Qazaghan's Puppet

[Sulla80]

My latest post on sullacoins.com) covers a coin that was struck AH757-758 (AD 1356-7) by Amir Wali, ruler of Astarabad (757 - 788 AH / CE 1356 - 1386).  On this early coin he put the name of the Chagatayid Khan  (CE 1356-1357.  It was perhaps politically advantageous to align himself with the descendants of Genghis Khan.

The Amirs of Astarabad emerged as a significant regional power in the early to mid-14th century, around the same time that the Ilkhanate was collapsing and the political landscape of Persia was becoming highly fragmented. The decline of Mongol authority created a power vacuum in the region, allowing various local rulers and factions to establish their own semi-independent states.

Amir Qazaghan, who likely belonged to the Qara’unas (or Negüderi) forces—Mongol troops stationed in the frontier zones—exploited the vacuum of power left by weakening khans. Around 1346, he successfully deposed the ruling Chaghatai Khan, Kazan Khan, and installed a succession of puppet khans while retaining real power in his own hands.

This coin is in the name of Chaghatayid ruler Buyan Qulï Khan (AH 749-760; CE 1348-1359), a 7th-generation descendant of Genghis Khan, and one of the puppet khans who served Qazaghan.  It is a 1/4 tanka (2.58g) on the Delhi Sultanate standard that was struck AH 757-758 (CE 1356-1357).   Bayan-Qulï Khan held titular command of Samarkand.

Steven Album, in Checklist of Islamic Coins, writes:

"During the reign of Buyan Quli Khan (749-760), who was a mere figurehead set up by the effective power-that-be, the amir Qataghan, a number of Iranian rulers struck coins in the name of Buyan Quli, even though direct Chaghatayid influence in the region was inconsequential (#A2009 ff.)."

more can be found here: https://www.sullacoins.com/post/qazaghan-s-puppet

Post coins from the mid-14th century (any continent), coins from the Amirs of Astarabad, coins from the Chaghatayid Khanate - or anything else you find interesting or entertaining.

Edited December 8, 2024 by Sulla80

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I have no examples to share but, like always, I enjoy reading about the history.

[Parthicus]

I have a slightly earlier coin from Astarabad, struck by the Ilkhan ruler Ghazan Mahmud and dated 697 AH.  Note the bird and surface on the reverse.