This week we will follow the slave trade routes through the Atlas mountains to the Sahara desert, searching for the mysterious medieval city of Nul-Lamta. We only have hints about this city, so rich in gold that it was about to strike gold coins like this precious dinar. Exotic animals, slaves, ivory and gold were actively traded by the Berber tribes and such trade routes encouraged the creation of a monetary system as evidenced by the rare, historic coins featured on Catawiki's weekly Coins auctions. Coins specialist Pietro Anoe shares the story of a select few coins and explains the journey they took to come from the lost city of Nul Lamta to our auctions.
The Lost City
The true location of Nul Lamta is not clear, but locals claim that the medieval ruins in Wadi Nun close to the town of Asrir (Guelmin province, South of Morocco) are actually this lost city. Together with Sijilmessa, Nul Lamta was a terminal on the trans Saharan medieval trade route. The long caravans carrying gold, slaves and animals had in those commercial terminals their hub. Indeed those hubs were controlled by the powerful empires that ruled al-Maghreb and Al-Andalus. The Almoravids and later the Almohads had an inflexible control of those strategic routes. With the arrival of Almohads the city of Nul Lamta begun to disappear. By the 14th century, the city was already in ruins. It was attacked and levelled in 1153 by the Almohads, who killed all men and sold camels and women at the Bab al Shariya gate in Marrakech. Some coins remain from this now lost city, however, and a few have appeared in our auctions.
Gold Dinar
This coin was struck in the lost city of Nul Lamta in 524AH, year 1138 of our calendar. Impressively it survived over the centuries and traveled from the Sahara desert to Catawiki. Other impressive gold coins from the same era such as this one from the Madinat Tilimsan mint or this one dating back to 1004 A.D. can be found at our weekly Coins auctions.
Every week Catawiki auctions off over 1,700 coins from across the world. As each coin is first reviewed by our team of coin specialists, you'll find the highest possible quality and most diverse selection all from the comfort of your computer, tablet or smartphone. If you have any treasures you'd like to sell, you can register to do so for free here.