a gold coin of rasultegin
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8/19/2019 A Gold Coin of Rasultegin
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1966-).
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Royal umismatic Society
A GOLD COIN OF RASŪLTEGĪN, SELJŪḲ RULER IN FĀRSAuthor(s): N. M. LOWICKSource: The Numismatic Chronicle (1966-), Seventh Series, Vol. 8 (1968), pp. 225-230Published by: Royal Numismatic SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/42666554
Accessed: 25-02-2016 08:46 UTC
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A
GOLD
COIN OF
RASÜLTEGIN,
SELJÜK
RULER IN FÄRS
By
N. M.
LOWICK
[see
plate
xx]
Among
some coins
recently
ubmitted
o the BritishMuseum
for
identificationas an Arabic dinar struck t the mint f Istakhr n
A.H.
455
(a.D.
1063)
n the
name
of
Rasültegm
.
Mu'izz
al-Daulah,
a
Seljùk
prince
who is
not hitherto nown
o have issued coins
and
who
passes
almost
unmentionedn
the nnals of his
time.
Unfortun-
ately
hemuseumwas unable
to
acquire
thecoin but
permission
as
obtained
o make a
plaster-cast,
hich
we illustrate
ere
PI.
XX
enlarged y
three iameters
nd
actual
size).
The coin had
evidently
been worn
s an
ornament,
or
herewas a thin
gold filigree
ount
attachedto
its
rim,
coin
and
mount
together
weighing
-72
gm.
Although
he
nscription
n
both sides
s
fullyegible
he ndividual
letters avetended o run
together
ndbecomeblurred
wing
o the
softness
f the
gold.
Traces
of
double-striking
re
discernible
n
the obverse.
N
0-9 n.
Exact
weight
ncertain,robably
bout
gm.
stakhr,
ear
55.
Obv.
A
VI
<01
V
<U)| pjUJI
Inner
margin:
^
l-U
<UJl
Outer
margin:
jo
<01 tc.
Kor.
xxx,
v.
3-4).
Rev
4*
«UJ
(J
MjJ
|.L^
J^il
^
¿ÜÚ#«
Margin:
L«j'
-*JUl
^
etc.
Kor.
ix,
v.
33).
C
6806
Q
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226 N. M. LOWICK
The
obverse
egend
n the
name of
the Abbäsid
Caliph
al-Kä'im
(a.h.
422-67)
is in
most
respects
imilar
o
contemporary
inars
of
Tughril
Beg
and
Alp
Arslän,
the
only
unusual
features
eing
the
mint-name
stakhr
discussed
below)
and the
solated etter
sïn' or
'shin',1
laced
sideways
o the
eft f the faith-formula.
he
reverse,
unlike
most Persian
coins
of this
period,
conspicuously
mits
the
name of
the
Seljük
Sultän.
n
its
place
is the
four-line
rotocol
al-
Amir
al-Ajall
Husäm
al-Dïn
Abû
Shujä'
Rasùltegïn
bn
Mu'izz
al-
Daulah'. Occupyinghespaceto rightnd left f the centralegend
are
two words
omprising
hefurther
itle
Sharaf
l-Daulah',
which
may
belong
ither
o
Rasùltegïn
r
to some rulerwith
whom
he was
associated
s an overlord
r as
an
ally.
A
possible
andidate
or he
title s Sharaf
al-Daulah Muslim
b.
Kuraysh a.h.
453-78),
the
'Ukaylid
governor
f
Mosul;
however,
here oes
not seem
o be
any
evidence hat
his
urisdiction
ver xtended o
Färs.
t s
perhaps
more
reasonable
o
assume,
n the bsenceof a
convincing
lternative
x-
planation,
hat he
title f Sharaf l-Daulah'
belongs
o
Rasùltegïn
himself nd would
have
preceded
his name but for
he ack of
space
in thealready rowded entral rea. A similar rrangementf the
legend
haracterizes
he
oinage
oftheGreat
Seljüks
s well
s certain
issues of lesser
dynasties
Käkwayhids,
Annäzids,
etc.)
from he
early
fifth
entury
f the
Hijra
onwards.
