Item number: A216

Year: AD 1189-1194

Material: Gold

Size: 12.6 x 11.7 x 1.7 mm

Weight: 2.14 g

Provenance: Künker 2022

This coin is a gold tarì minted during the reign of Tancred(AD 1189-AD 1194), King of Sicily.

The obverse of the coin features multiple concentric circles with inscriptions in Kufic script around the perimeter, encircling a small orb at the centre. The reverse depicts a cross, accompanied by the inscription “IC-XC NI-KA”, where IC-XC is an abbreviation for Jesus Christ in Greek, and NI-KA translates to “victory” or “conquest”.

Kufic script:
Kufic script is the earliest Islamic style of calligraphy, originally used by early Muslims to transcribe the Quran. Named after the ancient Iraqi city of Kufa, this font spread across the Arabian Peninsula as Islam expanded.

Tarì:
The tarì was a small medieval coin minted approximately between the 10th and 13th centuries in Italy, Sicily, and Malta. It served as a significant denomination and unit of account in the medieval Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, cast in both gold and silver.

Tancred served as the King of Sicily from AD 1189 to AD 1194. Despite being an excellent soldier, his unremarkable appearance earned him the nickname ‘The Monkey King,’ which posed some initial challenges to his reign. Although his tenure was brief, it was marked by significant political turbulence. This included the crusade led by King Richard I of England and claims to the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Sicily made by the Empress of the Holy Roman Empire.

物件編號: A216

年代: 公元 1189-1194 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 12.6 x 11.7 x 1.7 mm

重量: 2.14 g

來源: 昆克 2022

此枚硬幣為西西里王國的國王坦克雷迪統治期間(公元1189年-公元1194年)所鑄造發行的黃金塔里。

金幣的正面描繪了多個同心的圓圈，周圍是模仿庫法體的銘文裝飾，同心圓的中央有一個小圓球。硬幣背面繪製了一個十字，並鑄有「 IC-XC NI-KA」的字樣， IC-XC為希臘文中耶穌基督的縮寫， NI-KA則是勝利、征服的意思。 

庫法體:
庫法體是現存最早的伊斯蘭風格的手寫字母，早期穆斯林用此來記錄古蘭經。庫法體被認為在伊拉克的文化古城庫法開發因而得名。這種字體隨著伊斯蘭教的發展而傳播到整個阿拉伯半島。

塔里:
塔里是一種小型的中世紀硬幣，大約公元10-13世紀在義大利、西西里島和馬耳他鑄造。它是中世紀那不勒斯和西西里王國的重要面額，也被用作記帳單位，以金和銀鑄造。

坦克雷迪在公元1189年至公元1194年期間擔任西西里王國的國王。他是一位優秀的士兵，但其平凡的外貌讓他被戲稱為「美猴王」，這個外號讓他的統治初期便遭遇了一些困難。儘管坦克雷迪在位的時間並不長，他的統治期間依然充滿了政治動盪。這包括了英國國王理查一世領導的十字軍進攻，以及神聖羅馬帝國皇后科斯坦察對西西里王國主權的宣稱。