Journal of the Orisntal Numismatic ociety

ISSN

IBlB-1252

Editor: Stan Goron, Croydon, Surrey, UK

AssisTont Editor: Robert Brocey, Dept.

e-mal: s.goron@blueyonder.co.u

of Coins & Medcls,

British Museum, London WCI B 3DG, UK

,,):j,'lr,,
k

gondhoro.geo@yahoo.com

she read the legend as 'Isa Mahisa', perhaps infuenced by her

Guru, Prof. Mirashi's assertion of a 'Mahisha' dynasty. Apart from
Satavahana coins, Dr Gokhale was well-known for her discovery

OI{S NE,WS
Obituuries

Remembering a Doyenne

- flr

of copper coins of the Kalachuri ruler, Krishnaraja, which were

Shobhana Gokhale

Eminent historian

of

ancient

Maharashtra, numismatist and

epigraphist, Dr Shobhana Gokhale
breathed her last at Pune on 22
June 2013. Dr Gokhale, fondly
addressed by her students as 'Bai',
was associated closely with the
Deccan College where she worked
and taught for her entire
professional life and with other

dffi prominent institutions

iiilii:i!iiii!rli

discovered on the island of Elephanta, famed for its wonderful

cave temples. She was also instrumental is studying and publishing
a hoard of silver Western Kshatrapa coins, found at Ranjangaon
near Pune, Her contribution to numismatics was recognised by the

Numismatic Society of India by awarding her the 'Biddulph

Medal' in 1985 and the 'P L Gupta Medaf in 2007. She attended
the International l.{umismatic Congress in Brussels in 1993 and
chaired a session on Oriental numismatics. She was also a fellow
of the Royal l.{umismatic Society of Great Britain.

like

the
Maharashtra
Vidyapeeth and the Bhandarkar Oriental Research InsTitute.
Amaravati,
the Vidarbha region of
She \/as born
Maharashtra, ne Bapat. The great indologist, V V Mirash, was her
Guru for some time when she read for her degree in Sanskdt. After

Bharata Itihasa Samshodhaka Mandala,

in

the

Tilak

in

her marriage to L I Gokhale (a scholar in journalistic studies), she

Gajalakshn coin

to

Pune. For her post-graduate studies she chose

archaeology and did her PhD under the guidance of the well-

moved

known archaeologist, Dr Hasmukh Sankhalia.

Dr Gokhale's career spanned over fifty years and saw the
publishing of many important discoveries in the field of epigraphy
and numismatics. Pre-5th century Maharashtra was a focus of her
own research, but she guided several PhD students on the preIslamic period as well. Amongst coins, the Satavahans and their
times were her 'forte'. Her interest in history and culture of the
Satavahana period saw her publishing many important Satavahana
coins. One of her abiding gifts was her temperament - she was
softly-spoken, erudite and extremely well-mannered. Her qualities

helped her to build a rapport with eminent coin-collectors from

various cities, such as Dr Shantilal Purwar and Balasaheb Patil
from Aurangabad and Paithan, Balasaheb Chumble of l.{asik and
Lance Dane in Mumbai (it is indeed a very sad thought that one by
ofle, all these stalwarts have now left us in close succession, within
the past few years !) She \Mas also a mentor to coin-collector
communities in Mumbai, Ntrasik and Pune - her help and advice

Junna lion-type coin af Vasithiputa Isiruttlct

coin

of Kochhiputa Satakani

for Dr Anand Kelkar, Aravind Athawale,

Purushottam Bhargave, Sanjay More, Laxmikant Verma and many
others. Through the access she gained to these collectors, she was
able to publish a number of significant coins of the Satavahana
period, and some of them are illustrated here - noteworthy is a
potin elephant-type coin with an 'amphora', a coin of Kochhiputa
Satakani. a lead coin of 'Junnar lion' type of lt{ahapana which is

proved important

now in the Ashmolean Museum collection, and a coin of

Satavahana Queen Naganika. She also published

the

a 'Junnar lion'

