Dirham of Yazid II, Wasit 722 - 723

Curator: Here we have a Dirham of Yazid II, minted in Wasit, an important administrative center in early Islamic Iraq. The coin itself weighs just under three grams. Editor: It appears quite worn, doesn't it? But that only makes me think of all the hands it must have passed through, witnessing political and social shifts. Curator: Exactly! Each inscription is a testament to power. The Arabic calligraphy, though stylized, conveys the authority of the Umayyad caliphate. Editor: And who benefited from that authority? This coin represents a complex system of trade and taxation that inevitably created winners and losers in early Islamic society. Curator: Certainly. These symbols of power are tied to larger historical forces and the cultural memory of a vast empire. Editor: Thinking about its materiality now, this small coin really encapsulates a whole world, both then and now. Curator: Indeed, a tangible link to a distant past.