2019-05-17 Fri

Abu Yusuf Ya’qub al-Mansur ruled the Almohad dynasty from 1184 to 1199 AD. He was the third ruler and a successful military commander of the Almohad. His reign was distinguished by the flourishing of trade, architecture, philosophy, and the sciences. He ordered the construction of numerous buildings, such as Koutoubia and El Mansouria mosques in Marrakech and the Kasbah of the Udayas

The style of Almohad coinage was followed by all the subsequent rulers of North Africa until the beginning of the sixteenth century AD. He was the first Almohad ruler to strike a magnificent series of dinars which bore the names of his father and grandfather in the reverse field.

Depicted here is gold 2 Dinar issued during his reign. On the obverse of coin we can read the profession of faith of the unity of God and Muhamad’s prophetic mission after the legend ‘Bism allah ir rahmanir rahim’ the legend is read as ‘wa’l-hamd lillah wahdahu / la ilah illa allah / muhammad rasul allah / al-mahdi imam al-umma’ within a square. ‘Wa ilahukum ilah wahid, la ilah illa huwwa al-rahman al-rahim, wa ma bikum min ni‘ma fa min allah, wa ma tawfiqi illa billah’ depicted on a margin.

The reverse of a coin bore the inscription ‘al-qa’im bi-amr allah al-khalifa / abu muhammad ‘abd al-mu’min / ibn ‘ali amir al-mu’minin / amir al-mu’minin abu ya’qub / yusuf ibn amir al-mu’minin’ within a central square. ‘Amir al-mu’minin, abu yusuf ya’qub, ibn amir al-mu’minin, ibn amir al-mu’minin’ depicted on a margin.

Image Source: Heritage Auctions