Identification Guide to Islamic Golden Horde Dangs - Part III (Khans)

[John Conduitt]

This page is part of an identification guide for Golden Horde silver coins:
Introduction
Part I (Dates)
Part II (Mints)

KHANS

Now turn the coin over to the obverse. With such a formulaic design, you’d think the khan would be easy, but no two designs are even close to the same. As you can see below, the shape, placement, size and direction of each word and letter is not fixed. How they joined together varied. If you don’t have a date or a mint, you might have to spend a long time on Zeno.ru matching squiggles.

As with the reverse, it helps to identify the lettering that isn’t the khan. These words are on almost every coin, so won’t help with identification. I’ve listed all the khans who struck coins and illustrated many. Note the khan names and dates, and even the existence of some, are still being debated. I’ve added alternate spellings and ‘bin’ (son of) in places where it gets confusing, although the lineage is often just as confused as the coinage.

If you click on a khan, it will open a search page on Zeno with examples.

Key:
‘Khan’ (خان)
‘Sultan’ (سلطان)
Khan name
‘The Just’ (العدل) or ‘The Supreme’ (الأعلى)
‘Long May He Reign’ (‘Immortalise His Kingdom’, خلد ملكه, or similar)

Muhammad Öz Beg/Uzbek (اوزبیک), AD1313-1341 / AH712-742. Album 2025. Sagdeeva 184-206. Sultan / the Supreme (الأعلى) / Öz Beg Khan:



Jani Beg (جانی بیگ), AD1342-1357 / AH743-758. Album 2027-2029, 2045 (deceased). Sagdeeva 207-270. Perhaps the khan you’re most likely to find. Coins attributed to Jani Beg II from the late 1360s might be posthumous coins of Jani Beg. The first coin reads: Sultan, the Just / Jani Beg Khan. The lattices are decorative ‘eternal knots’. The second coin has a softer, rounded writing style. Inside the circle, it says Jani Beg Khan. Around the circle, it says Khagan (خاقان, Emperor) the Just Jalal ed-din (جلال الدين, the Muslim title ‘Glory of Faith’) Mahmoud (محمود, which was his Muslim name) Sultan:



Berdi Beg (بردی بیگ), AD1357-1359 / AH758-760. Album 2031. Sagdeeva 271-283. Sultan, the Just / Muhammed (محمد) Berdi / Beg Khan:



Qulpa (قلپا خان), AD1359-1360 / AH760-761. Album 2032. Sagdeeva 284-288. Sultan, the Just / Qulpa Khan / ‘Immortalise His Kingdom’ (خلد ملكه):



Nawruz (نوروز بیگ), AD1360 / AH761. Album 2033. Sagdeeva 289-298. Sultan, the Just / Nawruz Beg Khan / ‘Immortalise His Kingdom’ (خلد ملكه): 



Khiḍr/Khizr (خير), AD1360-1361 / AH761-762. Album 2034. Sagdeeva 299-304. Sultan, the Just / Khizr Khan / ‘Immortalise His Kingdom’ (خلد ملكه):




Timur Hodzha/Timur Khwaja (bin Khizr) (تیمور خواجه), AD1361 / AH762. Album 2036. Sagdeeva 305.

Ordu Melik Shaykh (اردو ملک شیخ), AD1361 / AH762. Album 2037. Sagdeeva 306-307. Khan / Ordu Melik / the Just:


Kildi Beg (كيلدي بيك), AD1361-1362 / AH762-763. May be the same person as Qulpa. Album 2038. Sagdeeva 308-312. Khan / Kildi Beg / the Just:



Abdullah Khan ibn Uzbeg (عبد اللہ), AD1362 / AH763-764 (first reign), 1367-1368 / AH769-770 (second reign) and 1369 / AH770-771 (third reign). Album 2041. Sagdeeva 333-346. Sultan, the Just / Abdullah Khan / ‘Immortalise His Kingdom’ (خلد ملكه):



Murid (مراد), AD1362 / AH763-764. Album 2040. Sagdeeva 313-317. Sultan, the Just / Murad Khan / ‘Immortalise His Kingdom’ (خلد ملكه):



Khayr Pulad (خيرپولاد)/Amir Pulad, also Pulad Timur and Pulad Khodzha/Khoja (بولادخودجا), AD1362-1364 / AH765-766. Probably the same person. Not to be confused with the other Pulads below. Album 2043-2044, 2045T. Sagdeeva 318-320. This example is a copper pulo. Sultan, the Just / Khayr Pulad Khan:



Aziz Shaykh (عزیز شیخ), AD1364-1367 / AH766-768. Album 2044. Sagdeeva 321-332. Sultan / the Just Aziz Shaykh / Khan ‘Immortalise His Kingdom’ (خلد ملكه):



Jani Beg II, AD1366 / AH767. Album 2045. Stephen Album considers these posthumous issues of Jani Beg.

