Expressing New Rule: Seals from Early Islamic Egypt and Syria, 600–800 CE

This article explores the usage, imagery, and linguistic expressions found on seals produced in the early Muslim empire and reveals how these developed from the seventh century to the ninth. Comparing Islamic and pre- Islamic samples exposes continuities and changes in sealing practices among Byzantine, Sasanian, and Arabian cultures and shows how these developments can be linked to the underlying ideologies and ambitions of Muslim authorities. In particular, it explains how and why different practices unfolded in Egypt and the Levant, and compares this phenomenon to the dissemination of shared forms throughout the Muslim empire, with particular reference to the rich material from Khurasan in the east and al-Andalus in the west