My Newest Gold Coin: Murad III

[Curtisimo]

OTTOMAN EMPIRE
Murad III (AH 982-1003/AD 1574-1595). 
AV Sultani, Misr (Cairo) mint, struck AH 982 (AD 1574/5)
(19 mm, 3.41 g)
Obv.: Sultan Murad bin Selim khan,’azza nasruhu duriba fi Misr sanah 982, “Sultan Murad bin Saleem Khan, may his victory be glorious; struck in Egypt, year 982”
Rev.: sultan al-birrayn wa khaqan al-bahrayn al-sultan bin al-sultan, “sultan of the two lands and khaqan of the two seas, the sultan, son of the sultan”
Ref.: Album 1332.2 (S?)

Some Notes on the Coin
On the reverse, the inscription “sultan of the two lands” refers to Europe and Asia while “khaqan of the two seas” refers to the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The titles of khan and khaqan serve as a reminder of the steppe nomadic origins of the Ottoman dynasty.

This coin is dated AH 982 (=AD 1574/5). The reign of Murad III was contemporaneous with that of Elizabeth I of England. The two monarchs even corresponded on the subject of an alliance against Spain, their mutual enemy.

I purchased this coin at auction where it was misattributed. I am not aware of many detailed English language references for Islamic coinage of any dynasty, including the Ottomans. The best high level resource I know about is Album’s “Checklist of Islamic Coins”. Between that and looking through examples online (particularly the “Tyrant Collection”) I was able to find the correct attribution. According to Album, this coin is struck in high quality gold (90%+). Islamic gold in general is more affordable than its Roman or Byzantine counterparts and the knowledge barrier to entry is likely a part of that so I can’t complain too much. 🙂

Murad III: The Homebody Sultan

Left: Murad III is seen in a window on the upper left watching a festival procession taking place in the hippodrome of Istanbul in 1582. It is interesting to note the Walled Obelisk and the Serpent’s Column (originally set up in Delphi after the Persian Wars) still in place in what was the spina of the hippodrome. Right: Photo taken near the same location ca. 1853.

Murad III was the grandson of Suleyman the Magnificent. One of his first acts as sultan was to order the execution of five of his brothers. His reign is notable for the fact that after becoming sultan he never went out on campaign with the Ottoman army and, in fact, never left Constantine. During the later years of his reign he never even left the Topkapi Palace complex for fear of assassination. This included abrogating his responsibilities during religious processions, which was a major break with tradition.

One benefit of his reluctance to leave home was that he sponsored some wonderful building projects within the palace that can still be seen to this day.

The Private Chambers of Murad III. This is one of the oldest extant rooms in the Harem of the Topkapi Palace. The structure and decoration are all original to the reign of Murad III. 


The Imperial Hall of Topkapi Palace. This is where Murad III would receive important visitors. The hall was built during his reign but the style was updated after a fire in the late 17th century.

A Comparison Just for Fun
I think it is interesting to compare my new Ottoman coin to my Elizabeth I sixpence which was struck in the same year.

England, Tudor Dynasty
Elizabeth I (1558-1603)
AR Sixpence, London mint, Struck 1575
Dia.: 26 mm
Wt.: 2.92
Obv.: ELIZABETH D G ANF FR ET HI REGINA: Crowned bust left
Rev.: POSVI DEV ADIVTOREM MEV: long cross over arms with date above
Ref.: Seaby 2563

Please post your,

• Ottoman coins
• Newest gold coins
• Late 16th century coins
• Elizabeth I Coins
• Anything relevant

Edited October 7, 2023 by Curtisimo

[Dafydd]

This is a fantastic post @Curtisimo, as one who struggles with a PC never mind a smart phone, I am astonished that this could be achieved on a phone, mid flight!

Here are the shilling and threepence to accompany your sixpence.

I only have one "Elizabeth" Gold coin, not so relevant but I'll share it.

[Broucheion]

Hi All,

My Murad III with a slightly different reverse legend. I can't read it, so if anyone can translate it I'd be obliged.

- Broucheion

[Curtisimo]

43 minutes ago, Broucheion said:

Hi All,

My Murad III with a slightly different reverse legend. I can't read it, so if anyone can translate it I'd be obliged.

- Broucheion

Album 1332.1 

Album has it transliterated and translated as follows: 

darib al-nadr wa sahib al-‘izz al-nasr fi‘l- birr wa’l-bahr, “the striker of precious metal, and master of glory, the victorious on land and sea”

I have also seen it transliterated and translated in a slightly different form as follows.

Dharibun-Nadri sahibbul izzi vennasri filberri velbahr
Striker of the Glittering, Master of might Victory and of Land and the Sea.

[Curtisimo]

15 hours ago, Dafydd said:

This is a fantastic post @Curtisimo, as one who struggles with a PC never mind a smart phone, I am astonished that this could be achieved on a phone, mid flight!

Here are the shilling and threepence to accompany your sixpence.

I only have one "Elizabeth" Gold coin, not so relevant but I'll share it.

Thanks @Dafydd! The trick was compiling everything in a plain-text editor app before copying into NF. I’m using QuickText. That made everything MUCH easier to format. The recent changes that @Restitutormade to the edit controls have been awesome.

Thanks for posting your three Elizabeth coins. Those are really nice examples!

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

That's a really nice addition, Curtismo!

As I was trawling through Spink's catalog looking for pdf versions of Sear books, I noticed a couple of non-Sear Islamic reference books, one medieval, and one modern.

[Curtisimo]

6 hours ago, Nerosmyfavorite68 said:

That's a really nice addition, Curtismo!

