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OTTOMAN, ISFENDIYARID,
AND ERETNID COINAGE:
A CURRENCY COMMUNITY
IN FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIA
(PLATES 18-20)
PHILIP N. REMLER
167
168
PHILIP N. REMLER
In the heyday of the Mongol empire the major east-west trade route in
Anatoliathe shh-rh, or Royal Roadran from Tabriz in Iran to
Konya, the old Rum Seljq capital, and then to southern Anatolian
ports such s 'Al'iyye. When the Ilkhns lost Konya to the Karamanid
Turkish tribesmen a new route became important, running through
Erzinjan and Sivs in eastern Anatolia to Ankara and thence west.
After the Ottomans conquered Bursa around 1324 it quickly became the
western terminus of the route. A second major route ran from the
Crimea to the port of Sinop and west. The primary goods carried by
these routes were silks and spiceslow-volume and high-value commodities.
After Mongol rule faded from Anatolia, beginning in 1327, three beyliks
gained control of these routes: Eretna, in eastern Anatolia with its capital
at Erzinjan, s heir to the Mongol province of Anatolia; Isfendiyar,
centered at Kastamonu; and the Ottomans, facing the West. This paper is
an analysis of the typologies of their silver coinages including decorative
motifs and types of script, s Uyghr script (italicized in the catalogue)
is sometimes used. A metrological study will be undertaken in a subsequent article.
It is my contention that the silver coinages of all three of these beyliks
are interrelated and derived ultimately from Ilkhnid coinage. This
derivation is of two types: in the first, a styleusually from further
'"T.X1IIII/.
169
ILKHNID PROTOTYPES
Eretna Uyghr, founder of the Eretnid dynasty, was the Mongol
lieutenant-governor in Anatolia from 1314 to 1335 and governor there for
the puppet Ilkhns controlled by Hasan-i Buzurg Jalyir from 1335-42.
Between A.H. 742 and 746/A.D. 1341-46 Eretna minted coins both in
his own name and in those of various Mongol khns. In 747 he began to
issue coins in his own name only.
As chief civilian Mongol official in Anatolia Eretna struck coins of
types Standard throughout the empire.2 Certain of these types, occurring
in Anatolian mints, are prototypes for later beylik coinage.
ABU SA'ID, TYPE III,3 719-21/1319-21
Obv.: In omega-shape
l ilha ill
Allah Muhammad
rasl Allah
Margin
fa-sayakflkahum Allah wa-huwa
al-samr al-'allm
(3, ? g)
170
PHILIP N. REMLER
ABO SA'ID, TYPE VIII, 724-28/1323-28
Obv.: In square
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
Margin
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthmn/'Ali
Reu.: In circle
duriba
al-sultn Abu Sa'id
Bahdur Khan khulida mulkuhu
(mint)
Margin
fl sana (date)
Rev.: In square
al-sultn Abu Sa'id
Bahdur Khan khulida mulkuhu
^ ^ <S1 < ''^ -^^l^^l
Margin
(mint and date)
Obv.: s 3
Rev.: In octagon
al-sultn ibn al-sultn
Abu Sa'id Bahdur Khan
duriba (mint)
Margin
(date)
jrr-.TP f T ?.<<)
171
T>3>^ C?;U)
The dominant motifs in all these coins are the geometrical fields in
various forms. These fields, s well s the distinctive rendition of the
shahda are imitated by beylik coins, s we shall see.
After the death of Abu Sa'id in 736 Eretna issued coins in the name of
some successor Tlkhns. Although Eretna was by this time virtually independent, these coins are indistinguishable both in style and metrology
from coins produced in Iran proper. They also are marked by the geometrical motif. By and large these coins are not significant for the purpose of this study. \\'e shall mention the coins of only two of these rulers
s prototypes for beylik coinage.
Coins were struck briefly in 739 in the name of Taghytimr, a general
who was not in fact descended from Chinggis Khan but from his brother
Qjighn. It is interesting to note that Taghytimr actually mied
only in Khursn; this coinage in his name indicates first Anatolia'spolitical independence and second the continuity of economic links across
the silk route.
TAGHYTIMR, 739/1338-39
Obv.: In hexagon
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
Rev.: In hexagon
al-sultn
al-'li Taghytimr
khulida mulkuhu
sana tis' thalthin
wa-sabaf mi'a
172
PHILIP N. REMLER
Margin
duriba/(mint)/Ab Bakr/ f Umar/
r Uthmn/ r Ali
Plate 18, 7: Arzinjn 739/1338-39, 19 mm, 2.035 g, ANS.
