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Dinar - Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah
| Issuer | Fatimid Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 909-934 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dinar (909-1171) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | al-imam / muhammad / rasul / allah / al-mahdi billah bism allah duriba hadha'l-dinar bi'l-qayrawan sana khams wa thalathmi'a (Translation: Field: "the Imam, Muhammad is the messenger of God, al-Mahdi billah" Margin: "in the name of God, this dinar was struck in al-Qayrawan the year five and three hundred") |
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| Additional information |
Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah founded the Fatimid Caliphate in 909 after a decades-long underground Ismaili missionary network — the dawa — engineered his escape from Sijilmasa and the rapid collapse of Aghlabid power in Ifriqiya. His gold coinage was immediately political: the Fatimids rejected Abbasid monetary conventions deliberately, using their dinars to broadcast a rival Shia imamate claim to anyone who handled the coin in commerce.
The Fatimid mint at al-Mahdiyya, the purpose-built capital on the Tunisian coast, struck the bulk of his gold output. That city was founded in 921, meaning earlier issues in this reign came from captured Aghlabid facilities.