As I was trawling through Spink's catalog looking for pdf versions of Sear books, I noticed a couple of non-Sear Islamic reference books, one medieval, and one modern.

Thanks for the kind words and for the suggestion to check out Spink’s E-library. The last time I was scrolling through there I thought it was funny that some of their e-books were no longer available for download and were labeled “sold out.” How the heck do you sell out of a pdf document? 😵‍💫

[Qcumbor]

Excellent writeup as usual @Curtisimo

I can't contribute with something similar but late 16th century is my thing !

A 1587 french king Henri III demi franc :

 

A 1591 Elizabeth I six pence :

 

Q

[Curtisimo]

15 hours ago, Qcumbor said:

Excellent writeup as usual @Curtisimo

I can't contribute with something similar but late 16th century is my thing !

A 1587 french king Henri III demi franc :

 

A 1591 Elizabeth I six pence :

 

Q

Wonderful coins Q! Thanks for the kind words. 🙂 

[thenickelguy]

Nice gold coin! Boy that's some pad Murad III had huh?

Excellent write up. I found it very interesting.

[Sulla80]

An interesting coin & most enjoyable write-up and illustrations @Curtisimo.  It is interesting to see the starkly different styles of these two coins from 1575 (English & Ottoman).  While it is pretty far outside of my normal range of collecting, I do have this little 1 gram silver Ottoman coin of the great, great, great, grandfather of Murad III, Mehmet II son of Murad II. 

The Sultan Mehmet II, oil on canvas by Gentile Bellini, AD 1480,  in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Public Domain image via Wikimedia Commons

Mehmet II or "Mehmet the Conqueror" was responsible for the Conquest of Constantinople on 29-May-1453 as the Ottoman empire took the capital of the Byzantine Empire after a 53-day siege. This was the end of the Byzantine (Romaion) Empire and Mehmet II would declare himself successor to the Roman Empire or Kayser-i Rum, "Caesar of Rome", although others would also make this claim.  

Ottoman Empire Silver 1 Akce Mehmet II 1451-1481

[Broucheion]

Hi All,

One free PDF Islamic text covering an earlier period is Jere L Bacharach's "Islamic History through Coins". This is available at Academia.edu . See https://www.academia.edu/38559278/Islamic_History_through_Coins. From the Preface:

This second, updated edition of  Islamic History through Coins  includes over 350 additional specimens, which are listed in the catalogue section under their appropriate number, that is, an increase of over twenty-five percent from the original database. New types and examples include another Misr 353 dinar, whose date is probably an error for 355, which was not fully identified in the first edition; dirhams for Dimashq for 334, 342, and 343; Tabariyah for 336, 346, and 353; and a dirham with the mint name Mecca and the date 334. The last is discussed in fuller detail in chapter two. Whenever possible, better images of the coins were used in this edition. To aid users of this electronic version, the data on the obverse and reverse types of regular Ikhshidid dinars and dirhams have been placed at the end of this book. I hope that through the input of reviewers and volunteer readers all the errors from the first edition have been corrected, but if not, their continued inclusion and any new ones are my responsibility.

- Broucheion

Edited October 9, 2023 by Broucheion

[Curtisimo]

17 hours ago, thenickelguy said:

Nice gold coin! Boy that's some pad Murad III had huh?

Excellent write up. I found it very interesting.

Thank you for the kind words. I agree the he had quite the pad. Islamic palace architecture is really interesting. I suppose that shouldn’t be much of a surprise as they were conceptualized as an interpretation of paradise on earth.

16 hours ago, Sulla80 said:

An interesting coin & most enjoyable write-up and illustrations @Curtisimo.  It is interesting to see the starkly different styles of these two coins from 1575 (English & Ottoman).  While it is pretty far outside of my normal range of collecting, I do have this little 1 gram silver Ottoman coin of the great, great, great, grandfather of Murad III, Mehmet II son of Murad II. 

The Sultan Mehmet II, oil on canvas by Gentile Bellini, AD 1480,  in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Public Domain image via Wikimedia Commons

Mehmet II or "Mehmet the Conqueror" was responsible for the Conquest of Constantinople on 29-May-1453 as the Ottoman empire took the capital of the Byzantine Empire after a 53-day siege. This was the end of the Byzantine (Romaion) Empire and Mehmet II would declare himself successor to the Roman Empire or Kayser-i Rum, "Caesar of Rome", although others would also make this claim.  

Ottoman Empire Silver 1 Akce Mehmet II 1451-1481

Mehmet the Conqueror! What a fantastic coin! He is definitely on my list of rulers to get eventually.

14 hours ago, Broucheion said:

Hi All,

One free PDF Islamic text covering an earlier period is Jere L Bacharach's "Islamic History through Coins". This is available at Academia.edu . See https://www.academia.edu/38559278/Islamic_History_through_Coins. From the Preface:

This second, updated edition of  Islamic History through Coins  includes over 350 additional specimens, which are listed in the catalogue section under their appropriate number, that is, an increase of over twenty-five percent from the original database. New types and examples include another Misr 353 dinar, whose date is probably an error for 355, which was not fully identified in the first edition; dirhams for Dimashq for 334, 342, and 343; Tabariyah for 336, 346, and 353; and a dirham with the mint name Mecca and the date 334. The last is discussed in fuller detail in chapter two. Whenever possible, better images of the coins were used in this edition. To aid users of this electronic version, the data on the obverse and reverse types of regular Ikhshidid dinars and dirhams have been placed at the end of this book. I hope that through the input of reviewers and volunteer readers all the errors from the first edition have been corrected, but if not, their continued inclusion and any new ones are my responsibility.

- Broucheion

Fantastic! Thank you for posting this. I love adding new references to my digital library. 🙂