TD
The last nominal Tlkhn for whom Eretna struck coins was Sulaymn,
whose coins appeared between 740 and 746. These were issued in two
types, apparently simultaneously.
SULAYMN, TYPE I
Obu.: In hexafoil
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
Margin
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthmn/'Al!
Reu.: In eye-shape
al-sultn
Sulaymn
khulida mulkuhu
Margin
(mint and date)
SULAYMN, TYPE II
Obu.: In octafoil
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
Margin
Abu Bakr/ f Umar/ r Uthmn/ r Ali
Rev.: In octafoil
al-sultn al-'ll
Sulaymn
khallada Allah mulkahu
Margin
(mint and date)
j, P
ERETNID COINAGE
Sulaymn, Type II, provides a direct transition to Eretnid coinage,
for Eretna issued it under his own name s well, presumably at the same
period.
173
ERETNA, TYPE I
Obv.: In octafoil
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
Reu.: In octafoil
duriba
sultan
Eretna
khallada Allah mulkahu
Qirshahir
Margin
(date)
ANS coins:
Aqshahir (Aqsaray)
Anqariyya
Anqariyya
Baybirt
Ma'dan
742
742
747
7xx
74x
Rev.: In hexafoil
duriba
sultan
Eretna
khallada Allah mulkahu
(mint)
22mm
21 mm
20 mm
21 mm
22 mm
1.635g
1.705 g
1.486 g
1.670 g
1.453 g
Plate 19,11
The coinage issued by Eretna after he began to strike in his own name
only is of a completely different type, but squarely within traditional
bounds. The new style is derived in its obverse from the looped square
of the common Abu Sa'id Type III, and the hexagram reverse is drawn
from Isfendiyarid coinage discussed below.
174
PHILIP N. REMLER
ERETNA, TYPE III, 747-53/1346-52
Rev.: In hexagram
Eretna
khallada Allah mulkahu
Margin
(mint and date)
ANS coins:
Arzinjn
752
Arzinjn
749
Arzinjn
747
Arzinjn
751
Sivs
747 ? 749?
Qarhisr
x
Kughniyye
n.d.4
Kik
x
Kik?
x
Ankariyye
x4x
Qaysariyye
x4x
Ma'dan
748
X
74x
X
74x
X
75x
X
x
x (barbarous)
X
x (barbarous)
X
x (double str.)
X
20mm
19 mm
18 mm
18 mm
18 mm
16 mm
19 mm
19 mm
20 mm
20mm
20mm
20mm
19 mm
18 mm
22mm
16 mm
19 mm
13 mm
17 mm
1
1.758g
1,
1.757 g
1,
1.776g
1,
1.726 g
1.
1.786 g
0.882g
0.
1.
1.750 g,
1.
1.773 g,
1.
1.757 g,
1.
1.773 g,
1.
1.748 g,
1.
1.726 g,
1.754 g
1.
1.
1.568 g
1.
1.509 g
0.732g
0.
1.654 g
1.
0.551 g
0.
1.1.650 g
T.V*.*.
Plate 19, 12
mint in hexagram
mint in hexagram
mint in hexagram
mint in hexagram
mint in hexagram
^'V1'
5l
4 This specimen carries s marginal inscription the four rshidn (i.e. earliest
caliphs, Abu Bakr, 'Umar, 'Uthmn, and 'All) instead of a date; the mint is inside
the hexagram.
175
Reu.: In eye-shape
al-sultn al-'dil
'al al-duny wa-l-dln
khallada Allah mulkahu
Margin
(mint and date)
Plate 19, 13: x, x, 21 mm, 1.715 g, ANS.
The coins of Eretna's successors Muhammad (753-67) and 'Al al-DIn
'All (767-82) fall within the Mongol tradition. While Muhammad makes
some innovation within this tradition, 'All draws on old motifs.
MUHAMMAD
Obv.: In trefoil foils
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthman
In trefoil center
'All
Rev.: In circle
duriba (some specimens)
Muhammad Aratn
al-sultn al-a'zam
Ghiyth al-duny wa-l-dln
khallada Allah mulkahu
(mint)
Margin
l ilha ill Allah/Muhammad/
rasl Allah
ANS coins:
Arzinjn
Aqsary
Baybirt
Sivs
Sivs
Qaysariyye
Ma'dan Gmshpa^ar
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
15 mm
20 mm
19 mm
19 mm
19 mm
20mm
20 mm
0.863 g
1.522 g
1.393 g
1.439 g
1.365 g
1.800 g, Plate 19, 14.
