- Title
- Dinar
- Date Made
- 614 A.H.; 1217
- Period
- 'Abbasid (730-1258)
- Medium
- Gold
- Dimensions
- Diameter (Diameter): 1 3/16 in. (3.0163 cm)
Weight: 0.34 oz. (9.5 g)
- Accession Number
- M.2002.1.405
- Collecting Area
- Art of the Middle East: Islamic
- Curatorial Notes
After a reform carried out at the end of the seventh century, coins issued by Muslim rulers came to bear the trademark design of Islamic coinage: Arabic inscriptions, which generally included the name of the ruler, the date or place of issue, and the shahada, or profession of faith. Gold coins such as this example were not for daily use but were instead reserved for large transactions such as paying taxes or tributes. The humbler and more common copper coins, known as fals, were used for everyday commerce and trade. Minted in Madinat al-Salam (Baghdad) in 614, the inscription on this coin reads, "In the name of caliph al-Nāṣir [li-Dīnillāh Amīr al-Mu’minīn (1180–1225)]."
- Selected Bibliography
- Komaroff, Linda. Beauty and Identity: Islamic Art from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2016.
