Najm al-Din Alpi (Artuqids), 1152-1176, Dirham

Najm al-Din Alpi (Artuqids), Dirham, AE, 1152–1176, 10.1 g, 29 mm.

Mardin mint. Obverse: Arabic legend in four lines with the shahada and caliphal titulature: la ilaha illa Allah / Muhammad rasul Allah / al-Mustansir billah / amir al-mu'minin. Reverse: Arabic legend in four lines naming the issuer and genealogy: Najm al-Din, malik Diyar Bakr, Alpi ibn Ilghazi ibn Artuq. Struck by hammer on a broad copper flan; purely epigraphic type with horizontal line inscriptions on both faces. Album 1827.5. Najm al-Din Alpi ruled the Artuqid principality at Mardin in the mid-12th century, positioned between the powers of the Zengids and the caliphate. His epigraphic bronze dirhams emphasize dynastic continuity by naming Ilghazi and Artuq and signal formal caliphal allegiance by citing al‑Mustansir Billah as Commander of the Faithful. The type illustrates regional authority in Diyar Bakr expressed through Islamic titulature on locally circulating copper coinage.