ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. temp. Mu'awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan, AH 41-60 / AD 661-680. Fals (Bronze, 19 mm, 4.21 g, 4 h), Arab-Byzantine type, Dimashq. Imperial figure standing facing, holding long cross in his right hand and globus cruciger in his left; in left field, falcon standing right on T (falcon perch?); in right field, ΔΑΜΑCKOC clockwise to right. Rev. Large M in center; above, monogram; below, officina mark of inverted crescent with short line beneath; around Arabic legend reading darb dimashq ja'iz ('current issue [of] Dimashq'). Goodwin&Gyselen p. 228, 60. The reverse struck slightly off center, otherwise, very fine.


Falconry played an important role within the Umayyad culture: it was a favorite pastime of the ruling elite and a symbol of high status, and it is said that Yazid I ibn Mu'awiya, the son and successor of Mu'awiya I ibn Abi Sufyan, even had separate houses built for his beloved falcons.