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TYRANT COLLECTION
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302
Ilkhans
Gold Dinar (8.47g), AH 733
Abu Sa’id, Mongol Ilkhan of Persia, AH 716-736/AD 1316-1335
SICA-9, 671 (same dies); Album 2212. Extremely Fine.
Jurjan mint. Within looped octofoil,
duriba / al-sultan al-a’zam / Abu Sa’id bahadur khan / khalld Allah
mulkahu / Jurjan,
date in margin segments. Reverse, octofoil containing Kalima, the Rashidun around.
Jurjan, also known as Gorgan, is located on the southeast shore of the Caspian Sea in Iran.
303
Ilkhans
Gold Dinar (6.08g), AH 736
Arpa Ga’un, Mongol Ilkhan of Persia, AH 736/AD 1335-1336
AM2221. Choice Very Fine.
Bazar mint (6.08gm), citing Arpa as
al-sultan al-a’zam / Arpa khan khallad Allah / mulkahu wa dawlata,
date and mint around; Reverse, Kalima in spiral Kufic, the Rashidun around, each name highlighted with
stars. Extremely rare.
WhenAbu-Sa’id died in 1335 without leaving a male heir, Arpa Ga’un, a descendant of Hulagu’s brother
Ariq Bugha, was nominated as Ilkhan. Almost immediately, he faced an invasion by Uzbek Khan of the
Golden Horde. Arpa defeated Uzbek Khan and used the invasion as a pretext to execute the widow of
Abu Sa’id, Bagdad Khatun, in order to cement his position. He quickly made enemies, treating the amirs
with contempt. Arpa’s rivals nominated a puppet ruler, Musa Khan, to replace him. Conflict among the
amirs led to a civil war which Arpa Khan looked likely to win, but, after a reign of no more than six
months, he was defeated and executed.