inedited arabic coins / by stanley lane poole

__UT_>r?rt lOMOoa IN ED IT ED ARABIC COINS

243

Art. XII.?Inedited Arabic Coins. By Stanley Lane Poole.

(Read Nov. IG, 1874.)

Few men have done more for the science of Oriental Numis matics than Frederic Soret. And yet among his writings we may search in vain for any work of great extent. The

largest ho over published is his handbook, Fitments de. la

Numismalique Musnlmanc, and even this appeared in parts in

the Belgian Revue, and was reprinted as a separate work after his death. Frederic Soret's work was done by small

pieces, which, when put together, form a very considerable wholo. The line he took was chiefly that of publishing such coins as he found in his own or other collections, and which

were as yet unknown to the numismatic world,?if I may

apply so large a term to so small a thing. And those short

monographs of his are among the most precious additions to

the knowledge of Oriental coins which the century has seen.

Nor docs Soret stand alone in this system of publishing in

edited coins. lie has been vigorously followed by a very able and sufficiently numerous body of German and other

scholars, who have made known all the noteworthy coins

which have come across their path. It is my wish to profit by the example of Soret and his

fellow-workers, and to endeavour to do for the English collec tions what has so long ago and so efficiently been done for those on the Continent. I now bring before the Society ten

inedited coins, seven of which are from the British Museum

collection, and thrco from that of Col. Guthrie. When I

say inedited coins, I mean that I havo been unable to find

any description of them in any work on Oriental Numis

matics, or in any Catalogue of Oriental Coins, or in any serial publication which admits papers on Oriental subjects. It is obvious from this definition that the term '

inedited'

is not absolute; for in the vast number of German and

other reviews and journals it is not unlikely that some of

244 INEDITED ARABIC COINS.

the coins may be found described which I havo thought inedited. Still, I have searched through all the more

important ones; and at all events if it should prove to be

the case that some of the coins now described have already been noticed in some less-known continental journal, tho re

publishing of them may yet not be useless, as the Journal of

this Society passes into many hands, iuto which the supposed continental journal may not fall.

I*1. Golh. Kinu ov KauhAn. * Imdd-ad-dawlah Kara-Anldn Beg.

Struck at Yazdashlr, a.h. 462 (=a.d. 106U-70). (British Museum.)

Obv. Area. ill a *' 11 H

Margin (iuncr) ^^Jl i?? -^JUj jLjjJI iJJb l_JjJ aJJI ~u*j

(outer) ^1^X1*11

ltcv. Area. aJJI Jj~^ &**sr+

JjUI cSLAJ\

uLx-j ^IL^l^J

Margin. JI dL>j\ AJJI J^ Jl^st*

1 An asterisk (*) after tho number of tho coin iudicatcs .that it is photographed in the accompanying Plate.

* Some readers may not remember that JI is an abbreviation for

ir*"' lJI *? ̂ ie en(* ?f*t' equivalent 1? etc.

INEDITED ARABIC COINS. 245

This coin at first caused me no little perplexity. Its

general appearance closely resembling a badly-executed

Great-Seljuki coin, and tho date falling under Alp-Arsl&n's

reign, I was half inclined to think that it was struck in the

name of that Sultan by some governor who did not know

tho orthography of tho name. This explanation, however, did not appear to mo satisfactory, and I was very glad to be

able to reject it for a better ono. In searching for something in that mine of historical facts, Ibn-al-Athir's Kdmil, I

stumbled upon tho name of a certain Kara-Arslan, lord of

the province of Karman, in tho south-eastern part of the

Persian kingdom. The passage in which this prince's name

occurs runs thus :?

