Catalog
Dirham - Anonymous Arran
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 769 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.78 g |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears the Islamic shahada in Kufic Arabic script: 'There is no deity except God alone, He has no equal.' This central inscription is enclosed within two thin concentric circles. The outer marginal legend, rendered in Kufic script, reads the mint and date formula: 'In the name of God, this dirham was struck in Arran in the year one hundred and fifty-two.' The margin is further decorated with a repeating pattern of annulets between the border circles. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | المركز: محمد رسول الله الهامش: محمد رسول الله أرسله بالهدى ودين الحق ليظهرة على الدين كله و لو كرة المشركون (Translation: Circle center: Muhammad the messenger of God External margin: Muhammad is the Messenger of God. He sent him with guidance and the religion of truth so that he might prevail over all religions, even if the polytheists disliked it.) |
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| Additional information |
Arran — the region straddling what is now northwestern Iran and Azerbaijan — was a productive Abbasid mint in the early caliphal period, though its output was irregular and administratively subordinate to the larger Iranian minting centers. The anonymous attribution on this type reflects a deliberate policy under early Abbasid administration: certain provincial mints issued without a governor's name, either because the local authority was in transition or because the central chancery had not yet formalized the appointment.
The 140s AH saw the Abbasid apparatus still consolidating control over the Caucasian frontier mints inherited from Umayyad administration.