The Coins of the Later Ilkhanids: A Typological Analysis

Journal of tbe Economic and Social Histoty of the Orient, Vol. XXVI, Part I11

THE COINS OF THE LATER ILKHANIDS : A TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS1

SHEILA S. BLAIR

Gh&gn KhW was undoubtedly the most brilliant of the Ilkhanid rulers of Persia: not only a commander and statesman, he was also a linguist, architect and bibliophile. One of his most lasting contributions was the reorganization of Iran's financial system. Upon his accession to the throne, the economy was in total chaos: his predecessor Gaykhatu's stop-gap issue of paper money to fill an empty treasury had been a fiasco z), and the civil wars among Gaykhatu, Baydii, and GhZzZn had done nothing to restore trade or confidence in the economy. Under the direction of hrs vizier Rashid &Din, Ghiizsn delivered an edict ordering the standardization of the coinage in weight, purity, and types). Ghiiziin's standard double-dirham became the basis of Iran's monetary system for the next century.

At varying intervals, however, the standard type was changed: a new shape cartouche was introduced, with slight variations in legend. These new types were sometimes issued at a modified weight standard. This paper will analyze the successive standard issues of GhZzZn and his two successors, Uljaytu and Abii Sa'id, in order to show when and why these new types were introduced. Following a des-cription of the successive types 4), the changes will be explained through

I) The basic research for this article was done at the American Numismatic Society's 1979Graduate Seminar in Numismatics. I would like to thank the ANS staff, particularly Dr. Michael Bates, for their support. Frequently quoted sources will be given in abbreviated form only: see the List of Abbreviations at the end for complete citations. 2) K. Jahn, "Das Irznische Papiergeld,: Archiu Oricntalni X (1938) 308-40;

W.J. Fischel, "On the Iranian Paper Currency ,wI of the Mongol Period,"]omal of the Royal Asiatic Socieg (I y 39) 601 -03.

3) Rashid al-din, Tdr ib i Mubdrak-i Ghdxdni, K. Jahn ed. (London, 1940)282-6. 4) In addition to direct study of the ANS collection, I have used the published

296 SHEILA S. BLAIR

an investigation of the metrology and a correlation of these changes in type with economic and political history. Another article will pursue the problem of mint organization and regionalization within ths standard imperial system 5 ) .

Following his reform of the coinage, GhPzHn issued only one standard type of coin (fig. I) Inside a circular obverse is a pentagonal cartouche with the profession of faith and the mint; the margin contains the date. On the reverse GhhHn adopted a new formula in uighur with h s name inserted in Arabic:

catalogues of the collections in the British Museum (BMC), Istanbul Archaeological Museum (Aauk), and the Istanbul Imperial Museum Wubarak); references will be given to coins illustrated in these catalogues. I have also consulted the articles in Arabic by Mrs. Mahhlb al-Bakri on the collection in the Baghdad Museum: "Islamic Coins of the Ilkhanid Period in the Baghdad Museum," Sumer 2 j 11-2 (I 969) I I j-I 26 (coins of G U n ) ; "The Coins of the Sultan Uljaytti Khudiibanda Muham- med Khln . . . in the Iraq Museum," Af-Mas&&t 113 (1972) 28-4j ;and 'The Coins of Sultan Abu Sa 'id Bahiidur KhIin in the 'Iraq Museum," Sclmer 26 (I 970) 291-3 28 ; as well as Sayyid Jamill Tab5tabPYi's Persian catalogue of the Tabriz Museum Collec- tion, Islamic Coins: I f ' a n i d and Gurganid Period (Tabriz: 134711969), I was also fort- unate in being able to consult the unpublished notes of Stephen Album not only on his own extensive collection but also on the coins of the Ashmolean Museum, the British Museum, the Bibliotheque Nationale, and the Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi Collection. I have not, however, included coins from the Leningrad Collection as published by A. Markov, Inventamyi k tafog MusuI'makikb monet Imperatorskge Ermira~ha(St. Petersburg, I 896). The latter describes the coins only cursorily, and it is so replete with errors as to be more confusing than useful for this study. A new catalogue of this extensive collection, as well as fuller publication of those in Iran, would undoubtedly add further data, especially for the problem of mint organization and regionalization.

5 ) "The Coinage of the Later Ilkhans: Mint Organization, Regionalization, and Urbanism," A N S Mmeum Notes 27 (1982) 211-30.

6) BMC VI, 89 and 96; Mubarak 39; Aauk 2219 is a six-dirham piece which is basically the same with the addition of two outer Qur'Hnic borders (9: 33 on the obverse and 3: z j on the reverse).

7) I have arbitrarily designated the face with the profession of faith as the obverse.

297 THE COINS OF THE LATER ILKHANIDS

Previous Ilkhanid rulers had maintained the appearance of allegiance to the Great Khans in China. By putting his own name in the legend, GhizZn was the first to assert his independent sovereignty. GhiizHn's type is still traditional in its use of Uighur and cluttered effect, but the introduction of the geometrical cartouche became standard on all later Ilkhanid issues.

