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Dinar - al-Mustanjid al-Salam
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1166-1171 |
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| Composition | Gold |
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| Obverse description | Central field occupied by multiple horizontal lines of Arabic Kufic-style script arranged in stacked registers, containing religious formulae and the caliph's name and titles. The surrounding marginal legend, also in Arabic script, runs continuously along the inner edge of the irregular flan, likely containing a Quranic inscription. The overall design is typical of Abbasid gold coinage, with no figural imagery, relying entirely on calligraphic elements for decoration and identification. The flan is irregular and slightly uneven, consistent with hand-struck hammered production. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
Al-Mustanjid's reign (1160–1170) was one of the few late Abbasid periods in which the caliph exercised something approaching genuine political authority rather than functioning as a figurehead under Seljuk domination. The Seljuk grip on Baghdad had fractured badly enough by this point that al-Mustanjid could maneuver independently, including ordering the burning of books he deemed heretical from the library of his own vizier.
The epithet "al-Salam" on the coin refers to Madinat al-Salam — the old ceremonial name for Baghdad itself, tracing back to the city's Abbasid foundation under al-Mansur in 762.