Islamic and Byzantine coins Brooks

   Brooks Johnson

   Islamic and Byzantine coins  

 This is the contrasting of coins named Solidus used in ancient Byzantine Empire   and the Umayyad Dinar used in ancient Islamic civilizations. I have gathered my facts from a collection of books and web sites to explain the differences between the Solidus and the Umayyad Dinar. The Umayyad Dinar and the Solidus are two ancient coins that are vastly different in their appearance, value, and were they were used.

     The appearance of the Solidus and the Umayyad Dinar are very different.

The Solidus has a picture of an emperor on it. This was because the emperor wanted to show his power. The Umayyad Dinar was very different it had writing all over it saying “there is no God but God alone without a partner” and on the rim is written  "Mohammed is the Prophet of God sent by God to guide, the religion of truth to show to the whole world". Also on the rim is written,  "In the name of God, this dinar was minted in the year hundred and six (Hejira)". This is from the angular Kufic script.

This is basically the complete opposite of the solidus. While the Solidus was made to make the Emperor powerful the Umayyad Dinar states that it is bad to want to be like a god, like the emperor is doing. The imagery and writing on the coin did not however affect the value of the coin.

     The values of these two coins are different. The Umayyad Dinar was first made out of silver and then was made out of gold. The Solidus was always made of gold. The Solidus was always worth more than the Umayyad Dinar especially when the Umayyad Dinar was made of silver. The weight of the Umayyad Dinar was around 4.25 grams, while the solidus weighed around 4.5 grams. The Umayyad Dinar was also thinner than the Solidus. The value was also greatly determined by where the coin was being used.

    The places these coins were used and how many different places they were used is stunning. The Umayyad Dinar was not used greatly other than in Islamic societies, which is where it is made. The Solidus on the other hand, influenced and was used as a currency many other places, such as France, Quebec, Italy, Spain, Peru, Portugal, Brazil, and The United Kingdom.  In all of these places it was used and many societies were greatly influenced by it. After all it is the first coin to have a picture of the emperor or king in power at the time of its making.

    These two coins have many characteristics that make them different form on another in their appearance, value, and were they were used. These coin were a very large part of the culture of the Byzantine Empire and all of the Islamic civilizations.

Solidus

Umayyad Dinar 

Outline

        I. Introduction

        a. The Umayyad Dinar and the Solidus are two ancient coins that are vastly different in their appearance, value, and were they were used.

        II. Appearance

a. Umayyad Dinar had writing

b. Solidus had pictures and writing

c.      Imagery

     III. Value

a.     Weight

b.     Material

c.      History of value

IIII. Places used

a.     Locations

b.     Influences

c.      Places used

d.     What it influenced

    IIIII. Conclusion

      a. The Umayyad Dinar and the Solidus are two ancient coins that are vastly different in their    appearance, value, and were they were used.
     b. conclusion sentence

    

 URL: 1.http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/cm/g/gold_coin_of_abd_al-malik.aspx

2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solidus_(coin)

3.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Münze_Gold_Solidus_Theudebert_I_um_534_%28cropped%29.jpg

4.http://www.paulfrasercollectibles.com/upload/public/docimages/Image/r/t/b/Earliest-Umayyad-Dinar-125.jpg

"Gold coin of Abd al-Malik." The British Museum . the British Museum. Web. 17 Dec 2013. <http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/cm/g/gold_coin_of_abd_al-malik.asp&xgt;.

"Solidus (coin)." wikipedia. Wikipedia , 27 11 2013. Web. 17 Dec 2013. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solidus_(coin)>.

Wayne, Sayles. Ancient Coin Collecting V. 1st. Iola,WI: Krause Publications, 1998. 3-4. Print.

    

Moktfi, Mokhtar, and Véronique Ageorges. The Arabs In The Golden Age. 1st. Conneticut: Millbook Press, 1992. 30-31. Print.

I consider Alexander The Great great because he has been conquering many city-states in the 9 years he was commander. He got a strong army together and prevented it from being destroyed. He was taught by his father, King Philip, to be a great warrior and that is what he is. One reason why his army was so strong is because his father created a way to fight that was hard to beat. In this formation, they would have 16 rows of men with long spears. The front 3 rows would put the spears down, while the back 13 would put them in the air. That way if the first 3 rows got destroyed, the back rows could put their spears down. Alexander did what his men did. When he goes to invade, he is always first to go. That shows how brave he really is, and his men got inspiration out of that. He worked hard to get loyalty from his men. Anyone who betrayed him he would make an example out of. That made his other men not betray him.

When he conquered city-states, he adapted their culture. Alexander wanted to learn about the places he invaded. He wouldn’t try to change the places he conquered like many of the leaders in his time. The blending of all the cultures that Alexander captured helped the Greeks and it left a mark on the culture of the western and eastern city-states. The Greeks slowly started to absorb eastern culture. The blending of all the cultures aided Alexander’s empire because it helped his empire to expand and reach out to other people. It also improved our trade with other nearby city-states that had been conquered by Alexander during the Hellenistic Age.

Alexander is like George Washington in many ways. George Washington was a commander during the Revolutionary War. Like Alexander, he got a strong army together and was able to keep it from being defeated. George Washington didn’t capture that much land, but he did fight for what he wanted. He wanted freedom so he was determined to get it. That was the same with Alexander the Great. He was determined to take over Persia because that was also his father’s goal.

Work Cited:

Nettles, C.. N.p.. Web. 27 Sep 2013. <http://www.oswego.edu/library2/archives/digitized_collections/granger/georgewashington.html>.