"Account of the Rebellion of the King of Karman against

Alp-Arsl&n, and of his return to fealty. " In this year [459] tho King of Karra&n, Kari-Arslin,

rebelled against the Sult&n Alp-Arsldn. And the cause of

this was that he had a foolish wezir, whose soul commended

to him the obtaining [for himself] independent possession of the province from the Sult&n. And his lord [Kara

Arslin], when ho rebelled, found it necessary to seize him; but he made tho opposition to tho Sultdn seem good to his

lord, and Kard-Arslan consented to it, and cast away his

fealty, and discontinued the khutbeh for tho Suit An. " When Alp-Arsl&n heard of this, he marched to Kar

man, and when ho drew near to it his scouts attacked the

scouts of Kara-Arslan, and after a contest the lattcr's scouts

were put to flight. And when KarA-Arslan and his array heard of the rout of their scouts, they feared and were per

plexed and fled: no man paused for another. And Kara

ArsKin entered J (raft, and fortified himself there, and sent to

Sultdu Alp-Arsl&n, professing obedienco and asking forgive ness for his fault: so he forgave him; and he presented himself before tho Sult&n, who treated him with honour.

And he1 wept, and caused those who were with him to weep.

1 We are left iu painful uncertainty whether it was the Sul^ua or the King of Karman who wejit.


So lie restored him to his kingdom, and he changed not

aught of his condition."l

We learn, then, from this that Kara-Arsl&n was ruling the province of Karman, in feof to the Scljuki Sultan, in the

year 450 of the Flight. The coin proves him to have been

still ruling in 462, and the absence of the namo of his liege lord would lead us to infer that the King of Karman had

again asserted his independence. Shortly after this he must

Ai_cll_? Jl b^j?j (^^/' U---JI

Jlc ^L^Sa lUX* jjL-a-c jS=> J l

i^Jl J1AJI J-c^^jl \ji jJ&jJ^fbLiiX* L5-ai: ?LJ1 HdJb j,

Aî; aj c^lj~? JaU- jj) <U ul= Jl cLS3\J c-^wjj 'ul-?jl

Jl Jl^l ^ Ul A^L Jj UUJ1 ^ jU\j jIjl^JI

ji ûy uilui j* cjiu'i aû erî aj c?idi

Jl jLj ^LjjI c-Jl j-*mJ '<Uai:M jJaij iclUl f-J^j lL&J

L^-îli U5L)1 ]i <uJi* Jlc

A^xJi? L_^*Jj l^jli \îj \J^\~=*

Aj$>\> iJ^+Zj ij$~>j\ J/5 f*~? ^* J^ tV?J ̂jLj/1 ly <uJlb

lyi JrLjJ^T Jx A^-l tjjb il lj-^li \j/^j IjiU. *?x*Ak

uM V-JI JLUI JI J^/lj I* t^lj Lî^ Jt ^Lyl

Aiîbli JJaLJl JL__c^_i?j Aj?x U*j ?fc]j jC jixll JLmJj Axllai 1 .$li>

^ ^_/:*i A A^=*U*? Jl ijUU ijLi? Ji O^^ LT^J

(.rv, n. X) *IU- j*


have died or been deposed, for we find K a wart-beg, a brother

of Alp-Arsldn, ruling Karman in 465. It seems not im

probable that when, as the coin suggests, the King of Karman

revolted a second time, Alp-Arsl&n deposed him and ap

pointed in his stead his own brother.

Yazdashir is a town in Karman, described by Al-Idrisi

(transl. by Jaubert, i. 420, 427)) as " jolie villc, offrant beau

coup do rcssources, cntoureo de murs et de fosses, muuio dc

porte8 ct possodant plusieurs bazars." It is not mentioned

by Y&kut in his Kitdb Mo\jam-al~l\ulddn (Geographiaches Wdrlerbueh, ed. Wustenfcld), nor by the author of the

Mardsid- al-Ittild'.

The execution of the coin is uuusually bad. Tho inscrip tion on the Obverse offers several inaccuracies, <tl for &\,

Lrj\ for

^liil, <,-,_ for ^~~), U for <LjU, of which somo may

be due to want of space. The Reverse Area is double-struck,

2*. Silver. UuwayiiI. Shams-ad-dawlah-ibn-Fakhr-ad-dawlah.

Struck at Uamadhdn, a.u. 387-411. (British Museum.)

