Some Aq Qoyunlu and Safavid Copper Coins of Jahrom

Journal of the oriental Numismatic Society No. 247 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSR ISSN 1818-1252 I ‫ا‬ Editor Karan Singh ii ‫زل‬ ;I ‫ص‬ r / Spring 2022 CONTENTS OF JOURNAL 247 Page Silver Coins of Jajapella King Gopala Deva ~ Karan Singh 3 Some Aq Qoyunlu and Safavid Copper Coins of Jahrom ~ Seyed Omid Mohammadi and Reza Ghanaatpishe 6 Pucka Pice in Fatehpur District 1839: The Wide and Long-lasting Circulation of Awadh’s Coppers ~ Jan Lingen and Jan Lucassen 9 Catalogue of the Coins of the Bengal Presidency – Part III ~ Paul Stevens and Robert Johnston 16 Book Review: Erach Rediscovered: Coins, Inscriptions, Seals and Sealings (Om Prakash Lal Srivastava) ~ Karan Singh 45 ONS News 46 From the Editor This bumper issue is my 16th volume as Editor. It has been an incredible journey these past four years, bringing you the best and latest research in Oriental numismatics. The Journal is now in colour, it is peer-reviewed to ensure the quality of the research that we publish, and it is issued four times a year. In our members’ survey conducted last November, 96% of you rated the Journal as the most valuable benefit of being an ONS member. My thanks go to all our members who have supported this publication with their articles and reviews. I am now stepping down as Editor and am proud to leave the Journal in this strong position. I look forward to my successor taking it to even greater heights, and to many more years of ground-breaking numismatic research. Karan Singh JONS Vol. 247, Spring 2022 2 SOME AQ QOYUNLU AND SAFAVID COPPER COINS OF JAHROM Seyed Omid Mohammadi and Reza Ghanaatpishe The city of Jahrom in Iran has a long history of minting coins that goes back to the Sasanian era. However, after the Arab conquest of Iran, it took the city a long time to start minting coins again. Although some Aq Qo inlu and Safavid silver coins of Jahrom are known to numismatists and collectors, no copper coins have been reported until now. Thus, to address this knowledge gap, this article introduces several copper coins locally minted in the city of Jahrom in these periods. ^ Copper coins This article presents coins in multiple series that do not necessarily follow a corcect temporal order, because most of the specimens have no date or are heavily damaged to the point that no definite reading of the date can be offered. Furthemore, all of them are anonymous, locally-minted coins with no names. Each coin's weight, diameter, and thickness are reported respectively, whenever possible. The first series bears a legend that reads as ‫ ﻋﺪل دﺑﺎن دل‬/ Adi Sultan Adil, meaning ‘the justice of the just king’. On the other side ‫ ﻏﺮب ص‬/ Zarb Jahrom can be seen (Figs. 2 and 3). ^ \f I ‫ﻟﻢ‬. ٠zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcb ،1،zyxwv I ‫ى‬ Historical background A :١١ Jahrom is located 190 km southeast of Shiraz in Fars province, th Iran. Until AH 8 centtiry, many historical sources briefly described Jahrom using the same infomation from sources before them, and some talked about its famous handicrafts, Fig. 2. Aq Qoyunlu, anonymous, AEfals, Jahrom, 2.5 g, including carets, rugs, and perfiimes (Qazwini AH740 (1340): 20 mm, 1.4 mm 135). After that, there was a long gap with no mention of the city, and it took some time till Jahrom reappeared in written sources. This time, its palm trees and high-quality dates were mentioned (Majdi AH1004 (1595): 795), which have remained the key feattires of the city to this day. Sedaghat Kish used the average age of palm trees to estimate that this critical ttiming point for the city started sometime around AH 800 (Sedaghat Kish 2010: 59). This date approximately coincides with the rise of Aq Qoyunlu sultans. So, maybe it is not surprising to see that many coins struck in Jahrom were from this period, as something important Fig. 3. Aq Qoyunlu, anonymous, AEfals, Jahrom, 2.83 g, 24 mm, 1.2 mm was probably happening there. Almost all silver coins of this period assigned to Jahrom are countermarked issues with the city's name on them. Examples of these coins from the reign of Although these coins bear no date, other specimens with precise dates exist (Figs. 4 and 5). This legend was used on copper coins Aq Qo nlu rulers Hasan (AH 857-882), Rustam (AH 897-902), and Murad (Album 2555.2, anonymous issues dated AH 906in cities of Fars province, including Shiraz, Sheikh Murshed (Kazerun), Jahrom, and possibly others, and