Umayyad Caliphate. Qurus undated.
Fals AE

19 mm, 3,77 g

Legends in three lines / Legends in three lines and in outer margin.

extremely fine, undoubtedly the finest knwon specimen.

Qurus Bone-1; Walker -; A-A185.; (RRR).

Superior in condition to the example of Stephen Album Auction 34, lot 294. This splendid example is surely deserving of a place of prominence in any premier collection of Islamic coinage. A magnificent piece! Qurus is the Arab name for the city of Cyrrhus which was founded about 300 BC by the Seleucids. The city acquired some importance when it was captured by the roman general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (64 BC) and subsequently was developed into a military base during the wars between Romans and Parthians. After the Persians occupied the city, Cyrrhus came under Byzantine rule as Hagiopolis (\'holy city\'), capital of the province Kyrrestike. Cyrrhus was the centre of the veneration of the Christian martyrs Cosmas and Damian. During the years after the decisive battle of Yarmuk in AD 636 the Arabs conquered Syria. The Arab general Abū ‘Ubayda b. al-Garrạ accepted the capitulation of Cyrrhus and signed a peace treaty with its people. References: Burns [1999], p.72 f and Beihammer [2000] pp.155-157; Al- Balādhurī, p.230 [149] and p. 227 [148. From the Tareq Hani collection.