Item number: A3571

Year: circa AD 1529-1546

Material: Gold

Size: 9.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 mm

Weight: 0.45 g

Manufactured by: Badakhshan Mint

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This coin is an eighth-misqāl gold piece struck under the local ruler of Badakhshan, Sulaymān Mīrzā, during the period of the Mughal Empire.

The obverse is inscribed in Persian with the Islamic confession of faith, “لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ” (lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammad rasūl Allāh), known as the Kalima or the Muslim profession of faith: “There is no deity but God; Muḥammad is the messenger of God.” The inscription is divided into upper and lower sections by the elongated word “مُحَمَّدٌ” (Muḥammad). Because the die axis is slightly rotated to the left, only the right half of the legend is clearly visible.

The reverse bears in its lower section the Persian inscription “السلطان الأعظم” (al-sulṭān al-aʿẓam), meaning “the most exalted sultan,” while the upper portion probably contains the abbreviated formula “خَلَّدَ اللهُ مُلْكَهُ” (khallada Allāh mulkahū), translating as “May God perpetuate his sovereignty.”

In the early decades of the sixteenth century, the Timurid Empire disintegrated, and its descendants ruled independently in eastern Iran and the Hindu Kush region. Nāṣir Mīrzā (brother of Bābur) briefly occupied Badakhshan between AD 1504 and 1505, turning the region into a refuge for Timurid nobles fleeing the advance of the Uzbeks. Local tribal leaders, such as Zubayr-i Rāghī and Mubārak Shāh, mobilised resistance against the Shaybānid forces.

Between AD 1520 and 1529, after conquering Kabul, Bābur (AD 1483–1530) incorporated Badakhshan into his directly administered territories and appointed his son Humāyūn (AD 1508–1556) as governor. During his tenure, Humāyūn disobeyed royal orders and abandoned his post in Badakhshan to return to Kabul. As punishment, Bābur dismissed him and, in AD 1529, granted Badakhshan to the local Timurid heir, Sulaymān Mīrzā, son of Mīrzā Khān.

Sulaymān Mīrzā, who had been raised and educated under Bābur’s protection, at first remained a Mughal vassal. However, once Humāyūn ascended the throne and became preoccupied with campaigns in India, Sulaymān gradually established an effectively independent regime in Badakhshan.

In AD 1536, Sulaymān attacked the Shaybānid-ruled city of Balkh but was defeated. His relations with Humāyūn’s half-brother, Kāmrān Mīrzā, deteriorated thereafter. Kāmrān regarded Sulaymān’s assertion of independence as a direct challenge to Mughal authority, but Humāyūn, weakened by civil war and his subsequent defeat by Shīr Shāh Sūrī of the Sūr dynasty, was unable to intervene. From that point, Badakhshan became de facto independent. The region’s mountainous isolation, tribal autonomy, and the influence of the Ismāʿīlī tradition further reinforced its self-governing character.

During Sulaymān’s later years (approximately AD 1550–1570s), the local government remained relatively stable, yet succession conflicts between him and his grandson Shāhrukh Mīrzā undermined the dynasty’s strength. The Uzbeks of the Shaybānid-led Bukhara Khanate took advantage of the turmoil and conquered Badakhshan between AD 1580 and 1587. Sulaymān was forced to flee to India and once again sought refuge at the court of the Mughal emperor Akbar. According to the Akbarnāma, he died there in AD 1589 (AH 997), and his descendants continued to serve within the Mughal administration.

物件編號: A3571

年代: 約公元 1529-1546 年

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 9.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 mm

重量: 0.45 g

製造地: 巴達赫尚造幣廠

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚蒙兀兒帝國，巴達赫尚的地方統治者，蘇萊曼·米爾扎所鑄行的⅛米斯卡爾金幣。

金幣正面應為波斯文「لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ」(lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammad rasūl Allāh)，即清真言(Kalima)：「萬物非主，唯有真主；穆罕默德，是主的使者」。以延長的「مُحَمَّدٌ」(Muḥammad)為界，將幣銘分為上下兩部分。幣銘向左偏軸，以致僅有右半可見。

金幣背面下方應為波斯文「السلطان الأعظم」(al-sulṭān al-aʿẓam)，意為「至高無上的蘇丹」。上方應為簡寫的短語「خَلَّدَ اللهُ مُلْكَهُ」(khallada Allāh mulkahū)，意為「願真主永固其王權」。

公元16世紀初，帖木兒帝國瓦解，其後裔在東伊朗及興都庫什山區各自為政。納西爾·米爾札(Nāṣir Mīrzā，巴布爾之弟)於公元1504-1505年間短暫佔據巴德赫尚，使該地成為帖木兒貴族逃避烏茲別克人入侵的避難所。當地部族首領如祖拜爾·拉希(Zubayr-i Rāghī)與穆巴拉克·沙(Mubārak Shāh)動員民眾抵抗昔班王朝勢力。

約在公元1520-1529年間，巴布爾(Bābur, AD1483-1530)征服喀布爾後，將巴德赫尚納入直轄領地，並委派其子胡馬雍(Humāyūn, AD1508-1556)代管。胡馬雍在任期間，因未遵命出征、擅離巴德赫尚返回喀布爾，被巴布爾責罰並撤職。巴布爾遂於公元1529年將巴德赫尚封授給當地的宗室繼承人——米爾札汗之子蘇萊曼·米爾札(Sulaymān Mīrzā)。

蘇萊曼·米爾札早年受巴布爾庇護與教育，初期仍為蒙兀兒藩屬。然而隨胡馬雍登基後忙於征戰印度、無暇北顧，蘇萊曼逐漸在巴德赫尚建立實質的獨立政權。

蘇萊曼於公元1536年攻擊布哈拉汗國的巴爾赫失利後，與胡馬雍同父異母兄卡姆蘭·米爾札(Kāmrān Mīrzā)關係惡化。卡姆蘭視其脫離宗主的行為為對蒙兀兒利益的挑戰，但胡馬雍因內戰與敗於蘇爾王朝的舍爾沙(Shīr Shāh Sūrī)而無力征討。使巴德赫尚進入事實獨立狀態。其地理封閉、部族自治與伊斯瑪儀派(Ismāʿīlī)傳統，更強化了地方自主。

蘇萊曼後期(約公元1550-1570年代)雖維持地方穩定，但與孫子沙魯克(Shāhrukh Mīrzā)之間的繼承衝突削弱了政權。布哈拉汗國，昔班王朝的烏茲別克人乘機入侵，於公元1580-1587年間奪取巴德赫尚。蘇萊曼被迫逃往印度，再度投靠蒙兀兒皇帝阿克巴(Akbar)。根據《阿克巴傳》(Akbarnāma)記載，他於公元1589年(伊曆997年)卒於阿克巴宮廷，其後裔繼續服務於蒙兀兒朝廷。