The coins dating back to the Fatimid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt, which were unearthed in the upper Egyptian city of Esna in 2022. Pictures: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
The coins dating back to the Fatimid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt, which were unearthed in the upper Egyptian city of Esna in 2022. Pictures: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
The coins dating back to the Fatimid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt, which were unearthed in the upper Egyptian city of Esna in 2022. Pictures: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
The coins dating back to the Fatimid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt, which were unearthed in the upper Egyptian city of Esna in 2022. Pictures: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

Archaeologists discover Islamic coin haul in upper Egypt


Kamal Tabikha
  • English
  • Arabic

A team of archaeologists in Egypt has unearthed a cache of coins dating back to the reigns of several Islamic rulers.

The team, working for Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, also found parts of coinage moulds used to mint the coins and a large weight believed to have been used to weigh them.

The haul is significant because it suggests that there was a coin-minting workshop in the area, which the team has begun trying to find, the council’s secretary-general Mostafa Waziri said in a statement.

The coins were found in the city of Esna, about 55 kilometres south of Luxor, on the western bank of the Nile River.

The mission began digging in the area last year, according to Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. They started at a spot behind the iconic Temple of Esna, the city’s most visited ancient relic.

The haul included one gold coin dating back to the reign of Al Muizz li-Din Allah Al Fatimi, a Fatimid ruler whose name was given to one of the most famous streets in Islamic Cairo.

A collection of coins dating back to the Fatimid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt.
A collection of coins dating back to the Fatimid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt.

Additionally, 286 silver coins were unearthed which date back to the rules of 19 different kings and sultans from the Mamluk period (1250—1517), according to the ministry’s statement.

A number of foreign coins were found, including an Armenian coin minted during the rule of King Levon II, whose reign was contemporaneous with the Mamluk period. A group of bronze and copper coins from the Ottoman era were also found.

Among the haul were also several dinars and half-dinars, a popular currency during various Islamic rules in the Arab world, bearing the names of several prominent Egyptian rulers, including Al Aziz Billah, Najmuddin Aybak, King Badr Al Din Salamish and King Mansour Seif Al Din Qalawun.

The haul was unearthed in the upper Egyptian city of Esna in 2022.
The haul was unearthed in the upper Egyptian city of Esna in 2022.
Profile of RentSher

Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE

Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi

Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE

Sector: Online rental marketplace

Size: 40 employees

Investment: $2 million

CONCRETE COWBOY

Directed by: Ricky Staub

Starring: Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome

3.5/5 stars

The Beach Bum

Director: Harmony Korine

Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg

Two stars

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dubai World Cup nominations

UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer

USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.

Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.

Results:

First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15

Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24

Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15

Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

Profile of Foodics

Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani

Based: Riyadh

Sector: Software

Employees: 150

Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing

Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.

BULKWHIZ PROFILE

Date started: February 2017

Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce 

Size: 50 employees

Funding: approximately $6m

Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

Fixtures

Opening day Premier League fixtures for August 9-11

August 9

Liverpool v Norwich 11pm

August 10

West Ham v Man City 3.30pm

Bournemouth v Sheffield Utd 6pm

Burnley v Southampton 6pm

C Palace v Everton 6pm

Leicester v Wolves 6pm

Watford v Brighton 6pm

Tottenham v Aston Villa 8.30pm

August 11

Newcastle v Arsenal 5pm

Man United v Chelsea 7.30pm

 

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Juvenile arthritis

Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.

BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)

Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)

Saturday

Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)

Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)

Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)

Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)

Sunday

Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)

Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)

Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)

Updated: September 12, 2022, 10:22 AM