1.782 g
176
PHILIP N. REMLER
21 mm
20 mm
19 mm
19 mm
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
C AL
1.746 g
1.543 g
1.657 g
1.505g
square
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
In loops of square
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthman/'Ali
Rev.: In octafoil.
al-sultn al-aczam
c al
al-duny wa-l-din
khallada Allah mulkahu
(mint)
(date in numerals)
'Ali's looped square has s its prototype the motif of bis grandfather
Eretna which in turn goes back to the Abu Sa'id Type III. Similarly
the octafoil likewise goes back to the Ilkhn Sulaymn Type II and
before that to the Abu Sa'id Type XII. Known dates for 'AII's coins are
767 and 768. Sometime in 768 the word Allah in the phrase khallada
Allah mulkahu was enclosed in an eye-shaped group of dots. That this
Symbol had some significance is shown by cAH's practice of counterstamping bis older coins with the same symbol.
ANS coins (asterisk indicates issues with eye-shaped dots):
19 mm
Arzinjan
1.597 g, cstp.
768
19 mm
1.554 g
Arzinjan
76x
19 mm
1.144g
Arzinjan
x
Arzinjan
18 mm
1.431 g
768?
19 mm
1.573 g, Plate 19, 15
Arzinjan
767
19 mm
1.415g
Arzinjan
768
19 mm
1.472 g*
Arzinjan
x
20 mm
1.571 g* , Plate 19, 16
Arzinjan
768
20 mm
1.436 g*
Arzinjan
x
19 mm
1.696 g
767
Baybirt
16 mm
x
1.017 g
x
23 mm
1.525 g*
x
x
19 mm
1.453 g* , cstp.
x
X
X
18 mm
x
1.499 g*
x (brbarous)
x
x
x
x
x
19 mm
20 mm
18mm
177
1.520 g*
1.521 g*
1.306g*,cstp.,Platel9,17
ISFENDIYARID COINAGE
We now turn to the currency of the Isfendiyarid dynasty of northern
Anatolia, which has not been schematized chronologically.
Sleyman I Pasha, who conquered the cities of Qastamniyye
(Kastamonu) in 1309 and Sinop in 1322, was the first important ruler of
this dynasty. That he issued coins in the name of Abu Sa'Id is attested
by an ANS coin of the Abu Sa'id Type IX from Qastamniyye clearly
dated 725/1325. As Sleyman's coinage is not dated we can only guess
when he began his own sikke. Uzun^arsilP believes this is not until 1335,
the year of Abu Sa'id's death; it could, however, have been s early s
1327, the end of effective Mongol rule in western Anatolia and the year of
the earliest Ottoman coinage.
Four types may be ascribed to Sleyman I. Three are definitely linked
in a stylistic sequence; the fourth may possibly belong to the later
Isfendiyarid ruler Sleyman II s its fabric and certainly its weight
Standard are somewhat different. The similarity in the style of reverse
inscription would militate against this, however, and place this type in
the coinage of Sleyman I.
SLEYMAN I, TYPE I
Obv.: In square
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
ANS coins, no mints, no dates:
17 mm
1.092 g
15 mm
1.029 g, Plate 19, 18
Reu.: In square
Sulaymn
zida mulkuhu
16 mm
16 mm
1.143 g
1.120 g
178
14mm
16 mm
PHILIP N. REMLER
1.188g
1.051 g
16mm
15 mm
1.110g
1.182 g
Reu.: As Type l
Rev.: In square
Amir-i a'dal
Sulaymn
khulida mulkuhu
16 mm
15mm
15mm
16 mm
17mm
16mm
15 mm
16mm
16 mm
15 mm
179
1.258 g
1.282g
1.294g
1.395 g
1.321g,
Plate 19, 19
1.232g
1.287 g
1.272g
1.280 g
1.299 g
16mm
15 mm
16 mm
1.511g
1.506 g
1.501 g
Sleyman I was dethroned around 1340, but the coinage of his son and
successor Ibrahim (1340-45) has not been identified. The coins of the
next two rulers, 'dil Bey (1345-62) and his son Bayezid Ktrm
(1362-85), revert to the squares of the Sleyman I Type I, but much
more finely worked.
