Dirham - 'Ilkhan' Anonymous Tabriz

The anonymous dirham issues of early Ilkhanate Tabriz occupy an awkward transitional moment: the Ilkhans had conquered Persia under Hülegü but had not yet converted to Islam, leaving the ruling authority politically reluctant to stamp a Muslim profession of faith on coinage. These pieces circulated without a ruler's name as a working compromise — functional silver for a newly conquered population, issued by a dynasty still sorting out its religious identity. The conversion of Ghazan Khan in 1295 would eventually resolve the tension and transform Ilkhanid coin design entirely.