How was this made?
This Ayyubid dinar took inspiration from Fatimid dinars and modeled its style and appearance after them. Fatimid coins in turn copied characteristics of Aghlabid dinars, and Aghlabid dinars drew on the styles of preceding dynasties. The content of Ayyubid dinar inscriptions also mirrored Fatimid dinars, as both feature central inscriptions that recognize a figure of authority, inner inscriptions of titles of this leader, and outer inscriptions of Quranic verses. The dinar of al-Amir, the tenth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty and the twentieth imam of the Must'ali Isma'ili sect of Shia Islam (r. 1101-1130) as seen below, demonstrates these similarities.
The inscription on the obverse of this Fatimid dinar reads عال غاية which translates to "The High Ranking." The inner description reads لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله على ولى الله which translates to "There is no god but God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God and Ali is the guardian of God." Ali, or Ali ibn Abi Talib, was the fourth rightly guided caliph of Islam, and Shi'a Muslims believe he was the rightful successor to the Prophet, the major cause of the divide between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. The Fatimid dynasty practiced Shi'a Islam, and the inner inscription serves to promote this sect.
The central inscription on the reverse of this Fatimid Dinar reads الامام المنصور better known as al-Amir bi-Ahkam Allah. The inner inscription reads ابو على الامر باحكام الله امير المومنين and translates to "Abu Ali al-Amr bi-Ahkam Allah, Commander of the Faithful," the full name of al-Amir as well as his appropriate title. The outer inscription also features Quranic verse 9:33.
Translated from Arabic by John Fashek '23, Omar Afifi '24, Muhammad Ayman, Foreign Language Assistant. These translations represent our best efforts, and we welcome suggestions for amendments.
The first stage in the minting process required the refining of gold. Gold ore which contained other metals was melted down, flattened, and then cut into leaves. These leaves were then mixed with an earthy compound and refired to separate the gold from other elements. This process was then repeated until the gold was completely isolated. Next, the standard of gold went through both qualitative and quantitative testing. In the qualitative process, gold ore was heated and its color was compared to a separate substance with known chemical quantities. A different color could indicate a high presence of copper and thus a low standard. As for the quantitative portion, if the gold was refired and the newly isolated compound had lost fewer than 0.08 grams, it passed the test. The concentration of gold was then adjusted to create a universal standard.
Once the gold reached an adequate standard, dies (devices used to stamp designs on coins) produced imprints on coins through a hammer-blow. Andrew S. Ehrenkreutz, an expert on the medieval Muslim world and the author of a journal article describing a manuscript from an Ayyubid mint, strongly supports the idea that dies were engraved not cast, meaning the inscriptions were not molded.