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Seljuqs of Rum, The Three Brothers AR Dirham. Quniya (Konya) mint, AH 654 = AD 1258.
Obverse: Kalima, citing the Abbasid caliph" Al-Musta'sim billah" as Commander of the Faithful, mint and date formula in five lines across field:
la ilah illa allah / muhammad rasul allah al-imam / al-musta’sim billah amir al-mu / ’minin duriba sana (in diwani script) arba’ wa khamsin / sittmi’a bi-qunya
“No god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God, the Imam al-Musta‘sim billah Commander of the Faithful, struck the year four and fifty and six hundred in Qunya”
Reverse: Citing the three brothers Kayka'us, Qilij Arslan, and Kayqubad in five lines across field:
al-salatin al-a’azim / ’izz al-dunya wa’l-din kayka’us / wa rukn al-dunya wa’l-din qilij arslan / wa ’ala al-dunya wa’l-din kayqubad / ibn kaykhusraw barahin amir al-mu’minin
“the Supreme Sultans, Glory of the World and the Faith Kayka’us and Pillar of the World and the Faith Qilij Arslan and Exalted of the World and the Faith Kayqubad ibn Kaykhusraw, Proofs of the Commander of the Faithful”
Reference: Album 1227; Izmirlier 567, Wilkes 1349
Diameter: 20mm Weight: 2.98g 11h. Conservation: Good Very Fine.
After the Battle of Köse Dagh during the reign of the Great Mongol ruler Ögedei, the Rum Saljuq state was thrown into confusion because, although Kaykhusraw II remained on the throne, his authority virtually vanished amidst the disgrace of his defeat.
Two of his sons, ‘Izz al-Din Kayka’us II and Rukn al-Din Qilij Arslan IV, claimed their inheritance, but this did not please the Great Khan Güyük (644-647 H/1246-1249 AD), who chose to restore order in Anatolia by making all three sons of Kaykhusraw II joint rulers.
This unconventional solution to the succession struggle lasted for eight years, first during the reign of the Great Khan Möngke (649-658/1251-1260), and then in the first two years of the Ilkhan Hulagu (654-663/1256-1265).
During this time the Rum Saljuqs were cowed into submission. They were neither important enough for the Mongols to bother to rule them directly, nor were they allowed to go their own way in case they created disorder on the western edge of the Mongol dominions. How different this was from the dynasty’s glory days as a regional power, particularly in the time of the three rulers’ grandfather Kayqubad I.
The rule of the three brothers was marked by plotting and intrigue among mercenaries who constantly transferred their allegiance from one brother to another. This was made worse when the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Paleologus sought refuge in Konya with Kayka’us, who appointed him commander of his Christian mercenaries. This led to doubts about Kayka’us’s Islamic faith, particularly as his mother was a Christian. Qilij Arslan took advantage of this situation and had his brother cast into prison.
This silver dirham describes the three brothers as “The Supreme Sultans” on the reverse, with the name of the Abbasid caliph al-Musta‘sim, but, surprisingly enough, no mention is made of their Mongol masters.
When the Mongol leader Batu, grandson of Genghiz Khan and first ruler of the Golden Horde, expressed his displeasure at this arbitrary act, Kayka’us was released and the youngest of the three brother, ‘Ala al-Din Kayqubad II, was dispatched to placate the angry khan. The young man is believed to have died on his way home, as nothing is heard of him after 655 (1247).
Source : https://www.davidmus.dk/en/collections/i...
Collection : XIII Oriental Coins