The Artuqid Rulers of Mardin, 502-812 H/1108-1409 AD
Legend & Design
Legend & Design
Obverse
Within beaded circle
diademed male bust facing slightly to the left, wearing a triangular jewelled tiara, with small wings above, long locks of hair falling to each side and behind.
from 5:00 to 7:00 in angular simple Kufic al-malik al-‘alim al-‘adil najm al-din malik diyarbakir
“The Enlightened, Just King, Star of the Faith, Ruler of Diyarbakir”
Reverse
Within beaded circle
female bust facing, wearing three-pointed crown and necklace, curled tresses falling on each side.
from 5:00 to 7:00 in simple Kufic: abu’l-muzaffar alpi ibn timurtash ibn il-ghazi ibn artuq sana
at 3:00 thaman wa khamsin, 9:00 wa khamsmi’a
“Father of Victory, Alpi ibn Timurtash ibn Il-Ghazi ibn Artuq year eight and fifty and five hundred"
Historical Note
Historical Note
This coin was struck eleven years into Najm al-Din Alpi’s thirty-five year reign, and is the first one to bear a date, 558 H. Alpi set out very modestly, but by this time the titles he claims for himself on the obverse – al-malik al-‘alim al-‘adil najm al-din malik diyarbakir (“the Enlightened, Just King, Star of the Faith, Ruler of Diyarbakir”) show that he now felt free from the domination of his father, Timurtash.
The reverse, as on Alpi’s previous coins, describes him as abu’l-muzzafar alpi, “Father of Victory Alpi”, with the names of his father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
It is not easy to identify the images on this coin because they do not resemble any known prototype, either ancient or contemporary.
It has been suggested that the obverse male figure, wearing a tiara, is a Turkish interpretation of the planet Mercury, while the crowned figure on the reverse is identified as a woman because of the necklace she wears, and is thought to represent Virgo.
This coin, the preceding issue and Alpi’s final issue all appear to depict the day and night houses of Mercury, and it is almost certainly an allusion to the exultation of the planet Mercury in the constellation of Virgo. Because of the similarity of the workmanship of these coins to those of Hisn Kayfa, it is believed that the Artuqids employed the same travelling artists to design their coins. This one marks the full development of the Turkmen copper series, and shows great virtuosity in its design, with bold portrait-like figures.
