Part 1
Transcriber's Note:
Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=.
- Manus Island, page 202. No location named. Should probably be East Indies. - Gulf of Kas, page 195. Missing longitude. - Fitze-long Bay, page 187. Wrong map coordinates. - The Index lists Dharmapuri, Diggi, Kang-ping and Radhan as having Glossary entries which do not exist. - Alternative spellings of Ibn Batuta include Batutu, Batatu, and Batouka. - Inconsistencies between latitude and longitude in the Index and the Glossary have been left as printed, including Ajmere, Bahera, Bitlis, Carmel, the Dead Sea, Deogarh, Dharwar, Diarbekr, Dondra Head, Elichpur, Hugli, Kagoshima, and Kamagawa.
EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY EDITED BY ERNEST RHYS
REFERENCE
A LITERARY AND HISTORICAL ATLAS OF ASIA
THE PUBLISHERS OF _EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY_ WILL BE PLEASED TO SEND FREELY TO ALL APPLICANTS A LIST OF THE PUBLISHED AND PROJECTED VOLUMES TO BE COMPRISED UNDER THE FOLLOWING THIRTEEN HEADINGS:
TRAVEL SCIENCE FICTION THEOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY HISTORY CLASSICAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE ESSAYS ORATORY POETRY & DRAMA BIOGRAPHY REFERENCE ROMANCE
IN FOUR STYLES OF BINDING: CLOTH, FLAT BACK, COLOURED TOP, LEATHER, ROUND CORNERS, GILT TOP; LIBRARY BINDING IN CLOTH, & QUARTER PIGSKIN
LONDON: J. M. DENT & SONS, LTD. NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.
[Illustration: To THE WISE MAN ALL THE WORLD'S A SOIL BEN JONSON]
A LITERARY & HISTORICAL ATLAS OF ASIA
J G. BARTHOLOMEW LL.D
LONDON: PUBLISHED by J·M·DENT & SONS LTD AND IN NEW YORK BY E·P·DUTTON & CO
INTRODUCTION
Fourth in the series of special atlases designed for "Everyman's Library" the present volume deals with the countries of Asia, whose history and geography, and whose possibilities, great and grave, are alike reflected in the maps and charts that follow. When Queen Elizabeth granted to certain merchants of London a charter that gave them a roving commission to trade in the East Indies, she could not foresee the immense developments that were to rise from that adventurous commerce between east and west. The successive maps of India with their frontier changes mark the gradual advance of an old world toward the new one knit by powerful mutual ties to the Isle of Britain; and recently we have seen what it is to be hoped will open a greater era for those regions, marked by a return to the old capital of Delhi, and a resuming of ancient rites which first gained their symbolism in those lands.
But Asia, as Japan has taught us and as China will undoubtedly teach us again, has her own destiny to bear out, apart from our European interests and politics; and it is in that aspect we need to study her on the lines laid down and made clear and positive in this volume. It is not the military records, the charts of mutinies and battle-fields, interesting as they are, which are alone important; but those showing the conditions, physical and climatic, of the country; the dispersion of the tongues, the sites of the old religions, the wealth and tillage of the earth with its fruits, grain and minerals, its rice fields and tea plantations; the prevalence of rain, sun and trade-winds; and the course of the sea-roads that affect its human and industrial life.
A gazetteer does not always seem to the ordinary man a very entertaining thing, but in this of Asia its compiler, Miss Grant, has tried to mark in brief, close compacted in small type, the place-associations, historical and other, that give life to the names of town or country. She has related them to the books that have dealt with them, and the events they have witnessed: given Ning-po its allusion to Marco Polo's travels, and Madras its San Thomé pedigree, connected Palmyra with Tamerlane, and Puri, Bengal, with the gold tooth of the Buddha and the Temple of Vishnu's incarnation. In the Brief Survey of the Coins and Coinage, Mr. J. Allan (of the Coins and Medal Department, British Museum) has traced the record from Lydia, six centuries and more B.C., to our own time. His notes on the Phoenician coins--"tetradrachms of Tyre with a dolphin or the god Melkart riding on a sea-horse," or an owl with a crook and a flail (Egyptian royal symbols); or the double shekels of Sidon with a galley, sails, or oars, before a walled city on one side, and a king of Persia on the other--show how much of history a set of coins, apparently so secretive, may hide in their silver and gold impressions.
