Ancient Artifact Review 98 : Antique Andalus Muslim Spain Quranic Inscribed lead Amulet / Talisman ( 11th - 12th Century)

This artifact is a cast-lead talismanic plaque (lawḥ raṣāṣ / ḥirz) dating to the Almoravid Dynasty (c. 1086–1147 CE) of Al-Andalus and the Western Maghreb. Produced during a period of religious revival and military conflict in Islamic Spain, such lead tablets served as personal apotropaic charms worn on the body or embedded within domestic thresholds to secure divine protection and ward off misfortune.

Inscription Decipherment & Translation

The plaque features compartmentalized square registers framed by raised borders containing classic Almoravid pious mottoes and Quranic declarations:

• Outer Rectangular Borders:

• Arabic :  الْمُلْكُ لِلَّهِ ... الْعِزَّةُ لِلَّهِ

• Transliteration: Al-Mulku lillāh... Al-'Izzatu lillāh

• Translation: "Sovereignty belongs to God... Might and Glory belong to God."

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• Obverse Inner Registers:

• Arabic : اللهُ حَسْبِي / لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ

• Upper Panel: Allāhu ḥasbī / Lā ilāha illā Allāh ("God is my sufficiency / There is no god but God")

• Arabic : مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ / صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ

• Lower Panel: Muḥammadun Rasūl Allāh / Ṣallā Allāhu 'alayhi ("Muhammad is the Messenger of God / May God bless him")

• Reverse Central Text:

  • Arabic : بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ ... حَسْبُنَا اللهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

  • Transliteration: Bism Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm... Ḥasbunā Allāhu wa ni'mal-Wakīl

  • Translation: "In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful... God is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs."

Material & Epigraphic Analysis

• Script Style: Rendered in formal Andalusian Kufic, characterized by rigid geometry, tall vertical shafts (alifs and lams), and boxed framing. This epigraphic style was the gold standard for Almoravid coin minting, official state metalwork, and monumental inscriptions prior to the widespread adoption of cursive Maghrebi scripts under the subsequent Almohad dynasty.

• Production Method: Cast in molten lead using carved stone or terracotta molds, featuring molded suspension loops along the upper edge for cordage or attachment.

• Dynastic Markers: Lacks both the later Almohad Mahdist formulas and the Nasrid motto (Wa lā ghāliba illā Allāh), solidifying its attribution to 11th–12th century Almoravid Andalusian metallurgical traditions.

The reverse of this amulet, tentatively I could read :

بسم ألله الرحمن الر

حيم شَهِدَ أللَهُ أنّه 
لا إله إلّا هو و الملا
ئكة و أُوْلُوا العلم 
قآئِما بالقسط لا إله 
إلّا هو العزيز 
الحكيم 
En:
Say, "He is Allah , [who is] One,
Allah , the Eternal Refuge.
He neither begets nor is born,
Nor is there to Him any equivalent."
Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge - [that He is] maintaining [creation] in justice. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

 
Item : Tasliman / Amulet
Content : Quranic verses
Dim : 30mm x 25mm
Date : 11th - 12th Century CE
Material : Lead
Origin : Andalusia, Spain