page_title: Arrajan
section_title: Islamic period
hierarchical_section_title: Arrajan / History / Islamic period
caption_attribution_description: English: Umayyad Caliphate. Anonymous. Æ Pashiz (27mm, 2.07 g, 6h). Arrajān (Veh-az-Amid-Kavād) mint. Dated AH 83? (AD 702/3?). Crowned Janiform bust; “hubaxtīh” in Pahlavi to left, “fortune and prosperity” in Pahlavi to right; all within double circle border containing “Muhammad is the Messenger of God, those who recite with him are violent to the infidels and compassionate between them” in Arabic / Fire altar with attendants flanking; “83”(?) in Pahlavi to left, “WYHC” in Pahlavi to right; triple circle border with star-in-crescent motif at [3] and 12 o’clock and “current” in Pahlavi approximately around 9 o’clock. Gyselen 49.4 (this coin). VF, brown patina, slightly ragged edge. Extremely rare.
context_page_description: Arrajan was a medieval Persian city located between Fars and Khuzestan, which was settled from the Sasanian period until the 11th century. It was the capital of a medieval province of the same name, which corresponds to the modern-day Behbahan of Khuzestan Province, Iran.
  The city was founded by Sasanian king Kavad I and continued to develop in the Islamic period. Having a fertile soil and supplies of water and integrated in a major road system, the small province flourished and reached its peak in the 10th century. It declined by the 11th century as a result of an earthquake and military conflicts.
  The archaeological site of Arrajan covers an area of about 3.75 km², with only scattered traces of buildings, walls, a castle, a qanat, a dam, and a bridge across the nearby Marun river.
context_section_description: Arrajan's development continued even after the Islamic conquest of Persia, reaching its peak in the 11th century.
  Medieval Islamic sources provide details about the city in that period, depicting it as a large and beautiful city. It featured six gates, an administrative building, and a citadel. The Great Mosque was located roughly at the city's center, and the bazaar was located nearby. Ashlar was used in the construction of the buildings. The houses featured cool apartments below ground level, as the city featured a "hot but tolerable" climate. There were subterranean canals supplying water to all houses in the town. Two bridges were constructed across the Kordestan river (Tāb [طاب]) nearby.
  Islamic sources mention 47 place names and/or districts located in the Arrajan province, including Jūma (جومة) (capital of the Bilād-Shābūr [بلاد شابور] district), Junbadh-Mallaghān (جنبذ ملغان), and Mahrūbān (مهروبان).
  As a province, Arrajan, which is recorded as Kūra Qubāḏ-kurra or Kūra Qubāḏ in New Persian, was situated in an important position; it was integrated into a road system that connected Mesopotamia, Susa, Shiraz, Isfahan, and the ports of Mahruban and Basra at Persian Gulf to each other.
  Arrajan's economy was based on agricultural production and trade with India, the Far East, and Iraq through the ports of Jannāba, Sīnīz, and Mahrūbān. Exporting goods included various cloths, dates, date syrup, grapes, grape syrup, olives, olive oil, soap, cactus figs, corn, nuts, oranges, and lemons.
caption: Coin minted in Arrajan in the Umayyad period, possibly struck in 702/3. Obv: Crowned janiform bust, hubaxtīh and "fortune and prosperity" in Middle Persian (Pahlavi), all within double circle border containing "Muhammad is the Messenger of God, those who recite with him are violent to the infidels and compassionate between them" in Arabic. Rev: Fire altar with attendants, text in Pahlavi, including mention of mint ("WHYC")
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