In this Asian Atlas, of small dimensions as it requires to be to fit its pocket, Irkutsk in the north, "far Mandalay," the details of the East and West Indies, the route of Marco Polo, coasts like the Carnatic, towns like Lucknow and Cawnpore, Lhasa, "the Forbidden City" of Tibet, and Matsuye, the old capital of Idzumo, which Lafcadio Hearn describes, all have their record. It remains to be said, that as in other volumes of the same set, Dr. Bartholomew of Edinburgh has acted as cartographer; and the editor and publishers wish to acknowledge his large practical aid in the design of the atlas. Also, they owe a word of thanks to Mr. William Foster of the India Office for his expert advice.
Finally, they wish to dedicate the volume to the people and the princes of India, Japan, and the other countries of which it is a memorial, believing in their great future.
E. R.
CONTENTS
COLOURED MAPS
PAGE
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO HECATÆUS, B.C. 500 1
THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ERATOSTHENES, B.C. 220 2
QUADRANS HABITABILIS ACCORDING TO ABU RIHAN BIRUNENSIS, A.D. 1030 3
EGYPTIAN EMPIRE, B.C. 1450 4
BABYLONIAN EMPIRE, B.C. 560 5
PERSIAN EMPIRE AT ITS GREATEST EXTENT, 525 B.C. 6, 7
EMPIRE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, 325 B.C. 8, 9
ASIA MINOR 10, 11
PALESTINE, OLD TESTAMENT 12
PALESTINE, NEW TESTAMENT 13
ASIA, EARLY EXPLORERS 14, 15
ASIA, THIRTEENTH CENTURY 16
ASIA, ABOUT 1740 17
INDIA, 1705 18
INDIA, 1765 19
INDIA, 1805 20
INDIA, 1857 21
THE FAR EAST, 1800 22, 23
RUSSIAN ADVANCES IN CENTRAL ASIA 24, 25
THE WORLD ON MERCATOR'S PROJECTION, SHOWING ROUTES TO ASIA 26, 27
ASIA--OROGRAPHICAL 28
RIVER BASINS 29
JANUARY TEMPERATURE 30
JULY TEMPERATURE 31
JANUARY RAINFALL 32
JULY RAINFALL 33
MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL 34
VEGETATION 35
RACES 36
RELIGIONS 37
POPULATION 38
POLITICAL 39
ECONOMIC MAP OF ASIA ON MERCATOR'S PROJECTION 40, 41
TRADE ROUTES OF ASIA ON MERCATOR'S PROJECTION 42, 43
TURKEY IN ASIA, ARABIA, PERSIA, AFGHANISTAN, AND BALUCHISTAN 44, 45
ASIA MINOR, SYRIA, ETC. 46, 47
SUEZ CANAL 48
ADEN 49
OROGRAPHICAL CENTRAL ASIA, WITH INDIAN FRONTIERS 50, 51
INDIAN EMPIRE 52, 53
PRODUCTS OF INDIA 54, 55
BOMBAY, BERAR, AND PART OF CENTRAL INDIA 56, 57
PUNJAB, SIND, RAJPUTANA, KASHMIR, ETC. 58, 59
UNITED AND CENTRAL PROVINCES, BENGAL, ASSAM, ETC. 60, 61
MADRAS, HAIDARABAD, MYSORE, AND CEYLON 62, 63
ENVIRONS OF BOMBAY 64
ENVIRONS OF CALCUTTA 65
OROGRAPHICAL FARTHER INDIA 66
BURMA 67
MALAY STATES 68, 69
SIAM AND INDO-CHINA 70, 71
THE FAR EAST, ECONOMIC 72, 73
EAST INDIES 74, 75
JAVA 76
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 77
ISLAND OF SINGAPORE 78
HONG-KONG 79
CHINA AND JAPAN 80, 81
NORTHERN CHINA 82, 83
SOUTHERN CHINA 84, 85
ENVIRONS OF PEKING AND SHANGHAI 86
ENVIRONS OF HONG-KONG AND MANILA 87
JAPAN 88, 89
KOREA AND MANCHURIA 90
CENTRAL JAPAN 91
ENVIRONS OF TOKIO 92
ENVIRONS OF PORT-ARTHUR AND NAGASAKI 93
SIBERIA 94, 95
ENVIRONS OF VLADIVOSTOK 96
A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE COINAGES OF ASIA, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY, BY J. ALLAN, M.A., M.R.A.S. 97
LINE MAPS
BATTLE OF SIRANGAPATAM, February 1792 130
BATTLE OF ASSAYE, September 1803 131
BATTLE OF MEANEE, February 1843 131
BATTLE OF ALIWAL, January 1846 132
BATTLE OF SOBRAON, February 1846 132
INDIAN MUTINY, SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF TROOPS, May 1857 133
ARYAN LANGUAGES OF INDIA 134
NON-ARYAN LANGUAGES OF INDIA 135
SITES OF ANCIENT INDIAN TEMPLES 136, 137
MILITARY DIVISIONS OF INDIA 138
DELHI 139
LUCKNOW 140
CAWNPORE 141
LAHORE 142
RANGOON 143
LHASA, "THE FORBIDDEN CITY" 144
A GAZETTEER OF TOWNS AND PLACES IN ASIA HAVING AN HISTORIC INTEREST 145
INDEX 173
[Illustration: THE WORLD according to HECATÆUS B.C. 500 John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: THE WORLD according to ERATOSTHENES B.C. 220]