GhHz3nYsreign (694-703/1295-1304) is often dubbed a "golden age;" this prosperity continued under GhZzZn's brother and successor Muhammad Uljaytii KhudZbanda (703-1 611 304-16). Uljaytii's first coins (Type A; fig. 2) s, are similar to those of GhkZn: the obverse has the same pentagon enclosing the profession of faith and the inter- linear~ mint. However, on the reverse of Uljaytii Type A, Arabic replaces Uighur with a combination of titles, honorifics, and personal names typical of Islamic titulature:

Uljaytii issued these Type A coins for the first five years of his reign. In 709/1308, however, he converted from Sunnism to Shicism, a change which was immediately signaled by the introduction of a new type of coin (Uljaytii Type B, fig. 3) 9. The circular obverse contains the expanded Shica profession of faith with the inclusion of the phrase "cA1i is the friend of God" and blessings on the Twelve Imams in the

8) BMC X, 1 2 8 ~ ;Artuk, Type I, 229. The illustrated example in Artuk is from Alliya, 714. Without exarning the coin, I do not know whether this is a misreading or whether Alliya was issuing anomalous examples of a type which was not minted in the rest of the Ilkhanid empire after 710. There is also a six-dirham variant of this type with additional outer Qur'linic borders: 48: 29 on the obverse; 24: 14 on the reverse (BMC VI, 129).

9) BMC VI, 126 and 141; Artuk, Type 11, 2236; Mubarak, Type 2, 102.

298 SHEILA S. BLAIR

margin. The reverse cartouche has been changed to a quatrefoil with the legend:

Uljaytii added the honorific, "master of the necks of the nations," and the personal name Uljaytii Sultiin. The margin contains the name Uljaytii Sultiin, this time in Uighur, the mint, the date, and the Quryanic phrase "To God belongs the command, before and after" (jo:4), a phrase standard on the coins of the Abbasids and their successors from the third to the mid-seventh centuries.

Uljaytii Type B coins were issued between 709 and 713. Examples of overstrikes show that they were struck at the same weight standard as the earlier coins of Ghgziin and Uljaytii Type A lo). In 713 Uljaytii again changed types (Type C, fig. 4) ll). The obverse with a circle containing the Shi'ite profession of faith was modified into a hexafoil. The reverse has been changed from a quatrefoil to a heptafoil with a minor alteration in legend: the word ayyim (days) was dropped as was the personal name Khudiibanda and the order of the honorific Ghiyiith al-dunyii w'al-din and the title Uljaytii Sultiin reversed. The margin omits the Uighur and Qur'anic phrase, containing only the date and mint. The significant change, however, is the reduction of

10) "Hoard," 5 I 8 and pl. j 613. 11) BMC VI, 128 and 147;Artuk, Type 111, 2240;Mubarak, 83. "Hoard" illus-

trates (pl. 5612)another kind of Uljaytii coin with a circular obverse and a hexafoil on the reverse. However, this example, struck in SultHniyya in 713,appears to be unique, and therefore I do not consider it a standard type. Rather, I believe it had a special commemora ive hnction; see my article on mint organization. (Note 5 ) .


the weight standard: previous types (GhPzPn, Uljaytii A and B) peak at 4.27 grams on the frequency table; these peak at 3.92 (Tables I and 2).

Uljaytii issued th s type until his sudden death at age thirty-six in 716/13IG. After four months of intrigues, his twelve-year-old son Abii Sacid was crowned, although dissension and fighting between rival viziers and amirs continued for several years. This internal squabbling is reflected in the differing subgroups of Abii Sacid's early coinage, Type A, which dates from the first three years of his reign. The basic characteristics of Abfi Sacid Type A are an obverse with the profession of faith inside a geometric cartouche surrounded by the marginal Qur'hic quotation: 67:' ("Blessed is He in whose hands is the king- dom; He has power over all things"), and a reverse with a hexafoil containing the sultan's titles and a marginal mint and date. There are numerous subgroups within this category, varying both in the shape of the geometric cartouche and the content of the legend 12).

The first subgroup, Type A, (fig. j), is found in central Anatolia 13). On the obverse a square encloses the profession of faith, while the reverse legend reads :

+" 3 W I dl> j

+Li, CUL +Yl {wl 3U-I fy\

JJI ,LLr +3l A

12) It is at this point that published catalogues are confused and confusing. The BMC initially described this type of Abii Saeld coin as having a hexagon on the obverse (VI, 17j),yet the photograph @I. IV) clearly shows the oaofoil, and the legend is divided into eight parts, an impossibility with a hexagon. The error was then compounded by the misreading of the date of the octagon-and-hexagon type (VI, 219-22);the illustrated examples (219)clearly reads 718, not 728. In short, the BMC mistakenly described this one type as two and misdated half of them to the 720 s.

13) Stephen Albums owns examples from Angiiriya, ArzinjHn, SivHs, TiiqHt, Bikbik, GumushbHzHr, Qaysariya, Qirshahr, SHmsiin, and Shahr-i Ram (?).The ANS has two examples: one is without mint; the second (fig. 5 ) is unclear. One possible reading is sbabr-i Sbirdx, but I doubt this as the word sbabr is typically Anatoiian, as are the fabric and paleography.

300 SHEILA S. BLAIR

These coins date from 717 and 718 14). The titulature and geometric cartouche on the reverse derive directly

from the late issues of Abfi Sacid's father and predecessor Uljaytii (Type C, fig. 4). Suddenly presented with the neccessity of striking his own coinage, Abii Sa'id (or his ministers) simply imitated the preceding example, hastily using the phrase "the wise ILkhZn" to replace Uljaytii's lengthy honorifics. Uljaytii's Shica persuasion, expressed in the blessing on the Twelve Imams, was replaced by a Qur'iinic citation selected to &rm the legitimacy of the young sultan's authority.