That
Rasùltegïn
as a Turk
s ofcourse
mmediately
pparent
rom
his
name,
which ike others f
this
poch2
s a
linguistic ybrid
om-
pounded
from n Arabic nd
a Turkish lement.
hat
he was a kins-
man of
TughrilBeg may
be
inferred romhis use
of
the
latter's
'tamghä'
a
quasi-heraldic
ymbol perhaps
intended
as
a
bow,
which
figures
n
both sides of the
coin under discussion.3 he
presence ftheBùyid-soundingitles haraf l-Daulah and Mu'izz
al-Daulah need
not
disturb
us
in this
connection,
ince
similar
1
I
have ouseful
uggestions
o
makebout he
robable
ignificance
f his
etter
whichs also oundndïnârsf
Tughril
eg.
s t he
ignature
f mint-offlcialr
die-engraver,
r hould
tbe
regarded
s an
ssue-mark?
*
e.g. Alitegin,ulaymãntegin.
he ommonurkish
rincely
itle
tegin'
literally
'champion')
s firstoundn the entral
sian
oinage
f
Shãhi-tegin,
ulerf he
Western
urks
see
R.
Ghirshman,
es
Chionites-Hephtalites
48).
TheArabic
ame
Rasül,hough
nunusual
ne,
wasborne
y
t
east wo
Muhammadanulers:he
founder
f he emeniteasülid
ynasty,
ho
s aid ohave
ot
is ame ecause
caliphmployed
im
s
ambassador,
nd ne
f
he
ultans
f
Kilwa,
asül .
Ali
(see
NC
1963,80).3Note, owever,hathearrow',hichormallyeaturesspartf hetamghä',
isherebsent.
t s lso
mittedn
coin f
ughrileg
truckt
Rayy
G.
C.
Miles,
TheNumismatic
istory
fRayy
201,
o.
32).
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A GOLD COIN OF RASOLTEGIN 227
honorifics ere
dopted
by
most
of
the
Great
Seljüks,
s
well as
by
many
esser
eljük
rulers n Persia and
Iraq.
Yet
although
he would
seem
o
have
beenof
Seljük
descent,
asültegin'
namedoes
notoccur
in
the
genealogies
f
this
dynasty
rawn
p by
Lane-Poole,
Zambaur,
Muhammad
qbäl,
and other scholars.
The
key
to
his
identity
s
furnished
y
a
passage
in Ibn al-Athïr's
History'
al-Kãmil,
ed.
Tornberg,
x,
436-7),
where he
appears
as
jUaLJI
^
'Rasültegin
he son
of the Sultan's
[i.e.
of
Tughril
Beg's] paternal
uncle' or possiblythe onof his father-in-law'1theword^ allows
either ranslation.
f,
as
is themore
ikely,
f
the wo
lternatives,
bn
al-Athlrmeans
that
Rasültegin
was
Tughril
Beg's
first-cousin,
hen
his father
may
have
been one
of
three
ersons
Isrä'Il
Arslän,
he
ancestor
f
the
Seljüks
f
Rüm),
Yùnus
or Müsä
Yabghü,
ll of
whom
were
paternal
ncles
of
Tughril
eg.
It is
doubtful
which
f
the hree
corresponds
o the Mu'izz
al-Daulah of our
coin,
as none
of
them s
recorded
s
having
borne
that itle.
Perhaps
Rasûltegïn
onferred
t
upon
his
father
osthumously,
n
order o
add
an
extra
clat to
his
own
name.
From bn al-Athïrloc. cit., bove)we earn hat n 449Rasültegin,
with
he
Kurdish
hieftain
ùlâdh
as his
ally,
plundered
he
city
of
Arrajän,
ts
governor
Hazärasp
b.
Bankïr
being
thenabsent
n
al-
Jazlrah,
whither
e had
accompanied
Tughril
Beg
on
a
campaign.
After
he
fall
of
Mosul
Hazärasp
received
rders
o
fight
he two
rebels,
nd
having
irst
aised
he um
of
120,000
inars
n
Basrah
he
gave
battle
o
their
ombined
forces,
killing
ülädh
and
capturing
Rasültegin.
t his
own
request
he
atterwas
sent
o
Baghdäd
to
sue
for
he
ntercession
f
the
caliph
on
his
behalf.
