Artuqids of Mardin

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Pellinore, Jun 29, 2020.

  1. Valentinian

    Valentinian Well-Known Member

    Thank you, @svessien ! That is an excellent site. It has some good links that I didn't notice at first. For example, click on "Coins" and then on a particular coin and at the upper right is "Historical note" which tells a lot about the type, and also the link "Legend and Design" gives and translates the legends, which is very helpful for those of us who don't read Arabic.

    How about this as part of a legend?
    “Resplendent Moon of the World and the Faith, Lu‘lu‘, the Perfect King, the Honoured King.”
    Not too modest!
    It is on this coin:
    https://www.davidmus.dk/en/collections/islamic/dynasties/late-abbasids/coins/c307?show=design

    Here is my example, bought in 1985.

    SS68MosulBakrAlDinLuLu8581.jpg

    25 mm. 6.06 grams.
    Atabegs of Mosul. Bakr al-din Lu'Lu (1233-1258)
    Bust left in square, legend outside
    / legend in four lines with legend (quoted above) around

    Spengler and Sayles 68. Album 1874.1.

    The one thing the coins on that website lack is citations to standard references such as Album's Checklist. From the site alone you would not know their excellent example is Album 1874.1 which is S/S 68.
     
    Quant.Geek, TIF, 7Calbrey and 9 others like this.
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. BenSi

    BenSi Well-Known Member

    Got a new one yesterday, not beautiful but very rare. It is also SS1

    a4.jpg

    ARTUQIDS.Fakhr al-Din Qara Arslan.1148-1174 AD.AE Dirhem. Facing bust of Christ Pantokrator / Partial mint formula and name and pedigree of Fakhr al-Din Qara Arslan in four lines and margins. S&S Type 1; Album 1820.1.Very fine.RARE.

    Weight : 4.5 gr

    Diameter : 24 mm
     
    Quant.Geek, TIF, 7Calbrey and 8 others like this.
  4. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    I picked up a few Artuquid AE dirhams as post auction lots in the Roma 81 E-Sale. I also won one during that auction:

    Artuqids of Mardin, Quth al-Din II-Ghazi II Æ Dirham. Uncertain mint, AH 572-580 = AD 1176-1185. Diademed head gazing upwards, in beaded square, legend around / Five-line legend in Naskhi script. S/S 31.1; Album 1828.1; ICV1204. 11.93g, 32mm, 10h.

    Good Very Fine.

    D-Camera Artuquids of Mardin Qutb al-Din II -Ghazi II, AE dirham SS 31 Roma 11.8g 3-24-21.jpg

    Here's another lot from that sale. This is a rather scarce coin, albeit somewhat corroded:

    Artuqids (Amid & Hisn Kayfa), Quth al-Din, Sukman II Æ Dirham. Uncertain mint, AH 594 = AD 1197-1198. Nimbate half-figure with prominent almond-shaped eyes holding sceptre and globe / Four-lined legend citing the Abbasid Caliph. S/S 14; ICV 1822.3; ICV 1186. 9.74g, 28mm, 1h.

    Very Fine.

    D-Camera Artuquids of Amid and Hisn Kayfa AE dirham Quth al-Din Sukman II 9.74g AH594 4-22-21.jpg

    And one more, another scarce type:

    Artuqids (Amid & Hisn Kayfa), Nasir al-Din Mahmud Æ Dirham. Al-Hisn mint, AH 610 = AD 1213-1214. Double-headed eagle with spread wings , Artuqid tamgha on breast / Four-lined legend citing the overlord Ayyubid Abu Bakr. S/S 15; Album 1823.1; ICV 1187. 14.03, 29mm, 2h.

    Very Fine; traces of active corrosion.

    D-Camera Artuqids Amid - Hisn Kayfa, Nasir al-Din Mahmud Æ Dirham.14.03g AH 610  4-22-21.jpg

    While there are green spots, I did soak the coin in distilled water and washing soda, and they proved to be very hard, not powdery. So, I stopped the soaking process, since I did not want to loose the patina and be left with a bright coin with lots of hard green areas. The coin is current "under observation" to see if there are any changes with the green, which I think are spots of verdigris.
     
