Between 1388 and 1397, Timur maintained the legal fiction of ruling as a subordinate to a Chingisid puppet khan — in this case Mahmud Khan, a descendant of Genghis through the line of Chagatai. Timur, lacking Mongol blood himself, could not claim the title of khan outright, so coinage issued from Samarqand during his lifetime cited Mahmud Khan as nominal sovereign while Timur held all actual power. The "miri" designation on this quarter tanka reflects that carefully constructed political arrangement.
Between 1388 and 1397, Timur maintained the legal fiction of ruling as a subordinate to a Chingisid puppet khan — in this case Mahmud Khan, a descendant of Genghis through the line of Chagatai. Timur, lacking Mongol blood himself, could not claim the title of khan outright, so coinage issued from Samarqand during his lifetime cited Mahmud Khan as nominal sovereign while Timur held all actual power. The "miri" designation on this quarter tanka reflects that carefully constructed political arrangement.