Uljay Timur, AD1368 / AH769-770. Album I2046.

Muhammad Bolaq/Ghiyas al-Din Muhammad (محمد), AD1371-1373 / AH772-775 (first reign) and 1374 / AH776-777 (second reign). Not to be confused with other Muhammads. Album 2046. Sagdeeva 347-356. Sultan, the Just / Muhammad Khan / ‘Immortalise His Kingdom’ (خلد ملكه):



Urus (عروس), AD1373 / AH774-775 (first reign) and 1374-1375 / AH775-777 (second reign). Album 2047. Sagdeeva 359-362. Sultan / the Just U / -rus Khan:


Il Beg/Ilbak/Ilfak/Alp Khoja/Alp Khwaja/Ala/Ilbani/Aibek/Alp Beg, AD1374 / AH775-776. The issue from Khwarezm is often described as anonymous from the time of Qongirat Sufi/Kungrads Sufi. See Zeno 49462.

Kagan/Qağan Beg (كاغان بيك)/Kari, AD1375-1377 / AH777-779. Album E2048. Sagdeeva 358.

Arab Shah (عرب شاہ مظفر), AD1377-1380 / AH779-782. Sagdeeva 363-365.

Kunche (العادل كنشا), AD1379-1393 / AH781-796. May not exist.

Tulyak (تولياك), AD1380 / AH781-782. May be the same person as Mohammed Bolaq. Album M2048. Sagdeeva 357. Sultan / the Supreme (الأعلى) Tulyak / Khan ‘Immortalise / His Kingdom’ (خلد ملكه):



Tokhtamysh (توقتمش), AD1380-1395 / AH782-798. A common khan. Album 2048-2049. Sagdeeva 366-453. Sultan, the Just / Tokhtamysh Khan / Immortalise (خلد) His Name (اسمه):



Beg Pulad (بيك بولاد), AD1391-1394 / AH793-796. One of Tokhtamysh’s  generals, he set up an independent authority after Tokhtamysh’s defeat by Timur at the Battle of the Kondurcha River, while Tokhtamysh was still reigning. Not to be confused with other Pulads. (Compare to Pulad below). Album 2051. Sagdeeva 454-460. Sultan / the Just Beg / Pulad Khan:



Tash Timur (تيش تيمور), AD1393-1395 / AH796-797. One of Tokhtamysh’s  generals, he set up an independent authority after Tokhtamysh’s defeat by Timur at the Battle of the Kondurcha River, while Tokhtamysh was still reigning. Album 2050T. Sagdeeva 461-464.

Timur Qutlugh/Timur Qutluq (تیمور قتلغ), AD1397-1399 / AH799-802. Not to be confused with his son, Timur. Album 2052. Sagdeeva 465-471. Sultan, the Just / Timur Qutlugh / Khan ‘Immortalise His Kingdom’ (خلد ملكه):



Beg Qibal, AD1370-1390 / AH771-792 (dates uncertain). May not exist or is under Timur Qutlugh. Album O2048.

Shadi Beg (شادي بك), AD1399-1407 / AH802-810. Album 2053-2054. Sagdeeva 472-489. The first coin is: Sultan, the Supreme (الأعلى) / Shadi Beg / Khan / ‘Allah Immortalised / His Kingdom’ (خلد الله ملكه) / AH807 (٨٠٧). Note that the date is on the obverse. The second coin is Sultan / the Just Sh / adi Beg / Khan:



Pulad (بولاد), AD1407-1409  / AH810-811 (first reign) and 1409-1410 / AH811-813 (second reign). The most common Pulad. (Compare to Beg Pulad above). Album 2055. Sagdeeva 490-503. Sultan, the Just / Pulad / ‘Immortalise His Kingdom’ (خلد ملكه):


Kerim/Karim Berdi (ibn Tokhtamysh) (کریم بردی), AD1409 / AH811-812 (first reign), AD1412-1413 / AH814-816 (second reign) and 1414 / AH816-817 (third reign). Album F2057-G2057. Sagdeeva 511-513.

Timur (bin Timur Qutlugh) (تیمور), AD1410-1411 / AH813-814. Not to be confused with his father, Timur Qutlugh. Album A2056-D2056. Sagdeeva 504-506. Timur / Khan:



Jalal al-Din (ibn Tokhtamysh) (جلال الدین), AD1411-1412 / AH814-815. Album 2056. Sagdeeva 507-510.

Kebek/Kepek/Qibaq (bin Tokhtamysh) (قبق), AD1413-1414 / AH816. Album 2057. Sagdeeva 514-516. The obverse of this coin only says Sultan / the Just. The reverse says Kebek / Khan:


Jabbar Berdi/Yeremferden (جبار بردی), AD1414-1415 / AH817 (first reign) and 1416-1417 / AH 819 (second reign). Album J2057.

