On the Origin of the Seventh-Century Solidi with Mutilated Crosses Conventionally Attributed to the Caliphate

Seventh-century solidi displaying crosses with their main horizontals removed have often been described as Arab-Byzantine imitations of Byzantine solidi and their production attributed to either the caliph Muʿāwiya (661-80) or the caliph ʿAbd al-Malik (685-705). It is argued here that they were probably produced by Byzantine officials in c. 639 as they sought to buy their safety from the Arab conquerors of the greater Syrian region.