    Last edited: Apr 22, 2021
    Valentinian, Quant.Geek, TIF and 5 others like this.
  5. +VGO.DVCKS

    +VGO.DVCKS Well-Known Member

    Wow, @BenSi, that's the first example from the series I've ever seen that imitates the anonymous folles. Granted, that many other issues imitate Byzantine ones, sometimes with no less explicitly religious content. It's fun, however speculatively, to attribute part of this to the Quranic perception of the underlying theology, along with the relative accidents of economic, cultural and monetary history, attendant to these folks, especially as far out on the fringes of the Islamic world as they were.
     
    TIF, paschka, Sulla80 and 1 other person like this.
  6. Sulla80

    Sulla80 Well-Known Member

    An interesting coin and the usual, unusual mash-up of symbols. This coin that I added recently is one of the more common types. Is is on the high end of weight range at 13.77g (most are 11-13g). The first Artuqids of Mardin coin to recognize an Abbasid Calif, and the first to use the Kalimah. The female head on the reverse perhaps inspired by representations of Medusa. Astrological Gemini obverse and Virgo reverse are "Day House" and "Night House" of Mercury.
    Artuqids Najm al-Din Alpi.jpg
    Islamic, Anatolia & al-Jazira (Post-Seljuk), Artuqids (Mardin), Najm al-Din Alpi, AH 555-566 / AD 1160-1170, Dirham (Bronze, 33.3mm, 13.77g, 3h).
    Obv: Two diademed heads facing, turned slightly away from one another; legend around in Kufic, 'la ilaha illa Allah / Muhammad rasul Allah / al-Mustanjid billah / Amir al-Mu'minin'.
    Rev: Youthful female head facing within beaded circle; around within beaded circle, legend in Kufic, 'Najm al-Din / Malik Diyarbakr / Alpi ibn Il-Ghazi / ibn Artuq'.
    Ref: Spengler & Sayles 30.1
     
  7. +VGO.DVCKS

    +VGO.DVCKS Well-Known Member

    @Sulla80, to mix cliche, here are my two cents, for what they're worth. The Artuqids, and the neighboring polities who followed their example where larger- module AE was concerned, only got to be that good at imitating Roman and (--stop me for redundancy: Oops, Too Late) Byzantine prototypes because their own esthetic was that sophisticated in the first place. Witness the degree to which each 'imitation' of a given motif was visually 'riffed on.'
    With that as ostensible, inexorably speculative context, I have to wonder whether sometimes, as in the case of your resonantly cool example, they were doing this same, anachronistically figurative stuff from their own prototypes --and /or, for all we know, none at all.
     
    7Calbrey and Sulla80 like this.
  8. dltsrq

    dltsrq Grumpy Old Man

    The Turks were recently arrived from Central Asia and beneath a veneer of traditional Islam, must have retained elements of pre-Islamic Turkic culture. Clearly they were impressed with the Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins which they encountered. Some suggest that Nestorian Christians in the Turkish courts may have influenced the coinage.
     
    Last edited: Apr 23, 2021
  9. +VGO.DVCKS

    +VGO.DVCKS Well-Known Member

    @dltsrq, resonantly illuminating points on all counts. --Nestorians!! Of Course!! To wallow in the obvious, they were prominent in Mongol courts by the 13th century.
     
  10. BenSi

    BenSi Well-Known Member

    A Few New Ones.

    b3.jpg
    ISLAMIC, Anatolia & al-Jazira (Post-Seljuk). Artuqids (Mardin). Najm al-Din Alpi, AH 547-572 / AD 1152-1176. Dirhem (Bronze, 30.5 mm, 13.82 g, 3 h), unlisted mint, possibly Mardin. Diademed Seleukid-style bust to right; laqab of Alpi across neck. Rev. Name and ancestors of Alpi: 'Îl-Ghazi/ Malik al-umarâ / Abû al-Muzaffar / Alpî bin (in Arabic) in four lines; to right and left, Timurtash bin / bin Artuq' (in Arabic). Album 1827. S&S Type 27. Fine portrait and strike. Black surfaces. Light roughness, otherwise, good very fine.

