Persia (Pre-Seljuq). Banijurids. Sa'id ibn Shu'ayb, rebel, circa AH 270-274 / AD 883-887. Dirham (Silver, 19 mm, 2.34 g, 9 h), citing the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Muʿtamid ʿalā Allāh, Mint off flan [Andaraba], AH 27x = AD 883-887. Central field, in four lines: lā ilāha illā / Allāh waḥdahū / lā sharīka lahū / Saʿīd ibn Shuʿayb (‘There is no deity but God alone / He has no associate / Saʿīd ibn Shuʿayb’ in Arabic). Margin: bi-sm Allāh ḍuriba hādhā al-dirham [bi-Andarāba sanat ... ] sabʿīn wa-miʾatayn. (‘In the name of God, this dirham was struck in [Andarāba] in the year two hundred and seventy …’ in Arabic). Outer margin mainly off flan. Rev. Central field, in five lines: li-llāh / Muḥammad / rasūl / Allāh / al-Muʿtamid ʿalā Allāh (‘For God / Muḥammad / is the Messenger / of God / al-Muʿtamid ʿalā Allāh’ in Arabic). Margin (Qurʾān 9:33): Muḥammad rasūl Allāh arsalahu bi-l-hudā wa-dīn al-ḥaqq li-yuẓhirahu ʿalā al-dīn kullihi wa-law kariha al-mushrikūn (‘Muḥammad is the Messenger of God, whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth that He may cause it to prevail over all religion, even though the polytheists may dislike it’ in Arabic). Pellet in center. Album 1434. ICV 1476. Very rare. Small areas of weakness, stained and flan faults on the edge, otherwise, good very fine.


Saʿīd ibn Shuʿayb is a shadowy and poorly documented figure known almost exclusively through his coinage struck at Andarāba in present-day Afghanistan during the early 270s AH. His exact political status remains uncertain, though he is generally regarded as a rebel, rival, or breakaway authority operating on the fringes of Banijurid control in Khurāsān.

The present issue is particularly important because the coinage constitutes virtually the only surviving historical evidence for Saʿīd ibn Shuʿayb himself. Despite asserting his own authority on the obverse, the reverse continues to acknowledge the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Muʿtamid ʿalā Allāh, reflecting the continued symbolic importance of caliphal legitimacy even among regional and rebellious powers.