Signs of the Decline of the Abbasid Caliphate in the Dirham Coins of al-Muʿtamid ʿAlā Allāh Excavated from Susa (National Museum of Iran)

Zokaei, Fereshteh

doi:10.22034/jinm.2025.2067762.1106

Signs of the Decline of the Abbasid Caliphate in the Dirham Coins of al-Muʿtamid ʿAlā Allāh Excavated from Susa (National Museum of Iran)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Fereshteh Zokaei

Department of Seals and Coins, National Museum of Iran

10.22034/jinm.2025.2067762.1106

Abstract

The present study analyzes 173 silver dirhams struck during the reign of the Abbasid caliph al-Muʿtamid ʿalā Allāh (256–279 AH / 869–892 CE), discovered in the 1948 excavations at Susa and now preserved in the National Museum of Iran. These coins form part of the broader assemblage unearthed at Susa and reflect the turbulent atmosphere of al-Muʿtamid’s era—a period marked by the weakening of central authority, the growing influence of the military, the appointment of multiple heirs apparent, and the emergence of semi-independent dynasties. Through a detailed analysis of personal names, honorific titles, and mint locations—such as those of Jaʿfar, Yaʿqūb b. Layth al-Ṣaffār, al-Muwaffaq bi-llāh, al-Mufawwaḍ ilā-llāh, and ʿAlī b. Muḥammad (leader of the Zanj revolt)—this research seeks to reinterpret numismatic evidence as indicators of the Abbasid Caliphate’s decline. The findings not only supplement the classical excavation report of Susa but also contribute a new layer of ideological-political analysis to our understanding of Abbasid transformations in the third/ninth century. In other words, by focusing on the dirhams struck between 256 and 279 AH, this study provides a historically grounded analysis based on numismatic data.

Keywords

Islamic period

Abbasid Caliphate

al-Mu'tamid ʿAlā Allāh

Dirham

Susa

National Museum of Iran