Catalog
1 Drachm - Muhammad Arab-Bukharan
| Issuer | Abbasid Governors of Bukhara (Abbasid Governorates) |
|---|---|
| Year | 758-762 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.00 g |
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| Obverse description | Stylized crowned bust of ruler facing right, with a crescent surmounted by a dot above the crown, executed in the late Sasanian-derived Sogdian artistic tradition. A Sogdian legend reading 'King of Bukhara' appears in the field before the face, while an Arabic inscription reading 'Muhammad' is placed behind the head. Three pellets appear below the bust in the lower field, serving as a distinctive mint or issuer mark. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central fire altar depicted in the Sasanian tradition, with the head of Ahura Mazda rendered to the right within or above the altar structure. Flanking the altar on both sides stand two mobed (Zoroastrian priest) figures, each attending the sacred flame, recalling the reverse iconography of earlier Sasanian royal coinage and reflecting the syncretic religious environment of early Islamic Transoxiana. |
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| Additional information |
Bukhara's coinage during the early Abbasid period occupies a strange transitional zone — Sasanian weight standards and fabric persisted long after the political collapse of the empire that created them, because local administrators found them commercially indispensable across Central Asian trade routes. The Arab-Bukharan series issued under Abbasid governors represents exactly this friction: Islamic authority grafted onto a monetary system it had not yet replaced.
The years 758–762 correspond closely to the caliphate of al-Mansur, who was simultaneously founding Baghdad and tightening provincial administrative control. Surviving examples from this series are thinly documented in Western collections.