Obv. Area. ^jju^Jj

s\ a_II 1

Margin (ioner).\s+$) *AjjJI Ijjb (?J** <d!l **uj

(outer). jJl^JI ddJ


Iter. Area. <UlJ

<dll Jj^j Aaj?*

,\ ,J1^^J1

r: **-IjjJl ^wu^-i ^

3 ^yjAJ, j-jI

i

A_Jjj,_Jl ^J

J?Jl LX_iij

<Lj.J

Margtu. ^1 aL>,1 aJJI Jj^j Ju^sr*

When Fakhr-ad-da wlah, ofthe house of Buwayh, died, in

tho year 387 of the Flight (a.d. 997), his sons Majd-ad dawlah and Shams-ad-dawlah succeeded liim, the former in

Ar-Ita}-)" and the principal part of his dominions, the hitter in Ilainadhan and Karmasin.1 But Majd-ad-dawlah was

unfortunato enough to offend his mother, who had managed the affairs of the kingdom during his minority; and was

deposed and imprisoned by her iu 397. Shams-ad-dawlah was then summoned to take upon himself his brother's duties, aud accordingly governed in Ar-llayy for about the space of ono year; after which the dowager, taking compassion ou

her captive son, restored him to his dignities, whereupon Shams-ad-dawlah returned to Hamad ban. We hear of him

again in 405, when Badr-ibu-llasanwayh, the lord of Al

1 Or ll^uw<y according to Ibn-al-Atki'r, from whoso Kdmil this

account of Skaius-ad-dawluk is drawn.


Jabal,1 died, and Shams-ad-dawlah obtained part of his

dominions. In tho same year he again entered Ar-Rayy, his

mother and brother retiring on his approach: but he vers"

speedily went his way back to Hamadhan, and suffered Majd ad-dawlah to recover his twice-lost throne. Ibn-ai-Athir

docs not record the death of Shams-ad-dawlah; but as ho

mentions him as ruling in Hamadhan in 411, and also relates

that in 414 Sami-ad-dawlah Abu-1-1 lasan, tho son of Shams

ad-dawlah, was deposed by 'Ala-ad-dawlah Abu-Jaafar ibn

K&kwayh, it is clear that Shams-ad-dawlah must have died

between 411 and 414.

3. SiLVEit. BowATJif. Sultan-ad-da wlah.

Struck at Shirdz, l.vl. 405 ( = a,d. 1014-,). (British Museum.)

Obv. Area. <t i H ill 4_11 il

<t_I CS-ijZ* il *Jo-j

<UJ\_?ol?JL?\\

aJJb v_JUll *j$_ ^J3

Margin (inner). ^fcjjJI ItXto c-r-V* f^^r' t;r*^,~,''

*^JI +*?j

(outer). Illegible, but apparently consisting of the

four words not uncommon on liuwayht

coins.

1 Tho mountain-district iu which is situated Hamadhan ; the

district is also called Al-Jabdl(jUxill *&? J-^^ f?l y* iSr~\

JUJl a] Jlib ^jA\ Yakut, Geogr. Wortcrb., in v., ii. rr). There

is also a place called Al-Jabal, threo days' journey from Jazirat-iba

'Omar (Al-Idrtef, ii. 172). Hut tho district is here meant.


Rev. Area. Jjlc

4-1-II J^j

J_*_.s.

J^ JL-Jx *, A .11 ^Ju?

I_ihL_ JjLJI cJJLUII

.i_L_*JIj-xj U^juJI

cLs--1 j-j| 4-*ilt ^^-jJ^J

Margin. JI <d~?j\ <dll

Jj-*; ?**s"

This is, I believe, the only silver coin of this prince as yet

published. Ho seems to havo rejoiced in a considerable

number of titles: The Just King, Shah of Shahs, Pillar of the

Religion, and Might of the State, and Power of the Moral Law, and Aider of the People, Father of Valour. Tho subject of

these epithets, however, scarccl}r played so important a part in histoiy as they would seem to imply: ho ruled tho pro vince of Faris from the death of his father, Baha-ad-dawlah, in 403, to his own death in 415, and his reign is chiefly re

markable for his contests with two of his brothers, which

Mould seem to have occupied his attention throughout tho

twelve years of his rule.

