Item number: A166

Year: AD 1747-1773

Material: Gold

Size: 18.0 x 18.0 mm

Manufactured by: Mashhad, Iran

Provenance: Spink 2023

This gold coin, known as the “Mohur” in South Asia, was minted during the reign of Ahmad Shah Durrani (r. AD 1747-1773), the founder of the Durrani Empire, who laid the foundation for the modern Afghan nation-state.

The coin features Nastaliq script on both sides, which was written in Dari, a kind of Persian branch commonly used in Afghanistan. The obverse side bears a poetic couplet in the form of “Beit”, popular in Persia and northern India, praising the ruler. The inscription reads: “Sovereignty came from the Unparalleled Empowerer to Ahmad Shah, mint coins of silver and gold (as the ruler of) earth and heaven.” This style of praising the ruler with “Beit” couplets on the obverse side was continued by subsequent rulers of the Durrani Empire. As for the reverse side of the coin, it bears the inscription of the minting place: Mashhad, the name of the present-day second largest city in Iran.

In AD 1724, Ahmad Shah was born near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. He later served as a general under the Afsharid dynasty in Iran. In AD 1747, taking advantage of the chaos following the assassination of the Shah of Iran, Ahmad Shah returned to his homeland and, at the Pashtun tribal council called the loya jirga, persuaded the Pashtun tribes to break away from the Afsharid dynasty and declared the establishment of the Durrani Empire.

Upon becoming Shah, Ahmad Shah immediately launched expansionist wars in all directions, and at its height, the empire spanned present-day northern Iran, northern India, parts of Turkmenistan, the entire territory of Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, after Ahmad Shah’s death, the empire plunged into severe civil war. Despite this, Ahmad Shah’s achievements are still revered in Afghanistan, where he is regarded as the father of the nation and a national hero.

物件編號: A166

年代: 公元 1747-1773 年

材料: 黃金

尺寸: 18.0 x 18.0 mm

製造地: 馬什哈德，伊朗

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

該枚於南亞一帶被稱作「莫哈爾」的金幣，為奠定現代阿富汗民族國家雛形的杜蘭尼王朝開創者：艾哈邁德沙(統治：公元1747-公元 1773年)期間鑄造。

金幣兩面皆是以「波斯體」字體刻寫的達利文，即一種流通於阿富汗的波斯文分支。正面是以流行於波斯到北印度一帶的「拜特」詩歌對句，表現對於統治者的讚歌。正面的文字意指：「主權來自無與倫比的授權者艾哈邁德沙阿，他作為大地和天堂的統治者鑄造了銀幣和金幣」。這種在硬幣正面以「拜特」對句謳歌統治者的方式，為後繼的杜蘭尼王朝統治者沿用。至於金幣的背面，則有刻上鑄造地：馬什哈德，即今日伊朗第二大城市的地名。

公元1724年，艾哈邁德沙出生於阿富汗南部的坎大哈附近，後續在伊朗阿夫沙爾王朝麾下擔任將軍。公元1747年，利用伊朗沙阿被刺殺的混亂局勢，逃回故鄉的艾哈邁德沙在支爾格大會上，慫恿普什圖人脫離阿夫沙爾王朝，宣布建立杜蘭尼王朝。艾哈邁德沙成為沙阿後，立刻向四周展開擴張戰爭，王朝在極盛時期橫跨今日的北伊朗、北印度、部分土庫曼、巴基斯坦和阿富汗全境。然而在艾哈邁德沙駕崩後，帝國馬上陷入嚴重的內戰。但艾哈邁德沙仍為其成就，迄今仍被阿富汗視為國父和民族英雄而備受尊重。