Baghdad – City of Peace, City of Learning
This presentation features a silver dirham struck under Caliph Al-Mansur (AD 754–775), housed in a premium black collector’s box. Issued during the reign of Baghdad’s founder, this coin embodies the earliest days of a city destined to become one of the greatest in world history.
Technical Details:
Historical Significance:
In 762 AD, Caliph Al-Mansur established the new capital of the Abbasid Caliphate on the banks of the Tigris River, naming it Madinat al-Salam—the “City of Peace.” Planned as a perfect circle, the Round City of Baghdad rose to prominence with breathtaking speed, surpassing even Rome and Constantinople in size and influence.
By the 9th and 10th centuries, Baghdad had become the largest city in the world, home to over one million people. It stood at the heart of the Islamic Golden Age, attracting scholars, scientists, poets, and philosophers from across the known world. Institutions like the House of Wisdom transformed it into a true “Center of Learning,” where Greek, Persian, Indian, and Arabic knowledge merged to shape the future of science, medicine, and philosophy.
Although its golden age ended tragically with the Mongol sack of 1258, which devastated the city and destroyed much of its original grandeur, Baghdad’s legacy as a crucible of culture and intellect endures.
This silver dirham—minted in the reign of Al-Mansur himself—offers a tangible link to the city’s very foundation, when Baghdad first emerged as the shining capital of a global empire.
Baghdad – City of Peace, City of Learning
This presentation features a silver dirham struck under Caliph Al-Mansur (AD 754–775), housed in a premium black collector’s box. Issued during the reign of Baghdad’s founder, this coin embodies the earliest days of a city destined to become one of the greatest in world history.
Technical Details:
Historical Significance:
In 762 AD, Caliph Al-Mansur established the new capital of the Abbasid Caliphate on the banks of the Tigris River, naming it Madinat al-Salam—the “City of Peace.” Planned as a perfect circle, the Round City of Baghdad rose to prominence with breathtaking speed, surpassing even Rome and Constantinople in size and influence.
By the 9th and 10th centuries, Baghdad had become the largest city in the world, home to over one million people. It stood at the heart of the Islamic Golden Age, attracting scholars, scientists, poets, and philosophers from across the known world. Institutions like the House of Wisdom transformed it into a true “Center of Learning,” where Greek, Persian, Indian, and Arabic knowledge merged to shape the future of science, medicine, and philosophy.
Although its golden age ended tragically with the Mongol sack of 1258, which devastated the city and destroyed much of its original grandeur, Baghdad’s legacy as a crucible of culture and intellect endures.
This silver dirham—minted in the reign of Al-Mansur himself—offers a tangible link to the city’s very foundation, when Baghdad first emerged as the shining capital of a global empire.