Concurrent with this subgroup in Anatolia, another subgroup (Type A,) was issued in Jibd and Kzarbayjiin (fig. 6) 15). It also contains the title Ilkhfin. The obverse of this subgroup is enclosed in an octagon with the additional phrase "God's blessing and peace be upon him," but the Qur'anic margin is the same. The reverse is again a hexafoil, but with a slightly different legend:

The honorific "master of the necks of nations," typical of Uljaytii's coins and inscriptions 16), has been dropped and the adjective qualifying I/&& changed.

14) Stephen Album owns an example from Arzinjh dated 716 as is the ANS example without mint. However, as Abii Sa:id was not crowned until 717, I suspect that these may be anomalous issues.

I 5 ) The ANS examples are from IgfaMn, SHva, G s M n (fig. 6), Tabriz, Nakhchi- vHn and T B s ; Stephen Album owns one from IsfahHn. BMC VI, ZZI , with qa'rSn caxam, is probably a misreading of this subgroup.

16) It is used at the 708 flanged tower at Bas@m (unpublished) and in most of the major literary manuscripts dedicated to Uljaytii; see, for example, Rashid al-Din's dedication of the JZmicAI-Tavdrikb, B. Karimi ed. (Tehran: 133 I / I ~ J3) p. 2; G s M -nipsdedication of the TU @. 3) or the dedication of a Qur'iin (British Museum 0 4945, folio 18; illustrated in E. G. Browne, A Literary HiJtory of Persia (Cam- bridge: Iy zo) 11, pl. V.

3 0 1 THE COINS OF THE LATER ILKHANIDS

Subgroup A, and &, both restricted in area and date, were replaced by a much more widespread subgroup, A, (fig. 7) 19, identical in layout to A, (i.e. the same shape cartouches) but with a small change in titulature: flkbrin has been changed back to al-mawlri. This type was struck on a much larger scale: examples exist from one or two cities of each province of the empire.

In short, these three subgroups represent variations on a main theme 18): they are struck to a common weight standard (3.87 grams) and share a common Qur'anic quotation and hexafoil on the reverse. Their differences in cartouche shape and titulature reflect variations in the absence of an official, imperial model, and thus, they represent in material form the political dissension characteristic of the first three years of Abii Sacid's reignlg). Although nominally governor of KhurHsHn, the twelve-year-old Abii Sacid had been placed under the protection of the amir Savinj. Uljaytii's death signaled the outbreak of a power struggle between Savinj and Uljaytii's most important general, ChiipHn, for the post of Znzir-i u'Zt7z. It was probably the machina- tions of Savinj which delayed Abfi Sacid's coronation until 717. Only with Savinj's sudden death in Dhii'l Hijja 7171January 1318 was Chiiph able to consolidate his power.

The administrative bureaucracy was also rift by power struggles. Rashid al-Din, the brilliant vizier who had reformed the currency under Abii Sacid's uncle GhZzizPn, continued to feud with his arch rival, Tiij al-Din 'Ali Shgh. Rashid &Din was dismissed from service in

17) BM VI, 177 (where the octagon is mislabeled a hexagon) and 219 (where the date is misread 728 instead of 7I 8); Aauk, Type I, 2242; Mubarak, Type I, I 29. I know of at least forty-one mints for this subgroup.

18) More variants will probably be found on dose examination of other collections, as in most cases the catalogues fail to describe these variations which will help to identify local schools. For example, Aituk, Type IV, 2248 may be another subgroup as may Artuk, Type 11, 2243 (probably a misreading for 719) which is the same as Mubarak, Type 2, 132.

19) The most convenient summary of the events in English, with an excellent bibliography, is J. A. Boyle's chapter, "Dynastic and Political History of the 11- W n s , " Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 5 The SaQq and Mongol Periodr (Cambridge: 1968) 303-421. The most valuable primary sources for this analysis are HA, N q b a f , and TU.

302 SHEILA S. BLAIR

October I 3 17, but on Chiiph's insistence was called back the following spring. However, his re-instatement only led his rival Tiij al-Din to redouble his intrigues. THj &Din trumped up a plot accusing Rashid al-Din and his son of having poisoned Uljaytii. Chiiph now abandoned his ally, and Rashid al-Din and his son were brutally executed in JumHda 71 81 July I 3 I 8. The RabC-i Rashidi, Rashid al-Din's splendid quarter in Tabriz SO), was looted and his lands and endowments con- fiscated. Abii Sacid's early issues-Type A, with its variant subgroups and its reliance on earlier prototypes-reflects this period of political dissension and the lack of internal organization on an imperial level.

The year 71911 3 19, however, saw a decisive change in the coinage: the widespread issue of a radical new design at a new weight standard (Type B, fig. 8) The reverse consists of a looped octagon surrounding the same titles as found on A,. The phrase al-nqr min AZIZh (Victory comes from God) fills the loops. The obverse contains the standard profession of faith with the names of the four Orthodox Caliphs beneath. However, in an innovative move the frame is a Qur73nic verse (2 :13 I) written in the shape of a mihrab. Both the choice of the verse and its shape are significant. The content-God is sufficient for you against them (your enemies). He is all-hearing, all-knowing-is proba-bly an allusion to the political consolidation of power by Abii Sa'id and h s general Chiiph. Sirmlarly, the phrase al-na~r min All& can be interpreted in the literal sense of victory over the squabbling amirs and viziers. Contemporary stonecutters used this verse in the same shape to decorate tombstones z 2 ) , as did Kiishiin potters for ceramic tiles

20) Described in Donald Wilber, The Architecture of Islamic Iran: Tbe Il-Khanid Period (New York: 19j5) no. 34; in addition, see Rashid al-Din's holograph copy of his VaqfGma-yi Rabc-i RaJhidi, I . Afshar ed. (Tehran: 1 3 j0/1972).Afshar summar- ized the contents in "The Autograph Copy of Rashid-al-Din's Vaqfameh," Central AsiaticJoumal14 (1970) 5-13.

