Instytut Archeologii i Etnologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk

MONETA MEDlJEVALIS Studia numizmatyczne i historyczne

ofiarowane Profesorowi Stanislawowi Suchodolskiemu w 65. rocznic~ urodzin

~DAWNIC1WO':l~DiG Warszawa 2002

;f , I. I

Thomas S. Noonan Ct), Roman K. Kovalev

The dirham output and monetary circulation of a secondary Samanid mint:

A case study of Balkh

D uring the late ninth and early tenth centuries, a dramatic change took place in the production and circulation of dirhams within the Islamic world.

Between ca. 750 and ca. 900 CE, significant quantities of dirhams were struck in the cAbbasid mints of Iran and Iraq. Furthermore, many of these dirhams were exported to European Russia and the Baltic starting in the last quarter of the eighth century. During the last decade of the ninth century, however, the Samanid mints of Central Asia began to issue huge quantities of dirhams almost all of which were shipped abroad to European Russia and the Baltic. Between ca. 890-ca. 975, the Samanids thus became the leading producers of dirhams in the Islamic world while the output of cAbbasid mints declined markedly and then ceased altogether. The marked shift in dirham production from cAbbasid Iran and Iraq to Samanid Central Asia was accompanied by a tremendous increase in the total number of dirhams that were struck and then exported to the north. In general terms, less than 25% of all dirhams uncovered in European Russian hoards were deposited prior to 900 while three quarters were deposited after 9001

. The figures for the Baltic are comparable. Slightly more than 15% of the dirhams from the hoards in this region were deposited prior to 900 while almost 85% were buried after 9002

. In sum, mint production in the Islamic world began to experience a radical transformation shortly before the year 900. Huge quantities of new dirhams were now being struck in Samanid Central Asia while the mint production of cAbbasid Iran and Iraq experienced a notable decline.

The enormous output of tenth--eentury Samanid mints is usually noted in connection with the tremendous expansion of Viking-age Islamic trade with

I T. S. Noonan, 'Fluctuations in Islamic Trade with Eastern Europe During the Viking Age', Harvard Ukrainian Studies, 16 (992), 243. 2 T. S. Noonan, 'The Vikings in the East: Coins and Commerce', in Developments Around tbe Baltic and the NO/1h Sea in the Viking Age (Stockholm, 1994), 227.

MONETA MEDIiEVALIS, Warszawa 2002

164 II. Obieg monetarny - Monetary Circulation

European Russia that originated in Transoxiana and Khwarazm. This great tenth-century trade connecting Central Asia with European Russia via the Volga Bulghar lands has been well documented in the famous account of Ibn Fadlan3.

to' ap:

This commerce, however, depended upon the huge expansion of dirham wi production in Samanid mints since our sources make it very clear that this trade ou was based, to a very large extent, upon the exchange of the furs and slaves th<3 coming from northern Russia for the Islamic dirhams brought from Central Asia. siti Gardlzl, for example, indicates that IslamiC merchants obtained valuable pelts SOl in the Volga Bulghar lands in exchange for dirhams while the Volga Bulghars, an; in turn, used these dirhams to buy the furs and slaves brought to Volga Bulgharia by Rils and Saqlab merchants4

. The great Viking-age trade running from Central du evi

Asia through European Russia to the Baltic lands was thus dependent upon the enormous number of dirhams being struck in Samanid mints. Samanid dirhams

re~

bywere the fuel which kept this enterprise functioning. SUI

The key role of Samanid dirhams in Viking-age trade makes it necessary to car examine Samanid mint production in some detail. General references to the sar discovery of new silver mines in Central Asia do not explain when, how, and cer why the Samanids exported millions of dirhams to European Russia and the Baltic during the course of the tenth century. In thiS short study, we should like mil to initiate the examination of Samanid mint production. In order to study overall ma Samanid mint output, it is first necessary to analyze the output of individual stu mints. In other words, we must begin by determining how many dirhams were the struck in a given mint each year. Then, in the next step, the amalgamation of wa the data from various Samanid mints will make it possible, for the first time, to anc determine whether larger trends in dirham production can be ascertained. In Kh this second stage, for example, we can explore such issues as whether an overall rou pattern for mint production existed in all Samanid mints or whether each mint or group of mints had distinctly different patterns. For example, it may be that in] all mints increased or decreased their production of dirhams more or less of simultaneously in response to such factors as the supply of silver and the ten demand for dirhams to export. On the other hand, it is also conceivable that rull a two tier system prevailed; the output of major mints (al-Shash, Samarqand, we Bukhara) was primarily intended for export to northern Europe while the At production of more regional mints (Balkh, Marw, etc.) was intended for local me needs. In short, the study of the dirham output of Samanid mints is essential the for an understanding of how the Samanids financed their great Viking-age trade dirJ with European Russia.