[Illustration: QUADRANS HABITABILIS according to ABU RIHAN BIRUNENSIS A.D. 1030 John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: EGYPTIAN EMPIRE B.C. 1450]
[Illustration: BABYLONIAN EMPIRE B.C. 560 John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: PERSIAN EMPIRE AT ITS GREATEST EXTENT 525 B.C. John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: EMPIRE OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT 325 B.C. John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA MINOR John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: PALESTINE OLD TESTAMENT]
[Illustration: PALESTINE NEW TESTAMENT John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA EARLY EXPLORERS John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA 13th CENTURY]
[Illustration: ASIA ABOUT 1740 John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: INDIA, 1705]
[Illustration: INDIA, 1765 John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: INDIA, 1805]
[Illustration: INDIA, 1857 John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: THE FAR EAST 1800 John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: RUSSIAN ADVANCES IN CENTRAL ASIA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: THE WORLD ON MERCATORS PROJECTION. SHOWING ROUTES TO ASIA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA OROGRAPHICAL]
[Illustration: ASIA RIVER BASINS John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA JANUARY TEMPERATURE]
[Illustration: ASIA JULY TEMPERATURE John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA JANUARY RAINFALL]
[Illustration: ASIA JULY RAINFALL John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA MEAN ANNUAL RAINFALL]
[Illustration: ASIA VEGETATION John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA RACES]
[Illustration: ASIA RELIGIONS John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ASIA POPULATION]
[Illustration: ASIA POLITICAL John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ECONOMIC MAP OF ASIA ON MERCATORS PROJECTION John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: TRADE ROUTES OF ASIA ON MERCATORS PROJECTION John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: TURKEY IN ASIA ARABIA, PERSIA AFGHANISTAN & BALUCHISTAN]
[Illustration: ASIA MINOR, SYRIA &c. John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: SUEZ CANAL]
[Illustration: ADEN John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: OROGRAPHICAL CENTRAL ASIA WITH INDIAN FRONTIERS John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: INDIAN EMPIRE John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: PRODUCTS OF INDIA]
[Illustration: PRODUCTS OF INDIA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: BOMBAY BERAR, AND PART OF CENTRAL INDIA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: PUNJAB SIND, RAJPUTANA, KASHMIR, &c. John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: UNITED AND CENTRAL PROVINCES BENGAL, ASSAM, &c. John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: MADRAS HAIDARABAD, MYSORE, AND CEYLON John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: BOMBAY]
[Illustration: CALCUTTA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: OROGRAPHICAL FARTHER INDIA]
[Illustration: BURMA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: MALAY STATES] John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: SIAM & INDO-CHINA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: THE FAR EAST ECONOMIC John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: EAST INDIES John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: JAVA]
[Illustration: PHILIPPINE ISLANDS John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: ISLAND OF SINGAPORE]
