Database: Baghdadi Exports
From Northern Europe to East Asia, Abbasid craftsmanship was coveted and sometimes even copied by emperors and monks alike. Numerous objects created in the empire have been found outside of it. Their abundance testifies to the importance of commercial and cross-cultural exchanges at the time.
Coins made in Abbasid mints figure preeminently in these finds. Golden dinars and silver dirhams of stable weight and value were struck with regularity in Baghdad and other cities. Merchants' confidence in them was such that they were used well beyond the empire's borders, especially in Northern Europe where few organized power centers produced their own coins. One Anglo-Saxon king, Offa of Mercia (r. 757-796) went even further than using them. He created golden coins that simply copied dinars struck by Caliph al-Mansur (r. 754-775), complete with an Arabic inscription attesting that "there is no God but God alone". One has been found in Rome and was probably offered by Offa to the Pope. Quite an ironic twist.
Glasswork was another popular Baghdadi export. Small and light, glass pieces could be carried far away without much effort. Several examples have been uncovered in the Famen temple of Northern China and in royal burial sites from the late Silla period in Korea. One tiny black glass seal inscribed with Arabic script was even inlaid in the middle of a cross found in the Ballycottin bogs of Ireland. It might have been added there to take advantage of the magical protection some Christians accorded to Arabic writing at the time.