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Dirham - Al Qasim Guennoun Fatimid Overlord
| Issuer | Idrisid dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 937-948 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a central field filled with multiple horizontal registers of Kufic Arabic text, conforming to the standard Islamic epigraphic dirham tradition. A continuous marginal inscription in Kufic script runs around the inner border, enclosed within a beaded or double linear circle. The legends likely reference the Shahada and acknowledge the ruling authority, following Idrisid and Fatimid overlordship formulae. The coin surface shows natural die wear and granularity consistent with hammered silver coinage of tenth-century North Africa. No mint name or date is clearly legible in the available reference material. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Al-Qasim Guennoun ruled as the last significant Idrisid amir during a period when the dynasty was being squeezed between two competing caliphates — the Fatimids pushing west from Ifriqiya and the Umayyads of Córdoba pushing south from al-Andalus. His coins acknowledging Fatimid overlordship reflect a calculated political submission made around 937, when Fatimid forces under their general Maysur effectively ended Idrisid independence in northern Morocco. The acknowledgment did not last — Umayyad pressure would soon flip that allegiance entirely.
The Idrisid mint network during this period was fragmented and output irregular, which accounts for the considerable die variation seen across surviving dirhams of this reign.