Battle of Karbala

409, Lot: 778. Estimate $200. Sold for $380. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ISLAMIC, Umayyad Caliphate. temp. Yazid I ibn Mu'awiya. AH 60-64 / AD 680-683. AR Drachm (32mm, 3.88 g, 9h). Arab-Sasanian type. Basra mint; Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad, governor. Dated AH 61 (AD 680/1). Crowned bust right imitating Sasanian king Khosrau II; Pahlavi GDH 'pzwt ("may his splendor increase") to left, Pahlavi AWBYTALA/Y ZAYATAN ("Ubayd Allah bin Ziyad") to right; all within double ring; pellet above star-in-crescents flanking and below; Pahlavi bism Allah ("in the name of God") and four pellets to lower right / Fire altar with attendants; crescent and star flanking flames, Pahlavi AYWKWŠST (61 [date]) to left, Pahlavi BCRA (mint abbreviation) to right; all within triple ring; star-in-crescents flanking and below. SICA 1, 77–86; Walker, Arab-Sasanian 85-6; Album 12; ICV 11. EF, slight die shift on obverse.

From the BRN Collection. Ex Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 176 (14 November 2007), lot 271.

Yazd I was the son of Mu'awiya, the second caliph of the Umayyads, and the sixth caliph overall. This coin was struck by his governor of Basra and Kufa, Ubayd Allah ibn Ziyad. Ubayd Allah was responsible for the organization and nominal command of the Umayyad army that fought against the forces of Hussein ibn Ali at the Battle of Karbala. The battle occurred on 10 Muharram 61 AH (9 or 10 October 680 AD), during the year in which this coin was minted.