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Dirham - al-Muntasir
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 861-862 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays the Islamic shahada arranged in three horizontal lines within a plain inner circle. The inner marginal legend records the mint name and date, reading that the dirham was struck at Samarra in the year 247 AH. The outer marginal legend carries the Quranic verse from Surat al-Tawba (9:33) attesting to the mission of the Prophet. The coin is struck on an irregular flan typical of Abbasid hammered coinage, with the Arabic kufic script rendered in the characteristic angular style of the mid-third century AH. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | لا اله الا الله وحده لا شريك له محمد رسول الله (Inner margin): بسم الله ضرب هذا الدرهم بالسامرا سنة سبع واربعين ومائتين (Outer margin): محمد رسول الله ارسله بالهدى ودين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله ولو كره المشركون |
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| Additional information |
Al-Muntasir's reign lasted exactly six months — December 861 to June 862 — making this one of the shortest-lived Abbasid caliphates and its coinage among the rarest in the series. He came to power having conspired in the assassination of his own father, al-Mutawakkil, a murder carried out by Turkish military commanders whose influence over the caliphate had by this point become effectively absolute. Al-Muntasir himself died within months, almost certainly poisoned on orders from those same Turkish commanders, who found even their own chosen caliph inconvenient.