Mongols. Great Khans. Möngke, AH 649-658 / AD 1251-1260. Dirham (Silver, 23 mm, 2.42 g, 12 h), trident and rosette type, Tiflis (Tbilisi), AH 656, Rabīʿ al-Ākhir (Rabiʽ al-Thani) = AD April 1258. Within a dotted square, in three lines: lā ilāha illā / Allāh waḥdahu / lā sharīka lahu (‘There is no deity but God alone; He has no associate’ in Arabic). In the center: double-trident tamgha of Möngke Margin: sanat sitt / Rabīʿ al-Ākhir / wa-sitt miʾa/ khamsīn (‘Year six hundred and fifty-six Rabīʿ al-Ākhir’ in Arabic; written in irregular order). Rev. Within a dotted square, in three lines: Mūngke qā / ʾān al-aʿẓam / al-ʿādil (‘Möngke Qaʾan the supreme the just’ in Arabic). In the center: eight-petal rosette Margin: ḍuriba / hādhā / al-dirham / bi-Tiflīs (‘This dirham was struck in Tiflīs’ in Arabic). Album 1977. cf. Bennett 134 (different weight). An extremely rare combination of tamgha and rosette. Small areas of weakness and light scratches, otherwise, about extremely fine.


Dirhams of Möngke from Tiflīs form one of the most varied and attractive Mongol silver series of the Caucasus, with numerous combinations of tamghas, control marks, and ornamental symbols. These varieties appear to reflect a highly active mint operating under close administrative control during the middle decades of the thirteenth century.

The present piece belongs to a particularly rare variety combining the double-trident tamgha with an eight-petal rosette and is further distinguished by the full dating formula including the month Rabīʿ al-Ākhir. Within the Tiflīs series, the combination of this year, this tamgha, and this floral control mark appears much rarer than the more common issues, and it is exactly these subtle variations that make Möngke’s Tiflīs dirhams such a fascinating field for specialized collecting.