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Fals - al-Mahdi Madinat al-Salam
| Issuer | Abbasid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | AH 166 (782/783 AD) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.35 g |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears a multi-line Kufic Arabic religious inscription arranged in horizontal lines within a plain inner circle, reading the declaration of tawhid (لا اله الا الله وحده لا شريك له). The marginal legend, running around the circumference, records the mint name and date: 'In the name of God, this fals was struck in Madinat al-Salam in the year one hundred and sixty-six.' The coin is struck on an irregular, slightly off-round copper flan typical of Abbasid hammered coinage of this period. The surfaces show significant oxidation and wear consistent with circulation use. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Al-Mahdi, third Abbasid caliph, founded Madinat al-Salam — the formal Arabic name for Baghdad — as an entirely new imperial capital in 762 AD, and the city's mint became one of the most administratively significant in the early Abbasid system. Copper fals of this period occupied the lowest rung of daily commerce, handled by vendors, laborers, and tradespeople in a city that was, by the 780s, arguably the largest in the world outside Tang China.
Lowick's numbering for this type places it within a well-documented but numerically limited series for al-Mahdi's reign, which ended abruptly with his death in 785.