| Baldwin's Auctions Ltd > Auction C24003 | Auction date: 19 March 2024 |
| Lot number: 86 Price realized: 2,000 GBP (Approx. 2,542 USD / 2,341 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Abbasid, Abbasid Governors, 'Asim bin Jamil (AH 140 / 788 AD) or 'Abd al?Malik bin Abi al?Ja'di (AH 140?141 / 758?759 AD), silver Dirham, AH 140 / 758 AD, Ifriqiya, 2.73g (Lowick 268 var.). Very Fine, slightly bent. Extremely rare. Only a couple known to have appeared on the market and none since 2014.For parallels see Morton & Eden, Auction 69, lots 14 and 15. The Governor of Africa at the time of the overthrow of the Umayyads was 'Abd al?Rahman b. Habib, who had been appointed in AH 127. In AH 132 the new Abbasid caliph, al?Saffah, reconfirmed 'Abd al?Rahman's governorship. 'Abd al?Rahman sporadically issued dirhams of Umayyad type during this period (examples from AH 133?136 are known). This practice was continued by the four short?lived governors who served between AH 138 and AH 144. Estimate: 2000 - 3000 GBP |  |
Match 1:
| Roma Numismatics Ltd. > E-Sale 116 | Auction date: 18 January 2024 |
| Lot number: 1624 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: A Collection of 50 Abbasid Æ Fulus. Lot includes: 1) Abbasids, time of al-Ma'mun Æ Fals Samarqand mint, AH 205 = AD 821. First part of Kalima in three lines; date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; citing governor Ghassan ibn 'Abbad. Album 334; Shamma p. 335, 6. Good Fine. Very Rare. 2) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur (?) Æ Fals. No mint, undated, citing Hamid [bin Quhatiba]?. Allah in the centre; kalima around / Hamid in the centre. Album 334E; Shamma -. Good Fine. Very Rare. 3) Abbasids, time of al-Ma'mun Æ Fals. Al-Shash mint, AH 204 = AD 820. First part of Kalima in three lines, citing governor Ghassan [ibn 'Abbad]; Quran IX, 33 around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around. Album 334E; Shamma -; SICA II, -. About Very Fine. Very Rare. 4) Abbasids, Al-Mahdi Æ Fals. Kazirun mint, AH 167 = AD 784. Mint in two lines, citing Rabi' below / Caliph's name and title in three lines, citing Prefect Nusayr below; date formula around. Album A328; Shamma -; Cf. SICA II, 1242 (dated AH 166). About Very Fine. Extremely Rare. 5) Abbasids, time of Al-Amin Æ Fals. Sijistan mint, AH 194 = AD 810. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Large six-pointed star on petaled flower; Quran IX, 33 around. Album 335. Cf. Shamma p. 290, 11; SICA II, 1499. Good Fine. Rare. 6) Abbasids, time of Al-Rashid Æ Fals. Sijistan mint, AH 178 = AD 795. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; citing the governor Yazid below. Album 335. Shamma p. 289, 7; SICA II, 1498. Good Fine. Rare. 7) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Jurjan mint, AH 145 = AD 763. First part of Kalima in three lines / Continuation of kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around. Album 327; Shamma p. 303, 5. Fine. Scarce. 8) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Jurjan mint, AH 139 = AD 757. First part of Kalima in three lines / Continuation of kalima in two lines divided by two stars and circle; mint and date formula around. Album 327; Shamma p. 302, 1. Good Fine; edge chipped. Scarce. 9) Abbasids, time of Al-Rashid Æ Fals. Jurjan mint, AH 184 = AD 800. First part of Kalima in three lines; citing governor al-Husayn ibn Ali and Isma'il ibn Mas'ub / Continuation of kalima in three lines; "Salam" (?) split above and below; mint and date formula around. Album 327; Shamma p. 304, 12. Good Fine. Rare. 10) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Jurjan mint, AH 151 = AD 769. First part of Kalima in three lines / Continuation of kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around. Album 327; Shamma p. 303, 7. Fine. Scarce. 11) Abbasids, time of Al-Rashid Æ Fals. Jurjan mint, AH 190 = AD 806. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; citing the Abbasid governor Isma'il ibn Musa and the Abbasid official Ya'qub ibn Ishaq. Album 327; Shamma p. 304, 13. Good Fine. Rare. 12) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Al-Muhammadiya mint, AH 152 = AD 770. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Citing the caliph al-Mahdi as al-khalifa; Quran IX, 33 around. Album 329; Shamma p. 206, 5. About Very Fine. Scarce. 13) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Balkh mint, AH 142 = AD 760. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; citing Governor al-Hasan Ibn Himran around. Album 319; Shamma p. 307, 1. Very Fine; area of weakness. Scarce. 14) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Balkh mint, AH 149 = AD 767. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in two lines; citing Governor Harb bin Ziyad and the heir al-Mahdi around. Album 319; Shamma p. 312, 2. Very Fine. Scarce. 15) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Rashid Æ Fals. Balkh mint, AH 187 = AD 803. First part of Kalima in three lines, citing 'Issa below; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; Quran IX, 33 around. Album 319; Shamma p. 312, 6. About Very Fine. Scarce. 16) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Rashid Æ Fals. Balkh mint, AH 182 = AD 798. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; Quran IX, 33 around. Album 319; Shamma p. 312, 3. About Very Fine. 17) Abbasids, time of Al-Mahdi Æ Fals. Kurat al-Mahdiya min Fars mint, AH 161 = AD 788. First part of Kalima in three lines; date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines, citing the city name "Jur" above; mint formula around. Album 328; Shamma p. 227, 1. About Very Fine. Rare. 18) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Bukhara mint, AH 143 = AD 761. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; citing the governor al-'Ashath and the caliphal heir al-Mahdi. Album 320; Shamma p. 327, 3. Good Very Fine. Rare. 19) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Bukhara mint, AH 148 = AD 766. First part of Kalima in three lines, star below; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines, tamgha similar to the later Zangids tamgha below; citing the governor Mu'abad and the caliphal heir al-Mahdi. Album 320; Shamma p. 328, 6. About Very Fine. Rare. 20) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Bukhara mint, AH 151 = AD 769. First part of Kalima in three lines, star below; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in two lines divided by ornament between them; citing the governor al-Junayd b. Khalid and the caliphal heir al-Mahdi. Album 320; Shamma p. 328, 7. Very Fine; light oxidation. Rare. 21) Abbasids, time Al-Rashid Æ Fals. Bukhara mint, AH 185 = AH 801. First part of Kalima in three lines; date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines, "Adl" below; citing Ali' ibn Isa and Sa'id Ja'far around. Abum 320; Shamma p. 329, 12. Very Fine. Rare. 22) Abbasids, time of Al-Mahdi Æ Fals. Bukhara mint, AH 160 = AD 787. "Blessing Musa" as califal heir; First part of Kalima in three lines; date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; citing the governor Abdullah bin Qudayd and 'Abd al-Malik bin Yazid around. Album 320; Shamma p. 329, 9. Very Fine. Rare. 23) Abbasids, time Al-Rashid Æ Fals. Bukhara mint, AH 190 = AH 806. First part of Kalima in three lines; date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; citing governor al-Hakim ibn Sa'id. Abum 320; Shamma p. 330, 12. Very Fine. Rare. 24) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Samarqand mint, AH 144 = AD 762. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around within a dotted circle / Continuation of kalima in three lines, Tamgha of Samarqand below; citing the governor al-'Ashath and the caliphal heir al-Mahdi within a dotted circle. Album 334; Shamma p. 334, 2. About Very Fine. Very Rare. 25) Abbasids, time Al-Rashid Æ Fals. Samarqand mint, AH 172 = AH 790. First part of Kalima in three lines; date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines, "Adl" below; citing Jafar bin Muhammad and Masa`da b. Zuhayr. Album 334; Shamma, p.334, 4. Very Rare. 26) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Samarqand mint, AH 153 = AD 771. First part of Kalima in three lines; citing governor Hamza bin 'Amru around / Continuation of kalima in three lines, mint and date formula around. Album 334; Shamma p. 334, 3. About Very Fine. Very Rare. 27) Abbasids, Anonymous time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals of 1/60 dirham. Al-Shash mint, AH 149 = AD 767. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around within a dotted circle / Continuation of kalima in three lines; citing Sa'îd ibn Yahyâ and denomination of 1/60 dirham within a dotted circle. Album 334E; Shamma -; SICA II, -. Good Fine. Very Rare. 28) Abbasids, al-Mahdi Æ Fals. Madinat al-Salam mint, AH 166 = AD 783. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; citing the caliph al-Mahdi Muhammad around. Album 307.1; Shamma p. 40, 16. Good Fine; clipped. 29) Abbasids, al-Mansur Æ Fals. Madinat al-Salam mint, AH 157 = AD 774. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines, " 'Adl " below; citing the caliph Abd Allah al-Mansur around. Album 307.1; Shamma p. 38, 7. Good Fine. Scarce. 30) Abbasids, al-Mahdi Æ Fals. Al-Kufa mint, AH 167 = AD 784. First part of Kalima in three lines / Continuation of kalima in three lines; " baraka" below; citing the caliph al-Mahdi, mint and date formula around. Album 306; Shamma p. 63, 20. About Very Fine. 31) Abbasids, al-Mahdi Æ Fals. Al-Kufa mint, AH 163 = AD 780. First part of Kalima in three lines / Continuation of kalima in three lines; " baraka" below; citing the caliph al-Mahdi, mint and date formula around. Album 306; Shamma p. 61, 13; Lowick 489. About Very Fine. 32) Abbasids, Anonymous time of al-Mutawakkil Æ Fals. Dimashq mint, AH 234 = AD 849. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines, "al-hamd" below; Quran IX, 33 around. Album 284; Shamma p. 86, 13. About Very Fine; clipped. Scarce. 33) Abbasids, al-Rashid Æ Fals. Wasit mint, AH 187 = AD 803. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima, tasliya in three lines, citing " Sa'id" below; citing the heir al-Amir around. Album 313; Shamma p. 66, 13. About Very Fine. Very Rare. 34) Abbasids, Anonymous time of al-Saffah Æ Fals. Halab mint, AH 135 = AD 754. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; Quran IX, 33 around. Album 286; Shamma p. 89, 3. About Very Fine. 35) Abbasids, Uncertain period time of al-Saffah to al-Amin in the name of Amr ibn Isa and Abd-Allah ibn Zayd Æ Fals. Hims mint, undated, circa AH 132-199 = AD 749-813. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint formula around citing Abd-Allah ibn Zayd / Continuation of kalima in three lines, citing Amr ibn Isa. Album 287; Shamma p. 96, 2. About Very Fine. 36) Abbasids, time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Qinnasrin mint, AH 157 = AD 774. First part of Kalima in three lines; " 'ala yaday Ahmad " below; mint and date formula around / Continuation of kalima in three lines, "bakh - bakh" below; citing Ahmad around. Album 290; Shamma p. 111, 4. Very Fine. 37) Abbasids, Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Kahazanat Halab (Treasury of Halab) mint, AH 146 = AD 764. First part of Kalima in three lines; citing Salih ibn Ali around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around. Album 289; Shamma p. 90, 9. About Very Fine. Rare. 38) Abbasids, Uncertain period time of Rustam ibn Bardaw, governor of Tarsus Æ Fals. Tarsus mint, undated, circa AH 240-330 = AD 850-940. First part of Kalima in three lines / Citing the governor of Tarsus Rustam ibn Bardaw in four lines. Album 299; Shamma p. 100, 11. Fine. Very Rare. 39) Abbasids, time of Al-Rashid Æ Fals. Thaghr al-Masisa ('The Frontier town of al-Masisa') mint, undated, AH 170-193 = AD 786-809. First part of Kalima in three lines / Continuation of kalima in three lines, "bi-Taghr _ al-Masisa" split above and below. Album 298; Shamma -; SICA II, 1591. About Very Fine. Rare. Al-Masisa, the ancient city of Mopsos-Mopsuestia in Cilicia, was located at the northern frontier of the Abbasid empire in the 2nd century AH. 40) Abbasids, time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals struck under Governor al-'Abbas ibn Muhammad. Al-Jazira mint, undated, struck circa AH 130-140 = AD 750-760. Kalima in three lines; citing al-'Abbas ibn Muhammad / Continuation of kalima in three lines; mint formula around. Album 304; Shamma p. 145, 1. About Very Fine. 41) Abbasids, Uncertain period time of Muhammad ibn Musa, Tulunid governor of Cilicia Æ Cast Fals. (Tarsus) mint, undated, circa AH 280 = AD 893. Kalima in three lines; below, 'fard' (excellent) / "ordered by al-Amir Muhammad ibn Musa" in three lines. Album 300 (cf. Album 669 for the Tulunid issue); Shamma p. 99, 8. Fine. Very Rare. 42) Abbasids, time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. al-Yazidiya mint, AH 149 = AD 767. First part of Kalima in three lines / Continuation of kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around. Album 313K. Shamma -; SICA II, -; Vardanyan 2016, 40. Very Fine. Extremely Rare. al-Yazidiya is a mint located probably in Armenia. 