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1/4 Dinar 'Tarì' - Al-Mustansir Billah
| Issuer | Fatimid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1036-1094 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dinar (909-1171) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | The reverse field is likewise filled with a multi-line Arabic legend in horizontal registers, enclosed within concentric linear borders and an outer dentilated or rope border at the rim. The inscription identifies the reigning Imam-Caliph Ma'add al-Mustansir Billah and his title Commander of the Faithful, rendered in the same compact Kufic-derived script as the obverse. The layout adheres to the standard Fatimid epigraphic type, with no decorative devices other than the framing borders. The irregular flan edges and slight die misalignment are characteristic of the hammered technique employed throughout the Fatimid monetary system. |
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| Mintage | ND (1036-1094) - 427-487 AH |
| Additional information |
Al-Mustansir's reign of 58 years is the longest of any Fatimid caliph — and among the longest of any Islamic ruler — but it was far from stable. The catastrophic famine and civil strife of the 1060s–70s, known as the "Great Calamity," so devastated Egypt that the Fatimid treasury was reportedly stripped bare and the court library sold off. Gold coinage continued, but the economic disruption of those decades is occasionally reflected in reduced fineness on issues from the period.
The Sicilian tarì derives its name and fractional weight standard directly from this Fatimid type, transmitted through the Norman conquest of the island after 1072.