Abbasid Caliphate Egypt Al-Ma'mun 1 Dinar

History

1 Dinar 816-817 AD, Album# 222.6, Egypt, Al-Ma'mun

Obverse. Photo © acsaerch.info

Description

The Abbasid Caliphate (Arabic: الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة) was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from the prophet's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes its name. They ruled as caliphs for most of the caliphate from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after having overthrown the Umayyad Caliphate in the Abbasid Revolution of 750 CE (132 AH). The Abbasid Caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, modern-day Iraq, but in 762 the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, near the ancient Babylonian capital city of Babylon. Baghdad became the center of science, culture and invention in what became known as the Golden Age of Islam. This, in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as a multiethnic and multi-religious environment, garnered it a worldwide reputation as the "Center of Learning".

Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid (786–833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mun, was the seventh Abbasid caliph, who reigned from 813 until his death in 833. He succeeded his half-brother al-Amin after a civil war, during which the cohesion of the Abbasid Caliphate was weakened by rebellions and the rise of local strongmen; much of his domestic reign was consumed in pacification campaigns. Well-educated and with a considerable interest in scholarship, al-Ma'mun promoted the Translation Movement, the flowering of learning and the sciences in Baghdad, and the publishing of al-Khwarizmi's book now known as "Algebra". He is also known for supporting the doctrine of Mu'tazilism and for imprisoning Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, the rise of religious persecution (mihna), and for the resumption of large-scale warfare with the Byzantine Empire.

Obverse	Depicts the inscriptions in Arabic “There is no god but God alone / He has no associate", "Sulayman", "Muhammad is the Messenger of God” and “He sent him with guidance and the true religion to make it victorious over every religion.” Sulayman ibn Ghalib ibn Jibril al-Bajali was a governor of Egypt for the Abbasid Caliphate, from 816 to 817. Sulayman was a grandson of Jibril ibn Yahya al-Bajali, a Khurasani who had likely participated in the Abbasid Revolution. He was appointed to the head of the Egyptian shurta in 809 and 811 before being propelled to the governorship on the back of a troop mutiny which resulted in the deposition of al-Sari ibn al-Hakam in September 816. He did not remain in office for long before the troops turned on him as well, and he was forced aside in February 817 after a tenure of five months, while al-Sari was returned to power. Sulayman's son Muhammad later acted as the head of the shurta in 851. لا اله الا الله وحده لا شريك له سليمان محمد رسول الله ارسله بالهدى ودين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله
Reverse	Depicts the inscriptions in Arabic "for God", "al-Fadl", "Muhammad is the Messenger of God", "Holder of the two ministries, ministry and army together during al-Ma'mun era" and "In the name of God, This dinar was struck in the year 201." Abu l-Abbas al-Fadl ibn Sahl ibn Zadhanfarukh al-Sarakhsi, titled Dhu 'l-Ri'āsatayn ("the man of the two headships"), was a famous Persian vizier of the Abbasid era in Khurasan, who served under Caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–832). He played a crucial role in the civil war between al-Ma'mun and his brother al-Amin (r. 809–813), and was the vizier of the Abbasid Caliphate until 817. On 13 February 818, Fadl was mysteriously found dead in a bathroom in Sarakhs, in northern Khurasan. According to various reports, he was circa 41–60 years old when he died. According to some rumors, the caliph himself had ordered his assassination. Within a short time later Ali Al-Ridha also died. Most modern historians agree that it was al-Ma'mun who ordered the death of both men, despite his deep friendship and solidarity to them (with whom he was related by marriage), politics and the unity of the caliphate. Fadl was seen as a dynamic, sometimes violent and authoritarian politician, but was not selfish or greedy. لله الفضل محمد رسول الله ذوالرياستين بسم الله ضرب هذا الدينار سنة احدى و مئتين
Edge	Plain