Catalog
Fals - Muhammad b. Tahir Bukhara mint
| Issuer | Tahirid dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 867 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 22.3 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears a multi-line Arabic Kufic inscription arranged in horizontal lines within a plain inner border. The legend occupies the majority of the flan and contains the religious formula and the name of the issuing authority. The central inscription is enclosed by a circular marginal legend in Kufic script running along the periphery of the coin. The overall style is characteristic of Abbasid-influenced provincial coinage of the 3rd century AH, with flat relief and somewhat irregular flan edges typical of hammered copper issues. |
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| Mint | Bukhara |
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| Additional information |
The Tahirids governed Khurasan as nominal vassals of the Abbasid caliphate, but by the 860s that relationship was fraying badly. Muhammad b. Tahir, the last of the dynasty, was captured by the Saffarid leader Ya'qub b. al-Layth in 873 — just six years after this piece was struck at Bukhara. Copper fulus from this period were locally administered and highly variable in weight and module, filling a gap in small-denomination commerce that the silver dirham economy simply could not serve.
Bukhara would pass to the Saffarids within the decade.