Al-Ghiilib-bi-llah, whose name appears beneath Al-K&dir's on the Obverse of the coin, was tho son and successor desig nate of the Khalifah. He died, howover, in 400, during his father's lifetime.

It is scarcely necessary to remark that the word J^&, " just," which appears on tho Reverse, aud which is so com

mon on most kinds of Arabic coins, is iutended to indicate the accuracy of tho weight.

INED1TED ARABIC COINS. 251

4. 8ilvbr. ILamdAnI. Ahu-l-Barak&t Lafaf-Allah. 8truckat (?), a.u. 359 (=a.d. 9G9-W). (Britiih Muttum.)

Obv. Area. t_Ul SI i_11 )

*_J_!lt_i_y

Margin (inner).Sii, ^jju^î-, ^.a?J Zi__ ..

(outer). Î^SI *U

Rev. Area. [dJJI Jj*^] iX**-*

.r

<L__i_J j-ÛI

aJJI ,J*aJ ̂ .Jlib jj|

jk \.c *H

Margin. Jl aL/I aUI Jj^ j^s^

Abu-1-Barakat, though known in history, has never before come into the field of numismatics. His father, the cele brated Nasir-ad-dawlah, died in 358, and was succeeded by

Abu-Taghlib Al-Ghadanfir, whoso name appears on tho Reverse of this coin. Abu-1-Barakat was killed in 359; so the shortness of the time between his father's death and his own makes it probable that this coin will continuo ono of a very few, or oven unique. The name of the mint-place is

unfortunately illegible, and I am unablo to discover from Prof. Frcytag's Geschichte der Dynastien der Ilamdanidcn,1 the best authority on tho subject, what city or cities were

under the rule of Abu-1-Barakat, in fcof to his brother Abu

Taghlib. 1 Zeitschrifl der deutschen moryenldndischen Gesellschafl, x. xi.


Tho lakab Lataf Allah is, I Jbeliove, nowhere else to bo

found on coins. It may bo rendered " Bounty of God," or

" Benefit of God "; whilst Abu-l-Barakdt, which is equally

uuitjuc on coins, means "The Father of Blessings."

:>.* Goi.ii. 'Aiuusf. Al-MutV-ltfldh.

Struck at ̂ s. (?), a.h. 348 (=a.d. 959-^)- (BritishMuseum.)

Obv. Area. <d2l

j-^LJI

A-Ll

Margin. iUj {j^j^ ^^ ^ *-jo jL;jJI \ jjb c-^J aJJ\ **uj

Rev. Area. Aasl-*

aLJI

Margin. Lc ̂aJ J^sH ̂ Oj Ij^lb <du^l <dll Jj^ Ji^sr*

(The margin stops at L: for want of space. Ij^ll is for u^Jtgll.)

The size of this dinar is exceptionally small; tho inscrip tions are arranged in a very peculiar manner, totally different

from the ordinary arrangement on 'Abbasi coins; and, lastly, the mint-name is quito new. The letters of tho mint-name

aro clearly cut, and what ambiguity thero is arises not from

any indistinctness in the coin, but from the different values

which may bo given to each letter in the name. The first

letter, after tho prefixed preposition <--->, is unquestionably either anPora

J; the next is a simple short stroke, which

may be c_j, eu, l_>, ^,, or ?$; and the last is a short stroke

of exactly the samo height as the second letter, and there

fore can scarcely be a J or an I (for in other words on this

1NEDITED ARABIC COINS. 253

coin these two letters arc distinguished by height above the

line), and is not long enough in tho horizontal part to be

a s->, o, or CU ; nor would it serve for a lJ ; but it closely resembles the final <j of ^^jl, and I am therefore inclined

to regard it as a {Jj. But having determined the letters within certain limits,

what can the name be ? Tho most obvious interpretation is

Jx. }Ayn, and we find in the Mardsid-al-Ittild* that {^ is

used in El-'Irak to mean Ayn-at-Tamaryci\ ^-x,!

