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Dirham - al-Saffah
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 750-754 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears a three-line Kufic Arabic religious inscription arranged horizontally within a single circular border, surrounded by a marginal legend in Arabic script running along the inner edge of a dotted or beaded outer circle. The inscription proclaims the shahada or a derivative Quranic formula in the characteristic early Abbasid epigraphic style. The entire design is aniconic, consisting solely of calligraphic text with no figural imagery. The coin exhibits the slightly irregular flan typical of hand-struck hammered silver dirhams of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
Abu al-Abbas al-Saffah was the first Abbasid caliph, having overthrown the Umayyad dynasty in 750 AD in one of the most violent transfers of power in early Islamic history — the Abbasids systematically hunted down and killed virtually every Umayyad prince they could find. His reign lasted only four years before his death from smallpox in 754. Dirhams struck under his name are consequently among the scarcer issues of the early Abbasid series.
Album 211 dirhams continue the epigraphic kufic style inherited from late Umayyad coinage, with mint and date critical for attribution within this short reign.