Walking Back In Time From 1600 To Antiquity By Decades (V3.0)

I don't have anything from Ragusa either, though I'd love to!

This time, I'm posting a slightly unusual coin, as it is not particularly European; in fact it is this thread's second Islamic coin so far, and first with a legible date.




Shirvanshahs, Derbendi dynasty, Ibrahim II
AR akce, 917 AH (1511/2 AD)
Baku mint?


I have two other Shirvanshah coins, both minted in the 15th century. At that time, the Shirvanshahs were still fully independent.

However, at the turn of the 16th century, their fortunes changed: in the autumn of 1500, Ismail I of the Safavids invaded Shirvan.
His army soundly defeated the much larger Shirvanshah force (killing the Shirvanshah ruler Farrukh Yasar) at the battle of Jabani in December 1500, and by early 1501 had captured Shemakha and Baku, officially joining Shirvan to the Safavid realm (which was, after another successful campaign - against Aq Qoyunlu, whose ruler hoped to catch the Safavid army before it recovered from the Shirvanshah fight - officially declared an empire several months later).


The events of the next few years are somewhat confusing (I'd be happy to find a definitive account; the assorted descriptions on Wikipedia look suspiciously like they're recounting the same events twice with slightly different names and dates).
As far as I can reconstruct, Ismail I was unable to capture the fortress of Gulistan, and forces loyal to the Shirvanshahs, under Farrukh Yasar's son Bahram, recaptured (?) Baku after Ismail I's army left.

Bahram probably reigned for less than a year, and is apparently barely attested outside of coins.
By the time Ismail I arrived back to siege Baku again in late 1501, the defenders were organized under Bahram's brother Gazi Beg.
This siege lasted for several months, and finished with a Safavid victory (again?), but Ismail I apparently left Gazi Beg with the nominal Shirvanshah title (now as a vassal of the Safavids) as a gesture of goodwill (especially as his forces, yet again, did not manage to capture Gulistan).

Shortly after the Safavid army left (again?), Gazi Beg was assassinated by his son Sultan Mahmud, after a six-month reign.
This was quite unpopular with the local public, and Sultan Mahmud's reign lasted even less than Gazi Beg's; sometime in 1502, he was exiled and replaced by Gazi Beg's brother Ibrahim II.


The events of the next several years are somewhat clearer. In 1505, the deposed Sultan Mahmud managed to get in good relations with Ismail I and invaded Shirvan with a force of Safavid mercenaries. However, in 1506, during the siege of Bigurd (where Ibrahim II was hiding), Sultan Mahmud was apparently assassinated by his slave, and Ibrahim II took the opportunity to rout the mercenary forces.

Unhappy with this reconquest attempt, in 1507, Ibrahim II decided to stop paying tribute to Ismail I (who was then busy with other campaigns). This lasted for two years, until 1509, when Ismail I finally bothered to reconquer Shirvan; Ibrahim II successfully hid in Bigurd (again), and managed to pacify the Safavid ruler by agreeing to restart the tribute payments.

Over the next several years, as the Safavids continued their success with victory after victory, Ibrahim II's continued tribute made his relations to the Safavid shah quite friendly; notably, after Ismail I's success in the Battle of Merv (against the Khanate of Bukhara) in December 1510, Ibrahim II sent a celebratory embassy to Ismail I's court.
This brings us to 1511/2, when this coin was issued. This period was quite prosperous for the Shirvanshahs, at least compared to the previous decade; turns out that being a tribute-paying vassal of a powerful empire had its benefits.

This relative prosperity lasted until the 1530s, when the new Safavid ruler, Tahmasp I, grew distrustful of the Shirvanshahs (and their own new ruler Khalilullah II) and decided to assign his own governors for Shirvan... but that's another part of the story (which I don't have any representative coins for).


[EDIT: fixed some minor typos]

And another charming Italian copper, thanks @tdziemia!

For me, the years around 1500 are somewhat of a "golden era," so here's another ecu d'or.

France 1508-13, ecu d'or, Louis XII, Lyons mint. Gold, 3.40 g, 25.5 mm. Duplessy 655, Lafaurie 598.




Obv: Royal coat of arms, held by two porcupines.
Inscription: LVDOVICVS DEI GRACIA FRANCORVM REX (Louis by Grace of God King of the Franks).

Rev: Cross, L's and porcupines.
Inscription: XPS VINCIT XPS REGNAT XPS IMPERAT (Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands).

The Lyons mint is indicated by "secret points" under the 12th letters on the obverse and reverse, and by trefoil at the end of the inscriptions. The small star under the 1st letter is the mark of the mint master 1508-13.

Louis XII ruled 1498-1515 and already 1498 did he, for reasons unknown, dissolve the "Order of the Porcupine" which had been founded by his ancestor Duke Louis I of Orleans. He did however take the porcupine as his personal emblem and the motto of the order as his: "Cominus et eminus" ("Near and Far"), alluding to the ancient notion of the porcupine being able to defend itself not only at close range, but also by shooting its spikes at an enemy.

This one just about fits here. It's dated to the reign of Vasily III, and no more precisely than that, although fita has a value of 9 in the Cyrillic numeral system.

Vasily III Ivanovich Denga, 1505-1533

Novgorod. Silver, 0.78g. Horseman with sword, fita below, circular legend 'Grand Prince Vasiliy Ivanovich'. Sovereign of all Rus (GP 8200 A; HPF 3250A; Zaitsev 2006-2, No.123)

I've also got an example of that Lorraine coin (which is also seen listed as a 1/2 gros or 1/4 plaque).
On mine, that character after the word CALAB (or, it looks like maybe just CALB on yours) appears to be that printer's abbreviation that looks like a 4, which @erafjel explained on his 1520s Lorraine coin. It's tougher to see on yours, but still likely in my opinion. Also your LOTO looks contracted to LO, which is a known legend variant.
Here is an example where the abbreviation (CALAB4) is very clear: https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?id=7306379

Some auction houses call it a letter R (continuing the place name Calabria), which is incorrect.

So, including the punctuation by small crosses, I think you have + AnThOn + D + G + CALB4 + LO

Nice ones @arkie, although your hand was shaking a bit when you took the pics of that 1506 Denar. Also, thx for the help with the inscription on my coin @tdz.

How about if we drop back another decade starting Friday morning?

I wonder if the scanner prefers to focus on the writing on the 2 x 2 (more contrast?). Probably nothing you can do.

Welcome to the 15th century!

Venice, 1 Mocenigo (=1 Lira). Doge Agostino Barbarigo. A nice chunk of silver for the era, at 32 mm, 6.5 g.



Obv: Saint Mark handing banner to the doge. AVG.BARBADICO. S.MARCVS.VENET
Rev: Risen Christ standing on sepulcher with mintmaster initials ZAP, right hand raised in blessing. TIBI SOLI GLORIA (To you alone, glory).
The coin can be dated to 1499-1500 by the mintmaster.
Paolucci 2, Biaggi 2934

Another lovely coin, and a great history lesson.

Good reminder that the process by which France became "le hexagon" that we see today was centuries in the making.