Miles, George C.

University of Thessaly Institutional Repository

A RECENT FIND OF COINS OF THE AMIRS OF CRETEStudents of mediaeval Cretan history will be interested to learn that some copper coins (fulus) dating from the period of the Arab occupation of Crete were recently found in Can- dia *.The existence of this class of coins has been established only within the last two years, although some specimens were known years ago and were misattributed then and later by various wri­ters to Spain or to other areas To Dr. John Walker, Keeper of the Department of Coins and Medals in the British Museum, goes the credit for the proper attribution of these coins of the Amirs of Crete. His article describing both gold and copper coins struck in Crete during the latter half of the 9th century appeared in The Numismatic Chronicle, 1953, pp. 125 - 130, and it is on the basis of this contribution that the following attributions are made.The coins in question (nos. 2 - 6 illustrated in the accompa­nying plate A', enlarged about 2 diameters) are in very poor con­dition, but there can be no doubt about their correct identifi­cation. No. 1 is almost completely effaced but is probably iden­tical with nos. 3, 4 and 6, which are similar to Walker’s no. 6, their reconstructed legends reading :*) The coins were discovered during the course of excavating the foundations for a new hotel in the street leading to the port (οδός 25 Αύγουστου), just opposite the Post - Office, in a depth of some metres. These coins were first recognised as possibly Arabic by Mr N. Pla­ton, Director of the Candia Museum. He says that the stratum to which these coins belonged underlay some Venetian constructions. Another earlier stratum, possibly roman, has been noticed under the Arabic one. In the same area there were found coins of the second Byzantine pe­riod, (after 961). From the Arabic coins only six are preserved and from these only five conserve their characters, the other being quite il­legible.‘) See for example Antonio Vivesy Escudero, Monedas de las Dinastias Arabigo - Espanolas (Madrid, 1893), nos. 341 and 342; and, following him, George C. Miles, The Coinage of the Umayyads of Spain (New York, 1950), nos. 181(g) and (h).Institutional Repository - Library & Information Centre - University of Thessaly08/12/2017 06:55:37 EET - 137.108.70.7150 George MilesObversej | y There is no god but ^ aa>3 dJJI Allah, He is one; there is no j ^ * Partner with him.Border consisting of a linear circle enclosed by circles of dots.ReverseMuhammad is the messenger dill of Allah , Shu'aibBorder as on obverse.Nos. 2 and 5 are similar to Walker’s no. 5, their legends being identical with those given above with the addition of thename (‘Umar) beneath the obverse area.In view of the deteriorated condition of these specimens the weights have no significance.In Walker’s opinion, to which I subscribe, the latter coins (nos. 2 and 5) are attributable to Abu - Hafs 'Umar, the first Amir of Crete, and are to be dated about 850 A. D. (about 235 of the Hijrah). The name of Shu' aib beneath the reverse area would be that of his son and successor5. In the case of nos. 1, 3, 4 and 6, bearing Shu'aib’s name alone, there can be little doubt that these coins belong to Shu‘aib’s reign and are to be dated after ca. 854 A. D. (240 A. H.).There are many voids in our knowledge of this interesting period in the history of Crete, but it is with the aid of such little documents as these that we are able in part to fill the empty spaces. Certain gold coins published by Walker, bearing not only Shu'aib’s name but also the dates 271, 275 and 281 A. H. (884, 888 and 894 A. D.) have been of special importance in supporting a tentative chronology for the Amirs of Crete, but these humble coppers are also part of the record. It is to be3) Walker however reserves the possibility that the ‘Umar named here may be a son of Shu'aib, which would place these coins in the reign of Shu'aib and datable therefore a generation (or less) later.Institutional Repository - Library & Information Centre - University of Thessaly08/12/2017 06:55:37 EET - 137.108.70.7A recent find of coins of the Amirs of Crete 161hoped that this short note may serve to bring to the attention of students of Cretan history, particularly of those who reside in Crete, the existence of coins of this type; and that it may be instrumental in bringing to light other specimens, perhaps with further data which will supplement our knowledge*.GEORGE C. MILES8) Since the appearance of Walker’s article I have myself found a number of these coppers, hitherto unattributed or wrongly assigned, three in the cabinets of the American Numismatic Society in New York, one in the coin collection of the Greek Gymnasium in Alexandria, Egypt, and several in a private collection. Unfortunately none of them has added anything new to the record, except to show that specimens are not so rare as one might have thought. I understand also that ano­ther copper of this class was found last year by the Italian School of Archaeology in their excavations at Gortyna.Institutional Repository - Library & Information Centre - University of Thessaly08/12/2017 06:55:37 EET - 137.108.70.7

A recent find of coins of the Amirs of Crete

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