Catalog
Dirham - Möngke Otrar mint
| Issuer | Great Mongol Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1248-1265 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Central field displays the Islamic Shahada (testimony of faith) in multi-line Arabic Naskh script, accompanied by a reference to the Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir li-din-Allah. The inscription is boldly struck in three to four horizontal lines within a raised inner border circle. A circular marginal legend repeats the mint and date formula, identifying Otrar as the place of striking. The overall style is consistent with Mongol-period silver-plated copper dirhams struck in Transoxiana during the reign of Möngke Khan (646–653 AH). The flan is wide and irregular with flat, uneven surfaces characteristic of hammered coinage. |
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| Mintage | ND (1248-1265) - 646-653 AH |
| Additional information |
Möngke's reign saw the Mongol administration experimenting with billon and silver-plated copper issues across Central Asian mints as the empire stretched its fiscal infrastructure across conquered territories. Otrar — the same city whose governor's massacre of a Mongol trade caravan in 1218 triggered Genghis Khan's catastrophic invasion of Khwarezm — functioned as a significant mint node on the Syr Darya. The silver-plated copper fabric of this piece suggests either deliberate fiduciary policy or metal supply pressure at the regional level, both documented problems in mid-13th century Mongol monetary administration.