Salām, Miṣr, al-Mawṣil, Niṣībīn and Wāsiṣ. The latest date, 266, is represented by only one specimen of al-Ahwāz (C. J. Tomberg, Numi Cufici [Uppsala, 1848] no. 402 = Tiesenhausen, no. 2032); this might be an error in description, in which case the latest date would be 264.
20
At the mints of Armīnīyah, Badghīs, al-Baṣrah, Armīnīyah, Samarra, Fāris, Miṣr, al-Mawṣil, Niṣībīn, and mint unnamed.
21
Tabari, III, p. 2131. Walker, NC 1953, p. 127 (probably following EI1, s.v. al-Mu'tamid) gives the date, mistakenly, as 278.

Class C
Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar

Dinar, 271 H. (type b)

Obverse: as type a, but inner margin:

بسم الله ضرب هذا الدينار سنة احد

[sic] وسبعين وملسن

Outer margin enclosed by linear border.

Reverse:

محمد

رسول الله

المعتمد على الله

شعيب

Margin and borders as on type a.

1. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Ꜹ 21 mm., 4.20gr. ( Plate I, 4) Provenance: unknown.

This specimen was purchased in 1964 from Spink and Son, Ltd. in London, who acquired it from Mr. Philip Thorburn, who in turn had purchased it from the firm of B. A. Seaby, Ltd. Despite the friendly cooperation of Miss Helen Mitchell at the Ashmolean and of Mr. Albert Baldwin and the Messrs Seaby, I have not been able to trace the pedigree of the coin farther back.

Class C is simply a variety of Class B with a slight difference in the writing of the date formula and a different arrangement of Muhammad rasūl Allāh on the reverse.

Class D
Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar

Dinar, 275 H.

Details lacking except no mint name, جعفر beneath obverse area, andالمعتمد على الله beneath reverse area.

شعيب

1. National Library, Cairo. Ꜹ 4.00 gr.

Provenance: Egypt or Syria?

This dinar, originally in the collection of E. T. Rogers, was first listed in his "Catalogue of the Collection of Mohammadan coins Belonging to E. T. Rogers Bey" in NC 1883, p. 230, no. 139. Rogers' collection was purchased by the Egyptian Government from the executors of his estate in November 1884, and thereupon was housed in the Khedivial Library, now the National Library, in Cairo. Stanley Lane-Poole listed the specimen under the 'Abbāsid Caliphs in Khedivial Library, p. 84, no. 618 B (cf. Walker, NC 1953, p. 127, no. 2). The coin was doubtless acquired by Rogers either in Syria or Egypt, in both of which countries he served.22

This unique dinar of 275 H., never illustrated or fully described, evidently is of the same general type as Class B and C. See the commentary on Class B for relevant observations. I have made several efforts to see the coin. In 1954 I was given permission to examine the coins in the National Library, but it was never possible to assemble at one time the three functionaries with different keys required to open the cabinets.

Class E
Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar

Dinar, 281 H.

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده

لا شريك له

جعفر

Reverse

لله

محمد

رسول

الله

المعتمد على الله

شعيب

Inner margin:

بسم الله ضرب هذا الدينار سنة

ثمانين وماءتين [ orاحدى [احدا

(Berlin) احدا-و مائتان

(Balog) احدى - ومائتين

Outer margin: Qur'ān XXX, 3–4.

Area enclosed by linear border; margin enclosed by linear border.

Margin: Qur'ān IX, 33.

Borders as obverse.

1. Münzkabinett, Staatliche Museen, Berlin. Ꜹ, 23 mm., 4.25 gr. ( Plate I, 5)

Provenance: unknown.

Published by Nützel, I, no. 1577 (cf. Walker, NC 1953, p. 127, no. 3). The weight was incorrectly given as 4.16 gr. in Nutzel's catalogue. I am informed by Mme Jarmila Štěpková that the Berlin accession record, dated 8 May, 1883, bears the notation "gekauft vom Herrn Asad Kenan Bey."

2. National Library, Cairo. Ꜹ 3.90 gr. (pierced).

Provenance: Egypt or Syria?

Like the dinar of 275 H.(no. 1 of Class D, above) this dinar was originally in the collection of E. T. Rogers (NC 1883, p. 231, no. 140; Khedivial Library, p. 84, no. 618C; cf. Walker, NC 1953, p. 127, no. 4). In Rogers' publication no details are given other than the fact that the coin bears the name of al-Mu'tamid; almost certainly his notation "Like 138" is an error for "Like 139," the dinar of 275 H. immediately preceding (no. 138 is a dinar of Armīnīyah with the names of al-Mufawwiḍ and Ahmad b. al-Muwaffaq). Lane-Poole wrote, "Like preceding: date posthumous" (the preceding being no. 618B, the dinar of 275 H.), and transcribed the date: سنة احدى وثمنين ومائتين

3. Collection of Dr. Paul Balog, Rome. Ꜹ 22 mm., 4.14 gr. ( Plate I, 6)

Provenance: Egypt.

Acquired by Dr. Balog in Egypt before 1954. Illustrated in Miles, D.O.Papers, 18, fig. 3 (enlarged). The dies of both obverse and reverse differ slightly from those of the Berlin specimen. Dr. Balog has informed me that no specific information is recoverable with respect to provenance, but that he believes that the coin was found in the vicinity of Cairo or in Upper Egypt.

These three dinars dated 281 H./A.D. 894–5, struck from at least two sets of dies, are especially remarkable because of the retention of the name of the Caliph al-Mu'tamid, who had died on 20 Rajab 279 H./A.D. 16 October 892. Nützel did not remark on the anomaly, but Lane-Poole, and of course Walker, did. The latter suggested, as noted above in the commentary on Class B, that the explanation was to be found in the isolation of Crete, implying that word of the death of al-Mu'tamid and of the accession of al-Mu'taḍid had not reached the island. Seventeen months seems rather too long a time for the news to travel to Crete, and it would appear to me that the die engraver was simply copying the style and legends (except for the date) of the issue of 271. The allegiance to the 'Abbāsid Caliph was after all purely nominal. There is no question of a misreading of the Caliph's name: it is quite clearly al-Mu'tamid on both Dr. Balog's and the Berlin specimens. The problem about the occurrence of the name Ja'far, if it signifies al-Mu'tamid's son, two years after he had ceased to be heir apparent and some 15 years after it last appears on dinars in other parts of the Caliphate, is essentially the same as that discussed in the commentary on Class B.

(Guy Le Strange in JRAS 1880, p. 544, mentions a dinar of the year 296 which he assigns to the Aghlabids on the basis of the fact that it bears no mint name and has the characteristic tail of the yā' of bi'l-hudâ. The coin, acquired in Persia, is not completely described, but it appears to have Qur'ān IX, 33 in the obverse margin, Ja'far beneath the reverse area, and the date formula in the reverse margin. Known Aghlabid dinars of the year 296 have the name of the Aghlabid. Is it possible that this is a coin of an Amir of Crete?).

End Notes

22
Cf. Khedivial Library, p. vii.

Class F
Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar

Fals

Obverse

لااله الا

الله وحده لا

شريك له

Reverse

محمد

رسول

الله

شعيب

The borders appear to vary. In many cases one cannot tell because of wear, off-flan striking and other obscurities whether there are two or three borders and which are beaded or dotted and which linear. Most commonly there are three borders on the obverse (single linear enclosed by two dotted), and the same, or double dotted, on the reverse.

1. Yockers Collection, Allentown, Pennyslvania. Æ 19 mm., 2.44 gr.

Provenance: unknown.

This specimen, along with other fulūs of the Amirs (Classes G, H and I), was acquired by Mr. Yockers from a coin dealer in New York City in the late 1950's.

2. Greek Gymnasium, Alexandria, Egypt. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Egypt or mainland Greece.

I examined and made a pencil rubbing of this specimen in Alexandria in 1954. While one might assume that it was of Egyptian provenance I have been informed by Mr. Lucas Benachi that the coin possibly had come to the Gymnasium from the Glymenopoulos collection of antiquities, most of which were of Boeotian or other mainland Greek provenance.

3. Numismatic Museum, Athens. Æ 20 mm. (pierced).

Provenance: Melidokhori, Crete.

This specimen, along with another of Class F and one of Class K, was found in or near the village of Melidokhori (Μελιδοχώρι), located at the foot of the acropolis of Kastirioti (Καστιριώτη), due south of Roukani and Kanli Kastelli, in the nome of Herakleion. In January 1966 the three coins were given by villagers who had found them to Mr. Mano Khari and Mr. Miltis Paraskevaidis, the well-known Athenian archaeological reporter. They in turn, as requested by the finders, turned the coins over to the Numismatic Museum in Athens. I am indebted to Mr. Paraskevaidis for information about the provenance (see also his article in Καθημερινή, 13 Feb., 1966), and to Mrs. Mando Caramessini Oeconomides for plaster casts of the coins.

4. Numismatic Museum, Athens. Æ 21 mm.

Provenance: Melidokhori, Crete.

See no. 3, above, for the provenance.

5. Agora Excavations, Athens. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Athenian Agora.

This specimen has been published in Miles, Athenian Agora, p. 20, no. 1; inventory number 2717.1. One of three coins of the Amirs found in the Agora excavations, it has no archaeological context, being a casual surface find in an undetermined area of the excavations.

6. Antique dealer in Odos Pandrosou, Athens. Æ approx. 20 mm.

Provenance: Probably Greek mainland or Crete.

Seen by the writer in November 1958 among a miscellaneous lot of unsorted minor coins. The dealer would not part with it at a reasonable price. It was in very poor condition.

7. Royal Coin Cabinet, Copenhagen. Æ 20 mm., 2.52 gr. ( Plate I, 7)

Provenance: probably Anatolian Turkey.

This is no. 685 of Østrup's catalogue, where it is listed among Umayyad coppers without name of mint, and where no mention is made of the partially preserved name of Shu'ayb. I was able to identify the coin on a visit to the cabinet in Copenhagen in September 1955. Dr. Otto Mørkholm has informed me that the coin was acquired in 1846 from a missionary by the name of Hass, resident in Smyrna.

8. Corinth Excavations. Æ.

Provenance: Corinth, Agora, S.C.

Registered April 30, 1936, no. 1. A very badly worn specimen.

9. Corinth Excavations. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate I, 8)

Provenance: Corinth, Agora, S.E.

Registered May 3, 1935, no. 9.

10. Corinth Excavations. Æ 21 mm.

Provenance: Corinth, market north of temple.

This specimen, badly worn, was registered on June 21, 1929. A card in the field inventory of coins numbered 2140 records the coin as "Old Turkish."

11. Corinth Excavations. Æ.

Provenance: Corinth, Church of St. John Theologos.

A very worn and obscure specimen, but almost certainly of this type, registered April 13, 1935, no. 17.

