THE ABBASID PERIOD IN KHORASAN
The entire genre of early Muslim writers (historians, biographers, and traditionists compiling sira, maghazi, and related works) were largely based in the Abbasid Period from 750 to 1258 AD (with the height of early historical writing flourishing especially in the 8th–10th centuries under Abbasid patronage).
For example Ibn Ishak (died in 767 AD) wrote the earliest biography of the prophet. He and many contemporaries operated under the Abbasid caliphs, with significant scholarly activity and patronage extending to Khorasan and eastern provinces.
They (and many scholars of the era) were often associated with or active in intellectual centers connected to the broader eastern Islamic world, including areas around Khorasan — a vast historical region straddling parts of modern northeastern Iran, northern Afghanistan, and adjacent Central Asian areas (encompassing cities like Bokhara, Nishapur, Merv, Balkh, and Herat).
Here are some well known scholars from the Abbasid Period in Khorasan:
1. al-Khwarizmi (c. 780 – c. 850 AD) Persian polymath and mathematician from Khwarazm (in Greater Khorasan). 2. al-Bukhari (810 – 870 AD) Persian hadith scholar born in Bukhara (Greater Khorasan, modern Uzbekistan). 3. al-Tabari (c. 839 – 923 AD) Persian historian, Qur'anic exegete, and scholar from Amol in Tabaristan 4. al-Razi (Rhazes) (c. 865 – 925 AD) Persian physician, philosopher, and alchemist from Rayy (near modern Tehran). 5. al-Farabi (c. 872 – 950 AD) Persian-Turkic philosopher and polymath (often associated with Persian cultural sphere) 6. Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (c. 980 – 1037 AD) Persian polymath from near Bukhara (Samanid era under Abbasid influence).
You can see that these scholars were active 200 to 400 years after the advent of Islam. They were writing about Islam and early Islam 200 to 400 years after the events had occurred.
Lately the western scholars and researchers at the Inarah School in Germany have begun looking at Numismatics and early Islamic history.
AI says: 'Numismatics is the academic study and collection of currency, including coins, banknotes, tokens, medals, and related objects. It examines their history, metallurgy, iconography, minting techniques, economic context, and cultural significance. Numismatists use coins and money artifacts as primary sources to reconstruct trade networks, political propaganda, chronology, and economic history. It bridges archaeology, history, art history, and economics'.
And they focus on old coins from the earliest Islamic era - going back to the 7th-8th centuries AD. These old coins have their own stories to tell. And they also have a direct connection to the exact year in Islamic history when they were minted. For example above here is a coin minted by Abdullah ibn Zubayr dated to 685 or 686 AD.
Abdullah ibn Zubayr was a mega character in early Islamic history.
Abdullah ibn Zubayr (624–692 AD) was a prominent Muslim leader, son of Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (a close companion of Prophet Muhammad) and Asma bint Abi Bakr. He fought in early Islamic conquests and later led a major rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate. In 683 AD, he declared himself Caliph in Mecca, controlling much of Arabia, Iraq, and parts of Syria until defeated and killed by Umayyad forces under Abd al-Malik in 692 AD.
So this guy was a Caliph. His supporters immediately began minting new coins to commemorate the new Caliph in town. But in the coins that he minted (example above) he used the old effigy of the Sassanian (Persian) Emperor Khosrow II and images of the Zoroastrian fire worship altar on the reverse side. The Islamic inscriptions BISMILLAH and MUHAMMAD RASULULLAH are also found on the coin. This is a very strange mix.
Why would a Caliph of Islam mint a coin that had both Zoroastrian and Islamic motifs? Trying to make sense of this bit of coinage is the French researcher Odon LaFontaine who belongs to the Inarah School in Germany. I have mentioned the Inarah School before - they are mostly German and other European scholars re-looking the Quran and the history of Islam.
If you have the time, this is a one hour YouTube video. But please draw your own conclusions.