    And this one just in.
    a4.jpg

    Left face missing detail, other than that aEF

    ARTUQID of MARDIN.Najim al-Din Alpi.1152-1176 AD.No Mint.558 AD.AE Dirhem.Confronted draped male busts / Byzantine emperor standing facing, being crowned by the Virgin Mary.Album 1827.3; SS-28.

    Condition: Extrelemy fine.

    Weight: 16.6 gr
    Diameter: 33 mm

    Been very picky with new adds for this newer collection. Just thought I would share.
     
  11. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    Very interesting coins @BenSi
     
    BenSi likes this.
  12. Valentinian

    Valentinian Well-Known Member

    There are Turkoman figural bronze coins not in those two volumes. They would have been in volume 3, which did not appear. I thought it might be useful to have ID numbers for the other types, so I wrote a page on them. Wayne Sayles and especially Steve Album helped:

    "Turkoman Figural Bronze Coins: A Supplement to Spengler and Sayles"

    http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Turkoman/Turkoman.html

    This page lists figural types of the
    Ayyubids (here),
    Danishmendids (here),
    Seljuqs of Rûm (here), and minor dynasties including the
    Begteginids, Begtimurids, Salduqids, and Menkujakids (here).

    This coin of Saladin is one of the Ayyubid coins.

    SSSAy3SaladinAlbum791p4n2114.jpeg
    28 mm. SSS Ayyubid 3. ("SSS" for Spengler and Sayles Supplement)
    Sultanate of Egypt
    al-Nasir I Salah al-Din Yusuf (Saladin)
    AH 564-589. AD 1169-1193
    Figure seated cross-legged, with chair back, holding orb, legend around/3-line legend, legend around

    Album 791.4 "S" date "586." 791.5 is similar but lighter. Balog 182, X.
    Mitchner WoI 815.

    Here is the URL again: http://augustuscoins.com/ed/Turkoman/Turkoman.html
     
  13. BenSi

    BenSi Well-Known Member

    @Valentinian , thats a great website, that addition with the books is invaluable. Thank you for writing and posting it.
     
    7Calbrey and paschka like this.
  14. BenSi

    BenSi Well-Known Member

    Another to add, I bought it last weekend from Savoca , love them got it yesterday. To be honest it just caught my attention and I knew I did not have it. Turns out I got a really rare one,

    i4.jpg

    Anatolia and Al-Jazirah (Post-Seljuk). Artuqids (Mardin). Husam al-Din Timurtash AH 516-547.
    Dirhem Æ

    25 mm, 6,30 g

    Seems to match SS-25 , in the price guide it gives no price just Extremely rare.
     
  15. BenSi

    BenSi Well-Known Member

    A new one, I don't want to start a new thread, especially since I learned the most about these coins from this one. Here is one @robinjojo already showed an example of.
    I got it in a group lot and I am extremely happy with this worn example. decapitated head and all.
    k3.jpg
    Artuquids of Mardin, AD 596 (1199-1200)
    Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan
    AE dirham
    Obverse: Turkish soldier seated cross-legged, holding raised sword and severed helmeted head by crest.
    Reverse: Names of the caliph, Ayyubid overload and Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan around.
    Album 1829 SS-
     
  16. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Wow! Those are spectacular!
     
    BenSi likes this.
  17. BenSi

    BenSi Well-Known Member

    Thank You Tiff, I have found this series very addictive and greatly undervalued.
     
    TIF likes this.
  18. Severus Alexander

    Severus Alexander find me at NumisForums

    I got one of these in a recent Leu... very happy with all the detail (including blood flowing from the decapitated head), thankfully it flew under the radar of some of the more deep-pocketed bidders!
    04615q00.jpg
     
  19. Nvb

    Nvb Well-Known Member

    Here are a couple of the better Islamic bronzes from my collection. Possibly my 2 favourites - I only have these obverse shots on my phone in decent quality.

