A Numismatic Study of Rare Ṭūlūnid Dīnārs dated 277 AH Bearing the Names of Three ʿAbbāsid Caliphs from Mallawi Museum Collection

Ellabban, Esraa Ahmed; Mousa, Ahmed Essam Al-din

doi:10.21608/ijthsx.2025.419804.1178

A Numismatic Study of Rare Ṭūlūnid Dīnārs dated 277 AH Bearing the Names of Three ʿAbbāsid Caliphs from Mallawi Museum Collection

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Faculty of Tourism &amp;amp; hotels Suez Canal University

² Higher Institute of Tourism & hotels Hurghada

10.21608/ijthsx.2025.419804.1178

Abstract

This study examines three rare unpublished golden dīnārs preserved in the Mallawi Museum in Minya, Egypt, Minted during the reign the reign of Khumārawayh ibn Aḥmad (r. 270-282 AH/ 884-896 AD), the second Ṭūlūnīd ruler of Egypt. These dīnārs, catalogued as nos. 417, 418, and 422 in Mallawi museum, are of particular significance due to their epigraphic features, political references to the ʿAbbāsid caliphs al-Muʿtamid (r. 256-279 AH/ 870–892 AD), al-Muʿtaḍid (r. 279-289 AH/ 892–902 AD), and al-Mufawwaḍ ilā Allāh (nominal heir, 256–278 AH/ 875-891 AD), and the inclusion of Qurʾānic citations that emphasize divine authorization and legitimacy. The dīnārs, weighing between 3.8 and 4.2 grams, also reflect subtle variation from the standard ʿAbbāsid dīnār of 4.25 g. This paper situates these dīnārs within the wider framework of Islamic numismatic history and the ideological strategies of Ṭūlūnīd Egypt through transliteration, translation, and analysis, The results highlight the political conflict between provincial autonomy, central caliphal authority, and the symbolic role of coinage as a reflection of Egypt’s political and economic conditions during this period.

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