Money and its political, economic, and religious significance in the Islamic Maghreb countries (2nd-7th century AH / 8th-13th century CE)

Abstract

This research deals with the development of money in the Islamic Maghreb countries since the second century AH until the seventh century AH, as money is a sovereign instrument that reflects the political independence, the sectarian trend, and the economic reality of the countries. The study focused on multiple models of countries outside the authority of the Abbasid Caliphate, such as the Madariya state in sijilmasa, the rustamiyya state in tahert, the Alawite states such as the adaris and Fatimids, in addition to the Almoravid and Almohad countries and the subsequent Banu Ziri, Banu Hammad, hafsid and Banu Zian.The study showed that the absence of cash deposits for some countries, such as the tropical and formal state, does not necessarily mean the absence of a monetary system of its own, but it is likely that this is the result of time and archaeological factors, or their dependence on the circulation of money of neighboring countries. It also showed that the minting of money was often a means of propaganda with religious and sectarian dimensions, used to prove political legitimacy, as is evident in the Fatimid and monotheistic money.The research confirmed that the prosperity of trans-Saharan trade, especially the gold trade, was a decisive factor in the development of monetary systems in the Islamic Maghreb, and contributed to making some currencies, such as the Moorish dinar, with a global reputation that went beyond the Islamic world to Europe. In this way, money emerges as a crucial historical source for understanding the political, economic and intellectual transformations in the history of the Islamic Maghreb.