Egypt 1/2 Pound 1994

History

1/2 Pound 1994, KM# 760, Egypt, 800th Anniversary of Death of Saladin

Obverse. Photo © Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS.com)

Description

Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi (c. 1137 – 1193), better known by his epithet Saladin was a Sunni Muslim Kurd who became the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria, and was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Saladin led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusader states in the Levant. He was an important figure in the Third Crusade. At the height of his power, his sultanate spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia (Iraq), the Hejaz (western Arabia), Yemen, parts of western North Africa, and Nubia. Saladin has become a prominent figure in Muslim, Arab, Turkish and Kurdish culture, and has been described as the most famous Kurd in history.

Obverse	Person (politician, revolutionary, entrepreneur) Saladin Rider Cavalryman Temple (church, mosque, synagogue, pagoda etc.) al-Aqsa Mosque Depicts a bust of Saladin at center, al-Aqsa Mosque behind at left, a cavalryman with sword at right. Designer's mark on the left (Sabri). The Qibli Mosque, more commonly known as al-Aqsa Mosque, is a congregational mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located within the Temple Mount, which is also known as the Masjid al-Aqsa, al-Aqsa Mosque compound or the Haram al-Sharif. The building was originally a small prayer house erected by Umar, the second Rashidun caliph, after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century. It was rebuilt and expanded during the Umayyad Caliphate. The mosque was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 746 and rebuilt by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 754. It was rebuilt again in 780. Another earthquake destroyed most of al-Aqsa in 1033, but two years later the Fatimid caliph al-Zahir built another mosque whose outline is preserved in the current structure. ذكرى مرور ٨٠٠ عام على وفاة صلاح الدين الأيوبى صبري
Reverse	Denomination divides dates (Hegira and Gregorian) in a circle, inscription "Arab Republic of Egypt" above. نصف جنيه ١٤١٤ - ١٩٩٤ جمهورية مصر العربية
Edge	Reeded (milled)