21 ) BMC VI, looped-square type, 177;Artuk, Type 111, 2244 is a six-dirham coin of his type with the additional Qur Bnic borders, 48 :29 on the obverse and 48 :4 on the reverse; Mubarak, Type 3, 141.

2 2 ) George C . Miles, "Epitaphs from an Isfahan Graveyard," Ars Islamica V I / 2 1939) Style F , I 5 5-6.

THE COINS OF THE LATER ILKHANIDS 3O3

or mihrabs 23). These tiles are the highest quality lusterware produced and were designed for major Shi'a shrines such as those at Mashhad, Najaf, or Qum or for the major mosque in a Shi'a city such as KPshPn. W e lusterware seems particularly connected to Shicism 24), neither this shape nor the Qur7Pnic verse itself carried any such implication, as it is used here with the names of the four Orthodox Caliphs.

Abii Sa'id Type B was issued from 719 to 722, with the majority of the remaining examples dated 719. It was then replaced by the pentagon type (Type C, fig. 9) 25). On the obverse the mint is inserted between the lines of the profession of faith, while the names of the four Orthodox Caliphs fill up the space between the square profession of faith and the circular border. The reverse legend is enclosed in a pentagon, a shape used earlier on the obverse of GhPzPn and Uljaytii Type A coins. The legend is the same with the addition of a new honorific, Bahcidar Kbcitz, which Abii Sa'id assumed in 719 after a display of personal bravery in battle against his dissident generals 26).

The pentagon type was used for only a brief time: most of the examples are dated from 722 and 723. The following type with a square obverse and circular reverse (Type D, fig. 10)27) is simpler both in layout and in legend. The obverse has a square held surrounding the profession of faith with the names of the four Orthodox Caliphs out- side. The mint has been moved to the reverse where the legend has been shortened by the elimination of the prefatory "Struck in the days of the realm." The circular margin contains the date.

Type D was issued between 723 and 728 and overlaps with Type C and occasionally with Type B. All three types were struck to the same weight standard, which peaks at 3.1 2 grams (see Table 3). At the same time, several cities in Anatolia were minting additional local types.

23) Oliver Watson, "The Masjid-i 'Ali, Quhriid," Iran 1 3 (1975) p. 72, notes 52-54, gives the most complete list of the locations of these luster tiles.

24) Ibid., p. 72. 25) BMC VI, pentagon type, 198; Artuk, Type VI, 2250 and 225 I . 26) Boyle, op. cit., p. 409; on the title itself, see G. Doerfer, Turksche und Mongoli-

sche Elemente in Neupersischen (Wiesbaden: 1963) 11, no. 817, pp. 366-377. 27) BMC VI, plain square type, 172 and 210; A m k , Type VIII, 2260 and rr6r.

3O4 SHEILA S. BLAIR

However, as these are restricted in area, they will be considered in another article.

In 729, as in 719, there was a decisive change in the coinage: the major issue of a new type (Type E, fig. I I) 2*) at a new weight standard (Table 4). This type supplanted all others. The obverse is a looped octagon with the profession of faith surrounded by the names of the four Orthodox Caliphs. The reverse contains basically the same legend as Type D, with the addition of the adjective al-acxam (the greatest), with the mint below and the date in the margin. In other words, the content is the same, but the shape of the geometric cartouche is new. This type was sporadically issued from 729 until 734 throughout the empire, with another contemporary local type in Anatolia.

The final Abii Sacid coin type (Type F, fig. 12) 29) represents not only a change in style, layout, and weight standard (see Table j) but also the introduction of a new calendar. The obverse is a circle with the profession of faith in a stylized rectangular Kufic surrounded by the names of the four Orthodox Caliphs. Rectangular Kufic for such common phrases had long been used on architectural monuments; the first dated example is from the minaret of Mas'iid I11 at Ghazna (492-108/1098-II I 1) 30). By the Mongol period it had become especially widespread: elaborate examples in stucco with blessings on the Twelve Imams and the names of God are found at the shrine of Pir-i BakrPn near Isfahiin (698-71 211 299-13 I 2) 31) ; similar phrases in glazed brick can be found on almost any contemporary monument 32).

The reverse of Type F is also a circle with a slightly different legend from the preceding type:

28) BMC VI, two-octagon type, 230; Artuk, Type XII, 2269, 2273, 2284, and 2288; Mubarak, Type 12, 2 3 3 .

29) BMC VI, square-Koofee bilingual type, 240; Artuk, Type XIII, 2291 and 2306; Mubarak, Type 1 3 , 259.

30) V. Kratchkovshaia, "Notices sur les Inscriptions de la Mosquee Djoumca a Verarnine," Revue a%sEfudcsIsIamiqzw V (193I) p. 42. Illustrated in A. U. Pope and Ph. Ackerman, eds., A Smey of Persian Art (London, I 93 9-40) pl. 3 j 6.