type coin of Vasithiputa Isimula as 'Mahakshatrapa'

however,

A lecrd coin o.f 'lunnar lion' t-p, of Nahapn

It seems, then, that though Zubayrids held power in much of

Syria in 684 and in Filastin in 68zt and 685, no coins can yet be
attributed to them.
A case has also been made for the Zubaynd origin of a series
of Byzantine-style bronzes portraying a standing figure with hands
raised in an attitude of prayer. Evidence of find spots indicate that
these were issued in al-{Jrdunn. A careful study of Wolfgang
Schulze interprets this decidedly Islamic type as 'a sort of political
protest against 'Abd al-Malik in a1-urdunn'.'03 Once again, alUrdunn is a problem since it was continually in support of the
Urnayyads. Filastin, perhaps a more promising site for such a
protest, seems not to be the source of these coins. In any case, the
mechanism for a mint striking coins of such subtle propaganda in a
province ruled by 'Abd al-Malik is not at all obvious. When he was
in full control, after all, he imposed a far more Islamic image on
his realm than had ever existed.

political ambition. He died in AH 852 (ep 1448) and he was

replaced by his nephew, .Ali ibn Yusul who died in as 863 (en
ru5100. H., in turn, was succeeded by a son of the first regent and
this son was to be the last of the regents.

During this period of the Wattasid regentrto', 'Abd al-gaqq

was nothing but a puppet in the hands of the Banu Wattas family
with the title of "Commander of the Muslims". fn particular, this is
attested by two foundation plates both dated aH 840 (an 1436 1437) in Fas where 'Abd al-flaqq bears the titles of sultan and

"Commander

of the Muslims". It can also be seen on

these
'Wattas

platesl06 that the sovereign is minimised whereas his Banu

regent is glorified: it is the regent who occupies al1 the space and
who has the most beautiful titles. There
also another
inscriptionr0'to celebrate a restoration in Fas and dated nH 840 (an
1437) where the name of 'Abd al-$aqq is missing and where the

is

only name to appear is that of the Banu S/attas regent: ". ..alShaykh, the saint, the admirer, the pious, the fighter, Abu
Zakariyya Yahya ibn Zayyan...".
This title of "Commander of the Muslims" for 'Abd al-flaqq is
a recognition of the Hafsid caliph. TVe learn from history that in nu
827 (ao 1424), the Hafsid caliph, 'Abd al-'Aziz, took Tlemcen and
was about to enter Fasl8, He turned back once the Wattasid regent,
Abu Zakaiyya, had accepted his suzerainity. Later on, in e T437,
'Abd al-$aqq contirmed his submission to the Hafsidsl0e.

NUMISMATIC EVIDEI\CE OF A
MODIFICATION II\ THE POLITICS OF
THE, LAST MARII\ID RULER
By Ludovic Litard

On his coinage, the sultan 'Abd a1-flaqq110 has the title of

In the western Muslim world, the caliph is the temporal and

spiritual leader and he bears the title of "Commander of the

"Commander of the Muslims". One particular half dirham"' bears

on the obverse the legend 'Abd al-$aqq Commander of rhe

Muslints while the reverse bears 'Abd al-'Aziz Commander afthe
Fitltful. The caliph 'Abd al-'Aziz being the Hafsid caliph, this
half dirham provides evidence of 'Abd al-Haqq's recognition of

