Catalog
Dirham - Anonymous "Rabbi Allah"
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 809-810 |
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| Value | 1 Dirham (0.7) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field displays the 'Rabbi Allah' legend in three lines of Kufic Arabic script: 'My Lord is Allah / Muhammad / Messenger of Allah.' The inner marginal legend contains the Quranic verse from Sura al-Tawba (9:33): 'Muhammad is the Messenger of God; He sent him with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religions, even if the polytheists hate it.' The reverse follows the standard Abbasid epigraphic formula, with all decoration confined to the sacred text, rendered in angular Kufic script without ornamental embellishment. This distinctive 'Rabbi Allah' type is catalogued separately from the standard Abbasid dirham series due to its unique central field legend. |
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| Mint | Madinat al-Salam (Baghdad) |
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| Additional information |
The "Rabbi Allah" anonymous dirhams belong to a brief reformist episode within Abbasid fiscal administration, issued without the caliph's name at a moment when the legitimacy of Al-Amin versus Al-Ma'mun was already becoming a dangerous question. Removing the ruler's name from the coinage was not humility — it was deliberate ambiguity, allowing a mint to remain technically compliant regardless of which brother ultimately prevailed in the civil war that would erupt within months of this issue.
Album 221.1 distinguishes this subtype within a closely related cluster of anonymous issues, the die varieties of which continue to generate disagreement among specialists.