Artuqids of Mardin. Nasir al-Din Artuq Arslan. 597-637/1200-1239. AE dirham; 6,99g // 23mm.
Bare-headed and draped bust facing slightly left. Name and titles of Abbasid caliph in five lines; above, Artuqid tamgha flanked by stars. Spengler & Sayles type 40.
Bronze – 611 AH. A: Head 1. Nasir al-Dunya wa al-Din Artuq Arslan Malik Diyarbakr, R: Abfi ‘1
‘Abbas Ahmad / al-Nasir li-din Allah / Amir al-mu’minin / al-Malik al-‘Adil Abu / Bakr bin Ayyub, 1.:
wa sittami’a, r.: ahad ‘ashara. S/S: 40. 7.398 gr. Irregular flan, very fine. (Schulman – Amsterdam 1973.)
The head has Turkish features. The obverse again shows the territorial title Malik Diyarbakr. The reverse the calif al-Nasir and the Ayyubid overlord al-’Adil. Above the text is the Artuqid tamgha between two stars.
The coin is smaller than normal and cannot be connected to any specific event. Grierson and Morrison thought the head to be the “Head of Arethusa”, but that must be considered mere speculation.