5 T. 29(J

J Ibn Fadlan, The RisiilaojIbn Fadliin: An Annotated Tmnslation with Introduction [Indiana University 6 Ib Dissertation] (Dissertation Abstracts: Ann Arbor, MI, 1979). 7 Se 4 A. P. Martinez, 'Gardizi's Two Chapters on the Turks', Al'chilJum Eurasiae Medii AelJi, 2(982), 158. zKl

Thomas S. Noonan, Roman K. Kovalev, The dirham output... 165~ I great In an earlier study of cAbbasid mint production, the two main approaches ~olga to the study of medieval Islamic mint production were discussed. The 'die count tllan3. approach seeks to estimate the total number of coins struck by a given mint' I[rham while 'the hoard count approach attempts to estimate comparative mint ltrade outputs'S. The latter approach, which is utilized here, rests of the assumption

that the coins in hoards constitute a very good index of mint output, a suppo­\~:~~

~ sition whose theoretical soundness was demonstrated by Bengt Tl10rdeman

pelts some years agoG. In addition, the data used in this study was derived from an •hal's, analysis of hundreds of hoards deposited throughout all of Western Eurasia ~haria during the tenth and eleventh centuries. It thus constitutes the very best available entral evidence on the Samanid dirhams struck in Balkh which circulated in this vast fn the region. The patterns of mint production revealed by this data are not skewed

by a few rogue hoards or rendered suspect by a few hoards which have not survived in their entirety. Unlike museum collections, whose contents reflect Ih:~: careful selectiVity, the coins in hoards constitute the most reliable random sample of the Balkh dirhams which actually circulated in the tenth and eleventh~ :~~ centuries.

d the Balkh was selected for a very practical reason. It was clearly a secondary 6like mint rather than one of the great Samanid mints. Consequently, the data was rerall manageable and the patterns could be examined in some depth Within thiS idual study. It would have been impossible to analyze the massive data on one of were the main mints here. While Balkh was not located within Transoxiana itself, it ron of was situated in the far northeastern part of Khurasan not far from the Oxus River

and the southern regions of Transoxiana. It was thus in close contact with Ir~.' ~~ Khwarazm by river and with Samarqand and Bukhara by heavily trafficked land

~\er~ll routes. mmt It is difficult to determine exactly when the Samanids began to strike dirhams

e that in Balkh. The Banajiirid governors of eastern Khurasan minted a modest number ~ less of dirhams in Balkh as well as Madinat Balkh during the late ninth and early 1::1 the tenth century. Many of these coins are ascribed to the Banajiirids as independent Fthat rulers7

. However, some Islamic numismatists treat some of these coins as if they qand, were struck by the Samanids, i.e., they are classified as regular Samanid dirhams. b the At most, a passing reference is made to the fact that a Banajiirid governor is \local mentioned in the inscriptions on the coin. An example of this circumstance is ential the 943/44 hoard from Uggards on Gotland where some, but not all, Samanid Itrade dirhams of the early tenth century were identified as Samanid coins but 'with

5 T. S. Noonan, 'Early cAbbasid Mint Output', Journal ofthe Economic and Social HistolY oftbe Orient, . 29(986), 113-114.

lversity 6 Ibidem, 115-118. 7 See, for example, M. Czapkiewicz, A. Gupieniec, A. Kmietowicz, W. Kubiak, Skarb monet arabskich

I, 158. z Klukowicz, powiat Siemiatycze (Wroclaw-Warszawa-Krakow, 1964).

166 II. Obieg monetarny - Monetary Circulation

the Banajilrid Ahmad ibn Muhammad'. In other words, the Samanid amirs are treated as rulers over the Banajilrid governors8

. Finally, a number of the dirhams from this same period are now characterized as Samanid/Banajurid which suggests that they were the joints issues of both dynasties9. In short, it is not clear whether the dirhams struck in Balkh at this time period should be classified as Samanid, Banajurid, or Samanid/Banajilrid. Hopefully, future research will elucidate these questions. For the purposes of this study, however, only dirhams struck after 900 in Balkh which are classified as purely Samanid have been included in our data base.

