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Dirham - Muzaffar al-Din Kokburi Lion-rider type - Irbil mint
| Issuer | Begtegīnid dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1190-1218 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Dirham (0.7) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field depicts a ruler or warrior figure seated astride a walking lion facing right, the rider shown in profile holding a raised sword. The lion is rendered in a bold, stylized manner characteristic of Artuqid and related Jaziran coinage traditions. A beaded border encircles the design. Arabic inscription in Kufic-influenced script appears in the lower field below the lion, and a date inscription occupies the upper field. The composition reflects the iconographic tradition of power and sovereignty common to 12th–13th century northern Mesopotamian copper coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
Muzaffar al-Din Kokburi governed Irbil as a semi-autonomous vassal under Saladin and later the Ayyubids for nearly four decades, yet managed to maintain a strikingly independent local coinage throughout. The lion-rider type is among the most discussed of all Artuqid-influenced coppers precisely because its iconography draws on pre-Islamic Central Asian traditions that had no business surviving this deep into the Ayyubid sphere — and yet here it is.
Kokburi is also remembered as the originator of the Mawlid al-Nabi as a large-scale public festival at Irbil, which drew scholars and poets from across the Islamic world annually.