★ Qurus, one of the rarest mints ★

Time of `Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan AD 685-705. (AH 65-86). 'Standing Caliph' type. Struck AH 74-80 (AD 693/4-699/700). Qurus (Cyrrhus) mint
Fals Æ

15mm., 3,25g.

Caliph standing facing, bearded, placing his right hand on the pommel of his sword and girdle band hanging from his right elbow, around, legend in Kufic / Transformed cross standing on three steps, in left field, wāf (=full weight in Kufic), in right field, 'Qurus' in Kufic, around, legend in Kufic.

very fine, slight weakness as normal for this very rare type

Album 672; DOCAB -. From the Tareq Hani collection

Qurus is the arab name for the city of Cyrrhus which was founded about 300 BC by the Seleucids. The city acquired some importance when it was captured by the roman general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (64 BC) and subsequently was developed into a military base during the wars between Romans and Parthians. After the Persians occupied the city, Cyrrhus came under Byzantine rule as Hagiopolis ('holy city'), capital of the province Kyrrestike. Cyrrhus was the centre of the veneration of the Christian martyrs Cosmas and Damian. During the years after the decisive battle of Yarmuk in AD 636 the Arabs conquered Syria. The Arab general Abū ‘Ubayda b. al-Garrạ accepted the capitulation of Cyrrhus and signed a peace treaty with its people. The rarity of the 'Standing Caliph' coins minted in Qurus results from the the brief activity of the mint, which was probably connected to Abd al-Malik's decision to station considerable numbers of troops in the region for a short period of time after AH 74 (AD 693/4) in an attempt to secure the border to the Byzantine Empire. (References: Burns [1999], p.72 f and Beihammer [2000] pp.155-157; Al- Balādhurī, p.230 [149] and p. 227 [148]; Leu Numismatik).