Faithful" whereas the other Muslim sovereigns content themselves

with that of "Commander of the Muslims". A "Commander of the
Muslirns" can only be a vassal.
The difference between these two titles stems from the
recognition by Islam of the other two monotheistic religions
(Judaism and Christianity), the "faithful" are then the Jews, the
Christians and the Muslims. A "Commander of the Faithful" has
more responsibilities than a "Commander of the Muslims" and, as
"Commander of the Faithful", the caliph guarantees the peaceful
cohabitation of the three communities. In theory, there is only a
single caliph but this rule was not always respected as certain
sovereigns claimed the caliphate for themselves. Sometimes,
power struggles led to periods with two, or even more, opposing
caliphs ruling at the same time.
This article introduces a new half dirham (based on a weight of
1.5 g for a full dirham) struck by the last Marinid ruler, 'Abd alHaqq II (aH 823 - 869 I xa 1420 - 1465). It can be demonstrated
from coins or inscriptions on foundation plates in Fas that 'Abd alHaqq had the title of "Commander of the Muslims" indicating that
he was a vassal of the Hafsid caliph. However, the new half dirham
introduced in this article clearly shows that 'Abd al-$aqq II also
bore the title of "Commander of the Faithful", this title being also
attested by an inscription on a gravestone.
The political context of the last Marinid ruler is recalled in
section 1 whereas secti an 2 describes this new coin. Its historical
and political interest is pointed out in the conclusion.

Hafsid suzerainty.
1.2 Period of emancipation eru 863 -869 (e 1459 -1465)

In au 863 (ao 1459), 'Abd al-$aqq freed himself from the Banu
Wattas family and murdered almost all the members of this
familyll2 with the exception of two brothers who had organised
some resistance and contributed to the period of anarchy which
followed113.

A few years after his emancipation from the V/attasids, in an

865 (an 1461), 'Abd al-$aqq lost his young daughter, Amina. The
different historical sources do not mention this Marinid princess
but the inscription on her gravestone is of great interest since the
name of her father 'Abd al-flaqq is written with the titles of caliph
and of "Commander of the Faithfu|rl14. This inscription clearly
shows that, once liberated from the Banu V/attas family, 'Abd alHaqq took the most prestigious title, that of a caliph.
'Abd al-$aqq was murderedlls in a rebellion in Fas a short
time later, in AH 869 (ao 1465). The dynasty of the Vfattasids
could then be established.

2. The change in'Abd aLf,faqq's title: numismatic evidence

As mentioned above, all the previously known coins bearing the

name of 'Abd al-$aqq give him the title of "Commander of the
Muslims". As a consequence, it is possible to claim that these
coins were struck during the first period of his reign (au 823 -863
/ nn 1420 - 1459) or at most before au 865 (n I461).
However, the following unpublished half dirham (0.80 g and

1. Political cantext

The Marinid dynasty reigned over Morocco and partially over

North Africa between the 13th and the 15th century. The last
Marinid sultan, 'Abd al-flaqq II, ruled in Fas from nu 823 to 869
(ap 1420 - 1465) and his reign can be divided into two different
periods, that of the Wattasid regents and that of the emancipation

19x19 mm) clearly shows the title of "Commander of the Faithful"

from the Wattasids.

'oo

l.l

Period of the Wattctsid regents AH 823 -863 (e 1420 - 1459)

'Abd al-flaqq inherited the throne at the age of one in au 823 (ao
ruz and his regent v/as Abu Zakartyya Yahya ibn Zayyan alWattasi. This regent was a member of the Banu Wattas family
(who later established the V/attasid dynasty) and he had great

103

*1'6" Syrian 'orans figure' copper coins" Arab-Byz.untine Coins and

Historr* (London

S." [4]

page 47A.

'o' See, as examples, 14,7 ,97.

'06 These plates are studied in [1], page s 207 and 212.
'07 This inscription is described on page 217 in Ill.
'08 See [9] pages 91 and 108, [10] page 256, [11] page23.
'on S.* [9] page 108, [10] page 256.
"o See [2,3, 6].
ItrArtoyo
[2] fig. 17, El Hadri [3] 399, Hohertz [6] 280, Mitchiner [8] 5A4.
See [4] page 471 and [5].
"'
t" S"" [1] page 253, page 411 and [10] page 256.
[4]
' 'o See [ 1 ] page 251 and [ 10].
"5 See [5] to have more details about the circumstances of his death and a
critical view of the different historical sources.

z}n) fi1141.
t7

for 'Abd al-Haqq. Consequently, this half dirham can be dated to

the last six years of his reign: AH 863

-869 (ao 1159 -1465).

