Image Details

The American Numismatic Society

The gold trade brought immeasurable wealth to Sijilmasa, whose mint issued golden dinars inscribed with the Koranic verse, “There is no God but Allah; Mohammed is the messenger of God.” The dinar shown here was minted in Sijilmasa in 1110 A.D. during the reign of the Murabit commander Ali ibn Yusuf. The Murabits, who ruled northwestern Africa and Iberia from 1056 to 1147, had mints throughout their realm, but coinage from Sijilmasa was especially prized for its purity.