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Qanhari Dirham 'Damma' - 'Abd al-Rahman
| Issuer | Sind |
|---|---|
| Year | 875-925 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.52 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Three horizontal registers of Kufic Arabic legend fill the field, separated by incuse ruled lines, with the lowermost register bearing the name or title of the issuing authority. The script is angular and somewhat roughly executed, consistent with local Sindhi die-cutting traditions of the Qanhari period. The planchet is irregular and flan cracks are visible at the margins, reflecting the primitive striking technique employed. The reverse design is purely epigraphic, with no geometric or figural ornament, adhering to the aniconic conventions of contemporary Islamic coinage. |
| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
The Qanhari dirhams of Sind represent the fragmented monetary output of a region that had slipped almost entirely outside Abbasid administrative reach by the mid-ninth century. Local Hindu-Buddhist governors and Arab holdovers struck their own reduced coinage with little coordination — which explains the dramatic weight reduction visible in this series relative to standard Islamic dirham norms. At 0.52g, this piece is barely a fifth of what a full dirham should weigh.
The name 'Abd al-Rahman places this within a lineage of Arab amirs clinging to Mansura and its surrounds long after Baghdad had effectively abandoned the Indus frontier.