ThiS study rests on an examination of some 1599 hoards with five or more dirhams deposited throughout Western Eurasia during the eighth to eleventh centuries. Among the 1219 hoards deposited in the tenth and eleventh centuries, there were 304 hoards with over 1621 Samanid dirhams struck in Balkh. The spatial distribution of these 304 hoards is given in Table I below. Two related conclusions of great significance can be drawn from this data. First of all, no Balkh dirhams are reported from the hoards deposited in Centra! Asia. In fact, only a few Samanid dirhams are included in the handful of tenth-eentury hoards thus far reported from Central Asia. Samanid dirhams including those from Balkh did not circulate to any great extent within Central Asia. Second, the Samanid dirhams struck in Balkh were utilized almost exclusively for export to northern Europe. Almost 97% of all the hoards containing these dirhams as well as almost 98% of these dirhams were deposited in European Russia and the lands around the Baltic Sea. Samanid dirhams in general as well as those from Balkh in particular were struck primarily to be exported to northern Europe in exchange for fur and slaves.

Table I: The spatial distribution of Samanid dirhams struck in Balkh

Region Number of Hoards % Number of Dirhams %

Russia 56 18.4 424 26.2 S.E. Baltic 27 8.8 110 6.8 Finland 3 1.0 3 0.2 Poland 15 4.9 31 1.9 Near East 9 3.0 35 2.2 Caucasus 1 0.3 2 0.1 Denmark 14 4.6 61 3.8 N. Germany 4 1.3 6 0.4 NOlWay 3 1.0 10 0.6 Sweden 172 56.6 939 57.9 Total 304 99.9 1621 100.1

8 Gotlands Fornsal, Visby, Inventory Number 10259: 1-3­9 R. Wiechmann, Edelmetalldepots der Wikingerzeil in Schleswig-Holstein (Offa-Blicher, Band 77) (Neumlinster, 1996), pp. 490-500, No. 45.

is~

ac ca in of 85 9] pI as be

Thomas S. Noonan, Roman K. Kovalev, The dirham output... 167

lirs are The 304 hoards mentioned above contained a total of 1621+Samanid dirhams irhams issued in Balkh. The figure of 1621 is a minimum number since the general which accounts of many hoards simply note that the Samanid dirhams in the hoard

: is not came from a variety of mints among which was Balkh. The total Balkh dirhams lssified in such hoards has simply been entered into our data base as 1+. Seventy-seven ch will of these 1621+ dirhams could only be attributed to very general dates, e.g., .irhams 896/97-955/56. Another 131 could only be attributed to approximate dates, e.g., e been 915-919. Fortunately, 1413 dirhams or 87.2% of the total could be dated to

precise years. Since seven-eighths of the coins in our data base could be ,r more assigned to exact years, the patterns of mint production in Samanid Balkh can eventh be clearly displayed in one graph (Figure A).

1turies, :h. The related 974/75

all, no 971/72

In fact, 968/69 965/65hoards 963/641Balkh 960/61imanid 957/58::>rthern 954/55almost 951/52

around 948/49

alkh in 945/46change 942/43

939/40 936/37 933/34 931/32 928/29 925/26 922/23 929/20 916/17 913/14 910/11 907/08 904/05 901/02

+--t--~ r--~

--~--+ - I--~ ----,-­

+ -T - .,­ -

I ---r--­

l=--i-_~-:~_

-----­ -­

i----=-=--t­ .--­

Quantity

o 50 100 150 200 250

Band 77) Figure A: The Mint Output of Balkh During the Samanid Era

168 II. Obieg monetarny - Monetary Circulation

Figure A graphically shows that the mint output of Balkh dUring the Samanid era was very erratic. It ranged from zero during a number of years to over 215 in 905/06. If we divide our 1413 dirhams by the total number of hijra years, then an average of eighteen dirhams were struck each year. The mean figure of five dirhams per year, however, provides a more accurate indicator of average annual production. There were forty one years in which the average output was five dirhams or less and thirty nine in which the production exceeded five dirhams. Further analysis indicates that 1124 dirhams or 79.5% of the total were struck during three periods: 431 between 902/03 and 909/10; 431 between 924/25 and 929/30 and 262 between 932 and 937/38. If we add the sixty dirhams struck between 952/593 and 954/955, then 83.8% of the total Balkh dirhams were struck during four short periods which amounted to twenty four years or only 30.8% of the entire era. In other words, five-sixths of the total dirhams were issued during less than one third of the time span.

