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Dirham - Nejm al-Din Alpi ibn Timurtash ibn Eet Ghazi ibn Artuk
| Issuer | Artuqids of Mardin |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | A single frontal human head depicted in low relief at center, enclosed within a plain circular border. The face is rendered in a schematic, stylized manner typical of Artuqid copper coinage of the 6th AH century. Surrounding the central portrait, a circular Arabic legend runs along the periphery of the flan, containing the ruler's titulature and honorific epithets. The flan is irregular and the surface shows typical wear and dark brown patination with areas of green verdigris. |
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| Reverse lettering | نجم الدين الپي بن تمرتاش |
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| Additional information |
Nejm al-Din Alpi ruled Mardin from 1152 to 1176, a reign defined largely by his extraordinary success against the Crusaders — most notably his capture of Joscelin III of Edessa in 1164, whom he held for ransom and eventual release to Nur ad-Din. The Artuqid branch at Mardin operated in permanent tension with the Zengids to their north and west, and Alpi spent much of his reign threading that political needle while maintaining effective local autonomy.
The Artuqids were among the most prolific issuers of figured copper coinage in the medieval Islamic world, continuing pre-Islamic iconographic traditions that most contemporaries had long abandoned.