Dirham - Nasir al-Din Artuq Arslan

Nasir al-Din Artuq Arslan ruled Mardin for nearly half a century — one of the longest reigns in Artuqid history — and his copper dirhams reflect both the dynasty's remarkable artistic ambition and its position as a minor power navigating between the Ayyubids and the Seljuqs. The Artuqids of Mardin were unusual among contemporary Islamic dynasties for investing heavily in figural imagery on base-metal coinage, a tradition scholars link partly to the absorption of local Christian and classical Hellenistic iconographic conventions in the upper Jazira region.

The long date range of this type reflects extended die use across decades rather than a single issue.