[Illustration: HONG-KONG John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: CHINA & JAPAN John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: NORTHERN CHINA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: SOUTHERN CHINA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: PEKING SHANGHAI John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: CANTON and HONG KONG]
[Illustration: MANILA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: JAPAN]
[Illustration: FORMOSA & LU-CHU ISLANDS on the same scale John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: KOREA AND MANCHURIA]
[Illustration: CENTRAL JAPAN John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: TOKIO]
[Illustration: PORT ARTHUR NAGASAKI John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: SIBERIA John Bartholomew & Co., Edinburgh]
[Illustration: VLADIVOSTOK]
A BRIEF SURVEY OF THE COINAGES OF ASIA FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY
A BRIEF SURVEY
OF THE
COINAGES OF ASIA
FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES (700 B.C.) TO THE PRESENT DAY
BY J. ALLAN, M.A., M.R.A.S.
_Of the Department of Coins, British Museum_
The coins of Asia from the earliest times may be conveniently reviewed in the following geographical and chronological sections: I. Ancient coins of Western and Central Asia (to the rise of Islam, excluding the majority of Greek and Roman coins which have no claim to be Asiatic); II. Mohammadan coins of Western and Central Asia; III. Coins of India (Hindu and Mohammadan); IV. Coins of the Far East; V. Coins struck by European nations for their Asiatic possessions.
I.--ANCIENT COINS OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL ASIA
_Origin of Coinage in Lydia._--According to Herodotus (I. 94) the Lydians were the first people to strike coins of gold and silver, while other writers attribute the invention of coinage to Pheidon, king of Argos, who struck coins in Aegina. The truth appears to be that gold, or rather electrum, was first coined in Lydia in the seventh century B.C., while silver was first minted in Aegina about the same time. The earliest Lydian coins are believed to have been issued in the time of Gyges, king of Lydia (687-652 B.C.). These are rude oval pieces of electrum, a natural mixture of gold and silver found locally, and are stamped on one side only (Plate I. 1). The uncertain value of this metal was found an embarrassment to commerce, and Croesus (561-546 B.C.), under whose rule Lydia became a great and wealthy power, introduced a coinage of pure gold and of pure silver, ten staters of silver being equal to one of gold (Plate I. 2, gold stater).
_Persia._--When Cyrus conquered Lydia in 546 B.C., the Persians, who, like the Assyrians, had no coined money, became acquainted with the art of coinage. It is not certain when the Persians began to issue coins, but from the statement of Herodotus that Darius Hystaspis (521-486 B.C.) coined gold of the finest quality, and the probable etymology of "daric" from Darius, the beginning of the Achaemenid coinage is placed in his reign; it is most probable that it was at Sardes in Lydia that Darius first struck his coins, as there he would be most likely to find skilled artificers. The coins of the Persian empire were the _daric_ of gold about equal in value to the stater of Croesus (or rather more than an English sovereign in metal value) and the _siglos_ (_shekel_) of which twenty were the equivalent of a daric. The types were the same on each coin, viz., on the obverse, the Persian King in a half-kneeling position holding a bow in his left hand and a spear in his right, while the reverse still had no type but only a rough incuse caused in striking the coins (Plate I. 3, daric). These two coins remained the official coinage of the Persian empire till its fall. The conquered Greek cities were not allowed to strike gold, but the issue of silver and copper by them was not interfered with; in addition certain Persian satraps were allowed to issue silver coins bearing their own names.
