The Standing Caliph Coins found in Marea/Philoxenite, Egypt
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12797//SAAC.29.2025.29.08Keywords:
Marea, Philoxenite, Egypt, Standing Caliph, Early Islamic periodAbstract
Archaeological research in Marea/Philoxenite has been conducted since 2000 by the Polish Centre for Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw, in cooperation with the Archaeological Museum in Kraków. The work is mainly carried out on the site of one of the largest Christian basilicas in Egypt and in some parts of the city. According to the research, the peak development of the city was during the Byzantine period. It was one of the most important centres on the road leading from Alexandria to the sanctuary of Saint Menas at Abu Mina. So far, more than 9,000 coins have been recorded at the site, of which late Roman minimi dominate. Among the finds are two copper coins with a standing caliph effigy struck before the monetary reform of ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwān in 696/7. Due to the names on the coins and the die links, the coins may have been struck in Qinnasrīn and Damascus. The first coin was found during research in the 2004 season on the limestone floor in room no. 8 behind the south-western corner of the Great Basilica. The second was found during the 2021 season of excavation in the south-western urban district, in trench N1 in the church aisle.
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