Name of Object:Coin (dinar) Location:Cairo, Egypt Holding Museum:Museum of Islamic Art About Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo Date of Object:Hegira 3rd century / AD 9th century Museum Inventory Number:3/ 21922 Material(s) / Technique(s):Gold cast in a mould. Dimensions:Diameter 1.2 cm, weight 3.45 g Period / Dynasty:Tulunid Provenance:Egypt. Description:A gold coin worth a dinar. Inscriptions in kufic script appear on the obverse and on the reverse. The centre, obverse, holds a five-line inscription that reads: 'To God / Muhammad / Prophet / of God / Sanctioned by God'. The margin, obverse, bears a circular inscription that reads: 'Muhammad, the Prophet of God. It is he who has sent his messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to prevail it over all religion even though it is hated by the pagans'. On the reverse, the coin bears at its centre four lines of inscription that reads: 'There is no God except / the One God / Who has no Partners / Authorised by God'. On the outer margin, reverse, there is a circular Qur'anic inscription (Chapter 30, 'Romans', verses 4 and 5): 'With Allah is the Decision in the Past and in the Future. On that day will the Believers rejoice with the help of God'. Along the interior margin, reverse, a circular inscription states: 'In the name of God this coin was struck in Egypt the year 268 AH' (AD 881). View Short DescriptionCoin minting as a sign of power and sovereignty was practised under the Muslim caliphs and sultans, who put their names on the coins. This piece bears the name of the Abbasid caliph and under it we find the name of Ahmad ibn Tulun, the ruler of Egypt. How date and origin were established:The coin has a date engraved on the reverse: 'In the name of God this coin was struck in Egypt the year 268' (881). How Object was obtained:The coin was bought in 1961 from an antiquities dealer in Alexandria, Bouy Obeer. How provenance was established:Egypt has been narrowed down as the city where the coin was minted in view of the fact that Egypt is named as the place where the coin was struck. Selected bibliography:Fahmi, Abd al-Rahman, Al-Nukud al-Arabiya: Madiha wa Hadiruha [Arab Currency: Its Past and Present], Cairo, 1964. Citation of this web page:Al-Sayyed Muhammad Khalifa Hammad "Coin (dinar)" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;eg;Mus01;51;en Prepared by: Al-Sayyed Muhammad Khalifa Hammad
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