PHILIP N. REMLER
180
'DIL
Obv.: In square
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
ANS coins:
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
x (barbarous)
Sinp
X
X
X
X
X
Rev.: In square
al-sultn al-a'zam
khallada Allah
mulkahu (mint)
Margin
(date) or decorations
13 mm
13 mm
12 mm
14 mm
13 mm
0.998 g
0.988 g
0.952 g, Plate 20, 21
0.882 g
0.986 g
The coinage of r dil Bey is anonymous and has been identified tentatively through dates,7 and through its similarity to the coinage of his son
Bayezid. The titles cdil Bey uses, i.e. al-Sultn al-azam, most puissant
sultan, and even the anonymity of the coins show that they are conscious
imitations of Abu Sarld's coinage, especially his Type VIII (Plate 18, 2).
Bayezid more realistically styled himself "the just amir."
BAYEZID
Obv.: In square
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
Exergue
(date in numerals)
ANS coins:
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
X
X
X
X
Rev.: In square
amir-i a f dal
Byazid khulida
mulkuhu (mint)
16 mm
16 mm
15 mm
16 mm
1.746 g
1.795 g
1.732g
1.741 g
Qstamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qstamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
Qastamniyye
x
x
761
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
16 mm
16 mm
12 mm
15 mm
18 mm
15 mm
16 mm
16 mm
15 mm
16 mm
16 mm
181
1.822 g
1.752 g
0.881 g, Plate 20, 22
1.769 g
1.718g
1.783 g
1.713g
1.719 g
1.749 g
1.764 g
1.750 g
PHILIP N. REMLER
182
Margin (date)
Margin
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthmn/ < 'Ali
Coins:
Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi:
British Museum
1967-1-12-553:
Ashmolean Museum:
Bursa
727 18mm
1.00g
n.m.,
n.m.,
n.d.
n.d.
0.91g
1.056 g
18mm
Plate, 20, 23
This coin has not been read correctly previously. The phrases on the
reverse are symmetrically displayed on the coin, i.e. khulida on top is
paired with mulkuhu on the bottom; likewise duriba and Bursa. The
word khulida is somewhat faint, and the word mulkuhu is rendered in
exactly the same stylized manner s in the Sleyman Types I and II (see
above, p. 178). This reading is the only one which interprets the inscriptions in a grammatically sound way consistent with their appearance.
By analyzing stylistic similarities among Orhan's other issues and
coins of other dynasties we may derive a chronological sequence of types.
ORHAN, TYPE II
Obu.: al-imm
al-mustansir
billh amir [al-mu'minm]
183
This coin is an Imitation of the coinage of the Rum Seljq Sultan Kay
Qubd I, s illustrated in Plate 20, 25, struck in Sivs in 629.9 One
characteristic places this type clearly at the beginning of a series of issues.
Below, left, is a drawing of the coin's rendition of the name 'Uthmn on
the reverse. To the right is a stylization of this name clearly derived from
this rendition. This stylization is characteristic of a later series of
Orhan's coins, s shall be shown. As the least stylized Version of this
rendition of 'Uthmn, Type II must be placed at the beginning of the
series.
Brse
Brse
Brse
8, 69, n.m.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
n.d.
15 mm
15 mm
15 mm
1.036 g.
1.106 g, Plate 20,26
1.15 g
1.24 g
9 I wish to thank Nicholas Lowick of the British Museum for pointing out this
resemblance.
PHILIP N. F^EMLER
184
Rev.: In hexagon
n.d.
15 mm
al-sultn al-a'dal
rkhn bin 'Uthmn
khallada Allah mulkahu
185
ORHAN TYPE V
Rev.'. In hexafoil or hexagon
Obu.: In hexafoil or octafoil
al-sultn al-a'dal
l ilha ill Allah
rkhn bin 'Uthmn
Muhammad
khallada Allah mulkahu
rasl Allah
Margin
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthmn/'Ali
ANS coins, no mints, no dates:
Var. A
19 mm
A
18 mm
A
16 mm
A
16 mm
B
19 mm
B
16 mm
1.211 g
1.045 g
1.079 g
1.172 g, Plate 20, 28
1.102g
0.763 g, clipped
These coins, then, may also date to the 1340s and possibly the 1350s.
It is probable that Orhan Type VI was issued towards the very end of
the reign; it is identical except in name to the earliest issues of Orhan's
successor Murad I. This type inaugurates a new uniform style, unrelated
to previous types, which endured in Ottoman coinage until the conquest
by Timur in 1402.
