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Dirham - Salar ibn Yazid citing Caliph al-Qa'im
| Issuer | Shirvanshah dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1050-1063 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 1.2 mm |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field bears a multi-line Arabic Kufic legend arranged in horizontal registers, citing the reigning Abbasid Caliph al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah and the Shirvanshah ruler Salar ibn Yazid. A partial circular marginal legend is visible along the upper periphery of the flan, likely containing the mint and date formula, though partially off-flan due to the irregular planchet. The epigraphy is deeply struck in places, with characteristic high relief typical of hammered billon issues. The reverse field is flat and unadorned beyond the inscriptional program. |
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| Edge | Plain. |
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| Additional information |
Salar ibn Yazid ruled Shirvan as a vassal acknowledging Abbasid suzerainty, which explains the citation of al-Qa'im — the Abbasid caliph reigning from 1031 to 1075 — on coinage he otherwise controlled. The practice was political theater as much as piety; al-Qa'im spent much of his caliphate under effective Buyid and then Seljuk domination, making his name on peripheral vassal coinage a formality both parties understood perfectly well.
Billon issues from Shirvan in this period are notoriously inconsistent in silver content, reflecting regional metal shortages rather than deliberate debasement policy.