THE MERGER OF TWO CURRENCY ZONES IN EARLY ISLAM. THE BYZANTINE AND SASANIAN IMPACT ON THE CIRCULATION IN FORMER BYZANTINE SYRIA AND NORTHERN MESOPOTAMIA By STEFAN HEIDEMANN Reprinted from IRAN XXXVI 1998 Published lry THE BRITISH INSTITUTE OF PERSlAN STUDIES THE MERGEROF TWO CURRENCYZONES IN EARLYISLAM. THE BYZANTINEAND SASANIAN IMPACTON THE CIRCULATION IN FORMERBYZANTINE SYRIA AND NORTHERN MESOPOTAMIA' By Stefan Heidemann Friedrich-Schiller-UniversitdtJena 1 INTRODUCTION separately with little mutual interaction. The adapta- tion was different for each principal currency metal: The Islamic empire was founded and formed in gold, silver and copper. The region to be studied is the second half of the seventh century. The caliphate the former Byzantine territories of the Islamic ruled over three different major political, cultural empire, sc. Syria and northern Mesopotamia.5 I will and economic spheres: the Visigothic, the Byzantine focus less on the succession of coin types, a topic that and the Sasanian one. The empire embraced at least has been adequately studied by others.6My main three different currency zones, the western in North arguments will be drawn from coin hoards and Africa and Spain, based on the late Roman tremissis, archaeological finds.7 the Byzantine based on the gold solidus and the First, I will treat the Byzantine impact on circula- imperial standard copper coin, the follis, as well as tion reflected in gold hoards of the seventh century the Sasanian based on the silver drahm.2 with some remarks on the copper coinage. Then, I The Islamic conquest finally changed the region's will turn to the new element in the Syrian circula- political and monetary geography after the troubled tion: the Sasanian coins as seen in silver hoards. decades of the Persian wars.3 For centuries, the Euphrates and the Tigris had served as border between the Hellenistic-Roman west and the 2 THE GOLD COINAGE Parthian-Sasanianeast. The newly-established border at the Taurus Mountains set up a barrier between The coinage in Syria and northern Mesopotamia Syria and its traditional supply of coins, Byzantium. at the time of the Islamic conquest comprised the On the other hand, the conquest removed perma- Byzantine copper follis and the Byzantine gold nently the border with the former Sasanian empire. solidus, the last called nomisma in Greek papyri.8 With the establishment of Damascus as capital, a Both were imperial coinages, struck mainly at the steady influx of Sasanian silver coins into Syria was capital, Constantinople. In the period under consid- unleashed.4 Together with the consolidation of the eration, no Byzantine coins were struck in Syria,9 empire, attempts at monetary reforms were made. and no Byzantine silver coinage was in circulation. A brief glance at the coin types struck in the cen- In Byzantine Syria, the gold solidi were the main tral areas of the empire shows the reform from pre- means of payment for larger transactions and taxa- Islamic currencies to the Islamic coinage to be fairly tion. Taxes were levied in gold solidi, which were car- clear-cut. After a brief period of experimentation in ried to the treasury in Constantinople.10 In order to the year 77/696, CAbdal-Malik introduced the new, control the quality of the tax-money, all coins were purely epigraphic, gold dinfir. In the following two melted down to ingots. For government expenses years the first Islamic silver dirhams were put into cir- the gold was reminted into new coins.11 In order to culation: a uniform coinage of fairly exact weight maintain this fiscal circulation, the export of gold standard that circulated in the heartlands of the coins was prohibited from the late Roman period Islamic empire from North Africa to Transoxiana. onwards.12 Copper coins were the main means of But if one looks at coin hoards and archaeological exchange in daily purchases. Copper coinage was a finds, the picture turns out to be much more hetero- vital constituent part of the fiscal gold circulation. It geneous and varying from region to region. was produced to be sold to the public by money How did the merger of these two pre-Islamic cur- changers to yield additional gold for the treasury.13 rencies-the Byzantine and the Sasanian-take One of the last gold issues of Heraclius that arrived place? How and in what stages were they adapted to in Syriabefore the conquest depicts Heraclius and his the new political geography? The impact of both son Heraclius Constantine. This type is represented on these pre-Islamic currencies on the early Islamic the plate by a contemporary plated forgery found in monetary system will be analysed. Both developed Syria (no. 1, see P1. XVI, 1).14 The last type reaching 95 96 JOURNAL OF PERSIAN STUDIES Syria under