Persia (Pre-Seljuq). Saffarids. al-Layth ibn 'Ali, AH 296-298 / AD 908-910. Dirham (Silver, 28 mm, 3.00 g, 9 h), citing the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Muqtadir bi-llāh and naming al-Layth ibn ʿAlī, Sijistan (Sistan), AH 298 = AD 910/1. Central field, in four lines: lā ilāha illā / Allāh waḥdahū / lā sharīka lahū / Layth ibn ʿAlī (‘There is no deity but God alone; He has no associate / Layth ibn ʿAlī’ in Arabic). Margin: bi-sm Allāh ḍuriba hādhā al-dirham bi-Sijistān sanat thamān wa-tisʿīn wa-miʾatayn (‘In the name of God, this dirham was struck in Sijistān in the year two hundred and ninety-eight’ in Arabic). Outer margin: li-llāh al-amr min qabl wa-min baʿd wa-yawmaʾidhin yafraḥ al-muʾminūn bi-naṣr Allāh (‘To God belongs the command before and after, and on that day the believers will rejoice in the help of God’ in Arabic; Qurʾān 30:4-5); Pellet in center. Rev. Central field, in five lines: li-llāh / Muḥammad / rasūl / Allāh / al-Muqtadir bi-llāh (‘For God / Muḥammad / Messenger / of God / al-Muqtadir bi-llāh’ 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 to make it prevail over all religion, even though the polytheists may dislike it’ in Arabic); Pellet in center. Album 1405. Lloyd-Sj298. Exceedingly rare. Slightly cleaned, minor deposits and small areas of weakness, otherwise, extremely fine.



This issue is especially important because, apart from a rare donative issue dated AH 282, it is regarded as the earliest Ṣaffārid coinage to use the provincial name Sijistān directly as the mint-name rather than naming a specific city such as Zaranj.