2020-10-05 Mon

Al-Nasir li-Din Allah was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad reigning from 1180 until his death. He was the last powerful Abbasid caliph before the destruction of the dynasty by the Mongols.

He attempted to restore the caliphate to its ancient dominant role and achieved a surprising amount of success, despite the fact that the caliphate had long been militarily subordinated to other dynasties. He not only held Baghdad (the capital of the Abbasid empire), but extended his dominion into Mesopotamia and Persia. According to some historians, Al-Nasir was the last effective Abbasid Caliph.

He fought the Turks, the Persians, and later the Mongols, unified and reorganized the futuwwat (military and economic orders or organizations), and gained control over the system and thus enhanced the caliphate and his own power.

Depicted here is a coin minted in the name of Muhammad II (1200-1220) of Khwarezm, citing caliph an-Nasir as nominal suzerain. The obverse of the coin depicted the inscription “La Ilaha Illallahu Muhammadur Rasulullah Al-Nasir Din Allah”. The reverse of represents the inscription “As Sultan Al Azam Alauddunya Waldin Muhammad”.

Image Source: Wikipedia.org