Dinar of Tughril (r. 1040–63)

Coins of the Great Seljuks (MMA no. 39.40.127.513, American Numismatic Society, New York nos. 1922.211, .126, .131, .119, 1924.999.44, 1979.213.1, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia no. 37-11-271, Orientalisches Münzkabinett, Universität Jena no. 2010-03-1)

Coins were an important way for both the Great Seljuqs and contemporaneous dynasties to convey political messages and affirm their authority. Considering the dearth of figural representations of the Seljuq sovereigns and of objects bearing their names—unlike the Rum
Seljuqs and the Zangids—coins issued by the Great Seljuqs represent the only direct link to these rulers, together with monumental scriptions on buildings. Gold issues (dinars) were not struck according to a standard, meaning they were meant to be weighed rather than counted. Those struck in Iran and in western mints in the eleventh century are all in fine gold (MMA no. 39.40.127.513, ANS nos. 1922.211, .126, .131, .119, 1924.999.44, UP Museum no. 37-11-271),[2] while eastern mints continued under the Seljuqs to issue a debased composition first initiated by their Ghaznavid predecessor Mahmud (r. 998–1030)–an indication of the continuity of minting practices notwithstanding changes in rule (ANS no. 1979.213.1). This practice gained ground for most Seljuq dinars in the twelfth century. ANS no. 1979.213.1, struck at Balkh, in present-day Afghanistan, and Orientalisches Münzkabinett no. 2010-03-1, struck at Herat, both under Sanjar (r. 1118–57) during the time of the caliph al-Mustarshid (r. 1118–35), are examples of the pale gold dinars that became common in the time of this ruler.[3] Their gold content is very low (15–20%), and the alloy is made mostly of silver.

Seljuq dinars are generally similarly composed on both sides, with one or two circular legends, or margins, enclosing the main field. On the obverse field is a modified version of the shahada, or profession of faith, and the name and title of the current Abbasid caliph in Baghdad; the internal margin bears the mint and year, while the external margin contains Qur’anic verses. The reverse field bears the continuation of the shahada and the name and titles of the Great Seljuq sultan (and eventually those of the local amir); the margin contains another Qur’anic verse.

ANS no. 1979.213.1 is a rarer example that shows two different compositions, with the reverse field divided into a honeycomb pattern. Twelve of the honeycomb’s hexagons contain the name of Sanjar, while the remaining seven contain the name and titles of al-Mustarshid. Herat was seemingly an inventive mint, especially in the years of Sanjar’s reign, as the very rare double-knotted dragons on Orientalisches Münzkabinett no. 2010-03-1 also suggest.[4] The knotted-dragon motif, which frames the name and titles of Sanjar on the obverse field, may have kept its ancient Central Asian apotropaic powers or its cosmological significance linked to the pseudo-planetary nodes of the moon’s orbit. This is in fact a very early occurrence of the motif; later examples appear often on entranceways, notably the twelfth-century Talisman Gate in Baghdad and the entry to the Aleppo citadel (fig. 91 in [Canby, Beyazit, and Rugiadi 2016]), as well as in later doorknockers from Anatolia (see also cat. 159 in [Canby, Beyazit, and Rugiadi 2016]).[5] That the design of coins was an element of appreciation may be inferred from a poem by Mu‘izzi in praise of the vizier Taj al-Mulk.[6]

The titles by which the Seljuq sovereign is referred to in coins minted for the caliph, the latter having the authority to grant the former his official legitimacy, are by and large those bestowed by the caliph. Any variations on this formula suggest the level of independence felt
or aspired to by the Seljuq ruler in that specific territory and year. Similarly, coins struck in the Abbasid capital Baghdad in the name of the
caliphs may or may not also indicate the ruling sultan.[7] The earliest coin presented here (ANS nos. 1922.211) was minted at Rayy, an early capital of the Seljuqs, in the first years of the reign of Tughril (r. 1040–63), the founder of the dynasty. While his names and the titles al-sultan al-mu‘azzam shahanshah (the great sultan, king of kings) are struck on the coin, the name of the caliph, al-Qa‘im bi-amr Allah (r. 1031–74), appears absent any honorifics. Not much had changed by the time the second earliest coin of the group was minted, at Nishapur, only four years later (MMA no. 39.40.127.513), in which Tughril is referred to as “the Glorious Sultan, King of Kings, the Illustrious Pillar of the Faith.”

