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Dynasty: Abbasids
Ruler: al-Mansur
Reigned: 136-158 AH, 754-775 AD
Denomination: AV Dinar
Date of Issue: 147 AH, 764 AD
Obverse: Margin: ="Second Symbol" (Sura 9, verse 33) Centre: "There is no God except Allah. (There is) no partner to him." (Kalima)
Reverse: Margin: "In the name of Allah was struck this dinar in the year seven forty and one hundred. (Bismillah) Centre: "Mohammed the messenger of Allah"
Reference: Album 212, BMC 1&IX
Weight: 4.3 gms
Diameter: 18.5 mm
Comment: Laqab (the name Mansur)= Conqueror (lit. "the assisted by God").

A unique imitation of this coin, with the Latin inscription "OFFA REX" added to the reverse field, is in the British Museum. It was struck by? the Anglo-Saxon King Offa (757-796). Note the Arabic inscription is upside down compared with the Latin one!

ABBASID DYNASTY - AL-MANSUR

  • Al-Mansur was the brother of Abu al-Abbas and became Caliph in 754 AD.
  • He constructed his new capital at Baghdad.
  • To consolidate his regime, he arranged the murder of Abu Muslim, the general who had lead the armies of al-'Abbas to victory over the Umayyads.
  • He claimed, to be both the religious and secular authority. This alienated Shi'ite Muslims who had wanted the Imam to be made Caliph.
  • Literature and scholarship began to flourish under al-Mansur, particularly the emergence of a Persian influence.
  • There was an increase in the conversion of non-arabs to Islam. Under the Umayyads, this had been discouraged because of the benefits of the jizya, or the tax on non-Moslems.

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