Timurid & Safavid

Shah Abbas I 'the Great' — Mashhad

Shah Abbas built modern Iran — a centralised administration, the relocated capital at Isfahan, and a silk monopoly that drew European trading companies. The 'abbasi' silver coin (~7.7 g) bearing his name became the gold standard of Indian Ocean trade for two centuries.

Key specifications for Shah Abbas I 'the Great' — Mashhad
Date	1588–1629 CE
Ruler / issuer	Shah Abbas I
Mint	Mashhad
Metal	Silver
Era	Timurid & Safavid (1370 – 1736 CE)
Region	Greater Iran

Obverse

Shia kalima with Twelve Imams.

Reverse

Abbas's titles 'al-Sultan al-'Adil... Shah Abbas al-Husayni al-Musavi' and Mashhad mint name.

Historical context — Timurid & Safavid

Timurid rulers struck shahrukhi silver coins, Safavid shahs introduced the abbasi and shahi denominations with exquisite Nastaliq calligraphy and Shia inscriptions.

Read the full Timurid & Safavid essay →

Frequently asked

What is the Shah Abbas I 'the Great' — Mashhad?: Shah Abbas built modern Iran — a centralised administration, the relocated capital at Isfahan, and a silk monopoly that drew European trading companies. The 'abbasi' silver coin (~7.7 g) bearing his name became the gold standard of Indian Ocean trade for two centuries. It was struck in 1588–1629 CE at Mashhad under Shah Abbas I.
What metal and weight is it?: Silver.
What designs appear on it?: Obverse: Shia kalima with Twelve Imams. Reverse: Abbas's titles 'al-Sultan al-'Adil... Shah Abbas al-Husayni al-Musavi' and Mashhad mint name.

Timur Silver Tanka

Timur (Tamerlane)

AH 795 / 1393 CE

Struck in Timur's name while nominally honouring the Chagatai khan — the silver tanka standard he established was inherited by his successors and later the Safavids.

Ulugh Beg Silver Tanka

Ulugh Beg

AH 850–853 / 1447–1449 CE

Ulugh Beg — astronomer-king and grandson of Timur — issued tankas continuing the high silver standard of his father Shah Rukh's shahrukhi.

Safavid 20 Shahi (Isfahan, 1690)

Shah Suleiman I

AH 1101 / 1690 CE

Heavy ceremonial multiple of the shahi denomination, struck at the Safavid capital. Continues the Shia-doctrinal coinage type first standardised by Shah Ismail I in 1501.

Safavid Silver Abbasi

Shah Suleiman I (Safavid)

1666–1694 CE

The denomination 'abbasi' was named after Shah Abbas I (1588–1629) and remained the standard Safavid silver trade coin across the Persian Gulf for over a century.

Coin of Shah Sultan Husayn

Sultan Husayn

1694–1722 CE

Last great Safavid issues before the Afghan siege of Isfahan (1722).

Shah Ismail I Silver Shahi — Tabriz

Shah Ismail I (founder)

1501–1524 CE

First coinage of the Safavid empire from its founding capital. Shah Ismail's elevation of Twelver Shi'ism to state religion in 1501 was an act of historic religious transformation, and his coins are its first physical declaration.

Source

Commons – Shah Abbas I, Mashhad →