A contribution to Dānishmendid history : the figured copper coins / Estelle J. Whelan

8/10/2019 A contribution to Dnishmendid history : the figured copper coins / Estelle J. Whelan

1/37

ANSMN 25 1980)

1980

The

American

Nu m ism a c

Society

A CONTRIBUTION

TO

DNISHMENDID HISTORY:

THE

FIGURED COPPER COINS

(PLATES

16-17)

ESTELLE

J.

WHELAN

The

Dnishmendids were

a

Turkish family

w ho

dominated central

Anatolia

from

the

late

eleventh

Century

to the

third

quarter of the

twelf th. Despite their important role s adversaries of the Seljqids

of

R u m ,

the

Comnenian

rulers

of

B yzant ium,

and the

early

Crusaders,

little

detailed evidence on their origins and

activities

is available.

The few surviving monumental inscriptions were collected and de-

ciphered by van

Berchem

in

1912.

1

Melikoff

and

Cahen

have gathered

the

references

from Syriac, Greek, L atin, and A rabic chronicles and re-

constructed the basic outline of events connected

with

the family.2

Melikoff

has also published amajo r study of the romantic epicin

which

Dnishmend himself figures s hero, definitively separating the many

elements

of

legend

from

the few

reliable fa cts

on the

fam ily's origins

and

early

history.3

In addition to these limited sources, the Dnishmendids have left us

a^series of copper coins, w hich are bo th va lua ble s historical docu m ents

and intriguing

for a

number

of odd

features that characterize

them.

M. vanBerchem,

pigraphie

desDanishmendides, Zeitschrift

fr

Assyriologie

27

(1912),pp. 85-91.

2

EI2 s.v. Dnishmendids (Mel ikoff ) ; and C.Cahen, Pre-Oltoman Turkey(New

York, 1968).

I. Melikoff, La

geste

de

Melik

Dni?mend 2vols.

(Paris,

1960).

133


2/37

TABLE l

Genealogy

o

Dnishmendd. 497

=Christian?

Ghz

d. 528

bint

Fulnah

Yaghan

Muhammad

d. 536 wa

d.507

Fulnah

d.

Dh'1-Nn

d. 570

=b.

Salduq

554

=b. N ur

al-DIn

ofAleppo

before

567

Ibrahim

=

Fulnah

Ism'il

543-567

=b.Mas'dI

widow

Yagh

Basn)559

ad bint

528

=

Mas'd

I of

Konyac. 510

Qilij

Arsln Sanjarshh

II ofKonya

12

sons

Saljfiqah

554-586

Muhammad

ofKayf

before 579

'Ayn

al-Dawls

=b.ibn

Qilij

of

Konya

bint

YaghI

Basn531

Ism'H

559

d. 547

bi i

ArslnI

gu

of

zii

Ist

--Fuinah

=Others

nt

Yaghl

Basn

d. 559

Man-

=b.Mas'd I

ijak

of

Konya

531

=widow M u-

hammad

536

Dh'l-Qarnayn

d. 556

Fulnah

Muhammad

d. 573

Qsim

522-567

=b.

Qar Arsln

of Kayf 567

Af r idnd. 570

=widow

Qsim

567

*

Mahmud

d.

after

602

AtsizAltay

d.after60 7

III Ysuf bint

Qar

Arsln

of

Kayf

n

o

Z

fl

O


3/37

136 E S T E L L E

.1.

W H E L N

T h i s b o d y o f material w as part ial ly identif ied in ihe late n i n e t e e n t h

C e n t u r y ; C a s a n o v a provide d the m o s t nearly complete of the

early

studies.

4

S o me of

b is

more serious errors were later corrected by

Laurent.5

U n t i l

n o w, ho we v e r ,

there

has

been

n o

detailed

an d

systematic study

of these

coins , among the earliest to r e i n t r o d u c e f igural imagery to

Islamiccoinage

in the m e d i a e v a l

period. Here

w e

shalle x a m i n e

th e

k n o w n

D n i s h m e n d i d coin types,

trace

the sources o f their imagery, an d

attempt to

establish their chronological sequence

in

relation

to

k n o w n

political events.

D n i s h m e n d died

in

A . H . 4 9 7 / A .D .

1104 and was succeededs headof

the

family

by his son A m i r

G h a z i ,

who was in

turn succeeded

b y a

son,

M u h a m m a d , in 528/1134 (see T ab l e 1 : G e n e a lo g y ) . U p o n the death of

M u h a m m a d at

Kayseri

in

536/1142, however,

th e family split

into

three

branches,

with

capitals at M a l a t y a h , K a y s e r i , an d

Sivas.

T he coins

st r u c k after 5 3 6 will therefore be presented in the s e q u e n c e in w h i c h

they

seem

to

have been issued

at

each

of

these

three

cities, followed

by a

f i n a l

general section

o n

c hr o n o l o g y

and a c o n c l u d i n g

n o t e

o n

f i g u r a l

imagery.

6

E A R L Y D N I S H M E N D I D S

1 .

M I R G H Z I ( A .H .

497-528/A.D.

1104-34)

Type

A

Plate

16, 1.

Obv : Pearled circle encloses inscription in crude Greek uncials,

laid

out in f o u r rather u n e v e n lines:7

4

P . C asan o v a,

Xumismatique

des

Danichmendiles

(Paris, 1896) (hereafter, Casa-

n o v a) . T his work is a sep arate rep rin t of

C asan o v a ' s

articles in RN 1894-96.

J. L a u r e n t , S u r les e m i r s d a n i c h m e n d i t e s j u s q u ' e n 1104, Melanges

o f f r l s

M Nicolas lorga (Paris,

1933),

pp. 499-506.

6

I am g r a te fu l to the

fol lowing

persons for permission t o e x a m i n e t h e D n i s h -

m e n d i d

co in s

in

their possession

o r

care: I b rahim Bey

an d C e r i y e H a n u m

A r t u k

o f

th e

I s t a n b u l A r ke oloj i

M z e s i ( I A M ) ;

I b r a h i m

B ey

T z e n

of the Y a p i v e K r e d i

Ba nka si ,

I s t a n b u l ( Y K B ) ; N . L o w i c k of the B r i t i s h M u s e u m( B M ) ; M . L . Bates o f

the

American

N u m i s m a t i c

Society;

a n d M r . J .

S l o c u m

(JSColl .) .

7 T h e terms obverse an d

reverse

are b e i n g used here o n l y to c o n f o r m to

n u m i s -

ma tic c o n v e n t i o n . N o d i e s t u d y h a s be e n u n d e r t a k e n a n d

\ v h a t

is meant by obverse

t h r o u g h o u t

is the

side

of the

c o in s

o n

w h i c h

the

i n s c r i p t i o n b e g i n s ;

the

reverse,

of

course, is the

side

on

w h i c h

it

c o n c l u d e s .


4/37

D N I S H M E N D I D F I G U R E D C O P P E R O I N S 1 3 7

O M E T A C

T h e great

A M H P A C

amlr

A M H PTA Amlr G h

Z H C

zi

8

Sometimes the sigmas at the ends of the lines are reversed.

O n

at

least

one

example there

is an

ornamental device centered

above

the

inscription;

it

consists

of an Xwitha dot

centered

in

each of the four spaces.9

Rev.: Bust of C hrist with

cruciform

halo encircled by pearled

ba nd.

O n some examples the halo itself,

s

well

s

th e arms of the

cross,

is

outlined

in pearls.

O ccas iona lly

th e

bust

is flanked

by the abbreviations I C a nd XC T he known e xa mple s of this

type are so poor in quality that precise description of

details

is

impossible,

but one

specimen

in the

Bibliotheque Nationale,

Paris,

has one pearl centered in eacharm of the crossand two

pearls

on the

ehest,

suggesting

that

the

figure

m a y

be

grasping

a codex.

10

See: Butak, no. 104; C asanova,

pl.

3, 1-2; Sch lum berge r, nos.3 5.

u

C oins examined: Y KB , 1.

8 The Arabic equivalent of this inscription would be al-A mlr al-Ka bir A m l r

Ghzl.

9

C a b in e t

des

M edailles, Bibliotheque Na tionale, P aris, published

in

C asan o va,

pl. 3, 2.

10

C ab in et des M edailles, Bibliothe que Nationale, Paris, published in C asanova,

pl. 3, 1.

11 In

addition

to

C asanova, references

to

coins

are to

A r t u k

(I. and C.

A r tu k ,

Istanbul

Arkeoloji

Mzeleri Tehirdeki

slmi Sikkeler Katalogu,

l

[Istanbul, 1971]);

Butak (B.Butak, XL XII. veXIII. Yzyillarda Resimli Trk Paralari [Istanbul,

1947]); Schlumberger (G. Schlumberger,

U ne

nouvelle monnaie a legende grecque

des emirs

danichmendides

de

C appadoce: M onnaie

de

cuivre bilingue

de

D 'so u l-

Karne'in, emir de Melitene vers le milieu duxne

siecle, Mtlanges d archlologie

byzan-

iine [Paris, 1895]); and Tevhid (A. Tevhid, Meskkt-i Kadime-i

Islmiye

Katalogu,

4

[Istanbul,

1903]).


