Bavandid Dynasty. Rustam bin Sharwin (Shervin) (964-980). AR Dirham (2.80g/ 25mm). AH 3664. Firrim mint. Album-1524. Classified Rare. Extremely fine. Many dirhams of this ruler bear his name not in the field but as part of the inner obverse marginal inscription (same rarity). Rustam’s dirhams are the earliest eastern coinage to bear the Shi‘ite inscription ‘ali wali Allah. Most examples aso cite the current Buwayhid overlord and the Sunni ‘Abbasid caliph. About Bavandid dynasty: The Bavand dynasty (Persian: باوندیان) (also spelled Bavend), or simply the Bavandids, was an Iranian dynasty that ruled in parts of Tabaristan (present-day Mazandaran province) in what is now northern Iran from 651 until 1349, alternating between outright independence and submission as vassals to more powerful regional rulers. They ruled for 698 years, which is the second longest dynasty of Iran after the Baduspanids.