After the defeat of Romanus Diogenes at the Battle of Malazgird in 463 H (1071 AD) Byzantine Anatolia was left unprotected against groups of Turkmen bands which made their way westwards into territories that could mount no organised defences. As they went, each group seized whatever land it could, bringing about the gradual transformation of Byzantine Asia Minor into Muslim Turkish Anatolia.

One such group was named after its leader Danishmend (meaning “Wise Man” in Persian). Little is known about the groups’ origins, but the Danishmendids dominated central Anatolia from the late eleventh century AD until around 1174 AD. A romantic epic was written about the Danishmendids which became so famous that, despite its many inaccuracies, it is now difficult to distinguish fact from legend. It is known, however, that they were adversaries of the Saljuqs of Rum, the Byzantines and the last of the Crusaders led by Bohemund of Antioch.

During the reign of al-Malik Muhammad, who rebuilt Qaysariyya (Kayseri) and lived there, the Byzantine John Comnenus made several unsuccessful attempts to recapture strongholds in Cilicia and the Pontic region that the Danishmendids had seized.

On this coin Muhammad combined both Islamic and Byzantine features in his protocol. In its style of script and the wording of the ruler’s title the Greek legend on the obverse, “The King of All Rome”, establishes a connection between Danishmendid coins and Byzantine seals.

When the Danishmendids settled in Anatolia, where the population was largely Christian, the only circulating coinage was a limited amount of Byzantine copper from Constantinople, as no mints had been active in Anatolia for hundreds of years.

It can thus be concluded that only local seal-cutters would have been capable of preparing the coin dies. As neither they nor the generally illiterate local population knew any Arabic, it was natural for them to use Greek letters to ensure that the coins would be acceptable in trade.

Malik Muhammad received his title from both the Abbasid caliph al-Mustarshid and the Great Saljuq Sanjar in recognition of his father Amir Ghazi’s victories over the Christians.