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Square 1/4 Dirham
| Issuer | Almohad Caliphate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1121-1269 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | Irregular square hammered silver flan bearing a two-line Arabic Kufic legend in raised relief across the field. The inscription reads 'هدى الله هو الهدى' (God's guidance He is the guidance), disposed in two horizontal lines filling the available surface. The lettering is bold and angular, characteristic of Almohad epigraphic style, with no border or decorative framing elements evident on this denomination. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
The Almohad square dirham series is one of the most recognizable coinages of medieval Islam, introduced under the movement's founder Ibn Tumart as a deliberate rejection of the figurative and decorative excess he associated with Almoravid decadence. The square flan itself was a theological statement. This quarter piece, the smallest denomination in that system, circulated across a caliphate that at its height controlled the Maghreb, al-Andalus, and the trans-Saharan trade routes feeding into both.
Vives 2209 falls within the undated series, attribution to specific rulers remaining difficult given the intentional uniformity of the type across nearly 150 years of production.