Dinar of Salah al-Din, Al-Qahirah (HUAM 1951.31.4.2354)
This gold dinar was minted in 1192 during the Ayyubid Dynasty under the direction of Saladin (Salah al-Din) (r. 1169-1193), the first sultan of Egypt. Following the conquests of Jerusalem and nearby regions in 1099, the crusaders decided to continue using and even minting imitations of similar gold dinars. The crusaders understood the significant value of these gold dinars throughout the Mediterranean and, despite their Christian faith, chose to imitate these coins closely, including their Quranic inscriptions.
Gold dinars minted around this period feature three circular legends inscribed with Kufic script, a style of Islamic calligraphy. Ayyubid dinars honor Sunni religious and political leaders and feature Quranic verses that promote the spread of Islam. This Ayyubid dinar makes particular reference to Saladin as well as Abu al-Abbas, the then-ruling caliph of Baghdad.
This dinar is known to have been minted in al-Qahirah (Cairo). Under Saladin’s reign, gold was in scarce supply, and Egyptian coin-makers diluted gold with other metals, resulting in an inconsistency in weight and fineness that significantly devalued the currency. Following the Third Crusade (1189–1192), crusaders opted to import and use Fatimid dinars (rather than Ayyubid dinars) as a standardized currency because they were widely recognized and highly valued for their consistent weight and fineness.