5/37

138

E S T E L L E

J.

W H E L A N

S ources: A s far s can be judged from very worn specimens,

this

type

seems to have been

derived

from pre-reform copper coins of A l ex iu s I

C o m n e n u s ( A .D .

1081-1118)

struck in C o n s t a n t in o p le

before

A . D .

1092.12

Most of

A lex iu s '

post-reform

e x a m p l e s

differ

slightly

in

detail,

13

s

do

those ofbis

successor,

J o h n II ( A . D .1118-43).14

T he a n o n y m o u s folles of the late tenth and eleventh centuries also

seem rather

similar ,

t h o u g h no

e x a m p l e

on

which

the b u s t is cut off s

short s

on

G h z l ' s

coin seems to exist. B ut

O r n a m e n t s

s im ila r to

that

on

the fr o n t of Ghzl's coin are p a r t ic u la r ly f r e q u e n t on coins ofa n o n y -

m o u sclassA .

15

Furthermore, the

rather

b l u n t Greek

script

seems some-

w h a t

related.

T he t i tulary, however, c learly owes no thin g to By zan tine coins.

It

is of

a S t a n d a r d Islamictype translated into Greek. A s far s S c h l u m b e r g e r

was aware, the only approximately contemporary uses of the title ami-

ras within the Byzantine empire were connected with A d m i r a l George.

For example, it appears on the impression of his personal

seal

on a

d o c u m e n t dated

1143

now in the archives of the Cappella Palatina in

Palermo.

O n

o t h e r d o c u m e n t s

he

used

the

title / tovoaTQdTeyoi;

A lt ho u g h

George's adoptio n of the

title

amiras postdates the striking

of

the D n i s h m e n d i d coins,the conn ection betweenthe

latter

and By z a n -

tine personal

seals

is worth noting. It is part icularly

apparent

in the

w or km a n l i ke q u a l i t y of the

script,

in contrast to the

m o r e

elegant

char-

acters

co m m o nto coins struckat the capital.17 M ic h a e l

Bates

has pointed

12

M .

H e nd y,

Coinage

a nd

Money

in the Byzant ine

Empire 1081-1261

( W a s h in g t on

D.C., 1969),

pl. 2, 20-21.

13

H e n d y (a b o ve ,n. 12),pl. 8, 1-2; the halois abse nt from th is e x amp le .

14

H e n d y ( a b o ve ,n. 12),pl. 10,9-11, fore x am p lesin billon;pl. 11, l, foran e x a m p l e

in copper.

15

For examples

f r o m

class A2 in particular, see

DOC 3

2, p. 645,

table

24.

These coins are d atable ap p ro x imate ly to A . D .

976-1035.

16 S c h l u m b e r g e r , Sigillographie de l empire byzantin (Paris, 1884), pp.

343-44

(hereafter , Sigillographie). S c h lu mbe rg e r no te d

that

amiras ap p are nt ly meant

admiral

in

G re e k . A c c o rd ing

to E.

P artr id g e , Origins:

A

Short Etymological Dic-

t ionary o f Modern English 2nd ed. ( N e w Y o rk , 1959), the

w o rd s

for admiral

in m e d iae v al L at in , F re nc h, and E ng lish w e re all u l t im ate ly d e r iv e d fro m th e A r a bi c

amlr

al-....

17

For e x amp le s , see H e nd y (abo v e , n. 12), pl. 2, 14-17, all in silver.


6/37

D N I S H M E N D I D F I G U R E D C O P P E R C O I N S 13 . ;

out,18however,that, s there

had

been

n o

m i n t s

in

Anato l ia

for

some

centuries,

probably

the only

craftsmen available

to the

early Dnish-

mendidamirswerethe sealcutters.

2. M A L I K M U H A M M A D A.H.528-36/A.D. 1134-42)

Type

A Plate

16, 2.

Obv.:

Four-l ine

inscription in Greek uncialletterswithin circular

frame,

sometimes pearled an d sometimes p l a in :

O M E

The ki

A H K I C n

ng of a

A C H CPO)

11Ro

M A N I A C

m e

The characters tend to be

crude

and the

l ines

u n e v e n ;and

becauseof the poor condition ofmostof the examples studied, th e

legends

mustbe

pieced

together.

Rev.: I n frame like that on obverse, inscription con tinues in four

additional

lines:

K A I A N

and A n

A T O A H C atolia

M A X A M M u ham

A T I C

mad19

See: Tevhid, nos. 102-4; Casanova, pl. 3, 3-4.

Coins

examined:

A N S ,

2 ; B M , 1 ;

Fogg

M u se um

cast

at

A N S ) ,

1;

JSColl.,

6;

photograph from market, 1969, 1.

18 Personal communicat ion .

19 The Arabic Version of the obverse

would

read

M alik

Bild

a l - Rm.

The re-

verse,

in

Arabic, would read

wa'1-Anatl

M u h am m a d . O n ce

again the connectio

be tween the Dn ishmendid coins and Byzantine seals is apparent . not only in the

script but also in the titulary. A s Schlumberger pointed out Sigillographie, p . 333).

the common

title

for the supreme com man der of the e astern forces of the By za nti ne

empire,

s

it would appear on seals, was fiovoarQdreyoq ndat]^ A v a T o A f i < ; or a

Variat ion.

It isclear,

then,that

M uhammad combined

both

Islamic and Byzant ine

features in his

protocol.


7/37

140

E S T E L . L E

J.

W H E L A N

DNISHMENDIDS

OF

MALATYAH

1.

A Y N A L -D A W L A H I sM i L

2 0

(A.H.536-47;A.D.1142-52)

Type A Plate 16, 3.

Obv Plaincircle enclosesthreelines

of

largeGreekuncials:

A I N A A c A y n al-

tfO V C Dawlah

O Y I O C

the son

Reu.: Plain circle encloses f o u r lines

of

Greek

script

like that

on the

obverse:

T O Y M E of the gr

T A A O Y M E eatki

A H K A M H P ng Amlr

T A Z H Ghzi21

See: Tevhid,no.101; Artuk,no.1180;Butak,no. 103.

Coins

examined: BM, 1;

JSColl.,

2;

Bank

Leu

(cast

at

ANS),

1.

No

coins have previously been attributed

to 'Ayn al-Dawlah. The

typeunder discussion herehasposed somethingof apuzzle,for the device

at the beginning of the second line has long been thought to be an Arabic

tughr;

nevertheless,

despite

its

apparent simplicity,

no one has

ever

been able

to

read

it.

Tevhid,

who

first published this type, suggested that

the letters IN

in the first line were anabbreviation for indiction and

that

the suc-

ceeding

alpha,

s the

first

letter

in the

Greek alphabet,

stood for the

n u m e r a l one, indicating the first indiction year.

That

the method of

dating

by

cycles

of

f i f teen indiction years

was

still current

in

Malatyah

isprovedby the TypeAcoinsof r A y nal-Dawlah's son Dh'1-Qarnayn.

Tevhid then readthe lambda and alpha

following

the supposed

tughr

s

the numerals three and one. He thus attributed the coin to the

2 Melikoff (above,

n. 2)

gives

the name ofthisprince of

Malatyah s IsmTl.

2 The Arabic Version of this

entire

inscription would be

'Ayn

al-Dawlah ibn

al-Malik

al-Kabir

Amlr

Ghzi.


8/37


9/37

142 E S T E L L E J. W H E L A N

2.

D I I L - Q A R N A Y N

(A.H.547-57/A.D. 1152-62

Type

A

Plate 16, 4.

Obv.:

Plain

circle frames

three

lines of

c r u d e

cursive

script:

3

al-Wthiq

^j (j^j \i

Dh u ' l - Qa r n a yn

b.

J j J l jt

c

A y n

al-Dawlah

In

margin, within outer plain circle, is additional inscription

inc rud e Greek un cials:

O M E T A C A M H P A C A O A X A P N A I

T he

great Amlr

Dh ' l -Qarnayn

O ne

example

at the A N S is

counters tamped wi th

the

n a m e

M u h a m m a d in cursive Arabic scr ipt ; it no doubt refers to

Dh ' l -Qarnayn ' s son and successor,

N s i r

al-DIn M u h a m m a d .

Rev.: C omposit ion and f rames are

s

obverse. In the field, very crude

profile

head faces r.

Margina l

inscription

in

Greek uncials:

I N A I K T I O N O C A E V T E P I C

T he

second indiction

T he profile head has no forehead, and the large aqui l ine nose

begins immediately below the hairl ine. T he hair, indicated by

simple striations, is gathered into a bun at the back of the neck.

A

long, pointed beard juts ou t stiffly, and there seems to be a

garment

at the

base

of the

neck.

T h e A N S

coin mentioned above

also has a counters tamp on this side, but it

could

not be read.

See: T evhid, no.117; Artuk, no.

1186;

Butak , no.110;C asanova,pl.3, 10.

Coins examinated: ANS,

5; BM, 2;

JSColl.,

1.

Sources: Dh ' l -Qarn ay n's T ype A def ies identif icat ion with a specif ic

m odel. T here are a few su pe rficial

similarities

to silver coins of the

Parthian

Phraates

IV :

24

the

pointed beard masking

a thick

neck,

the

24

See, forexample, D .Seilwood,

An

Introduction

to the

Coinage

of

Parlhia (London,

1971 , flg.

