ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. temp. 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, AH 65-86 / AD 685-705. Pashiz (Bronze, 14 mm, 2.38 g, 9 h), pre-reform type, Tabaristan, AH 70 = 689/690. Draped and crowned Sasanian-style bust to right; two stars above; to left and right, ‘GDE ˗ kyʾn’ (‘Glory of the Kayanians’ in Pahlavi). Rev. Fire altar; two stars above; to left, ‘hp̄tʾt’ (‘70’ in Pahlavi); to right, ‘tpwlstʾn’ (‘Tabaristan’ in Pahlavi). Album 48.1. Gyselen 46a. Malek 204.2. Very rare. Areas of weakness and with some deposits, otherwise, good fine.


The Kayanian kings were the heroes of Zoroastrian texts and of the Shāhnāma, the Iranian national epic. Some scholars take ‘Kayān’ on this coin as the name of a ruler. The date is also variously read as PYE 70 = AD 721 or PYE 107 = AD 758.