c. 1194 - 1/4 Tercenario, Kingdom of Sicily - Henry VI of Hohenstaufen

Country: Kingdom of  icily, (Italian states)
King Henry Ist (1169-1191-1194✟) 
(Henry VI of Hohenstaufen, Holy German Emperor) 
Grade: VG/F
Mint: Palermo
Type: Standard circulation coin
Years: Undated (1194-1197)
Value: ¼ tercenario = 1 kharruba = 1/16 dirham (1⁄36)
Devise: Tari (1060-1754)
Metal: Billon
Weight: 3.03 g
Diameter: 24 mm
Thickness: 1 mm
Shape: Round (irregular)
Technique    : Hammered
References: Spahr# 2, Guglielmi# 40

Obverse:
Legend in field.

Lettering: ZREX SICIL

Reverse:
Arabic legend in Nashki.

Lettering: Harir / quaysar / aughust.

Translation: Henry Caesar Augustus.

Edge: 
Smooth.

Comments:
Minted at Palermo

History:
Henry VI (German: Heinrich VI.; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sicily.

Henry was the second son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy. Well educated in the Latin language, as well as Roman and canon law, Henry was also a patron of poets and a skilled poet himself. In 1186 he was married to Constance of Sicily, the posthumous daughter of the Norman king Roger II of Sicily. Henry, stuck in the Hohenstaufen conflict with the House of Welf until 1194, had to enforce the inheritance claims by his wife against her nephew Count Tancred of Lecce. Henry's attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Sicily failed at the siege of Naples in 1191 due to an epidemic, with Empress Constance captured. Based on an enormous ransom for the release and submission of King Richard I of England, he conquered Sicily in 1194; however, the intended unification with the Holy Roman Empire ultimately failed due to the opposition of the Papacy. In Sicily, Henry had a reputation for ruthless suppression of political opponents. Until this day, he is sometimes given the nickname "the Cruel" (il crudele) by Italian historiography.

Référence : Spahr# 2, Guglielmi# 40

Collection : Italian States - Pre Risorgimento (1250-1861) & Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946) Republic (1946-date)