Uploads from Ted Kandell, tagged expression

Summary of reasons why this coin must be a portrait of the Prophet Muhammad:

nobody@flickr.com (Ted Kandell) — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 23:53:57 -0700

In 693 CE, the Byzantine Empire for the very first time issued coins that had Jesus on the obverse, instead of a portait of the reigning emperor or him and his heirs. This image of Jesus was no mere common religious image: This was a copy of the Divine True Image of Christ taken from the sacred relic, the Cloth of Edessa. The very image on the Byzantine coinage was in and of itself a kind of sacred relic, an "image not made by human hands." This would have caused a serious problem for Muslims: The Byzantine coinage that was in official use by the Caliphate now bore an idolatrous image, a miraculous portrait of Christ as Lord, a kind of holy icon itself worthy of adoration. The legend on the obverse even explicity said "Jesus Christ Lord Savior King of those who rule." Muslims of course were commanded to destroy all idols and idolatrous images
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This created an immedate need for the Caliphate to issue a coin suitable for Muslims to handle.This substitute for the True Image of Christ was a portrait of the final Messenger of God, in an clearly human fashion, flanked by his closest companion and brother-in-law, and his wife, with the figures shown almost the same size as him. The legend on the obverse even is a part of the very creed of Islam, the Shahada: "Muhammad the apostle of God", a direct response to the part of the Nicene Creed of Christianity paraphrased on the obverse of the Byzantine coin: "Lord Jesus Christ ... his kingdom will never end..&quot

The single pillar on the reverse vs. the cross potent on the reverse of the contemporary Byzantine coinage. The single pillar on steps mounted by a ball, is a symbol of the central tenet of Islam, the unity of God. This is opposed to the three arms of the cross with bars mounted on steps, and also ending in balls, in addition to being a cross are also a symbol of the Holy Trinity.

The central figure both grasping a sword and gesturing as if preaching, as opposed the the Sign of Blessing made by Jesus on the Byzantine Coin. This explanatory gesture on the Muslim Coin is appropriate to a Messenger of God, but not to a portrait of a Caliph.

The need for an iconographic coinage acceptable to the Byzantines to pay the required tribute to the Byzantine Empire after the defeat of 689 CE, yet one that was distinctively Islamic.

The obverse inscription which says "Muhammad the Prophet of God" but which makes no reference to the ruling Caliph as on all later Muslim coinage.

The unique nature of this coin, with the image being entirely different from that of the contemporary "Standing Caliph" issues, both in the portait of the central figure, and the presence of three figures on the coin.

The complete withdrawal from circulation of this issue upon pain of death just 2 years later.The severity of this decree would not be fitting a mere portrait of a Caliph, but points to a new, total restriction of religious imagery of any kind as idolatrous.

The accordance of the features of the portrait of the central figure with the descriptions of the Prophet Muhammad from the Hadith. e.g. the full beard. This is modelled on the Byzantine coin portrait of the Emperor Constantine II, yet the figure is grasping a sword in the right hand as opposed to a globus cruciger, a Imperial and religioius symbol of universal rule.

The female figure is veiled. At the earliest stage of Islam, only the Prophet's wives were explicily required to be veiled.

This is also a counter to the Shia trilogy of Muhammad, Ali and Fatima. There is the presence on the coin of the first Caliph Abu Bakr, instead of Ali, who was regarded as the first legitimate Caliph by the Shia. His daughter and Muhammad's wife Aisha was the rallying point of the Umayyads and directly opposed the right of Ali to be Caliph in the struggle between them. Caliph Abd el-Malik's father himself, the Caliph Marwan ibn al-Hakam, was a key ally of Fatima's in the battles of the First Islamic Civil War.

There is a portrait of Abu Bakr and his daughter Aisha vs. Abu Bakr and his other daughter, Aisha's sister and Abdullah ibn az-Zubair's mother Asma. The revolt of the anti-Caliph ibn az-Zubair in Mecca, Abu Bakr's grandson, after twelve years, was finally supressed the year before in 692 CE, This recapture of the holy city of Mecca resulted in the final complete reunification of the Islamic Caliphate under the Umayyads.

Finally, the most compelling reason: A woman bearing a sword - a portrayal of a woman unique in the history of Islam. A fitting portrait for the Prophet Muhammad's wife Aisha, who played a pivotal role in the civil war between the Caliph Ali and the Umayyad governor of Damascus Muawiya, particularly at the Battle of the Camel in 656 CE, a battle which was explicitly [but indirectly] named for Aisha, who personally played a key role in this battle.

Taboo Numismatics Part IV: Comparison of the coinage of Christian Byzantine Emperor Justinian II, 685-692 CE [L], and that of the Muslim Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik 693 CE (AH 77) [R]

nobody@flickr.com (Ted Kandell) — Wed, 17 May 2006 07:18:30 -0700

Ted Kandell posted a photo:

Left: Byzantine Emperor Justinian II Rhinometus. First reign, 685-695 AD. Gold Solidus (4.45 g, 6h). Constantinople mint. Struck 692-695.

Obverse: Facing bust of Christ holding jewelled Gospel; cross behind head, right hand raised in blessing. 692 CE.
Legend: IHS CRIST D S REX REGINORUM
Latin: Ihesus Cristus Dominus Salvator Rex Reginorum = "Jesus Christ Lord Savior King of Those Who Rule". This is the very first instance this motto being used on coinage..