some known dates 908) have been reported till now (Mohammadi 2021: 11-12‫؛‬ are AH 874, 875, 888, and 902. Even though these coins show Album 2011: 273). After that, in the Safavid era, Jahrom-minted coins reappeared. an exact date, like other civic copper coins of Iran, it is better not For example, one silver shahi dated AH 914 (Baldwin’s Islamic to assign them to a specific ruler, because a change in the ruler 1/ Coin Auction 14, Lot 474) and azyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA had practically little to no effect on the design of these local 2 pul (Fig. 1) were both struck by Shah Isma'il I in Jahrom. In the Safavid era, many traders and coins. It would suffice to say that these go back to the time of travelers visited Iran, and one main travel route was from the the Aq Qoyunlu mlers. port of Bandar Abbas to Lar, Jahrom, Shiraz and then Isfahan. This was called the spice trade route, and as Jahrom was sittiated near it, many foreign travelers visited the city and mentioned it ‫ء‬ : in their books. For instance, travelers reported a stone-paved route in Alborz-Kuh, which was the only way to cross the mountain (Silva Y Figueroa 1614: 106-7‫ ؛‬Chardin). In fact, small parts of this road are still intact. Unfortunately, written sources do not report any facts about Fig. 4. Aq Qoyunlu, anonymous, AEfals, Shiraz, AH 888, the monetary system and coins used in Jahrom. Even after all 1.50 g these years, no copper coins have been assigned to Jahrom, which is odd regarding the importance of trade in this city. Additionally, none of the recent numismatic references reported Jahrom as a Safavid mint either (Diler 2009‫ ؛‬Tabataba’i 1976‫؛‬ Ghaeeni 2009). Hopeftilly, this article will change that by ‫ب؛؟‬s، introducing numerous copper coins. ٠ ٢ • / ? ^ ٠ I ‫ت‬ ‫اي‬ ‫اء‬ Fig. 1. Safavid, Isma'11, AR 1/2 pul, Jahrom, 2.70 g, 17 mm Zeno #226624) JONS Vol. 247, Spring 2022 Fig. 5. Aq Qoyunlu, anonymous, AEfals, Shiraz, AH 902, 1.42 g The coins of the next series are somewhat similar, though this time, the legend is only ‫ ﻋﺪل ﻣﺴﺎن‬/ Adi Sultan, meaning ‘the king's justice’. The other side again reads as ‫ ﻏﺮب ﺟﮭﺮم‬/ Zarb Jahrom, and bears no date. Two specimens are illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 - their design is unique as the legends are written in circles on both sides of the coins. This design, consisting of circles, surrounded by curly lines on one side and straight pointy lines on the other, bears a fascinating resemblance to a shining sun, as shown in Fig. 8. Another fact is that the same sun-like design was used on a similar coin of Shiraz (Fig. 9), which is interesting regarding the great variety that these local copper coins typically have. Similar to the Jahrom specimens, this Shiraz coin bears no name or date either. Another design to talk about is made up of two intertwined triangles, similar to the Star of David. With a different style, such a hexagram can also be seen on copper coins of Aq Qo mnlu, Uthman, minted in Tabriz. Achially, this design does not often reoccur on Iranian coins. However, like former examples, there is a slight possibility that it can be interpreted as a shining sun here. Fig. 12. shows ‫ ﺿﺮب ﺟﮭﺮم‬/ ZarbJahrom written inahexagram. Also, there is another triangle on the coin's obverse, which, unfortunately, is not readable. The only sure thing about it is a ‫ ش‬letter which could be ... ‫ ﺷﺎه‬/ Shah ..., followed by the name of a king, or ‫ ﻋﺪل ﺷﺎه‬/ Adi Shah, which is a known legend on Safavid coins and countermarks. Additionally, parts of a marginal legend are visible. The coin in Fig. 13 is also stylistically similar, though this time, only ‫ ﺟﮭﺮم‬Jahfvm is written on it, maybe because it is smaller and has almost l /3rd of the former specimen's weight. Aether these rtvo are connected or not remains to be seen in the future when better specimens come to light. ^ Fig. 6. Aq Qoyunlu , anonymous , AE fals, Jahrom, 2 g, 17 mm, 1.7 mm ٠ *‫؛‬، : ٠ U I • Fig. 7. Aq Qoyunlu, anonymous, AE fals , Jahrom, 2.30 g, 23 mm, 1.5 mm ^ Fig. 12. Anonymous, AE als, Jahrom, 1.52 g, 20 mm, 1 mm V* ‫ا‬ • ! ۶‫؛‬ ‫؛‬ Fig. 13. Anonymous, AE als, Jahrom, 0.57 g, 11.5 mm, 0.8mm Fig. 8. Sun-like design used on copper coins ‘ Fig. 14. Hexagrams used on Jahrom copper coins The next category is dedicated to pictorial coins. Fig. 15 illustrates a coin with a strange-looking lion standing right on the obverse and ‫ ﺟﮭﺮم‬Jahrom on reverse. Furthermore, there seems to be something