12–15. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

These four specimens, all badly worn and corroded, were found in 1955 several meters beneath the surface during the course of excavations for the foundations of the Astir Hotel just off Òδὸς 25 Αύγούστου. They were published in Miles, Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1955, pp. 149–151, where they are numbered 1 (almost completely effaced and not illustrated), 3, 4 and 6. The illustrations in that article are enlarged somewhat more than two diameters. According to N. Platon, at that time Director of the Archaeological Museum in Herakleion and Ephor of Antiquities in Crete, the stratum in which the coins were unearthed underlay some Venetian constructions and overlay a probably Roman level. Some post-961 Byzantine coins were found at the same level as the Arab coins.

16–17. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

Two specimens, examined on May 25, 1967. These and other specimens similarly patinated and all badly corroded, are accompanied by a label reading "Έκ τράπεζα." Mr. Stylianos Alexiou and Mr. Manolis Borboudakis are of the opinion that the note signifies that these coins were found in excavating for the foundations of the Bank (Ethniki Trapeza) and Astir Hotel in Herakleion in 1955, but that they were not turned over to the Museum at the same time as nos. 12–15, above, and thus were not brought to my attention when I prepared the brief article for Κρητικὰ Χρονικά later that year. One of the curators in the Museum suggested that "Trapeza" might signify the locality by that name in the Lasithi Valley, but there seems to be no evidence to support this attribution.

18. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

A very obscure specimen found near the church of Ag. Petros (S. Pietro) near the waterfront. I examined the coin during a brief visit to Herakleion in December 1958. It was found sometime after April 1956, when I recorded all the coins of the Amirs at that time in the Museum.

19–20. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

An obscure and largely effaced specimen found east of the harbor sometime between April 1956 and December 1958 (see no. 18).

21. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 21 mm.

Provenance: Phoinikia, Crete.

A worn specimen found in or near the village of Phoinikia (Φοινικιά), about six kilometers southwest of Herakleion, and purchased by the Museum in 1965 (identified from a plaster cast kindly furnished by Mr. Stylianos Alexiou).

22. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 21 mm. ( Plate I, 9)

Provenance: Vyzari, Byzantine basilica.

This specimen was unearthed during the course of excavations in 1958 conducted by K. Kalokyris near Vyzari, located on the western slopes of Mt. Ida in the region of Amari. I examined and photographed the coin at the Archaeological Museum in December 1958. Mention of it, and of another coin of the Amirs (Class O, no. 3, below), is made in Τὸ Έργον τῆς Άρχαιολογικῆς Έταιρείας for 1958 (Athens, 1:959), p. 180, and in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 13 (1959), pp. 31–32 (cf. article in Τὸ Βῆμα, Nov. 20, 1958). The basilica probably dates from the early 9th century and presumably was destroyed at the time of the Arab invasion.

23. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. Provenance: Crete.

A specimen brought to the Museum in December 1956 by a peasant woman. A plaster cast was transmitted to me by Mr. Stylianos Alexiou (January 1957). The exact provenance was not recorded.

24. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 21 mm. ( Plate I, 10)

Provenance: Crete.

This specimen, as well as nos. 25–28, below, was found in April 1956 among unsorted and unidentified coins of all periods in the Museum.23 Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 367, no. 1. Exact provenance unrecorded.

25. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 21 mm. ( Plate I, 11)

Provenance: Crete.

See no. 24. Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 367, no. 2.

26. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

A very badly worn and obscure specimen. See no. 24. Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 367, no. 3.

27. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate I, 12)

Provenance: Crete.

See no. 24. Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 368, no. 4.

28. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 18 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

See no. 24. Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 368, no. 5.

29. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Arkhanai, Crete.

This well preserved specimen, oxidized when found and subsequently cleaned at the Museum in Herakleion, was found in 1964 on the surface of the palace site at Arkhanai (Άρχάναι), south of Knosos, now being excavated by Ioannis Sakellarakis, Assistant Curator at the Herakleion Museum. Preliminary reports on the remarkable excavations at and near Arkhanai have appeared in The Illustrated London News, March 26, 1966, pp. 32–33; Archaeology, Vol. 20, No. 4 (Oct. 1967), pp. 276–281; and Άρχαιολογικὸν Δελτίον, Vol. 20 (1965), pp. 557–558; Vol. 21 (1966), pp. 411–414. I am grateful to Mr. Sakellarakis for bringing the specimen to my attention and for permitting me to photograph it on April 18, 1966.

30. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Phoinikia, Crete.

A specimen brought to the Museum sometime between 1961 and 1966 and examined on April 18, 1966.

31. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Phaistos or Ag. Triada, Crete.

A specimen in a lot of miscellaneous surface finds of all periods from Phaistos or Ag. Triada, examined at the Museum on April 18, 1966.

32–34. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Phaistos or Ag. Triada, Crete.

Three specimens examined on May 25, 1967.

35. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Inion (Ini), Crete.

This specimen was brought to the Museum in November, 1956, but it did not come to my attention during my visits in 1958 and 1961. I examined it on April 18, 1966. The village of Inion (Ίνιον) is located about eight kilometers south of Arkalokhori in Herakleion nome.

36–39. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Crete.

Four specimens examined on May 25, 1967. Exact provenance unrecorded.

40–41. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Metropolis, Crete.

Two specimens found on the football field at Metropolis (Μητρόπολις) Mesara plain, and brought to the Museum in 1967; examined February 18, 1970.

42. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Dafnes, Crete.

A specimen brought to the Museum sometime between June 1967 and February 1970; examined February 18, 1970. Dafnes (Δαϕνές) lies about 14 kilometers southwest of Herakleion on the main road to the Mesara plain.

43. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm. ( Plate II, 1)

Provenance: Ag. Ioannis, Crete.

This specimen, Museum inventory number 1649, was examined in September 1961. Ag. Ioannis (Άγιος Ίωάννης) is located about midway between Herakleion and Knosos.

44. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Kastelli Pediados, Crete.

A badly worn specimen, probably of this type but possibly of the type with 'Umar beneath the obverse (Class K), Museum inventory number 1833. I examined the coin in September 1961. Kastelli Pediados (Καστέλλι Πεδιάδος) is located in the eastern part of Herakleion nome, west of the Lasithi Valley and just west of the site of ancient Lyttos, about 13 km. due south of Khersonesos.

45. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm.

Provenance: Mastampas, Crete.

Museum inventory number 1832. Examined in September 1961. Mastampas or Mastaba (Μασταμπάς) is a locality about three km. southwest of the center of Herakleion.

46. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate II, 2)

Provenance: Gergeri, Crete.

Museum inventory number 1500. Examined on May 19, 1967. Gergeri (Γέργερη), in Herakelion nome, is a village on the southeast slopes of Mt. Ida, about four km. west of Ag. Barbara.

47. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 18 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

A specimen purchased in Herakleion and deposited at the Museum on May 16, 1967.

48–51. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ 20, 20, 19, 20 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

These four specimens were found among Mr. Metaxas' collection of coins which he kindly permitted me to examine on April 18, 1966.

52–57. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ. ( Plate II, 34)

Provenance: District of Herakleion.

Photographs of these six specimens (nos. I, II, III, VI, X and XI) were communicated to me on August 25, 1966 by the owner. He wrote me that all were found in the district of Herakleion.

58–59. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

Two specimens, photographs of which were sent me by the owner on October 14, 1966.

60. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Ambelouzos, Crete.

A specimen probably of this class (the bottom of the obverse area is obscure), photographs of which (numbered 3 and 4) were sent me by the owner on October 14, 1966. Ambelouzos (Άμπελούζος) is just west of Gortyna.

61. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Plora, Crete.

A specimen probably of this class (the obverse is obscure), photographs of which (numbered 7 and 8) were sent me by the owner on October 14, 1966. Plora (Πλώρα) lies about six kilometers south of Gortyna on the edge of the Mesara plain. The village is situated on the site of the archaic Pyloros (cf. J. D. S. Pendlebury, The Archaeology of Crete [London, 1939], p. 327).

62. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ. ( Plate II, 5)

Provenance: Mesara Plain, Crete.

A relatively well preserved specimen, photographs of which (numbered 11 and 12) were sent me by the owner on October 14, 1966.

63. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Afrati, Crete.

A specimen, photographs of which (numbered 15 and 16) were sent me by the owner on October 14, 1966. Afrati (Άϕρατί) lies about eight km. northwest of Viannos.

64. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ. ( Plate II, 6)

Provenance: Meseleroi, Crete.

A specimen, photographs of which (numbered 17 and 18) were sent me by the owner on October 14, 1966. Meseleroi (Μεσελέροι) lies about eight km. northwest of Ierapetra and about five km. south of the north coast, near the site of the classical Oleros.

65–79. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ 1822 mm. ( Plate II, 712, III, 13)

Provenance: Herakleion.

These 15 specimens, acquired by Mr. Metaxas at various times late in 1966 and in 1967, were examined and photographed by me in May 1967. All are reported to have been found in Herakleion, but it is of course possible that some came from the "district of Herakleion" rather than from the city itself.

80. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakelion. Æ 19 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

A specimen acquired by Mr. Metaxas on May 31, 1967.

81. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakelion. Æ.

Provenance: Xyda, Crete.

A specimen acquired by the owner between June 1967 and February 1970. Xyda (Χιδᾶ), near the ancient site of Lyttos, lies about three km. southeast of Kastelli Pediados.

82. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Bendevi Kamara, Crete.

A specimen acquired by the owner between June 1967 and February 1970. Bendevi Kamara (Μπενδεβì Καμάρα) is a bridge on the road between Herakleion and Knosos.

83–88. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion, Crete.

Six specimens acquired by the owner in April and June, 1968.

89. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion airport, Crete.

A specimen acquired by the owner between June 1967 and February 1970.

90. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: District of Herakleion.

A specimen acquired by the owner between June 1967 and February 1970.

91–92. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Knosos, Crete.

Two specimens acquired by the owner in May 1968.

93–94. Archaeological Museum, Istanbul. Æ 19 mm., 19 mm.

Provenance: unknown.

These two specimens were published by Ismā'īl Ghālib, nos. 291–292. Ghālib believed them to be Umayyad coins and proposed to attribute them to Shu'ayb b. Ḥamīd, a governor during the rule of Yazīd II, 101–105 H. He rejected Lane-Poole's attribution of no. 98, below, to Shu'ayth b. Ḥāzim, remarking that the style was more Umayyad than 'Abbāsid.

95. Archaeological Museum, Istanbul. Æ 21 mm.

Provenance: unknown.

A specimen communicated to me by a pencil rubbing by Mr. Ibrahim Artuk in October 1956.

96. Archaeological Museum, Khanya, Crete. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Crete, presumably Khanya nome.

A specimen found among miscellaneous coins of unrecorded provenance on April 14, 1966.

97. Hermitage Museum, Leningrad. Æ, 19 mm., 2.57 gr. (silver washed). ( Plate III, 4)

Provenance: unknown.

Museum inventory number 3015, published and illustrated by A. Bykov in 1958 (see bibliography, p. vii). I am indebted to Mr. Bykov for the photograph which he sent in December 1956.

98. British Museum, London. Æ 18 mm., 2.83 gr. ( Plate III, 5)

Provenance: Greece.