and this

j*A\ ^j-x ia described in the samo work as iÛI L-iJo ?j *>&}

^^jJI u\Lj t?i/tjj 15^ {&* ^^.j* W^j c^lîll ^c-J/^ J

(MF, ii) '^Lill^L Jl l^ \j^rj u^lill \^krJt?=>\

In Yakut's Mojamal-JJulddn (iii, *& 1), 'Ay n-at-Tamar is thus

described: al J lib j-^>y \^jSj &j?II ̂yJjUill ^ iwyi JjJj

l3o- t*>*^") l# y&$ oLJI jL? JI^JIj v^ÂMJill ^j^Lsr U^.? UlLi

y^ L5^ f*^ L5* tj^-***^ If^'jJl <Uj Jj ^ybj L^JI u-J^L Jx ^yj.^

JyY. <M d** uJ uUi? Jr* c>^ erf ulr^J **' H u*^

c^ls^l ^j <Uo e^Jl?=> AUjj J JÎJÎ ^ aUI j^ ^ o /

IjcÛ IjjI^lJI ^Îxj cjÎ Î^Jb ^l-îll ̂ '1 Ja ill ' I JxIj ^\S=i ^ aX* Si K^\ ij'b Uîiljj UJ J^sM ̂ {*z~*hh

I think, therefore, that wo may reasonably suppose the

mint-place to be 'Ayn,

i.e. 'Ayn-at-Tamar.

1 (Mr, ii) jtf^Sl J? J* jl/JI J JO^


6.* SlLVEA. AllAWl.

Struck at Sdbur, a.h. x 2. (Col. Guthrie's Collection.)

Obv. Area. ill 4_ll il

*jo-j <lUI

Margin.e^r*^ <k-?jjjl***J ^Jbiwvll \&b

**r*j* ^ **{

Within double outer circle of dots (uot merely serrated).

Rev. Area. aAII Jc*-I <UJI

A__J_I ^?UUw.C

With a row of dots between the second and third lines ; the whole

area inclosed by two circles of dots; between tho circles five

unnulets. No marginal inscription.

This is the only Amawi dirhem with which I am ac

quainted with a word beneath the regular Roverse-Area in

scription.2 Owing to the bad preservation of tho coin, I am as

yet unable to make out the new word. The first letter might be a viim or an 'ayn (or ghayn), but its large size iuduces tho

1 Sic.

8 Two coins, published by Dr. Born and Br. Mordtmann re

spectively, have tho Pahlawf word .ifamarwun (for so it may surely bo read in preference to merlin) benealh tho Obv. Area. They also

both bear the mint-name j** iu the usual Arabic marginal inscrip

tion. Tho dates of these two coins are 81 aud 101. (See Tieseu

hauscn, 294 and 494.)


belief that it is an 9ayn (or ghayn). The second letter might be bd, U, the\, nun, or yi. The third letter must be sin or

shin. The fourth letter is, I feel almost sure, iodic; but there

is just the possibility of its being kdf After this wdw comes

what may either bo a separate word <0J (' to God'), or may form the termination ?J of the word, or again (but I think

most improbably) may bo the scparato word <d ('to him'),

composed of tho preposition J and the pronoun .

We may tabulate theso possibilities (many of which, how

evor, aro euphonical impossibilities) thus:?

6 6 4 3 2 1

* )

* (

* * j N

h] 4 * ^ ] l J ?) l -& J u I

J \ t

I must leave the task of interpreting these letters to some

one else: for I confess myself completely at a loss to under

stand their meaning. The coin is rendered even more extraordinary by the

absence of any marginal inscription on the Reverse.

7. Silver. Amawi.

Struck at Arminiyah,1 a.h. 81 (=a.d. 700-,).

(Col. Guthrie's Collection.)

