Funerary stele of Abu ‘Abdallah ibn Khalifa
Algiers, Algeria
National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Arts
About National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Arts, Algiers
Hegira 488 / AD 1095
II.S.96
Sculpted sandstone.
Height 24 cm, length 107 cm, width 31 cm
Hammadid
Qal’at Bani Hammad, Algeria.
Funerary stele in the form of a pyramid, tiered and surmounted by a prism. Sculpted in relief, an inscription in kufic lettering reveals the following epitaph: 'In the name of God the Clement, the Merciful! May God bless the prophet / Muhammad! And his family and may he accord them complete salvation, as every soul tastes death [Qur'an, XXI, 36]. This is the tomb of ‘Abdallah son of Khalifa son of Muhammad, may God show him mercy, he died the day / al-djumu'a [Friday] first day of Ramadan of the year 488 [September 1095]'. On the lateral sides, the prism holds the following inscription: 'To God / the glory.'
This stele is in a very bad condition, and the inscription is very difficult to decipher.
A very poorly preserved funerary stele in the form of a stepped pyramid topped with a prism. A barely legible inscription in kufic characters carved in relief gives the name of the deceased and the date of death, along with the habitual praise to God.
The stele features a precise date.
Gift from M. Massiera.
Found at the site of Qal'at Bani Hammad.
Marçais, G., “Sur deux stèles funéraires hammadites du musée Stéphane Gsell”, Bulletin de la Société historique et géographique de la région de Sétif, Vol. II, 1941, pp.171–8.
Mazouz, A., El-kitabat el-koufia bildjazair ma beayn el-karnayn el-thani wa el-thamin el-higryene (8-14 el-miladiyene) (kufic inscriptions of Algeria between the 2nd and 8th centuries [8–14 of the Christian era]), Algiers, 2002.
Leila Merabet "Funerary stele of Abu ‘Abdallah ibn Khalifa" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;dz;Mus01;50;en
Prepared by: Leila MerabetLeila Merabet
Titulaire d'un magister en archéologie islamique (spécialité épigraphie arabe), conservateur du patrimoine archéologique et historique, Leila Merabet est chef du service Conservation et Valorisation (section islamique) au Musée national des antiquités. Elle a publié de nombreux articles dans les Annales du Musée national des antiquités.
Copyedited by: Margot Cortez
Translation by: Maria Vlotides
Translation copyedited by: Monica Allen
MWNF Working Number: AL 92
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