MAHALLAK: COIN OF HARAR
Mahallak, 1886: Emirate of Harar
Emirate of Harar — African islamic kingdom founded in 1647. Like all Muslim states in the area, the Emirate of Harar was technically under the protection of the Ottoman Empire. Egypt annexed the Emirate in 1875. The British Empire defeated the Egyptians and occupied its territories in 1882, but soon the British agreed to cede the city to the Ethiopian Empire's sphere of influence in exchange for assistance against Sudan. The Emirate would be finally destroyed and annexed by the army of Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II in 1887.
Ruler: Abdullahi (Abd Allah II ibn 'Ali 'Abd ash-Shakur) — the last amir of Harar who ruled from 1884 to 1887, when the state was terminated following the defeat of the Harari troops at the Battle of Chelenqo from Abyssinian (Ethiopian) army under Negus Menelik.
Date on coin: AH 1303 (AH: Latin "Anno Hegirae" — "the year of the Hijra"; Islamic calendar) = 1886 (Gregorian calendar).
١٣٠٣: 1303.
A coin without graphic elements — on the obverse and reverse there is only approximately the following text: "Struck in the city of Harar; the insignificant servant Abdallah ibn ash-Shakur (an expression of modesty towards Allah that not unusual to find on different Islamic coins)".
- Brass: 17 mm - 1.14 g
- Reference price: 39$
COIN MAHALLAK — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- EMIRATE OF HARAR (18th-19th centuries): mahallak = 1/22 ashrafi
MAHALLAK as coin name.
Mahallak (sometimes: mahaleki, mahlak...) — historical coin of the Emirate of Harar, that is a part of modern Ethiopia.
Coins of this rare denomination of the 18th and 19th centuries are most often found in collections and at auctions, although the mahallak was probably minted firstly earlier.
Formally, 22 mahallaks were equivalent to 1 gold ashrafi (the formal unit of account for the Emirate of Harar).
There is evidence that coins of this type were produced from both silver and brass.
Silver mahallaks were made in such way: Maria Theresa's thalers, popular in those regions, were remelted and tin was added to the alloy. The resulting material was rolled into a fairly thin sheet, from which round blanks for new coins were cut. Images were applied to each such workpiece with the help of a hammer.
Almost only copper and brass mahallak coins are found at coin auctions. According to unconfirmed data, brass specimens were made from cartridge casings.
The last coin issued by the Emirate of Harar before its incorporation into Ethiopia was the 1893 silver 1 mahallak.
With regard to the name of the coin mahallak (Amharic "መሐለቅ"), it is translated from Arabic "محلي" and means "local, native".