This coin is of the usual Amawi type, exhibiting nothing

remarkable, except the position of the conjunction ^ at the

1 This (or Irmfniyah) not Arminiyah (with the ye mushaddad) is the correct spelling.

(Ydkut i. Ml) Jl >:hr. ^.A^il *~i| i^yJut

isu&?- Mjj ujJlyuu?=jj

VOL. TlI.-r-[NEW BEH1B8.] 17


beginning of the third lino of the Revorse-Area, a position usual on coins of the 3'cars 80, 81, 82, but not afterwards, it

being subsequently transposed to the end of the second line.

The whole style, however, is curious. No coin of this mint

has hitherto been known of a date earlier than 92 of the

Flight (sec Dr. Tiesenhausen's Table, p. 323), so this specimen is an interesting addition to the published series of tho coin

age of this Dynasty. The collection to which this belongs con

tained before but one example of the mintage of Armiuiych.1

8*. Gold. Amawi. (Col. Guthrie*s Collection.)

Obv. Heraclius and his two sons, all standing, and each one hold

ing a cross-bearing orb.

Rev. The Cross, modified into a pillar with a globular capital, but

not yet changed into a <f>. On either side, B |.

Around. ?t)JI J^ X*_-* *Jc>-j jJJI Jl all il

I am not acquainted with any gold coin of this Obverse

type: and the Reverse type is, I think, quito unique. The

form of the Cross upon the stops is unliko the ordinary, and

the letters B I are, so far as I can find out, unknown on

Mohammadan coins. B I is merely | B reversed (in Arab

fashion); and I B ( = 12) is the value-iudcx peculiar to the

coinage of the Alexandrian mint, denoting that the value of

the coin was that of twelve vovpfila.2 I do not think, however, that it can bo doduccd from this

1 See my Catalogue of tho Collection of Oriental Coins belonging to

Colonel C. Scton Guthrie, Fuse. I. Coins of the Amawf Khalffoha

(Stephen Austin & Sous, Hertford, 1874), p. 7, and pi. i. fig. 38. 1 I am indebted for this explanation to my uncle, Mr. Iteginaid

Stuart Poole, who has investigated tho question of Byzantine aud

Alexandrian value-iudexcs iu a paper iu the Numismatic Chronicle,

1853.


occurrence of the Alexandrian index that the coin was struck at Alexandria; though it is not, a priori, unlikely that such was the case. Tho date of the coin is also doubtful.

9*. Gold. FAtim(.

Struck at Madinat IjCns, /l.u. 51J ( = a.d. 112$).'

(British Museum.)

Obv. Area. JU

Ajli

Margin (inner). <JJI Jj Jx

ali\ Jj^

?*jsl<* aDI HI AJI ̂ 1

(outer). *J\ aLo/1 ddjl J^j

_x^_s^

Itev. Area. ^L-^ill

jj-_ai*!l

Margin (inner). ^^^j^ll^^l aJJI Afr\^\jj*^ Jx yl

(outer). yV,^' '^ S-^ (***J\ \j**~fl

^ (*"*!

1

*U<u**.<jykx J^J <CwJ

^y <^.J^

The city of Kiis ^y is a now addition to tho mint-list of

Arabic numismatics, for it has never before been found on

coins. The best account of the city is that by Quatreraere, in his Me1 moires gdographiqrtes el historiques sur VEgypte; but as it extends ovor moro than twenty pages (t. i. pp. 192-210) I must content myself with some extracts,

" ko2, KOS. Cost ainsi quo lo lexicpio copto do Mont

pcllier e*crit lo nom do la villo que les Arabes appcllent Kous.

On lit Kgj? ou Koo<; dans les vocabulaircs saidiqucs do la

1 The i of

iylx is omitted; bo too the ^j whicli emould support

the * of ?JU, the latter probably for want of space.


