Item number: A1340

Year: AD 1336-1353

Material: Gold

Size: 17.2 x 18.0 mm

Weight: 4.66 g

Manufactured by: Baghdad, Iraq

Provenance: Heritage Auctions 2024

This is a gold dinar minted between AD 1336 and AD 1353 during the period of turmoil following the collapse of the Ilkhanate, which once dominated Mesopotamia and the Iranian Plateau. It was issued by Togha Temür, who was proclaimed Great Khan by the governor of Khorasan in eastern Iran.

The obverse of the coin features a beaded circle and a solid circular border, with a central design in the shape of a hexagonal grape leaf. Inside the grape leaf, Persian inscriptions are arranged vertically as follows: “ضرب” (Strucked), “السلطان الأعظم” (The Sultan, the Greatest Name), “طغای تیمور خان دُعائیہ کلمہ” (Togha Temür Khan, may his realm endure forever), and “بغداد” (Baghdad).

These inscriptions specify the minting location, the ruler’s name, and his titles. Notably, Baghdad was never under Togha Temür’s control, although he held the nominal title of Great Khan and made several attempts to invade Iraq during his lifetime. This coin may have been minted in Baghdad during a period of regional military conflict, reflecting continued respect for Togha Temür’s symbolic authority.

Surrounding the hexagonal grape leaf, six partially legible words related to Islamic faith can be discerned, though their exact content remains unclear due to wear.

The reverse design of the coin is relatively simple, enclosed by a beaded circle and a solid circular border. At the centre of the solid circle is the Shahada, a declaration of Islamic faith familiar to all Muslims: “لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله” (There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God). In the corners surrounding the Shahada, the names of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs are inscribed, honouring their legacy: “ابو بكر” (Abu Bakr), “عمر” (Umar), “عثمان” (Uthman), and “على” (Ali).

In AD 1335, following the death of the ninth Ilkhanate ruler, Abu Sa’id, the empire fell into a state of political fragmentation and power struggles. In the regions corresponding to present-day Iraq and western Iran, two prominent factions, the Jalayirid and Chobanid families, emerged as competing powers. Meanwhile, in the eastern part of the empire, specifically in Khorasan, the local nobility sought to capitalise on the situation by elevating their own candidate to the position of Great Khan. Consequently, they approached Togha Temür, a sixth-generation descendant of Chagatai Khasar, the second brother of Genghis Khan. In the winter of AD 1336, Togha Temür was proclaimed Great Khan on the shores of the Caspian Sea in Mazandaran.

Togha Temür engaged in conflicts with various rival factions but eventually became embroiled in a religious uprising known as the “Sarbadars.” In AD 1353, Yahya Karawi, the leader of the Sarbadars, feigned surrender to Togha Temür, only to assassinate him in his camp during a covert attack.

物件編號: A1340

年代: 公元 1336-1353 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 17.2 x 18.0 mm

重量: 4.66 g

製造地: 巴格達，伊拉克

來源: 海瑞德拍賣行 2024

這是一枚公元1336至1353年，一度主宰兩河流域和伊朗高原的伊兒汗國瓦解陷入混亂之際，由伊朗東部的呼羅珊總督推舉為大汗的脫合帖木兒鑄造之金第納爾。

錢幣正面有一道珠圈和實心圓環繞，正中央是一個六邊形葡萄葉造型的輪廓。葡萄葉的內部由上而下，依序以波斯文打印「ضرب」(鑄造)、「السلطان الأعظم」(蘇丹、最偉大的名字)、「طغای تیمور خان دُعائیہ کلمہ」(脫合帖木兒大汗願他的國度到永遠) 和「بغداد」(巴格達)，標示鑄造地點、統治者名諱和頭銜等資訊。巴格達從未在脫合帖木兒的控制之下，但是脫合帖木兒作為名義上的大汗，生前有數次進攻伊拉克的嘗試。這枚錢幣可能是在軍閥混戰之際，巴格達仍敬重脫合帖木兒的大汗頭銜而鑄造的。而在六邊形葡萄葉的外圍，有六個跟伊斯蘭信仰有關的模糊單詞。

錢幣背面的設計較為單純，周圍各以一道珠圈和實心圓圍繞。實心圓的正中央是穆斯林熟知的清真言「لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله」(萬物非主，唯有真主，穆罕默德是真主的使者)。清真言的角落則分別打印「正統哈里發」時期，先後四位哈里發的名字：「ابو بكر」(阿布·巴克爾)、「عمر」(歐瑪爾)、「عثمان」(奧斯曼) 和「على」(阿里)。

公元1335年，隨著伊兒汗國第九任大汗不賽因駕崩後，帝國隨即陷入軍閥割據的局面，在現今的伊拉克和伊朗西部形成札剌亦兒和楚邦兩大家族的競爭。而遠在帝國東邊的呼羅珊，當地貴族也期待利用這個局面推舉自身的大汗。因此當地人找上成吉思汗二弟拙赤合撒兒的第六代傳人脫合帖木兒，於公元1336年冬在裏海畔的馬贊達蘭登基為大汗。脫合帖木兒和不同的軍閥彼此交戰，後期則陷入名為「薩爾巴達爾」的宗教叛亂。公元1353年，薩爾巴達爾的領袖郝賈·亞赫瑤·卡勞比率眾詐降並趁機在營帳中成功刺殺脫合帖木兒。