Leu Numismatik AG
Web Auction 14 12-13 Dec 2020
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ISLAMIC, Seljuks. Rum. Ghiyath al-Din Kay Khusraw II, first reign, AH 634-644 / AD 1237-1246. Dirham (Silver, 22 mm, 3.00 g, 5 h), Qunya, AH 639 = AD 1241/2. Lion advancing right; personification of sun above; below, two stars; around and in fields, legend bearing the name of the Abbasid caliph Al-Mustansir bi' Allah, Commander of the Faithful. Rev. Legend bearing the name and title of Kay Khusraw II; in outer margin, mint and AH date. Broome 243 Dv(ii)a. Some luster. Light areas of weakness, otherwise, 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.