43) Abbasids, time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. Al-Bab mint, AH 153 = AD 773. First part of Kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around / Citing caliphal heir apparent al-Mahdi Muhammad in three lines. Album A315; Shamma p. 236, 1. About Very Fine. Extremely Rare. 44) Abbasids, time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals, struck under Governor of Armenia Yazid ibn Asid ibn Zafir al-Sulami. Bardha'a (in Armenia), AH 142 = AD 760. First part of Kalima in two lines; Citing the governor Yazid ibn Asid around / Continuation of kalima in three lines. Album 315. Shamma -; SICA II, -. About Very Fine. Very Rare. Yazid ibn Asid as-Sulami was a member of the Banu Sulaym tribe, which had participated in the Muslim conquest of Armenia and been settled by the caliphs in the western Armenian borderlands with the Byzantine Empire. 45) Abbasids, time of Al-Mansur Æ Fals. al-Yazidiya mint, AH 150 = AD 768. First part of Kalima in three lines/ Continuation of kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around. Album 313K. Shamma -; SICA II, 1628; Vardanyan 2016, 40. Good Fine. Very Rare. al-Yazidiya is a mint located probably in Armenia. 46) Abbasids, Al-Mahdi Æ Fals. Sabur mint, AH 167 = AD 784. Caliph's name and title, within elaborate border in margin / Mint and date in four lines; citing the governor Nusayr around. Album 333; Shamma p. 281, 9. About Very Fine. Scarce. 47) Abbasids, time of Al-Mahdi Æ Fals, struck under Governor of Armenia Yazid ibn Asid ibn Zafir al-Sulami. Bardha'a (in Armenia), AH 159 = AD 776. First part of Kalima in two lines; Citing the governor Yazid ibn Asid around / Continuation of kalima in three lines. Album 315. Shamma -; SICA II, -. Vardanyan 2016, 248. Very Fine. Very Rare. Yazid ibn Asid as-Sulami was a member of the Banu Sulaym tribe, which had participated in the Muslim conquest of Armenia and been settled by the caliphs in the western Armenian borderlands with the Byzantine Empire. 48) Abbasids, time of al-Rashid Æ fals. Fasa mint, AH 182 = AD 798. First part of Kalima in three lines, Muhammad below; citing Muhammad b. Yahya al-Barmaki around / Continuation of kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around, " Barmaki" below. Album 321; Shamma p.273, 3. Very Fine. Very Rare. 49) Abbasids, time of Al-Saffah Æ Fals. Ardashir Khurra mint, AH 134 = AD 752. First part of Kalima in three lines / Continuation of kalima in three lines; mint and date formula around. Album 317; Shamma p. 265, 2. About Very Fine. Very Rare. 50) Abbasids, Al-Mahdi Æ Fals. Istakhr mint, AH 167 = AD 784. First part of Kalima in three lines / Caliph's name and title in three lines, citing the governor al-Rabi below; mint and date around. Album A216; Shamma p. 269, 9. Good Very Fine. Scarce. Lot sold as seen – no returns. Estimate: 1500 GBP |  |
Match 2:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Islamic Auction 5 | Auction date: 18 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 151 Price realized: 95,000 USD (Approx. 89,167 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: Bahri Mamluks. Shajar al-Durr. AH 648 / AD 1250. AV Dinar (22.1mm, 4.23 g, 3h). Al-Qahira mint. Dated AH 648 (AD 1250). Obverse field: al-Imam / al-Musta'sim / billah Abu Ahmad 'Abd / Allah amir al-mu'minin / Reverse field: al-mu'minin / al-Musta'simiyya al-Salihiya / Malika al-muslimin wa'l-Dahat / al-Malik al-Mansur Khalil / Amir. Balog, Mamluk 1; BMC III, 469 (same dies); cf. Stacks Bowers & Ponterio (13 January 2023) lot 23325; Album 868. Minor edge marks. Near EF. Of the highest rarity, a famous and historically important coin. Celebrated by contemporary writers for her intelligence, piety and love of the arts as well as her beauty, Shajar al-Durr, was purchased as a slave by the Ayyubid ruler al-Salih b. Ayyub (AH 636-647 / AD 1238-1249). She is thought to have been of Turkic or Armenian heritage, and her given name