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Timurid of Khorasan
Husayn Bayqara
Ashrafi Gold Coin
呼羅珊帖木兒
忽辛·拜哈拉 阿什拉菲金幣
Item number: A165
Year: AD 1469-1506
Material: Gold
Size: 20.0 x 19.9 mm
Weight: 1.50 g
Manufactured by: Herat, Afghanistan
Provenance: Heritage Auctions 2023
After the 15th century, the Islamic world began to refer to gold coins as “Ashrafi”. This Ashrafi gold coin was minted under the rule of Husayn Bayqara, the great-grandson of Timur, who ruled from AD 1469 to AD 1506. Husayn Bayqara controlled only a portion of the Timurid Empire, which included present-day northern Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan, known as the “Khorasan” region. The remaining territories of the empire were controlled by other descendants of Timur.
The obverse of the gold coin features a design influenced by Persian art, with decorative motifs resembling a rhombus-shaped bergamot flower. In the central square space, Quranic verses are inscribed in Kufic Arabic calligraphy, characterized by angular and geometric forms. The most prominent feature is the square shape with angular edges. At each petal of the bergamot motif, the names of the four Orthodox Caliphs: Abu Bakr (ابو بكر), Umar (عمر), Uthman (عثمان), and Ali (على) are delicately inscribed in Naskh script, with a softer touch than Kufic script.
On the reverse side of the gold coin, besides indicating the minting time, place, and sovereign information in Naskh script, there is a small four-petal lotus flower motif at the center as a decorative element. During the ancient Persian Achaemenid Empire, the lotus flower symbolized the sun and life in Persian culture due to its characteristic of opening and closing with the sunlight. Its significance and motif persisted into the Islamic era, influencing regions beyond Persia, including Central Asia and India.
Husayn Bayqara was a wise and talented ruler, as well as a great poet. Despite the significant contraction of the empire under his rule, the region of Khurasan enjoyed forty years of peace, making the city of Herat the foremost center of art, culture, craftsmanship, and commerce in Central Asia. However, towards the end of his reign, he faced harassment from the newly emerged Uzbeks in the north. Upon Husayn Bayqara’s death in AD 1506, the Uzbeks, led by Muhammad Shaybani, took advantage of the internal strife within the Timurid Empire. In AD 1507, they captured the capital city of Herat, marking the demise of the Timurid Empire.
R. G. Mukminova, “The Timurid states in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, 1998, pp. 350-366
M. B. Normuminov, “Coins from the time of Amir Temur and the Temurids kept in the funds of the Termez archaeological museum,” International Scientific Journal Theoretical & Applied Science, 2020, pp. 336-342
M. Shateri & T. Ahmadi, “Investigation and Symbology of Plant Motifs on Iranian Coins from Ilkhanid to Qajar Period,” Pazhoheshha-ye Bastan Shenasi Iran, 2023, pp. 285–311
Michael Mitchiner, Oriental Coins and Their Values: The World of Islam (London: Hawkins Publications, 1977)