Two Syrian coins

by Marcus Milwright | Talking about art

What can coins tell us about the evolution of religious and political ideas in new states? This talk looks at two coins minted in the early decades of the Islamic empire in the seventh century, and considers their links to the coins made by the Byzantine empire of Constantinople.

Arab-Byzantine coin minted in Ba’albak, Lebanon, late seventh century.
‘Standing caliph’ coin, probably minted in Aleppo, 690s.