Reverse: Cross potent on base of four steps. Struck 685-691 CE. Typical Byzantine reverse pre-692. The cross potent on steps is thought to be a portrayal of the great jewelled cross erected in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on site of the Crucifixion.
Legend: VICTORIA AVGuH
Latin: Victoria Augusti = "Victory of the Emperor" a traditional Roman numismatic legend signifying a recent victory in battle by the Emperor, in this case over the Caliphate in Syria in 689. (S 1247; DO 6)

Right: Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan 77 AH (693 CE).. Gold Dinar, Damascus mint.

Obverse: Center: The Prophet Muhammad, flanked on the left by his Companion and First Caliph Abu Bakr, and on the right by his wife and Abu Bakr's daughter Aisha. All three are grasping swords in their right hands, including Aisha, and Aisha is wearing a veil.

Reverse: Single column with ball on four steps. Legend: "There is no God but God and Muhammad is the Apostle of God." (The Muslim profession of faith) and "Damascus Year 77". The single column is a symbol of the unity of God, as opposed to the cross potent, both a symbol of the Crucifixion of Jesus and a symbol of the Trinity.

It certainly seems that the Islamic type here represented is directly modelled on the previous Byzantine type (the reverse) and the obverse is in clear response to the copy of the face of Jesus from the Mandylion, the "Holy True Image", a portrait believed "not to have been made by human hands". The unacceptable ot Muslims Christian profession of the divinity of Jesus was replaced by the Muslim profession of failth on the reverse. and a corresponding true-to-life portrait of the Prophet Muhammad, along with his wife and closest companion, to signify the Prophet's pure humanity, replaced the "divine" portrait of Jesus as Lord and Savior. The motto on the Byzantine coin "King Over Those Who Rule" is a direct attack as well on the Islamic name of the Caliph Abd al-Malik, which means in Arabic "The Servant of the King". In Islam, Khalifa [Caliph] in Arabic means "successor [to the Prophet]". Rulers were "Emir al-Muamin", the "Commander of the Faithful", or "Successor", not "King". There is only one "King" in Islam, God himself, and not his "Son".

A Bibliography of Recent Work on Syrian Arab-Byzantine Coinage

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Taboo Numismatics Part I: A very early Islamic portrait of the Prophet Muhammad?

nobody@flickr.com (Ted Kandell) — Sun, 05 Feb 2006 18:44:49 -0800

Ted Kandell posted a photo:

Gold Dinars (from the Latin Denarius) of the Ummayad Caliph Abd al-Malik, 693 CE (AH 77).

Who are the three figures on the obverse of the first coin?
They are usually described as "unidentified".
Are they the Prophet Muhammad, with his companion and later first Caliph Abu-Bakr on the left, and his wife and Abu-Bakr's daughter Aisha on the right?
This would make sense from an Umayyad perspective. They could not be the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and fourth Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib and his wife and Muhammad's daughter Fatima az-Zahra, The Calpih Ali was the opponent of the Umayyads in the First Islamic Civil War. The standard Byzantine protocol for representing three figures on a coin is that the most significant is larger and stands in the center, flanked by the next most important personage on his rght [the left for the viewer], and the other on his left.
Notice that all three are grasping swords, including the woman - a unique pose for a woman, but one that is in total accord with what we know of the historical role of Aisha in the Battle of the Camel. It seems that this female figure is veiled as well, another strong clue as to her identity, since it was required at this stage that the wives of the Prophet Muhammad absolutely be veiled. There is no other example in history of a woman being depicted on any Islamic coin. This coin is absolutely unique, and only one single example survives. It is currently housed in the British Museum.

Is this coin a true portrait, based on the recollections of the surviving Companions of the Prophet? [The period of as-Salaf us-Salih.] This coin was minted in the year AH 77, 67 years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, well within the lifetimes of those who knew him.

In 689 CE, as a result of a military defeat by the Byzantine armies of Justinian II, the Caliph Abd al-Malik was forced to pay tribute to the Byzantine Empire. In 693 CE, the Emperor Justinian II refused tribute from the Caliphate in coins that did not have images on them. The newly issued Byzantine gold solidi depicting Christ as Lord and Savior were of course unacceptable to Muslms. This "Affair of the Coins" set the stage for a symbolic confrontation.

The second coin is is said to depict the Caiph Abd al-Malik. This is an example of what is known as the "Praying Caliph" type of Arab-Byzantine coin. The detail of the portraiture in this coin is remarkable, for any period. The figure portrayed holds both hands out in front of him, which is the initial gesture of Islamic prayer. The legend around the figure on the obverse of the second coin is the Islamic profession of faith: There is no God but God and Muhammad is the messenger of God. It is clear that at this point, a figural representation on a coin was not regarded as being against Islamic orthodox belief.

The column on the reverse of both coins is meant to be a rejoinder to the traditional Byzantine depiciton of the cross potent (with bars on the ends) upon a base of four steps. It is a symbol of the unity of God, a fundamental tenet of Islam, as opposed to the Christian Trinity.

The third coin was the model for all subsequent Islamic coins: Text only, with the profession of faith on the obverse. When this coin was issued, in 695 CE, on the advice of a council of Islamic religious experts, the Caliph Abd al-Malik withdrew the previous issues from circulation upon pain of death. Why the extreme severity of the change of policy?

A Bibliography of Recent Work on Arab-Byzantine Coinage