is not known (the epithet Shajar al-Durr, by which she is known today means 'Tree of Pearls' in Arabic). After al-Salih b. Ayyub became the Ayyubid Sultan, she bore him a son, Khalil, after which al-Salih married her. In AH 647, Egypt was faced with the prospect of invasion by the Seventh Crusade, led by King Louis IX of France. Al-Salih b. Ayyub, who was already terminally ill, went from Syria to the mouth of the Nile in order to meet the Crusader threat, but his declining health forced him to retreat to the safety of the fortified town of al-Mansura. Louis's army was thus able to land at Damietta largely unopposed, capturing the bridge which connected the city with the west bank of the Nile. The inhabitants fled, and the Crusaders occupied the deserted city. Louis soon began preparations for an advance on Cairo. With al-Salih b. Ayyub on his deathbed and the Crusaders threatening to attack the Ayyubid capital, the fate of Egypt hung in the balance. But Louis' need to wait for reinforcements, plus a combination of the summer heat, the seasonal Nile floods and persistent harassment of the Crusader army by Muslim guerillas, meant that he was slow to move south from Damietta. Aware that the death of al-Salih b. Ayyub might throw Egypt into turmoil, Shajar al-Durr thus had time to plan accordingly. She arranged with the commander of the army and the chief palace eunuch that al-Salih's death should be concealed, and the deceased Sultan's body was secretly taken by boat to a castle on an island in the Nile. As it appears that al-Salih himself had left no instructions regarding his choice of successor, Shajar al-Durr arranged for al-Mu'azzam Turanshah, one of al-Salih's sons, to be summoned from Hisn Kayfa to succeed his father as Ayyubid Sultan. Meanwhile, Shajar al-Durr continued to have food prepared and brought to her deceased husband's tent, supporting the fiction that he was still alive. Thus when al-Salih's soldiers and ministers were ordered to give their allegiance to Turanshah, they believed they were acting in accordance with the dying al-Salih's wishes. Once Turanshah had arrived in Egypt and been formally enthroned as Sultan, Shajar al-Durr allowed al-Salih's death to become public knowledge. When this news reached the Crusaders, Louis ordered a southward advance on Cairo, surprising and defeating an Ayyubid force encamped about two miles north of the palace of al-Mansura. With Turanshah himself yet to reach the city, the decision to mount a defence of al-Mansura fell to Shajar al-Durr and her commanders, who included the future Mamluk rulers Aybak, Baybars and Qala'un. It was Baybars who devised the plan of opening the gates of al-Mansura to let the Crusaders within the city walls. Believing the city to be deserted, the Crusaders poured into al-Mansura only to be attacked from all sides by the Ayyubid army with support from the townspeople. The result was a massacre, and of the contingent of Knights Templar who accompanied the Crusaders into the city it is recorded that only five men escaped alive. Two months later, Turanshah himself led the army which annihilated the Seventh Crusade at the battle of Fariskur. Louis IX was captured, and eventually ransomed for the sum of 400,000 dinars. The Crusaders never again made a serious attempt to invade Egypt. But while the Crusaders had been crushed, matters were anything but harmonious between the victors. Turanshah, clearly feeling threatened by the power of Shajar al-Durr and her mamluks, immediately began to replace serving officials with his own loyal supporters, and also wrote to Shajar al-Durr to demand that she hand over al-Salih's treasury to him. If Turanshah expected Shajar al-Durr to be intimidated into subservience, however, he was fatally mistaken. Barely a month after the victory at Fariskur, Turanshah was assassinated by a group of Mamluks under the leadership of Baybars, bringing Ayyubid rule in Egypt to an abrupt end. Remarkably, the Mamluks took the decision to install Shajar al-Durr herself as the new ruler, with Aybak appointed as her commander-in-chief. Thus for the first time since Cleopatra, a woman ruled over Egypt. Unfortunately for Shajar al-Durr, however, other powers in the region proved hostile to her rule. The various Ayyubid rulers in Syria refused