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Dirham - al-Mansur Madinat al-Salam
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 754-775 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Dirham (0.7) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears three horizontal lines of Arabic Kufic script arranged within a plain inner circle, conveying the shahada and religious formulae standard to Abbasid coinage. The uppermost legend reads the first part of the profession of faith, with the remaining lines completing the Islamic declaration. A marginal circular legend in Kufic script runs between two concentric linear borders around the periphery of the flan, containing additional religious text. The overall design is purely epigraphic, devoid of figural imagery, in keeping with the strict aniconic tradition established by the Umayyad monetary reform of 77 AH and continued under the Abbasids. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له |
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| Additional information |
Al-Mansur founded Baghdad — Madinat al-Salam, City of Peace — in 762, making dirhams struck before that date in this series among the earliest coins to bear the city's name. The mint's establishment was itself a political act: relocating the Abbasid fiscal apparatus from the old Umayyad-adjacent centers toward a purpose-built imperial capital on the Tigris, designed by al-Mansur's own engineers in a perfect circle.
Album 213.1 distinguishes the early Madinat al-Salam issues from closely related types in the series. The reforms of the late 8th century would later standardize Abbasid silver output more rigidly, but these transitional pieces sit at the cusp of that process.