Mamluks. al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qa'itbay, AH 872-901 / AD 1468-1496. Ashrafi (Gold, 14 mm, 3.39 g, 5 h), mint off flan. Between segmented lines, ‘[arsalahū / lā ilāha illā Allāh] / Muḥammad rasūl A[llāh] / bi al-hudā’ (‘There is no deity but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. He sent him with guidance’ in Arabic); an illegible rectangular Aq Qoyunlu countermark on the lower left field. Rev. Weak traces of the name and titles of Qaʾitbay in Arabic within segmented lines. Album 1027. Areas of weakness, some doubling and small deposits, otherwise, very fine.


The countermark is possibly associated with the Aq Qoyunlu authority. The Aq Qoyunlu - literally 'Those of the White Sheep' - emerged as a regional power in the aftermath of Mongol domination in Upper Mesopotamia. What began as a tribal coalition centered around Diyarbakır evolved into a state that, between the late 14th and early 16th centuries, stretched far beyond eastern Anatolia to include Azerbaijan and large portions of Iraq and Iran.