The production of Samanid dirhams in Balkh began rather abruptly in the first decade of the tenth century when 431 dirhams were struck between 902/03 and 909/10. In 902/03 and 903/04 mint output suddenly rose from one to 24 and then 30 dirhams. In 904/05 the number rose dramatically to 100 and in 905/06 it more than doubled to 215. Between 906/07 and 909/10 mint output dropped again to a level of 12 to 23 dirhams and then tapered off to single digits between 916/17 and 921/22. Balkh thus emerged as a mint of some substantial production in the early tenth century but thiS initial period of mint activity had pretty well subsided by the early 910s.

Mint production in Balkh was abruptly renewed in the mid-920s and, more specifically, the period between 924/25 and 929/30 when 431 dirhams were recorded in our sample. In 924/25, for example, dirham production grew from eight to 146. After reaching 123 the next year, it declined to double digits (11 to 65) the succeeding four years before again dropping to single digits during 930/31 and 931/32. However, mint output expanded again and remained relatively high (262 total dirhams) during the next seven years, i.e., it fluctuated between 11 and 70 in the period from 932 to 937/38. It is thus not absolutely clear whether there was one sustained period of significant dirham production stretching from 924/25 to 937/38, a period divided into two halves by a mid-term lull or whether there were two distinct periods during this time. In any event, some 701 dirhams or half (49.6%) of all the Balkh dirhams were struck between 924/25 and 937/38. These 15 years constituted the heyday of dirham production in Balkh under the Samanids.

Dirham production in Balkh remained in the single digits for 14 years after 937/38. Then, in the period 952/53 to 954/55, mint output in Balkh had its last hurrah. While the total number of dirhams struck during these three years was far from enormous (only 78 total coins), it was much greater than in the preceding 14 years (44 total coins or 3.1 per year) or in the final 23 years (955/56 to 976/77)

--------169

imanid rer 215 years, figure

verage output ed five li were ~tween

irhams irhams ears or drhams

. in the 902/03 e to 24 and in output

) single f some of mint

1, more� IS were� wfrom� gits (11� during�

mained� ctuated� 50Iutely� duction� Ives by� time. In� 1S were� ydayof�

lrs after 1 its last ;was far ~ding 14 976/77)

Thomas S. Noonan, Roman K. Kovalev, The dirham output...

when only 63 dirhams were recorded in our sample (2.7 per year). The early 950s thus marked the last period of significant mint output in Samanid Balkh.

The sporadic nature of dirham production in Samanid Balkh is consistent with our conclusion that these coins were primarily designed to serve as dirhams for export. Balkh was not one of the main Samanid mints where the overwhelm­ing majority of Samanid dirhams were struck. It was a secondary mint which only functioned intermittently. But, why did the Samanids even bother to strike dirhams in Balkh? Why didn't they concentrate production in the main mints and close down the secondary ones? Balkh, situated adjacent to the most southern regions of Transoxiana, was certainly not the most convenient place to strike dirhams intended for export to northern Europe. There may be several explanations for the functioning of the secondary mint in Balkh. First, the demand for dirhams in northern Europe may have been so great that it could not be met by the major mints. Secondary mints may have been needed to help meet the great demand for dirhams in European Russia and the Baltic. Second, there may have been sources of silver ore near Balkh which could be more conveniently converted into dirhams locally than haVing them shipped to the more distant main mints. Some of the silver coming from the Afghan mines, for instance, may well have been turned into dirhams in Balkh rather than being transpOIted to such towns as Samarqand. Finally, a few dirhams may have been struck in Balkh to proVide a small amount of silver coinage for the town. This would explain the numerous years with minimal production, e.g., thirty years with only one to five dirhams. On the other hand, such an explanation seems inconsistent with the fact that Balkh dirhams were struck primarily for export and not for circulation within the Samanid lands. Future research needs to explore why the Samanids maintained a sporadically functioning secondary mint in Balkh. In particular, we need to determine if the erratic pattern of dirham production in Balkh was unique, if it was typical of other nearby secondary Samanid mints, if it was characteristic of all secondary Samanid mints, or, finally, if the pattern in Balkh was also reflected in the dirham output of the main Samanid mints. Did dirham production in Balkh correspond to some overall paradigm for Samanid mints?

