ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. temp. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. Drachm (Silver, 31 mm, 4.00 g, 12 h), Arab-Sasanian ‘Kharijite’ type, ART (Ardashir-Khurrah), AH 75 = AD 694/5. Draped bust resembling Khosrau II to right, wearing an elaborate mural crown; behind head, ‘GDE / ʾp̄zwt'’ (‘[may his] glory increase’ in Pahlavi); before head, ‘LOYT' d’twbl / BRA yẕdt'’ = ‘nēst dādwar bē yazad’ (‘There is no judge save God’ in Pahlavi); in the outer margin, ‘bism Allāh – lā ḥukm illā li-llāh’ (‘In the name of Allah. No judgement except Allah’s’ in Arabic). Rev. Fire altar with ribbons, flanked by two attendants; above altar, star and crescent; to left, date in Pahlavi; to right, ART (abbreviation for the name of the mint in Pahlavi). Album 34. Extremely rare. Minor staining, otherwise, about extremely fine.


This type was most probably struck by Qaṭarī ibn al-Fujāʾa (circa AH 69-79 / AD 688-698), a poet and the declared caliph of a Kharijite rebellious group.