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Dirhemi
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field occupied by a multi-line Arabic religious inscription arranged in horizontal bands within a double linear border. The Shahada or a related Islamic profession of faith is presented in bold Kufic script. A single-line marginal legend in Arabic Kufic script encircles the central device, running along the inner periphery and separated from the field by a dotted or beaded border. The design is entirely epigraphic, consistent with Abbasid aniconic monetary tradition. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field displays a multi-line Arabic inscription in Kufic script arranged in horizontal registers within a double linear border, conveying a religious formula referencing the Prophet Muhammad and the Abbasid dynasty. A continuous marginal legend in Kufic Arabic encircles the field along the periphery, separated by a beaded or dotted inner border. The reverse, like the obverse, is entirely epigraphic with no figural imagery, adhering strictly to the aniconic coinage reform established under the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik and continued by the Abbasids. The mint name and regnal year would typically appear within the central inscription field. |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
The Abbasid dirham was the backbone of medieval Islamic commerce, circulating from Iberia to Central Asia along trade routes that made it the closest equivalent the 8th–10th century world had to a reserve currency. Hoards of Abbasid dirhams turn up regularly across Scandinavia — Viking traders acquired them in such quantities that Arab silver constitutes the majority of early medieval coin finds in Sweden and the Baltic states.
At 2.9g, this example falls slightly below the canonical 2.97g mithqal standard, a common variation across provincial mints where weight control was inconsistent.