Great Seljuq Gold Dinar

Historical context — Arab-Sasanian & Early Islamic

Arab governors continued striking Sasanian-style drachms with added Arabic Kufic legends (bismillah). Abd al-Malik's reform (696/77 AH) introduced epigraphic-only Islamic coinage — the silver dirham and gold dinar.

Frequently asked

What is the Great Seljuq Gold Dinar?

Issued across a vast empire from Anatolia to Transoxiana. It was struck in 1072–1092 CE at Isfahan, Nishapur under Malik-Shah I.

What metal and weight is it?

Gold, weighing approximately ~3.8 g.

What designs appear on it?

Obverse: Shahada and sultan's titles. Reverse: Abbasid caliph al-Muqtadi.

Related pieces

Gold

Umayyad Gold Dinar

Abd al-Malik (post-reform)

77 AH / 696 CE

First purely epigraphic Islamic coin — a revolution in monetary art.

Gold

Samanid Gold Dinar (Nishapur)

Abd al-Malik I (Samanid)

955–956 CE

Samanid silver dirhams flooded Viking-age trade; vast hoards found from Russia to Sweden.

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Ghaznavid Gold Dinar

Mas'ud III (Ghaznavid)

1099–1115 CE

Ghaznavid Indian campaigns funded vast gold issues from Mahmud onward.

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Ilkhanid Gold Dinar of Arghun

Arghun Khan (Ilkhanid)

AH 684 / 1285–1286 CE

Bilingual Arabic-Uighur issue from the Mongol Ilkhanate of Iran, before Ghazan's conversion to Islam.

Gold

Abbasid Gold Dinar of Harun al-Rashid

Caliph Harun al-Rashid

AH 184 / 800 CE

Struck at the height of the Abbasid Caliphate's prestige under the patron of the 'Thousand and One Nights' court. Abbasid gold dinars circulated as the dominant trade coin from al-Andalus to Sogdia, and the standard was rigorously maintained for over two centuries.

Gold

Ghurid Gold Dinar of Mu'izz al-Din

Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad of Ghor

AH 599–602 / 1202–1206 CE

Mu'izz al-Din (also Muhammad of Ghor) extended Ghurid rule from Afghanistan into northern India, founding the Delhi Sultanate's precursor state. His coinage circulated from Herat to the Gangetic plain.