An Umayyad silver dirham from the reign of 'Abd al-Malik (AD 685-705) Irminiya (Armenia), dated AH 81/ AD 700-701 with four lines of inscription in kufic surrounded by band of inscription in kufic to one side and three lines of inscription in kufic surrounded by a band of inscription in kufic to the other, extremely fine, rare 30 mm. max.; 2.94 g. Footnotes: See Michael G. Klat, Catalogue of the Post-Reform Dirhams, The Umayyad Dynasty, Spink, London, 2002, no. 35. Inscriptions: Qur'an, sura CXII (al-Ikhlas); a form of the shahadah and a version of Qur'an, sura IX (al-tawbah), part of verse 33 with the added, 'Muhammad, the Messenger of God'. The mint of Armenia was one of the earliest provincial mints opened by the Umayyads, starting at the very beginning in the year AH 78. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com