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TYRANT COLLECTION
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321
Aq Qoyunlu
Silver Light Tanka (3.63g), No Date
Murad, Aq Qoyunlu Sultan, AH 905-914/AD 1499-1508
A 2554. Very Fine.
Amul mint. Name and titles of Murad, mint name in cartouche; Reverse, Shi’ite Kalima. Unusual type
with the first portion of the Kalima engraved correctly but the Shi’ite addition ‘
Ala wali Allah
retrograde.
Amul is a city in present day Mazadanran province, Iran.
322
Safavids
Gold Ashrafi (3.43g), No Date
Isma’il, Safavid Shah of Iran, AH 907-930/AD 1501-1524
A 2569. Choice Very Fine.
Ardabil mint. Name and titles of Isma’il, mint name and
‘adl
(“just”) in cartouche; Reverse, Shi’ite
Kalima, names of the 12 Imams around, forming square-in-diamond design. Ardbil is a city in northwest
Iran and was the spiritual capital of the Safavid dynasty.
The Safavid Shah Isma’il (AH 930-984/ AD 1524-1576) is the founder of Safavid Empire of Persia.
He began to unify Persia and re-assert the Iranian/ Persian identity of the region. In this effort, he made
Shia Islam the official religion of Persia. He was the grandson of Uzun Hasan thus inherited loyalties of
many who were in Hasan’s service. Isma’il was able to defeat the Uzbeks in northeast Persia but his main
adversary was the Ottoman Turks in the West. In 1514, Isma’il engaged the Ottomans and was badly
defeated. This loss which was primarily due to the Ottomans using guns and gun powder, which com-
pletely changed the character of warfare. Ardabil, where this coin was minted, was the spiritual capital
of the Safavids and the home of the dynastic founder Safi. The establishment of the Safavid kingdom is
considered by historians to mark the beginning of modern Iran.