Almohad coin
Type:
Coins
Date:
1184 to 1199
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Morocco
Medium:
Gold
Dimensions:
2 cm
Description:
Abu Yusuf Ya‘qub al-Mansur (r. 1184–99) was the third ruler of an Amazigh dynasty known as the Almohads. In 1147 they had ejected the Almoravids from North Africa and Spain, and in 1195 al-Mansur claimed the title of caliph and established a new capital at Ribat al-Fath (Rabat) in Morocco, where he began an enormous but incomplete Friday mosque. He also issued a new type of gold coin, known by its Spanish name, the dobla (weight 4.5–4.7 grams; this one weighs 4.64 grams). Like the coins of previous Islamic rulers, it was still an entirely textual and nonfigural, but the script was changed from Kufic to a cursive script. Dates and mints are omitted; instead, on both sides, inscribed in a square, are names of Almohad rulers, including the dynasty's founder, Muhammad Ibn Tumart, who was known as al-Mahdi, the Messiah.
Al-Mansur's coin bears the basmala and hamdala in the obverse square, as well as a reference to the dynasty's founder: "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, and the praise is due to God alone, there is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God, al-Mahdi is the Leader of the Community." The square on the reverse contains the ruler's genealogy: "Al-Qa'im bi amr Allah the Caliph, Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Mu'min son of 'Ali Commander of the Faithful, Commander of the Faithful Abu Ya'qub Yusuf son of the Commander of the Faithful." The four segments outside the square on the reverse again cite al-Mansur's titles and lineage; on the front they contain excerpts from the Qur'an.
Al-Mansur's coin bears the basmala and hamdala in the obverse square, as well as a reference to the dynasty's founder: "In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, and the praise is due to God alone, there is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God, al-Mahdi is the Leader of the Community." The square on the reverse contains the ruler's genealogy: "Al-Qa'im bi amr Allah the Caliph, Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Mu'min son of 'Ali Commander of the Faithful, Commander of the Faithful Abu Ya'qub Yusuf son of the Commander of the Faithful." The four segments outside the square on the reverse again cite al-Mansur's titles and lineage; on the front they contain excerpts from the Qur'an.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
8
Repository and Online Resources:
• Read about this coin on the website of The David Collection, Copenhagen, inv. no. C102.
• See another example of this coin type at the Money Museum.
Image Credits:
Pernille Klemp, The David Collection, Copenhagen; used by permission
