Mongols. Ilkhanids. Abaqa, AH 663-681 / AD 1265-1282. Dirham (Silver, 24 mm, 2.16 g, 6 h), Christian type, variety with ruler’s name Arabic, Tiflis (in Georgia), AH 68x = AD 128x. bi-sm al-Ab wa-l-Ibn wa-Rūḥ al-Qudus ilāh wāḥid (‘In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God’ in Arabic). Below, cross on an elegant pedestal; accompanied by a Georgian letter or tamgha. Margin, partly off flan: [… sanat …] thamānīn wa-sitt miʾa (‘[… year] six hundred and eighty […]’ in Arabic). Rev. Within a pearl circle, in lines: qaγanu / nägü ber / Abaqa-yin / däletkägülük (‘By Abaqa, under the authority of the Khan’ in Uyghur). Decorative ornamental devices above and below the inscription; to the left, the name Abaqa (اباقا) in Arabic, artistically integrated into the terminal of the Uyghur inscription, with the three dots arranged in a manner that may intentionally echo the Trinitarian formula of the obverse. Album -, cf. 2130 (without Abaqa in Arabic). Bennett -, cf. 305a (without Abaqa in Arabic). Diler -, cf. A-126 (without Abaqa in Arabic). An apparently unpublished variety. Nicely toned. Some doubling on teh reverse and flan faults on the edge, otherwise, very fine.


This variety is considerably rarer than the more frequently encountered Tiflis types, as it additionally cites the ruler’s name Abaqa in Arabic.

The form of the cross and the associated Georgian letter or tamgha also differ noticeably from those on the more common types. The present variety does not appear to be separately recorded in the standard references and may represent an unpublished subtype.