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TYRANT COLLECTION
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333
Safavids
Silver Abbasi, AH 1044
Safi I, Safavid Shah of Iran, AH 1038-1052/AD 1629-1642
KM 134.3; A 2638.2. Fine.
Baghdad mint, type B. Persian,
hast as jan gholam-e Shah Safi
“from his soul he is the slave of Shah
Safi”, mint and date; Reverse, Shi’ite Kalima. The obverse phrase refers not to the reigning shah but to
Safi al-Din Ardabili (1252-1334), the eponymous founder of the Safavid line. Rare.
Safi I was the Safavid Shah of Iran from 1629 to1642. The Ottomans had suffered major defeats in the
Ottoman-Safavid wars of 1623-1629 at the hands of Safi’s grandfather Shah ‘Abbas the Great. That kept
the Ottomans at bay. However upon the accession of Safi to the throne, the Ottomans began another
round of invasion, counting on the reputed weakness of the new king. Safi, fearful of various plots
against the throne, began executing members of royal family as well as high ranking generals. Despite
the chaos at court the Safavid generals were able to push the Ottomans out of Baghdad. Safi was a heavy
imbiber of wine. He hated managing affairs of state and eventually drank himself to death.
334
Ottoman Empire
Silver Beshlik, AH 1049
Ibrahim, Ottoman Sultan, AH 1049-1058/AD 1640-1648
Pere 436; A 1379. Extremely Fine.
Qustantiniyah (Constantinople) mint. Tughra and
Ibrahim bin Ahmed khan
; Reverse,
duriba
in central
cartouche,
khallad mulkahu
above, mint and date below.