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1 Dirham - Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Yahya Balkh
| Issuer | Banijurid dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 914 |
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| Currency | Dinar (628/632-1598) |
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| Obverse description | Central field contains five horizontal lines of Arabic Kufic script arranged concentrically within a double-line inner circle. The primary legend opens with the Shahada (lā ilāha illā Allāh waḥdahu lā sharīka lah), followed by the name of the issuing ruler Ahmad b. Muhammad in the third line. The mint and date formula — struck at Balkh in the year 301 (AH) — occupies the lower portion of the inner field. A marginal band carries the Quranic verse of mission (Quran 9:33) in continuous Kufic script, separated from the central field by a raised linear border. The flan is irregular and slightly uneven, characteristic of hand-struck Islamic silver dirhams of the early 4th century AH. |
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| Obverse lettering | لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له أحمد بن محمد بسم الله ضرب هذا الدرهم ببلخ سنة إحدى وثلثمائة محمد رسول الله أرسله بالهدى ودين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله ولو كره المشركون |
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| Additional information |
The Banijurids were a minor Samanid client dynasty governing parts of Khurasan and Tokharistan in the ninth and tenth centuries, administering their territories under formal Samanid suzerainty while retaining the right to strike coinage in their own names — a privilege that functioned as the primary public signal of autonomous authority. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Yahya represents the third generation of the family to hold that privilege. Balkh, one of the ancient cities of the region, served as a major mint for Samanid-sphere governors throughout this period.
The A#1436.3 reference places this within Album's classification of rare Banijurid issues, and surviving examples are genuinely scarce.