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1 Dirham - 'Abd Allah ibn Tahir I Samarqand
| Issuer | Tahirid dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 828 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 25 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central field contains three horizontal lines of Arabic Kufic script arranged within a double linear border, with the word Allah inscribed above the uppermost line. The legends are presented in a formal, rectilinear calligraphic style typical of Abbasid-influenced dirham coinage. A circular marginal legend in Arabic script runs around the inner border, separated from the central inscription by a raised ring. The outer margin bears a further Quranic or administrative legend in Kufic script, framed between two concentric raised circles. The overall design follows the purely epigraphic format established by the Umayyad reform coinage and perpetuated under the Abbasid caliphate and its vassals. |
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| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
'Abd Allah ibn Tahir governed the eastern provinces as a capable administrator under Abbasid authority, and the Tahirid mint at Samarqand consistently produced dirhams to the reformed weight standard established by the caliphate in the late 8th century. The dynasty's loyalty to Baghdad was never in serious doubt, which is precisely why their coins carry orthodox Abbasid religious formulae without deviation — there is no heterodox experimentation here, unlike issues from more independent eastern governors of the same period.
Samarqand was among the most active mints in Transoxiana, and attributing individual dies to specific administrative appointments remains an active area of Islamic numismatic research.