We know the year when most Balkh dirhams were struck and the tpq of the hoards in which they were deposited. It is thus possible to calculate, with reasonable accuracy, the length of time these dirhams remained in circulation. The follOWing three figures, B, C, and D, show how long the Balkh dirhams from 904/05, 924/25, and 934/35 remained in circulation. These three dates were chosen because a sufficient number of dirhams was struck in each year to proVide some degree of confidence in their temporal distribution. Since the overwhelming majority of Balkh dirhams were deposited in European Russia and the BaltiC, the few dirhams from these dates that were struck in the Near East were excluded. We are thus measuring how long the dirhams exported to northern Europe remained in circulation there.

170 II. Obieg monetamy - Monetary Circulation

186 10 190 r-"""I'-~---I---.JI----1--j-+---j-+-+-I--I--1---+---+---+--1- ---- - _ ~ --1-L~!- 12�-18110185 ., -'-t-~--,~ 17610180 __ .__. _ 12�

171 t0175 11� 16610170� 161 10165 -l-+--+--+--t--+--+-+-+-+-+-+---I-r-.-t---t-t-+-+-+--+--+--+--t--+--+-+-+-I 11�

156 to 160 1C� 15110155�

~.i!ii1iil~i!i!!!l"iI.iilii!cLLt::tLtttt=t=t::t--f---- 10 14610150 _~ _. .''- _141 to 145 r-- -11-·1----1-1--+-+----j­13610140� =t= 131 10 135 l-t-+-+--+--+--+--t--+--+-+-+-+-+-+--t--tr-r-.-r-.-t-t-T-+--I--+-+ _�12610130� 121 10 125 +--+--+---+--t--+--+-+-+-+-+-+---I-r-.-1--t-t-+-+-+--+--+--+--t--+--+-+-+-1� 11610120 '- .. 1--­111 10 115-_1=::l=d----+--+--+--+-I--+---+-+-f---l-I-t---+-+--+-+--I-I-I--1--j-f--- -,- -- ­

;~~:~ ~~~::~I"-""'1"'....."I-+-+-+--+--+--+--+-1--+-+-+-+-f--lr-I--I--1--+--+--+-+--+-++--f-­9610100�

91 10 95�861090 -:~i;·~··,~~~~J~i~i~i~i;i~i.=~=~~=~=~=t=t=t=t=l=j=~=~=j~=l-+l_-+---_+--I 81 10 85� I;l--I+-+--+--+--+-+-+-+-+--+-+-+---I---I_f-f-l-+-+-+-+--+--j'---l-I----+-f--_'I761080 -_

0� 66 to 70 ­611065� ~~w t--­711� 75 I

Tl=~

'IIi=.=a4Hgi!51 toSS .' ••iili......niit=t=t=t:t:t 461050 i -+­

L+-.'_261030" . 1_~~:~:~311035 ~1~;·I·=,I-*I,IIIII'II='I~~~~FE~tIfflll~~t,1211025 .... I I�

11 to 15 . f---f---­16t020 li'-'ill'il;;~~~m611~;~ ,-'-11,-, iT I' !I' 'I ,

Ilt l ] III I I I~

o 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14�

Figure B: The Number of Years Balkh Dirhams Struck in 904/05 Remained in Circulation� (By Five-Year Intervals)�

in T<Table II: The time Balkh dirhams from three years remained in circulation (expressed as

a percentage of the whole sample) di

Years in Circulation 904/05 924/25 934/35 re sti1-10 20.2% 2.7% 29.0%

1-20 29.3% 28.1% 55.1% in

1-30 36.4% 445% 75.4% b< 1-40 535% 65.7% 81.2% af 1-50 62,6% 76.7% 84.1% 9: 1-{)0 75.8% 83.6% 913% tr 1-70 81.8% 95.2% 92.8%

L Mean 39 years 33 years j 20 years I

d

171 Thomas S. Noonan, Roman K. Kovalev, The dirham output...

12610130 .­12110125

11610120 fi 11110115

-10610110

101 10105 -••• 9610100 -

91 1095 - -861090 -• 81 1085

761080

71 1075 ]• 661070

61 1065

561060 •

-• 51 1055 -461050

I I I I ! I -

41 1045 -••• 361040

31 1035 -

261030 -21 1025

161020 -111015

61010

1 105 -•••• I I Number of Coins

o 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28

Figure C: The Number of Years Balkh Dirhams Struck in 924/25 Remained in Circulation (By Five-Year Intervals)

