The city of Sana'a and its political status through coins in the third century AH

Abstract

Sana'a occupies an important place since ancient times and during Islamic times, and it was one of the most important capitals of the ancient kingdoms in the Arabian Peninsula

In which coins were struck in various styles according to the country that governs them. The research aims to clarify and trace the history of coin striking in Sana’a since pre-Islamic times until the third century AH

The coins of this city are still rare because of their scarcity, if the archaeological excavations and research operations and the coins do not reveal to us the nature of the movable materials or antiquities, as well as the expensive materials that can be melted down and other coins can be struck again. So far, we have only received a copper penny dating back to the year 139 AH to the first Abbasid era

As for the Islamic eras before this penny, it is considered somewhat unknown and uncertain, and none of the numismatic scholars could say for sure that Yemen or the city of Sana’a did not mint any currency before the advent of the Abbasid penny, because Yemen knew coins and minted them in its cities before Islam, and its currencies were circulated by Muslims in the time of The Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, and it is not excluded that it had a striking house in the Umayyad era because of the importance of Yemen in relation to the Islamic caliphate

In spite of that, we mentioned that the oldest Islamic currency is Abbasid. Dinars and dirhams that were minted in Sana reached us with the utmost precision in workmanship and beauty. It is considered one of the rare coins due to its historical importance, its small number, diversity of styles, and its distinction from the rest of the coins that were struck in other Islamic cities. The Abbasids dominated the Yemen after the fall of the Umayyad state and became part of the Abbasid state, its affairs were managed by an emir appointed by the Abbasid caliph, and the people of Yemen used to deal with coins that came to them from the madinat alsalam))

It is reported that during the reign of the Caliph Abu Jaafar al-Mansur, Muhammad bin Jaafar al-Barmaki established a mint in the city of Sana’a, and since that time Sana’a became a house for striking Abbasid coins, until the year 335 and the exit of Yemen from the control of the Abbasids after years of sectarian political conflicts. In this research, we tried to study the Abbasid coins. that struck Sana'a