Publication Date
Date of the stele: 512 AH / 1118 AD
Publication Place
-
National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Arts
Subject
Carved white marble.
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
الارتفاع: 21 سم؛ العرض: 32 سم؛ السّماكة: 3 سم
Library
Museum With No Frontiers
Library Asset ID
II.S.17
Record ID
object;ISL;dz;Mus01;5;ar
Library Location
National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Arts
Date
Date of the stele: 512 AH / 1118 AD
Notes
A tombstone with a quadrangular shape, bearing on both sides an inscription in flowery Kufic script carved in relief. The text on one side contains four lines: “In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and may God’s blessings be upon Muhammad / whoever is on it will perish. This is the grave of Abu Bakr / bin Yusuf, may God have mercy on him, in the month of Rabi’ al-Awwal of the year five hundred and twelve (1118 AD).” On the other side, the five lines are reproduced: “In the Name of God, the Most Gracious The Most Merciful, every soul will taste / Death, but you will be fully rewarded on the Day of Resurrection. / So whoever is saved from the Fire and entered into Paradise: / He has succeeded, and the life of this world is nothing but the enjoyment of vanity. (Sura, III, 185). On both sides, the spaces left by the tails of the letters are covered with floral decorations. This stele is the first stele dating back to the Beni Hammad era that was discovered in Bejaia. It was placed on the grave so that it indicates the direction of the Qiblah.
Sample Text
Leila Merabet “Tombstone of Abu Bakr bin Yusuf” in Discover Islamic Art. Museum Without Borders, 2026. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;dz;Mus01;5;ar