51/38.


10/37

D N I S H M E N D I D F I G U R E D C O P P E R C O I N S 1 4 3

b u h

o f

h a i r

at the

b a c k

of the

d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e l y s m a l l c r o w n

of the

h e a d , and so on.

B u t

all the

characteris t ic

detai ls of the Par thian

i mag e

t h e clustered curls, th e r i b b o n d i a d e m , an d t h e c a refu l ly rendered

g a r m e n t a r e

a b s e n t

f rom

th e

D n i s h m e n d i d

coins.

It is

thus

most

likely that

th e

general s imilar i t ies

a re

c o i n c i d e n t a l .

3.

NSIR

AL DlN MUHAMMAD25

(A.H.557-65/A.D.1162-70and A . H .

570-73/A.D.

1175-78)

Type

A Plate 16, 5a, 5b.

Obv

In

circle

of

large,

w i d e l y

spaced pear ls

are

f o u r

lines

of

c r u d e

cursive script:

^j-UI^U N s i r a l - D I n

M u h a m m a d b .

D h i

' 1-Qarnayn b .

< U )

j J l

'Ayn

a l - D a w ( l a h )

Sometimes the

f o u r t h

lines

r e a d s

' A y n

al - D aw,

a n d s o m e t i m e s

c

A y n

al - D awl ah .

The scr ipt looks

s

if it had been laid out on

the die and

t h e n

c u t

c l u m s i l y ,

so

that

th e

c u r v i n g l i n e s h a v e

a n

a n gu l a r , u n f i n i s h e d q u a l i t y .

Reu T w o s t a n d i n g figures, f acing. Figure at r . with halo, I . hand p al m

o u t w a r d ,

r.

h a n d s t r e t c h e d

to

c r o w n

1 .figure. L o n g

r o b e

on r.

f igu re with vert ical l ines in center and r. of skirt,

f o r m i n g

panels

m a r k e d

b y

ho rizon tal s t riations. O ver shou lders, shor t cape w ith

ap p l i q u e d crosses

a m o n g

folds and on I.s h o u l d e r . C a p e

falls from

raised r. arm in lon g sleeve and drapes over 1. Figure also wears

headcloth.

Figure

on 1 .w e a r s

flat

C o r o n e t of two rows of pearls with

pendilia, each

e n d i n g i n t r i p l e

pearls. W ears loros edged

at

ehest

bypearled band between

two plain

ba nds. Loros

is

wrapped

at

hips

so

that across front

is

r e c t a n g u l a r

p a n e l

w i t h

X

contain-

25 Melikoff (a bov e,

n. 2)

refers

to

this princes

Nasr

a l - D I n .

T h e

spclling

on

th e coins is qu ite clearly N sir , ho we v e r .


11/37

144

E S T E L L E

J.

W H E L A N

ing pearl

at its intersection an d centered in each of its

com-

partments. Loros end trails over figu re s 1 .

arm;

in 1. h a n d is

small

anexikakia.

Clad in

short sleeve,

r. arm

grasps

staff of

l a b a r um

scepter; its

re c t a n g u la r

top

h as

same

X and

pearl

patterns

loros, with additional

pearls

at

f o u r

corners.

Figures'

feet

an d

ankles visible

below

garments.

At top

center

is

oval fo rm, wi th two

s y m m et r ica l

branches sprouting small

buds or leaves; on some coinsthis is more linear and

abstract.

Flanking figures are two

l ines

of cursive script:

26

jL? r. eight f ifty

L five

h u n d r e d .

S e e

T e v h i d ,

no. 118;

A r t u k ,

no. 1187;

B u t a k ,

no. 111;

C a s a n o v a ,

pl.4,1-2.

Coins e x a mi n e d:

IAM, 1 ;YKB,4 ;

A N S ,

2;

JSColl. ,

1 .

S o urce s: M u h a m m a d s T y p e A appears to have been copied rather

closely

from an electrum

coin struck

b y M a n u e l I

C o m n e n u s

(A.D.

1143-80)

at Cons t a nt inopl e , the one

designated

by

H e n d y s v a r i a n t

A

of

the

first coinage.

27

Almost

all the

details

are

identical:

th e

l a b a r u m

scepter, th e anexikakia, th e decoration of the costumes

(the

B y z a n ti n e

clusters of

fo u r

dots on the Virgin s cape have been fused by the Dnish-

m e n d i d

die

cutters

into crosses), the precise positioning of both

f igures

h a n ds,

and the

presence

of

inscriptions

f lanking the image. The only

alterations appear to be the omission of the jewels

from

the C oronet of

th e f igure at the left and the S ubstitution of an orn am en tal device for the

letters M

5

0V

between

the two

figures.

M u h a m m a d s

coin is u n u s u a l in that i t imitates a B y z a n t i n e

type

that

is

very nearly contemporary;

in

contrast,

the

closely related image

26

Artuk read

the

inscription

on no.

1187

in the IAM

s

a

date:

j .


12/37

N I S H M E N I F I G U R E D C O P P E R C O I N S

1 4 5

onthe

reverse

of a coin struck by the

Artuqid Alpl

ofM r d i n,

probably

in

1155,

w as

based

on a

Byzantine

m o d el of the early

eleventh

C entury.28

Type

B,

Plate

16, 6.

Obv.: In pearled circle, three rather unevenlines oftall cursive

script:

^ J l

y\ ^

Nslr al-DIn

Ab 1-Fath

^yUlji

.U^

M u h a m m a d

b.

D h l -Q a r n a y n

yJuLJI

~-J ^Ai N a sir A m i r a l -M u m i n l n

^

x

Although by no means refined, the script does not have the

angular,

cut-out

look

of

that

on

Type

A .

Rev.:

R ider m o un ted

on

galloping horse,

r.

Hair pulled back into

bun, and

chin encircled

by

short beard rendereds small knobs.

C la d in

fitted,

short-sleeved

tunic with short skirt; around

waist, wide band

of two

rows

of

oval plates. R ider s

r.

foot

planted on body of serpent, with r. hand grasping end of

lance,

which isthrust into serpent s open jaws . I n 1 . h a n d

figure

grasps

reins attached

to

curb

bit on

horse s

muzzle .

N o

details

of

saddle

or

stirrup visible, but strap to secure

former

passes across horse s

hind

quarters

and

un d er kn o t ted

tail.

Scaly body

of

sm all serpent

is uncoiled and S tretches b ene ath horse s galloping hoove s w ith

gaping jaws turned up ward . E ntire image surrounded by pearled

circle.

S ee: C asanova,pl. 4, 3.

Coins

examined: YKB,

5 ;

A N S ,

1.

Sources: TheimageonTypeB isderived

from

traditiona l representations

of cavalier saints slaying dragons, which

had

been current

in the

N e a r

East for

centuries.

Der N ersessian

traced

this representation to G reek

bronze coins struck at I sinda in P isidia d u rin g the first

C entury B . C .29

See

BMCOr,

pl. 8,

372;

for the

gold

coins

of

R o m a nu s

III

that

served

s

models

see DOC3, 2, pl. 56,ld.1, ld.8.

29 BMCLycia,

pp.

223-24, nos. 4-9,

pl. 36,

3-5.

Der

Nersessianmistakenly located

Isinda in Lycia; seeAght amar: Ch urch of the Holy Cross (C a m b rid ge , M a s s ., 1965),

p. 24. See also

SNGvAulock

5032-35.


13/37

146 E S T E L L E J. W H E L A N

It

remained populr in the

same

province th rough out th e R om an

period.30 O n

these coins

th e

serpent

is a lway s

coiled beneath

th e

horse s

feet,but sometimesit also rearsits headup in f rontof the animal s face.

T he

rider

is, of

course,

in

classical

costume

and

h elm et;

h e

holds

his

lance

s if to thrust it forward, rath er than straight do w n, and it is rarely

aimed directly into the serpent s jaws .

A ccording to

Grabar, these ancient examples denote imperial

tri-

umph.31 A lt ho u gh the precise type of m ounted emperor thrusting a

lance

at a serpent coiled beneath his horse s

feet

disappeared

from

B yz a n t i n e coinage until after the period with

which

we are concerned,

32

i t was

adapted

for

representations

of

cavalier saints

in

other

eastern

Christian

milieux, especially in eastern A natolia and Georgia.

33

The first example cited

by Der

N ersessian

is on a

capital dated

to

the

sixth

Century,

w h ich

w as f o u n d at

D vin

in the old

province

of

A r m en ia ;

a serpent is said to be

coiled

beneath th e feet of the horse.

34

T h i s

relief

survives in

only

f r a g m e n t a r y

form,

and it is not at all

clear

that

it represents either a cavalieror a serpen t. S otiriou dated to the

seventh Century

a

similar representation

of St.

Theodore fighting

a

serpent

on an

icon in

th e

monastery

of St .

Catherine

on

Mount Sinai .

35

30

Hadrian (A.D.117-38 struck such a type in bronze at Baris;

SNGvAulock

5009. For bronze types struck at Isinda see those of Lucius Verus (A.D.

161-69),

SNGvAulock 5037;

of the

timeofCaracalla(A.D.188-217),

BMCLycia, p.

