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seen as having an “ethnic-national” dimension, but he does not provide a definition of what an “ethnic group” really is, as this would be outside the scope of this book: “Auf die lange Debatte der Nationalismusforschung, wie real oder kon- struiert eine Ethnie tatsächlich ist und wie sie deshalb behan- delt werden soll, kann hier leider nicht im Detail eingegan- gen werden. (p. 35). Wieland considers the so-called “ethnic-nationalist” tinted ideology of the Ba{th Party as being contradictory with its ARABICA socialism, calling this combination a “Spagat” (splits) (p. 45). His argument is that people who belong to a nation are usually classified according to “primordial characteristics” WIELAND, C. — Syrien nach dem Irak-Krieg. Bastion such as descent, whereas socialism is oriented towards social gegen Islamisten oder Staat vor dem Kollaps? classes, which come into existence because of socio-eco- (Islamkundliche Untersuchungen, 263). Klaus Schwarz nomic developments. But I do not see how it would be con- Verlag, Berlin, 2004. (23,5 cm, 169). ISBN 3-87997- tradictory to have a combination of these different categories 323-7. ISSN 0939-1940. in a single ideology. Dr. Wieland notes that relatively few books have been pub- He quotes Tibi saying that the Ba{th ideologist Michel lished on contemporary Syria for a wider public. He describes {Aflaq was “enthusiastic about Hitler” (p. 42), but does not his own book as “das Ergebnis durchdiskutierter Nächte und explain any further. Here I think Wieland should have gone zahlreicher Interviews mit Zeitzeugen wie Oppositionellen, back to primary Arabic sources (which he, in general, uses Regierungsmitgliedern und ihnen nahe stehenden Personen, rather little). He mentions Zaki al-Arsuzi as one of the found- Analysten, Unternehmern, islamischen Geistlichen und vie- ing leaders of the Ba{th Party, but the much more prominent len Freunden. Die Studie versteht sich als aktueller Beitrag politician Akram al-Hawrani does not occur in the book, even zur syrischen Zeitgeschichte mit wissenschaftlichem when the Arab Socialist Party is shortly mentioned. Anspruch, aber auch als lebendige Lektüre für Laien und Wieland alleges that the “religious” {Aflaq could not be Interessierte durch eine journalistische Herangehensweise. reconciled with “atheist Marxism” (p. 45). But the conflict Trotz einleitender Kapitel über historische und at the time within the Ba{th Party about the role of socialism ideengeschichtliche Aspekte liegt der Fokus auf der aktuellen was much more about the question of whether Arab nation- politischen Situation in Syrien…. Vielleicht kann das Werk alism should have precedence over socialism or the other way dadurch auch ein Beitrag zum gegenseitigen Verständnis und round, rather than about socialism itself. Wieland also writes Dialog sein.” (pp. 6-7). about “the Christian” [Michel] Kilo (p. 116), or “the Kurd” In my opinion the main value of this book is to be found Kuftaro (p. 125) when in the described context their religious within the material distilled from the many discussions and or ethnic backgrounds are not really relevant. The details in interviews Dr. Wieland had, as well as within his descrip- themselves may be correct, but they sometimes suggest a tions and analysis of the political and social atmosphere in focus which diverts attention from the main theme with contemporary Syria. In particular, I found his analysis of var- which Wieland is concerned. ious less well known positive aspects of Syria refreshing, the Wieland incorrectly notes that {Aflaq, when in Iraq, was more so where he compares Syria to other countries in the during some time the deputy of Saddam Husayn (p. 46). In region, in fields such as secularism, religious tolerance or the his capacity of Secretary General of the Iraqi based National position of women in society. But there is also some exag- Command of the Ba{th Party, {Aflaq was officially always in geration, for instance when he quotes his sources as saying a higher position, however, although this did not imply that nostalgically that “in the 1960s and 1970s women used to sit he held any real power in Iraq. in teahouses together with men until late at night” (p. 22). I Wieland argues that the Syrian population allows itself to did not notice such a phenomenon when in Syria at the time. be easily distracted from Syrian internal and economic prob- Portraying some of the more positive dimensions of Syria lems, due to the so-called pro-Palestinian hard-line rhetoric does not mean that Dr. Wieland is without criticism. He of the Syrian mass media (p. 62). But I