Islamic unknown

[Emanuele Giulianelli]

Hello!
on "identification" they tell me to post these coin here... can you please help me?
they are 13/14 mm

[Emanuele Giulianelli]

other face

[mernumis]

Dear Emanuele,
I am not to familiar with these types, but to guess, so to speak, it could be afghani or indian as well... with your permission I could copy the images and ask for help elsewhere. What do you say? Frank.

[Manzikert]

Hi Emanuele

These are coins of the Sultans of Mogadishu, see 'Sylloge of Islamic Coins in the Ashmolean, Vol. 10, Arabia and East Africa' by Stephen Album and Album's 'Checklist of Islamic Coins'.

No.1 and No.2 are coins of Zubayr bin 'Umar, 'perhaps 9th/15th century' (eg. SICA 674, 0.66 gm, A1174 'scarce')
No.3 is a coin of 'Ali bin Yusuf, also 'perhaps 9th/15th century (SICA 676 0.60 gm, A1175 'common')

Unfortunately virtually nothing is known about the real date of these issues (Album says the dates 'may be off the mark by as much as a century') or the history of the sultanate.

These are the first examples of these I have seen outside the catalogues: I am most envious .

Best wishes

Alan

[Emanuele Giulianelli]

WOW!
so they are interesting coins?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Is that the same as modern Mogadishu?

[Manzikert]

Hi Robert

Yep, same place. Quite how big the sultanate was I don't know, and I suspect noone really knows

Best wishes

Alan

[mernumis]

wow !!! Alan is right. These are quite interesting.

[Robert_Brenchley]

My historical atlas marks Mogadishu as a Medieval trading centre, and as being involved in the spread of Islam, which is what you'd expect given that it was largely spread by traders. But there's no indication of the Sultanate. Written sources for pre-colonial African history aren't exactly thick on the ground, though, unfortunately. Ibn Battuta appears to have visited the place, if you have his book.