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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Parthicus, post: 3251082, member: 81887&quot;]This recent purchase was inexpensive, but it has a lot of history behind it.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]853028[/ATTACH] </p><p>Khwarezmshahs.&nbsp; &quot;Malik of Kurzuwan.&quot;&nbsp; AE jital (3.5 g, 19 mm).&nbsp; Obverse: &quot;Al-Malik&quot; (The King) in center, surrounded by date Rabi&#039; II 618 AH (=May-June 1221 AD).&nbsp; Reverse: Kalima (standard Islamic religious legend) in three lines.&nbsp; Typical weak strike.&nbsp; Album 1971, Tye 324.1, Wilkes 1965.&nbsp; This coin: Bought from [USER=42773]@John Anthony[/USER] , ex [USER=72712]@arnoldoe[/USER] collection.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Khwarezmshahs or Khwarezm Dynasty were a major power in Persia and Central Asia from the late 11th to early 13th centuries AD.&nbsp; The dynasty was originally of Turkic origin but adapted Persian culture.&nbsp; Their last powerful ruler, Ala ad-Din Muhammad, took power in 1200 AD and defeated two other major states, the Kharakhanids and the Ghorids, greatly increasing his own territory.&nbsp; By around 1220, the Khwarezm domains were quite extensive:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]853039[/ATTACH] </p><p>(map taken from Wikipedia under a Creative Commons license)</p><p><br /></p><p>Yes, clearly everything was going well for the Khwarezmshahs, and nothing could possibly go wrong.&nbsp; At least until they met one man:</p><p>[ATTACH=full]853042[/ATTACH] </p><p>(image: public domain)</p><p><br /></p><p>This man, born as Temujin around 1162 AD, was later known as Chinghiz Khan (usually rendered in English as Genghis Khan).&nbsp; He became overall leader (Great Khan) of the Mongol Empire and led their rapid expansion across Asia.&nbsp; In 1218 AD, he sent a trade mission to the Khwarezm domains.&nbsp; However, the governor of the town of Otrar branded the ambassadors as spies, confiscated their goods, and executed them.&nbsp; Genghis Khan demanded reparations, which Ala ad-Din Muhammad refused to pay.&nbsp; Genghis Khan reacted in his usual fashion: launching a massive military campaign and killing huge numbers of people.&nbsp; In 1219 he destroyed the major Khwarezm city of Bukhara, and in 1220 the capital of Samarkand.&nbsp; Ala ad-Din Muhammad fled, pursued by a small Mongol force, and died on a small island in the Caspian Sea shortly afterwards.&nbsp; The Mongols proceeded to capture and destroy other cities in the former Khwarezm lands, including the city of Kurzuwan in 1221.</p><p><br /></p><p>Steve Album, in his Checklist of Islamic Coins, notes that this &quot;is one of the very few identifiable &#039;siege coins&#039; of the Islamic world&quot;, having been issued apparently while the city was besieged by the Mongols.&nbsp; The identity of the Malik named on the coin is unclear; possibly a local leader assessing the title in the wake of Ala ad-Din Muhammad&#039;s death.&nbsp; The coin is weakly struck, and not especially interesting aesthetically, but the history behind this piece makes it seem an absolute bargain at the $15 I paid for it.&nbsp; Please post your related coins.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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