GREAT MONGOLS Chingis Khan 1206-1227 AD dirham
$125.00
GREAT MONGOLS, Chingis Khan, 1206-1227 AD, dirham, no date, Obverse: AL KHAQAN AL ‘ADIL AL ‘AZAM, Reverse: AL-NASIR AL-DIN ALLAH AMIR AL-MUMINEEN, billon, 17mm, 4.13g, A1969, T329, part weak, F
1 in stock
Description
For many decades this was thought to be the only coin struck on behalf of Chingis, but in recent decades many more have been published. All of the others are very rare.
Chingis Khan united the disorganized Mongol polity by charisma and good planning. One day he sent an embassy to the Khwarezmshah, asking for a trading relationship. The Khwarezmshah, ruler of the largest Central Asian realm at the time, insulted the ambassadors and sent them back. Chingis embarked on a career of conquest that continued through two successors and created the largest empire ever created by humans. It worked, sort of, for a while, then normal dynastic succession issues came up and the empire collapsed.
The term “Islamic coins” refers to coins made by Muslim governments from the time of the first caliphs to an end point in time that varies with the particular country being considered, but is generally some time from the 17th to 19th century. There is a geographic exclusion: India and points east are generally considered separately. The main reference used here is “Checklist of Islamic Coins,” by Stephen Album.