Arabia. Najahids. al-Fatik II ibn al-Mansur, AH 518-531 / AD 1124-1137. Dinar (Gold, 20 mm, 1.88 g), Zabid, blundered date. In three lines: lā ilāha illā Allāh / Muḥammad rasūl Allāh / al-Mustarshid bi-llāh(?) (‘There is no deity but God; Muḥammad is the Messenger of God; al-Mustarshid bi-llāh’ in Arabic). Margin: blundered and largely illegible. Rev. In three lines: al-malik al-ajall / al-awḥad al-muʾayyad(?) / al-Fātik …(?) (‘The most august king, the unique, the divinely supported, al-Fātik …’ in Arabic). Margin: blundered. Album C1075. Very rare. Some areas of weakness and tiny deposits on the reverse, otherwise, good very fine.


The gold coinage of the Najāḥids is among the least studied and most elusive series of medieval Arabian numismatics. Surviving specimens are typically crudely engraved, irregularly struck, and frequently blundered, often rendering full readings of the legends uncertain. This has contributed to the difficulty in establishing a clear typology or chronological framework for the series.

The present specimen is characteristic in this regard, preserving only partial and somewhat distorted legends, including the name of the ʿAbbāsid caliph al-Mustarshid bi-llāh and the ruler al-Fātik II. The frequent occurrence of such blundered inscriptions suggests production under local conditions with limited die engraving expertise, possibly reflecting the political and economic constraints of the Najāḥid state.

Well-preserved and fully legible examples are very rare, and even fragmentary or crude pieces such as the present coin remain of considerable importance for the study of this poorly documented dynasty.