Leu Numismatik AG
Web Auction 4 24 Jun 2018
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ISLAMIC, Seljuks. Rum. Ghiyath al-Din Kay Khusraw II, first reign, AH 634-644 / AD 1237-1246. Dirham (Silver, 21 mm, 2.95 g, 9 h), Siwas (Sivas), 638 AH = 1240/1 AD. Lion advancing right; personification of sun above; in left field, star; below, star and crescent; around, legend bearing the name of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mustansir bi' Allah. Rev. Legend bearing the name and title of Kay Khusraw II; in outer margin, AH date and mint designation. Broome 270 Dv(iv)a. A nicely toned and attractive example. Minor areas od weakness, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.
The sun face and lion, which are sometimes shown together with other celestial bodies, probably represent the constellation of Leo. A different but not necessarily contradicting theory interprets the sun face as standing for the famous Georgian princess Tamar, the beloved wife of Kay Khusraw II, while the lion symbolizes the Sultan. This interpretation is based on Bar Hebraeus (1226-1286), a bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church, who noted that Kay Khusraw was so much in love with Tamar that he expressed the wish to place an image of her on his dirhams.
The sun face and lion, which are sometimes shown together with other celestial bodies, probably represent the constellation of Leo. A different but not necessarily contradicting theory interprets the sun face as standing for the famous Georgian princess Tamar, the beloved wife of Kay Khusraw II, while the lion symbolizes the Sultan. This interpretation is based on Bar Hebraeus (1226-1286), a bishop of the Syriac Orthodox Church, who noted that Kay Khusraw was so much in love with Tamar that he expressed the wish to place an image of her on his dirhams.