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Dirham - 'Ilkhan' Arghun Khan
| Issuer | Ilkhanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1289 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Central field bearing the Kalima (Islamic declaration of faith) inscribed in multiple lines of bold Arabic script within a beaded border. The mint name and date are disposed in the surrounding marginal legend. A small circular hole is visible near the upper right of the field, indicating post-mint piercing for use as an ornament or pendant. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | 688 (1289) - Tabriz mint |
| Additional information |
Arghun Khan ruled the Ilkhanate from 1284 to 1291 and spent much of his reign attempting to forge a Franco-Mongol alliance with European Christian powers against the Mamluk Sultanate — a diplomatic project that consumed enormous energy and ultimately produced nothing. He dispatched at least three embassies westward, including the famous mission of Rabban Sauma to Rome and Paris in 1287–88, just a year or two before this dirham was struck.
Arghun was Buddhist, which makes the Islamic formula on his coinage a purely political convention inherited from Ilkhanid administrative necessity rather than personal conviction.