Item number: A1819

Year: AD 1291-1295

Material: Gold

Size: 20.3 x 19.9 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 3.7 g

Manufactured by: Tabriz Mint

Provenance:

1. Spink 2022

2. Dr. Werner Burger

This gold dinar was minted between Hijri AH 690 and 694 (corresponding to AD 1291–1295) during the reign of Gaykhatu, the fifth ruler of the Ilkhanate.

The obverse of the coin is encircled by two concentric raised bands. Inside these bands, inscribed in two vertical lines from top to bottom, is the Islamic Shahada, a declaration of faith familiar to Muslims: “لا إله إلا الله” (Lā ilāha illa Allāh) and “محمد رسول الله” (Muḥammad rasūl Allāh), meaning “There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” Beneath this, the inscription “صلى الله عليه” (Ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi) is present, followed at the bottom by the smaller inscription “وسلم” (wa sallam), forming the common Islamic benediction “May Allah bless him and grant him peace.” Surrounding the outer raised band is an inscription, though partially illegible, it likely bears the official title of Gaykhatu, transcribed into Arabic as “أرينجن تورجي جاي خاتون بن أباقة” (Arinchen Turji Gay Khatu ibn Abaga), which corresponds to his Mongolian name, “亦憐真·朵兒只·海合都·伊本·阿八哈”.

The reverse side of the coin features an inscription in Uyghur-Mongolian script, written vertically from left to right: “ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨᠨᠤ”, “ᠨᠡᠷᠡᠪᠡᠷ”, “ᠷᠢᠨᠴᠢᠨᠳᠤᠵᠢ”, “ᠤᠨᠳᠡᠯᠡᠲᠭᠦᠯᠦᠭᠰᠡᠨ” (Hagan nu Nereber Rinchindoji un deletgulug sen), which translates to “Minted in the name of the Khagan, Arinchen Dorji.” On the far right, there is an Arabic inscription “رينجن تورجي” (Rinchin Dorji), written horizontally from right to left after a 90-degree clockwise rotation. This corresponds to the phonetic transliteration of “亦憐真·朵兒只”, which itself is the Chinese transcription of the Tibetan name “རིན་ཆེན་རྡོ་རྗེ་” (Rinchen Dorje). This name, meaning “Precious Vajra,” was bestowed upon Gaykhatu by Kublai Khan. The influence of Tibetan Buddhism among Mongol rulers can be traced back to Kublai Khan, under whose reign Tibetan Buddhism gained prominence within the Mongol imperial court.

Gaykhatu was the younger brother of Arghun, the fourth ruler of the Ilkhanate, and the second son of Abaqa Khan. He was also the grandson of Hülegü, the founder of the Ilkhanate. Prior to his ascension, Gaykhatu governed the Anatolian Peninsula. In AD 1291, following the death of Arghun, Gaykhatu was elected as Ilkhan during a Quriltai assembly. During his reign, he continued military expansion into Anatolia while reaching a truce with the Golden Horde. In AD 1294, a severe rinderpest outbreak, combined with Gaykhatu’s excessive extravagance at court, led to a financial crisis. In response, he attempted to introduce paper currency, inspired by the Song and Yuan dynasties, and enforced its circulation by decree. However, the merchants and common people rejected the use of paper money, leading to riots in the marketplaces of Tabriz. Consequently, the currency experiment was abandoned. In AD 1295, a Mongol aristocratic coup overthrew Gaykhatu, replacing him with his cousin Baydu as Ilkhan. Gaykhatu was condemned by Muslim historians as a ruler indulging in hedonism, debauchery, and incompetence. However, his reign was marked by a policy of secularism and religious tolerance, extending protection to various faith communities, including Nestorian Christianity.

The Ilkhanate was established in AD 1264 when Kublai Khan ascended as Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and formally granted Hülegü the title of Ilkhan, ruling over a fief that became known as the Ilkhanate. In its early period, the Ilkhanate adhered to Mongol traditions and governance, following ancestral laws such as the Great Yassa and political institutions like the Quriltai assembly. Succession often followed the brother-to-brother inheritance model. However, after Hülegü’s reign, the administration increasingly adopted Persian bureaucratic systems, employing Persian aristocrats to manage financial affairs. Geopolitically, the Ilkhans initially maintained an amicable stance toward Christianity, seeking alliances against the Mamluk Sultanate and the Golden Horde. However, the local population and ruling elites remained predominantly Muslim. In AD 1295, after defeating Baydu in a civil war, Ghazan Khan ascended the throne and initiated the full-scale Islamisation of the Ilkhanate, marking a decisive shift in the state’s religious and cultural identity.

