Zengid Bronze Coin of Nur al-Din — An Islamic Coin Featuring Jesus Christ

Own a Coin from the Muslim Ruler Who Paved the Way for Saladin

A real medieval Zengid bronze fals of Nur al-Din Mahmud, one of the greatest Muslim rulers of the Crusades era, featuring Byzantine-inspired imagery—including a standing figure of Jesus Christ.

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☪ Issued by one of Saladin's greatest predecessors
✝ Features a Byzantine image of Jesus Christ on an Islamic coin
🏛 Struck in the medieval Levant during the age of the Crusades

Own This Piece of History

Why This Coin Matters

Few medieval coins demonstrate the meeting of civilizations as vividly as this one.

Issued by Nur al-Din Mahmud ibn Zengi (AD 1146–1174), this remarkable bronze fals comes from one of the most influential Muslim rulers of the Crusades. Ruling from Aleppo, Nur al-Din united much of the central and northern Levant, resisted the Crusader states, and created the political and military foundation upon which Saladin would later build his famous victories.

What makes this coin extraordinary is its imagery.

Rather than introducing an entirely new design, Nur al-Din's mint adapted a familiar Byzantine coin type that people throughout the region already recognized. One side depicts two Byzantine-style standing imperial figures, while the other shows a standing, haloed figure of Jesus Christ holding the Book of Gospels. Arabic inscriptions identifying Nur al-Din were added alongside these earlier artistic traditions.

Far from being unusual for the frontier regions of the medieval Levant, coins like this reflect a world where Byzantine, Islamic, and Crusader societies interacted through trade, diplomacy, and warfare. By preserving recognizable imagery while adding Islamic inscriptions, the Zengids produced coinage that was both practical and culturally familiar to the people who used it every day.

More than 850 years later, this coin stands as a remarkable reminder that medieval history was often more interconnected than we imagine—a true artifact of a world where civilizations met, competed, and influenced one another.

Perfect For

• Crusades history enthusiasts
• Islamic and Byzantine coin collectors
• Christian history collectors
• Anyone fascinated by Saladin and the medieval Middle East
• Collectors of unusual cross-cultural artifacts

Coin Details

• The exact Nur al-Din bronze fals pictured
• Civilization: Zengid Dynasty
• Ruler: Nur al-Din Mahmud ibn Zengi (AD 1146–1174)
• Century: 12th Century AD
• Mint: Traditionally attributed to Aleppo (Halab)
• Denomination: Bronze Fals
• Reference: Album 1850 • Spengler & Sayles Type 73
• Guaranteed authentic

Continue the Story

Nur al-Din helped unite the Muslim world before the rise of Saladin.

Explore our Artuqid and other medieval Islamic coins to discover how the Crusades shaped the coinage of the medieval Middle East, where Byzantine, Islamic, and Crusader traditions often overlapped.

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• Guaranteed authentic ancient or medieval coin
• Carefully sourced and attributed
• 30-day return policy
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Learn More

Continue the story in the Kinzer Coins Journal: What Is a Fals? The Everyday Copper Coin of the Medieval Islamic World.