The Umayyads were the second Muslim dynasty to rule the Islamic empire, reigning as Caliphs from 661 to 750. Under the rule of Abd al-Malik (685-705), they conquered major parts of the Iberian Peninsula. It was this Caliph who decreed the religious ban on the pictorial representation of God and his creations, which is a characteristic of Islam until this day. From then on, images were no longer possible on coins; they now quoted verses (suras) from the Koran. In the year of 79 AH (of the Anno Hegirae, the Islamic calendar, the year 698 AD), Abd al-Malik introduced a new type of silver coin. It bore the name of "dirham" and established the style of Islamic silver coinage for the next five centuries. Its design was composed by Arabic inscriptions surrounded by circles and annulets – on this coin, unfortunately, the outer edge with the annulets is cut off.