Coin Morocco Almoravid, Yusuf ibn Tashfin - 1/2 Silver Qirat - 1061 / 1106

This low-weight Qirat or half-qirat in silver was struck during the reign of Yusuf ibn Tashfin, ruler of the Almoravid dynasty, between 1061 and 1106. It is a small denomination coin, representative of Almoravid coinage, characterized by its epigraphic sobriety, the quality of its strike, and its adherence to the religious principles upheld by the Almoravid movement.

Yusuf ibn Tashfin founded Marrakesh around 1070, a city that quickly became the political capital of the Almoravid empire. His reign was marked by the unification of a large part of the western Maghreb under a single authority and by the expansion into Al-Andalus, where he intervened at the request of the Muslim rulers of the taifa kingdoms who faced the advance of the Christian kingdoms. The Battle of Zallaqa (Sagrajas), won in 1086 against the Castilian forces of Alfonso VI, stands as one of the major military events of his reign. From 1090 onwards, Yusuf ibn Tashfin undertook the progressive annexation of the taifa kingdoms, placing a large part of the Muslim Iberian Peninsula under Almoravid administration.

By the end of his reign, the empire stretched from the Saharan regions and the western Maghreb to the Ebro Valley. This period corresponds to the political, military, and economic peak of the dynasty, fostering the development of trade between North Africa, the Sahara, and Al-Andalus. Almoravid coinage, particularly its high-quality gold and silver issues, contributed to the stability of transactions and the economic integration of this vast territorial ensemble.