_Phoenicia._--In spite of their commercial activity, the Phoenician cities of the Mediterranean coast did not begin to strike coins until comparatively late times, the end of the fifth and beginning of the fourth centuries B.C. We possess extensive silver coinages of the fourth century for most of these cities, those of Tyre and Sidon being particularly important. The tetradrachms of Tyre have as types, a dolphin or the god Melkart riding on a sea-horse and an owl with crook and flail, Egyptian symbols of royalty (Plate I. 4, _c._ 410-332 B.C.). The double shekels of Sidon bear on the obverse a galley with sails or rowers often before a walled city, and on the reverse the suzerain king of Persia in a chariot (Plate I. 5, _c._ 400-384 B.C.).
_Imitations of Athenian coins._--The coins of Athens circulated very widely in the ancient world, particularly in Central Asia, where imitations of them were made when the Athenian mint could no longer supply the demand (Plate I. 6, imitation of Athenian tetradrachm). On some of these imitations the owl was replaced by an eagle, while Athenian influence can still be traced in the remarkably neat coins of Sophytes (Plate I. 11, reverse, cock), whom Alexander found reigning on the North-West Indian frontier on his march across it in 326 B.C.
_Alexander III., the Great._--When the Persian empire fell before Alexander the Great his coins became current throughout Asia, from the Mediterranean to the Indus, and profoundly influenced all later coinages. His gold coins (the stater, with its multiple the distater and its sub-divisions) have on the obverse a head of Athena, and on the reverse a winged Victory with the king's name; the silver (drachm, with multiples and subdivisions) has on the obverse a head of the young Herakles in lion-skin, and reverse, Zeus seated on throne holding eagle and sceptre (Plate I. 7). Tetradrachms bearing Alexander's name and types continued to be struck for a century and a half after his death, and they are at the present day the commonest of ancient coins.
_Seleucid Kings of Syria._--We possess an extensive series of coins of the Seleucid kings of Syria, the dynasty founded by Seleucus Nikator (312-280 B.C.), the general of Alexander who succeeded to his Asiatic heritage. The earliest Seleucid coins (before 306 B.C.) retained the name and types of Alexander, but soon a greater variety of types was adopted, while the king's head began to appear regularly on the obverse. The Seleucid coins are remarkable for the unique series of portraits they give us. One of the commonest types of the Seleucid series has the king's head on the obverse, and a seated Apollo with bow and arrow on the reverse (Plate I. 8, gold stater of Antiochus I., 280-266 B.C.; Plate I. 10, silver tetradrachm of Antiochus IV., 175-166 B.C.).
_Bactria._--About the middle of the third century B.C. the empire founded by Seleucus began to break up. A line of kings was founded in Bactria by Diodotos, a revolted satrap, whose independence Antiochus II. had to acknowledge. The earlier coins of these kings, who afterwards crossed into India and gradually lost their Hellenism, present some of the finest examples of portraiture on Greek coins (Plate I. 9, gold stater of Diodotos I., _c._ 250 B.C.).
_Judaea._--Among the smaller kingdoms who became independent of the Seleucids in the second century B.C. may be mentioned that of the Jews. Certain shekels, bearing on the obverse a chalice with the legend "shekel of Israel," and on the reverse a branch with three buds and the legend "Jerusalem the Holy" (Plate II. 1), have been attributed to Simon Maccabaeus (143-135 B.C.), but they may belong to the First Revolt (66-70 A.D.).
_Parthia._--About the same period, the great Parthian kingdom was founded in Central Asia and lasted till 220 A.D. The Parthian coinage is of silver (drachms and tetradrachms) and bronze. Although Parthian drachms are at the present day one of the most extensive of ancient coinages, their classification is exceedingly difficult on account of our ignorance of Parthian history, and the fact that the coins do not bear the name of the issuer but of Arsakes, the founder of the dynasty. The silver drachms bear on the obverse the portrait of the reigning king, and on the reverse the first king Arsakes seated holding a bow, with a legend in Greek characters which is at first simply (coin of) "the king Arsakes" (Plate II. 2, drachm of Mithridates I. the Great, 171-138 B.C.), but gradually increases in length till a century later it assumes the form (coin of) "the king of kings Arsakes, the just, the illustrious, the beneficent, the friend of the Greeks," which remains the usual legend. Tetradrachms with similar legends were also struck in large numbers; their usual reverse type is the Parthian king seated, receiving a wreath from the goddess of Victory or from a City goddess (Plate II. 3, tetradrachm of Phraates IV., 38-3 B.C.). After the reign of Phraates IV. the coins are dated in the Seleucid era, while the later coins bear a Pehlevi legend in addition to the Greek inscription which is by this time almost unintelligible.