have strong doubts rather makes a serious effort to provide the reader with a about this thesis. Attracting the attention of the population to more balanced picture, in contrast to the many prevalent neg- one theme during a crisis situation is very possible. But to ative political descriptions of Syria, for instance as a “rogue” keep attracting this attention at the cost of other important or “terrorist” state. Next to Syria, Dr. Wieland also deals issues seems to be quite unlikely, if it is about a period of with various other parties playing a role in the Middle East, tens of years, let alone more than half a century (i.e. since such as the United States, the United Kingdom, the European 1948). Union, Israel, Hizbollah, Iran, the Ba{th Party in both Syria Wieland gives a good description of the possibilities and and Iraq, and the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. impossibilities of President Bashar al-Asad, when it comes The book is somewhat mixed in composition, as mentioned to exercising power over the so-called Ba{thist old guard, or by the author himself. Some chapters are for the general to carrying out social and political reforms. reader, others are more academic, and yet other chapters are Wieland gives an interesting description of the Kurdish rather journalistic in style. factor in Syrian political life. The Turkish PKK is, however, The chapter on the Ba{th Party and its ideology is more an incorrectly described as the “Communist Party of Kurdistan” analysis of various types of nationalism than that it is a clear whereas the correct name is the “Kurdish Workers Party”. description of the Ba{th ideology itself. According to Wieland explains in detail how he intends to transcribe Wieland, the Arab nationalism of the Ba{th Party should be Arabic words, and he even quotes some titles in the original 9840_BIOR_2007/1-2_01 27-04-2007 09:05 Pagina 118

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Arabic script. But the transcriptions are not always conse- most valuable section of the book is devoted to the coinage quent, clear or correct. Neither are some of the quotations in of jund Filas†in where the material in the Khalili collection is Arabic. amazingly rich. The most striking example is the 170 coins of The page numbers mentioned in the Index are almost all Iamnia (modern Yavneh)/Yubna, a mint not represented at all incorrect. If one subtracts four from the given numbers, how- in the Ashmolean Sylloge. The section on jund Filas†in is pre- ever, the Index becomes “correct” and usable. ceded by a study of the mint of Heliopolis/Ba{labakk in jund Wieland gives an interesting analysis of both the secular Dimashq based on nearly 1,000 coins of which, by contrast, and Islamic opposition in Syria, of the tactical positions of the Khalili collection has only ten. the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood concerning democracy, and In 77/696-7 the caliph {Abd al-Malik b. Marwan of the role of the media. (In this respect it would have been (65/685–86/705) began the decisive phase of a coinage interesting to have an analysis of how the combination of reform that led to the creation of a “reformed” Islamic Syrian censorship and the freedom to look at satellite televi- coinage in gold and silver which gradually became valid sion stations such as Al Jazeera, works in practice, and which throughout the caliphate and a copper coinage with a more effects this could have had on Syrian public opinion). localised circulation. With comparatively minor variations Wieland also deals with the issue of “terrorism” and the cat- this established the pattern of Islamic coinage until modern egorizing by the United States and Israel of Syria as a “rogue times. Numismatists call the coins issued by the Muslims state” (“Schurkenstaat”), and notes that all depends on the before this “pre-reform”. They are divided into two series: definition of terrorism one wishes to use for which parties. “Arab-Byzantine” (struck in gold and copper) and “Arab- He gives a critical analysis of US policies towards Syria and Sasanian” (silver and copper) derived from the coins of the its democratic opposition. On several occasions his arguments respective empires whose lands the Arabs had occupied. At are rather politicised. Wieland also gives some suggestions least two mints: Emesa/ÎimÒ and Damascus/Dimashq struck for political options vis-à-vis Syria which could be, or might both sorts; a simple illustration of how a descriptive classi- have been pursued by the European Union. But although fication can be historically misleading. these suggestions might theoretically have been correct, they