Seljuq dinars often bear one or more small motifs, usually above the main field on the obverse and/or reverse of the coin. They include abstract designs such as dots, often three in number; variations on “container” devices; and heart-shaped knots. Other legible depictions include floriated scrolls, vases, and variations on bows and arrows, straight and curved swords, and axes. Scholars have yet to find an explanation for their meaning. Their interpretation as tamghas—branding devices used by Turkmen tribes—is not supported by literary evidence, and this line of inquiry is complicated further by their changing meaning over time.[8] The historical sources do not speak of tamghas in relation to the Seljuq rulers, but they do mention other devices used as personal insignia: the tughra, a stylized version of
a signature, and the ‘alama, a sign manual.[9] The symbolic power of the tughra was such that Mu‘izzi uses it alongside the royal palace (dar al-mamlaka) and treasury to praise the vizier whose role was to guard the state’s constituents.[10]

Research on the bow-and-arrow device on coins suggests that it may be of Turkish derivation, with links to the Turkish use of the arrow
as a symbol of authority.[11] This device, which is not found on earlier Samanid or Buyid coins, is also seen on coins of the coeval Qarakhanids.[12] Other motifs, however, may differ in derivation and meaning, especially those also appearing on coins of other dynasties.
Research has revealed that some motifs on Buyid coins can be linked to the individuals who struck them, who would have excercised their skills peripatetically.[13] Indeed, in the Seljuq period coins minted in the same place and in the same year tend to have identical or similar
motifs, which is not always the case of coins minted in the same year by the same ruler but elsewhere. The occurrence of such a motif in
different mints may therefore be explained by the movement of the engravers.[14]

Martina Rugiadi in [Canby, Beyazit, and Rugiadi 2016]

Footnotes:

2. ANS no. 1922.211.119 was published previously in Welch 1979 (reference not listed in catalogue), pp. 206–7.

3. Album, Stephen. Checklist of Islamic Coins. 3rd ed. 1993. Santa Rosa, Calif., 2011, pp. 182−86.

4. The coin was minted during the reign of the caliph al-Mustarshid (r. 1118–35); the closest parallel (possibly the same issue) is in Baldwin’s Auction Number 71. Sale cat., Baldwin’s, London, September 29, 2011. London, 2011, lot 1745. My thanks to Stephen Album.

5. Gierlichs, Joachim. Mittelalterliche Tierreliefs in Anatolien und Nord-Mesopotamien: Untersuchungen zur figürlichen Baudekoration der Seldschuken, Artuqiden und ihrer Nachfolger bis ins 15. Jahrhundert. Tübingen, 1996, pp. 28–40; Daneshvari, Abbas. Of Serpents and Dragons in Islamic Art: An Iconographical Study. Bibliotheca Iranica Islamic Art and Architecture Series, 13. Costa Mesa, Calif., 2011; and
Kuehn, Sara. The Dragon in Medieval East Christian and Islamic Art. Islamic History and Civilization, 86. Leiden and Boston, 2011.

6. “If the dirham is admirable because of its design (naqsh), and if the haram is noble and of high repute because it is secure, / The design of the dirham has been stolen from his pen, the security of the haram has been borrowed from his house”; see Tetley, G[illies] E. The Ghaznavid and Seljuk Turks: Poetry as a Source for Iranian History. Routledge Studies in the History of Iran and Turkey. London and New York, 2009, p. 117.

7. For an example, see Hanne, Eric J. “Death on the Tigris: A Numismatic Analysis of the Decline of the Great Saljuqs.” American Journal of Numismatics, ser. 2, 16–17 (2004–5), pp. 157–70.

8. For examples and interpretations of the shifting meanings of certain motifs over time, see Bulliet, Richard W. “Numismatic Evidence for the Relationship between Tughril Beg and Chaghrı Beg.” In Kouymjian, Dickran K., ed. Near Eastern Numismatics, Iconography, Epigraphy and History: Studies in Honor of George C. Miles. Beirut, 1974, pp. 289–96; and Shimizu, K. “The Bow and Arrow on Saljûqid Coins.” Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko (The Oriental Library), no. 56, 1998, pp. 85–106. For the interpretation of Mamluk devices as tamghas, see Mayer, L[eo] A[ry]. Saracenic Heraldry: A Survey. Oxford, 1933, pp. 18–26; for its refutation, see Whelan, Estelle J. “Representations of the Khassakıyah and the Origins of Mamluk Emblems.” In Content and Context of Visual Arts in the Islamic World: Papers from a Colloquium in Memory of Richard Ettinghausen [Institute Of Fine Arts, New York University, April 2–4, 1980], edited by Carol Manson Bier and Priscilla Parsons Soucek, p. 228, University Park, Pa., 1988.

