Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Dirham - Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I
| Issuer | Mosul, Emirate of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1193-1211 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Frontal facing bust of a Turkish ruler depicted in a stylized Artuqid artistic tradition, set within a beaded square frame with a star ornament at each corner. The figure is rendered in low relief with schematic facial features characteristic of Mesopotamian medieval Islamic coinage. Marginal inscriptions in Arabic legend surrounding the central square frame contain the mint name and date of issue. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Five-line Arabic Kufic or Naskh inscription occupying the central field, reading the titles and names of the ruler and the Abbasid caliph: the legend references Shah ibn Mas'ud, al-Nasir le-Din Allah Amir al-Mu'minin, al-Malik al-Adil, and Nur al-Dunya wa al-Din. A vertical inscription to the right of the central panel reads 'Atabeg Arslan', while the left margin carries the epithet 'Ibn Mawdud', identifying the issuing Zengid atabeg and his lineage. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Nur al-Din Arslan Shah I ruled Mosul as a Zengid vassal through a period of acute fragmentation following Saladin's death in 1193, when the Ayyubid confederation began pulling apart and regional lords reasserted practical independence. His nearly two-decade reign produced a substantial copper coinage that circulated through a city then functioning as one of the principal commercial nodes between the Jazira and the Tigris trade routes.
The Zengid copper dirham series from Mosul is notable for its relatively consistent weight standards across reigns — a deliberate policy aimed at maintaining local market confidence when silver supplies were irregular.