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Dinar - Al-Adil Abu Bakr I Alexandria
| Issuer | Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt |
|---|---|
| Year | 606 (1209) |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Hammered gold dinar with an aniconic design typical of Ayyubid coinage. The central field bears a multi-line Arabic religious and titular inscription arranged in four horizontal lines within a double circular border. The marginal legend runs along the outer ring, separated from the central field by a plain linear frame. The script is executed in a bold Kufic-Naskhi transitional style characteristic of early 13th-century Egyptian mint production. The legends reference the Abbasid caliph Al-Nasir li-Din Allah, conferring legitimacy upon the issuing sultan. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Al-Adil Abu Bakr I came to sole control of the Ayyubid domains only after systematically dismantling the inheritance Saladin had divided among his sons — a process of political maneuvering that consumed nearly fifteen years following his brother's death in 1193. By 606 AH he controlled Egypt, Syria, and much of the Jazira, and his mint at Alexandria was producing gold dinars that circulated across a Mediterranean world increasingly defined by Crusader trade networks and the commerce flowing through Frankish ports.
Alexandrian Ayyubid dinars of this period are notably harder to attribute with certainty than Cairo issues, as the mint was subordinate and output comparatively low.