AR ½ DRACHM: COIN FROM TABARISTAN
AR ½ drachm, 772-779: Abbasid Caliphate in Tabaristan
Abbasid Caliphate (also: Baghdad Caliphate) — feudal theocratic state that existed from 750 to 945 and from 1194 to 1258, with the ruling Abbasid dynasty. The Baghdad Caliphate included the territories of modern Arab countries of Asia, part of Central Asia, Egypt, Iran, North Africa and Pakistan. It was one of the largest empires in human history. — The coin presented here issued on the territory of Tabaristan as a province of the Caliphate (mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of nowadays Iran).
Ruler: Sa'id bin Da'laj — Abbasid governor of Tabaristan.
Sasanian priests around a fire altar on three stands, branches of plants.
Indication of the mint of Tabaristan.
Stylized portrait of the ruler.
Inscriptions "kingdom", "prosperity" in Middle Persian (Inscriptional Pahlavi).
- Silver: 25 mm - 1.88 g
- Reference price: 45$
COIN AR ½ DRACHM — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- ABBASID CALIPHATE (partially: Umayyad Caliphate + Dabuyid dynasty) — 7th and 9th centuries: AR ½ drachm
AR ½ DRACHM as coin name.
AR ½ drachm (or, less often, AR half drachm) coin’s name is commonly used in modern numismatic catalogs to designate silver coins of characteristic designs from the Sasanian Empire, Umayyad Caliphate, and Abbasid Caliphate.
Such coins contained a typical portrait (unique style) of the ruler, as well as an image of a fiery altar. They were produced during the 7th and 9th centuries mainly in the lands of Tabaristan (modern Iran).
The coin was minted by rulers from the Iranian Dabuyid dynasty, whose portraits it contained. AR ½ drachms of Gil Gavbara, Farrukhan the Great, Dadhburzmihr and Khurshid of Tabaristan are most common.
AR ½ drachm of the Abbasid governors of Tabaristan of the 8th century are also widely known.
All mentioned coins were made of high-quality silver and weighed up to 2 g with a diameter of more than 20 mm. Therefore, they were extremely thin. The quality of coinage is quite high for that time, the relief is clear. In numismatic collections there are many specimens in excellent condition.
The name of the AR ½ drachm coin obviously speaks for itself: it is a silver coin (Latin "ARgentum" — silver) equal to half a drachm. This is understandable. However, something else is interesting... Drachm is, first of all, an ancient Greek coin (starting from the time of Ancient Greece). But the term "AR ½ drachm" or "AR half drachm" is not widely used in the context of Greek coins (they are usually called hemidrachm). It is used almost always in relation to ancient coins of the Arab world.
