THE LEGITIMACY OF SHAJAR AL-DURR REIGN AS REPRESENTED IN LIGHT OF A RARE DINAR

Shajar al-Durr who began her life as a slave and ended it as sultana was one of thevery few women in Islamic history to ascend to the throne. Shajar’s politicalimportance comes from the period in which she reigned, which includes manyimportant events in the Egyptian and Middle Eastern history. Despite the fact that sheofficially ruled Egypt for a very short period of approximately eighty days, that doesnot underestimate the majestic role she played in history. Also, her reign marked aturning point in Egyptian history, as the Egyptian sultanate shifted from the Ayyubidto the Mamluk. Concerning Shajar al-Durr’s coins, they are all extremely rare,designed in the best Ayyubid tradition and style. Due to the rarity of her coins, everysingle piece of these coins has its own value and significance, specially that her coinsreflect many of the important historical facts as it is going to be clarified through thisresearch.