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Dirham - Najm al-Din Alpï
| Issuer | Artuqids of Mardin (Artuqid dynasty) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1152-1176 |
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| Reference(s) | Album Islamic#1827.3, BMC Or#372 |
| Obverse description | Two diademed and draped male busts facing one another at center, rendered in a late antique or Byzantine-influenced style. The laqabs of the ruler Najm al-Din Alpï appear in Arabic legend above and below the busts. A tamgha (dynastic emblem) is placed in the lower left field. The composition is characteristic of Artuqid coinage, which frequently adapted Hellenistic and Byzantine iconographic traditions. |
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| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
Najm al-Din Alpi ruled Mardin for over two decades during a period when the Artuqid branch controlling that city had effectively detached itself from its Mesopotamian cousins at Hisn Kayfa. His reign coincided with the collapse of Zengid unity following Zengi's death in 1146, which gave minor Anatolian dynasties like the Mardin Artuqids unusual room to maneuver between the competing pressures of Byzantium, the Crusader states, and resurgent Seljuq power. The large module bronze coinage associated with his issues reflects a broader 12th-century Jaziran fashion for oversized figural bronzes.