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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 24900360, member: 81887&quot;][ATTACH=full]1600073[/ATTACH] </p><p>(photo borrowed from seller)</p><p>Crusaders, Principality of Antioch.&nbsp; AE follis.&nbsp; Tancred as regent (1104-1112).&nbsp; Obverse: Tancred facing, holding sword over shoulder and wearing turban.&nbsp; Reverse: Cross, in 4 quadrants abbreviated Greek legend IC XC NIKA (Jesus Christ Conquers).&nbsp; This coin: Forum Ancient Coins, December 2023.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Tancred was born around 1075 to a noble Norman family.&nbsp; In 1096, he accompanied his uncle Bohemond on the First Crusade.&nbsp; He showed a great military strategic mind in leading troops into the Levant through Cilicia, capturing strategic sites along the way. He was part of the siege of Antioch in 1098 and was among the first Crusaders to enter Jerusalem in 1099.&nbsp; (He claimed to be the very first, but this was disputed.)&nbsp; He became regent of Antioch in 1100 while his uncle Bohemond was prisoner of the Danishmendid Turks (which lasted until 1103), and in 1104 also took over the County of Edessa when Baldwin II was captured by the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Edessa.&nbsp; Also in 1104, Bohemond returned to Europe to recruit more soldiers, leaving Tancred regent at Antioch again.&nbsp; In late 1108 Baldwin was released and had to fight Tancred to regain possession of Edessa.&nbsp; Meanwhile, Bohemond had signed a treaty swearing an oath of fealty to the Byzantine emperor Alexius I, but Tancred refused to honor the treaty, keeping Antioch independent of the Byzantines.&nbsp; Tancred died in 1112 in a typhoid epidemic.</p><p><br /></p><p>This coin appealed to me because of the portrait of Tancred.&nbsp; It is somewhat worn, but the main features are reasonably clear, showing a long, straight beard, a high forehead, and most interestingly, a turban atop his head.&nbsp; Why would a Christian, European Crusader portray himself wearing a turban?&nbsp; Presumably it is some sort of attempt to appeal to the locals and show that he accepted at least some part of their culture.&nbsp; An interesting coin, from an interesting period of history that I haven&#039;t explored much before now.&nbsp; Please post your related coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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