Catalog
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
| Issuer | Fatimid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1160-1171 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 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 |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Typical Fatimid concentric ring design struck in hammered gold. The central field contains a multi-line Arabic religious inscription within a small inner circle, surrounded by two additional concentric bands of Arabic legend bearing the Shahada and the name and titles of the Caliph al-Adid. The outermost marginal legend runs along the irregular, granular rim. The overall composition is characteristic of the mature Fatimid epigraphic dinar tradition, with no figural imagery. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain. |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Al-Adid was the fourteenth and final Fatimid caliph, and the dinars struck in his name during the 1160s were issued against a backdrop of accelerating political collapse. Saladin's father Ayyub and his uncle Shirkuh had effectively seized control of Egypt's military apparatus by 1169, reducing al-Adid to a figurehead. When al-Adid died in 1171 — reportedly unaware that Saladin had already dropped his name from the Friday khutba in favor of the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad — the Fatimid Caliphate ended with him.
Misr here refers to Fustat, the original Arab garrison city and primary mint of Fatimid Egypt. Dinars of this final reign are notably variable in execution, reflecting the administrative disorder of those last years.