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Qirat - 'Ali b. Yusuf with heir Tashfin
| Issuer | Almoravid dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1139-1143 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Central field bears multiple lines of Arabic Kufic script arranged horizontally, presenting the Shahada (Islamic profession of faith) alongside the name and title of the heir-apparent al-Amir Tashfin. The legends are disposed in stacked horizontal registers within a double linear border. The script is executed in the angular Maghribi Kufic style characteristic of Almoravid coinage, with serifs rendered as raised pellets at the terminals of letterforms. The flan is irregular and slightly buckled, as typical of hammered issues of this series. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
The co-regency coinage of 'Ali b. Yusuf naming his son Tashfin as heir belongs to the last coherent phase of Almoravid authority in al-Andalus. By 1139, Almohad pressure from North Africa was already fracturing the dynasty's grip, and Tashfin would inherit little more than a collapsing frontier. He outlived his father by less than two years, dying in 1145 near Oran — reportedly after his horse threw him from a cliff during battle.
The qirat denomination itself reflects the fractional silver system the Almoravids maintained across Iberia and the Maghreb in lieu of a robust gold infrastructure at this scale.