The term “Arab-Byzantine” was coined by John Walker occasionally sound rather unrealistic when it comes to real in his British Museum Catalogue of 1956. It defined coins politics. Wieland, for instance, suggests that UK Prime Min- struck under Arab authority using Byzantine prototypes in ister Blair should have made a conditional linkage between Syria, North Africa and Spain. The Syrian Arab-Byzantine his support for the United States in its policies towards Iraq coinage has proved to be more complex and extensive than in 2003, and subsequent US efforts to be undertaken after the was appreciated even twenty years ago. It is subdivided by fall of the Ba{th regime in Baghdad towards Israel, forcing Goodwin in his 2002 Ashmolean Sylloge into “Pseudo- the latter for instance to stop building settlements in the occu- Byzantine”, “Umayyad Imperial Image” and “Standing pied territories and to work more seriously for a peace set- Caliph” and the distinction is followed in the present work. tlement with the Palestinians (p. 148). Without this linkage, The reason for the adoption of these terms would take too Blair, according to Wieland, provided President Bush with a long to explain here but it is made clear in the introduction. “Blanko-Scheck” (p. 149). But real politics work differently. It is one of the key objectives of the numismatist to date In his last chapter “Ausblick”, Wieland provides some the coins he is studying but the problems posed by this series interesting views on how Western countries might strategi- have proved so intractable that it is possible for scholars to cally and delicately deal with Syria, including its democratic hold widely differing views. These are defined as the “short” and moderate opposition forces, so as to prevent Islamic fun- and the “long” chronology (pp. 27-29). The former was first damentalist and other anti-Western forces from strengthen- advocated by Michael Bates who argued that both the ing their positions. Umayyad Imperial Image and Standing Caliph coins were In 2006 an updated and revised version of Dr. Wieland’s issued in the period 72/691–77/697. The opposing view, first book was published in English. put forward by Shraga Qedar, argues for a continuous issu- ing of coins in Syria ever since the mint of Antioch closed in Jakarta, October 2006 Nikolaos VAN DAM 610 of which the Arab-Byzantine coins were merely a phase lasting from about 20/640–81/700. Two contrasting sets of assumptions are implicit in these divergent views. The short ** chronology assumes that the coinage should be seen as part * of a reform which could not have been undertaken until the defeat of the Zubayrids. It therefore derives from an inter- GOODWIN, T. — Arab-Byzantine Coinage. (Studies in the pretation of literary evidence to which the coins have to be Khalili Collection Volume IV). I.B. Tauris, London and made to conform. It also pre-supposes a bureaucratic reform New York, 2005. (30.5 cm, 168 pp.). ISBN 1-87478- with the authorities at Dimashq playing a centralising and 075-7. £35.00. synthesising role. The long chronology depends on the prin- This work is companion to the same author’s section of the ciple that a society used to coinage cannot abandon it with- Ashmolean Sylloge of Pre-reform Islamic coins (2002). In out serious social consequences, of which there is no evi- order to make it self contained it uses some of the same intro- dence, and that the Syrian pre-reform coinage was a function ductory material though somewhat differently arranged and of local initiative rather than centrally inspired from the out- abbreviated. Whereas the core of the Sylloge is a descriptive set. Furthermore the coinage is too large and diverse to be list, this work has an analytical purpose that should be of more crammed into a mere six or so years. interest to any historian curious to know what recent progress Goodwin follows Bates’ axiom that Islamic coins are best in the numismatics of early Islam can contribute to our his- studied mint by mint and then jund by jund but his aim is to torical understanding of this contentious period. Probably the approach the problem without pre-conceptions and, in so far 9840_BIOR_2007/1-2_01 27-04-2007 09:05 Pagina 119

