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1 Ashrafi - Isma'il I Safavi
| Issuer | Safavid Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1503-1512 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Ashrafi (48) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays a multi-line royal titulature of Shah Isma'il I in naskh script, arranged within a pointed cartouche or shield-shaped frame. A circular marginal legend encircles the central cartouche, continuing the royal titles. The deeply struck inscription reads the full laqab and titulature of the Shah, rendered in high relief against a plain gold field. The irregular, slightly convex flan is characteristic of early Safavid hammered gold coinage. The calligraphic execution reflects the refined Arabic script tradition of early sixteenth-century Iranian mint production. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
Isma'il I founded the Safavid state in 1501 and almost immediately made Twelver Shi'ism the compulsory state religion of Iran — a decision with consequences that reverberate through the region to the present day. The gold ashrafi coinage of his early reign was among the first instruments through which that declaration was given material form, circulating a theological and dynastic claim simultaneously. His conquests between 1501 and 1512 brought Tabriz, Baghdad, and much of Khorasan under Safavid control, and the mint output followed the armies.
The ashrafi unit itself was inherited from Timurid and Aqquyunlu monetary practice — Isma'il was consciously building on, and displacing, both.