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1/4 Dinar - Ahmad ibn Qurhub
| Issuer | Emirate of Sicily |
|---|---|
| Year | 912-916 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/4 Dinar |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Aniconic design entirely composed of Arabic Kufic script arranged in multiple horizontal lines within the central field, occupying the full flan surface. The legend contains religious formulae including the shahada and Quranic phrases typical of Aghlabid-influenced Sicilian coinage. The field is framed by a beaded or dotted inner border, with a marginal legend running around the periphery in Kufic script. The coin exhibits the irregular, slightly convex flan characteristic of hammered Islamic gold fractional coinage of the period. The script is boldly struck with pronounced relief against a flat field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Aniconic reverse displaying multiple horizontal lines of Kufic Arabic script filling the central field, following the standard Islamic epigraphic type derived from Abbasid dinar prototypes. The central area bears religious and administrative legends, likely including the name of the emir Ahmad ibn Qurhub and Quranic citations. A marginal inscription encircles the field, separated by a beaded border, consistent with the obverse layout. The strike is bold though slightly off-center, as is typical of hammered quarter-dinar fractional pieces from the Sicilian emirate. The overall style reflects the transitional Aghlabid-to-Kalbid numismatic tradition of early tenth-century Sicily. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Ahmad ibn Qurhub seized control of Sicily around 912 in open defiance of the Aghlabid governors, minting coins in his own name — a direct act of political rebellion. His rule lasted only a few years before the Fatimids suppressed the revolt, making his coinage exceptionally short-lived. Surviving fractional dinars from this episode are rare precisely because the issuing authority ceased to exist so abruptly.