This specimen was originally published by Lane-Poole (BMC IX, p. 100, no. 156s) and was attributed by him to Shu'ayth b. Ḥāzim, governor of Damascus. Walker republished the coin in NC 1953, p. 128, no. 6, where the reference to Lane-Poole's catalogue number is wrongly given as 156G. The specimen was bought from J. P. Lambros of Athens in 1876. Its original provenance, whether Crete or the mainland of Greece, is unknown.

99–101. British Museum, London. Æ 18mm., 18mm., 18mm., 2.37 gr., 2.31 gr., 2.53 gr. ( Plate III, 68)

Provenance: almost certainly Crete.

These three specimens were acquired in the Cameron bequest in 1947 (6.6.1947, 1588–1590). For the Cameron bequest see Class B, no. 1.

102. Collection of Richard Falkiner, London. Æ 21 mm., 2.10 gr. ( Plate III, 9)

Provenance: unknown.

A photograph of this specimen was kindly sent me by the owner in October 1967.

103. Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid. Æ.

Provenance: probably Spain.

A poorly preserved specimen, the name on the reverse is obscure. I found it in June 1958 among a lot of 100-odd unsorted coppers, mostly of Spanish late 3rd century H. types.

104. ANS. Æ 21 mm., 2.62 gr. ( Plate III, 10)

Provenance: Crete.

A specimen presented to the Museum (53.45) through Mr. Sydney P. Noe by Dr. Giamalakis of Herakleion.

105. ANS. Æ 20 mm., 2.00 gr. ( Plate III, 11)

Provenance: unknown.

This specimen, formerly in the Howland Wood collection, was acquired by Mr. Wood from Thomas L. Elder, the New York City dealer, in December 1907, presumably in the auction of December 19, 1907. There were many miscellaneous lots in this auction, and it is possible that the specimen was in a lot of 100 miscellaneous "Foreign copper and nickel coins" (no. 637), containing coins of "Baroda, Crete, Holland, Columbia, Germany, Austria, Persia, etc.;" but this gives no clue to the original provenance.

106. ANS. Æ 20 mm., 2.74 gr. ( Plate III, 12)

Provenance: unknown.

The gift of an anonymous donor in 1954 (54.236). Unfortunately my interest in the Amirs of Crete did not begin until 1955 and hence no effort was made at the time to record the provenance.

107. ANS. Æ 19 mm., 2.64 gr. ( Plate IV, 1)

Provenance: Greece.

This specimen was presented to the Museum in 1958 (58.206) by Mr. E. S. Sepheriades of Athens. Whether the original provenance was the Greek mainland or Crete itself it is impossible to say.

108. ANS (permanent loan from the University Museum, Philadelphia). Æ 21 mm., 3.46 gr. ( Plate IV, 2)

Provenance: probably Egypt.

This specimen was illustrated in Miles, D.O.Papers, 18, fig. 7, and in Miles, "Genealogy," fig. 2. Presumably it came from the Yacoub Artin Pasha collection, presented to the University Museum in 1902 by Robert C. H. Brock.24 As most of the Artin Pasha collection was formed in Egypt it is reasonable to suppose that Egypt was the provenance of this piece.

109. ANS. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

A specimen presented to the Museum in April, 1966 (ANS 66.190) by Mr. E. S. Sepheriades of Athens. The coin is reliably reported to have come from Crete.

110. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Æ 20 mm., 2.54 gr. (double struck). ( Plate IV, 3)

Provenance: Syria or Palestine.

A gift of Charles Warren, acquired in 1888. A letter from Charles Warren addressed to the Librarian of the Bodleian and dated October 19, 1875, at Waltham Abbey reads in part: "... the cufic coins I presented to the Bodleian Library ... were not found in the excavations at Jerusalem. They were collected by me from the fellahîn and others at my own expense during my stay in Syria and come from all parts of Syria, but principally from Nablous, Gasa and Jaffa. ... The coins in Syria are found on the surface of the ground for the most part after heavy rain or when ploughing." The donor and writer of the foregoing note was undoubtedly Lieut.-General Sir Charles Warren, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., F.R.S., R.E., author of a number of works including Plans, Elevations, Sections, etc., Showing Results of Excavations at Jerusalem, 1867–70 (n.d.); Underground Jerusalem ... with a Narrative of an Expedition through the Jordan Valley ... (London, 1876); The Temple or the Tomb, Giving Further Evidence in Favour of the Authenticity of the Present Site of the Holy Sepulchre ... (London, 1880), etc.

I am indebted to Miss Helen Mitchell for providing me with accession information about this and other specimens in the Ashmolean.

111. Ashmolean MUSEUM, Oxford. Æ 20 mm., 2.25 gr. ( Plate IV, 4)

Provenance: unknown.

This specimen was formerly in the Christ Church collection and was listed as no. 43 in a manuscript handlist prepared by Stanley Lane-Poole and now preserved in the Heberden Coin Room at the Ashmolean. Lane-Poole described the coin as "worn and obliterated" and included it in the category of "Governors' names, Amawi and 'Abbāsi." No provenances are given for any coins in this handlist.

112. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Æ 20 mm., 3.10 gr. ( Plate IV, 5)

Provenance: unknown.

Formerly in the Christ Church collection and listed in Lane-Poole's handlist as no. 45 (see no. 111, above).

113. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Æ 20 mm., 2.44 gr. (very badly worn).

Provenance: unknown.

This specimen was presented in December 1954 by John Walker, late Keeper of the Department of Coins and Medals at the British Museum.

114. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Æ, 2.66 gr.

Provenance: unknown.

Baldwin's, 1966, ex Philip Thorburn collection, ex Glendining.

115–118. Museo Cufico Naniano, Padova (?). Æ 20 mm., 21 mm., 21 mm., 22 mm.

Provenance: unknown.

These four specimens were published and illustrated by line drawings by Assemani, nos. XV, XVI, XVII and XXX (cf. Tiesenhausen, no. 2559). I have not been able to determine the present whereabouts of this collection; evidently it has been dispersed.25

119. Rethymnon Museum, Crete. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate IV, 6)

Provenance: Crete, presumably Rethymnon nome.

I found this specimen among thousands of miscellaneous unsorted coins in the Rethymnon Museum on April 15, 1956. See also no. 120, below, and Class H, no. 9, Class K, no. 56, Class M, no. 10, Class O, no. 9, and Class P, no. 3.

120. Rethymnon Museum, Crete. Æ 19 mm.

Provenance: Crete, presumably Rethymnon nome. See no. 119, above.

121. Gymnasium, Viannos, Crete. Æ.

Provenance: Crete, presumably Herakleion nome.

I found this specimen among a small lot of miscellaneous unsorted coins in the collection of the Gymnasium at Viannos on April 10, 1956. Viannos (Βιάννος) is situated on the lower southern slopes of Mt. Dikte about six km. from the south coast.

122. Collection of David G. Briggs, Washington, D.C. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: District of Herakleion.

A specimen acquired by the owner in 1967 or early 1968.

123. Youloundas collection, Yannoudi (Rethymnon), Crete. Æ 21 mm.

Provenance: vineyard above Yannoudi.

An obscure specimen, much worn, in a small collection of antiquities and coins belonging to Gen. (retired) Georgios S.Youloundas (Γιoυλοῦντας), resident in the village of Yannoudi (Γιαννοῦδι) in the hills a few kilometers southeast of Rethymnon. I examined the coin on April 15, 1956.26

124. Location unknown (Vives Collection, Madrid). Æ.

Provenance: unknown but probably Spain.

This specimen (the name of Shu'ayb followed by a question mark) was published in Vives, Dinastías, no. 341, and was assigned by him to the "rebels" of the late 3rd century H. The ownership of the single specimen of this type in Vives' corpus is indicated on p. 481. At the time of the publication of my Umayyads of Spain, unaware of the existence of coins of the Amirs of Crete, I adopted Vives' attribution and therefore the specimen appears as no. 181(g) in that work. Walker in a review of Umayyads of Spain (NC 1950, p. 176) and again in his article in NC 1953, p. 129, called attention to the misattribution.

125. Location unknown. Æ.

Provenance: unknown.

A specimen listed by Fraehn in a manuscript catalogue, XXXII, fol. 27, recto; see Tiesenhausen, no. 2559.

This class, with the name of Shu'ayb on the reverse and the second ' of the declaration of faith rather clumsily on the second line of the obverse area, is the largest of preserved specimens of the Amirs. The attribution of these coins to Shu'ayb, the son of the conqueror abū-Ḥafṣ, rather than to the putative third Shu'ayb (b.) Aḥmad, would seem almost certain, especially in view of his evidently very long reign. The epigraphy, somewhat primitive for the period, in general resembles that on the undated copper coins of Spain attributed by Vives to the last third of the 3rd century and the beginning of the 4th century H.27

End Notes

23
I am indebted to Mr. Nicholas Platon, at that time Director of the Archaeological Museum, and to Mr. Stylianos Alexiou, the present Director, for permitting me to search through the thousands of miscellaneous Roman, Byzantine, mediaeval and Turkish coins which had come into the Museum over the years. My primary objective in visiting Crete in 1956 had been that of finding lapidary epigraphical remains of the Arab period (cf. Miles, "Epigraphical Survey," p. 343), but I had hoped that I might also find some of the coins. It was not until later that it became apparent that the only epigraphical testimonia I was destined to collect were numismatic.
24
Cf. G. C. Miles, "Some early Arab dinars," in ANSMN 3 (1948), p. 93.
25
I am indebted to my friends Paul Balog and Philip Grierson for their efforts to determine the present location of the coins in the Museo Cufico Naniano.
26
After a day spent in recording and photographing the coins in the Museum and in copying Turkish inscriptions about the town of Rethymnon, I was told by the custodian of the Museum, Mr. Vardakis, that there were some strange inscriptions and designs in a village above the town, and he suggested that among them there might be just the sort of thing I was looking for, that is, epigraphical traces of the Amirs of Crete. My friend, Sanford R. Knapp, and I drove up in the jeep to the end of the road near the hamlet of Yannoudi and walked from there to a vineyard surrounded by walls into which were built a few bits of Byzantine, Venetian and Turkish sculpture. I was accustomed to disappointments of this kind and we were about to return to Rethymnon in the evening light when villagers who had gathered about invited us to call on an American woman who lived nearby. I imagined we would meet the wife of a Greek emigrant returned from the United States. We climbed up the steep outside stairs of a house partly destroyed during the war and were quietly but warmly greeted at the door by a handsome woman, Mrs. Mildred Youloundas, American by birth, formerly of Bayside, Long Island. Many years before, on a tour of the Mediterranean, she had visited Athens and on the Acropolis by moonlight had met the young army officer later to become her husband. She had never returned to America since her marriage. Mrs. Youloundas was distressed that her husband was not there to receive her fellow countrymen, particularly as he was much interested in archaeology, and messengers were sent to call him down from vineyards higher up the mountain slopes. After some time, despite the gracious reception of our hostess, I became somewhat impatient to get away, as night had fallen. The general, a charming gentleman, finally arrived and after a talk we were on the point of leaving when he brought out his little collection of sherds, figurines and coins which he had picked up from time to time on his property. Among them was this coin.
27
Cf. Miles, Umayyads of Spain , pp. 227–234.

