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1/2 Dirham - al-Musta'sim
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1242-1258 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse lettering | الإمام المستعصم بالله أمير المؤمنين |
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| Additional information |
Al-Musta'sim was the last Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad, and coins struck in his name carry a finality that no contemporary minter could have anticipated. In February 1258, Hulagu Khan's Mongol forces sacked Baghdad, ending over five centuries of Abbasid rule. Al-Musta'sim was executed — rolled in a carpet and trampled by horses, according to sources that sought to avoid spilling royal blood on the ground.
Any piece from his sixteen-year reign may postdate the mint's final productive years before the Mongol siege reduced the city's infrastructure to rubble.