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Qandhari Dirham 'Damma' - Ahmad
| Issuer | Sind |
|---|---|
| Year | 950-1001 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crude, heavily stylized Arabic inscription occupying the central field, believed to carry the Shahada (Islamic declaration of faith), rendered in a highly degenerate and as yet undeciphered script tradition characteristic of late Qandhari coinage. The legend is arranged in an informal, irregular fashion across the flan, with no formal border or decorative framing elements visible. The striking is typical of hammered provincial silver issues, resulting in an irregular, somewhat raised relief against a roughly finished field. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central field bearing a degraded Persian-language legend in highly stylized and undeciphered script, characteristic of the debased epigraphic tradition found on late Qandhari damma issues of Sind. The inscription is arranged across the flan in an informal layout, with letterforms reduced to schematic, almost geometric shapes consistent with the extreme stylization common to this series. No border, decorative elements, or mint marks are discernible. The hammered fabric results in an uneven strike and irregular coin shape. |
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| Additional information |
The Qandhari dirham type circulating in Sind during this period reflects the fragmented monetary reality of the subcontinent's northwestern frontier — local rulers issuing reduced-weight fractions that owed their form to Abbasid prototype without any direct political allegiance to Baghdad. The "damma" denomination itself is a Sindhi adaptation, the term derived from the Greek drachm through centuries of regional linguistic drift.
Ahmad's issues in this weight class were struck for small-transaction commerce in a region where full dirhams were effectively too valuable for daily exchange.