Umayyad Caliphate. Uncertain period (post-reform), AH 77-132 / CE 697-750. Fals (Bronze, 15 mm, 2.57 g, 3 h), pictorial type, Ṭabariya (Tiberias), no date. Stylized ram’s head (?) within circle; in margin: lā ilāha illā Allāh [waḥdahū] (‘There is no deity but God alone’ in Arabic). Rev. Mint-name within circle: Ṭabar / iya (‘Ṭabariya’ in Arabic); in margin: [Muḥammad] rasūl Allāh (‘Muhammad is the Messenger of God’ in Arabic). Album A188. Jeselsohn IV 271-277. SICA II, 1231. SNA Tübingen IVa, 360. Walker p. 267, P.137. Very rare. Deposits, otherwise, good very fine.



Ṭabariya (Tiberias) occupied a strategic position on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and was among the leading towns of early Islamic Palestine. Under the Umayyads, its importance is reflected not only in its urban growth and regional role, but also in its varied local bronze coinage.

This rare type is especially notable for the enigmatic image on the obverse, usually described as a stylized ram’s head. It shows that, while Umayyad silver and gold had become fully epigraphic, provincial bronze coinage could still preserve local visual traditions and experimental designs.

The reverse is unusually direct in its presentation of the mint-name, with Ṭabariya placed in the central field rather than only in a marginal formula.