The
sultän,
owever,
waived
he
aliph's
right
f
ntervention
nd
nsisted
hat
he
prisoner
be surrenderedo him forthwith.What subsequently ecame of
Rasültegin
s
not
related,
ut
we
may
urmise
hat s
a
close
relation
of
Tughril
eg
he
was
treated
eniently.
Rasültegin
eceives
o
further
ention
rom
bn
al-Athïr,
or
does
his
name
figure
n
the
other
hief
hronicles
f
the
Seljük
period,
including
hose
f
Abü
1-Fidä,
l-Bundärl,
hwandamïr,
ïrkhwand,
Hamdulläh
Mustaufì,
Râwandï, al-Husaynî,
nd
Ibn
Khaldün.
It
seems,
hen,
hat
his
one
extant
oin
constitutes
ur
only
lue
to
his
1
I have
een
nable
o
discover
ho
was
he
ather
f
Tughril
eg's
irst
ife.
Sheherselfsreferred
o
n he
istories
imply
s
Khätün'
r
al-Khätün',
hichs
presumablytitle,ot properame. ughrillsomarriedhe aughterfAbu
Kälijär
439),
he
widow
f
his rother
haghri
eg 452
r
53)
nd
he
aughter
f
the
aliph455).
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228 N. M. LOWICK
later areer.
The
implications
f
ts
date,455,
are
slightly
mbiguous,
for
t was in this
year
hat
Tughril
eg
died
and was succeeded
y
his
nephewAlp
Arslän,
who
alreadygoverned
he eastern
rovinces
f
the
empire.
The new sultän's
supremacy
was at first ontested
y
other
members
f the
Seljük
house,
ncluding
is half-brother
ulay-
män
a
nominee
f
thevizier
l-Kundurï),
is elderbrother äwurt
and
a cousin
of his
father's amed
^Cutulmish.1
he
political
dis-
turbances
ttending
he
succession
may
have
encouraged
Rasûltegïn
to declarehimselfndependentn Färs,and itwas perhaps omark
this occasion
thatcoins
n
his name were
struck.As first-cousin
o
the
deceased
sultän nd
as a senior
member
f the
ruling
amily,
e
may
even have
hoped
to
supplant
Alp
Arslänon
the
Seljük
throne.
In
this
vent,
owever,
e would
probably
have
ost no time
n
pro-
claiming
himself
ultän,
whereas
his dïnâr
merely esignates
him
'al-Amïr
l-Ajall':
'the
most
llustrious
rince'.
Exactly
what
degree
of
mportance
ttached
o this
itle
n
Seljük
times
s
uncertain,
ut
there re
grounds
or
believing
hat t
was
no
longer,
s it had been
under
he
Sämänids
nd
Ghaznavids,
mark f
political upremacy.
True,Tughril eghimselfdoptedthis tyle n certain f hisearlier
issues
from
he
Nishäpür
mint;2
owever,
he
xpansion
fhis
empire
in Persia
had
led
him,
n
438,
to abandon it
in
favour f the
more
resounding
itles al-Sultän
l-Muřazzam' nd 'Shähänshäh'.There-
after
al-Amïr
l-Ajall'
seems
to have been reserved or rulers
f
subordinate
ank:
on a silver oin
in
the
oint
namesof
Tughril
eg
and
Alp
Arslän,
withoutmint
r
date
but
attributable
o the
years
452-5,
Tughril
imselfs
styled
al-Sultän
l-Mufazzam',
whilst
he
title
f al-Amïr
l-Ajall'
falls o his heir.
As thedeath
of
Tughril eg
did
nottake
place
until ate n the
year
455 theeighth fRamadän,according o most writers we must
consider
he
possibility
hat
the dïnâr
underdiscussion
was
struck
during
is ifetime.
f
so,
then
Rasûltegïn
must
lready
have
thrown
off
his
allegiance
o the
Seljük
sultän,
whichdoes not seem
too un-
likely
n
view
of his earlier ebellion
gainst
he
atter's
overnor
n
Färs.
t
should
be rememberedhat oth
Alp
Arslän n
Khoräsän
nd
Käwurt
Karä
Arslän
Beg)
in
Kermän,
had
already
ssuedcoins on
1
See
he rticle
n
Alp
ArslännEI2.
