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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 7621312, member: 81887&quot;]I haven&#039;t posted any coins in a while, and although my buying is somewhat down compared to the last couple of years, I have by now accumulated a backlog of coins.&nbsp; So, since I&#039;ve got some time this weekend, I will try to work through the backlog in the next couple of weeks.&nbsp; Starting with:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1311494[/ATTACH] </p><p>Crusader imitative of an Ayyubid AR dirham of Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghiyath ud-Din Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub (1193-1216), issued c. 1216-1260.&nbsp; Obverse and reverse: Arabic inscriptions within hexagram, additional inscriptions along edges.&nbsp; Weakly struck on cracked flan.&nbsp; Album 836.&nbsp; This coin: Purchased from Joel Anderson,&nbsp; late 2020.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The Ayyubid dynasty was founded by the famous Al-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (better known as Saladin) in 1174 AD.&nbsp; Saladin&#039;s initial power base was in Egypt, but he was able to add territory in Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia, Yemen and the Levant.&nbsp; His conquests included much of the Crusader-held territory in the Holy Land, including Jerusalem, though he was unable to take the coastal region.&nbsp; Here&#039;s a map of Ayyubid territory at the time of Saladin&#039;s death in 1193 (map from Wikipedia):</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1311501[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>After Saladin&#039;s death, power over his domains was (unevenly) divided among his three sons and a surviving brother.&nbsp; Az-Zahir Ghazi was the youngest of the three siblings, just 21 at the time of his father&#039;s death (though he was appointed governor of Aleppo and Mosul at age 15) and over the next several years he was out-maneuvered and ended up ruling only the region around Aleppo, Syria.&nbsp; In 1212, he married the daughter of his uncle Al-Adil, ending the rivalry in the family.&nbsp; Az-Zahir died in 1216, leaving the throne of his limited domain to his son.&nbsp;&nbsp; This coin, though copying the designs of Az-Zahir&#039;s coinage, is thought to be a Crusader imitation, probably from the Kingdom of Tripoli, and most likely struck after Az-Zahir&#039;s death.&nbsp; The Crusader imitations have a distinctive style, sometimes bear dates after Az-Zahir&#039;s death, and are of lower silver content than the originals.&nbsp; Album notes, &quot;Ayyubid silver coins were extensively imitated by the Crusaders in the late 12th and 13th centuries, even after the practice was forbidden by papal decree in 1251.&quot;&nbsp; Please post your Ayyubid coins, or Crusader coins, or imitative coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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