المستخلص: |
Sayyida Zubayda minted many commemorative silver dirhams recording her name. These included the present unmatched silver dirham that is published herein for the first time. It shows how al-Rashid and his subjects reverenced her till he allowed minting coins in her nicknames " أم جعفر : Umm Ja'afar" and " أم الأمين ": "Umm Al-Amin”. She was the first lady throughout Islamic history to mint coins in her name due to her noble Abbasid descent and prominent position in the governing dynasty. Zubayda's coins are of particular importance because they reflect her prominent social and political role in Islamic history. Socially, she helped her son, Caliph Al-Amin to get the pledge of allegiance to her grandsons, "Musa and Abdullah" as crown princes. Politically, she sustained the Caliph Al-Amin in his struggle against his brother Al-Ma'moun. Such roles empowered her to mint coins recording her nicknames in gratitude of her social and political influences. This research presents a silver dirham of the so-called "Umm Al-Amin", "Umm Ja'afar". It is not published before. It's preserved in the collection of (Ahmed Abo Osama, Aleppo, Syria) after Dr. Rafaat El- Nabarawy. Although it is an undated silver dirham, the researcher believes that it dates back to the eighties of the second century of Hegira as it was minted by a person called "Dawood", who lived in 176 AH. It is engraved in simple Kufic script and adorned with dotted circles. Thus, this unique commemorative silver dirham of Sayyida Zubayda highlights women's influential position during the Abbasid era.
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