HAMMUDID, ‘ALI B. HAMMUD (as caliph, 407-408h) Dinar, al-Andalus 408h Reverse: In field: wali al-‘ahad | al-Imam ‘Ali | amir al-mu’minin | al-nasir li-din Allah | Yahya Weight: 3.13g Reference: Prieto 63c, ‘ejemplar unico’ Very fine and extremely rare. ‘Ali b. Hammud was appointed governor of Sabta by the Umayyad caliph Sulayman b. al-Hakam circa 403h. Taking advantage of the anarchy duing the last years of the Spanish Umayyads, ‘Ali b. Hammud was able to capture Tangiers before crossing the Straits of Gibraltar and occupying Malaga. In 407h he seized Cordoba where he murdered Sulayman b. al-Hakam and proclaimed himself caliph. At first he was welcomed by the populace, but his support quickly fell away when a rival claimant from the Umayyad family, the future caliph ‘Abd al-Rahman IV, appeared on the scene. ‘Ali b. Hammud was assassinated in 408h and ‘Abd al-Rahman IV briefly became caliph in his place. His reign lasted mere months, however, before he himself was deposed by al-Qasim b. Hammud, brother of ‘Ali, who restored the line of the Hammudids to the caliphate.

Estimate: GBP 1800 - 2200