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Dinar - Abu `Amr `Uthman Tarabulus
| Issuer | Hafsid dynasty (North Africa and Sicily) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1435-1488 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Dinar (1) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field features a square cartouche framed by a dotted border, containing multiple lines of Arabic religious and dynastic legends in Kufic-influenced script. The inner square is surrounded by a secondary border with dotted ornamental decoration on the lateral sides. Additional marginal Arabic inscriptions appear outside the central square frame, partially visible along the upper and lower periphery of the irregularly shaped flan. The overall layout follows the classic Hafsid square-in-circle design inherited from Almohad coinage tradition. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field displays a square cartouche enclosed within a dotted inner border, containing three to four lines of Arabic script bearing the ruler's name and titles, consistent with Hafsid epigraphic convention. Lateral borders flanking the central square carry vertical columns of additional Arabic legends in a smaller script register. The outer margin of the flan bears further fragmentary Arabic inscriptions, partially off-flan due to the irregular hammered blank. The composition reflects the standard Hafsid adaptation of the Almohad square-format dinar, emphasizing textual content over figurative imagery. |
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| Additional information |
Abu ʿAmr ʿUthman ruled the Hafsid sultanate for over five decades — an extraordinary reign by any measure, and the longest of the dynasty. His prolonged rule stabilized Tunis as a commercial hub linking sub-Saharan gold networks to Genoese and Aragonese merchants who were paying close attention to every dinar leaving the mint. The Hafsids under ʿUthman maintained enough diplomatic flexibility to negotiate simultaneously with Aragon, the Papacy, and the Marinids, which kept trade routes — and the gold supply — functional through genuinely turbulent decades.
Album 513.1 distinguishes this type within a reign long enough to have produced multiple die series.