Owner Comments:
Abbasid. al-Muqtadir (AH 295-320 / AD 908-932) gold Dinar AH 314 (AD 926/927) MS62 NGC, San'a' mint. 1.92gm. Really light weight for a dinar! I'd call it a half dinar. It's Yemeni Coinage. This guy marks the beginning of the end for the Abbasids. The start of their slow 300-year goodbye.
Abu’l-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Ahmad al-Muʿtaḍid (Arabic: أبو الفضل جعفر بن أحمد المعتضد) (895 – 31 October 932 AD), better known by his regnal name Al-Muqtadir bi-llāh (Arabic: المقتدر بالله, "Mighty in God"), was the eighteenth Caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate from 908 to 932 AD (295–320 AH), with the exception of a brief deposition in favour of al-Qahir in 928.
He came to the throne at the age of 13, the youngest Caliph in Abbasid history, as a result of palace intrigues. His accession was soon challenged by the supporters of the older and more experienced Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz, but their attempted coup in December 908 was quickly and decisively crushed. Al-Muqtadir enjoyed a longer rule than any of his predecessors, but was uninterested in government. Affairs were run by his officials, although the frequent change of viziers—fourteen changes of the head of government are recorded for his reign—hampered the effectiveness of the administration. The Abbasid harem, where his mother, Shaghab, exercised total control, also exercised a frequently decisive influence on affairs, and especially on the advancement or dismissal of officials. After a period of consolidation and recovery under his father al-Mu'tadid and older half-brother al-Muktafi, al-Muqtadir's reign marks the onset of rapid decline. The full treasury inherited by al-Muqtadir was quickly emptied, and financial difficulties would become a persistent feature of the caliphal government. Ifriqiya fell to the Fatimids, although the commander-in-chief Mu'nis al-Muzaffar was able to repel their attempts to conquer Egypt as well.