3 I) Wilber, no. 26; illustrated Survey, pls. 387 and 389. 32) Among many, Wilber, nos. 23, 28, 39,47, and 49.

THE COINS OF THE LATER ILKHANIDS

New adjectives are used and the sultan's name is written in Uighur. The mint is inserted between the lines, while the date, expressed in the Ilkhanid calendar, reads around the four sides. The Ilkhanid calendar was introduced by G h & h in 1302 33), but Abii Sacid made a special attempt at popularizing it in the 1330's: it appears on one or two ex-perimental issues dated 3I / I 3 3 2 before this widespread, imperial type. It was also used for some graffiti at the mosque of Ashtarja dated thirty-three in Persian but followed by seven hundred in Arabic 34). The use of Uighur is also a throwback to early Ilkhanid coinage. These deliberate archaisms were presumably designed to connect Abii Sacid to his more successful and powerful predecessors, especially in the light of his dwindling authority.

Type F continued until Abii Sa'id's murder in Rabi' I1736/November I 33 5 , after which the empire disintegrated and political confusion ensued until the conquests of Timiir at the end of the century. Despite this political chaos, the metrological system set up by Gh&%n continued until Timur's introduction of the heavy tanka in 79j-6/1393-435).

In sum, following the standardization of the coinage, the last three major Ilkhanid monarchs issued ten successive types of standard imperial coinage (in addition to at least three local types not discussed here) with varying geometric cartouches and legends. The question is why.

One of Uljaytii's types (C) and three of Abii Sacid's (ByE and F)

33) S.H. Taqizadeh, "Various Eras and Calendars used in the Countries of Islam," Bdetin of tbe Scbool of Oriental and African Stdies X (1939) I 18-19.

34) George C. Miles, "The Inscriptions of the Masjid-i Jlmi' at Ashtarjh,'' Iran 12 (1974) no- 41 PP. 96-97.

35) Stephen Album, "The Iranian Monetary System of the Fourteenth Century: A Preliminary Discussion," unpublished.

jo6 SHEILA S. BLAIR

correspond to reductions in the weight standard. G. A. Federov-Davidov was the first to attempt to analyze these devaluations but he incorrectly tried to explain the weight reductions in terms of a fixed percentage 36). His successor, A. M. Seyfeddini, was under the same theoretical misconceptions, but added new data, including the calcula- tion of the contemporary mithqil at 4.3 1 4 grams and the publication of assay results for a few coins s7). J. M.Smith established the theoretical basis of the Ilkhanid monetary system by showing that each reduction correspond to a fixed unit of weight or its multiple 3s).

Smith's theory was correct, but at first he was misled by his data. He had used the frequency tables compiled by Federov-Davidov from his study of the Leningrad Collection. These tables were not laid out by type of issue nor by year, but rather in blocks: Uljaytii 713-717; Abii Sacid 716-728, etc. 3O). However, if we examine Abii Sacid's coinage by successive types, we find that one of the weight reductions comes at a different interval than that specified by Federov-Davidov. Uljaytii A and B peak at 4.27 grams (Table I); Abii Sacid ByC and D can all be grouped together at 3.5 2 grams (Table 3); Abii Sacid E peaks at 3.17 grams (Table 4); and Abii Sacid F at 2.82 (Table j). The change comes with Abii Sacid A which is struck at the same standard as that of Uljaytii C (Table 2).

There are two coins in the ANS collection which prove that Abii Sacid's initial devaluation &d not take place until the introduction of Type B in 719: one (fig. I 3) is an example of Type A, from Nakhchi- vPn; the second (fig. 14) is an example of A, from TiiqPt; both are overstrikes of Uljaytfi C. (In the case of the Tiiqiit it is possible to determine the original mint; Diir al-Saliim or Baghdad.) Thus, Abii SacidA must have been struck at the same weight standard as Uljayte C, as the frequency table (Table 2) bears out.

36) "On the Question of the Monetary Exchange Rate of Gold in Iran and Central Asia in the Fourteenth Century," (Russian) Kratkie Soobscbeniia Instifuta Mafetialnoi K~ltury, Ahdemiia NauR SSR ( I 716) I- 8.

37) Monet_r Ilkbanov XIV v e h (Baku : I 968). 38) "Silver." 39) Jbid., Graphs 1-1.


To put it another way, all of these changes involve reductions of the same interval: .3 j grams. We can therefore posit a theoretical system in which the original double dirham was struck to a weight of 4.32 grams, corresponding to 24 qt'rdts of . I 8 grams. Each successive devaluation was two qirdts or .36 grams 40). In later publications dl), Smith came to the same theoretical conclusion based on the coinage of the later Ilkhanids. In order to make his Abii Sa'id data fit into this system, he simply lowered his Abii Sa'id I weight from 3.70 to 3.60 grams without giving any explanation.

Beyond giving a reason for the correction of Smith's data, this analysis also has theoretical ramifications for the use of frequency tables. Federov-Davidov's data for Abu Sa'id I, despite its erroneous extension back to 717, actually peaked at 3 . j 2 grams 42). Because of the number of coins to the right of the peak, Smith suggested that the intended weight standard was 3.70 grams. Actually, these over-weight coins are the early issues of Ab i Sacid (Type A, 717-718) which were struck on the old, higher standard and which Federov-Davidov incorrectly included in this group. Had Smith used the peak of the curve, instead of trying to shift it to the right, his intervals would have been regular. Thus, it seems methodologically more correct to use frequency table peaks rather than curves to establish weight standard, at least to determine changes in weight. These intervals can then be put into a theoretical system in which the standard intended may, in fact, be slightly higher than the actual weights of the extant coins (Table 6).

