Egypt & Syria (Pre-Fatimid). Ikhshidids. Abu'l-Qasim Unujur, AH 334-349 / AD 946-960. Dinar (Gold, 22 mm, 3.66 g, 4 h), citing the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Muṭīʿ li-llāh, Filastin, AH 337 = AD 948/9. Central field, in seven lines: letter resembling wāw / lā ilāha illā / Allāh waḥdahū / lā sharīka lahū / Abū al-Qāsim ibn / al-Ikhshīd / letter resembling ṣād (‘There is no deity but God alone; He has no associate / Abū al-Qāsim son of al-Ikhshīd’ in Arabic). Margin: bi-sm Allāh ḍuriba hādhā al-dīnār bi-Filasṭīn sanat sabʿ wa-thalāthīn wa-thalāth-miʾa (‘In the name of God, this dinar was struck in Filasṭīn in the year three hundred and thirty-seven’ in Arabic). Outer margin (Qurʾān 30:4-5): li-llāh al-amr min qabl wa-min baʿd wa-yawmaʾidhin yafraḥ al-muʾminūn bi-naṣr Allāh (‘To God belongs the command before and after, and on that day the believers will rejoice in the help of God’ in Arabic). Rev. Central field, in seven lines: li-llāh / Muḥammad / rasūl / Allāh / ṣallā Allāh ʿalayhi / al-Muṭīʿ li-llāh / curious symbol (‘For God / Muḥammad / Messenger / of God / may God bless him / al-Muṭīʿ li-llāh’ in Arabic). Margin (Qurʾān 9:33): Muḥammad rasūl Allāh arsalahu bi-l-hudā wa-dīn al-ḥaqq li-yuẓhirahu ʿalā al-dīn kullihi wa-law kariha al-mushrikūn (‘Muḥammad is the Messenger of God, whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth to make it prevail over all religion, even though the polytheists may dislike it’ in Arabic). Album 676. Bacharach 72. Jeselsohn 481. A very rare issue with curious symbols and letters. Some areas of weakness and small die faults, otherwise, good very fine.



The Ikhshidids ruled Egypt, Palestine, and parts of Syria during the mid-4th century AH, forming one of the last major autonomous Sunni dynasties in the region before the Fatimid conquest. Founded by Muḥammad ibn Ṭughj al-Ikhshīd, the dynasty formally acknowledged Abbasid authority while exercising practical independence from Baghdad.

This dinar names Abū al-Qāsim [Unūjūr] ibn al-Ikhshīd while citing the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Muṭīʿ li-llāh on the reverse. The mint-name Filasṭīn refers to al-Ramla, the principal mint-city of Palestine during the period and one of the key gold-producing centers of the Ikhshidid state.

Particularly interesting are the isolated letters and symbols appearing on both obverse and reverse fields, including the unusual wāw-like and ṣād-like characters. Their precise meaning remains uncertain and deserves further research.