Item number: A3572

Year: AD 967-968 (AH 356)

Material: Gold

Size: 14.0 x 14.3 x 0.2 mm

Weight: 0.95 g

Manufactured by: Sistan Mint

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This dinar in gold was issued by the unrecognised Saffarid emir Tāhir.

The obverse bears at its centre the inscription “لا إله إلا الله” (lā ilāha illā llāh, “There is no god but God”), enclosed within a circular border. In the outer margin appears the legend “محمد رسول الله” (Muḥammad rasūl Allāh, “Muḥammad is the Messenger of God”), together forming the Islamic confession of faith (shahāda).

The reverse displays in its central field, in the upper two lines, the inscription “المطيع لله” (al-Mutīʿ li-llāh), the laqab of the twenty-third ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Mutīʿ (AD 946–974). By this time the ʿAbbāsid caliphate had lost all real authority, yet emirs and warlords in the provinces continued to acknowledge the caliph as a symbol of religious legitimacy. The final line of the central field records the issuer’s name, “طاهر” (Tāhir). The margin inscription, beginning at the upper centre and proceeding anti-clockwise, reads “سجستان ثلاثمائة وستة وخمسون” (Sijistān thalāth miʾah wa-sittah wa-khamsūn), “Sijistan, [year] 356,” indicating the mint and the date of issue (AD 967).

Halaf ibn Aḥmad (Halaf al-Saffār) succeeded his father as emir of the Saffarids in AH 352 (AD 963). To consolidate his authority he relied on his cousin, Tāhir ibn Abū ʿAlī—also cited in some sources as Abū ’l-Ḥusayn Tāhir ibn Muḥammad—who had formerly served in the army of the Samanids. Halaf even ordered that his cousin’s name should be proclaimed alongside his own in the Friday sermon (khuṭba). When Halaf departed for the pilgrimage to Mecca around AD 963–964, he entrusted the regency to Tāhir. Upon Halaf’s return in AD 965 or 969, Tāhir refused him entry into Sijistan and began striking coins in his own name, thereby asserting his independence. Halaf sought military aid from the Samanids: some sources state that his efforts failed, while others suggest he invaded Sijistan with Samanid troops, compelling Tāhir temporarily to withdraw; but when the Samanid forces dispersed, Tāhir reasserted control. Following Tāhir’s death in AD 969–970, his son Ḥusayn succeeded him. Halaf once more waged war, eventually forcing Ḥusayn back to Bukhara and regaining mastery over Sijistan.

Subsequently Halaf temporarily occupied Būst, and his son ʿAmr briefly conquered Kirmān, though he was repulsed by the armies of the Buyids. Halaf’s son Tāhir later seized Būshanj in Kūhistān, provoking reprisals from the Ghaznavid troops. In AH 390 (AD 1000) Sultan Maḥmūd of Ghazna invaded Sijistan; Halaf agreed to pay tribute and to include the sultan’s name in the Friday sermon in order to preserve his rule. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction with Maḥmūd later led to Halaf’s deposition. He died in AH 399 (AD 1009), bringing the Saffarid dynasty to an end.

The caliph al-Mutīʿ li-llāh, whose laqab signifies “Obedient to God,” was originally named Abū ’l-Qāsim al-Faḍl. In AD 945 the Buyids entered Baghdad, deposed the caliph al-Mustakfī, and installed al-Mutīʿ as caliph in AD 946. During his reign real power remained in the hands of the Buyids, and he served primarily as a religious and symbolic figure. In AD 969 the Fāṭimid dynasty occupied Egypt, posing a grave threat to the ʿAbbāsids. Al-Mutīʿ, together with the Buyids of western Iran, the Ḥamdānids of Upper Mesopotamia, and the Ismāʿīlī Qarmaṭian leaders, temporarily checked the Fāṭimids’ advance into Syria. Warfare against Byzantium was conducted by the Ḥamdānids, but in AD 971–972 Byzantine forces captured and sacked Edessa, inflicting a severe blow to his prestige. Stricken by paralysis in his later years, al-Mutīʿ abdicated in AD 974 under Buyid pressure, and was succeeded by his son al-Ṭāʾiʿ. He died shortly thereafter.

