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1 Drachm - al-Khalifa Harun & Ja`far Arab-Bukharan
| Issuer | Abbasid Governors of Bukhara (Abbasid Governorates) |
|---|---|
| Year | 793-803 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 25.53 mm |
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| Obverse description | Stylized bust of the Bukhar Khudah (lord of Bukhara) facing right in the Sasanian-derived tradition, depicted with a distinctive crown or diadem above the head. The bust is rendered in a highly schematized manner characteristic of late Arab-Bukhariot coinage, with globular pellet ornaments flanking the figure. A Sogdian legend occupies the left margin of the field, with additional Arabic inscriptions incorporating the names al-Khalifa Harun and Ja`far disposed around the central device. The overall style reflects the hybrid Sogdian-Islamic artistic conventions of the Transoxianian mint tradition of the late 8th century. |
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| Mint | Bukhara |
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| Additional information |
Arab-Bukharan coinage occupied a peculiar administrative niche — nominally Abbasid in authority but deeply Sogdian in execution, produced to satisfy a local economy that had used its own coin fabric for centuries before the Islamic conquest. The pairing of al-Khalifa Harun (al-Rashid, the famous caliph of the Arabian Nights tradition) with Ja`far almost certainly refers to Ja`far ibn Yahya of the Barmakid family, the powerful vizier who effectively co-administered the eastern provinces during this decade before his abrupt execution in 803 on Harun's personal order.
The billon fabric itself reflects chronic silver shortages in Transoxiana during this period — a diluted alloy that local mints had already normalized before the Abbasids arrived.