Chekre/Chekreh/Chokra (ibn Akhmal) (چکرہ), AD 1415-1416 / AH817-819. Album A2057. Sagdeeva 517-522. Sultan / the Supreme (الأعلى) Khan / Chekre:




Many khans at this time were puppets of Edigü, a powerful leader who did not have the ancestry to be a khan. At times, however, he had competition from Vytautas the Great, ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. While Kerim Berdi was still ruling the Golden Horde, Edigü declared Chekre the new khan, while Vytautas named Jabbar Berdi. Jabbar Berdi killed Kerim Berdi and ruled until Sayyid Ahmad I, son of Kerim, deposed him. Vytautas and Edigü both continued to appoint new khans until 1419, when Kadir Berdi and Edigü were killed in battle.

Said Ahmed I/Sayyid Ahmad I (bin Kerim) (سید احمد اول), AD1417-1418 / AH819. Album S2057.

Dervish/Darwish (درویش), AD1417-1419 / AH819-822. Album A2058-C2058. Sagdeeva 523-536. Sultan / Dervish / Khan / ‘Allah Immortalised His Kingdom’ (خلد الله ملكه):



Kadir Berdi/Qadeer/Qadir Berdi (bin Tokhtamysh) (قدیر بردی), AD1419 / AH822. Album H2058. Sagdeeva 537-544.

Beg Sufi (بيك صوفي), AD1419-1422 / AH822-825. Album N2058-T2058. Sagdeeva 545-548. Sultan / the Just / Beg Sufi / Khan:



Ḥajji Muḥammad (حاجی محمد), AD1419 / AH822. Coins may be under Ulugh Muhammad.

Ulu/Ulugh Muhammad (الغ محمد), AD1419-1421 / AH822-833 (first reign) and 1427-1433 / AH 831-836 (second reign). Not to be confused with other Muhammads. Sagdeeva lists coins with the name Ghiyath al-Din (1423-1425 /AH826-828) separately, but they seem to have been struck under Ulugh Muhammad. Album 2058. Sagdeeva 559-563 and 564-588. Sultan / Mulhammad Khan / the Supreme (الأعلى):



Dawlat/Dailet Berdi (دولت بردی), AD1419-1421 / AH822-833 (first reign) and 1427-1432 / AH 831-836 (second reign). He and his rival Ulugh Muhammad ruled at the same time. Album 2059. Sagdeeva 549-558. Sultan / Dawlat / Berdi / Khan:



Borak/Baraq (ibn Quyurchuq) (برا‍ق), AD1421-1427 / AH825-831. Sagdeeva 589-594.

Said Ahmed II/Sayyid Ahmad II (bin Jabbar Berdi or Jalal ad-Din) (سيد احمد ثان), AD1433-1435 / AH836-839. Album A2063-B2063. Sagdeeva 599. Circle around (degenerated): the Supreme (الأعلى) Sultan. In circle: Said Ahmed Khan:



Küchük Muhammad/Kichi Muhammad/Muhammad bin Timur (کوچک محمد), AD1435-1459 / AH838-864. Not to be confused with other Muhammads. Album 2060. Sagdeeva 595-598.

Mustafa (bin Ghiyath al-Din) (مصطفى), AD1443-1444 / AH847. Album 2062. Sultan / The Supreme (الأعلى) Mustafa / Khan b. Ghiyath / al-Din Khan:



Mahmud (bin Küchük Muhammad bin Timur) (محمود), AD1459-1465 / AH863-870. Album 2061. Sagdeeva 600-602. With the breakup of the Golden Horde and the start of the Great Horde, the Tamga made a comeback and coin identification becomes a little easier again. This coin uses the tamga of Küchük Muhammad, which is on his coins and the khans that followed, as well as the bilingual coins struck at the Genoese colony of Kaffa. Khan / Mahmud bin (محمود بن) / Mohammed Khan bin (محمد خان بن) / Timur (تيمور) / Khan. Tamgha / Struck in / Hajii Tarkhan (حاجی‌ترخان):



Ahmed/Ahmad (bin Muhammad bin Timur) (احمد خان), AD1465-1481 / AH869-886. See the tamga on Mahmud’s coin above. Sagdeeva 603. Sultan / the Supreme (الأعلى) / Beg Sufi / Khan:



Murtadha (مرتضى), AD1488-1490 / AH894-895. Album D2063.