物件編號: A3572

年代: 公元 967-968 年 (回曆 356 年)

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 14.0 x 14.3 x 0.2 mm

重量: 0.95 g

製造地: 錫斯坦造幣廠

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是薩法爾王朝非正統埃米爾塔希爾所造的第納爾金幣。

金幣正面中央為「لا إله إلا الله」(La illaha ill Allah)，以圓環相隔，外側幣銘為「محمد رسول الله」(Muhammadur Rasul Allah)，合為清真言「萬物非主，唯有真主，穆罕默德，為主使者」。

金幣背面中央上方兩行幣銘為「المطيع لله」(al-Mutīʿ li-ʾllāh)，即阿拔斯帝國帝國第二十三任哈里發穆提，當時阿拔斯帝國中央雖已權威盡失，但各地埃米爾、軍閥等仍遙奉哈里發為宗教象徵領袖。中央下方末行為鑄主「طاهر」(Tāhir)。以圓環相隔，外側自中央上方，右起逆時針環繞的幣銘為「سجستان ثلاثمائة وستة وخمسون」，即「錫斯坦，356(年)」，標示發行地及發行年。

哈拉夫(Halaf es-Saffār)於回曆352年(公元963年)繼其父位為薩法爾王朝埃米爾。哈拉夫為鞏固權力，倚重其堂兄、曾在薩曼王朝(Samanids)軍中服役的塔希爾·伊本·阿布·阿里(Tāhir ibn Abū ʿAlī，亦有載為阿布·侯賽因·塔希爾·本·穆罕默德Abu’l-Husayn Tahir ibn Muhammad)。他甚至命令在聚禮講道(fatwa)時讓堂兄與自己一同被提名。公元約963至964年哈拉夫前往朝覲，委任塔希爾攝政。當哈拉夫於公元965或969年時返回時，塔希爾拒絕讓其進入錫斯坦，並於以自己名義鑄幣，自立為王。哈拉夫向薩曼王朝尋求軍援，一說未果，一說率兵攻入錫斯坦，但在塔希爾先是退避，又在薩曼軍遣散後捲土重來。公元969–970年塔希爾去世後，其子侯賽因繼位，哈拉夫再度與之爭戰，最終迫使侯賽因退至布哈拉，哈拉夫才得以重新掌控錫斯坦。

此後哈拉夫曾暫時佔領布斯特(Būst)，其子阿姆爾(ʿAmr)一度征服克爾曼(Kirmān)，但終被白益王朝(Buyids)軍擊退。隨後哈拉夫之子塔希爾佔據呼赫斯坦(Kūhistān)的布尚吉(Būshanj)，但遭加茲尼王朝軍隊報復。回曆390年(公元1000年)，加茲尼王朝的馬哈茂德(Sultan Maḥmūd of Ghazna)率軍進入錫斯坦，哈拉夫以繳納歲幣並在講道中奉其名義為條件求和。後來哈拉夫又因對馬哈茂德不滿而被廢黜，最終於回曆399年(公元1009年)去世，薩法爾王朝由此覆亡。

哈里發穆提(al-Mutīʿ li-llāh)，意為「服從真主者」，原名阿布·卡西姆·法德勒(Abū Qāsim Faḍl )。公元945年白益王朝進入巴格達後，推翻哈里發穆斯塔克菲，扶立穆提於946年即位。其治下實權掌握在白益王朝手中，他主要扮演宗教與象徵領袖。其間，法蒂瑪王朝於969年佔領埃及，對阿拔斯構成威脅，他與西伊朗地區的白益王朝、上美索不達米亞地區的哈姆丹王朝、伊斯瑪儀的卡爾馬特派宗教領袖合作，暫時阻止法蒂瑪向敘利亞擴張。對拜占庭的戰爭則由哈姆丹王朝承擔，公元971–972年拜占庭軍奪取烏爾法並屠城，嚴重打擊了他的威信。晚年因中風半身不遂，公元974年因白益王朝無法掌控局勢而退位，由其子塔伊繼位，不久去世。