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Dirham 'Lion and Sun' - anepigraphic Bulghar mint
| Issuer | Golden Horde |
|---|---|
| Year | 1280-1310 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dinar (1227-1502) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A large lion is depicted in profile walking to the right in a bold, schematic style typical of Jochid anepigraphic issues. Above the lion's back rises a radiate sun with a stylized human face at its center, rendered in characteristic Golden Horde artistic convention. The composition is surrounded by a border of raised pellets, mirroring the obverse treatment. The design is entirely without legend, conforming to the anepigraphic type associated with the Bulghar mint of the late 13th to early 14th century. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
The "Lion and Sun" motif on Golden Horde dirhams of this period derives ultimately from Ilkhanid iconographic borrowing, itself rooted in pre-Islamic Iranian solar symbolism that the Mongol successor states found politically useful without requiring religious endorsement. The Bulghar mint — on the middle Volga — was one of the Horde's most productive northern facilities, serving trade networks that extended deep into Rus' territory and the Baltic fur trade. That this piece is anepigraphic is telling: the absence of a ruler's name suggests either a transitional issue struck between reigns or deliberate ambiguity during the succession conflicts that plagued the Horde after Möngke Temür's death in 1280.