A Gold Coin of Rasultegin

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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

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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






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).






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).






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.






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.






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.






NUM. CHRON.

1968,

PL. XX

LOWICK

GOLD COIN

OF RASULTEGÌN

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A Gold Coin of Rasultegin

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