Jazirat ibn ‘Umar on the Tigris River north of Mosul, today’s Cizre in south-east Turkey, was a Saljuq provincial centre that was annexed to the kingdom of Mosul by the founder of the Zangid dynasty, ‘Imad al-Din Zangi I, in around 521 H (1127 AD). It remained in the hands of Zangi’s descendants until the death of Sayf al-Din Ghazi II in 576 (1180), who willed it to his younger son Mu‘izz al-Din Sanjar to rule independently.

This was the third statelet to be created from Zangi’s original power base in Mosul, and its mint was located in the town of Jazirat ibn ‘Umar. There were only three Zangid rulers of the Jazira before the territory passed into the hands of the Ayyubids.

Unlike many of the copper dirhams of this time this one does not bear any pictorial images. Its central motif, in the centre of the obverse, is the Zangid tamgha (seal).

Tamghas of this type were the ancient tribal marks which were adopted by every Turkish tribe to brand their livestock and identify their possessions. It would thus have been familiar to most inhabitants of the Zangid lands.

This one is believed to represent a stylized thunderbolt, and apparently resembles a similar device, used as a tribal brand stamped on the rump of a horse, found on a fourth century BC silver tetradrachm struck by the Danubian Celts. It is possible that the Zangids derived the motive from this ancient source, but it is more likely to have been from a symbol within their own Turkish heritage.

These are by far the heaviest coins in the Turkmen copper series, the lightest weighing 28.82 grams and the heaviest 35.09.