References
[1] Aouni, Lhaj Moussa. Etude des inscriptions mrinides de Fas (Tome I:
texte), Thse de Doctorat, Universit de Provence. Aix-Marseille I

Oltverse:

(France), 1991

[2] Arroyo, Hend. 'IJn trsor de dirharns de la fin de l'errpire mrinide',

Revue Nurnismatique, VIo srie, Tome

XVI, 115-122, 1914.

[3] El Hadri. Mohamed. Les monnaies rlrinides dans I'histoire montaire

du Maroc (13me - 15me sicle), Thse de doctorat d'Histoire, Universit
Lumire-Lyon II (France), 2007.
14) En-Naciri es-Slaoui, Ahmed ben Khaled. Kitab el-Isriclca li-Akhbttr
dottal el-Maghrib el-Aqca (Histoire du Maroc), Tome 4 Les Mrinides.
Traduction S. Ismal Hamet, fu'chives Marocaines, volume 33, L934.
[5] Garcfa-Arenal, Mercedes. 'The Revolution of Fs in 86911465 and the
Death of Sultan 'Abd al-$aqq al-Marrnl' , Bulletin of the School oJ Oriental
uncl African Stuclies, fJniversity of London, Vol. 41, No. T,43-66, 1978.
t6l Hohertz. Edmund. A catalog af tlrc square islaruic coins of Spain,
Portugctl, and Norrh Africa, 1130-18]6 A.D., The 'Wooster Book Company,
2008.

[7] Julien, Charles-Andr. Histoire de l'Afrique du Nord : Des origines

I830, Grande Bibliothque Payot. 1994.
[8] Mitchiner, Michael . Oriental Coins antl their Value.s, Volume l, The
World of Islam, Hawkins Publications, London, 1977
[9] Terrasse, Henri. Hisroire du Maroc tles origines l'tttblissennT du
Protectorat franais, tonte 11, Editions Atlantides, Casablanca. Maroc, 1919
(reprint Editions Frontispice. Casablanca, Maroc, 2005).

dJt
;^l

*io Jr.ll
The obverse can be translated as "'Abd al-flaqq / Commander I of
the Faithful".

l0l Vir,

Marie-Madeleine. 'Notes d'pigraphie magribine: trois

inscriptions des XrVe et XVe sicles', Arabica,,

T.4,

Fasc. 3,25-260.,

1957.

Rey,erse:

tl1l

Zarkashi, Muharnmad

ibn lbrahim. Tctrikh al-dawlatayru

al-

(Chronique des Alrnohades & cles Hcrfides).

Traduction E. Fagnan, Constantine 1895.

Mutv^ahidi1,11', wa-al-Hqfsil',Q1,

A NEIV OBVERSE VARIE,TY OF

OTTOMAI\{ AKCHES DTTRING THtr REIGI
OF BAYE,ZTDII
By Andrei Crivenco

4lJ

One main type

&-ll
+J

*^lJ1

This reverse bears the first verse of the Qur'an which can
translated as "Praise be to God / Lord

be

Of the universe".

3. Conclusion

A new half dirham issued by the last Marinid ruler, 'Abd al-flaqq
II (au 823 - 869 / an ruza - 1465), has been described in this

article. This half dirham differs from the other already published
coins struck by 'Abd al-flaqq since it gives hirn the title of

"Commander of the Faithful" instead of "Commander of the

Muslims". As a consequence, it is the first known coin which can
be dated to the last six years of his reign (au 863 -869 I to 1459 146s).

This new title shows a radical change in his position with

respect to the Hafsids. During the period of the V/attasid regents
(aH 823 -863 / ao 1420 - T459) 'Abd al-gaqq \/as a vassal of the
Hafsids (he was a "Commander of the Muslims"); he rejected this
submission after AH 863 (an 1459) and he became "Commander of
the Faithful".

