130 / 166
TYRANT COLLECTION
128
285
Seljuqs of Iraq and Western Iran
Gold Dinar (4.09g), AH 548
Muhammad II b. Mahmud, Seljuq Sultan, AH 548-555/AD 1153-1160
A 1694. Fine.
‘Askar Mukram mint, citing the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Muqtafi and the Great Seljuq sultan Sanjar as over-
lord. Extremely rare. Cf. Wilkes & Curtis Auction 1, 6/16/14, lot 364, “believed to be an unpublished
mint for this ruler”. ‘Askar Mukram (literally “Mukram’s camp”) was a medieval town in Khuzestan
province, Iran. The town took its name from the camp (‘askar) of the Arab commander Mukram, sent by
the Umayyad viceroy al-Hajjaj to put down a revolt. The camp was near the ruins of a former Sasanian
city and by the time of the Seljuqs had grown into a regional center of textile and sugar production.
286
‘Abbasid Caliphate
Gold Dinar (2.64g), AH 533/515
al-Muqtafi/ al-Mustarshid, ‘Abbasid Caliphs, AH 530-555/AD 1136-1160; AH 512-529/
AD 1118-1135
Cf. Jafar S.MS.533B (same die?)/ S.MS.515; Choice Very Fine.
Madinat al-Salam mint, mule of two obverse dies, one dated 533h, naming the ‘Abbasid caliph al-
Muqtafi li-Amr Allah and the other dated 515h, naming the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Mustarshid Billah and
the caliphal heir ‘Uddat al-Din Abu Ja’far. Ex Khalifa Collection, Spink Auction 14012, 3/25/14, lot 71.
Struck from the same die pair as an identical mule dinar in Baldwin’s Islamic Coin Auction 24, 5/9/13,
lot 4405. The Baldwin’s specimen previously appeared in StephenAlbum fixed price list 107, May 1994,
lot 15. The al-Muqtafi die is an apparent match with Jafar S.MS.533B where it is paired with a reverse
die naming the Great Seljuq Sanjar and an otherwise unknown Seljuq official “Muhammad”.