Coin Umayyad Caliphate under Abd al-Malik - Anonymous Fals - 685 / 705 Iliya (Jerusalem)

This anonymous fals was issued during the reign of the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan, between 685 and 705, at the mint of Iliya, the Arabic name given to Jerusalem during the early Islamic period.

The anonymous nature of this fals is characteristic of some of the earliest Umayyad issues from Palestine. These coins bear witness to a transitional period during which the mints of the caliphate gradually moved away from models inherited from Byzantine and Sasanian traditions in order to develop a specifically Islamic coinage.

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan is one of the most significant figures in the history of the Umayyad Caliphate. His reign was marked by major administrative and monetary reforms. From 696?697 onwards, he implemented a monetary reform that led to the adoption of epigraphic coins bearing primarily religious inscriptions, replacing the earlier figurative types. Jerusalem, integrated into the Jund Filastin, held particular importance at this time. It was during his reign that the Dome of the Rock was built, completed in 691?692, an iconic monument of early Islamic architecture. This period also corresponds to the final consolidation of Umayyad power following the victory over his main rival, Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, whose revolt ended in 692. The coin issues of Iliya thus form part of a context of political stabilisation, centralisation of power, and affirmation of the identity of the young Islamic empire.