'Abbasid Caliphate. Al-Muqtadir. AH 295-320 / AD 908-932. AV Dinar (26.3mm, 4.32 g, 2h). Mah al-Basra mint. Dated AH 312 (AD 924/5).
Ithnayn (‘2’) of date re-engraved over
ihda (‘1’) on die. Cf. Bernardi 242Mq (this date not recorded); Album 245.2. Some weakness in centers. Near VF. Rare, this date not recorded by Bernardi.
‘Mah’ was the Arabic name for the Persian province known in ancient times as Media. It was captured by the Muslims in AH 21, who divided the province into two administrative regions. One, centred on the town of Dinawar, sent tax revenue to support the Muslim army of Kufa, while the other, with its principal town of Nihavand, funded the army of Basra. These two regions thus became known as Mah al-Kufa and Mah al-Basra respectively.
Unlike Dinawar, which is known as an ‘Abbasid mint-name in its own right, it appears that Nihavand only appears in the guise of ‘Mah al-Basra’.
