Dinar (gold coin)
Damascus, Syria
National Museum of Damascus
About National Museum of Damascus, Damascus
Al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf bin Ayyub (Saladin, r. AH 569–89 / AD 1174–93)
Hegira 574 / AD 1178
ع ر 30178
Minted gold.
Diameter 2 cm, weight 3.85 g
Ayyubid
Cairo, Egypt.
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.
The inscription on the coin specifies the date of minting as 574 (1178).
The coin was confiscated by the security forces and registered at the Museum in 1992.
The inscription on the coin states that it was minted in Cairo, Egypt.
Delpont, E. (ed), L'Orient de Saladin: l'art des Ayyoubides, Paris, 2001, p.36.
Mona al-Moadin "Dinar (gold coin)" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;sy;Mus01;42;en
MWNF Working Number: SY 69
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