224,

no. 10,

pl.

36, 5; ofSeptimius Severus (A.D.193-211), SNGvAulock 5048; ofValerian (A.D.

233-60), SNGvAulock

5048;

and of

Trebonianus Gallus (A.D.

251-53), BMCLycia,

p. 226, no. 19, pl. 36, 10. In addition, see the reverse of a

gold

coin of Constantius

II

(A.D.324-361)said

to

have been struck

in

Milan;

H. Cohen,

Description historique

desmonnaiesfrappes sous l empire

romain

communement appeles

mtdailles

impiriales,

2nd

ed. (Paris,

1888),

7, p. 443.

31

A. Grabar,L empereur dans l artbyzann (Strasbourg, 1936), p. 47, n. 4.

32 Schlumberger published a rare seal with such an image belongingto a minor

Byzantine

o ff i c i al ;

heattributedit to the end of the

Comnenian period (Sigillographie

[above, n. 16], p. 502). The seal is not

well

preserved, but f r o m Schlumberger's

drawing it is possible to seethat the horse is galloping and the serpent uncoiled

beneath

its

feet. These features

are

similar

to

those

on

Muhammad's

coin,

but the

halo,

the f lutte ring cape, and the flexedposition of the

rider's

leg are all quite

different.

33

Der Nersessian (above, n. 29), p. 24.

34

See K.

Kafadarian, Les

fouilles de

la ville

de

Dvin

(Duin),

RevtArmin 2

(1965),

pl. 33,

fig.

33.

35G. and M. Sotiriou, Icones

duMont

Sinai l

(Athens,

1956),

fig.

30.


14/37


15/37

148

E S T E L L E

J.

W H E L A N

whose uncoiled body

is

stretched

out

beneath the feet

of the

galloping

horse. T he entire image is framed in a pearled circle, and the inscription

in

the

field identifies

the figure s St.

George.

In several details

M u h a m m a d ' s

coins

seem

more closely related

to

those

of

Roger than

to any of the

ancient ,

Byzantine,orother

Christian

examplesthat have been traced. Here

too the

body

is

nearly

in

profile

and leaning forward, the horse galloping, th e serpent 's body uncoiled.

A l t h o u g h

th e halo and cape have been omit ted, the short skirt an d

long

sleeves are similar; even the markingson the torso may have been

in-

tended to indicate

ar m or .

Schlumberger

remarked

that

a

n u m b e r

of Islamic princes adopted

Roger's coin

image.

42 A s f ar

s

w e k n o w, h ow e ve r, M u h a m m a dwas the

only

Muslim to strike a coinwith a m o u n t e d figure thrust ing his lance

into the open jaws of a serpent, and he did so m o r ethan half a

Ce nt ur y

later.43 Whether Roger's coins were still k n o w n in nearby

M al at yah

or

whether

there

is a missing link, is not clear.

4.

F A K H R A L - I N

Q S M

(A .H . 565-67/A .D. 1170-72)44

Type

A Plate 17, 7a, 7b.

Obv.:

F o u r u n e v e n lines of not part icularly

fine

cursive script encircled

by pearled

band:

F a k h r a l - DI n

Qsim

b. Dh

'1-Qarnayn

b.

j j J l l

c

r

A y n

al -Dawlah

W ithin pearled circle is large

lion,

sejant, with r. forepaw raised,

headturnedslightly toward rear.

42

S c h l um b e r g e r

(above, n.

41),

p. 49.

43 See

section

on

Chronology below.

44

Qsim replaced

his

exiled brother M u h a m m a d

in 565 but was

killed

in an

ac-

c i d e n t

on his

w e d d i n g

day in

567;

J.-B.

C h a b o t ,

Chronique de Michel

le Syrien

4

vols.(Paris,1899-1910),3, p. 343( h e r e a f t e r , C h a b o t , Chronique . He was s uc c e e d e d

b y a third b r o t h e r , A f r i d n , w h o w a s d r i v e n out in his t u r n b y M u h a m m a d in 570.

Q s i m thus ruled for a b o u t tw oyears (M61ikoff, a b o v e , n. 2).


16/37

D N I S H M E N D I D F I G U R E D O P P E R O I N S 1 4 9

The

illustrated example,

which is

f rom

the

collection

of the

Yapi

ve Kredi Bankasi in I s tanbul , has been overstruck on the

back

o f M u h a m m a d s

Type

A ; 4 5 the

large

ha and

followingletters

of

the inscription at the

right

of the

latter

can be

seen

on the

h a u n c h

of the lio n, unf o r t una t el y o bscur ing the a r r a n g e m e n t o f

th e

tail.

On the

example published

by

Casanova, however,

the

tail

curls

a r o u n d the h a u n c h on the near side and

waves

in

the air. Onlyone hindleg is shown. The surfaceof the animal s

bo dy

has

been

carefully

rendered, with

short

lines

for the

ribs

and hair indicated a long

the

b a c k , a r o u n d

the

edge

of the

h a u n c h ,

along

the

belly,

and,

of

course, over

the entire

neck.

The

image appears

to

have been encircled

b y a

ma rgin al inscrip-

tion, o f which a

trace

can be seen at the top left (al-Imm ?), but

it is not well enough preserved to be read.

See: Tevhid, no. 119; Butak, no. 112; Casanova,

pl.

4, 5.

Coins

examined: YKB, 2.

Sources: This

type

is one of the few Islamic coins o f

this

period to

bear

the imageof a single animal, and indeed it seemsto be the first one to

do

so. As it

appeared

at

a b o u t

the

same time

s

D h l- N n sType

B

(with lion rider), it is possiblethatthe apparent newpreferencefor the

beast

s

a

coin image m ay have arisen

f r om a

single source.

Of th e

three possibilities

suggested fo r Dh l -N n s coinsancient

coins, Byzantine eulogies (commemorative pieces for pilgrims to a re-

ligious shrine), and European ivory game

piecesthe

second seems

a most unlikely source for the present image. M any

ancient

coins

carry lions,but

there

seemsto ben o n eonwhichthe positionof the

beast

is

s

it is

here.

4 6 The

gam ing pieces, too, include variou s a nim al images

and

45 This was pointed out by Heinz

G aube.

48 For a s triding lion, see the bro nze coins of K ing A m yn tas of Galatia 36-25B.C.),

BMCGalatia,

p

13,

nos. 8-13,

pl. l,

5-7;

for a

standing lion,

see

bronze coins from

Samosata in 31 B.C.-A.D. 38, pp. 116-17, nos. 1-16, pl. 16, 3-5; for a seated lion,

see

b r o n z e

coins

of the second and first centuries B.C. f r o m Pessinus, p. 1 8, 1-2,

pl. 3, 10.


17/37

150 E S T E L L E J. W I I E L A N

could

have served s

a

source

fo r

this coin,

bu t

again there seems

to be no

exact parallel. 4 7

T he

lion was,

o f

cou rse,

a

p ro mi nent f eat u re

o f

Hittite

and neo-Hittite

sculpture; particularly relevant here are the great lions

f o u n d

f lanking

the palace gate a t M alaty ah, where Qslm s coin was no d o u b tstruck.48

It is

d ifficul t

to k n o w ho w

m u c h

anc i ent scu lp t u re w as still visible in the

twelfth Century, but ,

s

the Hittite an d neo-Hittite lions are quite unlike

the

Image

o n Qsim s

coin, they clearly

are not

directly related.

It seems, then,that, like som a n y D n i s h m e n d i d c o in images,this one

too for the

present defies precise association

with a

prototype.

1.

I M A D A L -DIN D H L - N N ( A . H . 536-70/A.D. 1142-75)

Type

A

Plate

17, 8.

Obv

S ma l l pearled circle f rames inscription

o f

large cursive A rabic

characters,

no t

part icularly refined:

: > U -

Imd

^j jJl al-DIn

In margin between pearled

f rame

and o u t er plain circle is

inscription

in

Greek uncials, beginning

at top L:

O M E A M H P A C A A N O Y N H C T he gre(at)

a m i r D h a l -N n

4 9

Rev Composit ion

and frames same

s

o n

obverse. Field inscription

in

A rabic cursive characters:

dUJI ^j b.

al-Malik

M u h a m m a d

47 For

generally

similar

images,

see A. Goldschmidt, Die

Elfenbeinskulpiuren

aus

der

romanischen Zeit XI.-XIII. Jahrhundert 3 (Berlin, 1923),

pl.

57.

H. Frankfort, Art and

Architeclure

of the

Ancient Orient

4th

rev.

ed.

(Balti-

more, 1969), pl. 133A.

9

In Arabic this

inscription

would read al-Amir

al-Ka(bir)Dh 1-Nn.

A.Schim-

mel

has

pointed

o u t , in a personal

communication,

that Dh al-Nn is a

more

likely

reading than Dh 1-Nn, r e f l e c t i n g

probable

local pronunciation.


18/37

N I S I I M N I F I G U R E D C O P P E R C O I N S

1 51

M a r g i n a l

inscription

in

G r ee k u n c i a ls :

O Y I C T O O M E A H K M A X A M A T I C

the son of

Malik M u h a m m a d

5 0

See: Tevhid,nos. 108-10; A r t u k , no. 1183;Butak, n o.107; C a s a n o v a ,

pl.

