The Artuqid Atabegs of Mardin, 502-812 H/1108-1409 AD
Legend & Design
Legend & Design
Obverse
In centre
Male figure riding a lion to left, head and body facing, arms raised with right hand outstretched holding a cup and left hand holding a dagger pointing downwards, wearing a flowing robe and high boots; the leopard’s mouth open with tongue protruding
Around
in transitional Kufic beginning at 1:00 al-malik al-‘alim al-‘adil nasir (al-din) artuq arslan malik diyar (bakir)
“the Enlightened, the Just King, Defender of the Faith, Artuq Lion, Ruler of Diyarbakir”
Reverse
Field
al-imam al-nasir / li-din allah amir / al-mu’minin
“the Imam al-Nasir li-Din Allah, Commander of the Faithful
to right upwards sitt, above wa sitt, to left downwards mi’a
“six and six hundred”
in margin from 1:00 al-malik al-‘adil sayf al-din abu bakr ibn ayyub duriba bi-mardin sana
“the Just King, Sword of the Faith, Abu Bakr ibn Ayyub struck in Mardin the year”
Historical Note
Historical Note
In the year 606 H (1209-10 AD) the ruler of the Ayyubids, al-‘Adil Abu Bakr I, marched out of Cairo with the intention of sorting out the political situation in Anatolia and Mesopotamia. This was the first time he had led the Ayyubid army himself, having in the past left this task to his sons al-Awhad Ayyub and al-Ashraf Musa.
He first forced the Georgians to withdraw from Armenia, and then turned his attention to Mesopotamia, in the hope of reducing the power of the Zangid Qutb al-Din Muhammad of Sinjar.
He captured the town of Nisibin, now Nusaybin on the border of Turkey and Syria, and went on to lay siege of Sinjar. On his arrival he found himself opposed by a coalition of Zangids, Begteginids, Rum Saljuqs and dissident Ayyubids. The Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir li-Din, however, arranged a peace settlement that allowed al-‘Adil Abu Bakr to keep Nisibin.
Meanwhile Artuq Arslan, the Artuqid ruler of Mardin, and Nasir al-Din Mahmud of Hisn Kayfa kept out of the conflict, giving their support to al-‘Adil Abu Bakr, because now they felt more threatened by the Zangids than by the Ayyubids.
This coin gives the name of the Ayyubid ruler as “The Just King, Sword of the Faith, Abu Bakr” in the reverse legend. The man seen riding on a lion on the obverse has been thought to represent Mars in the constellation Leo, an astrological reference that would have been familiar to many. It has also been described as a depiction of the god Dionysus riding on the back of a leopard, or perhaps a panther which was frequently seen as his companion in antiquity.
The people of the time, however, probably saw the image of the ruler, “Artuq the Lion”, acting out his name by insouciantly riding on the back of a prancing lion.
