Aghlabid Gold Dinar Minted Under Ziyadat Allah I ibn Ibrahim - KA.113, Origin: North Africa, Circa: 826, AD to 827 AD, Dimensions: .75" (1.9cm) wide 4.2 Grams, Collection: Numismatics, Style: Aghlabid Dynasty, Medium: Gold, In 793 A.D., Berber revolts culminated in the collapse of the Muhallabid Dynasty, which had ruled the province of Ifriqiya (comprising the modern nations of eastern Algeria, Tunisia, and western Libya) under the authority of the Abbasid Caliphate. Anarchy reigned along the coast of Northern Africa until Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid decided to appoint Ibrahim I ibn al-Aghlab as hereditary Emir of Ifriqiya in 800, thereby restoring Arab authority to the region. The Aghlabids ruled Ifriqiya for the next century as a de facto independent dynasty although they never formally ceased to recognize Abbasid authority. Expansion of the Roman irrigation system resulted in agricultural bounty that greatly contributed to the economic might of the Aghlabids. Ifriqiya became the center of trade between the Islamic world and Italy and Byzantium. During the Aghlabid Dynasty, the great city of Kairuan became the most important center of learning in North Africa, attracting artists, poets, and scientists from across the Muslim world. Arab soldiers began to rebel beginning in 824 and a campaign to conquer Sicily from the Byzantines was launched in 827 in part to keep the soldier uprising under control. By 902, Sicily was completely controlled by the Aghlabids and raids into mainland Italy occurred well into the 10th century. Soon after, Arab forces in Sicily revolted against Aghlabid authority and set up their own independent dynasty there. On the mainland, Berber uprisings aided by the Egyptian Fatimids eventually lead to the toppling of the Aghlabids in 909.

Antique Coins