3, 6.

C o i n s

e x a m i n e d : A N S ,4; BM, 2;

Fogg

M u s eu m

(cast

at A N S ) ,1; J S C o l l ,

l ; " K n o b l o c h (cast a t A N S ), 1 .

Type D, Plate 17, 9.

Obv.:

I n plain or pearled circle m a n rides lion

r.;

in r. hand sword

b r a n d i s h e d a b o v e

h is

head . Lion

h a s

cur ly

h a i r

o n

ehest

a n d

shoulders,tail

waves erect. R ider wears short ga rm en t with

long,

fit ted

sleeves

an d

leggings, with

leg

longer than those

of the lion

s though bracing himself o ng r o u n d .

M a r g i n a l inscription, enclosed in outer circle, pearled o r p l a i n ,

begins

at top r. in

A rabic cursivescript:

J l

*J*VI

j^frjyi

jJ*}\r

al-Isfahsalr

al-Ajall

al-

^jjJI .iU s-

jz \

Sayyid al-Kabir Irnd

a l-DIn

Obv.: C omposi tion an d

f r a m e s same

s on obverse.

M a r g i n a l inscription in cursive characters:

jlj^,

dL.

dL

< J ^ s ~ > f ^ A - V

_

rr

aJ Nasr al-Islm Shirbn51

Bik Jabak

S u w r

c.\?z

y

f

\l

dlL

Malik

a l -Umar

A b u

Shuj'

5 The Greek translates

exactly

the Arabic field inscription.

51 Artuk has read this word s shahriyr, but shirbn is more likely; this Persian

word alsomakesgood sense s

part

of the titulary. Although the title ShirbnBik

was not acommon one,it wasalso borneby one of theArtuqidsofAlpl's generation,

Mamdd

ihn

All

ibn AlpYruq ibn

Artuq,

who

died

in

A.H.

566. This readingseeins

more

likely

than Shlrbarlk,

s

Cahen

has it. Ibn al-Azraq, f. 177v.;

Cahen, Le

Diyr Bakr au temps des premiers urtukides, Journal Asiatique 127(1935),

p.268.


19/37

152 E S T E L L E J.

W H E L N

Field

inscription in

f o u r

lines of

cursive

script:

dlLJ al-Malik

j jyJIS D h ' a l - N n b .

t-j5~*

JL^

M u h a m m a d S a y f

^juJI

A m i r

a l - M u 'm i n m

See:

T e v h i d ,

nos.

111-14;

A r t u k ,

no.

1184;

Butak, no.

108;C a sa n o va ,

pl. 3, 7.

Coinse x a m i n ed : I A M ,1;

YKB,

2; A NS ,6; BM , 4; JSColl. , 3.

S o u r ces : T he

lion rider wielding

a

sword

has

proved

to be

very

dif f ic ul t

to

trace to its origins. O n a n u m b e r of ancient coins f r o m Cilicia andother

parts of Asia Minor Cybele is depicted r iding a l ion, but she is a lways

seated

sideways an d,

of

cou rse, carries

noweapons.

5 2

A

closer para llel f r o m

ancient t imes is the image o f a n a k e d E r o sastride a

lion

an d b r a n d i sh i n g

a whi p , which occurs on a bronze coin st ruck by Geta

(A.D.

209-12)

at Pessinus ( n e a r m o d e r n Bala Hissar) southwest o f A n k a r a .

5 3

T he

lion

itself

is in

fl l profi le , with

tail

lowered

and all

f o u r f e e t

p l a n t e d on a

g r o u n d

line,

rather

than c o n f o r m i n g to the circular shape of the coin,

s

the

Dnishrnendid lion does.

A m o r e intriguing possibili ty

is

raised

by a

lead disk

in the

B y z a n t i n e

M u s e u m

a t

A t h e n s,

o n

w h i c h

the

m a r t y r e d

S t.

M a m a s

is

represented

r iding

on a

lion.

54 T he

saint wears

a

long

robe,

is

seated sideways,

and

carries no w ea pon s in his ha nd s. Bu t the position and d etails of the lion

a re very nearly identical with those o n Dh ' l - N n ' s c o i n : th e position

of

th e

feet ,

the

tail

w a vi n g b e h i n d ,

the

head turned slightly toward

th e

viewer. T he image is also encircled by a m argin al inscription. M arava-

K h a t z i n i k o l a o u ha s ascribedthisdisk to thesixth C e n t u r yon the basiso f

its epigraphy.55 What m a k e s it w o r t h y of at tent ion here is

that

it

is a eulogy, struck

s

a c o m m e m o r a t i v e piece for pilgrims to a re-

52

See,

for example, SNGvAulock pl.

211, 6148

(photograph mislabeled

6151);

BMCGalalia

pl. 17, 15.

53 BMCGalalia p. 23, 29, pl. 4, 11.

54 A. M a r a v a - K h a t z i n i k o l a o u , "Euloghia tou A g h i o u M a m a , ADell 1960,p.137.

55 Marava-Khatzinikolaou (above, n. 54),p. 135.


20/37

N I S H M N I

F I G U R E D C O P P E R C O I N S

15 3

ligious

shrine.

Until

well into the

M i d d l e

Ages the eastern center of

the cult of St.

M a m a s

was

Kayseri C aesaria,

the

city

in which Dh'l-

N n

almost certainly struck

his

Type

B

coins.

Although there are

only

a few other

mediaeval representations

of St.

Mamas riding

a

Hon, it is

conceivablethat such com me mo rative pieces con tinued

to be

distributed at Kayseri into the twelfth

C e nt ur y

and inspiredthe

Dnish-

m end i d coins.5 6

A

third possible source

of the lion-rider

image

is

R o m a n e s q u e E u ro pe .

S u ch

figures d id

o ccasiona lly occur,

b ut

they were usually representations

of

S amson. In the Bible story S a m s on , on the w ay to his own wed ding,

strangled the lion with his bare hand s, and he is rarely represented with

a weapon.

5 7

Both Linda Papanicolaou

and

C harles

Little, in

personal

Communica-

tions

tothis

writer, remarked

on the

similarity

of the

coin image

to

those

on

ivory gaming pieces

from

med iaeval E urope. Although there appear

to be no identical images, there are several that

seem

closely related.

O ne

such piece is carved with a man riding on a goat and brandishing an

ax.

68 Onanother, a figure, possibly Samson, isastridea lion whose jaws

56 E. K i r s c h b a u m and W. Braunfels , eds. , Lexikon der christlichen

Ikonographie

8

vols. (R om e, F rieburg, Basel,

and

V i e n n a ,1968-76), h e re a f t e rLexikon specifically

vol.

7, pp.

483-85. This subject seems

to

have been populr

in

G e o rg i a.

For

e x a mp l e ,

see the

silver

and

gilt

repousse

disk

in the

G e or gia n M u s e u m

of

F i n e A r t ,

S.

Amira-

nashvil i ,

Georgian

Metalwork

from

Antiquity to theEighteenlh

Century

(L on d on a n d

N ew Y o r k , 1971),

figs.

19-20; the date is un c e rt a i n , but the piece surely belongs to

th e

early

M i d d l e Age s. S e e a ls o one mi n i a t ure f r o m a copy of the Works

of

Gregory

Bogoslav

illustrated

at the

turn

of the

thirteenth C e n tu r y

in a

monastery

at

D a vid -

G a re d z h e ( In s t i tut e of the Academyof Sciencesof the G e orgia n S.S.R.,ms. A 109), S.

Ami ra n a s h v i l i , Gruzinskaya

Miniatura

(Moscow, 1966), pl. 55.

57 For examples of f igure s , i n c l ud i n g S a ms on , r i d i n glions, see O. von F a l k e and E.

M a y e r , Romenische Leuchter un d gefsse Giessgefsse der Gotik (Berlin,

1935),

p. 83, pls. 36, 83 and 90,216-17. Ac c ord i n g to one reference work, S a m s o n is some-

times represented c ut t i n g the throatof the lion, but no specific instance of sucha re-

presentation is me n t i on e d . See H. Sachs, E.Badstbner, and H. N e u m an n , Christ-

liche

Ikonographie in Stichworlen ( M u n i c h ,

1975),p.

308. C uriously, S amson

is re-

presented

stabbing the lion in a relief on the

tenth-century

Arme n i a n

church

of

Aght'amar

on

Lake Van,

but there he

crouches before

the beast, rather than

straddling it; Der N ersessian (above, n. 29), p. 25, pl. 43.

58 G oldschmidt (above n. 47), p. 46, pl. 55, 211; V. B. M a n n , R o m a n e sq u e

Ivory Tablemen ( P h . D. diss., New York University, 1977), pl. 54, 107; 65, 128.


21/37

154

E S T E L L E

J.

W H E L A N

he grips with h is hands. H is short

cape

and hair

f l y

out

behind.

59 Both

these

pieces were dated generally to the second

half

of the t w e l f t h

Century

by G o l d s c h m i d t . H e r e p ro d u c ed a n u m b e r o f

other

pieces on

which

h u m a n

figures

arem o u n t e d on various animals, real and fantastic,

an d

brandishing weapons.

