Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan, which means “Sword of the Faith Bald (or Short-Haired) Lion”, succeeded his father Qutb al-din, in 580 H (1184 AD), but he could not issue coins as an independent ruler at the beginning of his reign because the very next year the kingdom of Mardin came under Ayyubid domination.

As a result, the name of Saladin, as Yuluq Arslan’s overlord, appears on the reverse of his first coinage as salah al-dunya wa’l-din (“Righteousness of the World and the Faith”) and al-malik al-nasir (“the Victorious King”). These names are placed within a six-pointed star sometimes known as a “Seal of Solomon”, with the date in the six segments around the star.

Yuluq Arslan continued to name Saladin on his coinage until the latter’s death in 589 (1193), and his cousin Qutb al-Din Sukman II, the Artuqid ruler of Hisn Kayfa, did the same.

The figure on the obverse of this coin, with its dishevelled locks appearing like flames, is thought to be a personification of the sun, which was a device frequently seen on classical coinages of the Greeks and Romans.

During the period in which copper pictorial dirhams were struck, motifs related to the sun are often seen, especially on those of Mardin. It has been suggested that this was because of Mardin’s position, perched high above the Syrian plain, like a citadel, on the side of a south-facing mountain. With virtually no obstructions to the south and the relentlessly blazing sun, particularly during the summer, it is hardly surprising that Mardin would choose this device.