Coins of the Īlkhānīs of Persia

Abstract

In 1930 the joint archæological expedition of Oxford University and the Field Museum, Chicago, examined the extensive ruins now known as Abu Sudaira, three miles south-east of the central mound at Kish. Mr. Reitlinger excavated this site at his own expense. A large city was discovered, which, although it contained no traces of Accadian culture, is of interest as being in the style of the Īlkhānī rulers of Persia and Mesopotamia. This attribution is entirely confirmed by the coins found on the site, which have been placed in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. They number altogether 100 (and some fragments), of which two are silver and the rest copper. Unfortunately they are in a bad state of preservation, and only about a third can be ascribed to definite rulers with some certainty. The earliest is (1) a small copper coin of the Khalīfas (wt. 32 grains, ·75″), but neither the mint nor the date can be read. Next in order is (2) a copper coin which Mr. Thorburn, who has examined part of the find, suggests may be a coin of the Seljūq ruler Kaiqubad (a.h. 616–634) (wt. 33 grains, ·85″), and the attribution, though not certain, is approximately correct so far as period is concerned.