Whither Arab-Byzantine numismatics? A review of fifty years' research

Abstract

The coins struck or used in Syria during the seventh century are a potential source for historians relating to a geographical area that has left few contemporary sources relevant to the administration of the area in the years following the Persian conquest of AD 611. The coins should have the ability to shed light on fiscal administration and regional or local government, but they remain little known to historians and there has been no recent comprehensive synthesis of the coinage of this period. Two catalogues (Ilisch, 1993; Album and Goodwin, 2002) have laid many coins before the non-specialist, but they are restricted to the holdings of the particular museums and do not present a complete picture. The Ashmolean Museum Sylloge does, however, present an overview that, taken with the plates, and when read in conjunction with the lengthy review by Foss (2003b) that exposes its strengths and weaknesses, is an excellent guide to the series.