Scarce silver dirham citing the Abbasid Caliph al-Nasir, temp. Qaidu (1269-1302), 685 AH, Otrar, Ogedeid Mongols

Central Kufic legend: al-hamd li-Ilah al-mulk li-Ilah ("Praise be to God, the kingdom is God's" ); slightly abbreviated partial Kufic legend in the square margin: zarb haza bibaldat / Otrar sanat / khams wa t- / -is'in wa sitt mi'at ("Struck in the town of Otrar, year five and eighty and six hundred") / Tamgha of Qaidu with four annulets and ornate patterns around; marginal Kufic legend: al-imam al-a’zam al-Nasir amir al-mu’min ("The supreme imam al-Nasir, commander of the faithful"). 25.5mm, 1.68 grams. Otrar mint, dated AH 685 (AD 1286). Nyamaa 43 (Tuqa Timur); SNA Tübingen 10 var. (legends); Album 1984X(?); ICV –; Zeno 37737. 

Very nice quality for this type (Qaidu's coins from Otrar are usually very poorly struck).

Coins of Qaidu are typically placed under the Chaghatayids, as these issues typically derive from mints traditionally their authority. However, Qaidu was a great-grandson of Ögedai, and he attempted to establish a khanate for his branch of the descendants of Chingiz Khan. The Ögedeid territory had consisted of the eastern parts of the Mongol domains, but Guyuk’s contentious reign as Ögedei’s successor led to this region passing to the descendants of Tolui. Qaidu attempted to regain his ancestral domain after establishing a base in the Chagatayid region, leading to a thirty-year war with Kublai Khan and his successor Temur, which involved nearly all the other Mongol khanates at various times, whose allegiance shifted between the two sides as their fortunes allowed. For much of this time, Qaidu was very successful, but the constant warfare never allowed him to consolidate his power, leading to revolts in areas he conquered or pacified. In 1301, he was mortally wounded in battle near Karakorum.