Mamluk (Bahri). Hasan (al-Nasir Nasir al-Din Abu'l-Mahasin) (1st reign, 748-752 A.H. = 1347-1351 A.D.; 2nd reign 755-762 A.H. = 1354-1361 A.D.)

Balog (1970) 905B; SNAT Hamah 505-511; Album 947

AE fals, Hamah mint, dated (75)1 A.H. = 1350/51 A.D. (first reign): 2.36 g., 18.72 mm. max., 180°

Obv.: Solid border. الملك / الناصر (= al-malik / al-Násir) in two rows in center.

Rev. Octolobe of dots, solid octolobe within, mint name and date separated by ornamental border in center.

Hasan was the seventh son of Muhammad I to hold office. Upon the death of his half-brother, Sultan Hajji, in 1347, Hasan was raised to the sultanate at age 12 by senior Mamluk emirs formerly belonging to his father. Upon his accession, he disavowed his given (Turkic) name and assumed the Arabic name, Hasan. He was toppled by the emirs in 1351 when he attempted to assert executive authority, and reinstated by them three years later during a coup against his half-brother, Sultan Salih. During his second reign, he pursued a policy of minimizing the role of the mamluk emirs in the state and relying instead on the descendants of mamluks, known as awlad al-nas. Hasan was killed in 1361 at age 27 by one of his own mamluks, who led a faction opposed to Hasan's policy of elevating the awlad al-nas to positions of authority. Hasan was the only descendant of Muhammad to have had a significant impact on events in the sultanate, and was referred to by a Mamluk-era historian as one of the "best kings of the Turks."