temp. al-Mansur, ‘Abbasid Caliph AH 136-158/AD 754-775

SICA-3, 65-67; A 212, Nearly Mint State

Mintless early type. Kalima at center, Qur’an 9:33 in margin; Reverse, continuation of Kalima, date formula in margin.

.

Al-Mansur (AH 136-158/ AD 754-775) was the second ‘Abbasid caliph. al-Mansur founded the imperial capital Baghdad on the site of a village with the same name. The village of Baghdad had been named after an ancient king of Persis called Baghadadan or Baghadad. The new city was designed as a circular enclosure following the Sasanian model for cities such as Darabjird, Firuzabad and Shiz. The transfer of the capital from Damascus to Baghdad, only 20 miles north of the ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon, signaled the ascendancy of Persian traditions and a new phase of Islamic cultural development and expansion.