Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 124 19-20 Sep 2023
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Khwarizmshahs. 'Ala al-Din Muhammad II. AH 596-617 / AD 1200-1220. AR Dirham (18mm, 3.11 g, 3h). Citing the 'Abbasid caliph al-Nasir. Unnamed (Ghazna) mint. 'Ala al-Dunya/wa al-Din Muhammad/bin Sultan in three lines; border of small pellets between two lines, all within outer line / al-Nasir/al-Din Allah/Commander of the faithful in three lines; border of small pellets between two lines, all within outer line. Tye 207; cf. SNA Tübingen XIVd, 608; Album 1721. Iridescent toning. Near EF. Excellent condition for this type.
This particular issue was the prototype for coins of Chingiz Khan that were struck in Ghazna during the Mongol pursuit of Muhammad's son, Jalal al-Din Mangubarni, who fled south towards India.
INTRODUCTION TO SECTION
An Offering of Mongol and Mongol-Related Coinage
To the Western imagination, the word Mongol conjures visions of ruthless hordes sweeping from the East on horseback. This assessment is accurate, especially for the rise of the Mongol Empire and its founder, Chingiz Khan. Born Temüjin, the son of a Mongol chieftain, Chingiz became sole ruler over the Mongol tribes and adopted the name by which he is remembered in AD 1206. Until his death in AD 1227, Chingiz Khan pursued a policy of conquest – first against the Jin and Xia in China and the Qarakhitai and the Khwarizmshahs in Central Asia – then westward, into Georgia and the Volga River area. Compelled to return to Mongolia to deal with the Jin and Xia, Chingiz died after a fall from his horse.
Following the death in AD 1241 of Ögedei, the son and successor of Chingiz as Great Khan, power struggles arose over the succession to the Mongol Empire. Initially, the position of Great Khan passed to Güyük, Ögdei's son (and grandson of Chingiz). He, in turn, was succeeded by Möngke, the son of Chingiz's son Tolui. With Möngke's death, a war of succession arose, and the Mongol Empire irrevocably disintegrated into four independent khanates as a result. While Möngke's son, Qublai, was nominally Great Khan, he was officially emperor of China and founder of the Yuan dynasty. The others were the Ilkhanate (eastern Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Persia), the Chaghatai Khanate (south of the Aral Sea to the Altai Mountains), and the Golden Horde (northern Black Sea, north of the Aral and Caspian Seas into the Urals). Each of these khanates continued to rule their respective territories until they themselves were replaced through death or conquest.
This particular issue was the prototype for coins of Chingiz Khan that were struck in Ghazna during the Mongol pursuit of Muhammad's son, Jalal al-Din Mangubarni, who fled south towards India.
INTRODUCTION TO SECTION
An Offering of Mongol and Mongol-Related Coinage
To the Western imagination, the word Mongol conjures visions of ruthless hordes sweeping from the East on horseback. This assessment is accurate, especially for the rise of the Mongol Empire and its founder, Chingiz Khan. Born Temüjin, the son of a Mongol chieftain, Chingiz became sole ruler over the Mongol tribes and adopted the name by which he is remembered in AD 1206. Until his death in AD 1227, Chingiz Khan pursued a policy of conquest – first against the Jin and Xia in China and the Qarakhitai and the Khwarizmshahs in Central Asia – then westward, into Georgia and the Volga River area. Compelled to return to Mongolia to deal with the Jin and Xia, Chingiz died after a fall from his horse.
Following the death in AD 1241 of Ögedei, the son and successor of Chingiz as Great Khan, power struggles arose over the succession to the Mongol Empire. Initially, the position of Great Khan passed to Güyük, Ögdei's son (and grandson of Chingiz). He, in turn, was succeeded by Möngke, the son of Chingiz's son Tolui. With Möngke's death, a war of succession arose, and the Mongol Empire irrevocably disintegrated into four independent khanates as a result. While Möngke's son, Qublai, was nominally Great Khan, he was officially emperor of China and founder of the Yuan dynasty. The others were the Ilkhanate (eastern Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Persia), the Chaghatai Khanate (south of the Aral Sea to the Altai Mountains), and the Golden Horde (northern Black Sea, north of the Aral and Caspian Seas into the Urals). Each of these khanates continued to rule their respective territories until they themselves were replaced through death or conquest.