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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 4859122, member: 81887&quot;]Like most early Islamic coins, it&#039;s primarily religious text, mixed with useful info on the issuing authority, mint, date, and what other leaders the issuing authority wanted to show deference to.&nbsp; After about an hour, I think I have most of the legend figured out.&nbsp; Any errors are solely my responsibility, because I am not at all fluent in Arabic and am mostly winging this.&nbsp; For reference (so you don&#039;t have to scroll back), the coin again:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1173225[/ATTACH] </p><p>On the obverse, the center has four lines; three lines give the first part of the Kalima (the standard Muslim declaration of faith) and the fourth gives the name of the ruler:</p><p>&quot;la ilah illa/ Allah wahdahu/ la sherik lahu/ Tahir ibn Muhammad&quot;</p><p>&quot;There is no god but God, He is alone, no partner to Him&quot; &quot;Tahir ibn Muhammad&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>The inner circle of text on the obverse gives the mint name and the date (in the Islamic calendar), spelled out in full:</p><p>&quot;bismillah zuriba haza ed-dirham bi-Shiraz fi tis&#039;ura wa thenanin wa mi&#039;atain&quot;</p><p>&quot;in the Name of God was struck this dirham in Shiraz in nine and eighty and two hundred&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>The outer circle gives us some more religion, specifically a quote from the Quran, 30:3-4:</p><p>&quot;li-&#039;llah el-amr min sabl wa min ba&#039;d wa yauma&#039;izin yafrahu el-muminun bi-nasr Allah&quot;</p><p>&quot;Of God is the command from before and from after, and on that day the believers shall rejoice in the victory of God&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>On the reverse center, there are five lines: a very short intro, the second part of the Kalima, and the name of the Caliph:</p><p>&quot;li-&#039;llah/ Muhammad/rasul/Allah/[caliph] billah&quot;</p><p>&quot;To God/ Muhammad is the Messenger of God/ [Caliph&#039;s name] confiding in God&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>I had some trouble reading the Caliph&#039;s name on this piece.&nbsp; The auction description says it cites al-Mu&#039;tazz, but that doesn&#039;t seem right. (Or else I just can&#039;t read Arabic, take your pick.)&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>I also noticed that I translated &quot;li-&#039;llah&quot; as &quot;To God&quot; and also as &quot;Of God&quot;.&nbsp; You got a problem with that? <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie4" alt=":mad:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />&nbsp; There&#039;s a circular line of text on the reverse, but it&#039;s badly worn and I don&#039;t want to try figuring it out.&nbsp; Any corrections or additions are welcome.</p><p><br /></p><p>Oh, you asked how many characters there are on this coin.&nbsp; There are many.&nbsp; The correct answer is &quot;many&quot;.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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