60 G a m i n g

pieces,

by the way,arejust the

k i n d of portable object l ikely to hav e been carried into A sia M i n o r by

participants in the Second Crusade.

61

D h l -N n s coin image

has

something

in

common with each

of

the

three

possible sources suggested, but it is identical to n o n e o f

them,

s

f

ar s can be determined a t present.62 But it is notablethat the image,

once adopted,

enj oyed

considerable pop ulari ty in the N e a rEast: I t was

copied

a t

A rb il ,

M r d l n , a n d

H isn

K a y f .

6 3

In addit ion, the C rusader

H u gu es

de Gibelet adopted it for his seal, of which

there

is an

impression

on a bul la appended to a document of

1248.64

Type C, Plate 17, 10.

Obv.:

Pearled

or

plain circle encloses

f ield

inscription

in

cursive charac-

ters in u n e v e n

lines.

l

j y\J

N sir

a l - D u n y

Jl

w a l - D I n 65 Sharaf

al-Islam

59 Goldschmidt (above,

n.

47),

p. 47, pl. 55,

217.

6

Goldschmidt (above,

n.

47),

pls.

54-56.

6

There

is

evidence

that

some coins

f r o m

nearby northern Mesopotamia drew

their imagery f r o m European sources

in

this period,

see E. J.

Whelan, The Public

Figure: Political Iconography in Medieval Mesopotamia (Ph. D. diss., New York

Univcrsity, 1979).

62

A.Schimmel,in a personal communication, has called attention to the

story

of

Shaykh Ab'l-Hasan Kharraqnlrecounted

by the thirteenth-century mysticalpoet

Jall al-DIn

Rml. In the story the

Shaykh appears

to a

disciple,

seated

atop

a

bunch

of

faggots

on the

back

of a lion; he

wields

a

whip that

is

actually

a

serpent

See

R. A. Nicholson, trans.,

The Malhnaivi ofJallu ddin

Rml, 6 (London,

1934),

pp.

376-77.

63

See

respectively coins

of M u ? a f f a r al-Din Kkburl,

Nsir al-DIn Artuq Arsln

of

Mrdln,

and

Nsir al-DIn Mahmud

of

Kayf,

in BMCOr 3, pl. 12,

658;

Artuk,

no.

1184;

BMCOr 3, pl. 7,

356.

64 G.

Schlumberger,

F.

Chalandon,

and A.

Blanchet,

Sigillographie de l Orientelatin

(Paris, 1943), p. 45, no.

105,

pl. 14, 1. The authors

called

the

animal

a

griffin,

but it does not

have

the featuresof a g r i f f i n .


22/37

N I S H M N I F I G U R E D C O P P E R

C O I N S

15 5

M a r g in a l

inscription in larger cursive characters f r a r n e d by

outer

plain

orpearledcircle, beginsat topr.:

u

J^VI ciiUJI al-Malik al-Ajallal-Sayyid al-Kablr

al-'limal-'dilCImdal-DIn?)

Reu. Composition, script,

and f r a m e s are

same

s on

obverse. Marginal

inscription begins

a t top L:

A ^ \ Nasr al-Islam

wa l-Muslimln

Malik

l

j

f j ^ J I

B i l d a l - H m wa ' l - A n a ( t l )

Italicized words sometimes

omitted. Field

inscriptions again

arranged

in

three uneven

lines:

^j jjjJI: Dh'al-Nnb.

dJiLJI

al-Malik Muhammad Sayf

- A m l r a l - M u ' m i ( n l n )

See: Tevhid, nos.115-16;Artuk,

no.

1185; Butak,

no.

109; Casanova,

pl. 3, 8.

Coins examined: ANS,

1.

The

presence

ofNsir al-Duny

wa'l-DIn

on

this

coin le d

Tevhid

to

assume that D h ' 1 - N nhad changed his

surname

from r

lmdal-DIn

(see

Type B), and subsequent scholars have seemed to agree (for example,

Butak, no.109; Artuk,no.1185).

It

ismoreprobable, however, thattwo

d i f f e r e n t

m e n

are mentioned on this coin. The

firs t clue

isthe presence

of

two

titles

with

Islam

S h a ra f

a-Islmin the obverse

field

and Nasr

al-

Islm

in the

reverse margin

a redundancy

that

does

not

normally

o c c ur

in Islamic titulary.

The Standard protocol for Islamic titles was first explored by M.

van Berchem, using the anonymous fifteenth-century text generally

k n o w n

s

the Diwan

al-Insh\d Elisseeff

has provided an excellent

analysis of

their

use in the second

half

of the twelfth

C e n t u r y

in Syria.65

65 M. van

Berchem,

Corpus

Inscriptionum rabicarum

l, 3, L e Caire , pp. 441-50,

an d

N .

Elissdeff,

L a

titulature

d e N u r al-D lnd'apresses

inscriptions,

BEtOrient1 4

(1952-54), pp.

155-96.


23/37

156 E S T E L L EJ.

W H E L N

According to these sources, the title w i t h I s l am a l w ay s follows the

surname port ion containing al-DIn, and it is here that th e

dif f iculty

w i t h

D h ' l - N n ' s

coin arises,

for the

inscr ipt ion

on the

reverse

of the

coin

begins with Nasr

al-Islm,

which

w e

k n o w

f rom

T y p e

B to

hav e

been one of histitles. It sho u l d co n t i n u e f rom the inscription on the

obverse ending

in the

su r n am e,

b ut

u n f o r t u n a t e l y

the end o f the

obverse

marginalinscription

cannot

bereadon any of the examplesstudied. The

remainder

of the

marginal inscription

is

quite similar

tothat onTypeB ,

the

m a j o r

change being the u p g r a d i n g of

a l - A m i r al-Isfahsalr

to

al-

Malik.

T he reasonable expectation, then, isthat the end also follows

T y p e

B ,

with

the

s u r n a m e

'Imd

a l - DIn.

T he

fll

protocol woul d then read: al-Malik

al-Ajall a l-Sayyid

al-

Kablr al-clim a l-r d i l

r

lmad al -DIn Nasr al-Islm

wa ' l - Mus l i m l n

Malik

Bild

al-Rm wa'l-Ana(tl) Dh 'a l - N n ibn a l -M al i k M u ham m ad

Sayf A m i r a l -M u 'm i n l n . This r e a d i n g c o n f o rm s in every respect to

both the Standard Islamic protocol of the period and to the seq u en ceon

D h' l -N n 's Type B : obverse margin, reverse margin, reverse field.

The obverse field inscription on T ype C thu s replaces the imag e of the

H on rider

onType B. It is

quite brief, consisting only

of a

s u r n a m e

and

one title, but in the proper order. T he identity ofthis Ns i r al-DIn

is a

puzzle ,

which will be examined in the discussion of chronology

below.

D N I S H M E N D I D S

O F

S I V A S

1. N I Z M AL-DIN Y A G H B S N ( A . H .

536-59/A.D.

1142-64)

Type A Plate 17,11.

Obv

In double pearled circlethreelines ofunev en cursivescript:

J ^ U J I


24/37

D N I S H M E N D I D F I G U R E D C O P P E R

C O I N S .157

Reu

Circle of widely spaced pearls f r a m e s bust with head in profile r.

Face has sharp chin and

large

aquill ine nose; lips and huge eye

turn

d o w nat outer

corners;

ear also

quite large.

Onlow forehead

rests

diadem

of three rows of

pearls,

66

with three sectionsof

broad, striped ribbon

falling

d o w n b e h i n d . O n some examples

onlysim ple ba nd encircles head. S houlders, in three-q uarter view,

swathed in richly pleated garment fastened in front below high,

w rapped collar. M arg ina l inscription , in cursive characters,

framed

by pearled circle:

Ju*JUb

d^-* (^j) (b.) Malik D n i s h m e n d Z a h i r A m i r

a l - M u ' m i n m

See: Tevhid, nos. 105-6; Butak, no. 105; C asan ov a,

pl.

3, 9.

Coins

exam i ned : I A M , 1; Y K B ,

3;

A N S ,

3; BM, 1;

J S C o l L ,

l

Sources: This image

is

rather unskillfully rendered,

and it may be

partlyforthat reasonthatit has been impossibleto find a specificm o d el

fo r it. Al t houg hthe details ofg a rm e n t an d diadem are clear, they do not

seem to appear on any ancient, Byzantine,

Islamic,

or C rusader coin.

N or has a survey of other m edia, inc lud ing those

from

both eastern and

w estern C hristian circles, been m ore rew arding. It is conceivablethat

the die cutter in this instance w as w o r k i n g

"from

the life," but u n f o r -

tunately there

is no

specific detailthat would

helpto

confirm this pos-

sibility. For the

time

being,the sourcesof

this type

m ust rem ainanopen

question.

2.

S H M S

AL- N IsM'iL

67

(A.H.

559-67/A.D.

1164-72)

Type A

Plate 17, 12a,

12b.

Obv

In pearled circle, three lines of large cursive

script:

iM

al-Malikal-'lim

J ^ U J I al-'dil

S h a m s

^ j J I

LJ jJ I a l- D u n y wa'l-Dm

66

The top

ro w

may be curls ofhair.

