House of Mengüjek numismatics
editSayf al-Din Shahanshah's coinage, of which there are three known varieties in copper, captures the essence of Seljuk dominance as it was felt in Divrigi in late twelfth-century Anatolia.[1] The earliest type, which dates to 1171-2, is inscribed with Shahanshah's name on the reverse and Kilij Arslan II's name and title on the obverse.[2] This coin was most likely indicates a numismatic symbol of servitude to Kilij Arslan II, during the time Shahanshah seized control in Divrigi.[2] Although it is not dated, a second type of Shahanshah coin lacks the name of the Seljuk sultan.[2] This type likely refers to the time just after Kilij Arslan II's death in 1192, when the sultan's sons engaged in a civil war for the Seljuk throne.[2]
Sultanate of Rum
editA significant portion of the Islamic Near East may have experienced a "silver famine" because of little, or very little, silver mintings from the eleventh and most of the twelfth centuries, however, at the start of the thirteenth century a "silver flood" occurred in Rum Seljuq territory when Anatolian silver mines were discovered.[3] The fineness of Rum Seljuq dirhams is similar to that of dinars; frequently, both were struck using the same dies.[3] The Seljuq silver coinage's superior quality and prominence contributed to the dynasty's affluence throughout the early part of the thirteenth century and explains why it served as a kind of anchor for the local "currency community."[4] The Empire of Trebizond and Armenian Cilician silver coins were modeled after the fineness and weight specifications of Rum Seljuq coins.[5]
The earliest documented Rum Seljuq copper coins were made in the first part of the twelfth century in Konya and the eastern Anatolian emirates.[6] Extensive numismatic evidence suggests that, starting in the middle of the thirteenth century and continuing until the end of the Seljuk dynasty, silver-producing mints and silver coinage flourished, particularly in central and eastern Anatolia.[7]
The sun-lion and the equestian are the two central motifs in the Rum Seljuq numismatic figural repertoire.[5] The image of a horseman with two more arrows ready and his bow taut represents strength and control and is a representation of the ideal Seljuq king of the Great Age.[5] The image initially appeared on Rum Seljuq copper coins in the late eleventh century.[5] The first to add equestrian iconography to silver and gold coins was Rukn al-Din Sulayman II(r.1197-1204).[5]
Antalya minted coins with 'Izz al-Din Kaykawus name from November 1261 to November 1262.[8]
Seljuk Empire
editReferences
edit- ^ Pancaroglu 2013, p. 28-29.
- ^ a b c d Pancaroglu 2013, p. 29.
- ^ a b Canby et al. 2016, p. 68.
- ^ Canby et al. 2016, p. 68-69.
- ^ a b c d e Canby et al. 2016, p. 69.
- ^ Beihammer 2017, p. 20.
- ^ Pamuk 2000, p. 28.
- ^ Shukurov 2016, p. 104.
Sources
edit- Beihammer, Alexander Daniel (2017). Byzantium and the Emergence of Muslim-Turkish Anatolia, Ca. 1040-1130. Routledge.
- Pamuk, Sevket (2000). A Monetary History of the Ottoman Empire. Cambridge University Press.
- Pancaroglu, Oya (2013). "The House of Mengujek in Divrigi: Constructions of Dynastic Identity in the Late Twelfth Century". In Peacock, A.C.S.; Yildiz, Sara Nur (eds.). The Seljuks of Anatolia: Court and Society in the Medieval Middle East. I.B. Tauris.
- Shukurov, Rustam (2016). The Byzantine Turks, 1204-1461. Brill.
- Canby, Sheila R.; Beyazit, Deniz; Rugiadi, Maryam; Peacock, A.C.S., eds. (2016). Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs. Metropolitan Museum of Art.