Coin

Art Historical Context

This copper coin, minted during the early Abbasid CaliphateA.H. 141–50 / 758–68 CE), offers a tangible glimpse into the bustling economic world of medieval Islam. Produced in an era of political transformation following the Abbasid Revolution of 750 CE, which shifted power from Damascus to Baghdad, such coins circulated widely across the expanding empire, facilitating trade from the Mediterranean to Central Asia. Crafted from durable copper—a common medium for smaller denominations known as *fals*—this artifact exemplifies the Islamic innovation in numismatics. Unlike earlier Byzantine or Sas...