bibliothcque imperiale. Ces differens ouvrages joignent au

nom de cette ville celui de fepftep ou fitpffip, dont je no vois

pas trop Torigino. Seulement 1'autour do l'un des vocabu

laires sauliqucs separo du mot Kw? celui do ftepftep, ct rend ce

dernier par Ahsorcin ; ce qui sembleroit devoir meritcr plus d'attention. Eu etlbt, commes nous Favons appris d'un

passage dc Macrizy, la ville d'Aksor ou Aksorein passoit

pour etre habitec par une colonic de Maris, peuple de la

.Nubie. D'un autre cote, il est difiicilo do recusor lo teruoign

ago prcsque uiianime de tons les vocabulaircs coptes, aus

quels se joint encore l'autorite du manuscrit consulte par Vanslet. Quoiqu'il on soit, Golius a cm que la ville de Kous

repondait ti rancienne Thebes ou Dioseopolis magna, ct cette

opinion paroit avoir ete adoptee par A. Schultens. Mais le

pere Lequien, d'An ville, ct Michaclis ponsent avee raison quo Kous represente la ville d! Apollinopolis parva, dont il est parle dans Strabon. Quant au nom Arabo de cette ville, il est

certain qu'il doit s'ecrire Kous par un sad, et non par un sin, comiue on lit dans l'ouvrage de Boha-ed-diu. Suivaut Aboul

feda, 'Kous, situce dans le Said, i\ 1'orient du Nil, etoit, apres

Fostat, la plus grande ville do l'Fgypte. C'ctoit la quarri voient les marchands d'Aden.' Sa distance, i\ l'^gard de

Keft, est d'une parasaugc, suivant Iakouty, ou do sept milles,

suivaut TEdrisy. L'auteur du Mesalek-al-absar et Macrizy out consacre & cette ville des articles assez etendus, dont je vais transcrire uno partic, en elcguant les fables quo lo

dernier do ces (Scrivains y joint, suivant son usago. * Kous,

la plus grande ville du Said, est sitae"o sur la rivo oriental?

du Nil, et est lo chef-lieu d'une province tres-iniportante. C'est le premier endroit ou s'arr.tent les caravanes

qui viennent des mors do l'lndo, de l'Abyssinie, du Ycmon, et

du Hedjaz, eu traversant le desert d'Aidab.

Au rapport d'Al-Adfouy, dans son llistoire du Said, Kous est placed au oot^ de Keft, et si Ton en croit quelques e*crivains, Kous a commence a devenir llorisaute, et Keft

& se depeupler depuis I'an 400 de Thegire.

Depuis Tan 800 de l'h^gire, cette ville est entiercment

dechue de spn ancienne splendeur. Pendant les desas

INEDITED ARADIC COINS. 250

tres et les malhcurs qui aflligerent VEgypte, dans le cours

de l'uniido 806, il p6rit & Kous dix-sept milles personnes. Avant cette epoque, cotte villc etoifc si pcuplee, que, dans la

se*cheresse de 1'an 77G, il cut cent cinquante Moglak, qui resterent abandonnes. On en tend dans cette province par le

mot Moglak, un jardin dc 20 fcddans et au-dessus, accom

pagtn5 d'uno machine hydrauliquo a quatre faces. Et cela sans compter une foule do jardins moins considerables, qui dcmeurerent

egalcment sans ctro

occupies.' Macrixy nous

appreud ailleurs, quo Kous reiifermoit un hotel des monnaies, ct quo Ton voyait sur lo territoirc dc cetto villc de nombreux

plants d'acacias. Le memo ecrivain, parlant. du lieu nommd

Minict-al-Basek, s'cxprime ainsi: l Cette ville, situee dans le

canton d'Atfih, a pris son nom dc Basck, frerc dc Behram

rArmenieu, qui fut vizir du Khalife Hafed-li-din-Allah.

I/an 529, Basek ayant ete nomme par son frerc au gouvcrne

ment de Kous qui ctoit alors lc plus important de l'Egypte, excrca contrc les Musulmancs toutes sortes d'injusticcs et de

vexations. Cela dura jusqu'au mois de djoumady second, de

Tan 531. A cette epoque, les habitans dc Kous, ayant appris

que Behram avoit <5te supplante ct expulse par Itadwan ben

Dulkeschy, qui lui avoit succede dans la charge de vizir, se

souleverent contrc Basek, et le massacre rent. Ensuite, apies

lui avoir attache un chieu au pied, il trainerent son corps dans les rue dc la ville, et finircnt par le jeter sur le fumicr.

