Item number: A3517

Year: AD 1256-1432

Material: Silver

Size: 18.6 x 16.6 x 1.1 mm

Weight: 2.2 g

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This is a silver dirham possibly struck between AD 1256 and 1432 by an unidentified ruler of the Ilkhanate, and it may have been privately minted. Its provenance attributes it to an imitation, by Qara Khitai, of contemporary coinage of the Abbasid caliph al-Mustaʿṣim, though this is uncertain.

The obverse legend, arranged from right to left and top to bottom, reads “لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شر(يك له” (lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā shar(īka lah)), meaning “There is no lord but God alone, without partner.” Although not the complete shahāda, it is nonetheless regarded as one of the “Six Kalimāt” (Six Kalmas). The reverse legend bears at the top the inscription “قاآن” (qaʾān), meaning “Great Qaghan.” The central portion appears as “الفنع لامر” (al-fanʿ la-ʾmar), which may represent a corrupted form of “السلطان الأعظم” (al-sulṭān al-aʿẓam), meaning “the most exalted sultan.” The lowest part reads “إلخان رله” (ʾIlkhān ralah), of which the right-hand element is identifiable as “Ilkhan,” while the remaining letters may be an incomplete rendering of “المعظم” (al-muʿaẓẓam), meaning “the exalted.”

In AD 1264, when Qubilai succeeded as Great Khan of the Mongols, he appointed Hülegü (who reigned 1264–1265) as Ilkhan, with his domain henceforth known as the Ilkhanate. In its early phase, the polity pursued Mongolisation, adhering to ancestral institutions such as the Yassa and steppe traditions including the kurultai, as well as succession by collateral lines. Yet, from Hülegü onwards, the administration came increasingly to rely on Iranian and regional bureaucratic structures, with Persian elites employed to maintain fiscal stability. Owing to geopolitical circumstances, the Ilkhans initially maintained friendly relations with Christianity, seeking allies for a combined offensive against the Mamluk Sultanate and the Golden Horde, though the local populace and nobility remained predominantly Muslim. In AD 1295, Ghazan, having defeated Baydu in a civil war and assumed the khanship, undertook the complete Islamisation of the Ilkhanate.

During the reign of Abū Saʿīd (r. 1316–1335), efforts were made to restore central authority, but the absence of a clear successor, coupled with the rise of powerful local magnates, gradually eroded control. Upon Abū Saʿīd’s death in AD 1335, the Ilkhanate swiftly disintegrated, as military commanders, Mongol princes, and Persian notables contended for dominance. In the ensuing decades, although nominal heirs of Hülegü were occasionally enthroned, they were mere figureheads, and by the mid-fourteenth century the Ilkhanate had collapsed entirely, its territories partitioned among rival polities.

Among these emergent powers, Shaykh Ḥasan Buzurg of the Mongol Jalayir tribe, formerly a noble of the Ilkhanate, in AD 1336 proclaimed himself the legitimate successor and established the Jalayirid dynasty. Centred on Baghdad and Tabriz, its dominion extended over Iraq and western Iran. The dynasty remained relatively stable during the later fourteenth century, but it was continually pressured and attacked by both the Timurid Empire and the Qara Qoyunlu (Black Sheep Turkomans). By the later fifteenth century, the Jalayirids had entered terminal decline, and their remaining territories were ultimately absorbed by the Qara Qoyunlu, bringing the dynasty to an end.

物件編號: A3517

年代: 公元 1256-1432 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 18.6 x 16.6 x 1.1 mm

重量: 2.2 g

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚可能為公元1256至1432 年，伊兒汗國的不知名統治者鑄造的銀迪拉姆，可能是私鑄品。來源稱為西遼所仿鑄同時期之阿拔斯哈里發穆格台菲的錢幣，根據不明。

正面幣銘，由右至左，由上至下為「(لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شر(يك له」(lā ilāha illā Allāh, waḥdahu lā shar(īka lah))，即「萬物非主，唯有真主，獨一無偶」。並非清真言，但仍被認為是「六大真言」(Six Kalma)之一。背面幣銘最上方為「قاآن 」(qa’an)，即「大可汗」，中間段可能為「الفنع لامر」(al-fanʿ la-ʾmar)，可能為「السلطان الأعظم 」，即「最尊貴的蘇丹」的誤抄。最下方為「إلخان رله」(ʾIlkhān ralah)，右側為「伊兒汗」，其餘不明，可能是「المعظم 」，即「尊貴的」的字母闕漏。

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。

傳至不賽因汗(Abū Saʿīd)時期，雖一度重整權力，但因缺乏明確繼承人，加上地方勢力坐大，中央逐漸失去控制。阿布賽義德於公元1335年去世後，伊兒汗國迅速陷入分裂，各地軍閥、蒙古王族及波斯地方領主相互爭奪。此後數十年間，雖然名義上仍有旭烈兀後裔被擁立，但都只是傀儡，最終伊兒汗國在十四世紀中葉徹底崩潰，疆域被多個地方政權瓜分。

其中出自蒙古札剌亦兒部，原為伊兒汗國貴族的謝赫·大哈散布祖格，於公元1336年宣稱為伊兒汗國正統 ，建札剌亦兒王朝(Jalayirid dynasty)。以報達(巴格達)、桃里寺(今大不里士)為中心，統治範圍涵蓋伊拉克與伊朗西部。該王朝在十四世紀後半期一度保持相對穩固，但長期受到帖木兒帝國與黑羊王朝的壓迫與侵襲。至十五世紀末期，札剌亦兒勢力衰微，其餘部最終為黑羊王朝吞併，王朝至此滅亡。