_Sassanian Empire._--Early in the third century A.D. the last remnants of Parthian power were destroyed by Ardashir, a Persian prince, who founded the Sassanian empire, which after successfully disputing the supremacy of Asia with the Romans for four centuries finally fell before the conquering hosts of Islam. The Sassanian silver coins, particularly of the later kings, are exceedingly numerous at the present day, but the gold and copper are rare. The types of the gold and silver are throughout the dynasty the same; on the obverse is the head of the king with a long legend of the form, "Ardashir, worshipper of Ahura Mazda, divine king of kings of Iran, a scion of the celestial race," on the reverse a fire-altar, usually with two attendant priests, and at first the legend "the fire of Ardashir" (etc.), later the mint and regnal year of issue. The earlier coins are of remarkably good workmanship, and give us fine portraits of the Sassanian kings (Plate II. 4, gold coin of Ardashir I., 226-241 A.D.; Plate II. 5, silver drachm of Sapor I., 241-272 A.D.). The gold coins weigh rather less than an English sovereign, and their standard appears to be derived from Roman solidi; the silver coins are drachms following the Parthian standard, and, particularly the latter pieces, are remarkable for their thin fabric (_e.g._ Plate II. 7, Khusrau (Chosroes) II., Parvez, 590-628 A.D.) which was copied by the Arabs in their silver coins, and can be traced in certain Mohammadan series to the present day.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--B. V. Head, _Historia Numorum_ (Oxford, 1911), pp. 643-845; B. V. Head, _Coinage of Lydia and Persia_ (London, 1878); British Museum Catalogue of Greek Coins, _Lydia_ (1901), _Syria_ (1878), _Parthia_ (1905), _Phoenicia_ (1910); E. Babelon, _Perses Acheménides_ (Paris, 1893); E. Babelon, _Rois de Syrie_ (Paris, 1890); Dorn & Bartholomaei, _Monnaies Sassanides_ (St. Petersburg, 1875).
II.--MOHAMMADAN COINAGES
(_Exclusive of India_)
_Beginnings of Arab Coinage._--The Arabs were unacquainted with the art of coinage till they learned it on their campaigns of conquest in Syria (Byzantine) and Persia (Sassanian). At first they were content to issue gold and copper pieces imitated from contemporary Byzantine coins (Plate II. 9, early copper coin of Abd-al-Malik; obverse, figure of the Caliph; reverse, modified Byzantine cross), while their silver pieces were copies of late Sassanian coins (like Plate II. 7), with the addition of _bismillah_ (in the name of God) on the margin.
_Abd-al-Malik's Reformed Currency._--Though one traditionist says that even Adam felt the need for money and struck dinars and dirhems, more reliable authorities agree in attributing to Abd-al-Malik, the fifth Omayyad Caliph (684-705 A.D.), the institution in 696 A.D. of a purely Muslim coinage, worthy of the great Arab empire and the foundations on which it was built. This coinage was of gold, silver, and copper, and the names _dinar_ (denarius aureus), _dirhem_ (drachma), and _falus_ (follis), which have remained in use practically to the present day, were borrowed from the Byzantines. The dinar originally weighed rather more than half a sovereign, while the dirhem was a little less than sixpence in English money, but the names came to mean simply gold and silver coin respectively.
Mohammad's interdiction of any form of image-making, as savouring of idolatry, limited the orthodox Caliph to legends on his coins, but thereby gave Arab coins an importance as historical documents possessed by no other series. From the earliest times they bore the mint and date (in the Mohammadan era dating from 622 A.D.), and later the ruler's name and titles, often including valuable genealogical data, were added. The right of striking coins was one of the privileges of sovereignty, and Muslim coins thus throw a good deal of light on Arab history.