Persia (Pre-Seljuq). Ziyarids. Mardawij, AH 315-323 / AD 927-935. Dinar (Gold, 25 mm, 3.12 g, 5 h), citing the caliph al-Muqtadir bi-llāh, the heir Abū al-ʿAbbās ibn amīr al-muʾminīn, and the initials of the Ziyārid ruler Mardāwīj b. Ziyār, Mah al-Basra (Nahavand), AH 318 = AD 930/1. Above field: ḥ Central field, in five lines: lā ilāha illā / Allāh waḥdahu / lā sharīka lahu / Abū al-ʿAbbās ibn / amīr al-muʾminīn (‘There is no deity but God alone; He has no associate / Abū al-ʿAbbās, son of the Commander of the Faithful’ in Arabic). Margin: bi-sm Allāh ḍuriba hādhā al-dīnār bi-Māh al-Baṣra sanat thamān ʿashra wa-thalāth miʾa (‘In the name of God, this dinar was struck in Māh al-Baṣra in the year three hundred and eighteen’ in Arabic). Outer margin (Qurʾān 30:4-5): li-llāh al-amr min qablu 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). Rev. Central field, in five lines: . li-llāh . / Muḥammad / rasūl / Allāh / al-Muqtadir bi-llāh Below: mr (initials referring to the Ziyārid ruler Mardāwīj b. Ziyār). 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). Album 245.2. Bernardi 242Mq. Struck from somewhat worn dies and some doubling, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.


This remarkable dinar reflects the complex political situation in western Iran during the early tenth century. The coin simultaneously names three levels of authority: the Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadir bi-llāh, his designated heir Abū al-ʿAbbās, and the Ziyārid ruler Mardāwīj b. Ziyār, whose initials appear below the reverse legend. Such issues illustrate how regional rulers acknowledged Abbasid legitimacy while exercising effective control over provincial mints.

The mint name Māh al-Baṣra, appearing in the marginal inscription, refers not to the Iraqi city of Baṣra but to the district name used for Nahāvand in western Iran. Coins of this mint from the period of Ziyārid expansion are particularly interesting for documenting the early phase of Mardāwīj’s rise to power, when his authority was still formally expressed within the Abbasid monetary framework.