ISLAMIC, 'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Muktafi, AH 289-295 / AD 902-908. Dirham (Silver, 26 mm, 2.83 g, 3 h), citing the caliph al-Muktafi billah, Makka, AH 295 = AD 907/8. Baldwin's Islamic Coin Auction 10 (2005), 119. Morton & Eden 99 (2019), 40 (same dies). Extremely rare, one of a few known examples from the year AH 295. Light corrosion and with two minor flan cracks, otherwise, good very fine.


The caliphate of al-Muktafi saw a time of turmoil, as the Qarmatians, a religious sect, brought parts of Arabia under its control and even laid siege to Dimashq in AH 290. In an attempt to unite Muslims, Jews and Christians under his leadership, Qarmat declared that Christ, Mahdi (the last Iman), the archangel Gabriel and the prophets of the Old Testament were all one and the same person. However, the caliph defeated the Qarmatians in AH 291 despite their early successes and had their leader beheaded. The present issue was struck in the last year of al-Muktafi's reign, in Makka, the holiest of all cities.