Abd al-Malik’s new Arabic coinage provoked a Byzantine casus belli

Evidence

The quality and weight of the metal might also convey a message. When the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik introduced a new gold coinage—hitherto a Roman and Byzantine prerogative—with inscriptions in Arabic, using the Islamic creed to replace the diadem and cross of the Byzantine emperors, his purpose was clear. It was well understood by the emperor in Constantinople, who saw it as a casus belli and responded accordingly. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 457

Categorization

• CANDY: A great cocktail fact: a caliph redesigning coins to replace a cross with a creed nearly started a war.
• XREF: Parallels modern currency and flag symbolism as state assertion; echoes the Lex Oppia article’s theme of objects carrying political meaning.