Class G
Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar

Fals

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده

لا شريك له

Borders vary: inner linear, outer dotted; double partly linear, partly dotted; double dotted; single dotted.

Reverse

محمد

رسول

الله

شعيب

Borders vary: triple partly dotted, partly linear; double dotted; single dotted.

1. Yockers Collection, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Æ 17 mm., 1.55 gr. ( Plate IV, 7)

Provenance: unknown.

Acquired by Mr. Yockers from a coin dealer in New York City in the late 1950's.

2. Royal Coin Cabinet, Copenhagen. Æ 19 mm., 1.81 gr. ( Plate IV, 8)

Provenance: probably Egypt.

This is no. 740 of Østrup's catalogue, listed among copper coins of uncertain period. The name beneath the reverse was given as "Sa'îdun," but I examined the coin in September 1955 and was able to identify it as a specimen of Shu'ayb. The coin was given to the Cabinet in 1857 by a Danish merchant by the name of A. Polack who spent some years in Alexandria (information kindly furnished by Dr. Otto Mørkholm).

3. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 17 mm. ( Plate IV, 9)

Provenance: "River by Knosos," presumably the Keratos.

Museum inventory number 1710, examined and identified by me in September 1961. The coin was apparently pierced at 3:30 o'clock of the obverse, and the hole subsequently filled with a deposit of hard clay.

The only difference between these coppers and those of Class F is in the fact that the second lā' of the shahadah is in its normal position on the third line of the obverse. The lettering is somewhat finer than that of Class F, and the fabric thinner.

Class H
Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar

Fals

Obverse

لا اله

الا الله

Borders vary: linear; beaded; inner dotted, outer linear.

Reverse

محمد

رسول

الله

شعيب

Borders vary: linear; beaded?; dotted.

1–4. Yockers Collection, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Æ 19 mm., 16 mm., 16 mm., 17 mm., 1.39 gr., 0.52 gr., 0.80 gr., 1.03 gr. ( Plate IV, 1012)

Provenance: unknown.

Acquired by Mr. Yockers from a coin dealer in New York City in the late 1950's.

5. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 17 mm. ( Plate IV, 13)

Provenance: Crete.

Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 368, no. 6. I found the specimen among unsorted and unidentified coins of all periods in the Museum in April 1956.

6. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 18 mm.

Provenance: Kalo Khorio, Crete.

A specimen presented to the Museum by G. Aretakis in 1962 and examined by me on April 18, 1966. It was found in a locality known as Kamares near Kalo Khorio Pediados (Καλὸ Χωριό) Herakleion nome. There is a pellet between the two lines of the obverse.

7. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 18 mm.

Provenance: Phaistos or Ag. Triada, Crete.

A specimen in a lot of miscellaneous surface finds of all periods from Phaistos or Ag. Triada, examined at the Museum on April 18, 1966. A pellet is preserved between the two lines, and another beneath the second line, of the obverse.

8. Archaeological Museum, Khanya, Crete. Æ 14 mm. ( Plate V, 1)

Provenance: Crete, presumably Khanya nome.

A specimen found among miscellaneous coins of unrecorded provenance on April 14, 1966. The coin is very poorly preserved. It is curious that there appears to be insufficient room for the word الله on the obverse or for the word محمد on the reverse, although to judge by the border the coin is not clipped.

9. Rethymnon Museum, Crete. Æ 16 mm. ( Plate V, 2)

Provenance: Crete, presumably Rethymnon nome.

A specimen examined on April 15, 1956. See Class F, no. 119.

10. Soret Collection. "Très-petit fels."

Provenance: unknown.

A specimen described by F. Soret in "Lettre à M. Sawelief," RNB 1854, p. 291, no. 23. Soret attributed the coin to Shu'ayth b. Ḥāzim (cf. Tiesenhausen, no. 2560, citing a manuscript note by Fraehn, also suggesting this attribution; mentioned by Walker, NC 1953, p. 129, no. 7).

These fulūs are quite similar to those of Class G in fabric but differ from them in the fact that the obverse has a short two-line form of the shahadah, only the words lā ilaha illā'llāh. They are thinner in fabric and smaller in diameter than the majority of Class F.

Class I
Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar

Fals

Obverse

لا اله

الا الله

Borders vary: dotted; linear?; inner dotted, outer linear?

Reverse

محمد

رسول الله

شعيب

Border of dots.

1–4. Yockers Collection, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Æ 19 mm., 18 mm., 18 mm., 17 mm., 2.02 gr., 1.13 gr., 0.98 gr., 1.36 gr. ( Plate V, 35)

Provenance: unknown.

Acquired by Mr. Yockers from a coin dealer in New York City in the late 1950's.

5. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 18 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

Examined at the Museum on May 25, 1967.

6. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ, clipped.

Provenance: Unknown (Crete).

A specimen found unidentified in a tray in the coin room. Examined February 18, 1970.

7. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ 17 mm. ( Plate V, 6)

Provenance: Herakleion.

A specimen of thin fabric with very crude legends, examined and photographed in May 1967.

These coins resemble Class G and Class H in having the two-line obverse, and they differ from Class H only in having a different arrangement of the words Muḥammad rasūl Allāh on the reverse.

Class J
Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar

Fals

Obverse

محمد

رسول

الله

شعيب

Border of dots.

Reverse

محمد

رسول

الله

سعيب

Border of dots.

1. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm. ( Plate V, 7)

Provenance: Crete.

Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 368, no. 7. This specimen is a muling of two reverses of one of the types with Shu'ayb's name on the reverse. The lettering on one side is somewhat heavier and cruder than that on most specimens.

Class K
Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar and 'Umar

Fals

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده لا

شريك له

عمر

Border appears almost always to be triple: linear enclosed by two dotted.

Reverse

محمد

رسول

الله

شعيب

Double or single dotted border.

1. Numismatic Museum, Athens. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Melidokhori, Crete.

For the provenance of this specimen see Class F, no. 3.

2. Copenhagen, Royal Coin Cabinet. Æ 19 mm., 1.69 gr. ( Plate V, 8)

Provenance: unknown.

Only the first letter of 'Umar's name is preserved, and the name of Shu'ayb is almost totally effaced, but the specimen doubtless belongs to this class. The coin was published in Østrup's catalogue (no. 686) among Umayyad coppers without mint name; I examined and identified it at the Coin Cabinet in September 1955. No record exists of the provenance or manner of acquisition of this specimen.

3. Corinth Excavations. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Corinth, Agora, S.C.

An obscure specimen, registered April 11, 1938, among coins with inventory numbers 203–252. The associated coins had no archaeological relevance, ranging in date from ca. 400 B.C. to the mid-11th century.

4. Corinth Excavations. Æ 21 mm.

Provenance: Corinth, "North of the School."

A specimen (reverse effaced) registered May 19, 1934, no. 1. "North of the School" doubtless signifies north of Oakley House.

5. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Acropolis, Gortyna, Crete.

This badly damaged specimen, an enlarged photograph of which was furnished me by Mr. Stylianos Alexiou at the request of Professor Doro Levi in 1955, was found during the Italian excavations at Gortyna in 1954 (inventory number "N. Prot. 1064, Pos. IX").

6–7. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

These two specimens were found while excavating for the foundations of the Astir Hotel in 1955 (cf. Class F, nos. 12–15). They were published in Miles, Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1955, p. 150, nos. 2 and 5.

8. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

A specimen with the name on the obverse obscure but probably 'Umar, found at the Museum in April 1956 among unsorted and unidentified coins of all periods. Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 369, no. 9.

9. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm. ( Plate V, 9)

Provenance: Crete.

Cf. no. 8, above. Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 369, no. 10.

10. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

Cf. no. 8, above. The name of Shu'ayb is effaced. Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 369, no. 11.

11. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm. ( Plate V, 10)

Provenance: Crete.

Cf. no. 8, above. Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 369, no. 12.

12. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm. ( Plate V, 11)

Provenance: Crete.

Cf. no. 8, above. Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 369, no. 13; also illustrated in Miles, D.O.Papers, 18, fig. 8.

13. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm. ( Plate V, 12)

Provenance: Crete.

Obverse badly corroded. Cf. no. 8, above. Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 369, no. 14.

14. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm.

Provenance: Phaistos or Ag. Triada, Crete.

A specimen in a lot of miscellaneous surface finds of all periods from Phaistos or Ag. Triada, examined at the Museum on April 18, 1966.

15. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Gortyna.

A very obscure specimen, almost certainly of this class, recorded as having come from Gortyna (Gortys) and examined at the Museum on April 18, 1966. The fabric is quite thin.

16. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Ag. Ioannis, Crete.

A specimen presented by Sokrates Kaloyerakis on January 4, 1963, and examined at the Museum on April 18, 1966. It was found in the cistern ( dexameni ) at Ag. Ioannis, a suburb east of Herakleion on the road to Knosos.

17. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

A specimen examined on May 25, 1967, labeled "Έκ τράπɛζα" (cf. Class F, nos. 16–17).

18–19. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Crete.

Two specimens examined on May 25, 1967. No record of provenance.

20. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Tylisos, Crete.

A specimen examined on May 25, 1967. The accompanying label indicates that the coin came from the property of a certain N. Papazoglou. Tylisos (Τύλισος), on the site of the ancient locality of that name, lies about nine km. southwest of Herakleion.

21. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Ellenika Knosou, Crete.

A specimen examined on May 25, 1967. The label records the provenance and the fact that the coin was given to the Museum by Argiro Angelaki. Ellenika Knosou (Έλληικὰ Κνωσοῦ) is the name given to a locality in the vicinity of Knosos near the Villa Ariadne.

22. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Metropolis, Crete.

A specimen found on the football field at Metropolis (Μητρόπολης) Mesara plain, and brought to the Museum in 1967; examined February 18, 1970.

23–24. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Kounavoi Pediados, Crete.

Two specimens found at Kounavoi Pediados and brought to the Museum on July 4, 1968, examined February 18, 1970. Kounavoi (Κουνάβοι Πεδιάδος) is a village about three kilometers east of Arkhanai in Herakleion nome.

25. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Rotasi, Crete.

A specimen found at Rotasi (Ροτάσι) in the Mesara plain (ancient Rytion) and brought to the Museum on July 22, 1968; examined February 18, 1970. Rotasi is a village located about seven km. east of Kharakas in the Mesara.

26. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Metropolis, Crete.

A specimen found at Metropolis in the Mesara plain and brought to the Museum sometime between June 1967 and February 1970. The coin bears the accession number 2312. Examined February 18, 1970.

27. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Khersonesos, Crete.

A specimen found by a woman on her property near the shore at Khersonesos (Χερσονησός) sometime between June 1967 and February 1970; examined February 18, 1970.

28. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 21 mm. ( Plate V, 13)

Provenance: Phoinikia, Crete.

This specimen, published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, pp. 368–9, no. 8, and illustrated in Miles, "Genealogy," fig. 3, was found in a vineyard near Phoinikia, about six km. southwest of Herakleion.

29. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: "River by Knosos," presumably the Keratos.

Museum inventory number 1709, examined and identified in September 1961.

30. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate V, 14)

Provenance: Garypa Pediados, Crete.

