Persia (Pre-Seljuq). Samanids. 'Abd al-Malik I ibn Nuh, AH 343-350 / AD 954-961. Dinar (Gold, 23 mm, 4.27 g, 4 h), citing the Abbasid caliph al-Muṭīʿ li-llāh, Nishapur, AH 348 = AD 959/60. Central field, in four lines: hāʾ / lā ilāha illā / Allāh waḥdahū / lā sharīka lahū (‘letter hāʾ / There is no deity but God alone; He has no associate’ in Arabic). Inner margin: bi-sm Allāh ḍuriba hādhā al-dīnār bi-Nīshāpūr sanat thamān wa-arbaʿīn wa-thalāth-miʾa (‘In the name of God, this dinar was struck at Nishapur in the year three hundred and forty-eight’ in Arabic and Persian). Outer margin (Qurʾān 30:4-5): li-llāh al-amr min qabl wa-min baʿd wa-yawmaʾidhin yafraḥu al-muʾminūn bi-naṣr Allāh (‘To God belongs the command before and after, and on that day the believers will rejoice in God’s help’ in Arabic). Rev. Central field, in six lines: li-llāh / Muḥammad / rasūl Allāh / al-Muṭīʿ li-llāh / ʿAbd al-Malik ibn / Nūḥ (‘For God / Muhammad is the Messenger of God / al-Muṭīʿ li-llāh / ʿAbd al-Malik son of Nūḥ’ in Arabic). Margin (Qurʾān 9:33): Muḥammad rasūl Allāh arsalahū bi-l-hudā wa-dīn al-ḥaqq li-yuẓhirahū ʿalā al-dīn kullihi wa-law kariha al-mushrikūn (‘Muhammad 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). Album 1460. In ANACS encapsulation, graded EF 45. Plugged hole and slightly wavy, otherwise, about extremely fine.



The reverse names the Abbasid caliph al-Muṭīʿ li-llāh together with the Samanid ruler ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Nūḥ. This arrangement reflects the normal ideological framework of Samanid gold coinage, in which local dynastic authority was expressed while formal caliphal legitimacy was maintained.