9. Also tawqi’. For examples, see Rawandi in Browne, Edward G[ranville]. “Account of a Rare, If Not Unique, Manuscript History of the Seljúqs Contained in the Schefer Collection Lately Acquired by the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, July and October 1902, p. 589; Stern, S[amuel] M[iklos]. Fatimid Decrees: Original Documents from the Fatimid Chancery. All Souls Studies, 3. London, 1964, pp. 143–47; Bivar, A. D. H. “The Salju q Sign-Manual Represented on a Sgraffiato Potsherd.” The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 1 (1979), pp. 9–15; Bar Hebraeus in Shimizu 1998 (reference in note 8 above), p. 92; Peacock, A[ndrew] C. S. The Great Seljuk Empire. The Edinburgh History of the Islamic Empires. Edinburgh, 2015, p. 127. Mahmud al-Kashgari, in his Diwan al-lughat al-turk (1072–74), reproduces tamghas of twenty-two Turkish tribes; Sümer, Faruk. Oguzlar (Türkmenler): Tarihleri, boy tes¸ kilatı, destanları. Istanbul, 1992, pp. 169–71. See Kamola, Stefan T. “Rashıd al-Dın and the Making of History in Mongol Iran.” Ph.D. diss., University of Washington, Seattle, 2013. for an unpublished list of tamghas in a manuscript of Rashid al-Din’s Jami’ al-tawarikh (Majlis Library, Tehran, MS 2294; fols. 13v–14r). There is no mention of the use of these symbols on coins.

10. “You [the vizier Taj al-Mulk] are, with your pen, the guardian and watchman of the Shah’s signature [tughra], the royal palace [dar-i mamlakat], and the Shah’s treasure”; see Tetley 2009 (reference in note 6 above), p. 115.

11. See Bulliet 1974 (reference in note 8 above); Shimizu 1998 (reference in note 8 above); Peacock 2015 (reference in note 9 above), pp. 126–29.

12. Treadwell, Luke. Buyid Coinage: A Die Corpus (322–445 A.H.). Oxford, 2001, p. xi; Peacock 2015 (reference in note 9 above), p. 126.

13. Treadwell 2001 (reference in note 9 above), pp. xviii–xix. For Ghaznavid coins, see Album 2011 (reference in note 3 above), p. 179, no. 1609.

14. For variations of dinars issued by Tughril, see two minted in Nishapur in, respectively, A.H. 449/A.D. 1057–58 and 450/1058–59; one minted in Umm al ‘Awamid (Syria) in 434/1042–43; and a fourth minted in Basra in 450/1058–59 (all American Numismatic Society, New York [1922.211.105, 1965.270.10, 1954.119.25, 1972.288.111]).

Inscription: Inscribed in Arabic in kufic, on the obverse field:
الله / محمد رسول الله / السلطان المعظم / شاهانشاه الاجل / رکن الدین
طغرل / بك
God / Muhammad is the Messenger of God / The Great
Sultan, / King of Kings, the Illustrious / Pillar of the Faith, / Tughril / Beg.
On the obverse margin: Qur’an 9:33
On the reverse field:
لا اله الا / الله وحده / لا شریک له / القائم بأمر الله
There is no god but / God alone / He has no associate / al-Qa’im bi-amr Allah.
On the reverse inner margin:
(sic) بسم الله ضرب هذا الدینر بنیشابور سنة اربع اربعین واربعماة
In the Name of God, this dinar was struck in Nishapur in the year 444
On the reverse outer margin: Qur’an 30:4–5

(From: "Court and Cosmos. The Great Age of the Seljuks". Canby, Sheila R., Deniz Beyazit, Martina Rugiadi, and A.C.S. Peacock, eds., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2016, no. 4b, p. 51).

Obverse Field:
For God / Muhammad is the messenger of God / The Great Sultan, / Shahanshah, the Illustrious / Rukn al-Din / Tughril / Beg
On the obverse margin: Qur’an 9:33
Reverse field:
There is no god but God. He is alone. He has no partner / al-Qa’im bi-Amrillah.
Reverse inner margin:
In the Name of God, this dinar was struck in Nishapur in the year 444
Reverse outer margin: Qur’an 30:4-5

(Abdullah Gouchani, 7/2020)

1938, excavated at Tepe Madrasa in Nishapur, Iran by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's expedition; 1939, acquired by the Museum in the division of finds

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs," April 25–July 24, 2016, no. 4b.

Canby, Sheila R., Deniz Beyazit, and Martina Rugiadi. "The Great Age of the Seljuqs." In Court and Cosmos. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. no. 4b, pp. 51–53, ill. p. 51 (color).