Leu Numismatik AG
Web Auction 17 14-16 Aug 2021
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ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. Temp. Hisham ibn 'Abd al-Malik, AH 105-125 / AD 724-743. Fals (Bronze, 18 mm, 2.59 g, 8 h), citing al-Amir Marwan ibn Muhammad, al-Bab al-Abwab ('Gate of Gates' in Kufic, referring to the Gates of Alexander, also known as the Caspian Gates), modern-day Derbent in Dagestan, AH 115 = AD 733/4. Album 196E. Very rare. Minor edge crack, otherwise, about very fine.
This coin cites Marwan ibn Muhammad more than a decade before he became the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyads. He was an experienced general, but also a squanderer who famously moved his capital from Dimashq to Harran, the birthplace of Abraham, and spent millions of Dirhams on his luxurious life. On 16 January 750, Marwan II faced a considerably larger Abbasid army in the Battle of the Zab and was utterly defeated, bringing the Umayyad Caliphate to an end.
This coin cites Marwan ibn Muhammad more than a decade before he became the fourteenth and last caliph of the Umayyads. He was an experienced general, but also a squanderer who famously moved his capital from Dimashq to Harran, the birthplace of Abraham, and spent millions of Dirhams on his luxurious life. On 16 January 750, Marwan II faced a considerably larger Abbasid army in the Battle of the Zab and was utterly defeated, bringing the Umayyad Caliphate to an end.