Publication Date
In the year 1020 AH / 1612 AD
Publication Place
-
Money Museum of the Bank of Morocco; Rabat
Subject
Cast and minted gold. — Marrakesh Mint.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
القطر: 2.6 سم؛ الوزن: 4.53 غرام
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
1830
Record ID
object;ISL;ma;Mus01_F;41;ar
Library Location
Money Museum of the Bank of Morocco; Rabat
Date
In the year 1020 AH / 1612 AD
Notes
This dinar, minted by Mawla Zaidan (1012-1037 AH / 1603-1627 AD), is an example of the manufacture of Saadian coins during the era of the sons of Sultan Al-Mansur. The piece includes four concentric circles, one of which is dotted, but its center and rotation are not precise. In the middle of the back of the piece are inscribed the name, title, and honorable lineage of the ruling Emir: “Commander of the Faithful, son of Imam Ahmad al-Mansur, Commander of the Faithful, Sharif al-Husseini.” The circular phrase engraved on the edge also mentions the name of the coin (Marrakesh) and the date: “It was minted in the city of Marrakesh, may God protect it, in the year 1020 AH/1612 AD.” The center of the obverse of the coin, from top to bottom, includes the acknowledgment of testimony to the oneness of God, and in the middle is the brief signature (mark), and at the bottom is the name of the prince who founded this rule, “Abdullah the Imam.” He wrote within the circular phrase engraved on the edge, at the end of verse 33 of Surah No. 33 (Surat Al-Ahzab): “God only desires to remove impurity from you, O People of the Household, and to purify you with a thorough purification.” The choice of the end of this verse, which began to be written on the pieces, starting in the year 992 AH / 1584 AD, remains another reminder of the honorable origins of this ruling. Despite the defects of the stroke, this piece is not devoid of some decorative concerns, as the tails of the Naskh letters end in an oblique border, while the texts are decorated with rosettes, small dots, stars, and crescents scattered across the floor. A new element appears on this currency, represented by the abbreviated signature or mark. This type of signature, which Moulay Zidane, like his father, attached to official documents, has become the distinctive and hereditary characteristic of the state. Thus it was engraved on coins and on cannon bronze. These signatures, also called hamdallah, and notable for their extensive outline, also resemble the tughra used by the Persians and Ottomans.
Sample Text
Naima El Khatib-Boujibar "Dinar" in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;ma;Mus01_F;41;ar
