Egypt, Eyalet / Khedivate Osman III 1/2 Zeri Mahbub

History

1/2 Zeri Mahbub 1755, KM# 96, Egypt, Eyalet / Khedivate, Osman III

Obverse. Photo © acsaerch.info

Description

Osman III (‎1699–1757) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1754 to 1757.

Osman III lived most of his life as a prisoner in the palace, and as a consequence, he had some behavioural peculiarities when he took the throne. Unlike previous sultans, he hated music and banished all musicians from the palace.

During his reign, the changes he made in high-level government duties, especially Grand Vizier, can be considered as attempts to reduce the extremely weighted role of the charitable authority in the previous sultan's era. Osman was responsible for a firman in 1757 that preserved the Status Quo of various Holy Land sites for Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

Weight varies 0.93-1.20 g
Size varies: 17-20 mm
Similar to 1 Zeri Mahbub, KM# 97

Obverse	Monogram, signature Tughra Tughra in Osman III name with a star at right, Ottoman Turkish legend "Struck in Egypt" and the accession year in Hejira (AH1168) below, year of the Sultan's reign (ع) at the left. A tughra (Ottoman Turkish: طغرا‎ tuğrâ) is a calligraphic monogram, seal or signature of a sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. It was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted during his reign. Tughras served a purpose similar to the cartouche in ancient Egypt or the Royal Cypher of British monarchs, every Ottoman sultan had his own individual tughra. عثمان خان بن مصطفى عز نصره ضرب في(ع) مصر سنة ١١٦٨
Reverse	Arabic legend with the year of the Sultan's reign on top was replaced with Arabic letter (ص) instead of numbers and Ottoman Turkish legend "Struck in Egypt" and the accession year in Hejira (AH1168) below. The date of the accession is accepted as the first year and is called "cülüs". The issuing date is a sum of the accession and regnal years minus 1. سلطان البرين وخاقان البحرين السلطان بن (ص) السلطان
Edge	Plain