Tahmasb I ruled for over fifty years — the longest reign in Safavid history — yet his relationship with Herat was never secure. The city changed hands repeatedly between Safavid and Uzbek forces throughout his reign, with major Uzbek incursions in the 1520s and 1540s forcing temporary abandonments of the mint. Gold fractional issues from Herat under Tahmasb are consequently irregular in their appearance across the reign, and attributing a specific emission to a narrow window within that half-century remains genuinely difficult without accompanying die study.
Tahmasb I ruled for over fifty years — the longest reign in Safavid history — yet his relationship with Herat was never secure. The city changed hands repeatedly between Safavid and Uzbek forces throughout his reign, with major Uzbek incursions in the 1520s and 1540s forcing temporary abandonments of the mint. Gold fractional issues from Herat under Tahmasb are consequently irregular in their appearance across the reign, and attributing a specific emission to a narrow window within that half-century remains genuinely difficult without accompanying die study.