BrianRxm Arabic Coins 5/11
Ayyubid Egypt Coins
Some coins from the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt
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The Ayyubid Sultanate was a Sunni Islamic kingdom which lasted from AD 1171 to 1260. Its territory included most of North Africa, Egypt, part of Palestine, Syria, and part of Iraq. Its capital moved around from Cairo to Damascus and back to Cairo.
 
Saladin, whose full name was Al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, was the founder of the Ayyubid Sultanate. He abolished the Shiite Fatimid Caliphate and aligned his regime with the Sunni Abbasid Caliphate headquartered in Baghdad.
 
Both Misr and al-Qahira were used as names for the mint location in Cairo. The names were Misr which meant Egypt and al-Qahira which meant Cairo.
 
Some verses from the Quran are frequently used on Islamic coins. A Quran Surah is a chapter.
 
The coin dates are in Islamic lunar years which start from AD 622 and are 355 days long. They are abbreviated "AH" and the formula for converting an AH year to an AD year is (AH Year)*0.97 + 622.
 
The mintage year of the coin is spelled out, for example, year 186 is "six and eighty and one hundred." These spellings have been converted to numbers.
Saladin: Life: AD 1137-1193 Reign: AD 1174-1193
 
Ayyubid Dinar Cairo Saladin
1. Ayyubid Sultanate Dinar, Saladin, Cairo, AH 584 (AD 1188)
Gold, 21.0 mm, 6.80 gm
Mint: Cairo (al-Qahira) Egypt
 
Obverse:
Outer Margin: Quran Surah 9:33:
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, who sent him with guidance and the religion of truth that he might make it supreme over all religions although the polytheists disliked it.
Inner Margin: King Saladin, High Quality
Field: Yusuf ibn Ayyub
 
Reverse:
Outer Margin: In the name of God the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful,
this dinar was struck in Cairo in the year 584
Inner Margin: There is no god but Allah.
Abu al-Abbas al-Nasir, Defender of the Faith, Commander of the Faithful
Field: al-Imam Ahmad (Leader Ahmad)
(Abu al-Abbas al-Nasir and Ahmad are both names of the Abbasid Caliph)
 
Note:
This coin was minted in AH 584 which ran from AD 1188-03-02 to 1189-02-18.
On July 4, 1187, Saladin's army won a decisive victory over a large Crusader army at Hattin, near Jerusalem, and subsequently retook the city of Jerusalem from the Crusaders.
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