THE IMAGE OF SALADIN ENTHRONED

THE IMAGE OF SALADIN ENTHRONED?12869. ISLAMIC, SALADIN. Ayyubids. Egypt. al-Nasir I Salah al-Din Yusuf (Saladin). AH 564-589 / AD 1169-1193. AE Dirhem (30mm, 13.32 g, 3h). Unlisted (Mayyafariqin[?]) mint. Dated AH 586 (AD 1215/6). Male enthroned facing, holding globus; name and titles of al-Nasir I Salah al-Din Yusuf (Saladin) in outer margin / Name and titles of Abbasid caliph in three lines; partial mint formula and AH in outer margins. Whelan Type III, 258-60; Balog, Ayyubids 182; Album 791.4. Possibly an image of the great Saladin though this is not certain. VF, brown patina. Provenance: From the Warden Family Collection, one of the finest and most extensive collections of Turkoman style coins. Saladin was the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. A Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin led the Muslim opposition to the European Crusaders in the Levant. He is well known in the west from his battles and relationship with Richard the Lionheart of England. At the height of his power, his sultanate included Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, Hejaz, Yemen, and other parts of North Africa.