Habbarid Amirs of Mansurah (Sind), Amir Umar-I

Ruler : Amir Umar-I
Era : (854-? CE)
Dynasty : Habbarid Amirs of Mansurah
Denomination : Silver Damma (Qanhari Dirham)
Weight : 0.56 grams
Diameter : 10 mm
Reference : Fishman and Todd # HS13, G&G# AS33 variant

Obverse :
Billah yathiqu / ˜Umar wa bihi / yantasir.
(“In God trusts ‘Umar and through him is victorious)

Reverse :
Lillah / Muhammad / rasul / Allah / ˜Umar.
(“In God, Muhammad is the messenger of God, ‘Umar”)

Comment:
These coins are attributed to ‘Umar I ibn Abd al-Aziz, the first of the Habbarid Amirs, who took control of Sindh with Caliphal approval in ca.854 CE but ruled as an independent Amir, functionally seceding from the Caliphate. ‘Umar minted silver dammas and exceedingly rare gold fractions dinars, but most of his coins are very worn and poorly struck – high quality silver dammas like this piece are rare..