Coin of al-Hakim
Type:
Coins
Date:
1018/19
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Egypt
Medium:
Gold
Dimensions:
2.2 cm (4.21 g)
Description:
A gold dinar of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim (r. 996–1021) features, in the center of the obverse, the Shi’i expansion of the shahada, “There is no God but God, unique, he has no associate; Muhammad is the messenger of God; Ali is the chosen one [or friend] of God.” Around the circumference is sura 9:33. On the reverse, the encircling inscription names the mint and the date, in this case, “Misr”—Egypt, probably Cairo—in the hijra year 409 (1018/19 CE). In the center, the name and title of al-Hakim, “commander of the faithful,” is supplemented by that of “the chosen heir,” who was not his son but, rather, an obscure second cousin. After al-Hakim mysteriously disappeared in 1021, his powerful sister Sitt al-Mulk arranged for his son to succeed al-Hakim anyway.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
6
Repository and Online Resources:
• Read about this coin on the website of The David Collection, Copenhagen.
Image Credits:
The David Collection, Copenhagen; photographs by Pernille Klemp.
Tags:
Islamicate,
North African,
Ideology,
Status and identity,
Arabic ,
Coins,
Family,
Qur'an,
Women
