Emergence of an Islamic State in Morocco

The Idrissids in Morocco

The Idrissids are the founders of the First Muslim Dynasty in Morocco. Since the declaration of their first Imam, Idriss I, in 789, they struck silver Dirhams and, occasionally, made copper Fels.

IDRISSIDS, ALI I (836-849 AD) DIRHAM COINED IN AL-ALIYA IN 840, SILVER

Ruling over a major part of Morocco, his success was a source of concern for Baghdad which ordered his assassination in 791.

Idriss II, (803-828) took over from his father and an organized State was born. Fez was chosen as a new capital. Exploitation of mines flourished and coinage workshops increased in number. To face the needs of international trade, the Idrissids struck Dirhams which met the weight and value standards of the Dirham of Baghdad, but they engraved on it the name of « Ali » to highlight their opposition to the Abbasids.

HAMMUDIDS, ALI IBN HAMMUD, DIRHAM COINED IN SABTA, 1009-1018 AD, SILVER.

After the death of Idriss II, his two sons divided the Kingdom. Being in conflict with each other, they exhausted themselves in useless battles before they vanished from the political arena towards 985.

Morocco between the Fatimids and the Umayyads

Under the reign of the last Idrissids, Morocco became the center of a fierce competition between the East and the West, through fighting tribes.

In the East, the Fatimids attempted to impose their domination by entering Fez where they coined money. In 958, they took over the Saharan Port, Sijilmassa, where they struck Dinars bearing the name of their Caliph.

MIDRARIDS, ACH-CHAKIR LILLAH, DINAR COINED IN SIJILMASSA IN 945, GOLD

In the North, the Andalusian Umayyads, in an attempt to maintain their control over the route of gold, strove to extend their hegemony to the whole country.

The Ummayads were victorious at the end and their coinage became famous through Dinars and Dirhams made at the workshops of Fez and Nokour.

MAGHRAWA, MAS’UD IBN WANUDIN, DIRHAM COINED IN SIJILMASSA, 1049-1054 AD, GOLD