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as it is possible, let the coins speak for themselves. But why Ba{labakk-Dimashq die linked coins should exist. Goodwin should there be so much uncertainty? In the case of Arab- concludes that production was indeed centralised at Dimashq Byzantine coins many of the techniques normally available which issued coins with both mint marks. Another surprise to numismatists are of little use. Surprisingly few have been is the lack of stylistic resemblance between the rare Stand- found, or at least recorded, in excavations, there are only two ing Caliph coins of Ba{labakk and those of Dimashq. This or three hoards, the main one (Irbid) still largely unpublished, leaves Goodwin to posit a hiatus in minting, with Ba{labakk and the vestigial literary references (usefully listed in trans- coining Standing Caliph only just before the reform of lation pp. 157-160) raise more questions than they answer. 77/696-7. This may be premature given the wide stylistic The coins themselves convey little information apart from variety in Standing Caliph coins of Dimashq but there must their mint and contemporary imitations complicate identifi- have been a pause in minting at some stage. If this was due cation. One has to fall back on metrology and typology and, to political or military developments why did it not also affect above all, the analysis of dies and overstrikes. Any historian other mints? seriously interested in understanding and acquiring the tech- As far as dating is concerned, as is often the case, numis- niques necessary for investigating such intractable and unat- matic techniques prove decisive in resolving the relative but tractive coins will find them clearly explained and demon- not the absolute chronology. It is something of an anti-climax strated (pp. 55-56). One thing is missing: a clear warning of to read in the final sentence (p. 65) that we have to make do the danger of trying to extrapolate the size of a coinage from with “an educated guess of a maximum of three to five years the number of surviving dies. for the main series and rather less for the Dimashq Related As far as the mints of north Syria are concerned Ba{labakk Series and Standing Caliph”. Given the tiny sample of the lat- is a good place to start. The sample is manageable; ÎimÒ and ter two “rather less” seems too much of an understatement. Dimashq were certainly more important but the volume of A similar in-depth study of the coins of Dimashq will, hope- coinage is much greater. Unlike Tiberias/™abariyya there is fully, clarify the position though this will be an epic task. enough variation in each die to make identification compar- It has long been suspected that the early coinage of the atively easy. Goodwin has reason to be confident (p. 55) that three mints of jund Filas†in represents a wholly different pic- not only most of the dies (48 obverse 69 reverse) but also the ture from that of the more northern junds. Just how different die combinations have been identified. The vast majority of is highlighted by Goodwin’s research. Umayyad Imperial his material, nearly 1,000 Umayyad Imperial Image coins, Image coins of Filas†in (whose very existence is a recent dis- comes from commercial parcels which have reached the West covery) are very rare and the design of the Filas†in Standing in the last 20 years. Only one example of a pre-reform Caliph is so distinct that it is not wholly clear that they should Ba{labakk copper coin has been recorded from a controlled be regarded as the same type as the northern ones. Whereas excavation. the products of the mint of Ilya are fairly consistent the coins Typologically the Umayyad Imperial Image coins of of Yubna are poorly produced in a bewildering variety of Ba{labakk have an interesting symbiotic relationship with style and fabric. The third mint Diospolis/Ludd, where the those of Dimashq. Ba{labakk normally has two standing fig- Umayyad Imperial Image coins are less rare but the Stand- ures on the obverse, Dimashq a single standing figure. Occa- ing Caliph ones rather resemble Yubna, is described in an sionally they adopt each other’s types: a single figure at appendix (pp. 153-156). Ba{labakk, two standing figures at Dimashq. This could be Goodwin hypothesises that the rare Umayyad Imperial taken as indicating that at some stage the production of the Image coins of Ilya are quite early, and after an interval the dies, if not the actual striking of the coins, was centralised at so-called “Filas†in Standing Caliph” coinage began in the mid Dimashq. Consequently in his analysis Goodwin is concerned to late 680s/66-70 (i.e. long before the end of the second civil to see if the number of dies can throw any light on the dura- war) when {Abd al-Malik, then newly elected, was becoming tion of issue and the relationship with the issues of Dimashq interested in the propaganda potential of Jerusalem (p. 92). suggested by the sharing of types. They provided the inspiration for the subsequent Standing The illustrations lack contrast and the essential detail which