物件編號: A1819

年代: 公元 1291-1295 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 20.3 x 19.9 x 0.6 mm

重量: 3.7 g

製造地: 大不里士鑄幣廠

來源:

1. 斯賓克拍賣行 2022

2. 布威納博士舊藏

這是一枚回曆690至694年 (公元1291至1295年)，伊兒汗國的第五任統治者海合都鑄造的金第納爾。

金幣正面有兩道同心圓凸紋環繞，凸紋內側由上而至下二行，為穆斯林熟悉的清真言禱詞「لا إله إلا الله」(Lā ilāha illa)，「محمد رسول الله」(Allāh Muḥammad rasūl Allāh)，即「萬物非主，唯有真主。穆罕默德，是主使者」。其下「صلى الله عليه」(Sallā Allāhu ʿalayhi)，及最下方小字「وسلم」(wa sallam)，為穆斯林常用祝禱語「願安拉祝福，並賜予平安」。凸紋外圈環繞有文字，辨識不清，但可能為海合都伊兒汗之正式名稱「亦憐真·朵兒只·海合都·伊本·阿八哈」，阿拉伯文轉寫為「أرينجن تورجي جاي خاتون بن أباقة 」(Arinchen Turji Gay Khatu ibn Abaga )。

金幣背面為回鶻式蒙古文，由左至右直式書寫「ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨᠨᠤ 」，「ᠨᠡᠷᠡᠪᠡᠷ」，「ᠷᠢᠨᠴᠢᠨᠳᠤᠵᠢ」，「ᠤᠨᠳᠡᠯᠡᠲᠭᠦᠯᠦᠭᠰᠡᠨ」(Hagan nu Nereber Rinchindoji un deletgulug sen)，意為「奉可汗亦憐真·朵兒只之名所鑄造」。最右側為阿拉伯文「رينجن تورجي」，為順時針旋轉90度後，由右至左橫式書寫，為「亦憐真·朵兒只」的音譯。亦憐真·朵兒只為藏文「རིན་ཆེན་རྡོ་རྗེ་」(rin chen rdo rje)之漢文音譯，為忽必烈所賜名，涵義約為「金剛寶鑽」，藏傳佛教風行蒙古君主亦由忽必烈始。

海合都為伊兒汗國第四任統治者阿魯渾之弟，第二任統治者阿八哈之次子，首任君主旭烈兀之孫。早年統治安納托利亞半島。公元1291年，阿魯渾逝世，海合都於忽里勒台大會上被推選為可汗。海合都任內繼續向安納托利亞半島方向拓邊，同時與金帳汗國達成停戰協議。公元1294年，由於發生嚴重的牛瘟疫情，以及海合都本身宮廷的奢靡無度，政府財政困難。於是海合都嘗試倣宋、元政府，印製紙幣，強制行用。後商民拒絕使用紙幣，大不里士的市集發生騷亂，紙幣不得已而廢止。公元1295年，蒙古貴族政變，推翻海合都，海合都之堂兄弟拜都繼任為可汗。海合都被穆斯林史家批評為沉迷酒色，昏庸無能。但同時，其任內持世俗主義，宗教寬容，包括景教等教會曾受襄助。

公元1264年，忽必烈繼任蒙古大汗，冊封旭烈兀(1264-1265在位)為伊兒汗，其封地稱伊兒汗國。伊兒汗國前期，實行蒙古化政策，遵循祖制(如《大扎撒》等)和草原傳統(如忽里勒台大會等)，兄終弟繼。但旭烈兀以降，多沿襲伊朗及各地區原有官僚體制，啟用波斯貴族維持財政。早期由於地緣政治，伊兒汗國友待基督教，以爭取夾攻馬穆魯克王朝與金帳汗國的盟友，但本地社群及貴族仍以伊斯蘭教為主。公元1295年，合贊於內戰中擊敗拜都，繼任可汗，才進行全面的伊斯蘭化。