Persia (Pre-Seljuq). Saffarids. 'Amr ibn al-Layth, AH 265-288 / AD 879-901. Dirham (Silver, 28 mm, 3.05 g, 12 h), citing the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh, Shiraz, AH 280 = AD 893/4. Central field, in four lines: lā ilāha illā / Allāh waḥdahū / lā sharīka lahū / ʿAmr ibn al-Layth (‘There is no deity but God alone; He has no associate. ʿAmr son of al-Layth’ in Arabic). Inner margin: bi-sm Allāh ḍuriba hādhā al-dirham bi-Shīrāz sana thamānīn wa-miʾatayn (‘In the name of God, this dirham was struck in Shīrāz in the year two hundred and eighty’ in Arabic). Outer margin (Qurʾān 30:4-5): 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). Rev. Central field, in five lines: li-llāh / Muḥammad / rasūl / Allāh / al-Muʿtaḍid bi-llāh (‘For God / Muḥammad / is the Messenger / of God / al-Muʿtaḍid 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 that He may cause it to prevail over all religion, even though the polytheists may dislike it’ in Arabic). Album 1402. Rare and nicely toned. Some areas of weakness and minor marks, otherwise, good very fine.


Dirhams of Shīrāz struck under the Ṣaffārids are considerably rarer than the eastern mint issues more commonly encountered for the dynasty and provide important evidence for Ṣaffārid influence in Fārs during the later 3rd century AH.