Caliph type which only began in 74/693-4. At Yubna the sit- is used to identify individual dies is sometimes invisible. As uation was otherwise since a unique Umayyad Imperial Image far as I could tell by comparing a number of specimens with coin in the Khalili collection reverse die links with a Stand- the illustrations the analysis is accurate and provided the coin ing Caliph coin of Ilya style (p. 119 no. 1 and p. 142 no. 154). is in reasonable condition it is not too difficult to identify the It would have been helpful to group these closer together. At die in Goodwin’s plates. The evidence for three different both mints the obverse legend MuÌammad rasul Allah raises engravers is not very clear on the illustrations on p. 59. The interesting questions both political and artistic. The coins same applies for the “unusually high standard of engraving of should be seen in the context of the civil war rather than its the Ba{albak standing caliph coins” illustrated on p. 82. Some aftermath. The standing figure could represent the Prophet readers may also be unconvinced by the rejection of so many rather than the caliph (discussion pp. 92-93 and 109-110). coins as “irregular”. In fairness this is often a matter of sub- There is still no convincing explanation as to why the jective judgement based on the fabric of the coin and not Umayyad Imperial Image coinage of Filas†in should have always apparent from a photograph no matter how good. been on such a small scale. Historians may also find the argu- The mint began with a cross on steps separating two fig- ments about the dating of the Ilya coins, which are essentially ures which was soon replaced (for ideological reasons?) with stylistic and typological, too subjective. Goodwin argues that just two figures but these were all part of a single issue. The the cursive m (a traditional feature) on the reverse of the Ilya type with a single standing figure stands apart. The Standing Standing Caliph coins is one indicator that the issue is ear- Caliph issue was surprisingly small. These conclusions have lier than the normal type with an effigy on steps. He has, been anticipated but it is useful to have them confirmed. however, demonstrated that the evolution of designs took a What was not foreseeable was that an extensive series of different course in jund Filas†in from jund Dimashq. Does 9840_BIOR_2007/1-2_01 27-04-2007 09:05 Pagina 120

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the difference in design prove anything either way? In the case of Yubna there is concrete evidence in the form of a die link to show that the Umayyad Imperial Image type directly preceded the mint’s version of the Standing Caliph but the dating of the former depends on its stylistic resemblance to Umayyad Imperial Image issues of Dimashq with which it is not necessarily contemporary. Little is said about the pattern of minting in jund al-Urdunn which also has its own pecu- liarities. Apart from Philadelphia/{Amman the mints in this jund did not strike the Standing Caliph type at all. There is one exception: a very rare coin with two standing ‘caliphs’ instead of one and with a large M on the reverse. The coin is mentioned on p. 32, no. 44 but not illustrated. This specif- ically cites {Abd al-Malik and, despite the M reverse seems to be contemporary with the main Standing Caliph series. That said the conclusions seem perfectly plausible given the current state of knowledge. The above summary may also give a false impression. Goodwin’s style is far from dogmatic and he is, I suspect, only too aware of how subsequent discoveries may alter the picture. His carefully worded concluding remarks (p. 148ff.) need to be studied carefully by anyone interested in inves- tigating his hypotheses which one hopes will be the case. There is a good deal here which should be of interest to non- numismatists. One area which may provide fertile ground for more work is the interruptions in production now demonstrable at both Ilya and Ba{labakk. Goodwin mentions possible causes, polit- ical and military, and these need to be pursued. Curiously he omits from his introductory catalogue a coin of ™abariyya possibly citing the Kharijite rebel Qa†ari (d. 79/698). The attribution is highly controversial but it may be another instance of coins reflecting events of which there is no writ- ten record. Another consideration is recent discoveries in the silver coinage just before and after 77 which may throw light on the so called Arab-Byzantine coinage. Unfortunately for the non-numismatist most of the literature on this is confined to sale catalogues.

Biggleswade, UK, December 2006 Marcus PHILLIPS