The dating of the ‘Earthquake of the Sabbatical Year’ of 749 C.E. in Palestine

In the mid eighth century, towards the end of the Umayyad regime, a major earthquake occurred in Palestine and the East, of which we know from Christian, Jewish and Muslim sources. Archaeologists relate to destruction by this earthquake layers in several sites, such as Jerusalem, Gerasa in Arabia, and sites mostly along the Jordan valley, among them Kh. Mefjer near Jericho, Pella, Capernaum, Sussita-Hippos, and recently, Bet Shean-Scythopolis (see below).The exact date of this earthquake is controversial; some scholars date it to 746, others to 747 or 748, In 1960, M. Margaliot suggested that the earthquake took place in 749. In this article we present new archaeological and numismatic evidence in support of this later date (see below p. 234, and pl.II).

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Heretical Movements in the Eighth Century

The Medieval Manichee ◽

10.1017/cbo9780511599514.009 ◽

1982 ◽

pp. 182-183

Keyword(s):

Eighth Century

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Brahmi legends on Umayyad Fulus: Interrogating local minting practices and numismatic transculturation in Gandhara (ca. 750 CE)

Afghanistan ◽

10.3366/afg.2019.0029 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 153-165

Author(s):

Waleed Ziad

Keyword(s):

Base Metal ◽

Late Antiquity ◽

Eighth Century ◽

Political Authority ◽

Unusual Feature ◽

Complex Relationship ◽

Contact Zones ◽

Confessional Identity ◽

Derivatives Of

This paper concerns a historically significant find of copper derivatives of Umayyad post-reform fulus from Gandhara, probably minted in the mid-eighth century under Turk Shahi sovereignty (c. 667–875). The coins share an unusual feature: two Brahmi aksharas on an Umayyad AE prototype, inversely oriented to a partially-corrupted Arabic legend. These base metal coins represent perhaps the only known caliphal imitative varieties issued by moneyers beyond the eastern limits of Umayyad and Abbasid sovereignty. They have the potential to inform our understanding of the complex relationship between political authority, confessional identity, and coin typology in late antiquity – particularly within early “Hindu”– “Muslim” contact zones. Moreover, they provide invaluable clues into the circulatory regimes of Umayyad coinage.

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The Beginnings of Islam in Afghanistan

10.1525/california/9780520294134.003.0002 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Arezou Azad

Keyword(s):

Paradigm Shift ◽

Political System ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Eighth Century ◽

Religious Context ◽

Early Islam ◽

History Of ◽

Initial Conversion ◽

The Way

Covering the period from 709 to 871, this chapter traces the initial conversion of Afghanistan from Zoroastrianism and Buddhism to Islam. Highlighting the differential developments in four regions of Afghanistan, it discusses the very earliest history of Afghan Islam both as a religion and as a political system in the form of a caliphate. The chapter draws on under-utilized sources, such as fourth to eighth century Bactrian documents from Tukharistan and medieval Arabic and Persian histories of Balkh, Herat and Sistan. In so doing, it offers a paradigm shift in the way early Islam is understood by arguing that it did not arrive in Afghanistan as a finished product, but instead grew out of Afghanistan’s multi-religious context. Through fusions with Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, early Abrahamic traditions, and local cult practices, the Islam that resulted was less an Arab Islam that was imported wholesale than a patchwork of various cultural practices.

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Radiometric dating of hillslope calcrete in the Negev Desert, Israel

South African Journal of Science ◽

10.1590/s0038-23532008000600025 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 104 (11/12) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

J.C. Vogel ◽

M.A. Geyh

Keyword(s):

Open System ◽

Negev Desert ◽

Radiometric Dating ◽

Jordan Valley ◽

Partial Recrystallization ◽

Uranium Series ◽

Uranium Series Dating

The radiometric dating of calcrete is often problematical because impurities and open system conditions affect the apparent ages obtained. By applying both radiocarbon and uranium-series dating to calcrete in colluvium, it is shown that such conditions can be identified. In correlation with the stratigraphy, it is found that partial recrystallization severely decreases the radiocarbon ages of the upslope and shallower samples further down, whereas incorporation of limestone fragments from bedrock significantly increases the apparent ages of some of the uranium-series samples. It is concluded that the hillslope calcrete at the study site near Sede Beker in the Negev Desert, Israel, mainly developed shortly after 40 kyr ago, at a time when the Jordan Valley was being inundated to form the fossil Lake Lisan. Since their formation would have required higher rainfall than today, the results provide further evidence that the whole region was experiencing an increase in precipitation.

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