Name of Object:

Dinar (gold coin)

Location:

Damascus, Syria

Holding Museum:

National Museum of Damascus

About National Museum of Damascus, Damascus

Original Owner:

Al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf bin Ayyub (Saladin, r. AH 569–89 / AD 1174–93)

Date of Object:

Hegira 574 / AD 1178

Museum Inventory Number:

ع ر 30178

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Minted gold.

Dimensions:

Diameter 2 cm, weight 3.85 g

Period / Dynasty:

Ayyubid

Provenance:

Cairo, Egypt.

Description:

The dinar is one of the types of coins that Muslims circulated. It was, by definition, made from gold and was the type of coin with the highest value in compared to the dirham, which was made of silver, and the fils, which was made of copper. It weighed about four grams.
This piece is an Ayyubid dinar of the Fatimid type, meaning that the inscription is arranged in concentric circles around the middle. This style was first used by the Fatimids in the AH 4th / AD 10th century and is very different from the kufic style used previously, in which the text is distributed between one circle around the rim and three or four horizontal lines in the centre. The choice on the part of the Shi'a Fatimid dynasty to make such a radical change can be seen as an attempt to differentiate themselves from the Sunni Umayyad, Abbasid and Central Asian rulers who used the kufic style before them. Subsequent rulers, like Salah al-Din, also chose to use this design.
This coin is attributed to the reigns of 'Abbasid Caliph al-Mustadi' (r. AH 566–75 / AD 1170–80) and the Ayyubid ruler Saladin. It was minted in Cairo in AH 574 / AD 1178. An Arabic inscription in naskhi script is recorded on both of its faces, and may be translated as follows:
Obverse
Band 1 – “In the name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate, this dinar was minted in Cairo in the year five hundred seventy-four”
Band 2 – “There is no God except God, who is without partner. Abu Muhammad” (where Abu Muhammad indicates the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustadi).
Band 3 – “al-Mustadi' bi-amr Allah, Commander of the Faithful”
Band 4 – “al-Imam al-Hasan”
Reverse
Band 1 – “Muhammad the Messenger of God has been sent with guidance and the religion of truth, to proclaim to all religion”
Band 2 – “even if the polytheists despise it. May God bless him [the Prophet Muhammad] and his family”
Band 3 – “al-Malik 'al al-Nasir 'Alim”
Band 4 – “Yusuf bin Ayyub”.

This gold coin, known as a dinar, was minted by the Ayyubids in Cairo following a Fatimid style with inscriptions arranged in three concentric circles around the centre.

How date and origin were established:

The inscription on the coin specifies the date of minting as 574 (1178).

How Object was obtained:

The coin was confiscated by the security forces and registered at the Museum in 1992.

How provenance was established:

The inscription on the coin states that it was minted in Cairo, Egypt.

Selected bibliography:

Delpont, E. (ed), L'Orient de Saladin: l'art des Ayyoubides, Paris, 2001, p.36.

Citation of this web page:

Mona al-Moadin "Dinar (gold coin)" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;sy;Mus01;42;en

Prepared by: Mona Al-Moadin
Translation by: Hilary Kalmbach (from the Arabic)
Translation copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: SY 69