Item number: A162

Year: AD 1330-1335

Material: Gold

Size: 22.0 x 22.0 mm

Weight: 9.09 g

Manufactured by: Jajarm, Iran

Provenance: Heritage Auctions 2023

This is a gold coin minted by the ninth ruler of the Ilkhanate, Abu Sa’id Bahadur Khan (r. AD 1317-1335).

On the obverse side of the coin, the central inscription in Arabic Kufic script bears the Shahada: “There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” Along the margin, in a clockwise direction from the top, are the names of the four Orthodox Caliphs of Islam: Abu Bakr (ابو بكر), Umar (عمر), Uthman (عثمان), and Ali (على).

On the reverse side of this coin, there are three lines of larger-sized text, arranged from top to bottom. The first line, in Arabic script, glorifies the ruler with the words “The Sultan is the messenger of justice.” In the middle, written in Uyghur script, is “Abu Sa’id.” Below, in Arabic, it reads “Bahadur Khan (i.e., Abu Sa’id) ensures his reign is everlasting.” Additionally, in the center with smaller font, there are two lines indicating the minting location of the coin, stating that it was minted in “Jajarm” (جاجرم), located in the northeastern province of North Khorasan in Iran. Jajarm was an important minting center for the Ilkhanate. The Arabic inscription along the margin follows the Ilkhanate’s calendar system, indicating the year of minting.

During his reign, Abu Sa’id continued the financial policies of his uncle and father, the two previous rulers, by steadily decreasing the weight of coins and issuing several different styles of currency. This gold coin represented the last type of currency issued during his reign. Also, Reign of Abu Sa’id marked the conclusion of the last peaceful period for the Ilkhanate. Following his death, the Ilkhanate plunged into division and internal strife. It wasn’t until the 14th century that the Turko-Mongol power from Central Asia, the Timurid Empire, once again unified the authorities on the Iranian plateau.

物件編號: A162

年代: 公元 1330-1335 年

材料: 黃金

尺寸: 22.0 x 22.0 mm

重量: 9.09 g

製造地: 賈賈爾姆，伊朗

來源: 海瑞得拍賣行 2023

該枚硬幣是伊兒汗國的第九任統治者：不賽因(統治：公元1317-1335年)所鑄造的金幣。

金幣正面，中央以阿拉伯庫法體寫上清真言的內容：「萬物非主 唯有真主 穆罕默德是真主的使者」，邊緣由上方按順時針的方向，依序是伊斯蘭教四位正統哈里發：阿布·巴克爾(ابو بكر)、歐瑪爾(عمر)、奥斯曼(عثمان)和阿里(على)的名字。 

金幣的背面，依序有三行字體較大的句子，由上而下，依序是以阿拉伯文刻寫謳歌統治者的美言「蘇丹乃正義的使者」、中間是回鶻文刻寫的「不賽因」、下方則是阿拉伯文「巴哈杜爾汗(即不賽因)使他的王權永垂不朽」。另外中間有兩行較小的字體標示該金幣的鑄造地，即位處伊朗東北部北呼羅珊省的「賈賈爾姆」(جاجرم)所鑄造，該城是伊兒汗國重要的硬幣鑄造地。硬幣邊緣的阿拉伯文，則是依循伊兒汗國的曆法標示硬幣的鑄造年份。

不賽因在位期間，沿襲叔叔和父親前兩任統治者的財政政策，不斷降低硬幣的重量並發行數種不同樣式的硬幣，上述金幣是其在位期間發行的最後一種硬幣。不賽因統治時期亦是汗國最後的承平時期，待他駕崩後，伊兒汗國便陷入分裂和內戰的局面。直到公元14世紀，來自中亞的突厥化蒙古勢力：帖木兒帝國，才再度一統伊朗高原的政治勢力。