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Archive : Islamic Gold Coin of the Abbasid Dynasty
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Islamic Gold Coin of the Abbasid Dynasty - FJ.6627
Origin: Persia
Circa: 749
AD
to 1258
AD
Collection: Coin Jewelry
Medium: Gold
Additional Information: Sold • Sal
£3,300.00
Location: UAE
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| Description |
This Ancient Coin Has Been Set in a Modern 18
Karat Gold Ring
The Abbasid Dynasty was an Arab family
legendarily descended from Abbas, the uncle of
Muhammad. The Abbasids held the caliphate
from 749 to 1258. Under the Umayyad caliphs
the Abbasids lived quietly until they became
involved in numerous disputes, beginning early
in the 8th cent. The family then joined with the
Shiite faction in opposing the Umayyads, and in
747 the gifted Abu Muslim united most of the
empire in revolt against the Umayyads. The head
of the Abbasid family became caliph as Abu al-
Abbas as-Saffah late in 749. Under the second
Abbasid caliph, called al-Mansur, the capital was
moved from Damascus to Baghdad, and Persian
influence grew strong in the empire. The early
years of Abbasid rule were brilliant, rising to true
splendor under Harun al-Rashid and to
intellectual brilliance under his son al-Mamun.
After less than a hundred years of rule, however,
the slow decline of the Abbasids began. Long
periods of disorder were marked by
assassinations, depositions, control by Turkish
soldiers, and other disturbances. In 836 the
capital was transferred to Samarra, remaining
there until 892. Under the later Abbasids, the
power of the caliphate became chiefly spiritual.
Many independent kingdoms sprang up, and the
empire split into autonomous units. The Seljuk
Turks came to hold the real power at Baghdad.
Later their power dwindled even further, and, in
1258, Baghdad was burned by the Tatars. From
then until 1517 the Abbasids retained limited
power as caliphs of Egypt.
The gold of the ring and the gold of the coin
both complement each other. Together, the two
hues merge into a lustrous splendor of precious
metal. The sides of the ring have been engraved
with a decorative abstract pattern in the shape of
a heart that echoes the intricate molding of the
ring and the sinuous lines of the Cufic text. To
wear this ring is to reconnect with the brilliance
of the early Abbasid dynasty in all its glory.
- (FJ.6627)
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