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Jital - 'Ala al-din Muhammad Bust
| Issuer | Khwarazmian Empire (Khwarazmian dynasties) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1200-1220 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | Tye#220, Album Islamic#1734.2 |
| Obverse description | A horseman advancing to the left occupies the central field, rendered in the schematic style typical of early 13th-century Central Asian billon coinage. The equestrian figure is contained within a triple border composed of concentric solid, beaded, and solid circular lines. The flan is irregular, as characteristic of hammered issues of this series, and the strike is somewhat worn, partially obscuring fine detail of the rider and mount. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
The Khwarazmian Empire under 'Ala al-din Muhammad II expanded with extraordinary speed in the early thirteenth century, absorbing the Ghurids and pushing into Persia and the Caucasus simultaneously. Billon jitals were the workhorse coinage of this expansion — struck in massive quantities across a patchwork of newly acquired mints, which accounts for the considerable variation in fabric and alloy quality seen across the type.
The empire collapsed with equal speed when the Mongols arrived. After 'Ala al-din Muhammad fled before Genghis Khan's forces in 1220, dying in exile on a Caspian island, the entire monetary infrastructure he had built dissolved within a generation.