Byzantine rule shows three standing issues. He also mentioned a nearly contemporary emperors, Heraclius and his two sons.15The Heraclian hoard from Baysan in Palestine which shows the gold coinage was widespread, so that it became the same pattern.22 model for various imitations16before the introduction These few hoards prove that Islamic Syria was not of the first official Arab gold solidus in Byzantine totally cut off from the gold supply from style.17The first gold solidi which can be assumed as Byzantium.23 However, the influx of new coins was commissioned by official Islamic authorities repeated restricted after 636. It seems that Syria had to rely the last type of Heraclius, the three standing imperial mainly on the existing stock of gold coins left from figures but without crosses. Michael Bates divides the time before the Arab conquest. The coins arriv- these into two sub-series, one with Greek letters and ing in Syria later on barely supplemented the exist- another with the Islamic creed in Arabic. He dates the ing stock. Their number was significantly lower com- beginning of this coinage, which bears no mint and pared to those to be found in the territory of the date, to the year 72/691-2 parallel to the dated Arab former Byzantine empire. The significance of this drahms in Sasanian style from Damascus.18 observation, with regard to the monetary organisa- In 636, following the battle of Yarmilk,Syria came tion in the early Islamic period, is that payments and under Arab sway. How did this affect the gold circula- tax debts had to be financed with the old Byzantine, tion? Some Syrian gold hoards provide us with a cer- mostly Heraclian, gold coins. tain amount of information. They were buried in the cAbd al-Malik introduced a regular gold coinage period between the Islamic conquest and the coinage in Damascus nearly fifty-fiveyears after the conquest, reforms of CAbdal-Malik. The earliest is a hoard of around 72/691-2. After some experimental issues twenty-seven solidi struck between 607 and 649-50 with some Byzantine as well as Arab-Islamic features, from Palmyra.19The second in the series is a hoard this coinage received its final design in 77/696. In from Nablus, twenty-nine gold coins, struck between this year the caliph introduced the well known epi- 607 and 668.20 The third, the Nikertai hoard, was graphic coin type. The type is represented here excavated close to Qalcat (Afamiya/Apamea). (no. 2, see P1. XVI, 2) by a contemporary plated It comprises 534 ByzantineMud.iq gold coins from the time counterfeit bearing the year 125/742-3.24 of Mauricius Tiberius (582-602) up to Constantine Let us now turn to the gold hoards from Syria IV (668-85).21 C. Morrisson determined the terminus and northern Mesopotamia after 77/692. Eight post quemas 681. She observed an over-representation Umayyad gold hoards are known from Syria and of the coins of Heraclius in these hoards for this late Palestine.25 They have terminal dates between the burial date in comparison to other hoards from years 103/721-2 and 132/749-50. None of these Byzantine territory proper. gold hoards includes any Byzantine or transitional Two hoards analysed by W. E. Metcalf yield a gold issue or any silver coin.26 They contain only result similar to what Morrisson established for the Umayyad reformed gold dina-rs.27This seems to be Nikertai hoard, but much more clearly. The earlier the case for early cAbbasid Dinatr hoards as well.28 one came from a village called Daphne, five kilome- Why are these Umayyad gold hoards so uniform? The ters from Antakya. It was put down probably not hoards seem to indicate that very soon after the intro- much later than c. 60/680. It consisted of sixty-six duction of the epigraphic dinar, the existing stock of coins. The majority of them were struck under Byzantine coins in circulation must have been Heraclius. Only ten solidi were minted later. One of exchanged against new, purely Islamic coins. The the final coins is an obvious Islamic imitation of a metal for this vast emission must have come from the Heraclian solidus but apparently made of fine gold. old Byzantine gold coins circulating in Syria.29They This coin was dated by Metcalf to the "decade or so must have been melted down to re-appear as after 670". Metcalf pronounces thus on the hoard: reformed Arab dinfirs. There are no contemporary "The total of only seven coins of Constans (one a reports commenting on the actual procedure of this semissis) and two of Constantine IV is extremely low decisive transformation in monetary history.30 We for a hoard that cannot have been deposited before can only provide a hypothetical explanation on the 674 at the earliest. In fact, if one removes from con- basis of parallel phenomena in the history of coinage.