2
BMCO
ii,
o.
53
also wo
npublished
inärs
n
he ritish
useum
ated 34
and 36. n
ontemporary
oins
f
Rayy ughril
eg
ses he
itle
al-Amïr
l-
y
d'
(seeMiles,p. it. 96-7,os. 23-5).8
Zambaur,
Contributions
la
numismatique
rientale
i'
(
NZ
1905,
13-91),
no.
289.
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A GOLD COIN OF RASÛLTEGÏN 229
which henameof
Tughril eg
did not
ppear.1 ughril
imself
s
not
known
to
have
struck
ny
coins in
Färs,
wherehe exercised
nly
intermittentnd
precarious
ontrol
hrough
he
gency
f
governor.2
The real
power
was
disputed
mongst
undry etty ynasts
nd war-
lordsof
Büyid
nd Kurdish
tock,
notably
he Shabänkära hieftain
Fadlûyâ
b.
Hasanüyä,
who
imprisoned
nd murdered
is rival
Abü
Mansür
b.
Ab
Kalïjâr
in
4483
and was unseated n his
turn
when
Käwurt of Kermän
annexed
he
province
n 455. Soon afterwards
(456)Käwurt oundhimselfompelled opay homage oAlpArslän,5
but it was not
until
459,
afterKäwurt's
first ebellion
gainst
the
central
overnment,
hat
he
ultän
himself
nvadedFärs
and
brought
it
under his direct ontrol
by
the
conquest
of its
principal
trong-
holds.6
t is difficulto
guess
what
part Rasültegin
layed
in this
tangled
keinof
events:did
he come to
powerduring
he ifetime
f
Tughril eg
or
not
until fter is death?
Perhaps
he
was
only pawn
in
the hands
of
Fadlüya,
who
may
have used
him,
s the
vizier l-
Kundurï
used the
Seljûkprinceling
ulaymän,
n order o further is
own ambitions
nd
lend
semblance f
egitimacy
o hiscause.
At
all
events isrule n Färsprobably nded oon after he apture f Shïrâz
by
Cäwurt
n
455.
A
most
unusual
feature f this dïnâr is
its
mint-name,
stakhr,
which
has not
hitherto een encountered n
any
coin
later han
the
third
century
.h..7
Formerly
he
capital
of Färs
and an
impor-
tant
mint-city
n
Umayyad
times,
stakhr declined
rapidly
under
the Abbäsids
as
trade was
increasingly
iverted o
neighbouring
Shïrâz
founded
by
the Arabs n a.h.
64). By
the timeof al-Istakhrl
(mid
fourth
entury
.h.)
itswallswere
lready
n a
dilapidated
tate.
1The ritishuseumontainshreenpublishedinärsn he amef haghrieg
and
KaraArslän
eg one
truck
tJiruft
n
44,
he ther
wo f
ncertain
intnd
date),
esides
dìnàr
n
he
ame fKarãArslän
eg
lone,
truck
tBardasir
n
53.
Independent
inärsf
Alp
Arsläntruck
t Merv
n 453have een
ublished
y
D. Sourdel
Bulletin
étudesrientales
eVlnstitut
rançais
e
Damas
viii,
963-4,
215,
os.
0-2).
twould
ppear
hat
ughril
eg
was ot
cknowledged
n
oins
truck
east
f
Rayy
fter
52,
he
ear
f
Alp
Arslän's
ppointment
s
governor
r
Khoräsän.
2
Followers
f
Tughril
eg
nvadedärs
n 44 nd ook
ossession
f hree
t
ts
fortresses,
ut t
was ot ntil
49 hat
azärasp
.
Bankir as
ppointed
overnor
f
the
rovincesee
bn
l-Athir,l-Kãmil,
d.
Tornberg,
x,
01,
36).
8
Zambaur,
anuele
généalogie
tde
chronologieour
istoire
e
V
slam,
13
Ibn
l-Balkhï,
ärsnäma,
d.Le
Strange
nd
Nicholson,
v.
4
al-Bundäri,
istoire
es
Seldjoucides
e V
raq,
d.
