ISLAMIC, Islamic Dynasties, Hafsids, Abu Zakariya Yahya I, AV Dinar

Islamic Dynasties, Hafsids, Abu Zakariya Yahya I, AV Dinar, 4.76g, Tilimsan mint, minted 1242-49 AD

Obverse

Central square
al-wahid allah / muhammad rasul allah / al-mahdi khalifat allah / tilimsan
“the one God, Muhammad is the messenger of God, al-Mahdi is the Viceroy of God, Tilimsan (in tiny letters)”

Marginal segments
12:00 o’clock: bism allah al-rahman al-rahim, 9:00 o'clock: salla allah ’ala sayyidna muhammad, 6:00 o'clcok: wa ilahukum ilah wahid, 3:00 o'clock: la ilah illa huwwa al-rahman ’ala sayyidna muhammad,
“in the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate, God’s blessing be upon Muhammad, and your god is a single god, no god but He, the Merciful, the Compassionate”

Reverse

In central square
al-shukr lillah / wa’l-minna lilla / wa’l-hawl wa al-hul wa’ al-quwwa billah
“thanks be to God and Grace be to God and power and strength be to God”

Marginal segments
12:00 o’clock: al-amir al-ajall, 9:00 o'clock: abu zakariyya yahya, 6:00 o'clock: ibn abu muhammad, 3:00 o'clock: ibn abu hafs
“the Great Prince, Abu Zakariyya Yahya, bin Abu Muhammad, bin Abu Hafs”


The Hafsids were descended from Shaykh Abu Hafs ‘Umar, who was a companion and helper of Ibn Tumart, known as al-Mahdi, in the early years of Almohad growth. Abu Zakariya Yahya I was the first ruler of the dynasty, which ruled in Algeria, Tunisia and Tripoli for over three and a half centuries from 627 to 982 H/1230-1574 AD. He began his claim to independence by omitting the Almohad ruler’s name from the khutba (the imam’s speech before Friday prayer) on the grounds that he was undermining the purity of his dynasty’s traditions, and took the title Amir. At this time the Maghrib was divided into three, with the town of Tilimsan (Tlemcen) held by the Ziyanids, Fas (Fez) by the Marinids and Tunis, the Hafsid capital, by Abu Zakariya Yahya. However, Yahya went on to conquer all of Ifriqiya, annex Algiers and capture Tilimsan, which he immediately returned to the Ziyanids on condition that they gave him their allegiance.

By the time of his death in 647 (1249) Yahya’s overlordship was acknowledged by the entire Maghrib, including northern Morocco as well as part of Spain. Yahya’s reign was a time of peace and prosperity, with treaties made with European states and Spanish Muslim craftsmen and scholars settling in the Maghrib.

There were three stages in the development of the coinage of Yahya I, the first from 627-634, when he was still serving as an Almohad governor, the second from 634 to 640 when he placed the name of the Almohad ruler as well as his own on the coinage, and the third, this coin, from 640 to 647 when only his name appeared, with the title al-amir al-ajall (the Great Prince), although he continued to recognise the spiritual ties to the Almohad doctrine of al-Mahdi.

The superb quality of both the calligraphy and magnificent striking of this coin suggests that Yahya considered it to be of particular importance in promoting public recognition of his power and prestige.