Rathfelder, Chuck . "Alexander." Home > Department of Physics & Astronomy > USC Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. <http://physics.usc.edu/~crathfel/alexande

Nick, Initials. N.p.. Web. 27 Sep 2013. <http://www.pothos.org/content/>.

Marshall, Christopher. "Globalizing the Great Man: Teaching the Legacy of Alexander the Great from an International Perspective." Globalizing the Great Man: Teaching the Legacy of Alexander the Great from an International Perspective. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 June 2013. <www2.css.edu/app/depts/his/historyjournal/index.cfm?cat=6&art=72>.

Patrick Fair 

Macedonian News

Patricous

(Pa-Tree-shes)
A Infantryman if the Fifth Squadron

1. Reporter: Why do you think Alexander is called great?

Patricous: That’s a great question. I mean at such a young age of taking the thrown and in such few years being able to defeat the Persians, considered the greatest empire known to man. I don’t know about you, but that is pretty great alone. He is also the brightest person I’ve ever met! During his free time he reads and will speak of building colossal projects like a library and a lighthouse. He is able to predict battles and is extremely knowledged in battle formations and war tactics.

(Nine Years Later)

2. Reporter: General Patricous, How do you feel about the blending of all of these new cultures?

Patricous: it is a like Pandora’s Box. With progress comes loss. We are gaining vast amounts of knowledge, and don’t get me wrong the food and people are great, but the praying and the many religions are overwhelming. I feel like I wake up, pray, defeat an empire prey, and then repeat. I am ready to head home and there are rumors we are going to. Seeing Alex in this state of illness is really a putdown, but if there is one thing he taught me it is that you have to look for the bright side of everything.

3. Another historical figure that also carries the idea of being great?

When I think of a person with the idea of being great I think of James Bowie. He was a member of the Alamo and the inventor of the Bowie knife. He is also my grandfather’s hero and aspired him to become a blacksmith. Now he is an expert on Bouie knives and James Bowie. He has written a few books on him. In the sandbar fight, the first appearance of the Bowie knife, Bowie got into a conflict with two other men, who were both armed, and Bowie and the men got into a fight where Bowie got stabbed in the back and then went on to defeat the tow men. He became a living legend. In the Alamo, little is known on the location of Bowie, but many believe he was in the corner next to the southeast cannon, close to where he died, this meant he was fighting till his last breath propping himself up. He died a martyr, fighting for what he believed and for the safety of the USA, and that alone makes anyone a hero.

Works Sited

"JAMES BOWIE." JAMES BOWIE. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.

"The Internet Classics Archive | Alexander by Plutarch." The Internet Classics Archive | Alexander by Plutarch. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.

life as a solider

                           I, Brooks have been a solider for 15 years and the battle against Persia has been the hardest battle I have ever fought in. I thought we were headed home after the battle but instead Alexander wants us to capture more land for his empire. Why is he not satisfied with Persia? It is a huge piece of land. I want to see my family and let them know I am okay.

                      I do not see why Alexander The Great is so great. I have never met him. He has only bossed me around. He has made our military much more successful though. He introduced new weapons such as the two handed pike, which is what I use. It gives me an offensive and defensive advantage so I can be more effective in battle. He also made us start to train for different jobs. I am in a cavalry. There is also a heavy infantry, archers, skirmish infantry, and light and heavy cavalry. This actually makes us more effective in battle I believe we were better prepared for the battle against Persia than lots of other battles we have fought.

                       Back in Alexandria a new kind of culture has been blended and it is called Hellenistic culture. It is a blend of Egyptian, Persian, and Indian culture.  I believe this culture was caused by Alexander not making people believe in one culture. This was a smart move on his part because people with all cultures feel like there culture is welcome in Alexandria. This culture also brought many new ideas to Alexandria in science and technology. The museum is a huge observatory in Alexandria were very smart people would study. Hellenistic culture also influenced philosophy and art in a positive way. Much like its effect on science and technology Hellenistic culture brought many smart philosophers and artist to Alexandria. All of this made Alexander’s empire more successful over all. Both Adolf Hitler and Alexander The Great were very successful rulers. As soon as Hitler was appointed chancellor in 1933 he change the government which was a Weimar Republic into the Third Reich which was a single-party dictatorship based on the idea of Nazism. Alexander ensured his reign by killing his rivals to the throne. Both Hitler and Alexander tried to ensure their position of high power as soon or even before they were appointed it. After ensuring their rule both of them wanted to expand the amount of land they had control over. Hitler did this by expanding into Poland and Alexander did this by capturing Persia. But both of them were not happy with what the had captured and the wanted more land so they got more land by capturing more surrounding countries and empires. Both rulers did not leave the people alone in a area in which they had captured. They put them to work or killed them all. Hitler’s plan was to either put them to work or if they were Jews to kill them. Alexander’s plan was to make them fight in his army till they died fighting.

 

    

Sources

                      , ed. "Alexander The Great." Wikipedia. wikipedia, 16 september 2013. Web. 27 Sep 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great>.

                      "the sprea of hellinistic culture ." holt mcdougal. houghton mifflin harcourt. Web. 27 Sep 2013. <http://my.hrw.com/tabnav/controller.jsp?isbn=9780547521084 >.

                      "Adolph Hitler." wikipedia. wikipedia, 26 Sep 2013. Web. 27 Sep 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler>.

                      "Ancient Macedonian army." Wikipedia. wikipedia, 25 september 2013. Web. 27 Sep 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Macedonian_army>.