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1 Fals - Bikbars b. Muzaffar
| Issuer | Emirate of Darband |
|---|---|
| Year | 1171-1189 |
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| Value | 1 Fals (1⁄60) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crudely struck hammered copper fals with Arabic inscription in three lines within the field, reading the ruler's name. The script is rendered in an angular Kufic style typical of medieval Islamic minor coinage. The flan is irregular and shows the characteristic uneven surfaces of hand-struck medieval copper issues. No border or decorative elements are present. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain. |
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| Additional information |
Darband — modern Derbent in Dagestan — was among the most strategically contested chokepoints in the medieval Islamic world, its narrow coastal corridor between the Caucasus mountains and the Caspian Sea making it a perpetual object of rivalry between Arab, Khazar, and later Seljuk power. The local emirs who governed here operated in the interstices of larger imperial structures, striking copper fals for local exchange when no greater authority was enforcing monetary conformity.
Album 1907 places this type within a sparsely documented sequence. Bikbars b. Muzaffar is not a name that appears in the major chronicles, which is itself informative — provincial copper rarely warranted the attention of court historians.