to accept her as their overlord, so that Damascus chose to acknowledge the Ayyubid Amir of Halab instead. While the Mamluks could respond to this by taking measures against pro-Ayyubid governors and officials in Egypt, they could do nothing in the face of the refusal by the 'Abbasid caliph, al-Musta'sim, to confirm Shajar al-Durr as ruler in Egypt. Without the legitimacy conferred by formal recognition from the caliph, Shajar al-Durr's position was unsustainable, and the Mamluks knew it. Their solution was to arrange for her to marry Aybak and to abdicate in his favour, leaving him to rule as Sultan. Duly mollified, the caliph gave the new ruler his approval. The Ayyubids remained hostile, but al-Musta'sim intervened, conscious that with Mongol raiding parties not far from Baghdad he would need support from both sides. The resulting agreement saw the formal recognition of the Mamluk state, which would be a dominant force in the region for centuries to come. While Shajar al-Durr's reign only lasted some eighty days, she remained a formidable political force in the region after her abdication. From Aybak's perspective, this proved something of a mixed blessing: he gained legitimacy through being married to a former Sultana who had herself previously been al-Salih b. Ayyub's wife, but her continuing involvement in politics made it harder for him to establish himself as a strong and independent ruler in his own right. A powerful group of Mamluks including Baybars and Qala'un remained loyal to Shajar al-Durr rather than to Aybak, and eventually Aybak felt sufficiently threatened to move against them, executing their leader Altay. Relations between Aybak and Shajar al-Durr continued to deteriorate, with Shajar al-Durr both attempting to take personal control of state affairs while also demanding a divorce. Eventually, seeking a political ally who could support him against Shajar al-Durr and her faction, Aybak married the daughter of the ruler of Mawsil, Badr al-Din Lu'lu'. Betrayed both personally and politically by the husband whom she had made Sultan, Shajar al-Durr's response was to arrange for Aybak to be murdered in his bath early in AH 655. But the servants who killed Aybak confessed their crime under torture, and only a few days later Shajar al-Durr herself was beaten to death by slave-women belonging to Aybak's first wife, who was also the mother of his successor, al-Mansur 'Ali. Her magnificent tomb, near the Mosque of Tulun in Cairo, survives today. Estimate: 100000 USD |  |
Match 3:
| Leu Numismatik AG > Web Auction 28 | Auction date: 9 December 2023 |
| Lot number: 5646 Price realized: 1,600 CHF (Approx. 1,819 USD / 1,689 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: CRUSADERS. Crusader Imitations of Islamic Dirhams. Dirham (Silver, 22 mm, 2.17 g, 8 h), Imitating an Ayyubid dirham of al-Salih Ismaiʿl (AH 635 / AD 1237 and AH 637-643 / AD 1239-1245) from Dimashq (Damascus), but probably struck in ʿAkka (Acre), AH [64]3 = 1245/6. Within a square, citing the ʿAbbasid caliph al-Mustansir billah (AH 623-640 / AD 1226-1242), 'al-Imām / al-Mustanṣir / billāh Abū Jaʿfar / al-Manṣūr amīr al-muʾminīn' ('Imam al-Mustansir billah Abu Jaʿfar al-Mansur, Commander of the Believers' in Arabic); in the margin, the reference to the prophet Muhammad replaced by the archangel Michael, 'lā ilāha i/llā Allāh wa / Mīkhāʾil ra/sūl Allāh' ('There is no deity but God and Michael is the messenger of God' in Arabic); cross in lower margin. Rev. Within a square, 'al-malik al-Ṣāliḥ / ʿImād al-Dunyā wa al-Dīn / Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Bakr' ('King al-Salih ʿImad al-Dunya wa al-Din Ismaʿil son of Abu Bakr' in Arabic); in the margin, 'bism Allāh / ḍuriba bi Dimashq / sana thalāth wa / ...' ('In the name of Allah. Struck in Dimashq in the year [46]3' in Arabic); cross in upper margin. Bates & Metcalf 51. Malloy 6. Metcalf, Crusades, -. Wäckerlin 223. Very rare. Holed and somewhat rough, otherwise, very fine. From the collection of Dr. D. Löer, ex Leu Web Auction 11, 22-23 February 2020, 2277. This is the rarest and arguably the most interesting of all Crusader imitations of Islamic Dirhams, as it replaces the name of the prophet Muhammad with that of the Archangel Michael. However, the objections of Odo of Chateauroux, Cardinal-Bishop of Tusculum (1244-1273) and Papal legate on the Seventh Crusade to the striking of coins with Islamic inscriptions and datings would eventually lead to their replacement with Christianized types. Starting price: 25 CHF |  |
