Qara Arslan ruled Mardin for over three decades as a client ruler navigating the catastrophic aftermath of the Mongol invasions — Hulagu's forces had sacked Baghdad in 1258, extinguishing the Abbasid Caliphate just two years before this issue began. The Artuqid dynasty survived by submitting to Ilkhanid suzerainty, and coins of this period reflect that political calculus in ways the design alone cannot convey.
Copper fals of the Mardin Artuqids from this period are notoriously difficult to attribute precisely due to overlapping type reuse across reigns.
Qara Arslan ruled Mardin for over three decades as a client ruler navigating the catastrophic aftermath of the Mongol invasions — Hulagu's forces had sacked Baghdad in 1258, extinguishing the Abbasid Caliphate just two years before this issue began. The Artuqid dynasty survived by submitting to Ilkhanid suzerainty, and coins of this period reflect that political calculus in ways the design alone cannot convey.
Copper fals of the Mardin Artuqids from this period are notoriously difficult to attribute precisely due to overlapping type reuse across reigns.