    Not seen yet in this thread:
    EF0DC280-27E5-4E85-8268-48B38391EFA8.jpeg
    Ruler: Nur al-Din Muhammad.
    Obv: Angel facing with right wing raised - holding serpent.
    Rev: Name and titles of Nur al-Din in 5 lines.
    Mint: Hisn Kayfa or Amid.
    Very Scarce in this condition. Ref: S&S type 9.
    28mm, 11.72gm.


    One of the only coins I’ve done some cleaning work on - turned out well IMO
    FD1F7EE8-DFA3-4FE2-82B3-723DC24E0CD8.jpeg
    ISLAMIC, Anatolia & al-Jazira (Post-Seljuk). Artuqids (Mardin) . Nasir al-Din Artuq Arslan. AH 597-637 / AD 1200-1239. Æ Dirhem.
    Mardin mint. Dated AH 599 (AD 1202/3). Centaur advancing right, head facing, drawing bow at head of dragon emerging from his tail; mint name and AH date around / Names and titles of Abbasid caliph al-Nasir and Ayyubid overlord in four lines; name of Nasir al-Din Artuq Arslan in margins. Whelan Type II, pp. 111-2; S&S Type 38.2; Album 1830.2.
     
    Last edited: Nov 25, 2021
  20. Larryjhs

    Larryjhs New Member

    Hello I am new to this part of coin collecting, but I can read Arabic in some sort of way. There is actually the original transcription of the coin below in Lane Poole Catalogue of oriental coins in the British museum vol.3, p. 163.

    However, I'd love to see, if possible, a scan or photo of S&S Type 43 so I can fill in my own notes about this coin. I can't make out the mint name, but that could be on my coin. It could appear on other examples.

    Lane Poole also notes that there are flourishes over a couple of the words in Arabic -- he has a supplement about the various marks at page 293 for such decorations. Maybe S&S has updated all this.

    [I can't work out how to upload/ insert images here, otherwise I would]






    View attachment 1138235

    AE dirham Artuqids of Mardin, 620 AH = 1223 AD. Nasir al-Din Artuq Arslan (597-637h/1201-1239 AD). Obv.: Roman-style, bare head right; name and titles of Artuq Arslan around. Rev.: Names of Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir and Ayyubid overlord al-Kamil Muhammad in five lines; mint and AH date in margins. 26 mm, 13.92 gr. Whelan Type VI; S&S Type 43; Album 1830.7.

    In the book by Spengler and Sayles you always find theories about the reasons of the figures, quite interesting. In the case of this coin, they think it might go back to a Roman coin of the emperor Tiberius.

    I'm sure many of you have nice Artuqids, so... post them, please![/QUOTE]
     
    BenSi, svessien, robinjojo and 2 others like this.
  21. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    [/QUOTE]

    Nice coin!

    Here are the steps to upload and insert your images.

    1. After selecting Upload a File at the bottom of your post, go down the list of files in your computer's folder and select a file. All of my uploaded files are jpg.

    2. After the file has been uploaded, with your mouse or finger pad, select the point in your text where you want the image is to appear. All inserted images are left justified.

    3. Go to the image and select full image (my preference), or you can select thumbnail. The image will appear at the selected point.

    Note: The image size limit seems to be set at around 60 MB. When I create my images I try to keep them at around 50 MB to avoid uploading issues.

    Also, there is a 100 character limit on the image's text, so I often use a lot of abbreviations when creating images I intend to upload for CT, in the hope that I remember what they mean when I actually post the image, a byproduct of turning 70 this year. You will be notified if the description is over the limit. Then you'll need to go back to the file in your computer, edit the description to what seems be be at or under 100 characters and upload again.

    Hope this helps.
     
    BenSi, +VGO.DVCKS and svessien like this.
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page