Al-Sultan al-Adil / Berdi Beq Khan ("The Just Berdi Beq Khan") // Zarb Gulistan Saneh 753 ("Struck in Gulistan, 753") in a number of lines. Dated to 753 AH/1352 AD. 16mm, 1.57 grams. Mint of Gulistan. Sagdeeva #272.
Rare type. The date on the reverse is 753 AH, five years before Berdi Beg assumed power - this coin was minted using the old reverse die of Jani Beg.
The location of Gulistan is not completely certain - the current consensus is that it was located near the site of Tsarevskoe Gorodishche on lower Volga, in modern Russia.
Berdi Beg, who ruled the Golden Horde from 1357 to 1359, was the son of the powerful Khan Jani Beg and the last effective ruler of the Öz Begid line, which had maintained relative stability for decades. Upon taking power, Berdi Beg is said to have secured his position by ordering the execution of numerous royal relatives, reportedly up to 12 or more, to eliminate rivals and consolidate authority. His short reign was marked by internal purges and declining central control, signaling the beginning of a major political crisis. After his assassination in 1359, the Golden Horde plunged into a prolonged period of civil war and dynastic chaos, with rapid changes in leadership and the rise of regional warlords, ultimately leading to the fragmentation of the khanate.