1000 Manat Ruhnama - Five epochs of spiritual development of the Turkmen

The Ruhnama — literally "Book of the Soul" — was written by Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmenistan's self-styled president-for-life who ruled under the name Turkmenbashi. He declared it a sacred text equal in authority to the Quran, mandated its study in schools and universities, and required it as part of the driving test. Civil servants were expected to memorize passages. The coin commemorates the book's cosmological framework, which divided spiritual life into five stages Niyazov invented himself.

Niyazov died in December 2006, the same year this piece was struck.