Roma Numismatics Ltd
Auction XVIII 29 Sep 2019
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Mongols, Great Khans, time of Töregene Khatun (Regent, AH 639-644 / AD 1241-1246) AR 10 Dirhams. Balad al-Kurraman mint, AH 641 = AD 1243. In the name of the Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim billah. Al-musta'sim, billah amir, al-mu'minin, in three lines within square with floral ornaments in each of the four marginal segments, within double linear and pelleted border / duriba hadha, fi'l-balad, al-kurraman, in three lines within square; the date arranged in the margin: bi-tarikh sana, ihda, (wa) arba'in, wa sitmi'a within double linear and pelleted border. Album -; ICV -; Nyamaa -; cf. Zeno 148091 = NGSA VIII, lot 289 (same dies); cf. Triton XXII, lot 1234 (same dies); Stephen Album Rare Coins 34, lot 877 (same dies). 28.38g, 31mm, 11h.
Good Very Fine; without areas of flat strike, the finest example of only four reported. Exceedingly Rare and previously unpublished until the appearance of the Numismatica Genevensis SA coin.
From the Professor Shir Mohammad Collection.
This 10 dirhams is the fourth reported (all from the same pair of dies) and surely the finest specimen known without defects. Unlike the other three which appeared in the respective auctions mentioned above, our piece is fully centred, without any flaws and with a bold strike.
The coin was struck during the reign of Ögedei Khan's wife, Töregene Khatun, the first empress regent of the Mongols. A period of turmoil followed the death of Ögedei Khan in AH 639 while the assembly of Mongol elites (quriltai) debated who to elect as the next Khan. Ögedei's intended heir had been his third son Köchü who in the event predeceased him. His second choice was Köchü's eldest son, Shiremün, whom he raised following the death of his father with the intention of him becoming the next Khan. Following Ögedei's death, his wife Töregene and others objected to Shiremün, instead supporting Güyük, the eldest son of Ögedei. While a decision was being reached by the quriltai it was agreed that since Töregene was the mother of the sons with the right to khanate she should act as regent. The contemporary writer Ata Malik Juvayni suggested that her appointment was due to her diplomatic ability, saying that she was 'a very shrewd and capable woman, and her position was greatly strengthened by this unity and concord' (Tārīkh-i jahān-gushā II, p. 196). She was able to rule and successfully subdue resistance to her reign by viziers and even some members of her own family for five years before she was content that the stage was set for her son Güyük to become Great Khan.
On this coin we do not see Töregene's name or titles, instead the coin cites the contemporary living sunní spiritual leader, the Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim. It was struck at al-Kurraman, a city located in Pakistan close to the modern border with Afghanistan. Previously the mint at al-Kurraman had shown its allegiance to the Mongols following the conquest of eastern Afghanistan in AH 618 (AD 1221/2) by striking coinage in the name of the Great Khan. The decision not to strike a coin with the name of the regent Töregene could reflect a desire to remain non-partisan during the period of turmoil following the death of Ögedei Khan. The mint was active only briefly from the late Ghorid period (circa AH 590s) until this current issue, apparently the last dated coin from the mint. The coins of this issue are now extremely rare since they were mostly melted and reused soon after production.
Good Very Fine; without areas of flat strike, the finest example of only four reported. Exceedingly Rare and previously unpublished until the appearance of the Numismatica Genevensis SA coin.
From the Professor Shir Mohammad Collection.
This 10 dirhams is the fourth reported (all from the same pair of dies) and surely the finest specimen known without defects. Unlike the other three which appeared in the respective auctions mentioned above, our piece is fully centred, without any flaws and with a bold strike.
The coin was struck during the reign of Ögedei Khan's wife, Töregene Khatun, the first empress regent of the Mongols. A period of turmoil followed the death of Ögedei Khan in AH 639 while the assembly of Mongol elites (quriltai) debated who to elect as the next Khan. Ögedei's intended heir had been his third son Köchü who in the event predeceased him. His second choice was Köchü's eldest son, Shiremün, whom he raised following the death of his father with the intention of him becoming the next Khan. Following Ögedei's death, his wife Töregene and others objected to Shiremün, instead supporting Güyük, the eldest son of Ögedei. While a decision was being reached by the quriltai it was agreed that since Töregene was the mother of the sons with the right to khanate she should act as regent. The contemporary writer Ata Malik Juvayni suggested that her appointment was due to her diplomatic ability, saying that she was 'a very shrewd and capable woman, and her position was greatly strengthened by this unity and concord' (Tārīkh-i jahān-gushā II, p. 196). She was able to rule and successfully subdue resistance to her reign by viziers and even some members of her own family for five years before she was content that the stage was set for her son Güyük to become Great Khan.
On this coin we do not see Töregene's name or titles, instead the coin cites the contemporary living sunní spiritual leader, the Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim. It was struck at al-Kurraman, a city located in Pakistan close to the modern border with Afghanistan. Previously the mint at al-Kurraman had shown its allegiance to the Mongols following the conquest of eastern Afghanistan in AH 618 (AD 1221/2) by striking coinage in the name of the Great Khan. The decision not to strike a coin with the name of the regent Töregene could reflect a desire to remain non-partisan during the period of turmoil following the death of Ögedei Khan. The mint was active only briefly from the late Ghorid period (circa AH 590s) until this current issue, apparently the last dated coin from the mint. The coins of this issue are now extremely rare since they were mostly melted and reused soon after production.