ISLAMIC. Circa AH 2nd-4th century / AD 8th-10th century. Seal (Lead, 24 mm, 7.73 g, 1 h), 12 dirhams jizya seal with a string hole, Citing al-Mutawakkil, Dimashq (Damascus), Mid-3rd century AH = 9th century AD. In two horizontally mirrored lines: Aḥmad / ibn Muḥammad (‘Aḥmad son of Muḥammad’ in Arabic); tamgha below; additional mark to left; Margin: … al-Mutawakkil (?) amīr al-muʾminīn … (‘… al-Mutawakkil Commander of the Faithful …’ in Arabic). Rev. In two lines: ithnā / ʿashar (‘twelve’ in Arabic); Margin: … Dimashq (?) … sana … (‘… Damascus … year …’ in Arabic). cf. Porter (2011), British Museum, Cat. 25 (different type, dated AH 304). A rare and historically important ʿAbbāsid tax seal naming an official, citing a caliph, and recording the lowest fiscal tier. Surface marks and a crack along the channel, otherwise, good very fine.


This seal belongs to a small but significant group of administrative lead seals associated with the official Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad, whose name appears prominently on the obverse. The reverse inscription explicitly records the amount ithnā ʿashar (twelve), identifying the piece as part of a fiscal system, most plausibly connected with the collection or validation of jizya. As reflected in historical sources, this tax was commonly assessed in three tiers of twelve, twenty-four, and forty-eight dirhams according to economic status. The present example therefore represents the lowest tier, associated with individuals of more modest means, and complements other known seals of the same official that record higher denominations.

Two further seals of Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad are known from the market, including examples offered in Roma Numismatics Limited, Islamic, Medieval and World Sale 3, (2023), 21, and Leu Web Auction 24, (2022), 3687. Both of these record the value twenty-four dirhams and belong to the middle fiscal tier. The present seal is, to the best of current knowledge, the only example of this specific style bearing the denomination twelve dirhams, making it an important addition to the corpus.

Of particular importance is the presence of a distinctive infinity-like mark beneath the obverse inscription, which also appears on the Roma Numismatics specimen. The recurrence of this symbol strongly suggests that it is not merely decorative, but rather a consistent tamgha or administrative mark associated with Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad or his office.

The marginal legends further situate the seal within the framework of ʿAbbāsid authority, with a probable reference to the caliph al-Mutawakkil and a possible attribution to Dimashq (Damascus), although both readings remain tentative. As with most lead seals of this type, each specimen is effectively unique, preserving localized administrative data that is rarely documented in textual sources. Examples combining a named official, caliphal reference, identifiable denomination, and repeated administrative marks, as here, are particularly rare and of considerable importance.