This is the last coinage type of Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan, and its rather gruesome image of a figure holding a severed head may have had political significance. While the reverse legend continues to inscribe Yuluq Arslan’s name, with his title Ruler of Diyarbakir and the names of his father and grandfather, he names two Ayyubid overlords, al-Malik al-Afdal ‘Ali, former Ayyubid ruler of Damascus and his younger brother al-Zahir Ghazi, ruler of Aleppo, both sons of Saladin.

The legends omit the name of Saladin’s brother, al-‘Adil Abu Bakr, who at that time was laying siege to Mardin, while al-Afdal ‘Ali and al-Zahir Ghazi were attacking Damascus in the hope of curtailing their uncle’s growing power. As a result al-‘Adil Abu Bakr had to leave his son al-Kamil maintaining the siege in Mardin while he returned to Damascus. By the time this coin was struck the brothers were gaining the upper hand, and the omission of al-‘Adil Abu Bakr’s name indicates Yuluq Arslan’s understandable shift in allegiance.

On the obverse the name Nur al-Din Atabeg refers to Nur al-din Arslan Shah, the Zangid Atabeg of Mosul. It was inscribed because he had come to Yuluq Arslan’s aid, and defeated al-Kamil in battle forcing him to withdraw to Mayyafariqin and thus raising the siege of Mardin.

The figure on the obverse of this coin is a representation of the planet Mars, the god of war. Mars was often portrayed as a seated figure in Islamic iconography, and here he holds a sabre in his right hand and a severed head in his left, the reddish colour of the planet itself being associated with the shedding of blood. Clearly the choice of this image was an appropriate one when the Artuqids had narrowly been saved by their allies from a fatal defeat.