on top of the lion, but unforhinately it is hard to define whether it is a word, a part of the design, or even a sun maybe. Fig. 16 is similar, but the nature of the obverse desi is not clear . Fig. 9. Aq Qoyunlu, anonynrous, AE . fals , Shiraz There also exist some tiny coins that only bear the writing ‫ض‬ ‫ ﺟﮭﺮم‬/ Adi Jahrom, sometimes in a very cmde style. On the reverse, an unclear spiral design can be seen (Figs. 10 and 11). ^ * Fig. 10. Anonymous, AEjals, Jahrom, 0.43 g, 5.9 mm, 1 mm 4 Fig. 15. Anonymous, AEjalus, Jahrom, 4.14 g, 16.5 m.m, 2.8 mm Fig. 11. Anonymous, AEfals, Jahrom, 0.36 g, 8 mm, 1.4 mm JONS Vol. 247, Spring 2022 7 . w ‫ﻣﻲ‬ *،rzyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXW -٠, 9 Fig. 15 ‫و‬ 11 Fig. 17 Fig. 16. Anonymous, AE falus, Jahrom, 4.70 g, 17 mm, 3 mm Finally, some Jahrom-minted copper coins show the famous lion and sun motif seen on various civic copper coins of Iran, with Safavid and Qajar being the most common. The style of the lion suggests that the following coins are from the Safavid era. The coin in Fig. 17 shows a right-facing lion and sun on the obverse, and ‫ ﺟﮭﺮم‬/ Jahrom accompanied by a date 1110? on the reverse, while the one in Fig. 18 has a left-facing lion and sun, with a legend that reads as ‫ ﻣﺲ ﻋﺪل ﺟﮭﺮم‬/ falus AdlJahrom. Also, it is noteworthy to mention that the frill face on the sun is illusfrated on the latter coin. ‫ﻋﮭﺢ‬ 10 Fig.16zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUT zyxwvutsrqpon 12 Fig.18 Conclusion Although no post-Mongol Islamic AE coins were officially assigned to Jahrom before, this article has introduced 12 copper coins minted in this city in the Aq Qoyunlu and Safavid periods. Furthermore, we have analysed and compared the coins stylistically. Hopefiilly, this will help more specimens come to light in the future. Due to the inferior quality of these coins' minting, their crude styles, and the vulnerability of the copper, most of them are in bad condition, which makes them sometimes easy to miss. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Saeed Soleimani, who never says no to a scientific discussion about coins, and Ismail Soltani for their assistance. Also, it should be mentioned that most of the coins depicted here are from the private collection of Reza Ghanaatpishe, which is now on display at the museum of Jahrom. Fig. 17. Safavid AE falus, Jahrom, AH 1110?, 4 g, 17 mm, 2.5 mm Bibliography Album, s., 2011, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3rd edition, Santa Rosa. Chxdm , ‫ﻵ‬.١ Safarname - ye Sharden Dar Iran [Chardin's Voyages in Iran] , trans. s. Mohammad, Central library and documents centre of University of Tehran, n.d. manuscript written by the translator, no. 4535, Tehran. Diler, , 2009, Islamic mints, 3 volumes, Istanbul. ٠٥ 4 Fig. 18. Safavid AE falus, Jahrom, 4.39 g, 20 mm, 2 mm To see such a wide variety in the copper coinage of Jahrom is quite remarkable. However, it can be seen that the style in which the mint-name is written differs from one coin to another, and the legend is very crude on some specimens. All these different styles are presented in Table A. Table A. Different styles of the word ‘Jahrom’ on civic copper coins #N Ref. 1 Fig. 2 3 Fig. 6 5 Fig. 10 ‫ﺣﻲ‬ Style ‫ﺟﮭﺪ‬ m 2 Fig. 3 4 Fig. 7 6 Fig.11 ۶ ٦ Fig. 12 JONS Vol. 247, Spring 2022 Ref. 8 Fig.13 Style ‫ص‬ ‫ھﻢ‬ ‫ﺣﻤﮫ‬ - Ghaeeni, F., HS 1388 (2009), Sekkeh ha-ye Dore-ye Safavi [Coins of Safavid Erah Pazineh, Tehran. Majdi, M. al-Din M. al-Husayni, 1983, Zinat al-majalis , Sana'i, Tehran. Mohammadi, S.O., and Soleimani, s., 2021, 'Countermarked ArabSasanian Copper Coins of Jahrom', Journal of the Oriental . W 4. ) 24T Numismatic Society (JONS | Qazwini, H.A.M., AH 1004 (1595), Nuzhat-Al-Qulub: Composed by Hamd - Allah Mustawfi of Qazwin in AH740 (1340) , Vis. G . u Strange, AH 1362 ( 1983), Donyaye Ketab. Sedaghat Kish, J., AH 1389 (2010), Jahrom Dar Pooye Tarikh [Jahrom Through History ] , Farhang Pars, Bonyad Fars Shenasi, Shiraz. Silva Y Figueroa, D.G.. AH 1030 (1614), Safarnamah-ye Dun Garsiya Disilva Figurua: Satyr-i Ispanya Dar Darbar-e Shah Abbas-e Avval [The commentaries of D. Garcia de Silva y Figueroa on his embassy to Shah Abbas I of Persia on behalf of King of Spain]١ Vis . G . Samiee, Nashr-e No, AH 1363 (1984), Tehran. Tabataba’i, S.J.T., HS 1355 ( 1976), Sekkeha-ye Aq Qoyunlu va Mabnaye Vahdat-e Hokumat-e Safaviyeh Dar Iran [Coins of Aq Qoyunlu and i\, Tiy‫؛‬YL \ the Basis of the Safavids' Unity in Iran]١ S\