ANSMN 25 (1980)

1980 The American Numismatic Society

OTTOMAN, ISFENDIYARID,
AND ERETNID COINAGE:
A CURRENCY COMMUNITY
IN FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIA
(PLATES 18-20)

PHILIP N. REMLER

The fourteenth Century coinage of the Turkish beyliks, or principalities,

provides crucial documentation for the transition from Tlkhnid Mongol
to Turkish power in Anatolia. The beylik coinages have not yet been
studied systematically. The purpose of this article is to sketch the
currencies of three major beyliks and, in analyzing them, to show a close
relationship among them, indicating a sort of currency Community based
on a common origin and close commercial ties.1
The three beyliks are of the Eretnid, Isfendiyarid, and Ottoman
dynasties. The time frame varies from dynasty to dynasty, beginning
for all in the reign of the last strong Ilkhn, Abu Sa'id, and ending with
the reigns of the Ottoman Orhan (d. 1362), the Isfendiyarid Ktrm
Byezld (d. 1385), and the Eretnid 'Al al-Dln 'All (d. 1380).
1 Most of the research for this article was done during the American Numismatic
Society's Graduate Seminar of 1978. I would like to thank the Society for its kindness, and also the British Museum and Ashmolean for allowing me to use their collections. I would especially like to thank Michael Bates of the ANS for his supervision and Inspiration, and to acknowledge the help and suggestions of Nicholas
Lowick (of the BM) and Robert Doran.

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/.

MAJOR SILK ROUTES OF BEYLIK ANATOLIA P. Remler.

FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIAN CoiNS

169

eastwas consciously imitated in a coin of another beylik; in the second,

a group of styles, usually Ilkhnid, formed a pool from which beylik types
were drawn and redrawn over a period of generations. The first indicates
the strength of trade links in the area and their bias in favor of the east.
The second indicates the continued prestige and legitimacy of the Mongol
empire in Iran and hints at the prevalence of Mongol methods of administration, particularly in coinage.

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

Reu.: In looped square

duriba
fl ayym dawlat al-sultn
al-a'zam Abu Sa'id
khallada Allah mulkahu
In loops
Nram/Allh/al-nasr
Margin
duriba/(mint and date)

Plate 18, 1: Arzinjn 719/1319, 25 mm, 3.507 g, ANS. fi.<*-J*crJ T

"

(3, ? g)

At least 27 Anatolian mints are attested in the coinage of Abu Sa 'Id.

The typology of Abu Sa'id's coinage is according to the system used in I. and G.
Artuk, Istanbul Arkeoloji Mzeleri Tehirdeki Isldmt Sikkeler Katalogu. (Istanbul,
1971-74) (henceforth, Artuk). Also cited is BMCOr 8.
2

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)

Plate 18, 2: Sivs 725/1325, 25 mm, 3.517 g, ANS.

!'W ('S, 9&

ABU SA'ID, TYPE IX, 723-28/1323-28

Obv.\n looped diamond
la ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
Margin
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthmn/'Ali

Rev.: In square
al-sultn Abu Sa'id
Bahdur Khan khulida mulkuhu
^ ^ <S1 < ''^ -^^l^^l
Margin
(mint and date)

Plate 18, 3: Ma'dan n.d., 18 mm, 1.469 g, ANS.

Obv.: s 3

X> , ^,(1 \U SA'I

Rev.: In looped triangle:

s 3
margin:
s 3

Plate 18, 4: ANS.

ABU SA'ID, TYPE XII, 729-33/1328-33
Obv.: In octafoil
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah
Margin
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthmn/'Ali

Rev.: In octagon
al-sultn ibn al-sultn
Abu Sa'id Bahdur Khan
duriba (mint)
Margin
(date)

Plate 18, 5: Sivs 730/1329-30, 21 mm, 3.307 g, ANS.

jrr-.TP f T ?.<<)

FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIAN CoiNS

171

ABU SA'ID, TYPE XIII, 733-36/1332-35

Obv.: shahda (in decorative
kufic script)

Rev.: al-sultn al-'alim al-'dil

duriba
Bnsaida
Bahdur Khan khulida mulkuhu
Margin
(date)

Plate 18, 6: Arzinjn 33 Ilkhnf/1333, 19 mm, 2.833 g, ANS.

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)

Plate 18, 8: Arzarm 741/1340-41, 18 mm, 1.252 g, ANS.

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)

Plate 18, 9: Arzarm 743/1342-43, 19 mm, 1.385 g, ANS

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.

FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIAN CoiNS

173

ERETNA, TYPE I
Obv.: In octafoil
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah

Reu.: In octafoil
duriba
sultan
Eretna
khallada Allah mulkahu
Qirshahir

Plate 19, 10: Qirshahir n.d., 20 mm, 1.396 g, ANS.

Another type, issued by Eretna while he was also issuing coins for
Sulaymn, uses the hexafoil of the Sulaymn Type I s the reverse, and
derives its square obverse from the Abu Sa'id Type VIII (Plate 18,2), a
traditional motif which dates back to the coinage of Abu Sa'Id's predecessor Uljyt.
ERETNA, TYPE II, CA. 742/1341-42
Obv.: In square
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah

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

Obv.: In looped square

l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah

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

Coins imitating the Sulaymn Type I and bearing Eretna's regnal

epithet TAl al-Din were struck in Eretnid cities; normally one would
assume these dated from the 742-47/1341-47 period. Certain specimens are dated after Eretna's death in 753, however, and bear dates

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.

FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIAN CoiNS

175

in the mid-750s, such s the one specimen in the Ashmolean Museum

dated x56. Since Eretna's son Muhammad succeeded s a minor we may
conclude that these comprise a posthumous issue.
ERETNA, TYPE IV (POSTHUMOUS)
Obu.: s Sulaymn Type I

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

Obv.: In square inside looped

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*

FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIAN COINS

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

I. H. Uzun?arslli, Anadolu Beylikleri (Ankara, 1969), p. 122.

178
14mm
16 mm

PHILIP N. REMLER
1.188g
1.051 g

16mm
15 mm

1.110g
1.182 g

This coin is very interesting in several respects. As to its prototype,

this is clearly a crude imitation of the very common Abu Sa'id Type VIII
(Plate 18, 2). Its very crudeness confirms this s the earliest of Sleyman's issues. Also its almost unrecognizable formalized rendition of the
word mulkuhu s UU will turn up later in Ottoman coinage; the inscription
here mandates the reading of mulkuhu.
Sleyman's second type is midway between his Types I and III, the
most common of his issues. Type II leaves the inscriptions the same but
replaces the obverse square with a hexagram, possibly derived from
Golden Horde prototypes.6 This hexagram in Isfendiyarid coinage is
itself the prototype for the later Eretna Type III (Plate 19, 12); this is
the only instance of west-to-east stylistic borrowing.
SLEYMA.N I, TYPE II
Obv.\n hexagram
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah

Reu.: As Type l

ANS coins, no mints, no dates:

16 mm
1.288 g
15 mm
1.272 g
Type III is identical in motif to Type II but changes the reverse
inscription.
SLEYMAN I, TYPE III
Obv.: As Type II

Rev.: In square
Amir-i a'dal
Sulaymn
khulida mulkuhu

See the coinage of Tele Buq (686-89/1287-90).

FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIAN CoiNS

ANS coins, no mints, no dates:

11 mm
0.647 g
llmm
0.634g
15mm
1.313g
17 mm
1.273 g
15mm
1.272g
15mm
1.293g
16mm
1.231g
17 mm
1.273 g
16mm
1.184g
15 mm
1.259 g
16 mm
1.316 g
16 mm
1.325 g

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

The fourth type ascribed to Sleyman I retains the titulature on the

reverse of Type III but replaces the motifs with an obverse hexafoil and a
reverse looped square which imitates the Abu Sa'Id Type III (Plate 18,1).
SLEYMAN I, TYPE IV
Obv.\n hexafoil
la ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah

Rev.: In looped square

amir-i a'dal
Sulaymn
khalada mulkuhu

ANS coins, no mints, no dates.

15mm
1.450g
17 mm
1.495 g
16 mm
1.447 g
15 mm
1.504 g, Plate 20, 20

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

See Artuk, l, nos. 1366-68.

1.746 g
1.795 g
1.732g
1.741 g

FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIAN CoiNS

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

THE OTTOMAN COINAGE OF ORHAN

The silver coinage of Orhan, the second Ottoman sultan and the first
to strike coins, has been described a number of times without an adequate
systemization or chronology. The following is an ordered catalogue of
Orhan's coins with probable dates.
The oldest extant Ottoman type is evidently a coin in the collection
of the Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi collection clearly dated 727. This is the
year of the fall of the Mongol governor of Anatolia, Timrtsh bin
Chobn, and the consequent retreat of Mongol power from western
Anatolia. This type is clearly derived from the Abu Sa'id Type IX
(Plate 18, 3). As mentioned above, p. 177, coins of this type were minted
at least in 725 in nearby Qastamniyye, showing that the design was
known in western Anatolia. The workmanship on the Yapi ve Kredi
Bankasi coin and others of this type is of such high quality (higher than
later issues of Orhan's) that we may speculate he hired a die sinker from
one of the older Ilkhnid mints.
ORHAN, TYPE I
Obv.: In square
l ilha ill Allah
Muhammad
rasl Allah

