Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Islamic Auction 1 25 May 2022
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'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Rashid. AH 170-193 / AD 786-809. AV Dinar (17.8mm, 4.04g, 10h). Without mint-name. Dated AH 171 / AD 787/8. Citing the governor Muhammad. Bernardi -; Lowick -; cf. Lugdunum GmbH Auction 15 (6 March 2019, lot 16). Lightly clipped. VF. Extremely rare.
The Muhammad cited on this coin has been plausibly identified with Muhammad b. Sulayman b. 'Ali, a cousin of the first two 'Abbasid caliphs, al-Saffah and al-Mansur, and husband of the caliph al-Mahdi's daughter, 'Abbasa. For much of his adult life he served as governor of Basra and its dependencies, which, in the time of Harun al-Rashid, also included Bahrayn, 'Uman and Yamama. He was still in office when he died in AH 173 / AD 789, whereupon his vast fortune, which contemporary accounts suggest may have amounted to sixty million dirhams, was promptly confiscated by the caliph.
The Muhammad cited on this coin has been plausibly identified with Muhammad b. Sulayman b. 'Ali, a cousin of the first two 'Abbasid caliphs, al-Saffah and al-Mansur, and husband of the caliph al-Mahdi's daughter, 'Abbasa. For much of his adult life he served as governor of Basra and its dependencies, which, in the time of Harun al-Rashid, also included Bahrayn, 'Uman and Yamama. He was still in office when he died in AH 173 / AD 789, whereupon his vast fortune, which contemporary accounts suggest may have amounted to sixty million dirhams, was promptly confiscated by the caliph.