Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Dirham - al-Muqtadir Donative type - ornamental designs
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 907-932 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Silver |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field features the same large interlaced quatrefoil ornamental motif as the obverse, composed of four symmetrically arranged sinuous scrolls radiating from a central pellet, executed in crisp hammered relief. The design exemplifies the highly stylized decorative vocabulary of Abbasid coinage under al-Muqtadir, departing from the purely epigraphic format typical of standard Abbasid dirhams. A marginal Arabic religious legend encircles the ornamental central device along the border, invoking the Quranic verse and Prophetic titles. The irregular flan edge is consistent with hand-struck silver coinage of the early tenth century. The reverse composition mirrors the obverse, giving this donative type its distinctive double-ornamental character. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | لله محمد رسول الله المقتدر بالله محمد رسول الله أرسله بالهدى ودين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله ولو كره المشركون (Quran 9:33) |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Al-Muqtadir's reign was among the most administratively chaotic in Abbasid history — he was deposed twice, briefly replaced by al-Qahir in 317 AH, then restored, before finally being killed in battle against his own troops in 320 AH. Donative dirhams issued under his name served a specific political function: distributed during court ceremonies, religious festivals, and to military commanders whose loyalty was perpetually in question.
The ornamental type, stripped of the dense Quranic and mint inscriptions found on commercial coinage, was never intended for trade. These pieces circulated within the palace economy, if at all.