The Ilkhanate of Persia was a Mongol state which rose in 1259 C.E. from the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire and was ruled by Hulagu Khan, the grandson of Chingiz Khan. Hulagu's armies dominated the south-western parts of the Mongol Empire majorly comprising of Iran and its neighbouring regions. Hulagu was responsible for the sack of Baghdad and killing of the last Abbasid Caliph, Al-Muta'sim in 1258. At its height, the Ilkhanate thus ruled a vast region comprising of modern day Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkeministan, parts of Turkey and Western Afghanistan.
Hulagu and his immediate successors were close to Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity but embraced Islam under Ghazan in 1295 C.E. when the character of the state became decidedly Islamic, though some later rulers continued to flirt with Buddhism and other pagan faiths.
The last ruler of the clan was Abu Said Khan who strangely fell to the Black Death of the 1330s with his sons thus bringing the Ilkhanate to its disintegration and eventual dissolution.
Abu Said 'Bahadur' Khan lorded over the Ilkhanate for almost two decades and he issued a vast coinage in gold and silver from various mints of his vast empire. Silver coins were issued from at least 150 mints with few minor variations in their design. The silver coins were issued in three denominations, Half dirham (0.72g-0.90 g), 1 dirham (1.44g - 1.80g) and 2 dirhams (3.24g -3.60g)
Shown below is a 2 Dirham of Abu Saeed probably issued from Tabriz mint (similar to S. Album # 2214 Type 'G') in the collection of our institute. It is a fairly common coin with worn out features reflecting its rich circulation history in the period of its issue. Abu Said Khan also took the epithet Bahadur the Brave not seen on this coin but seen on his other coins. The coin has the Sunni Kalima on the reverse reflecting his strong links to Sunni Islam as a ruler of the Ilkhanate. The calligraphy on the coins is late Kufic type with the geometric features of the script fast being replaced with curves and designs and the multiple-cartouche design also shows a late embellishing nature seen on Islamic coinage compared to the bland designs of the early Islamic coinage shorn of any designs or decoration.
Importantly, this coin matches the later Islamic tradition of autonomous rulers issuing their own coins without any recognition of the higher authority of caliph which was a situation created by Hulagu's killing of the last Abbasid Caliph during his siege of Baghdad. The Ilkhanate's rulers' conversion of Islam did not stop their aggression towards fellow Muslim kingdoms. In fact, like most medieval empires, it sought to engulf neighbouring kingdoms and take over their resources and sovereign rights including Sikka, the right to coin independently, a pragmatic principle adopted in Islamic world after the exit of the Abbasid Caliphs.
Hulagu and his immediate successors were close to Buddhism, Nestorian Christianity but embraced Islam under Ghazan in 1295 C.E. when the character of the state became decidedly Islamic, though some later rulers continued to flirt with Buddhism and other pagan faiths.
The last ruler of the clan was Abu Said Khan who strangely fell to the Black Death of the 1330s with his sons thus bringing the Ilkhanate to its disintegration and eventual dissolution.
Abu Said 'Bahadur' Khan lorded over the Ilkhanate for almost two decades and he issued a vast coinage in gold and silver from various mints of his vast empire. Silver coins were issued from at least 150 mints with few minor variations in their design. The silver coins were issued in three denominations, Half dirham (0.72g-0.90 g), 1 dirham (1.44g - 1.80g) and 2 dirhams (3.24g -3.60g)
Shown below is a 2 Dirham of Abu Saeed probably issued from Tabriz mint (similar to S. Album # 2214 Type 'G') in the collection of our institute. It is a fairly common coin with worn out features reflecting its rich circulation history in the period of its issue. Abu Said Khan also took the epithet Bahadur the Brave not seen on this coin but seen on his other coins. The coin has the Sunni Kalima on the reverse reflecting his strong links to Sunni Islam as a ruler of the Ilkhanate. The calligraphy on the coins is late Kufic type with the geometric features of the script fast being replaced with curves and designs and the multiple-cartouche design also shows a late embellishing nature seen on Islamic coinage compared to the bland designs of the early Islamic coinage shorn of any designs or decoration.
Importantly, this coin matches the later Islamic tradition of autonomous rulers issuing their own coins without any recognition of the higher authority of caliph which was a situation created by Hulagu's killing of the last Abbasid Caliph during his siege of Baghdad. The Ilkhanate's rulers' conversion of Islam did not stop their aggression towards fellow Muslim kingdoms. In fact, like most medieval empires, it sought to engulf neighbouring kingdoms and take over their resources and sovereign rights including Sikka, the right to coin independently, a pragmatic principle adopted in Islamic world after the exit of the Abbasid Caliphs.
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| Map of Ilkhanid Persia Image Courtesy: wikipedia |
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