Christian-Muslim Symbolism on Coins of the Early Arab Empire … 255 CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM SYMBOLISM ON COINS OF THE EARLY ARAB EMPIRE (7 – 8th century CE) AN ATTEMPT AT A NEW APPROACH Marcin GRODZKI Oriental Faculty, University of Warsaw Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland marcin.grodzki@uw.edu.pl This paper attempts to apply to the field of early Arab-Muslim numismatics chosen elements of a sceptical approach concerning the genesis of Islam developed recently in the field of Islamic studies in. First, the theory itself is being presented in a general sense (giving its proper place within the field of Islamic studies). Then, its theses are contrasted with the commonly accepted scholarly views on Muslim numismatics of the 7th − 8th centuries CE. A special attention is paid to the issue of intertwining of Christian and Muslim symbols on coins of the early Arab-Muslim Empire. Key words: numismatics, early Islam, coin symbolism, Islamicist revisionism The article presents an interpretation of the symbols depicted on Christian- Muslim coins minted at an early stage in the development of the Arab empire in the seventh century and the beginning of the eighth century CE. Sketching out of a new perspective is possible as a result of an innovatory, albeit niche theory developed several years ago by German Orientalists revising the current state of scholarly knowledge concerning this historical epoch. The theory fits into the broadly understood mainstream of Islamicist revisionism, evolving in the West with particular intensity in the last several years. And though the theory still remains largely in the research phase and is subject to disputes and controversies, one can already pre-attempt to apply it in the field of numismatics. Analysing the historical process of changes of symbolism and characters appearing on coins from the seventh and eighth centuries CE allows us to keep track of the way in which the political and religious doctrine of the nascent Arab empire was gradually shaped, alongside its dogmatic theology