ISLAMIC, 'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Muktafi, AH 289-295 / AD 902-908. Dirham (Silver, 24 mm, 2.92 g, 5 h), citing the caliph al-Muktafi and the vizier Wali al-Dawla, Hamadan, AH 291 = AD 903/4. SICA IV, -. Very rare. The flan slightly wavy and with light scrapes, otherwise, very fine.


Wali al-Dawla ('Friend of the Dynasty' in Kufic) was a title given by the caliph al-Muktafi to his vizier Al-Qasim ibn Ubayd Allah, a descendant from the Banu Wahb, a family of Nestorian Christian origin. He only appears once on coins, which were struck in the year AH 291, just a few months before his death.