ORHAN TYPE VI
Obv.; In circle
Rev.: In circle
l ilha ill Allah
rkhn
Muhammad
khallada Allah
rasl Allah
mulkahu
Margin
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthmn/'Ali
ANS coin:
n.m., n.d.
19 mm
Table I, Typology Chart, gives a schematic representation of the relationships detailed in the previous sections. The chart shows clearly the
two types of influence mentioned earlier. Taking the Mongol "pool" of
186
PHILIP N. REMLER
motifs first, the most long-lived and often-used design is the "looped
square" of the Abu Sa'Id Type III of the 1320s (Plate 18, 1) which
reappears in the 1330s with the Isfendiyarid Sleyman Type IV (Plate 20,
20), in the late 1340s in the Eretna Type III (Plate 19, 12),andstilllaterin
the 1360s with the coinage of the Eretnid 'Al al-DIn 'All (Plate 19,15).
Similarly the octafoil of the Abu Sa'Id Type XII (Plate 18, 5) of the
late 1320s reappears in the 1340s on the coinage of the Ilkhnid Sulaymn Type II (Plate 18, 9) and a generation later on the Eretnid 'Al
al-DIn 'All Type (Plate 19, 15). Most striking is the direct imitative
revival of the Tlkhanid Sulaymn Type I (Plate 18, 8) of the early
1340s in the posthumous coinage of Eretna, Type IV (Plate 19, 13)
dated in the 1350s.
Second are the east-to-west imitations: of the Abu Sa'Id Type VIII
(Plate 18, 2) by the Isfendiyarid Sleyman Type I (Plate 19, 18); of
the Abu Sa'Id Type IX (Plate 18,3) by the Ottoman Orhan I (Plate 20,
23); of the Abu Sa'Id Type X I I I (Plate 18,6) by the Ottoman Orhan
Type III (Plate 20, 26); and of the Ilkhnid Sulaymn Type II by
Eretna Type I; of the Abu Sa'Id Type XII (Plate 18, 5) by Ilkhnid
Taghytimr (Plate 18, 7), and Ilkhnid Sulaymn Type I (Plate 18, 8)
s in the Orhan Types IV and V (Plate 20, 27 and 28).
These two strong patterns give rise to two conclusions: first, Mongol
coinage continued to influence beylik coinage after political independence had been achieved by the latter; and second the western beyliks
were dependent upon the trade from the east, and remained in that economic sphere.
The first conclusion has major ramifications: it indicates that Mongol
currency administration was also adopted by the beyliks. This is important in analyzing Mongol metrology, for there is extensive documentation
for early Ottoman currency practices,11 and this knowledge may be used
to help clarify the still misunderstood System of Ilkhnid metrology.
Conversely, linking Ottoman currency to the Mongol System and the
other beylik Systems helps explain the origins of Ottoman coinage and
of its weight Standard.
11 See El2, s.v. "Dar al-Darb" (Inalcik), and N. Beldiceanu, Les acles des premiers
sultans conservfe dans les manuscrils turcs de la Bibliotheque Nationale Paris, 2:
Reglements miniers 1390-1512 (Paris/La Haye, 1964).
TABLE I
Typology Chart.
APPHOXIMATK
TIM1-XINT:
OTTOMANS
nYo) (0X0)
187
188
PHILIP N. REMLER
The second conclusion, of borrowings by the west from the east, with
a commonalty of types, shows the existence of a currency Community
in beylik Anatolia within the complex of post-Mongol currency areas,12
held together by the east-west silk trade. This focus on the importance
of the silk route highlights the dependence of the early Ottoman economy
on this trade for its phenomenal growth.
When the celebrated Arab traveler Ibn Battta visited Bursa in
1333before the era of the great conquests Orhan was already the
richest of the Anatolian amirs.13 This wealth was due to the silk trade,
whose western terminus in Asia was Bursa, the Ottoman capital. We
must stress the role of the silk trade in the development of beylik Anatolia
and ultimately of the Ottoman empire. This importance is underlined
by the numismatic evidence.
In a more modest and numismatic vein, the comparison of types helps
determine a sequence and approximate dating for the beylik coinages,
especially the Ottoman coinage of Orhan. Orhan's coins are, initially, an
imitation of Mongol coinage, maintained through the 1330s and 1340s
with the exception of the imitation Seljq type. Finally, sometime
around 1360, an indigenous bureaucratic Ottoman coinage was developed.
This development reflected the new Ottoman Status: facing Europe and
imperial expansion.