ALMORAVID TAIFAS, Anonymous attributed to Ahmad ibn Qasi (539-546H). Quirate. (Ar. 0.88g/12mm). Without mint, 2nd group - minted in Silves (Portugal) and other undetermined locations. (Vives 2016; Hazard 1060; Gomes 04.05; Benito Fb4). Obv: 'Shahada' in three lines, below a two-line quotation: الامام عبد (el Iman Abd)/ الله (Allah). Rev: Legend with Almohad formula: الله (God) / ربــنا (Our Lord) / محمد رسولنا (Muhammad is our Messenger) / المهدي امامنا (The Mahdi our Imam). VF+. Attractive patina. Very rare.
''Ahmad ben Qasi was the initiator of the uprisings against the Almoravid power, and for a time controlled the southeastern area of the peninsula (the Gharb). Descended from a wealthy family of muladíes, at a given moment he sold his possessions and distributed them among the poor, dedicating himself to a life of study and asceticism in which he came into contact with the main Sufi masters of al-Andalus. On his return to Silves, he gained fame as a preacher and mystic, even being attributed supernatural powers; he founded a group of followers known as muridin?, and in the midst of religious fervor, he proclaimed himself Mahdi, the one guided by God to announce and establish a new kingdom of justice'' (Benito de los Mozos, ''La Plata almorávid y postmorávide: El Quirate'' p. 143).
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