Houtsma,
1;
Mfrkhwand,
Geschichte
er
eldschuken,
d.
Vullers,
4,
.31
Khwandamir,
abib
l-SiyarBom-
bay, 857),i,
114. his ventsnot
mentioned
y
bn
l-Athir.
5Ibn lAthir,,28. 6 bid. 6.
7
The atests
a Duland oin
ated
82
see
Zambaur,
ie
Münzprägungen
es
Islams
49.
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230 N. M. LOWICK
Towards the end
of the
fourth
entury
he
refractory
ttitude f its
inhabitants aused
the
Büyid
Samsäm al-Daulah
to send
an
army
against
t
under
he mir
Kutulmish,
ho aid the
ity
n ruins. here-
after
ts
history
s
virtually
t an end:
we know
only
hat
t the
begin-
ning
of the sixth
entury
t had
dwindled o a
settlementf
about
a
hundredmen.1Whether r not the
city
f
Istakhr
ssued
any
coins
under
he
Bûyids
s
uncertain;
learly
t
can have
struck
one at
the
time f
the
Seljùk onquest,
when t
was
already
uined nd
depopu-
lated.The Seljükmint f stakhrwas almost ertainlyocatedat the
nearby
tronghold
f Kal'a
Istakhr2
sometimes
alled
Istakhr
Yãr,
'the friend
f
stakhr'),
hemost
mportant
f a
group
of three
ort-
resses3
known as Seh
Gunbädhän,
which
dominate
the
plain
of
Mervdasht
rom line of isolated
bluffs everal
miles o
the north-
westof the
city
emains.
y
virtue f ts
unassailable
osition
nd of
the
ready
upply
f water
fforded
y
its
Büyid
dam and
reservoir,
ICal'a
Istakhr urvived he destruction f the
Islamic
city
and
re-
mained
one of the foremost
military
trongpoints
n
Färs
untilwell
into Safavidtimes.
t
is described
n
detail n the
Fãrsnãmaof Ibn
al-Balkhïand also figures rominentlyn Ibn al-Athïr'sHistory'.
During
the
reign
f
Tughril
Beg
it
belonged
first o
the
Büyid
Abü
Nasr b. Abï
Kalïjâr,
who
also
held
Shiräz,4
nd then
ecame
he
head-
quarters
f
the Kurdish
hief
ülädh,
who
set out
thence
o
conquer
the
capital
of the
province
n 447.5
n
459
Alp
Arslän
by
ts
capture
made himselfmaster f
Färs,6
nd
in 464
the
rebel
Fadlüya
was
be-
leaguered
here
y
the
forces fNizäm
al-Mulk.7
f,
s is
not
mprob-
able,
Rasültegln
had
a rival n
Shiräz,
he
could
successfully
ave
challenged
he
atter's ulefrom his
naccessible
ortress;
nd
since
Kal'a Istakhrs known
o havebeenused as a
repository
or
reasure,8
it is notsurprisinghat tshould also haveserved s a mint.
1
See
Le
Strange,
ands
f
he
astern
aliphate
276.
2
See
he rticlen
çtakhr
n
EI1,
8
The
therwowere al
Shikastahnd
Kal
a
Shankavãn
see e
Strange,
p.
it.
276.
*
4
bn l-Athir
x,
92.
6
Ibid.
15.
®
Ibid.
X,
6.
7
bid.
8.
bn l-Athir
enders
açllûya's
ame
fUâj.
8
Ibn
l-Athir
x, 6)
ays
hat hen
lp
Arslän
aptured
al'a
çtakhr
n
459,
ts
governor
andedver
many
aluable
ifts,ncludingcup
n
which as
nscribed
he
name f
he
mythicaling
amshid.
ccording
o bn l-Balkhï
op.
cit.
2)
Kal'a
I§takhr
as sed
s
a
treasury
y
Jamshid
imself,
ho
s also
redited
ith
he
on-
struction
f
he
ortress.
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8/19/2019 A Gold Coin of Rasultegin
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/a-gold-coin-of-rasultegin 8/8
NUM. CHRON.
1968,
PL. XX
LOWICK
GOLD COIN
OF RASULTEGÌN
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