What is the Ilkhanid-era Silver Dirham?

Reformed coinage after Ghazan's conversion; bilingual issues. It was struck in 1296–1304 CE at Kerman (Qutlughkhanid) under Citing Ghazan Khan as overlord.

What metal and weight is the Ilkhanid-era Silver Dirham?

Silver, weighing approximately ~2.5 g.

Persian Treasury

فارسی11 eras

Arab-Sasanian & Early Islamic

Ilkhanid-era Silver Dirham

Reformed coinage after Ghazan's conversion; bilingual issues.

Key specifications for Ilkhanid-era Silver Dirham
Date	1296–1304 CE
Ruler / issuer	Citing Ghazan Khan as overlord
Mint	Kerman (Qutlughkhanid)
Metal	Silver
Weight	~2.5 g
Era	Arab-Sasanian & Early Islamic (651 – 1258 CE)
Region	Caliphate provinces of Iran

Obverse

Shahada in square frame (post-conversion to Islam).

Reverse

Ghazan's titles in Arabic.

Historical context — Arab-Sasanian & Early Islamic

Arab governors continued striking Sasanian-style drachms with added Arabic Kufic legends (bismillah). Abd al-Malik's reform (696/77 AH) introduced epigraphic-only Islamic coinage — the silver dirham and gold dinar.

Read the full Arab-Sasanian & Early Islamic essay →

Frequently asked

What is the Ilkhanid-era Silver Dirham?: Reformed coinage after Ghazan's conversion; bilingual issues. It was struck in 1296–1304 CE at Kerman (Qutlughkhanid) under Citing Ghazan Khan as overlord.
What metal and weight is it?: Silver, weighing approximately ~2.5 g.
What designs appear on it?: Obverse: Shahada in square frame (post-conversion to Islam). Reverse: Ghazan's titles in Arabic.

Tahirid Silver Dirham

Tahir ibn Husayn

821–822 CE (AH 206)

Tahir founded the first quasi-independent Iranian Islamic dynasty in Khorasan (821–873), nominally loyal to the Abbasid caliph.

Saffarid Silver Dirham

Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar

861–879 CE

The 'Coppersmith' rose from a militia leader in Sistan to ruling Iran from Fars to Khorasan — founder of the Saffarid dynasty and a hero of Iranian self-rule against the Abbasids.

Buyid Silver Dirham

'Adud al-Dawla (Buyid)

AH 372 (982–983 CE)

The Buyids (934–1062) controlled the caliph in Baghdad while openly using Persian royal titulature on their coinage — a deliberate Iranian revival.

Great Mongol Dirham — Bukhara

Möngke Khan (in name of Great Khan)

AH 651–658 / 1253–1260 CE

Pre-Ilkhanate Mongol coinage of Iran and Transoxiana, struck before Hulagu's conversion of his line to a Persian-style sultanate. Image: related Ilkhanid dirham.

Qarakhanid Multiple Dirham — Samarqand

Qadir Khan Yusuf

AH 415–425 / 1024–1034 CE

First major Turkic Islamic dynasty east of the Oxus. Their billon dirhams reflect the chronic silver shortage ('silver famine') that plagued the eastern Islamic world from the late 10th century. Image: related Ghaznavid gold dinar.