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Fractional Dirham - Fakhr al-Din Il-Ghazi I
| Issuer | Artuqids of Halab (Aleppo) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1117-1122 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays a two-line Arabic inscription in Kufic script set within a rectangular panel or linear frame, divided horizontally by a bold ruled line, with the upper register bearing one line of text and the lower register a second line. A double circular border surrounds the inscribed field, with a marginal legend running along the inner rim. The epigraphy likely records the name and titles of the Artuqid ruler Fakhr al-Din Il-Ghazi I along with a religious formula, consistent with contemporaneous Islamic fractional coinage of the Jazira region. |
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| Additional information |
Il-Ghazi I holds an unusual place in the history of the Crusader conflicts — it was his forces that destroyed the army of Roger of Antioch at the Field of Blood in 1119, one of the most decisive Crusader defeats of the twelfth century. These fractional billon pieces were struck during exactly that period of his maximum political authority, when Artuqid control briefly extended into the fractured zones between Aleppo and the Latin principalities.
The billon alloy itself reflects chronic silver shortages across the region during Seljuk fragmentation, when subsidiary coinage was debased out of necessity rather than policy.