2019-11-08 Fri

Sayf al- Dawla 'Sword of the State' was the Hamanid Emir of Aleppo. He established an emirate based on Aleppo in 945, and quickly emerged as the main Muslim antagonist of the Byzantine Empire on its eastern frontier. His court was a center of culture, but it lost this status after the Byzantine conquest of Aleppo.

Today on 8th November in the year 960, The Battle of Andrassos or Adrassos took place between the Byzantines, led by Leo Phokas the Younger, and the forces of the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo under the emir Sayf al-Dawla. In which Byzantine score a crushing victory over the Hamdanid.

Depicted here is a gold minted at Baghdad in the name and Sayf Al-Dawla. The obverse of a coin depicts Kalima across the field; mint formula and AH date in inner margin. The reverse of a coin engraved Continuation of Kalima across field and legends in outer margin.

Image Source: wikipedia.org