Catalog
Dirham - temp. Qaidu Khan Samarqand mint
| Issuer | Chagatai Khanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1264-1303 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Aniconic field bearing the Shahada in two lines of bold Arabic script: the first line reading 'la ilaha illa Allah' (There is no god but God) and the second 'Muhammad rasul Allah' (Muhammad is the Messenger of God). The legends are rendered in a robust, angular hand characteristic of Mongol-era Islamic coinage, struck on an irregularly shaped flan with characteristic hammered relief. The field is undecorated save for the religious inscription, consistent with the aniconism of Chagatai Khanate monetary practice. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Qaidu was never formally recognized as Khan of the Chagatai Khanate by the Mongol Great Khan — he ruled as a dominant power broker in Central Asia through prolonged military defiance of Kublai Khan, controlling the region between the Syr Darya and the steppe for nearly four decades. Coins struck at Samarqand under his authority thus occupy an unusual jurisdictional position: issued from a major sedentary mint city whose administrative legitimacy Qaidu never fully formalized within the broader Mongol imperial framework.
The Zeno catalogue's single recorded specimen hints at survival rates typical of heavily circulated fractional silver from this region and period.