Catalog
1 Dirham - Abu l'Abbas Ahmad
| Issuer | Wattasid dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1526-1545 |
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| Composition | Silver |
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| Obverse description | Irregularly shaped hammered silver flan bearing a three-line Arabic Kufic-style inscription in bold raised relief, arranged horizontally across the field. The legend reads the Basmala-derived Quranic phrase praising Allah as Lord of the worlds. A beaded or rope border runs along at least one edge of the square flan, a characteristic decorative element of Wattasid coinage. The lettering is deeply struck with broad, fluid strokes typical of Maghribi calligraphic convention. The flat field surrounding the inscription shows the uneven surface characteristic of hand-hammered production. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
The Wattasid sultans ruled an increasingly pressured Morocco — Portuguese fortresses controlled key Atlantic ports, and the Sa'adian dynasty was pushing hard from the south. Abu l'Abbas Ahmad, the last effective Wattasid ruler, spent much of his reign in a losing struggle on both fronts before the Sa'adians finally absorbed his dynasty in 1549. Coinage from his reign is scarce in any form; the political instability of the period disrupted mint output significantly.
The Hohertz reference places this among a thinly documented series, and surviving examples rarely appear outside Moroccan and specialist Iberian collections.