Item number: A3589

Year: circa AD 1224-1255 (AH 621-651)

Material: Gold

Size: 32.8 x 30.5 x 0.2 mm

Weight: 4.65 g

Manufactured by: Astarabad Mint (present-days Gorgan, Iran)

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This is a gold dinar issued by an unidentified Mongol ruler, possibly Möngke Khan, Oghul Qaimish Khatun, Töregene Khatun, Ögedei Khan, or even Chinggis Khan.

On the obverse, the upper inscription reads الخاقان (al-Khāqān), meaning “the Great Qaghan”, a title that almost exclusively existed before the fragmentation of the Golden Family and was an honorific of the early rulers of the Mongol Empire. At the centre appears العادل (al-ʿĀdil), meaning “the Just”, a common epithet in the Islamic world. Below is الأعظم (al-Aʿẓam), meaning “the Most Mighty” or “the Supreme”, another of the exalted titles associated with the early Mongol rulers. At the very top is a smaller line of script, seemingly بلدة أستراباد (baldat Astarābād), that is, “the city of Astarabad”. The inscriptions are separated by circular borders; the outer marginal legend was originally present but is now truncated and illegible.

The reverse bears the Islamic declaration of faith, لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله (lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammad rasūl Allāh), “There is no deity but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God”. This is enclosed by a circular border. The outer marginal legend, inferred from preserved letter forms, may have included إحدى (iḥdā, ‘one’), which would correspond to dates in the Islamic calendar such as AH 621, 631, 641, or 651. These dates align with the reigns of Chinggis Khan, Ögedei Khan, Oghul Qaimish Khatun, Töregene Khatun, and Möngke Khan, respectively, though the provenance attributes the issue to Möngke Khan.

In AD 1221, following his campaigns in Central Asia, Chinggis Khan returned to China to resume his offensives against Western Xia and the Jin dynasty. He died during the campaign of AD 1227, but by then the Mongol Empire had already established a tightly organised military and administrative structure, with the four ordu divisions forming the basis for future succession and internal division of power. In AD 1229, Ögedei was enthroned as Great Khan at the quriltai, inaugurating more than a decade of rule. He continued his father’s policies and further institutionalised administration, creating organs such as the Privy Council and the ortogh system, strengthening control over both Central Asia and northern China. In AD 1234, the Mongols completed the conquest of the Jin dynasty, thereby securing long-term dominion over northern China. Thereafter, Mongol armies pressed westward: Batu led the great western campaign across the Pontic steppe into Eastern Europe, an event that shocked Europe and laid the foundation of the Golden Horde in the western steppes.

Following Ögedei’s death in AD 1241, the throne was left vacant, and Oghul Qaimish briefly acted as regent, after whose death power passed to the regency of Töregene Khatun. This transitional period was marked by intensifying rivalry between the Ögedeid and Toluid factions. Eventually, in AD 1246, Güyük was enthroned as Great Khan. Though he continued certain policies, his relations with Batu and the Toluid house deteriorated, and his death after only two years on the throne again plunged the empire into a power vacuum. In AD 1251, Möngke, son of Tolui, was raised to the khanate at the quriltai. He moved quickly to consolidate imperial order, dispatching his brother Hülegü to the Middle East with the mission of eradicating the Abbasid Caliphate, while entrusting his brother Khubilai with preparations for campaigns against the Southern Song. In AD 1259, Möngke died on the front lines of the Song war, after which the once-unified Mongol Empire entered a process of gradual fragmentation.

物件編號: A3589

年代: 約公元 1224-1255 年 (回曆 621-651 年)

材質: 金

尺寸: 32.8 x 30.5 x 0.2 mm

重量: 4.65 g

製造地: 阿斯塔拉巴德(今伊朗哥干)

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚不具名蒙古執政者所發行的金第納爾，可能是蒙哥汗、木哥可敦、脫列哥那可敦、窩闊台汗，或成吉思汗。

金幣正面上方為「الخاقان 」(al-Khāqān)，即「大可汗」，此頭銜幾乎只在黃金家族還未分裂時存在，為蒙古帝國早期統治者尊號。中央為「العادل」(al-ʿĀdil)，即「公正的」，為伊斯蘭世界常見稱號。下方為｢الأعظم｣(al-Aʿẓam)，即「至高無上的」，為蒙古帝國早期統治者尊號之一。最上方有一行小字，應為「بلدة أستراباد」，即「阿斯特拉罕城」。以環相隔，幣緣應另有環銘，但遭截斷而無從辨識。

背面為清真言「لا إله إلا الله, محمد رسول الله」，為真言之一的「萬物非主，唯有真主，穆罕默德，是主使者」。以圓環相隔，外側另環列幣銘，依字形推測，可能為「إحدى」，即「1」，與形制和回曆可對應的年代有回曆621、631、641、651年，分別對應成吉思汗、窩闊台汗、木哥可敦、脫列哥那可敦、蒙哥汗，而來源列為蒙哥汗。

公元1221年，成吉思汗在掃蕩中亞後回軍中原，開始攻略西夏與金，於公元1227年征伐途中去世，但大蒙古國已建立起嚴密的軍事與行政網絡，四大斡耳朵的分封也初步確立，為日後的繼承與內部分工奠下制度基礎。公元1229年，窩闊台在忽里勒台大會上即位為大汗，展開十餘年的統治。他延續乃父的政策，進一步制度化行政，如設立樞密院與斡脫那等機構，加強對西域及中原的控制，並在公元1234年最終滅亡金朝，確立蒙古對華北的長期統治。此後蒙古大軍分路西征，拔都率軍西征，進入東歐草原，震動歐洲，也使蒙古在草原以西建立起金帳汗國的根基。公元1241年窩闊台去世，帝位懸空，短暫由木哥可敦攝政，死後權力由脫列哥那皇后接手。這段過渡期內，窩闊台家族與拖雷家族的權力角逐日趨激烈，最終於公元1246年推舉貴由即位。貴由雖延續了部分政策，但與拔都、拔都身後的拖雷系關係惡化，加上在位僅兩年便逝世，使帝國再度陷入權力真空。公元1251年，拖雷之子蒙哥在庫里台上獲擁立為大汗，他開始重整帝國秩序，派遣弟弟旭烈兀西征中東，準備徹底消滅阿拔斯王朝；另一方面，他也令忽必烈著手南宋戰爭的籌備。公元1259年，他亡於與南宋兵爭的前線，大蒙古國就此逐漸分裂。