67

Ism'Ilwas a

gra nd son

of

Yaghi

Basn's

brother M u h am m a d;

he

married Yaghl

Basn's w i d o w and

ruled

at Sivas after bis death.


25/37

158

E S T E L L E

J.

W H E L N

There

are two m a i n

v ar i ants

of

this type.

On the

first

the

script is unornamented. On the second the script is pointed:

There are three points above shln in Shams, one above n u n

in

D u n y ,

and one or two

above

n u n

i n D m . O n o n e

example

at

the ANS

there

i s a

small

hook above th e

ra y n

in

'lim.

Reu.:

Within pearled circle

figure

seated

facing on

throne, both feet

planted on g r o u n d . In margin between pearled circle an d outer

f r a me

of same

kin d, inscription

in

rather large cursive

charcters:

J-s**

jikJ jjl

Abu' l -Muzaffar Ism'I l

b.

Ibrahim b.

^.JU^JI j~ \

J*je^

M u h a m m a d

Za h ir

A m i r ,

al

M u ' m i n i n

On the first variant (not illustrated) the details of the costume

are not clear, but on

som e

exam ples

of the

second

we can

recogniz e

a short, patterned caftan with a pearledhem at abou t kn ee height.

The legs are clad in

p an talo o ns ,

the

feet

in

boots.

T he

r ight arm,

in

a

fll

sleeve

that

m asks the ha n d, is in position to hold a codex

against the ehest, but there is no codex; on the second variant the

folds of the

sleeve

are

rendered

by schematic lines. T he left arm

is not

shown

on

eithervariant.

T he

facial features

are

difficult

to

m a k e

out.

On t he

first variant

th e

shoulder-length hair

is

parted

in

the middle; on the second the face is flanked by long braids.

T he

throne

on the first

variant

has a

high back, with

anarch-

shaped

form

in the center serving to

f r a m e

the figu re's head. T he

throne back

has a

pearled edge,

an d

there

is a

k n o b

at

each upper

corner.

O n

each side

of the figure

parts

of two

concentric rec-

tangles decorating the

surface

of the thron e back are visible. T he

seat

is also edgedby pearls, and directly above it at the sides

are the

ends

of the

cushion

on

which

th e figure is

seated;

the

cushion

e nd s

are flanked by two

addit ional knobs indicating

the

arms

of the throne. T he

front legs

are

indicated

by two

pairs

of

plain

lines

f la n k i n g

single rows

of pearls. O n

some versions

th e

field on

either side

of the

i m a g e

is

filled with clusters

of two and

three

dots.


26/37

N I S H M N I

F I O U R E D C O P P E R C O I N S

159

O n

th esecond variant, w h ichhaspointing in theinscription on

th e

obverse,

th e image on the back also differs inseveraldetails:

The throne isoutlinedby a plain

rather

than a pearled, band;

instead

of

knobs

on the

back

there

are

pinnacles

consisting

of

clusters

of

three dots

f l a n k i n g

th e

central arch-shaped frame;

similar

clusters mark the arms of the throne; th e sides of the

throne back are

now

treatedin amanner identical tothatof the

legs;

and the entire throne is also slightly splayed, s ifviewed

through atilted lens.

See:

MCOr 9, no.

675; Tevhid,

no.

107; Artuk,

no.

1182;

Butak,

no. 106; Casanova,

pl. 6, 4 and 6.

C o i n s

examined: IAM,1 ;YKB, 9 ;ANS,3; BM 3; Staatliche

Museen

zu

Berlin

(casts

at ANS),3;JSColl., 2.

Sources: Theimageon

this

coinwasadapted from abillontype struck

by Alexius C o m ne nu s in Constantinoplea f ter his

reform

of the coinage

inA.D.

1092.68

O n th e Byzantine

m o de l

th e image is of the enthroned

Christ

with

halo.

In the

adaptation, however

the

halo

has

been con-

verted

into

a

part

of the

throne back,

and the

codex

has

been omitted.

The

f igure

on

Ism'H's coinswears

a

short

caftan

pantaloons,

and

boots, atype ofcostumethatappears tohave originated incentral Asia

an d

to

have penetrated

the

heartlands

of the

Near

Easts early s the

Parthian period.

69

In Islamictimes, it is f o u n d on a stucco sculpture

f rom the fa c a d e of the audience hallat Khirbatal

Mafjar

7 0 and on one of

the

figures decorating winebottles

at

Samarra.71

On a

silver medallion

of

68 Hendy

(above, n.

12),

pl. 7, 4, p. 86. The

billontype belongs

to

Alexius'

third

coinage.

69

For one example, see the marble

statue

ofKing Sanatruq of

Hatra

in the

Iraq

M u s e u m ;

R. Ghirshman,

Persian Art:

The

Parlhian

and

Sassanian

Dynaslies

249 B.C. A.D.651(N.Y., 1962), p. 94, fig. 105. Seealso E. P. Holmes, The Re-

presentation

of

Costumes

in the

Reliefs

of

Taq-i-Bustan, Arlibus Asiat

31

(1969),

pp.

101-46.

70 R. W. Hamilton,Khirbat

al Mafjar:

An

Arabian

Mansion in theJordan Valley

(Oxford, 1959),

p.

228,

pl. 55.

E. Herzfeld,

DieMalereien vonSamarra

(Berlin, 1927),pl. 69.


27/37

160

. E S T E L L E J. W H E L N

a l-M u q ta d ir

billh in

th e

Iraq M u s e u m

the

m o u n t e d

h o r s e m a n wears

a

short

caf tan

ver leggings.

72

T h at t h e sh o r t

caf tan

was st i l l current in the twelf th and thir teenth

centuries is clear

from

reliefs

on the

bridge

at

H i s n K a y f ,

a

niche

from

S i n j r now in the

Iraq

M u s e u m , and the

gat ew ay

t o K h a n

S i n j r .

7 3

Also in the

Iraq

Museum are a

n u m b e r

o f

u n d a t e d clay

figurines of

th e

period

o n w h i c h th e

details

o f c a f t a n and

leggings

are

quite

clear.74 It

appears

that

this

c o m b i n a t i o n

was one type of mil i tary

c o s t u m e

of the

period.

T h e

most

signif icant aspect of this

D n i s h m e n d i d

i m age is the

de-

liberate

el iminat ion

of the expressly Ch rist ian featu res of the

m o d e l

from

w h i c h

it was

copied.

C H R O N O L O G Y

T h e r e

are

very

fewfixed

po i nt s

in the

chronology

o f t h e D n i s h m e n d i d

coins.

T y p e

A o f A m i r

G h z i

m u st

have been st ruck

no t

long

before h is

deat h in528/1134an d t h u s at

least

15years before th e

first figured

coins

struck

in

n o r t h e r n M e s o p o t a m i a

by the

A r tu q i d T im u rt s h

of Mrdln.

75

T h e

single

type o f A m i r G h z l ' s s o n Malik

M u h a m m a d

m u s t h a v e

been

issued between 528 and 536.

76

A t this po int , how ever, the D nish -

72 I. S a l m n , Suwar min Hayyt a l - K h a l i f a t

al-'AbbsI a l - M u g t a d i r b i l l h ,

( ' T h e

As p e ct s of th e

L i f e

of the A b b a s i d C a l i p h a l - M u q t a d i r b i l l h , D e r iv e d f r o m

T w o P r o p ag a n d a D i r h a m s ) , al-Maskkl 4 (1973), p. 10, f i g. l, top.

73

See

respectively

A.

G a b r i e l ,

Voyages

archeologiques

en

Turquie

Orientale

2

(Paris, 1940), pl. 41, 2; G.

R e i t l i n g e r ,

M ed i ev a l A n t i q u i t i e sWest o f

M o s u l , Iraq

5

(1938),

pl. 24,14-15;and P r e u s s e r ( ab o v e , n . ' 4 0) ,pl. 17, bottom ( mi s l ab e l e d ) .

74

Apparently,

these

f i g u r i n e s

h a v e not been

p u b l i s h e d .

75 N i c h o l a s Lovvi c k hassent

a

photograph

of a

cas t t ak e n f r o m

a

co i n w i t h reverse

almost

e x a c t l y likethat o fAmir G h z l ' s T y p e Abut w i t h a n A r a b i c in s c r i p t i o n o n t h e

obverse

in the

name

o f

Diy'

a l - D I n , p e r h a p s t h e S a l d u q i d

Diy' al-DIn

G h z i o f

Erzurum, who

died in 526; see F. Smer, Saltuklular, Selfuklu Ara lirmalan

Dergisi

3 (1971), pp.

401-10.

If t h i s i d e n t i f i c a t i o nis correct , then it

w o u l d

ap p e ar

that

the

In i t i a t i o n

of

f ig u r al

co p p e r co i n ag e

in the

520s

was a

b r o a d e r p h e n o m e n o n

than had previously been supposed and that A r a b i c i n s c r i p t i o n s w e r e adopted in

e as t e r n An at o l i a f r o m

the

v e r y b e g i n n i n g .

76

All

e v e n t s

and

dates ci ted here

are

t ak e n

f r o m

M elikof f ( ab o v e ,

n. 2),

u n l e s s

otherwise

noted.


