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Dirham - al-Mansur Madinat al-Salam
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 771-774 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | The obverse displays the characteristic aniconic design of Abbasid coinage, consisting entirely of Arabic Kufic script arranged in concentric registers across the field. The central area presents the Shahada in three horizontal lines, affirming the unity of God, enclosed within a plain inner circle. A marginal legend band surrounds the central field, separated by a double linear border and a dotted inner circle, bearing the mint name Madinat al-Salam (Baghdad) and the AH date. The entire composition is framed by an outer rope or pellet border consistent with Abbasid hammered silver coinage of the second half of the second century AH. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse likewise bears an entirely epigraphic design in Kufic script, with the central field presenting the Risala — the declaration of Muhammad as the Messenger of God — arranged in multiple horizontal lines. Below the central inscription, two small ornamental devices are visible in the lower field. A marginal legend encircles the central zone, separated by a double linear border, carrying a Quranic passage (Quran 9:33) proclaiming the mission of the Prophet. The composition is framed by an outer pellet or rope border, mirroring the obverse, typical of Abbasid silver dirhams of this period. |
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| Additional information |
Madinat al-Salam — "City of Peace" — was the official name al-Mansur gave to his new capital when he founded it in 762 AD, though the world came to know it as Baghdad. These dirhams, struck in the city's first decade, are among the earliest coins to bear that mint name, issued before the Abbasid administrative machinery had fully consolidated its provincial minting network. Al-Mansur was notoriously tight-fisted with the treasury, a reputation the medieval sources document at length, which makes the careful silver standard of his coinage the more deliberate policy choice.