The arabic word مملوك or mamlūk means "owned" or "possessed". In the context of 13th century Islamic society, Mamlūks were usually ...

2024 has had ups and downs - it seems that every year I start with same thought. This has been an unusual year with and earth quake,...

This is the Kwarazmian Empire in 1215.....it was one of the most powerful and affluent states of its time. The Khwarezmian Empire, at the...

The Seljuks of Rum, who ruled over much of Anatolia from the late 11th century, faced increasing pressure from the Mongol invasions...

The Coronation of Ardashir-e Babakan, a Sasanian rock relief, carved circa CE 235, located in the east corner of Naqsh-e Rostam, in the modern Fars Province of Iran. Ardashir I receives his kingship ring from Ahura Mazda who appoints him Shahanshah (King of Kings) of Ērānshahr (Iran). Photo taken in 2018 by Wojciech Kocot, image used under CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons . Zoroastrianism In Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda (also known as Ohrmazd in Middle Persian) is the supr

Today's notes start from my latest coin, issued by the Islamic rulers of Bukhara, dating to the 8th century CE.

A Śivalinga as drawn by ChatGPT 4o Today's coins (20 of them) come with minimal descriptions of their era. This is a collection of...

Representation of Khutulun / Public Domain, Credit: Divulgação/Instagram Kublai Khan (1215-1294), who was also called Emperor Shizu of the Yuan, was the son of Tolui, the youngest son of Genghis Khan. This portrait of Kublai Khan was drawn in ink and colors on silk shortly after his death in 1294 by the artist Araniko (1244–1306). Image public domain via Wikipedia Commons with additional information at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan . After the death of Tolui, Kubl

I have to admit that I am drawn to coins that are not popular and periods in history that are not well known. One current interest is...

Detail from a 19th Century water color on paper depicting the court of Muhammad bin Tughluq. Accession Number XXIII-239 Salar Jung...

The Vikrama Samvat is a Hindu luni-solar calendar, which means it is based on both the phases of the moon and the solar year. It has...

Mustafa II was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703. He ascended to the throne late in the The Great Turkish War (1683-1699)...

"Harun al-Rashid receiving a delegation of Charlemagne in Baghdad", oil on canvas by Julius Köckert (1827–1918), 1864, held by the...

Baybars I was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria from the Bahri dynasty, of Turkic Kipchak origin. Islamic, Mamluks, al-Zahir...

The ancient Romans, celebrated a feast on March 31st, in the Temple of Luna on the Aventine Hill to honor the Moon Goddess, a cult...

This 1831 mezzotint print depicts the battle of Ascalon (circa CE 1192), with Richard I King of England, on a white charger, wielding an axe and grasping shield of Saladin, Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadhi, on a dark horse. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for non-commercial use via the British Museum. Baha ad-Din praises Saladin for his piety, his generosity, his calm, his chivalry, his just defense of the weak, his courage: "While I was thinking this [my great dread of the sea], he turned to me a

This Islamic coin captured my interest with it's unusual highlight of "lillah" in an eye shape with dots from the 14th century (Note:...

I have accumulated a few coins from ancient India. Today's post shares several and focuses on the Buddhist symbols on a particularly...

Page of the Rajatarangini in Sarada script (Public Domain Source: River of Kings, 1935) Having just returned (and still jet-lagged) from...

The capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty (Алматы), formerly known as Alma Ata, has a name derived from the word Apple (Алма). "Apples,...