Rev.\n looped diamond

khulida
duriba
Orkhn bin 'Uthmn
Bursa
mulkuhu

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]

Rev.: [Bism] Allah al-rahmn

[al-rahim]
rkhn bin 'Uthmn arizz Allah nasrahu

Two specimens of this type are published by erafettin Erel in bis

Nadir Birkag Sikke, 3:8
No. 61 Bursa
n.d.
20mm
1.20g
No. 62 n.m.
n.d.
19 mm
1.15 g, Plate 20, 24.
8

. Erel, Nadir Birkaf Sikke, 1-4 (Istanbul, 1963-73).

FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIAN CoiNS

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.

As to the historical significance of imitating a coin one hundred years

old, and acknowledging a caliph long since dead, we can only speculate
that a gesture of loyalty to the caliphate which the Mongols had destroyed was intended s a sort of declaration of independence.
The next type is linked to Orhan Type II by its script and the distinctive rendition of theword 'Uthmn, s discussed above. As an imitation
of the Abu Sa'id Type XIII (Plate 18, 6) it may be assigned a date in
the 1330s.
ORHAN, TYPE III
Obv.: In circle
Rev.: In circle
l ilha ill Allah
al-sultn al-a'zam
Muhammad
rkhn bin 'Uthmn
rasl Allah
khallada Allah mulkahu
Margin
Margin
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthmn/'AlI
Madlnat/Brse (?)
Coins:
ANS
ANS
Istanbul
BMCOr,

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

Once again the stylized rendition of the name 'Uthmn provides a

link to another type. Type IV can be roughly dated because of its close
Imitation of coinages from further east; specifically, Orhan Type IV
derives its reverse hexagon from the coinage of Taghytimr (Plate 18,
7) and its obverse hexafoil from the Sulaymn Type I (Plate 18,8), clearly
providing us with a terminus post quem of around 1342 and a probable
date very close to that.10
ORHAN TYPE IV
Ob v.: In hexafoil

Rev.: In hexagon

l ilha ill Allah

Muhammad
rasl Allah
Margin
Abu Bakr/'Umar/'Uthmn/'AlI
Coin:
BMCOrl. 8, 75 n.m.

n.d.

15 mm

al-sultn al-a'dal
rkhn bin 'Uthmn
khallada Allah mulkahu

0.86 g, Plate 20, 27

The next development, Orhan Type V, is composed of two variants,

both of which differ from Type IV mainly in that the name 'Uthmn
is now written in a clear s opposed to a stylized manner. One variant
retains the hexafoil obverse but changes to a hexafoil reverse s well,
while the other variant retains the hexagon reverse but changes to an
octafoil obverse. 1t seems clear that these are individual variations in
what was meant to be one type.
10 In the Istanbul Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi publication no. 5, Nadir Osmanli Madeni
Paralari (Istanbul, 1973), a coin of Orhan's has been published which seems anomalous. Dated, according to the article, 727/1357, the coin's design is identical to
Orhan IV, assigned here to the 1340s, with the exception that the coin's reverse has a
looped triangle, s in the Abu Sa'Td Type IX, variant (Plate 18, 3), instead of the hexagon in Orhan Type IV. Without the date the coin would fit perfectly s a transitional
form incorporating elements of Mongol coinage of both the 1320s and 1340s, i.e.
Abu Sa'Id's looped triangle and the hexafoil of Sulaymn Type I (Plate 18, 8).
A date of 1327 would not only break the evident linkage between Orhan Type IV
and the coins of Sulaymn and Eretna by making it antedate them, but would also
make it impossible to place Orhan Types II and III within a chronological sequence
of types. No date is evident in the photograph of the coin; therefore the present
sequence will stand pending examination of the bank's collection.

FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIAN CoiNS

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

0.869 g, clipped, Plate 20, 29

CONCLUSIONS

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).

FOURTEENTH CENTURY ANATOLIAN CoiNS

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.

12 See S. Album, "The Iranian Monetary System of the Fourteenth Century: a

Preliminary Discussion" (unpublished).
13 The Travels of Ibn Battla, Irans. H. A. R. Gibb, l (London, 1956), pp.450-52.