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Tanka - Timur with Mahmud Khan Astrabad mint
| Issuer | Timurid Empire |
|---|---|
| Year | 1391-1397 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Tanka |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse presents the Islamic declaration of faith rendered in flowing naskh script across the central field, arranged in three horizontal lines: the Shahada (lā ilāha illā allāh / muḥammadun rasūlu allāh) occupying the upper two registers, followed by the Shia affirmation (ʿalī walī allāh) in the lower register. The legends fill the flan in a dense, calligraphic composition typical of Timurid hammered coinage. A partial dotted border or arc is visible at the upper left margin of the flan. The irregular, slightly off-round flan is characteristic of hand-struck silver tankas of the period. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
These tankas were struck during the years Timur held Mahmud Khan — the last Chaghatayid khan of Moghulistan — as a legitimizing figurehead, placing his name on coinage while retaining all real authority himself. The arrangement was nakedly political: Timur lacked Chinggisid blood, which remained an indispensable qualification for sovereignty across the eastern Islamic world, so a puppet khan provided the dynastic cover his rule required. Astrabad, on the Caspian's southeastern edge, served as a staging point for Timur's campaigns into Persia and the Caucasus throughout this period.