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1 Ashrafi - Ismail I Astarabad
| Issuer | Safavid Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1512 |
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| Currency | Shahi (1501-1798) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic (thuluth) |
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| Reverse description | Central cartouche bearing the Shi'a Kalima in thuluth script, arranged in multiple lines within a defined border. The declaration of faith is flanked and surrounded by the names of the Twelve Imams of Shi'a Islam, inscribed in the marginal legend encircling the central panel. The reverse composition reflects the distinctly Shi'a confessional identity proclaimed by the early Safavid coinage, with the bold calligraphic execution consistent with the obverse. The irregular flan shows partial loss of the outer legend at the edges. |
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| Additional information |
Ismail I founded the Safavid dynasty in 1501 and almost immediately made Twelver Shia Islam the state religion of Iran — a politically explosive decision that set the Safavids in permanent confrontation with the Sunni Ottoman Empire to the west. The ashrafi denomination itself was borrowed from Mamluk Egypt, where it had been established as a gold standard coin; Ismail's adoption of it signaled ambitions to participate in the broader Islamic monetary world while stamping it with distinctly Shia identity.
Astarabad, on the southeastern Caspian shore, was among the early mints active under Ismail's consolidation of northeastern Persia.