Match 4:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Islamic Auction 5 | Auction date: 18 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 4 Price realized: Unsold | |
| Lot description: Pre-reform issues, Arab-Sasanian. Abdallah b. Harith (or b. 'Ali). fl. late 60s / 680s. AR Drachm (31.9mm, 2.97 g, 3h). SK (Sistan) mint. Dated AH 66 (AD 685/6). Obverse margin: - / bin 'Ali ∵ / ∵ ✶ - / -. Malek, Arab-Sasanian p. 255; SCC 1752; cf. Weber, Arabo-Sasanidische Drachmen 195 (dated AH 65); SICA 1, -; Album 26N (as 'Abdallah b. 'Ariq). VF, small portion of edge repaired. Extremely rare. The identity of the governor on this coin remains the subject of scholarly debate. His first name, 'Abdallah, is unambiguous, but the Pahlawi form of his patronymic is ambiguous. It can be read either as ALYKAN or HLYKAN, which would equate to 'son of 'Ariq' or 'son of Harith' respectively. Malek notes that an 'Abdallah b. Harith was dismissed from his post as governor of Basra in AH 65, but found no evidence to connect this individual with the province of Sistan where these coins were issued (Malek, Arab Sasanian p. 255, s.vv. 'Abd Allah b. 'Ali and 'Abd Allah b. Harith). However, this is not quite correct: the local history of Sistan records that 'Abdallah b. al-Zubayr 'gave Basra, Khurasan and Sistan to Harith b. 'Abdallah (sic)...[who], in turn, dispatched 'Abd al-'Aziz b. 'Abdallah b. 'Amir to Sistan.' That being so, it would be hardly surprising that drachms from Sistan struck in AH 65 and early 66 should have named 'Abdallah b. al-Harith himself, with those struck from later AH 66 onwards issued in the name of his viceroy, 'Abd al-'Aziz b. 'Abdallah b. 'Amir. But this does not explain the presence of the remarkable legend bin 'Ali in the obverse margin, which was only read when a new and better-preserved example of this extremely rare coinage came to light. This coin (SCC 1752) led Shams-Eshragh to propose the alternative reading of the governor's name as 'Abdallah b. 'Ali. While attractive, this requires a certain amount of special pleading to explain by the Pahlawi form of 'Ali should be rendered as ALYKAN with an unexpected letter K. Weber's suggestion that that this individual might have been an 'Abdallah b. 'Ali b. Husayn, a great-grandson of the fourth caliph 'Ali, is tantalising but speculative. Estimate: 7500 USD |  |
Match 5:
| Classical Numismatic Group > Islamic Auction 5 | Auction date: 18 April 2024 |
| Lot number: 51 Price realized: 7,000 USD (Approx. 6,570 EUR) Note: Prices do not include buyer's fees. | |
| Lot description: 'Abbasid Caliphate. temp. Al-Ma'mun. AH 194-218 / AD 808-833. AV Dinar (20mm, 4.09 g, 12h). Post-Reform type with double obverse margin. Madinat al-Salam mint. Dated AH 210 (AD 825/6). Bernardi 116Jh (this date not recorded); SICA 3, 1783 same dies; Album 222A.2. Near VF, minor deposit, pin-marks in reverse field. Extremely rare. In the early years of the 3/9th century, the caliph al-Ma'mun introduced a series of reforms to the 'Abbasid precious metal coinage. These involved a reduction in the number of active mints, alongside a standardisation of the coins' legends and designs. While the silver coinage in particular had evolved into a bewildering variety of types under Harun al-Rashid, al-Ma'mun, gradually introduced a uniform design featuring a new, elegant style of calligraphy, double marginal legends on the obverse, and without the name of the caliph, his heir, or any other secular authority. While the number of active dirham mints was reduced during these reforms, we see the opposite happening with al-Ma'mun's new gold coinage. Historically, the only mint-name used on 'Abbasid dinars had been Misr, except for a rare issue with the name of Madinat al-Salam known for the year AH 198 only. But under al-Ma'mun this was increased to four mints: Madinat al-Salam, Misr, Marw, and San'a, setting a pattern which was to continue under his successors, so that more than thirty gold mints were active during the caliphate of al-Muqtadir (AH 295-320). Estimate: 5000 USD |  |
