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Dirham - Nasir al-Din Mahmud citing Ayyubid Abu Bakr, al-Hisn
| Issuer | Artuqid Dynasty of Hisn Kayfa and Amid |
|---|---|
| Year | 1213 |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | A stylized double-headed eagle displayed, standing upon an ornate foliate pedestal with wings fully spread, rendered in bold relief characteristic of Artuqid artistic style. The two heads face outward to left and right respectively, each depicted with pronounced detail. Arabic Kufic inscriptions naming the ruler and the mint of al-Hisn appear in the lateral fields flanking the central device. The entire design is enclosed within a dotted or beaded inner border. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse field bears a five-line Kufic Arabic legend arranged horizontally across the coin, presenting the titles and names of the issuing ruler and his Ayyubid suzerain. The central field reads al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ / Maḥmūd bin Artuq / al-Malik al-ʿĀdil / Abū Bakr in the main lines, with the Abbasid caliph's title al-Nāṣir Amīr al-Muʾminīn disposed in the marginal legend surrounding the field. The bold, angular Kufic script is deeply struck and enclosed within a beaded border, consistent with Artuqid copper dirhams of the period. |
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| Additional information |
Nasir al-Din Mahmud ruled Hisn Kayfa as a vassal under shifting overlords, and this coin documents one of the more diplomatically delicate moments of that arrangement — the explicit citation of the Ayyubid al-Malik al-Awhad Abu Bakr of Mayyafariqin as suzerain. Artuqid rulers routinely named their overlords on coinage as a form of political submission rendered in metal, and the particular combination of names on a single copper fals can often be used to date a reign's allegiances more precisely than textual sources allow.