At first glance, it might appear from our three figures that the length of time in circulation was quite erratic and that there was no overall pattern. However, Table II suggests that there were some general rules for the length of time Balkh dirhams remained in circulation. The earlier a dirham was struck, the longer it remained in circulation. After 40 years, slightly more than half of the dirhams struck in 904/05 had been deposited while almost two-thirds of those issued in 924/25 were deposited and more than four-fifths of those from 934/35 had been buried. One-quarter of the dirhams from 904/05 were still in circulation after sixty years while less than a sixth from 924/25 and less than a tenth from 934/35 could still be found in circulation. Similarly, the later a dirham was issued, the qUicker it was deposited. Over half the Balkh dirhams struck in 934/35 were deposited within two decades while less than thirty percent of those from 904/05 and 924/25 were buried within twenty years. Three-quarters of the dirhams

172 II. Obieg monetarny - Monetary Circulation

.. expo 126 to 130 Balti< 12110125

-..- hoan 11610120 Swec 11110115 even 10610110

of 01101 10105 ­- 904/(9610100

-91 to 95 Russ: 861090 a COl-81 t085 Ai 76 to 80 ­ in ei 711075

evid(66 t070

61 t065 Sam~

561060 - rease 51 t055 Sam~ 46 to 50 assUl 411045 --- expc36 t040

a fev311035

261030 the l' 211025 circu 161020 imml-111015 -.. ca. 5 61010

were 1 t05

I Number of Coins dirh;: o 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

ca. 9 Euro

Figure D: The Number of Years Balkh Dirhams Struck in 934/35 Remained in Circulation on a (By Five-Year Intervals) TJ

regal from 934/35 were deposited within thirty years while the corresponding nord percentages for those from 904/05 and 924/25 were much less than half. These helpcharacteristics are conveniently summarized in the last line of the Table II which ofth shows the mean time in circulation for the Balkh dirhams struck in these three years. Those issued in 904/05 had a mean time in circulation of almost 40 years. Over the next twenty years the mean declined to 33 years, a drop but not a precipitous one 05%). Then, the mean time in circulation plunged dramatically (39%) during the next decade. The mean time in circulation for Balkh dirhams struck in 934/35 was only twenty years.

How do we explain the fact that the older Balkh dirhams remained in circulation significantly longer? As noted in Table I, over half the Samanid dirhams from Balkh included in our sample came from Sweden. And, starting around 940, there was a pronounced reduction in the number of dirhams toT.

Medd

Thomas S. Noonan, Roman K. Kovalev, The dirham output... 173

exported from European Russia to Sweden (and probably other parts of the Baltic as well). In fact, a paucity of new dirhams can even be detected in Swedish hoards from the 930s. As fewer new dirhams from European Russia reached Sweden, the older dirhams in Sweden apparently circulated longer. In any event, Swedish hoards deposited after 940 contained an increasing percentage of older dirhams struck prior to 94010

. There were more Balkh dirhams from 904/05 and 924125 in our data base and more of these were reexported from Russia to the Baltic, especially Sweden, where they remained in circulation for a comparatively long period of time.

Almost the entire time the Balkh dirhams remained in circulation was spent in either European Russia or the BaltiC. As we have seen, there is very little evidence that the dirhams struck by the Samanids ever circulated within the Samanid lands of Central Asia. If they had circulated there, then we would reasonably expect to find hoards of these coins. However, since almost no Samanid dirham hoards from Central Asian have been reported, it can be assumed that the Samanid dirhams struck in Balkh and other mints were exported to northern Europe soon after their striking. And, since it took only a few months for dirhams struck in Balkh to reach the Volga Bulghar lands on the middle Volga, the above data basically describes how long Balkh dirhams circulated in northern Europe. Some of these dirhams were deposited almost immediately upon reaching Russia. One of our 904/05 dirhams was depOSited ca. 905/06 in the former Pskov province. Two of the 924/25 Balkh dirhams were found in two hoards buried in Sweden ca. 924/25. And, 17 of the 934/35 dirhams were contained in the gigantic Murom hoard that was depOSited ca. 939/40. These examples show how qUickly Balkh dirhams reached northern Europe. Once there, however, they could circulate for up to 180 years although, on average, they remained in circulation for only 20 to 40 years.

This brief study of the Balkh dirhams has raised a number ofsignificant questions regarding mint production in the Samanid lands as well as dirham circulation in

g northern Europe. It is our hope that future studies of other Samanid mints will e help to resolve these questions which are so fundamental for an understandingh of the great Islamic trade with northern Europe in the Viking age. e ;.

a y s

.1

j

g S� 10 T. S. Noonan, 'When did dirham imports in tenth--century Sweden decline?', Numismatiska

Meddelanden, 37(1989), (Festskrift till Lars O. Lagerqvist], 295-301.