ISLAMIC, 'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Ma'mun, AH 199-218 / AD 813-833. Dirham (Silver, 25 mm, 2.74 g, 9 h), citing the caliph al-Ma'mun, the prince al-Rida and he vizier of the caliph al-Ma'mun al Fadl as Dhu'l Riyasatayn (holder of the two ministries), al-Muhammadiya, AH 202 = AD 817/8. al-Mashriq ('The East' in Kufic).
Rev. in innner field, 'lillah / Muhammad Rasul Allah / al-Ma’mun Khalifat Allah / Mimma Amara bihi Al-Amir al-Rida / Wali ‘ahd al-Muslimin ‘Ali ibn Musa / ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib / Dhu'l Riyasatayn (“for God, Muhammad is the Prophet of God, al-Ma’mun is the Caliph of God, among the things ordered by the Prince al-Rida, successor of the covenant of the Muslims ‘Ali ibn Musa ibn ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, holder of the two ministries”. SICA III, 1536. Very rare. Traces of mounting and with light pitting
, otherwise, about very fine.
From the Tabib Collection, formed over the past 40 years.
By choosing Ali ibn Musa al-Rida, a descendant of the Prophet and the eighth Shia Imam, as his heir apparent, al-Ma'mun made an important attempt to reconcile the Shi'ite and Sunni branches of Islam. Unfortunately for the widely respected Imam, however, the caliph soon feared his growing popularity and had him poisoned in AH 202, the year our coin was struck.
