Fatimid Caliphate, al-Muʿizz li-Dīn Allāh, AR ½ Dirham

953-975 AD

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Article code: 26-2707
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Al-Muʿizz li-Din Allah was the fourth Fatimid Caliph and ruled from AD 953 to 975. During his reign, Fatimid power expanded dramatically: Egypt was conquered in 969 by his general Jawhar al-Siqilli, who founded the new capital of Cairo. Al-Muʿizz transferred his court there in 973, shifting the political centre of the Fatimid Empire from North Africa to Egypt.

His coinage introduced the distinctive Fatimid ‘bull’s-eye’ design, with Arabic inscriptions arranged in concentric circles around a central pellet. The legends proclaimed the authority of the Fatimid Imam-Caliph and included explicitly Shiʿi references to ʿAli. This striking arrangement was subsequently used, with variations, by later Fatimid rulers.

Silver half-dirhams were used for everyday transactions and were the fractional counterparts of the celebrated Fatimid gold dinars. Their thin, irregular flans and extensive circulation mean that surviving examples are frequently worn, cracked or only partially legible.