28/37

N I S H M N I

F I G U R E D C O P P E R

C O I N S

1 6 1

meiidid line split

into three branches,

and the

chronology

of the

coins

becomes less

clear.

What follows is largely speculative, based on the assumption that the

evolution of the

coinage

w as

approximately sim ultane ous

in all

three

capitals. This ass um ptio n

is

quite arbitrary,

but it

seems

justifiable

in

that it permits th e

construction

of a

coherent pattern

of

development

and

thus provides both a point of d e par t ur e and a target for

f u t u r e

a t t e m pt s

to establish D nish m end id chronology on

f irmer

fo un da tion s (see Table 2:

C hronological

S u m m a r y ) .

At the

death

of Malik M uh am m ad in 536, his brother Yaghl Basn

proclaimed

himself

amir at Sivas, and another brother,

Ayn

a l -D a w l a h,

established

himself

in

Malatyah

and

Albistn. M alik M uham m ad s

so n D h 1 -N n

w as able to retain con trol of Ka yseri, how ever. It is

clear both from the coin inscriptions and

from

our sketchy knowledge

of

historical

eventsthat Yaghl Basn was preeminent a m o n g these three

un t i l

his

death

in

559,

and it

might therefore

be

supposed

that he

took

the lead in

issuing

coinage.

77

The assumption of

simulfaneous

evolution, however, suggests a

some-

what

different

pattern. The two

D nishmendid coin

types struck

before

536 carry only G reek inscriptions.

O n l y

one of M a lik M u h a m m a d s

three

successors, f

A y n

al-D aw lah, struck a coin w ith a comp letely G reek

inscription; he died in 547. We shall there fo re tentative ly con clud e

that only G reek types were in circulation until 547.

T he

next phase appears

to

have been

one in w h i c h

G re ek

an d

Arabic

inscriptions w ere com bined. A yn al-Dawlah s successor

at

M a l a t y a h ,

Dh l-Qarnayn,

struck

such a mixed type.

This

type is particularly

important,for it is

dated

to a

second indiction year.

The

second year

of

an indiction

cycle

did

fall

in

Dh l-Qarnayn s

reign in A.D .

1158/59,

77

A m o n g

th e

events sup portin g this conclusion

w as

Y a g h lBasn s a b d u c t i o n

in

554 of a

da u g h ter

of Izz a l-D I n

S a l d u q

of

E r zu ru m , w ho

was on her

w ay

to be

married to the Sel j u q Qilij Arslnll; Yaghl Basn married

herto

h is own

nephew

D h 1 - N n

instead,

w hi ch

implies h is do mi n a ti o n of the latter. Both

S m e r

(above

n. 75), pp. 413-14, and C a h en (a bo v e, n. 2), p. 107, place this event in 560 on the

basis

of the

somewhat garbled report

of ibn

a l-Athlr,

al Kmil 1 1

(Beirut, 1966),

p. 317; but, s Yaghi Basn died in 559, that isim possible.


29/37

162 E S T E L L E J.

W H E L A N

equivalenttoA.H. 553/54.78 This coin also includes an

Image,

the first to

occur

on Dnishmendid

coins

since Type A o f A m i r Gh z l about 30

years earlier. Unlike its predecessor, however,

Dh l-Qarnayn s image

w as

not

dependent upon

a

Byzantine

model.

The

only other

Dnishmendid coin on which Greek and Arabic in-

scriptions are

combined

is

Type

A of

D h 1 -N n

of

Kayseri. Because

of these inscriptions and the simple protocol, in which Dh 1-Nn

claimed

only

the

title

of amlr,

this coin

was

probably

the

earliest

of

his three known types. Indeed, s

it is

entirely epigraphic,

it can be

placed between 547, when pure Greek types came

to an end

with r A y n

al-Dawlah s

death, and 553/54, when

D h l - Q a r n ay n

struck his

mixed

typewith an image.

T he first pictorial coin with an inscription entirely in Arabic w as

probably

Type A of Yaghi Basn at Sivas. H e w as the only one of the

D nis hm e ndid

rulers

to use the title

al-Malik

in his

lifetime

and to

adopt a more elaborate protocol, including al-Malik al- dil and

Zahir

A m lr

a l-M u minin.

79

Because an image is present, the inscription

entirely

in

Arabic,

and the

protocol more

com plex, it

seems probable that

this

coin

was

struck

after

Dh l-Qarnayn s mixed type (thus between

553 and 559, when Yaghi Basn died).

If

this is correct, then Yaghi

Basn struck nocoins during the first two decades of his rule, which is

rather surprising. Nevertheless, there is

firm

evidence

that

Dh l-Qarnayn

waited

six or

seven years after

his

succession before issuing coins.

It seems fair to conclude that the Dnishmendids did not automati-

callymark

their

succession by issuing coins.

A l th o ug h

Yaghi Basn

left

several sons, none

of

them succeeded

him; instead, his widow married

Ism II,

a nephew o f Dh l N u n, and to-

gether they

attempted to

hold

the

throne. Both were killed

in

567.

Ism H s

Type A was thus struck between 559 and 567. It is noteworthy

thathe adopted for himself the

same

titles

that

had been identified with

78

The

Constantinopolitan

system

of

beginning

the

indiction year

on

September

l

continued

in

Anatolia

through

the

Middle Ages. September

l,

1158,

feil

about the

middle of

A.H. 553.

79

These

titles appear in

expanded form

in the

only known monumental inscription

of

Yaghi Basn,

which is dated

A.H. 552;

M. van Berchem

(above,

n. 1), pp. 85-89.


30/37

N I S H M N I F I G U R E D C O P P E R C O I N S 163

Yaghl

Bash:

al-Malikal-'dil, the

k u n y a h

Ab'l-Muzaffar,8 0 and Zahlr

Amir al-Mu'minin.

Ism'Il's

reign was one of great unrest,

s

bis succession had stirred

up rivalries among

bis

relations and brought the Intervention of the

Seljqid Qilij Arsln II. It must have been during this interval

that

D h ' 1 - N n struck bis Type B. This coin,

with

an image and a purely

Arabic inscription, also contains

by far the

most complex protocol

so

far, and it probablycould have been issued only after the death of Yaghl

Bas n in 559. N evertheless, despite the

long

string of Arabic, Persian,

and Turkish

titles,

D h'1-N n still had not risen abovethe Statusof

al-

Amir al-Isfahsalr.

I n 56 3 D h '1 - N n was d riven

from

bis throne at Kayseri by

Qilij

Arsln and took

refuge

with the Zankid

N u r

al-D In of Aleppo.

Type

B

thus probably belongs

to the

period 559-63.

U p o n Ism'il's

death

in 567

N u r al- D I n placed D h '1 - N n

on the

throne at Sivas, with a guarantee of

bis

protection. But

N u r

a l-D I n

himself

died in 569, and D h'1 -N n was again

forced

to flee, this time to

the

Em pero r M anuel

in

C o nstant ino ple;

he was

killed

in

570.

It is

most likely

that

Type

C was

struck during

this

interval

at

Sivas,

567-69.

It was

only

onthis

type

that

D h ' 1 - N n

finally

asserted

bis claim to

kingship, calling himself al-Malik

al-Ajall and

reviving bis father's old

title

Malik Bild

a l - R m

wa'1-Anatl.

Meanwhile,in 557 D h' l -Q arnayn died atMalatyah

81

and was succeeded

by

bis

son N sir al-D I n M u h a m m a d , w h o

ruled

until 565; he was then

driven out,

andbis

brothers

Qsim and

A fr l d n ruled

in

qu ick succession.

In 570, however, M uh am m ad returned to the thron e of Malatyah und er

th e aegis ofQilij Arsln. Asidefrom M u h a m m a d ' scounterstamp on one

of

bis

fathe r's coins, we have two

types

struck inbis own name.

Type

A

includes only the simplest Statement ofbis nam e and genealogy, whereas

TypeBincludes alsobisk u n y a hand thetitle NasirAmir al-Mu'minin.

Type Aalmost

certainly therefore preceded

Type B; it is

dated

to

558.

80

Van Berchem (above, n. 1), p. 87, for his reasons for

assigning

this

k u n y a h

to

Y a g h l Basn.

C ahen (above,

n. 2) pp.

100-101, says that

he

died

in

555;

Melikoff's

dating

is

used here.


31/37

64 ESTELLE J

WHELAN

It

seems logical to assign Type B to the period ofM u h a m m a d 'srestora-

tion

(570-73).

O nepuzzle

i s

w hether

or not

N s ir a l- D In M u h a m m a d

w as the

person

whom Dh'1-Nn

mentioned on his

Type

C. It was

probably struck

between 567 and 569, within the period of M u h a m m a d ' s exile from

Malatyah. Although

there

is no record of an all iance between

these

second cousins,

it is not

impossiblethat

one

existed; still,

it

would

have

been

u n u s u a l

for a

prince

to

n a m e

a

lesser figure (other

than his

des-

ignated heir)

on his

coins.

A s there are no

monumenta l inscr ip t ions

of Nsir al -DIn, w e do not know whether or not hebore the titleSharaf

al-Is lm.

T he

on

Documents

A contribution to Dānishmendid history : the figured copper coins / Estelle J. Whelan