Editing Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (section)

===Institution of Islamic currency and Arabization of the bureaucracy===
[[File:Gold dinar of Abd al-Malik 697-98.png|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=The obverse and reverse of a gold-colored coin inscribed in Arabic|A [[gold dinar]] of Abd al-Malik minted in [[Damascus]] in 697/98. Abd al-Malik introduced an independent Islamic currency in 693, which initially bore depictions of the caliph before being abandoned for coins solely containing inscriptions]]

A major component of Abd al-Malik's centralization and Islamization measures was the institution of an [[Islamic coinage|Islamic currency]].{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=28}}{{sfn|Kennedy|2016|p=85}} The Byzantine gold {{lang|la|[[solidus (coin)|solidus]]}} was discontinued in Syria and Egypt,{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=28}}{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}} the likely impetus being the Byzantines' addition of an image of Christ on their coins in 691/92, which violated Muslim [[Aniconism in Islam|prohibitions on images of prophets]].{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=94}} To replace the Byzantine coins, he introduced an Islamic gold currency, the [[gold dinar|dinar]], in 693.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}}{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|pp=28, 94}} Initially, the new coinage contained depictions of the caliph as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community and its supreme military commander.{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=28}} This image proved no more acceptable to Muslim officialdom and was replaced in 696 or 697 with image-less coinage inscribed with Qur'anic quotes and other Muslim religious formulas.{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|pp=28, 94}} In 698/99, similar changes were made to the silver [[dirham]]s issued by the Muslims in the former [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanian Persian]] lands in the eastern Caliphate.{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=94}} Depictions of the Sasanian king were consequently removed from the coinage,{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=94}} though Abd al-Malik's new dirham retained its characteristically Sasanian silver fabric and wide flan.{{sfn|Darley|Canepa|2018|page=367}} 
 
[[File:Glass weight of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.8|alt=The obverse of a bluish green-colored glass piece inscribed in Arabic|A glass [[coin weights|coin weight]] bearing the name of "the Servant of God, Abd al-Malik, Commander of the Faithful", minted in Damascus]]

Shortly after the overhaul of the Caliphate's currency, in circa 700, Abd al-Malik is generally credited with the replacement of [[Greek language|Greek]] with [[Arabic]] as the language of the {{Transliteration|ar|dīwān}} in Syria.{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|pp=28, 94}}{{sfn|Hawting|2000|p=63}}{{sfn|Duri|1965|p=324}} The transition was carried out by his scribe [[Sulayman ibn Sa'd al-Khushani|Sulayman ibn Sa'd]].{{sfn|Sprengling|1939|pp=212–213}} Al-Hajjaj had initiated the Arabization of the [[Middle Persian|Persian]] {{Transliteration|ar|dīwān}} in Iraq, three years before.{{sfn|Duri|1965|p=324}} Though the official language was changed, Greek and Persian-speaking bureaucrats who were versed in Arabic kept their posts.{{sfn|Wellhausen|1927|pp=219–220}} The Arabization of the bureaucracy and currency was the most consequential administrative reform undertaken by the caliph.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}} Arabic ultimately became the sole official language of the Umayyad state,{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=94}} but the transition in faraway provinces, such as Khurasan, did not occur until the 740s.{{sfn|Hawting|2000|pp=63–64}} According to Gibb, the decree was the "first step towards the reorganization and unification of the diverse tax-systems in the provinces, and also a step towards a more definitely Muslim administration".{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}} Indeed, it formed an important part of the Islamization measures that lent the Umayyad Caliphate "a more ideological and programmatic coloring it had previously lacked", according to Blankinship.{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=95}} In tandem, Abd al-Malik began the export of papyri containing the [[shahada|Muslim statement of belief]] in Greek to spread Islamic teachings in the Byzantine realm.{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=94}} This was a further testament to the ideological expansion of the [[Arab–Byzantine wars|Byzantine–Muslim struggle]].{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|p=94}}

The increasingly Muslim character of the state under Abd al-Malik was partly a reflection of Islam's influence in the lives of the caliph and the chief enforcer of his policies, al-Hajjaj, both of whom belonged to the first generation of rulers born and raised as Muslims.{{sfn|Gibb|1960|p=77}} Having spent most of their lives in the Hejaz, the theological and legal center of Islam where Arabic was spoken exclusively and administrative offices were held solely by Arab Muslims, Abd al-Malik and his viceroy only understood Arabic and were unfamiliar with the [[Arameans|Syrian]] and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek Christian]] and Persian [[Zoroastianism|Zoroastrian]] officials of the {{Transliteration|ar|dīwān}}.{{sfn|Sprengling|1939|pp=193–195}} They stood in stark contrast to the Sufyanid caliphs and their governors in Iraq, who had entered these regions as youths and whose children were as acquainted with the native majority as with the Arab Muslim newcomers.{{sfn|Sprengling|1939|pp=193–195}} According to Wellhausen, Abd al-Malik was careful not to offend his pious subjects "in the careless fashion of [Caliph] Yazid", but from the time of his accession "he subordinated everything to policy, and even exposed the Ka'ba to the danger of destruction", despite the piety of his upbringing and early career.{{sfn|Wellhausen|1927|p=215}} Dixon challenges this view, attributing the Abbasid-era Muslim sources' portrayal of Abd al-Malik's transformation in character after his accession and the consequent abandonment of his piety to their general hostility to Abd al-Malik, whom they variously "accused of being a mean, treacherous and blood-thirsty person".{{sfn|Dixon|1971|p=21}} Dixon nonetheless concedes that the caliph disregarded his early Muslim ideals when he felt political circumstances necessitated it.{{sfn|Dixon|1971|p=21}}