Al-Ta'i came to power in 974 as little more than a figurehead — the Buyid amir Adud al-Dawla held effective control over Baghdad and reduced the caliph to a ceremonial role with almost no independent political authority. Coinage issued under al-Ta'i therefore carries the names of both powers in a hierarchy that makes the Buyid supremacy impossible to miss. The caliph's name appears, but the arrangement of mint formulae on these dirhams reflects who actually governed.
Al-Ta'i was eventually deposed in 991 and held under house arrest — the first Abbasid caliph forcibly removed from office.
Al-Ta'i came to power in 974 as little more than a figurehead — the Buyid amir Adud al-Dawla held effective control over Baghdad and reduced the caliph to a ceremonial role with almost no independent political authority. Coinage issued under al-Ta'i therefore carries the names of both powers in a hierarchy that makes the Buyid supremacy impossible to miss. The caliph's name appears, but the arrangement of mint formulae on these dirhams reflects who actually governed.
Al-Ta'i was eventually deposed in 991 and held under house arrest — the first Abbasid caliph forcibly removed from office.