As far as we know, this coin is the second known piece of

material evidence attesting a change in 'Abd a1-$aqq's title, thus
giving this coin a high historical interest (all the more important
because the first piece of evidence - a gravestone - seems to be
lost or, at most, inaccessiblel16;.

I 16

In 1957, this gravestone was kept in the "cole des Langues Orientales"
in I99l -

the

Moussa Aouni contacted this school to get some more intbrmation but no
reply was forthcoming (see a footnote page 251 in t1l).
I I7
Srekovi ( I 987), 65-66

in Paris and it was studied [1] by Marie-Madeleine Vir (a picture of it

can be found in her article). For his PhD thesis - defended

of silver akche remained the basic unit in

money market of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Sultan

Bayezid II (1481-15T2), as it had in the times of previous rulers.
The use of only one basic type of akche was due to the strong state
centralisation of monetary affairs.
The design of Sultan Bayezid I (nH 1389-l4AZ), a namesake of
Bayezid II, was used as a model for the akche of the latter. Both
the obverse and reverse are equally divided by one horizontal line.
At the top of the obverse, the leged "sul{an bayezlcf is placed. At
the bottom of the obverse, there is the legend "ben khan mehruecf' .
On the reverse, the legend "ozz.e nasrulw Quribe" is placed at the
top of the coin's field, while the mint name and "sene B86" are
placed at the bottom.
S. Srekovitt7 presented two main varieties of the obverse
based on the differences in the way the word "han" in engraved.
While the letters "kh7" and "nLtrn" are engraved separately from
each other in the frst variety. the letter "n[x" crosses the letter
"klta" in the second variety.
In addition to these main obverse varieties, L. Popa and E.
Ir{icolael18 presented variants that differ according to the diacritical
dot(s) and its (their) position in the word "klrdn" . Based on this, S.
Srekovi made 5 versions for each of the varieties and presented
all known dies combinations of Bayezid II akches for every
mintl le.
Only one basic type of Bayezid II akche was described until
recently. One of the distinguishing features of this standard type is
the way of engraving the word"sultan" in which the letter "nf,ul" is

"8 Popa, Nicolae (1992), L4t

'Ie Srekovi (2000), 101-102

Lhaj

18

WW
Copper biche for Mah, 1743 (KM 65)

Copper.fanonfor Pondicherr\,, undated 1723 issue, 29 mm, large

crown/ 9 fleurs de lis (KM 42)

CONTENTS OF JOURNAL 216

Page

ONS news

Obituary: Dr Shobhana Gokhale (S. Bhandare)

Obituary: Dr Surinder Singh (Jeevandeep Singh)

Meetin-es: Seventh century Syria numismatic round table; [Jtrecht

New and recent publications

a
J

A parcel of coins of King Hataz of Aksum, by V. V/est

A "standing caliph" fals without mint name, by N.Schindel

An emergency coinage in Antioch:

xt

540-542, some additional evidence, by S. Mansfield

Two enigmatic Iranian coins from late antiquity, by N. Schindel

Postscript to

"A note on the

coinage of the Sasanian King Valkash" , b N. Schindel

11

'Abdallah ibn al-Zbayr and his coinage, by C. Foss

ll

Numismatic evidence of a modification in the politics of the last Marinid ruler, by L. Litard

17

A new obverse variety of Ottoman akches during the reign of Bayezid II, by A. Crivenco

18

Georgian-Byzantine type coins ofGiorgi II and Davit fV: new specimens, by L Paghava & R Spanderashvili

21

A lead coin of Bhavanandi from Mughalpura (Hisar, Haryana, India), by D. Handa

73

Notes on the evolution of Alchon coins, by P. Tandon

?4

Classification of the rtpouss gold coins of Mahendraditya, by S. Kumar

34

An unexpected Tibetan 10 srang coin, by'S/.Bertsch & D. Holler

38

Some French Indian coins from the David Fore collection

39

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