Museum inventory number 1784, examined and identified in September 1961. Presumably the village of Γαρύπα Πεδιάδος (thus in the Museum register) is to be identified with Garipa (Γαρίπα) located about 14 km. west of Viannos and about eight km. south of Arkalokhori, which lies on the road from Viannos to Herakleion. There is also a village by the name of Garipa in the eparchy of Milopotamos in Rethymnon nome.

31. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm.

Provenance: Ag. Petros excavations, Herakleion.

The obverse is obscure and the reverse almost completely obliterated, but the specimen is probably of this class. The coin was found on June 1, 1967 in sifting soil excavated on May 29 in Trench B of the excavations at Ag. Petros (inventory no. C48). The approximate depth of the find was 4.82 meters beneath the surface (2.85 meters above sea level). The identifiable pottery at this level ranged in approximate date from the 10th to the first half of the 12th century.

32. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VI, 1)

Provenance: Ag. Petros excavations, Herakleion.

This specimen was found on June 2, 1967 in sifting soil excavated on May 31 in Trench A-2 of the excavations at Ag. Petros (inventory no. C54). The depth of the find was between 1.82 and 1.55 meters above sea level, approximately 5.50 meters beneath the surface. The pottery at this level ranged in date from the 9th to the 12th century and included sherds probably to be identified as Islamic. The coin was found firmly adhering to a sherd of unglazed red ware with wheel ridges of indeterminate date.

33. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm., pierced.

Provenance: Crete.

A specimen purchased by me from an antique dealer in Herakelion and presented to the Historical Museum on May 27, 1967.

34. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VI, 2)

Provenance: Crete.

A specimen found in Mr. Metaxas' collection which he kindly permitted me to examine on April 18, 1966.

35–37. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ. ( Plate VI, 3, 4)

Provenance: District of Herakleion.

Three specimens, photographs of which (numbered IV, V and IX) were communicated to me by the owner on August 25, 1966.

38–39. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ. ( Plate VI, 5, 6)

Provenance: Herakleion.

Two specimens, photographs of which were sent me by the owner on October 14, 1966.

40. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakelion. Æ. ( Plate VI, 7)

Provenance: Pakio, Crete.

A well preserved specimen, photographs of which (numbered 13 and 14) were sent me by the owner on October 14, 1966. I have not been able to locate Pakio (Πακιό) on any map of Crete, but I have been informed that it is a formerly Turkish hamlet in the Rethymnon nome near Karinai (Καρíναι), a village about four km. north of Spili (Σπήλιον).

41–43. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ 18–20 mm., one pierced. ( Plate VI, 810)

Provenance: Herakleion.

These specimens, all three reportedly from Herakleion, were examined and photographed in May 1967.

44. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Eleutherna, Crete.

A specimen acquired by the owner in November 1967; examined February 18, 1970. Eleutherna (Ελɛύθɛρνα), near the ancient site by the same name, is located north-east of Arkadi Monastery.

45. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Arkhanai, Crete.

A specimen acquired by the owner in December 1968; examined February 18, 1970.

46. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

A specimen acquired by the owner between June 1967 and February 1970; examined February 18, 1970.

47. School Museum, Khamalevri, Crete. Æ.

Provenance: Khamalevri, Crete.

A specimen found in a field of the village of Khamalevri, Rethymnon nome, and preserved in the little museum of the communal school. A pencil rubbing was very kindly sent me on November 17, 1969 by Professor Paul Faure of Paris, who had seen the specimen in a collection of coins, chiefly Byzantine and Venetian, recovered in fields near the village. Khamalevri (Χαμαλɛύρι) is located a short distance from the shore about ten km. east of Rethymnon.

48. Hermitage Museum, Leningrad. Æ 21 mm., 2.99 gr. ( Plate VI, 11)

Provenance: unknown.

Museum inventory number 3014, published by A. Bykov (see bibliography, p. vii), p. 66, and presumably the same specimen as that listed by Markov in his Inventory, p. 62, no. 1162 (عمر and شعيب).

49. British Museum, London. Æ 20 mm., 2.34 gr. ( Plate VI, 12)

Provenance: Greece.

Originally published by Lane-Poole in BMC IX, p. 100, no. 156t (cf. Walker, NC 1953, p. 128, no. 5). Lane-Poole attributed the coin to Shu'ayth b. Ḥāzim. The specimen was bought from J. P. Lambros of Athens in 1876. Its original provenance, whether Crete or the mainland of Greece, is unknown. Cf. Class F, no. 98.

50. British Museum, London. Æ 20 mm., 2.60 gr. ( Plate VII, 1)

Provenance: almost certainly Crete.

A specimen acquired in the Cameron bequest in 1947 (6.6.1947, 1586). Cf. Class B, no. 1.

51. British Museum, London. Æ 21 mm., 3.36 gr. ( Plate VII, 2)

Provenance: almost certainly Crete.

A specimen acquired in the Cameron bequest in 1947 (6.6.1947, 1587). The name of Shu'ayb is largely effaced. Cf. Class B, no. 1.

52. Museo Stefano de Mainoni, Milan. Æ.

Provenance: unknown.

A doubtful specimen, listed by G. Schiepati in Mainoni, no. XXVIII. The name beneath the obverse is effaced. Whether inadvertently or not, the word lā' in the obverse area is transcribed on the third, rather than the second, line. Tiesenhausen wrongly refers to this specimen under no. 2559 (type of Shu'ayb alone). A further complication is that Schiepati wrote "Fu pubblicata da Assemani," with reference to Museo Cufico Naniano, no. XV (see Class F, nos. 115–118): did he mean similar to these? But if there is a "voce svanita" beneath the obverse (aside from the placement of the lā' in the transcription), it is not similar.

53. ANS. Æ 20 mm., 2.53 gr. ( Plate VII, 3)

Provenance: said to have been acquired in Germany.

A specimen acquired by the American Numismatic Society from Mr. Gordon Robertson in 1956 (56.114).

54. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Æ, 3.01 gr.

Provenance: unknown.

Baldwin's, 1966, ex Philip Thorburn collection, ex Glendining.

55. Cabinet des Médailles, Paris. Æ 18 mm., 2.80 gr.

Provenance: unknown.

Published by Lavoix, no. 1657 (mentioned by Walker, NC 1953, p. 128). According to my friend Raoul Curiel no record of the provenance of the specimen or of the date of accession is preserved.

56. Rethymnon Museum, Crete. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VII, 4)

Provenance: Crete, presumably Rethymnon nome.

The name on the reverse is almost totally effaced. The specimen was found and identified by me at the Museum on April 15, 1956.

57. Present location unknown ("forner Bose Collection").

Provenance: unknown.

Tiesenhausen, no. 2561, lists a specimen (the name of 'Umar questioned) with the reference "Fraehn, Consp." Bose doubtless was Curt Bose, author of Ueber Arabisch-Byzantinische Münzen: Sendschreiben an Herrn F. de Saulcy in Metz (Grimma, 1840).

These fulūs with the name of 'Umar on the obverse and that of Shu'ayb on the reverse constitute the second largest category of coins of the Amirs. That they are closely related to Class F with Shu'ayb's name alone is indicated not only by their style and the similarity of the reverse but also by the position of the word lā' on the second line of the obverse.28 Walker (NC 1953, p. 128) attributed these coins to abū-Ḥafṣ 'Umar about A.D. 850 with the name of his son and successor, Shu'ayb; but he suggested also the alternative that they might belong to Shu'ayb with a putative son of his named 'Umar, who might have been the grandfather of the last Amir. Mrs. Welin (NC 1955, p. 213) preferred to eliminate Walker's 'Umar II, and by implication therefore would have attributed the type to abū-Ḥafṣ 'Umar with Shu'ayb as successor. Bykov, as noted in the commentary on Class A, above, argued that 'Umar I would not have been in a position to strike coins and therefore attributed the class to Shu'ayb, as did I on the same grounds in "Genealogy," p. 71. Despite the discovery of Class A, I still assign this class to Shu'ayb b. abi-Ḥafṣ with his son and heir designate 'Umar (perhaps Babdel?).

End Notes

28
It had occurred to me that one might be able to establish die identities among the reverses of Class F and Class K, but most specimens are so worn and the criteria for comparison so limited that this has not proved feasible.

Class L
Muḥammad b. Shu'ayb

Fals

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده

شريك له

محمد بن

Triple border: linear enclosed by two dotted (not clear on all).

Reverse

محمد

رسول

الله

شعيب

Border as obverse (not clear on all).

1. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

The name beneath the obverse area is obscure, but the specimen is probably of this type. The coin, examined on May 25, 1967 is labeled "Έκ Τράπɛζα" (cf. Class F, nos. 16–17).

2. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Kounavoi Pediados, Crete.

A specimen brought in to the Museum on July 4, 1968; examined on February 18, 1970. For the location of Kounavoi see Class K, no. 23.

3. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ. ( Plate VII, 5)

Provenance: Knosos, Crete.

A specimen, photographs of which (numbered 19 and 20) were communicated to me by the owner on October 14, 1966.

4–5. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ 20–21 mm. ( Plate VII, 6, 7)

Provenance: Herakleion.

Both specimens, reportedly found in Herakleion, were examined and photographed in May 1967.

6. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

A specimen acquired by the owner in June 1968; examined on February 18, 1970.

7. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Arkhanai, Crete.

A specimen acquired by the owner in December 1968; examined on February 18, 1970.

8. ANS. Æ 20 mm., 1.63 gr. ( Plate VII, 8)

Provenance: Crete.

This specimen was acquired by the American Numismatic Society (66.70) as a gift from Mr. Jere L. Bacharach who bought it in 1965 from an antique dealer in Herakleion.

9. ANS (permanent loan from the Hispanic Society of America). Æ 20 mm., 1.42 gr. ( Plate VII, 9)

Provenance: Spain?

Originally in the collection of Pascual de Gayangos, this specimen has been described and illustrated several times. It first appeared in Codera's Tratado, p. 72, no. 7, illustrated by a line drawing in pl. V. There, and in Vives, Dinastías, no. 342, the coin was attributed to the "rebels" in Spain toward the end of the 3rd century H.; and in my Umayyads of Spain, no. 181(h) and p. 78, I accepted this attribution. Walker, in NC 1953, p. 129, no. 8, correctly identified the coin as one of the Amirs of Crete, illustrated it from Codera's drawing on p. 125, and proposed to attribute it to "Babdel, i.e. Abū 'Abdullāh," son and successor to Shu'ayb. I also reproduced Codera's line drawing in "Genealogy," fig. 4. In 1957 the coin itself, "lost" for nearly 80 years, came to light again among thousands stored in a vault in the Hispanic Society of America and overlooked at the time of the transfer of the bulk of Archer M. Huntington's collection to the American Numismatic Society in 1946–1948.29 Now incorporated in the ANS collection the coin bears the accession number HSA 57.2144. The envelope in which the specimen was found was similar to those containing other coins identifiable as formerly in the Gayangos collection, and accompanying it were both Vives' ticket with the number 342 and Codera's (or Gayangos'?) original slip of paper attributing the coin to the "rebels." The coin, long believed to be unique and here illustrated by a photograph for the first time, now has nine companion pieces, seven of which, with their well documented Cretan provenance, confirm the validity of Walker's attribution to the Amirs of Crete.

10. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Æ, 2.17 gr.

Provenance: unknown.

Baldwin's, 1966, ex Philip Thorburn collection, ex Glendining.

There is no question about the reading of the name Muḥammad b. Shu'ayb. The identity of this individual, however, remains a problem, as his name is not recorded in the Arabic and Byzantine written sources. Walker (NC 1953, p. 129) proposed to identify him with Babdel (Abū 'Abdullāh), and Mrs. Welin followed this suggestion. In "Genealogy" p. 71, I advanced the idea that he might be the Zerkounis of the Byzantine sources, brother (?) and successor of Babdel. There is really no means, with our present knowledge, of settling the question. A hint that these coins are quite closely related chronologically to Class F and Class K is provided by the position of the word lā' on the second line of the obverse area.

End Notes

29
Cf. G. C. Miles, "The Ferreira collection of Visigothic Coins," ANSMN 12 (1966), p. 129.

Class M
Yūsuf (b.?) 'Umar

Fals

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده لا

شريك له

عمر

Borders vary: double dotted; inner dotted, outer linear.

Reverse

محمد

رسول

الله

يوسف

Borders vary: double(?) dotted; inner dotted, outer linear; triple dotted(?); single dotted (?).

1. Arkadi Monastery, Crete. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Area of Ag. Apostoloi, Pantannasa, Voliones, southwest of Arkadi Monastery, Rethymnon nome, Crete.

This specimen, very obscure especially with respect to the two names, was shown to me by the owner, Pro-Hegoumenos Dionysios Psaroudhakis of Arkadi Monastery on April 24, 1956. The villages named above lie near the road west of Mt. Ida between Phourphouras and Rethymnon, in the vicinity of ancient Sybrita. 30

2. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 369, no. 15. The rā' of the name 'Umar is effaced.

3. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 370, no. 16. The name on the obverse is largely effaced, and only the sīn and fā' of the name Yūsuf on the reverse are preserved.

4. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VII, 10)

Provenance: Xyda, Crete.

A specimen brought to the Museum on August 8, 1968 by a certain Apostolos Tabakakis; examined February 18, 1970. The village of Xyda (Χιδᾶ) lies about two km. east of Kastelli Pediados. Mr. Manolis Borboudakis informed me that the coin was found on a hill east of the village where there are the remains of a 14th century church. Plans have been made to excavate on the site in 1970.

5. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Crete.

A specimen found in Mr. Metaxas' collection which he kindly permitted me to examine on April 18, 1966.

6. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VII, 11)

Provenance: Herakleion.

The obverse is obscure but the name of 'Umar is recognizable at the bottom, and Yūsuf is quite clear on the reverse. The specimen was examined and photographed in May 1967.

7. Private collection, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Crete.

This specimen, with both names well preserved, was shown me by a Mme. Korpi of Herakleion in April 1956.

8. Private collection, Istanbul. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VIII, 1)

Provenance: unknown.

A pencil rubbing of this specimen, with both names well preserved, was transmitted to me in October 1956 by Mr. Ibrahim Artuk of the Istanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri. According to the latter the coin was the property of Mahruki Zade Cafer Bey, formerly Turkish Consul in Bombay. Dr. John M. Smith Jr. informs me that this collection is now in the Arkeoloji Müzeleri, and that there is no record of where Cafer Bey, who travelled and collected widely, acquired the coin. The photograph reproduced in the plate was taken for me by Dr. Smith in February 1966.

9. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Æ.

Provenance: presumably Herakleion.

10. Rethymnon Museum, Crete. Æ 19 mm. ( Plate VIII, 2)

Provenance: Crete, presumably Rethymnon nome.

Identified on April 15, 1956. Cf. Class F, no. 119. The specimen is struck badly off center, but the names are clear.

Although there is no trace of the word bn, "son," on any of the ten preserved specimens of this class with the name 'Umar on the obverse and the name Yūsuf on the reverse, I proposed in "Genealogy," p. 71, to attribute the coins to a Yūsuf b. 'Umar II (Babdel?). Once again the type appears to be chronologically not far removed from Classes F, K and L because of the position of the word la on the second line of the obverse area. The obverse is of course identical in its legends and appearance with that of Class K, although I have not discovered an actual die identity among the specimens of which I have illustrations.

End Notes

30
The accidental finding of this specimen was another of those pleasurable experiences that sometimes reward the discouraged searcher or explorer when least expected. My companion, Sanford R. Knapp, and I had driven up to Arkadi from Rethymnon and Panormos. We were hospitably received by the Arkhontaris and after examining the church, the treasury and the monastery buildings, in which there were no mediaeval remains of interest to me, we were treated to a simple meal of eggs, feta, bread and wine. We turned in early for what turned out to be a mostly sleepless and rather uncomfortable night. During the day the sirocco (notos or livas) had come in from the south and by nightfall it was blowing a wild gale. There were no panes in the windows of our room, the shutters were broken and banged back and forth incessantly, plaster fell in large chunks from the ceiling and rats scurried across the floor. Our experience was not unlike that of the Rev. Henry F. Tozer at Arkadi in 1874 (The Islands of the Aegean [Oxford, 1890], p. 52): "...the pitiless rain [,which] penetrated so constantly the patched-up roof of the room we occupied, that to avoid it we were frequently obliged to shift our position, and it even dropped on to our beds at night." By dawn we were ready for the road, and after a cup of coffee and a crust of bread we were about to take our leave when we were invited to pay a visit to the aged former abbot of the monastery, Pro-Hegoumenos Dionysios. Of course we did so and over several glasses of powerful home-made tzikoudia (or raki) we talked of archaeology and of the famous uprising of 1866. The charming old gentleman gave me as a memento of our visit a fragment of one of the shells fired at the monastery walls by the Turkish artillery during the siege. Finally, as an afterthought just as we were about to leave, Dionysios asked me to look at his little collection of antiquities. There were some bits of pottery, a few battered Greek, Roman and Venetian coins and other oddments. Among them was this coin of the Amirs. On April 17, 1966, I revisited Arkadi Monastery on the occasion of the Second International Cretological Congress and was happy to meet Pro-Hegoumenos Dionysios again. He told me that he had given his coins to Mr. Georgios Voyiatzakis of Athens.

Class N
Shu'ayb (b.?) Aḥmad

Fals

Obverse

[لا اله[الا

الله وحده لا

شريك له

احمد

Double border of dots.

Reverse

محمد

رسول

الله

شعيب

Double border of dots.

1. Agora Excavations, Athens. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VIII, 3)

Provenance: Athenian Agora.

This specimen (excavation field note-book NN iv/27/29, no. 128, inventory no. 1870/128) was published in Miles, Athenian Agora, p. 21, no. 3; mention of it was made in Miles, Hesperia 1956, p. 344, note 71. The coin was found in 1939 in Turkish fill on the southeast slope of the Kolonos Agoraios (grid reference B 17). Associated coins ranged in date from Hellenistic to Turkish times and hence lend no assistance in the dating of the issue.

2. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

This specimen, examined on May 25, 1967, is obscure but probably of this type. It is labeled "Έκ Τράπεζα" (cf. Class F, nos. 16–17).

3. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Crete.

The name Aḥmad on the obverse is obscure. The coin, a gift from A. Manidakis to the Museum, was examined on May 25, 1967.

4. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VIII, 4)

Provenance: Herakleion.

Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 371, no. 21. The Museum records indicate that the coin was found in Herakleion.

5. Archaeological Museum, Khanya, Crete. Æ 19 mm.

Provenance: Crete, presumably Khanya nome.

A specimen found among miscellaneous coins of unrecorded provenance examined at the Museum on April 14, 1966. The alif of Aḥmad on the obverse is obliterated. When I examined the coin I noted that Aḥmad may be followed by some letters (bn?), but my photograph does not reveal them. If indeed these letters are present the attribution of this class to Shu'ayb b. Aḥmad ("Genealogy," p. 72) would of course be wrong. The words Allāh and Shu'ayb on the reverse are obscure. The fabric of the coin is thin.

The position of the word lā' on the second line of the obverse area connects the issue with Classes F, K, L and M, and it may well be that the coins are not as far as two generations removed from Shu'ayb II b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar. On the other hand, Classes O and P, associated with the dinars of 337 (?) and 340 (?), also have the same characteristic.

Class O
'Ali b. Aḥmad

Fals

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده لا

شريك له

احمد

Borders vary: triple, linear enclosed by two dotted; double, inner dotted, outer linear; double, inner linear, outer dotted.

Reverse

محمد

رسول

الله

على بن

Borders vary: double, inner dotted, outer linear; single dotted.

1. Agora Excavations, Athens. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VIII, 5)

Provenance: Athenian Agora.

This specimen (excavation field note-book ΠΠ, western cut, iv/26/56, no. 2719/8) was published in Miles, Athenian Agora, p. 20, no. 2. It was found in 1956 in mixed fill in excavations on the southeast slope of the Kolonos Agoraios (grid reference A 16). Associated coins, ranging in date from the 4th century B.C. to Venetian times, afford no clue to dating. The specimen was not catalogued until August 13, 1960, when it turned up among various miscellaneous unclassified coins in the workrooms of the Agora Museum and was shown to me at that time. The reverse is badly cut and very obscure.

2. Corinth Excavations. Æ 21 mm. ( Plate VIII, 6)

Provenance: Corinth, South Stoa, west.

This specimen was registered September 15, 1937, among coins numbered 11–28. Other coins in this lot were attributed to Michael VII (1071–1078), Nicephoros III (1078-1081), Alexius I (1081–1118), Manuel I (1143–1180) and Alexius III (1195–1203). The coin was illustrated in Miles, "Genealogy," fig. 6.

3. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 22 mm. ( Plate VIII, 7)

Provenance: Vyzari, Byzantine basilica.

For the provenance and bibliography, see Class F, no. 22. I examined and photographed the coin at the Archaeological Museum in December 1958.

4. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Avdou, Crete.

A very obscure specimen examined in December 1958. The name on the obverse is clear, that on the reverse somewhat doubtful. The village of Avdou (Άβδοῦ) is located on the upper course of the Aposelimis River at the foot of the northwestern slopes of Mt. Selena (Dikti or Lasithi range), about four km. south of the town of Mokhos, Herakleion nome.

5. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ. ( Plate VIII, 8)

Provenance: District of Herakleion.

A specimen, photographs of which (numbered VIII) were sent me by the owner on August 25, 1966.

6. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Knosos, Crete.

A specimen acquired by the owner in May 1968; examined February 18, 1970.

7. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

A specimen acquired by the owner in 1968.

8. British Museum, London. Æ 22 mm., 3.53 gr.

Provenance: unknown.

No acquisition ticket accompanies this specimen in the British Museum tray. The name of Aḥmad on the obverse is clear enough; the reverse is very obscure but appears to be of this type.

9. Rethymnon Museum, Crete. Æ 21 mm. ( Plate VIII, 9)

Provenance: Crete, presumably Rethymnon nome.

