What metal and weight is the Qara Qoyunlu Silver Tanka — Tabriz?

Silver, weighing approximately ~5 g.

Timurid & Safavid

Qara Qoyunlu Silver Tanka — Tabriz

The Qara Qoyunlu ('Black Sheep') Turkmen briefly ruled western Iran and Iraq, and were displaced by the Aq Qoyunlu in 1467. Jahan Shah is famous as builder of the Blue Mosque of Tabriz. Image: related Aq Qoyunlu Tabriz gold.

Key specifications for Qara Qoyunlu Silver Tanka — Tabriz
Date	AH 841–872 / 1438–1467 CE
Ruler / issuer	Jahan Shah
Mint	Tabriz
Metal	Silver
Weight	~5 g
Era	Timurid & Safavid (1370 – 1736 CE)
Region	Greater Iran

Obverse

Shia kalima in central panel — an early formal Shia coinage from a Turkmen dynasty.

Reverse

'al-Sultan al-A'zam Jahanshah' with mint and date.

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 Qara Qoyunlu Silver Tanka — Tabriz?: The Qara Qoyunlu ('Black Sheep') Turkmen briefly ruled western Iran and Iraq, and were displaced by the Aq Qoyunlu in 1467. Jahan Shah is famous as builder of the Blue Mosque of Tabriz. Image: related Aq Qoyunlu Tabriz gold. It was struck in AH 841–872 / 1438–1467 CE at Tabriz under Jahan Shah.
What metal and weight is it?: Silver, weighing approximately ~5 g.
What designs appear on it?: Obverse: Shia kalima in central panel — an early formal Shia coinage from a Turkmen dynasty. Reverse: 'al-Sultan al-A'zam Jahanshah' with mint and date.

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.

Aq Qoyunlu Gold Coin

Baysunghur (Aq Qoyunlu)

1490–1493 CE

The Aq Qoyunlu ('White Sheep' Turkmen) ruled western Iran from Tabriz before being overthrown by Shah Ismail I and the Safavids in 1501.

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.

Source

Wikipedia – Qara Qoyunlu →