Basek professoit la religion ehrotienne.' . , . On trouve

les noms de deux de ses cveques \j$c. dc Kous], Theodore et

Mcrcure, dans l'histoire des patriarches d'Alexandrie. Du

temps du pere Sicard, Jean, eveque de Ncquade, l'etoit en

memo temps de Coptos, dc Kous et d'Ibrim. Abou-Selah

parlo do plusieurs eglises situees sur le territoire de Kous."

Tho following extract from Brugsch (Gcographische Tn

sehriften altdggplischer Denhnalcr i. 197 f.) supplies tbe

defectiveness of Quatrcmere's account of the names of K lis. " Noch weiter nordlich auf der Strasse, welche von Karnak

nach der Stadt Qeft, dem alten Koptos, fiihrt, liegt eine .

Stadt mit Namcn ^y Qus, dio zur Zcit Abulfeda's oder

im 14. Jahrhuudert nach Fostat die bedeutendste >Stadt

2G0 INEDITED ARABIC COINS.

Aegyptens war. Grosse Triimmerhaufeu bei derselben sind

heut zu Tage die einzigen Ueberrcste eines tiitercn ansehn

lichen Ortes. : . . Dio Griechen, das wissen wir mit

vollatcr Sichorkoit, nannten dio Stadt AttoWcjpo^ ttoXk;,

gewohlich mit dem Zusatze rj pitcpd, zum Unterschiedo von

der grossen Apolloustadt, dercn bedeutcnde Ruincn inmitteu

des heut igen Dories Edfu liegen. Die ICoptcn bezeiehncten sie, wahrscheinlich nach alter Tradition, mit dem Vulgiiruamcn KUJC RcpRep (dialcktisch ilp&ip, fip&ep), wolches

Ohampollion, L'Egyptc sous les Pharaons, vol. ii. p. 221 "das

brennende" odor "das heisse JCtXJC" iibersetzt. Ein Wort kes

oder qes est mir mit Ausnahiue des oben besprochonen kes, das aber bier nicht her gehoren kann, nirgeud in den Iu

schriften und Texten aufgestosscn, wohl aber eine Local

benennung brbr, eutsprechend dem koptischen fi.pii.Gp. In

dem hieratischen Kalendar Sallier No. 4, p. 11, erscheint

niimlich eine Gruppe lia-brbr (898) "das Hans brbr" mit dem

6pecielleu Determinativ der Pyraniide oder des Obelisken, das sehr wohl dio in Redo stehendo Stadt bezcicluien konnte.

Wie gesagt ist aber die Sache nicht ausgemacht und wir

inussen es dem gliicklichen Zufall iiberlassen, ob fur dicse

Zusamineu6tellung griindlicho Beweise gefunden werden.

Jenes lift-brbr konnte namlich nach dem Zusammonhange in

dem beregten Papyrus eben so gut eineu bestimmten Theil in

ein em lleiligthunie bezeichnen."

The mention by El-Makrizi of an hotel des monnaies at

Kus is highly interesting, and this coin is the first to confirm

the historian's statement.

10*. Goi.n. MuwAuuin (Alraohado). * Abd-Al-Mu-min.

Struck at Sabtah. (British Museum.)

Similar to tho coin described by me in tho Numismatic

Chronicle, n.s., vol. xiii. p. 154, art. Muwahhids, No. 1. Tho

difference consists in the occurrence of the mint-name Sabtah

*-^~? between the lines of tho encadrcment, on each side, beneath the area-inscription. Cuius with these finely-written


mint-names between the lines arc, I believe, peculiar to the

dynasty of the Muwahhids, and very rare even among them.

I am not aware of this coin having been already published. The diacritical points differ somewhat from those on the

specimen described in the Num. Chron., as a comparison of

the plates will show. A curious thing is tho way in which

the tail of the e> of +^ on the Obv. is cut through by the

encadrement. I need scarcely remark that Sab tab is the

Arabic form of Ceuta; or rather, Ceuta is tho European form

of Sab tab.

inedited arabic coins / by stanley lane poole

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