This specimen was examined and identified on April 15, 1956. Cf. Class F, no. 119. It was illustrated in Miles, D.O.Papers, 18, fig. 10.

These fulūs bearing the name 'Ali b. Aḥmad, with their established provenances (Herakleion, Knosos, Rethymnon, Vyzari, Athens and Corinth), provide the principal argument for the attribution of the dinars of Classes S and T to the Amirs of Crete. Once more the position of the word lā' on the obverse of the type suggests affinity with classes F, K, L, M and N.

Class P
'Ali (b.?) Aḥmad

Fals

Obverse

لااله الا

الله وحده لا

شريك له

بن؟]احمد]

Borders vary: single dotted; double dotted; triple, linear enclosed by two dotted.

Reverse

محمد

رسول

الله

على

Borders obscure.

1. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VIII, 10)

Provenance: Crete.

Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 370, no. 19. The name of Aḥmad is clear on the obverse, but whether bn precedes it is uncertain. On the reverse 'Ali is clear although the lām is largely effaced.

2. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm., pierced. ( Plate VIII, 11)

Provenance: Crete.

Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 371, no. 20. Only the tops of the letters of the name Aḥmad on the obverse are preserved on the flan; bn, if it exists, is off the flan, but there possibly was room for it on the die. The name of 'Ali on the reverse is clear.

3. Rethymnon Museum, Crete. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate VIII, 12)

Provenance: Crete, presumably Rethymnon nome.

This specimen was examined and identified on April 15, 1956. Cf. Class F, no. 119. Aḥmad on the obverse is clear, and to judge by the position of the name, toward the left of the flan, other letters must have occupied the space before it, i.e., probably bn. 'Ali on the reverse is clear.

I have made a separate category of these three specimens, all of Cretan provenance, because the word bn, "son," definitely is not present on the reverse, although it may perhaps precede Aḥmad on the obverse. In any case, there can be little doubt that they are to be attributed to 'Ali b. Aḥmad (Classes O, S and T). It is to be noted that lā' is again on the second line of the obverse as on Classes F, K, L, M, N and O.

Class Q
'Ali b. Yūsuf

Fals

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده

لا شرك له

Borders vary: single dotted; inner dotted, outer linear.

Reverse

محمد

رسول الله

على بن يوسف

(A pellet above the area on no. 1)

Borders as obverse.

1. Corinth Excavations. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate IX, 1)

Provenance: Corinth, Church of St. John Theologos.

This specimen was registered as no. 6 on April 17, 1935. The envelope contained no other coins.

2. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm. ( Plate IX, 2)

Provenance: Crete.

Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 370, no. 17; also illustrated in Miles, "Genealogy," fig. 7, and in Miles, D.O.Papers, 18, fig. 9.

3. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ 19 mm. ( Plate IX, 3)

Provenance: Crete.

Published in Κρητικὰ Χρονικά 1956, p. 370, no. 18. The name on the reverse is partially effaced, but enough of it is preserved to identify it.

This issue differs from all others, except Class A, in that the full name, 'Ali b. Yūsuf, is on one side of the coin, not divided between obverse and reverse. The fact that two of the three known specimens were found in Crete and the third in Corinth fairly well substantiates attribution to the Amirs of Crete. We have of course no firm evidence that this individual belongs where I have placed him in the tentative genealogy proposed in "Genealogy," p. 70; the attribution is based entirely on the correspondence between the filial relationship indicated on the coin with part of the genealogy of 'Umar the writer, preserved in al-Ḥimyari, and I have had to assume that this source omitted two generations between Yūsuf (b.) 'Umar and abū-Ḥafṣ 'Umar, the conqueror (Cf. Miles, "Genealogy," p. 72).

Class R
Aḥmad b. 'Umar

Dirhem, 326 H.

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده

لا شريك له

عمر

The ر of عمر has a floral termination.

Inner margin: بسم الله ضرب هذا الدرهم سنة ست وعشرين وثلثمائة

Outer margin: a few letters of Qur'ān XXX, 3–4.

Reverse

لله

محمد

رسول الله

الراضى بالله

احمد بن

The ن of بن has a floral termination.

Margin: Qur'ān IX, 33.

Area enclosed by linear border.

1. Archaeological Museum, Istanbul. Æ 17 mm., 1.40 gr. (pierced and clipped). ( Plate IX, 4)

Provenance: unknown.

This unique coin was published, but not illustrated, by Ismā'īl Ghālib, no. 677. It has been illustrated in Miles, "Genealogy," fig. 9 (from an inferior photograph) and in Miles, D.O.Papers, 18, fig. 6 (from a photograph taken by myself in 1963). In Ghālib's transcription the names of 'Umar and Aḥmad are followed by small ornaments. I closely examined the coin at the time I photographed it in 1963, and in my opinion what Ghālib took to be an ornament on the obverse is part of the flowering tail of the final letter of 'Umar's name, and on the reverse Aḥmad is followed by bn, likewise terminating in an ornamental flourish. In "Genealogy," p. 66 and fig. 7, and in D.O.Papers, 18, fig. E, following Ghālib's description and not yet having examined the coin, I omitted the word bn, "son," but supplied it hypothetically in parentheses. Ghālib appended a note explaining that the identification of the names 'Umar and Aḥmad presented difficulties because of the lack of a mint name.

My principal argument for attributing this coin to the Amirs of Crete is based on the combination of the names 'Umar and Aḥmad, not otherwise met with in Arab coinage of the period. The name Aḥmad b. 'Umar suggests the possibility that this person may be the son of 'Umar II (Class K) and the father of Shu'ayb III (Class N) and of 'Ali b. Aḥmad (Class O, and probably P). Notable also is the lack of a mint name, a most unusual feature for a dirhem of the period and comparable to the omission of the mint name on the dinars (except Class U, below) of the Amirs of Crete. It is unfortunate that nothing is known of the provenance of this unique coin.31 Its location in Istanbul makes it not unlikely that it was found on Turkish soil, and of course in 1894, when Ghālib published his catalogue, Crete was still nominally a part of the Ottoman Empire. Might the coin have come from Crete? Or perhaps from Macedonia (cf. Class S, no. 1)?

Class S
'Ali b. Aḥmad

Dinar, 337 (?) H.

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده

لا شريك له

احمد

Reverse

لله

محمد

رسول

الله

المطيع لله

تعلى بن

Inner margin: بسم الله ضرب هذا الدينر
[sic] ثلثين [؟]وثلثما [sic] image سنة

Outer margin: Qur'ān XXX, 3–4 (partly garbled).

Area enclosed by linear border.

Margin enclosed by linear border.

Margin: Qur'an IX, 33 (partly garbled).

Borders as obverse.

1. ANS. Ꜹ 23 mm., 3.85 gr. ( Plate IX, 5)

Provenance: Macedonia?

This unique dinar (illustrated in Miles, "Genealogy," fig. 8, and in Miles, D.O.Papers, 18, fig. 4) has a rather curious history. It was brought for identification to the Museum of the American Numismatic Society in 1951 by a gentleman by the name of Alan Berry. I was aware of the fact that the piece was unusual in several respects, and as the owner had no particular interest in it the coin was bought for the collection (ANS 51.175). In 1956, after having discovered the copper coins of 'Ali b. Aḥmad in Crete and elsewhere, I recalled this dinar and suspected that it also might be attributed to the Cretan Amirs. Through correspondence I was finally successful in tracking down Mr. Berry, who had moved from the west coast to New York, and he informed me that the coin had formerly belonged to his father-in-law who lived in Xanthi in eastern Macedonia, about 45 km. northeast of Cavalla. For some reason, now forgotten, Mr. Berry believed that the coin may have come originally from Crete, but this opinion may have been influenced by my having told him of the probable attribution.

The assigned date, as can be seen by an examination of the plate, is curiously written, and 337 (or possibly 339?) must be considered questionable. However, the presence of the name of the Caliph al-Muṭī' places the date of issue between 334 and 363 H./A.D. 945–974. If the attribution to the Amirs of Crete is correct the date cannot be later than 350 H./A.D. 961, and since there is a digit (7 or 9), and the writing of the decade in no way resembles arba'īn (40), the decade must, as it appears to read, be thalathīn (30).

Whatever the precise date of the coin, there is, I think, a possibility of a connection between its reported provenance and the Arab raids on Mt. Athos, the memory of which is better preserved in legend than in written document. The inclusive dates of al-Muṭī's reign are too late to point to any relationship with the famous Arab attack on Salonika in A.D. 904.32

In January 1963 Dr. Andrew S. Ehrenkreutz, during a visit to the Museum of the American Numismatic Society, calculated the specific gravity of this coin and found it to be 17.2 = 85% fine (assuming the alloy to be silver), not an exceptionally low gold content for a dinar (other than Fāṭimid) of this period.33

2. Location unknown. Ꜹ, pierced.

Provenance: unknown.

The attribution of this specimen to the Amirs of Crete is very problematical. In Sotheby's auction catalogue of the J.M.C. Johnson collection, dated 16–18 July, 1906, no. 313, appears the entry "Gold. Karmatis. Ali ibn Ahmad. 337 and 340, pierced (2)." There is no illustration. Zambaur in NZ 1922, p. 15, cites these specimens in a list of Qarmaṭi coins known to him, but evidently he had not seen them and had no information about them other than that in the Sotheby catalogue reproduced above. George T. Scanlon in an article entitled "Leadership in the Qarmaṭian Sect" (Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, 1960, p. 34) also mentions these two specimens, again without any information other than the bare listing in the Sotheby catalogue; and in order to establish the probable identification with the Qarmaṭi Ḥasan b. Aḥmad he states, "It is more likely that the correct reading was Abū 'Alī ibn Aḥmad and it is by this name that Ḥasan b. Aḥmad is cited by Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzī."

It is to be noted that no mint name is given in the Sotheby list, whereas practically all other entries in this catalogue mention the name of the mint when it is present. All known Qarmati coins bear the names of easily legible mints (Filasṭīn, Dimishq, Ṭarāblus). Might not these two coins be attributable to the same man who issued no. 1? I have made an effort to track down the disposition of these dinars, but without success. The firm of Sotheby & Co. have informed me that lot 313 was purchased by a person named Clements and that they assumed him to be Mr. L. Clements of London, an antique dealer who died about 1936, and a part of whose collection was auctioned on November 16, 1936. There is nothing in the catalogue of this sale in any way suggesting that these coins were included in the auction.

End Notes

31
I am grateful to John M. Smith Jr. for his efforts to determine the provenance. There is no record in the Istanbul Museum of how the coin was acquired.
32
Cf. Miles, "Circulation of Islamic Coinage," p. 495.
33
Cf. Andrew S. Ehrenkreutz, "Studies in the Monetary History of the Near East in the Middle Ages, II: The Standard of Fineness of Western and Eastern Dīnārs Before the Crusades," in JESHO, Vol. VI (1963), pp. 253 ff.

Class T
'Ali b. Aḥmad

Dinar, 340 H. (?)

1. Location unknown. Ꜹ pierced.

Provenance: unknown.

For the listing and commentary on this specimen see the discussion of Class S, no. 2, above.

