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1/2 Dinar - al-Mukarram Ahmad Vassal of Fatimid - Aden mint
| Issuer | Sulayhid dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1102 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 2.41 g |
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| Obverse description | Central field bearing a multi-line Kufic religious legend arranged in horizontal registers, heavily degraded and worn, rendering individual words difficult to distinguish. The inscription is enclosed within a plain inner circle, surrounded by a marginal legend in Kufic script set within a beaded or rope-pattern border following the coin's irregular round flan. The overall design is characteristic of Fatimid-influenced fractional gold coinage struck in Yemen during the Sulayhid period, with flat, uniface-style calligraphic composition typical of hammered Islamic dinars of the late 11th to early 12th century. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
The Sulayhid dynasty of Yemen held power as Fatimid vassals, and their coinage reflects that dependency directly — Fatimid caliph names appear alongside those of the local Sulayhid ruler as a formal declaration of subordination to Cairo. Al-Mukarram Ahmad was the last significant male ruler of the line; by this point, real political authority had largely passed to his wife, Arwa al-Sulayhi, who would govern from Jibla for decades after his incapacitation by illness.
Aden's mint was active precisely because the city's position at the mouth of the Red Sea made it the commercial hinge of Indian Ocean trade. Half-dinar fractions served that merchant economy well.