I’ll finish with a curveball – coins featuring the First Kalima. Despite all the text, it has nothing to help you identify the coin (except it’s unusual to find the Kalima on a Golden Horde dang). However, you might recognise it (with those looped bookends on the first line) if you collect Islamic coins. This is a Beg Pulad dang from Orda, 1392. As you can see, the obverse has a run-of-the-mill Sultan / the Just Beg / Pulad Khan legend. But the reverse says ‘There is no God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah’ (لآ اِلَهَ اِلّا اللّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوُل اللّهِ) : 


Once you have the date, khan and/or mint, you can look for the specific coin on Zeno.ru (organized by mint) or Sagdeeva (organized by khan, some of which is replicated on Numista). Coins are usually referenced to an example on Zeno or the Sagdeeva catalogue number.

Edited October 24, 2023 by John Conduitt

[Rand]

Thank you. This is very interesting. 

There are many types spread over time and the expanse of the Golden Horde with variable 'fonts', and they are often poorly struck. This can make reading the inscriptions difficult even for an expert. The size, weight, and styles also vary considerably. Can they be useful to narrow down the attribution?

Were the coins mainly produced for local use or circulated more widely through trade and military campaigns?

[John Conduitt]

41 minutes ago, Rand said:

Thank you. This is very interesting. 

There are many types spread over time and the expanse of the Golden Horde with variable 'fonts', and they are often poorly struck. This can make reading the inscriptions difficult even for an expert. The size, weight, and styles also vary considerably. Can they be useful to narrow down the attribution?

Were the coins mainly produced for local use or circulated more widely through trade and military campaigns?

Generally, the earlier coins are about 1.5g and well struck, often with clear lettering. Towards the end (after Tokhtamysh), they're smaller (0.7-1.0g) and usually more poorly struck, sometimes terribly. It's not foolproof - there are some really nicely struck coins late on, while the weights can vary at times - but it is a guide.

I find it's usually possible to read the earlier ones (it might take a bit of study to get your eye in and spot the different styles). For the later ones you sometimes need to find a close match on Zeno to have any confidence in an attribution, but this is almost always possible, since Zeno has several examples of each coin with the strike in different places.

The silver coins (unlike some of the copper coins) were not specifically for local use. The Russians (Muscovites) even made copies of silver dangs, like this coin copying Gulistan (on the lower Volga), to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. But today you tend to find Qrim coins in the Crimea, for example.

Russian 15th Century Imitation of a Jani Beg Dang, dated 1351/AH752

Muscovy. Silver, 1.01g (the official issue was 1.5g). Mint of Gyulistan / Year / 752. Just Sultan / Jani Beg Khan (cf Sagdeeva 207).

Edited October 24, 2023 by John Conduitt

[JeandAcre]

...Just, this is serious Academia.edu material, and I'm ssure it would get lots of traction there, too.

 

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

Thanks for creating this. Its one of the more informative posts I have seen on this forum and an area I know little about 

[Rand]

28 minutes ago, John Conduitt said:

The Russians (Muscovites) even made copies of silver dangs

Thank you. I did not know about Muscovites. Vladimir Olgerdovich imitated Gulistan mint coins after Lithuanians took over a big chunk of Ukraine from the Horde. Those coins are even smaller (0.3-0.4g). I am keen to buy one but am waiting for a nice one.

[John Conduitt]

10 minutes ago, Rand said:

Thank you. I did not know about Muscovites. Vladimir Olgerdovich imitated Gulistan mint coins after Lithuanians took over a big chunk of Ukraine from the Horde. Those coins are even smaller (0.3-0.4g). I am keen to buy one but am waiting for a nice one.

Ah yes. I saw quite a few such coins of Vladimir Olgerdovich going through Roma over the last few months. I'm guessing they had a hoard to sell as they don't usually come up so often.

[Rand]

12 hours ago, John Conduitt said:

Many khans at this time were puppets of Edigü, a powerful leader who did not have the ancestry to be a khan. At times, however, he had competition from Vytautas the Great, ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. While Kerim Berdi was still ruling the Golden Horde, Edigü declared Chekre the new khan, while Vytautas named Jabbar Berdi. Jabbar Berdi killed Kerim Berdi and ruled until Sayyid Ahmad I, son of Kerim, deposed him. Vytautas and Edigü both continued to appoint new khans until 1419, when Kadir Berdi and Edigü were killed in battle.

This was an exciting and underappreciated period of history that influenced both the East and West.

Vytautas had poor taste in key allies. He married away his only daughter to the Grand Duke of Moscow, who still failed to turn up to the battle Battle of the Vorskla River, which ended up a major defeat for Vytautas. Still, Vytautas managed to hold Ukraine from Tatars and used their trick on him to defeat Teutonic Germans in the Battle of Grunwald. The Battle of Grunwald was the largest European battle of the century, which ended the German hope of expanding to the east.
It is a pity that the coins of Vytautas are so primitive. A child can probably imitate them.