Class U
'Abd al-'Azīz b. Shu'ayb

Dinar, 343 H.

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده

لا شريك له

بن شعيب

Inner margin (beginning at 1:30):بسم الله ضرب الدينر بالقريطش
......سنة ثلث واربع

Outer margin: Qur'ān XXX, 3–4, to ....يفر

Reverse

لله

محمد

رسول الله

المطيع لله

عبد العزيز

Margin: Qur'ān IX, 33 to ....ولو

1. Istanbul, Yapl ve Kredi Bankasl. Ꜹ 24 mm., 4.03 gr.

( Plate IX, 6)

Provenance: unknown.

This unique and important dinar was brought to my attention in August 1966 by Mr. Roy P. Mottahedeh. Subsequently, in response to my request, photographs were kindly furnished me by Mr. Nuri Pere, General Manager of the Yapl ve Kredi Bankasl, to whom I am indebted not only for this courtesy but also for permission to publish this coin.34

This dinar is of great interest for several reasons. While the end of the rule of 'Abd al-'Azīz (the "Kouroupas" of the Byzantine historians) in 350 H./A.D. 961 has been well documented in the written sources, and we already had a small bit of numismatic evidence for his rule in the unique dirhem of 350 H. (Class V, below), we now have another firm date: he had been ruling for at least seven years before Nikephoros Phocas took him prisoner in 961. Notable also is the unquestionable evidence that the Amirs were still minting gold toward the end of their rule in Crete. The problem of 'Abd al-'Azīz's line of descent from the Arab conqueror of the island is discussed below, p. 83.

While the Arabic name for the island, Iqrīṭish, occurs frequently in historical and geographical written sources, for example as early as Balāduri (died 279 H./A.D. 892),35 this is its first recorded occurence in epigraphy, whether numismatic or lapidary. Until another better preserved specimen of 'Abd al-'Azīz's dirhem (Class V) is recovered, it must remain uncertain whether the mint name also appears on that issue. The use of the name Iqrīṭish for the mint, rather than the name of the capital, Khandaq, is not surprising. There are many instances in Islamic numismatics of the substitution of the name of the province for the name of the chief city; examples are Adharbayjān, Arrān, Irmīnīyah, Ifrīqiyah, al-Andalus, Sijistān, Ṭabaristān, Fārs, Filasṭīn, etc.36

End Notes

34
In March 1967 I read a brief paper on the coin at the annual meeting of the American Oriental Society in New Haven, Conn. Mention is made of the coin in a brochure entitled Madeni Paralar Sergisi published by the Yapl ve Kredi Bankasl (Istanbul, 1967), p. 8.

Class V
'Abd al-'Azīz b. Shu'ayb

Dirhem, 350 H.

Obverse

لا اله الا

الله وحده

لا شريك له

بن شعيب

Reverse

لله

محمد

رسول الله

المطيع لله

عبد العزيز

Margin: (obscure and many of the letters partly off the flan) بسم الله ضرب هذا الدرهم [بالخندق؟]سنة خمسين وثلثمائة

Area enclosed by linear border.

Margin: Qur'ān IX, 33 (partly preserved).

Area enclosed by linear border.

1. Stockholm, Royal Coin Cabinet. image 16 mm., 0.9 gr. (pierced and clipped). ( Plate IX, 7)

Provenance: Sweden, probably Gotland.

This unique dirhem was definitively published by Ulla S.Linder Welin in NC 1955, pp. 211–214; and it has been illustrated with a photograph furnished by Mrs. Welin in Miles, "Genealogy," fig. 5, and in Miles, D.O.Papers, 18, fig. 5. The coin was first described by C. J. Tornberg in Numi Cufici (Upsala, 1848), p. 268, no. 8, and illustrated there by a line drawing on pl. XIII. Tornberg had not read the date and noted that he had not been able to identify the issuer. Mrs. Welin observed that the coin was found before 1846 and that "nothing is known of its exact provenance beyond the fact that it was part of a Swedish hoard—most probably from Gotland—but, as we know nothing of the other coins in the presumed hoard, no theory can be advanced concerning the route by which this Cretan dirhem reached Scandinavia." She believed that the name of the mint is present, that the final letter is "more likely" the ق of الخندق, al-Khandaq, rather than the ش of اقريطش Iqrīṭish (Crete). In 1955, and again in 1958, I examined the coin at first hand in Stockholm and discussed her reading with Mrs. Welin, قbut I could not persuade myself that any part of the name of the mint is legible. If indeed a mint name was originally present, Iqrīṭish would be more probable, especially in view of its occurrence on the dinar of 343 H. (Class U). The decade of the date is mostly off the flan, but Mrs. Welin convincingly argues that the teeth in the middle are all vertical and the word therefore must be خمسين rather than اربعين and also that there is no space for a digit, which could not be present in any case (if 50 is correct) because of the Byzantine reconquest of the island in 350 H.

It is extraordinary that only this one dirhem of the last Arab ruler of Crete has come to light. Mrs. Welin (NC 1955, pp. 213–214) proposed two alternative genealogies for 'Abd al-'Azīz b. Shu'ayb: either 'Abd al-'Azīz b. Shu'ayb b. Zerkūn b. Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar, or 'Abd al-'Azīz b. Shu'ayb b. abī-'Abdullāh (Muḥammad) b. Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar. I have represented these suggested lines of descent in "Genealogy," p. 68, fig. 6. In my own tentative genealogical table ("Genealogy," p. 70, fig. 7) I proposed: 'Abd al-'Azīz b. Shu'ayb b. Aḥmad b. 'Umar (abū-'Abdullāh) b. Shu'ayb b. abī-Ḥafṣ 'Umar. In any case it is obvious that 'Abd al-'Azīz was not the son of Shu'ayb II of the dinars of 271, 275 and 281 H., and that some generations were skipped in the genealogy recorded by al-Nuwairi.

As Mrs. Welin remarked, the absence of any information about other coins, if any, found with this specimen makes it difficult to speculate intelligently on the route by which the coin found its way to Sweden. However, one can at least say that it is improbable that it followed one of the usual routes of Arab dirhems from the east to the Baltic. 37 More likely would be the possibility of some connection with Anemas, the son of 'Abd al-'Azīz, who fought on the Byzantine side against the Russian Prince Sviatoslav and was killed in the great battle of Dorystolon (Dristra, Silistria).38 Anemas, or one of his fellow Cretan Arabs enrolled in the Byzantine army, might have carried the coin, issued by their last Amir, and lost it to a Russian or Varangian soldier who in turn carried it to Gotland or the Swedish mainland.

End Notes

35
Futūḥ al-buldān (ed. De Goeje), p. 236.
36
Cf. G. C. Miles, Excavation Coins from the Persepolis Region (New York, 1959), P. 55, note 71.
37
Cf. Ulla S. Linder Welin, "Arabiska Mynt," in Kulturhistorisk Leksikon for nordisk Middelalder, I (Copenhagen, 1956), cols. 182–191, especially cols. 188–190.
38
See G. Schlumberger, L'Epopée Byzantine, I (Paris, 1896), pp. 135, 143; cf. Schlumberger, Un Empereur Byzantin au dixìeme siècle, 2nd. ed. (Paris, 1923), p. 91.

Class W
Anonymous? Iqrīṭish ?

Obverse

لا اله الاا

لله محمد ر

وسل الله

Single linear border preserved.

Reverse

[ضرب؟]هذ[ا]

[الفلس[با؟

[قريطش؟]

Single linear border preserved?

1. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 16 mm. ( Plate IX, 8)

Provenance: Ag. Petros excavations, 1967.

2. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ 16 mm. ( Plate IX, 9)

Provenance: District of Herakleion.

These two coins are probably, but by no means certainly, specimens of the same issue. The reading of the obverse of no. 2 is doubtless correct; the obverse of no. 1 is very obscure, but it is probably similar to no. 2. The reverse is very problematical. Hardly anything is preserved on no. 1; on no. 2 هذا in the first line and الفلس in the second may be considered certain, but باقريطش, bi-Iqrīṭish, "in Crete," is admittedly a guess. At first I was inclined to read the last line of no. 2 as ...بن ع but there seems to be insufficient room for a first name at the end of the second line, and the formula (if هذا and الفلس are correct) suggests a mint name rather than the name of an individual.

No. 2 was the first specimen to come to my attention. Mr. Metaxas sent me one set of photographs in August 1966 and another in October 1966. In May 1967 I examined the coin itself and rephotographed it. No. 1, the specimen from the Ag. Petros excavations (inventory no. C53, found in Trench A2 on June 2, 1967, at a depth of approximately 5.5 meters beneath the surface) is quite hopelessly obscure: it is fragmentary, pierced by corrosion and very few letters are preserved. The reverse being virtually totally effaced, I associate it with no. 1 chiefly on the basis of the probability of the similarity to no. 2 of the unusual obverse type and on the size of the flan.

One can only hope that better preserved specimens of this issue will eventually turn up to confirm or reject the admittedly very dubious reading of the reverse. That the name Iqrīṭish may be present is rendered more likely by its certain presence on the unique dinar of Class U.

Class X
Unassigned

Obverse

لا اله الا

......

شيرك له ..

[or ا..ك ر(؟)[د...

Single beaded (?) border preserved.

Reverse

محم]د]

رسول

الل]ه]

......

Single linear (?) border preserved.

1. Collection of Nikolaos Metaxas, Herakleion. Æ ( Plate IX, 10)

Provenance: Khoustouliana, Crete.

A very obscure specimen, photographs of which (numbered 9 and 10) were sent me by the owner on October 14, 1966. The type appears to differ from all others, and although the coin is not necessarily one of the Amirs of Crete it closely resembles them in style and fabric. Khoustouliana (Χουστουλιανά) is a village about four km. southwest of Gortyna.

Class Y
Unidentifiable

The following specimens, certainly issues of the Amirs but not assignable to a specific class because of their obscure condition, have been recorded:

1–5. Archaeological Museum, Herakleion. Æ.

Provenance: Herakleion.

Five specimens labeled "Έκ Τράπεζα" (cf. Class F, nos. 16–17).

6. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 20 mm.

Provenance: Ag. Petros excavations, Herakleion.

This totally obliterated specimen (excavation inventory no. C47), recognizable only by its fabric as probably of the Amirs, was found on June 1, 1967 in sifting soil excavated in Trench B on May 29. The depth of the find was approximately the same as that of the other specimen found in Trench B (Class K, no. 31), that is between 4.80 and 5 meters beneath the surface.

7. Historical Museum, Herakleion. Æ 22 mm.

Provenance: Ag. Petros excavations, Herakleion.

As with no. 6 no legends are preserved on this specimen (excavation inventory no. C55), but the fabric and possible traces of a double beaded border suggest that it is a coin of the Amirs. It was found on June 2, 1967 in soil excavated on May 31 in Trench A2, associated with sherds identified as probably Arab, at a depth of approximately 5.35–5.50 meters beneath the surface and not far removed from a positively identified coin of the Amirs (excavation inventory no. C54, Class K, no. 32, above).


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Class Q:1–2 Class R:4 Class S:5 Class U:6 Class V:7 Class W:8–9 Class X:10

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