Scepticisms in the Formation of Islamic Rational Theology: Abū al‐Qāsim al‐Balkhī and Ibn al‐Malāḥimī Providing a Window on the Transmission of Arguments from Late Antiquity

The unceasing approximation of the remarkable 2000th anniversary of the coming to the world of Christ highlights the need for further analysis of those processes that took place in the spiritual life of the ancient peoples and laid the foundations of modern civilization with its universal human norms and values.

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Brahmi legends on Umayyad Fulus: Interrogating local minting practices and numismatic transculturation in Gandhara (ca. 750 CE)

Afghanistan ◽

10.3366/afg.2019.0029 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 153-165

Author(s):

Waleed Ziad

Keyword(s):

Base Metal ◽

Late Antiquity ◽

Eighth Century ◽

Political Authority ◽

Unusual Feature ◽

Complex Relationship ◽

Contact Zones ◽

Confessional Identity ◽

Derivatives Of

This paper concerns a historically significant find of copper derivatives of Umayyad post-reform fulus from Gandhara, probably minted in the mid-eighth century under Turk Shahi sovereignty (c. 667–875). The coins share an unusual feature: two Brahmi aksharas on an Umayyad AE prototype, inversely oriented to a partially-corrupted Arabic legend. These base metal coins represent perhaps the only known caliphal imitative varieties issued by moneyers beyond the eastern limits of Umayyad and Abbasid sovereignty. They have the potential to inform our understanding of the complex relationship between political authority, confessional identity, and coin typology in late antiquity – particularly within early “Hindu”– “Muslim” contact zones. Moreover, they provide invaluable clues into the circulatory regimes of Umayyad coinage.

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