Great Mongols. temp. Töregene Khatun. Regent, AH 639-644 / AD 1241-1246. AR 10-Dirhams (31mm, 28.31 g, 12h). Struck in the name of the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Musta‘sim (AH 640-656). Al-Balad al-Kurraman mint. Dated AH 641 (AD 1243/4). Good VF.

Islamic Auction 4 – Session 1
Lot: 200. Estimated: $ 15 000

Post-Mongol Dynasties, Silver

Sold For $ 11 000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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Great Mongols. temp. Töregene Khatun. Regent, AH 639-644 / AD 1241-1246. AR 10-Dirhams (31mm, 28.31 g, 12h). Struck in the name of the ‘Abbasid caliph al-Musta‘sim (AH 640-656). Al-Balad al-Kurraman mint. Dated AH 641 (AD 1243/4). Obverse: al-Musta‘sim / billah Amir / al-Mu’minin in three lines, within square frame, floral ornaments in segments / Reverse: duriba hadha / fi al-balad / al-Kurraman in three lines within square frame; bi-Tarikh sana - t ihda - wa arba‘in - wa sitt mi’at in segments . Cf. Triton XXII (8 January 2019), lot 1234 (same dies). Attractively toned. Good VF. Very rare, probably the finest of the handful of specimens known.

Ex Triton XXIV (19 January 2021), lot 1232.

This handsome 10-dirham piece represents an important period in Mongol history. Following the Mongol conquest of eastern Afghanistan in AH 618 (AD 1221/2), the inhabitants of al-Kurraman, a river district in what are today the tribal borderlands between Afghanistan and Pakistan, showed their allegiance to the Mongols by striking coinage in the name of the Great Khan. Following the death of Ögedei Khan in AH 639 (AD 1241), a period of turmoil followed while the succession was resolved. Ögedei Khan's wife, Töregene (Turakina) became regent, serving until her son Güyük was elected Great Khan in AH 644 (AD 1246). During her regency, Töregene ruled with complete authority as Great Khatun – the female counterpart to the Great Khan. On this coin, however, neither Töregene's name or title appears, and from a numismatic perspective it may therefore be classified as an ‘Abbasid issue, since the only issuing authority named is the caliph al-Musta‘sim.

While Kurraman appears to have enjoyed at least some autonomy during this period, the district was still very much under Mongol influence. During this uncertain period among their Mongol overlords, the al-Kurraman mint may have felt it prudent to strike a non-partisan issue in the name of the current ‘Abbasid caliph. We can conjecture that these splendid pieces may have been used as tribute to the caliph in Baghdad, as payment for soldiery employed by Töregene, or to buy the loyalty of the locals.



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