Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Dirham - Imad al-Din Zengi Nasibin mint
| Issuer | Zengid Emirate of Aleppo |
|---|---|
| Year | 1127-1146 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round (irregular) |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field divided into three horizontal lines of bold Arabic script within a raised rectangular frame, naming the Abbasid Caliph al-Mustarshid Billah in the uppermost line, followed by the name and title of the Zengid ruler Imad al-Din Zengi, and concluding with his honorific 'Malik al-Umara' (King of Commanders). The field is bordered by a dotted inner circle and an outer marginal band, consistent with Zengid copper coinage conventions. The flan is irregular and the strike is slightly weak at the periphery, typical of hammered copper issues of this period. The reverse demonstrates the standard Zengid practice of acknowledging Abbasid suzerainty while prominently displaying the autonomous ruler's titulature. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | الامام المسترشد بالله عماد الدين زنكي ملك الامراء |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Imad al-Din Zengi ruled from Mosul and Aleppo as atabeg under nominal Seljuk suzerainty, but operated with effectively independent authority from the moment he consolidated power in 1127. His capture of Edessa in 1144 — the first major Crusader county to fall — sent shockwaves through Latin Christendom and directly triggered the Second Crusade. Nasibin, an ancient city on the upper Tigris frontier, sat along critical routes between his two power centers and warranted its own mint output throughout his reign.
Zengi was assassinated by a slave in his own camp in 1146, just two years after Edessa.