Coin

Art Historical Context

This copper coin, minted between 758 and 768 CE, hails from the early years of the Abbasid Calate, a transformative era in Islamic history. Following the overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty in 750 CE, the Abbasids shifted the empire's center to Baghdad (founded in 762), fostering a golden age of scholarship, trade, and cultural exchange across the Islamic world from Spain to Central Asia. As a product of this dynamic period, the coin served not just as currency but as a proclamation of caliphal authority, circulating through bustling markets and caravan routes. Crafted in copper—a common medium ...