Let us now turn to the question of why these devaluations took place. Smith rejected the profit motive, correctly suggesting that "adul- teration of the metal of the coin, rather than reduction of its weight,

40) From these data, it would seem possible to posit a system of twelve qir$s, each weighing .36 grams; however, later devaluations took place at .I 8 gram intervals, suggesting that a twenty-four gird# system must have been in effect (Album, "The Iranian Monetary System"). 41)"Hoard" and "In a Persian Market with Mongol Money," Near Eastern

Nutnmatics, Iconography, Epigraphy and Histoy: Stdies in Honor of George C. Mile$, D. Kouymjian, ed. (Beirut: 1974) 43 1-42. 42) "Silver" Graph 3.

3 0 ~ SHEILA S. BLAIR

was the more effective way to deceive the public" 43). There was no question of deception, since changing the type would automatically have tipped off the public, even if illiterate, to the reduced weight. Instead, Smith suggested that the weight reduction was to offset the effects of wear-and-tear and reduce the possibility of speculation 44).

However, the new frequency tables show that the weight standard was reduced by a constant amount after varying lengths of time: the first reduction occured after seventeen years, the second after only six, while ten years elapsed before a subsequent one and only five before the last devaluation. Wear is an insufficient explanation for such varia- tion in time span.

Instead, I suggest the traditional motive of eking out the existing supplies of bullion, especially in face of heavy military expenditures. Each of the devaluations can be explained in these terms 45). Uljaytii's first devaluation took place in 71 3 . In 7111February I 3 I2 Sa'd &Din Siivaji had been deposed as vizier and executed; his replacement TZj &Din 'Ali Sh5h was a nouveau-riche jeweler and cloth merchant who had no previous experience in finance or administration. Military expenses at the time were heavy. In the 710's Uljaytii waged a long campaign in Giiin which resulted, at best, in a Pyrrhic victory. In the winter of 7121x312 Uljaytii's one and only excursion into Marnluk territory, his invasion of Syria, ended with a hasty retreat.

The military and economic situation did not improve after this first devaluation. Early in 71411 3 14 Yasiivur, son of the Chagatay sultan, crossed the Oxus and defeated the Mongol army in Khuriisiin. Troubles in the eastern provinces were so bad that Uljaytii was forced to appoint his son as governor there. Although Abii Sacid was only nine years old at this time, this action was more than symbolic, for Uljaytii assigned a large number of prominent amirs to accompany the young boy, and, as contemporary texts are fond of relating, Uljaytfi made a lengthy harangue about the importance of the eastern frontier and the fact that

43) Ibid.,p. 22.

44) Ibid., pp. 23-25. 45) See Note 19 for sources in general.

THE COINS OF THE LATER ILKHANIDS 3 O 9

military careers were made there 4 9 . In 71 j and 716 the expenses of the KhurHsPn army caused the first major rift between the viziers Rashid al-Din and 'Ali Shiih. Contemporary sources underline the disorders following Uljaytii's sudden death and the accession of his twelve-year- old son 47). Famine broke out in the southwest. At the beginning of 7191 13I9 Yasiivur again revolted in KhurZslin. At the same time an army from the Golden Horde marched on Darband. Again, army payments must have been substantial and would explain another devaluation.

The ~ Z O ' S / I 320's could be subtitled the rise and fall of the Chupanids. At first, Abii Sa'id was sultan in name only: the empire was divided among Chiipiin and his sons. Chfipiin himself was commander of the army; one son, TimiirtTish, was governor of Riim; another, Dimashq KhwZja, in addition to being governor of Azarbayjlin and the two Iraqs, had usurped the authority of the vizier Rukn al-Din. In the second half of the decade, however, Abfi Sacid broke the power of the Chupanids:Dimashq Khwiija was executed on the excuse of intriguing with Uljaytfi's former concubine; Abii Sacid next turned to Chiiplin who fled to Herat where he was betrayed by the Kart ruler (Muharram 728/0ctober-November 1327); on learning of his father's death, Timiirtiish fled to the protection of the Mamluk sultan where he too was beheaded (August 1328).

Following the death of Dimashq Khwiija, the vizierate was given to Rashid al-Din's son, Ghiyiith al-Din. The 729 devaluation can be seen as the attempt of the new vizier, son of the finance minister who had originally devised the elaborate system, to stabilize the economy and pay off the troops used to consolidate Abii Sacid's position and break the power of the Chupanids.

We lack detailed information about the period of the last devaluation, 73411334, but there is no reason to assume that the situation had changed. The replacement of Mahmiid Shiih Inj$ the governor of Fiirs, caused him to rebel as he was infuriated by his loss of income. Although

46) HA, p. I I I . 47) Nqbat, text 27ltranslation 3 2 ; see particularly Note I .

3 lo SHEILA S. BLAIR

the Uzbek sultan did not invade until the summer of 715/133j, Abii Sacid already maintained a large army which must have required substantial payments.

