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Qanhari Dirham 'Damma' - Al-Hakam ibn 'Awana
| Issuer | Umayyad Governors of Sind |
|---|---|
| Year | 730-740 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Damma (⅙) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse field is dominated by the Islamic shahada in bold, angular Kufic script arranged in two lines: 'la ilaha illa Allah' (there is no god but God). The lettering is large and occupies the majority of the flan, executed in a characteristically archaic Sindhi-Kufic style with elongated vertical strokes. A decorative pellet or dot device appears at the lower field beneath the inscription. The entire design is enclosed within a beaded border of uniform pellets, consistent with the Qanhari hammered coinage tradition of early Umayyad Sind. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays a three-line Arabic Kufic inscription filling the field: 'Muhammad rasul Allah / al-Hakam ibn 'Awana' (Muhammad is the messenger of God / al-Hakam ibn 'Awana), identifying the issuing governor of Sind. The script is bold and angular, in the same archaic Sindhi-Kufic style as the obverse, with pronounced vertical strokes. Small pellet devices appear at the lower margin of the field. The legend is enclosed within a beaded border matching that of the obverse, characteristic of this rare sub-dirham denomination struck under Umayyad provincial authority. |
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| Additional information |
Al-Hakam ibn 'Awana governed Sind during one of the most contested periods of Arab administration in the subcontinent, following the initial conquest under Muhammad ibn Qasim in 711. The Qanhari dirham — sometimes called a damma — was a radically reduced silver fraction developed specifically for local exchange in Sind, where Arab monetary norms collided with pre-existing Indo-Sassanian commercial habits. At under half a gram, these pieces circulated in an economy where the standard Islamic dirham was simply too large a unit for everyday transactions.
Ibn 'Awana's tenure saw repeated tribal unrest and military pressure along the Indus frontier. Surviving specimens are genuinely scarce.