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© Museu Arqueològic Comarcal de Banyoles
Omeka ID 3581
Troballa fortuïta
Medieval and modern

Umayyad fals

MACB 326

Object type
Islamic coin
Production date
696 / 749
Fabric
-
Museum
Museu Arqueològic Comarcal de Banyoles
Culture
Medieval and modern
Discovery location
Troballa fortuïta
Materials
bronze
Township
Esponellà / Serinyà
Technique
minting
Where is it?
-
Dimensions
16 mm diàmetre
Description
Fals of the Umayyad Dynasty, coined in an unknown mint in the ŷund Filisṭīn (more or less the current Palestine), in the first half of the eighth century. On the obverse is an Arabic legend that says There is no God / but God / Unique, while on the reverse is a bird, perhaps a hawk, accompanied by a marginal legend again in Arabic that we can transcribe as Muḥammad is the envoy of God. Thus, the two legends constitute the complete šahāda or profession of Islamic faith. The find of this coin next to a path parallel to the River Fluvià, a natural communication route towards the strategic population of Besalú and the Pyrenees of Girona, is possibly testimony of the Islamic conquest of present-day northeast Catalonia. It should be emphasized that this type of coin, of low monetary value, was brought mostly by invading troops from Syria.

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