The major contemporary source for the economic history of this period supports t h s military explanation for the successive devaluations. Hamdulllh Mustawfi al-Qazvini, a state accountant and historian under all three sultans, wrote in 740 that prosperity was only half of what it had been in Ghiiziin7s time. "In most provinces," he adds "usurpation of authority is rampant with the coming and going of armies" 48). Thus, the traditional motives of stretching the supply of bullion to pay the army and expanded monetization of the economy can explain the devaluation signaled by the introduction of the Uljaytii Type C and Abu Sacid Types B, E and F. The other changes need different explanations.

The reason for the introduction of two types (Uljaytii A and Abii SacidA) is obvious: the enthronement of a new monarch. The assumption of power by a new sovereign is marked not only by the change in names and titulature but also by the introduction of a new shape cartouche to make the new type visibly different, even to the illiterate.

Uljaytii Type B, having a Shica profession of faith and blessings on the Imams, reflects his religious conversion. At the same time he commissioned a magnificent new stucco mihrab for the major congre- gational mosque in Isfahiin 4O). This mihrab also displays the Shica profession of faith as well as pro-Sh'a badith possibly "coined" for the occasion 50). Both moves were part of a program of propaganda to encourage the population to convert. Such encouragement was necessary as a contemporary traveller reported that there was wide-

48) Ibid., 33/27. 49) Wilber, no. 48 and pls. 87-88; illustrated Survg, pls. 396-397. lo) Max von Berchem ("Une inscription du Sultan Mongol Uldjaitu," Melanges

Hartwk Derenbourg (Paris: 1909) 367-78) was the first to recognize the importance of the inscriptions, but complete photographs were not available to him. A filler publication, without analysis or interpretation, is given in L. Hunarfarr, Gavfnayi Athcir-i T~r2.bi=yi Ifah& (Isfahan : I 3441I961) I I j -I 2 I.


spread resistance to the conversion and rioting in the major cities, including Isfahb

Abii Sa'id Types C and D also have political explanations. Type C inaugurates a new title, BahHdur K h h , but since three years elapsed between Abii Sa'id's assumption of the title (719) and its appearance on coins ( ~ 2 2 ) ~ the change in title cannot have caused the change in type. Examination of political events suggests another explanation. The major event in 722 was Timiirtlish's rebellion in Riim. Proclaiming himself the Mahdi, he minted coins and made the &atba in his own name 52). Abii Sacid dispatched Chiipb to subdue his rebellious son. Despite the heavy winter snows, Chiipiin brought his son in chains to the court and obtained his pardon (winter 722-723/1322-1323).

Types C and D correspond chronologically to these events. The majority of Type C issues date from 722 and 723, while Type D dates generally from 723 to 728. In face of the challenge to his authority, Abii Sacid must have ordered a new type of coin, Type C, which reflected his most important new title, Bahiidur K h h . With Timiirtiish's submission, he again ordered a new type (Type D) to underscore the reestablishment of his sovereignty throughout the empire and to replace any of Timiirtlish's dissident coinage.

The areas of mint activity bear out this explanation. Few examples of Type C from the west exist, although it was struck at major mints throughout the rest of the empire 53). In contrast, there are many examples of Type D from Anatolia-at least fifteen mints are known- whereas no surviving coins are securely attributed to Khurlisiin, Jurjiin or Qiimis 5'). During 722-723 the western parts of Anatolia

5 I) H. A. R. Gibb, trans., The TraueI~of Zbn Batt@a (Cambridge : I962) 11, 302-4. 52) HA, 160-1. 1 3 ) I can only identlfg Type C mints from the eastern part of the province of

Rfim: Arz al-Riim, BHybirt, ArzinjHn, Tiiqgt, and SHmsiin; in addition there are coins from Bikbik (probably near Toqat as the coins were part of a hoard found there); Macdin GumushbHzPr (probably near SHmsiin as Album has a coin with both mints on the obverse and reverse respectively) and Kighi. I know of at least forty other mints for Type C in the rest of the empire.

54) For Anatolia, in addition to the eight eastern mints listed above, I know of Type D coins from Ij[isn Ziylid, Sivlis, Amasyg, Qaysariya, Siniib, Qastamuniya,

3 I2 SHEILA S. BLAIR

were probably striking TimiirtPsh's dissident coinage rather than the Abii Sacid imperial type. However, following Timiirtlsh's submission and the withdrawal of his coinage from circulation, the need to mint the standard imperial type would have increased, and caused heavy issue in the west.

Thus, changes in the type of coinage have two causes. Some signal economic devaluations whrch were caused by the need to stretch the supply of bullion and pay off the troops. Others were politically motivated and designed to underscore authority or propagandize. There is, however, one final point about these changes in type. In general, the changes in legend are minor: with the exception of the religious change in Uljaytii Type B, they are limited to the deletion of an adjective or the rearrangement or addition of a title or honorific. In contrast, a marked change takes place in cartouche shape. Visually, each type is immediately distinguishable from its predecessor. One could simply explain this as the means to allow illiterate people to distinguish the types, for it is certainly true that much of Iran was dliterate. Contemporary mistakes in monumental epigraphy are rampant: even on Uljaytfi's own tomb at SultPniyya, not only is the phrase al-mt/Ik liIIZh often misspelled, but so is his own name 55).

