AR miri of Tamerlane (1370-1405) with nominal overlord Chaghataid Khan Mahmud (1388-1402), 795 AH, Samarqand, Timurids

Naskh legend: Shahada la ilah illa Allah / Muhammad Rasul Allah ("There is no deity except God, Muhammad is the messenger of God") followed by the date and mint "Zarb Samarqand 785"; inside a dotted square // Naksh legends: Suyurghatmish Khan / Amir Timur Gurkan. 17mm, 1.46 grams. Samarqand mint, minted 785 AH (1383). Album 2375, Zeno-#243593,

Scarce date. This type was minted in the name of the the Khan of the Western Chaghatai Khanate Suyurghatmish (1370-1388), a nominal (but powerless) overlord of Tamerlane and Tamerlane himself.

According to Stephen Album, full tankas were not struck at Samarqand until after Timur’s death, during the reign of Khalil Sultan. This type is conventionally called dirham, but the actual name of this denomination is unknown, although recent evidence suggests that the denomination was known as miri, i.e., “of the amir”.

 A very nice example of a coin of one of the cruelest and infamous rulers of all times!