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Shahi - Tahmasp I Qandahar, Sixth Western Standard
| Issuer | Safavid Dynasty |
|---|---|
| Year | 1574 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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| Obverse description | The obverse presents the Shi'a kalima and the names of the Twelve Imams inscribed in bold naskh-style Arabic script across the entire coin field, arranged in multiple horizontal lines within a plain border. The central legend reads the shahada — 'There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, Ali is the representative of Allah' — surrounded by the names of the Twelve Imams. The script is deeply struck with characteristic Safavid calligraphic style, filling the flan to its irregular edges. No figural imagery is present, consistent with Islamic aniconic tradition. The surface shows typical die-struck irregularity and slight flan weakness at the margins, as expected of hammered coinage of this period. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله علی ولی الله علی حسن حسین علی محمد جعفر موسی علی محمد علی حسن محمد (Translation: There is no God but Allah Muhammed is the messenger Ali is the representative of Allah) |
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| Additional information |
Tahmasp I held the Safavid throne for over fifty years — the longest reign of any Safavid shah — yet the final decade was marked by near-total withdrawal from governance, the court dominated by factions while the aging shah retreated into religious austerity. Qandahar itself was a perennial flashpoint, passing between Safavid and Mughal control across multiple wars throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. That this mint remained productive under Tahmasp speaks to the city's economic importance regardless of who claimed it politically.
The "Sixth Western Standard" designation reflects a specific weight reform sequence documented by Album, not a geographic classification.