The visual aspect of these changes suggests a further point. This period was the time of the florescence of the art of Persian miniature painting. Not only was it a time of intense activity but also one of extreme experimentation and creativity, drawing inspiration from both East and West 5 6 ) . A sixteenth-century historian and painter

Angiiriya, Lu'lu'a, Nigda, and Sivri I;Ii#ir. There are two possible Type D mints in KhurHsHn. Mubarak (199) lists a 723 coin from ~ ~ , b ;this may be Abiward, a town north of Tiis. Album has a 722 coin from KalHt/Gilln. KalHt is a town near Abiward. This coin, however, is suspicious as it is the only example of this type from the year 722. Furthermore, Mubarak (214) lists a 726 coin from Gilzn. In any case there are no Type D coins from JurjHn or Qfimis provinces, although major mints like Darngun and Simnh produced examples of all the other types.

5 5 ) Sheila Blair, "The Inscriptions of the Tomb of UljaytG at Sulfiniyya," Islamic Art (forthcoming).

56) Oleg Grabar, and Sheila Blair, Epic Images and Contemporaty E-Iitory: The Iffwfrationof tbe Great Mongol Sbabnama (Chicago, 1980).

THE COINS OF THE LATER ILKHANIDS 3 I 3

called the age of Abii Sa'id the moment when artists "withdrew the covering from the face of painting and invented the kind of painting which is current at the present time" 57). It may be more than a coinci-dence that the purely visual aspects of such diverse media as painting and coinage were emphasized simultaneously in the early fourteenth century. One of the lasting contributions of the late Ilkhans was a heightened sensibility to the visual. Thus, the brilliance of GhZzizPn's numismatic reform lay not only in its ability to respond to economic demands but also in its relationship to contemporary modes of per- ception and to political and social events. This versatility insured the survival of this system for sisty years after the collapse of the empire of GhHz5n7s heirs.

Table I 68)

Frequency Table of Uljaytfi Type A and B coins

57) The most readily available translation of Dast Mubmmad's celebrated text is given in L. Binyon, J. Wilkinson and B. Gray, Persian Miniaftlre Painting (London: 1933 ;reprint New York: 1971)Appendix I.

58) All frequency table data is based only on the coins in the ANS collection which I was able to weigh personally.

SHEILA S. BLAIR

Table 2

Frequency Table of Uijaytii Type C and Aba Sacid Type A coins

WEIGHT IN GRAMS

Table 3

Frequency Table of Abii Sacid Types B, C, and D coins


Table 4

Frequency Table of Abii Sa'id Type E coins

Table 5

Frequency Table of Abii Sald Type F coins

SHEILA S. BLAR

Table 6

Weight Standards of the Later Ilkhanid Issues

Type Years Issued FrequencyTable Peak

Theoretical Weight

Number of Qirits

G W n Uljaytfi A U l j a v B Uljaytfi C Abii Sacid A Abii Sa'id B Abii Sacid C Abii Sacid D Abfi Sacid E Abii Sa ld F

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

I. AR G W n Type A 699 J3agh&d 2. AR Uljaytfl Type A 705 Tiflis 3. AR Uljaytfi Type B 709 Sulw-yya 4. AR Uljaytti Type C 713 Khazina al-macmtira 5 . AR Abii SaCid Type A, n.d. mint unclear 6. AR Abii Sa'id Type A, 717 Ushan 7. AU Abii Sa'id Type A, 718 Tabriz 8. AR Abii Saqd Type B 722 Tabriz 9. AR Abii SaCid Type C 723 Tabriz

10. AR Abfi Sa'id Type D 723 Tabriz I I. AR Abfi Sa'id Type E 730 Tabriz 12. AR Abii SaCid Type F 34 Tabriz I 3. AR Abii SaSd Type A* 717Nakhchivh overstruck Uljaytfi Type C 14. AR Abii SaCid Type A, n.d. Blzar Tiiqiit overstruck Uljaytii Type C

All coins are furnished courtesy of the American Numismatic Society, New York.


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ANS American Numismatic Society. Artuk Ibrahim and Cevriye Artuk, Istanbtd Arkeoloji M&erleri teshirdeki

Islatni sikkeler katalogu (Istanbul, I971-1974). BMC Stanley Lane-Poole, Catalogue of the oriental coins in the British Museum,

vols. VI and X (London: 1881and 1890). HPfiz-i Abrii, Dhayi-iJZmic a/-TavZrfkb-i Rashihi, K. Bayani, ed. (Tehran: 13'7I1939).

"Hoard" Margaret Feary, K. Luther, and J. M. Smith, Jr., "Two Ilkhanid Hoards?," Proceedings of the Eighth International Cotzgress of Nmismatic.r, September 1973 (Paris : 1976) 5 I3-5 25.

Mubarak Mehmed Miibarak, Mixe-i Htiinq~~n meskubf-i bdime-i islamiye ktalogu p o l . 111: Mti'luk-i CingiZiye ve Ilhanbe ve Celayir9e ve Krim Hanfan' meskukfi). (Constantinople: I3 I8/19oo-I). HamdullPh Mustawfi al-Qazvini, Nuxhat al-QulAb, ed. and trans. G. Lestrange (London : 19I 5 and 19I9). John M. Smith, "The Silver Currency of Mongol Iran," The Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient XI1 (1969) 16-41. Abii'l-QPsim =Abd Allah b. Muhammad al-QPshPni, TZrfb-i UIjaytii, M. Hambli, ed. (Tehran: I34811970).

Documents

The Coins of the Later Ilkhanids: A Typological Analysis