Public Numismatic Auction #8

Hisham, AH 105-125 (724-743). Dirham AH 120 (738), Balkh. Inscription centrale sur trois lignes, entourée d'une légende circulaire / Inscription centrale sur quatre lignes entourée d'une légende circulaire. 2,73g. A 137 ; Klat 182 ; Shams Eshragh -. Presque très beau. Très rare.
The mint of Balkh, “the Mother of Cities”, appeared in the form Madinat Balkh al-Bayda (“City of Balkh the White”) in the years AH 111 and 112, and then simply as Balkh from AH 113 to 132. Most of the dates are at least rare, while several, like this dirham, are extremely hard to find. The idea, sometimes suggested, that the mint of al-Mubaraka (“the Blessed”) could be identified with Balkh is to be discounted since both were active in the same years. It is likely that the principal function of the Balkh mint was to pay the Umayyad troops stationed in eastern Khurasan, an area which was constantly subject to unrest.