Mendeley  

Zotero  

Salimi E, Solhjoo J, Karimian H. (2020). Mint Savojbolagh Mukri: Historical Evidence and Coinage. Parseh J. Archaeol. Stud.. 4(13), 97-118. doi:10.30699/PJAS.4.13.97
URL: http://journal.richt.ir/mbp/article-1-249-en.html

Abstract
Mahabad or formerly Savojbolagh Mukri is one of the most important cities in northwestern Iran in the southern basin of Lake Urmia It was founded by Budaq Sultan, one of the Mukri rulers, during the reign of Shah Suleiman the Safavid and for four centuries was the center of Mukrian province. In the past decades, several copper coins have been found in the city of Mahabad by the local people, which according to the inscription have been minted in this city. In the present article, an attempt is made to investigate the reasons and grounds for minting coins in this city and to show their belonging to the Savojbolagh Mint. It is assumed that the location of Savojbolagh in the communication route between Baghdad and Tabriz has led to the development of the market and its commercial centers and has necessitated the establishment of a multiplication center there. Also, the discovery and identification of copper coins in the city of Mahabad and the surrounding areas indicate that they were minted at the Dar al-Zarb in Savojbolagh. Leading research has been completed by library and field methods and by descriptive and analytical methods. The result of this research confirms that in comparing the multiplied shapes on these coins and other samples, they can be attributed to the reign of the Mukri rulers until the middle of the Qajar period and the reign of Sheikh Ali Khan, Budaq Khan, and Abdullah Khan. The existence of a mint in this city also indicates its political, military, and economic importance in the past centuries. 
Keywords: Fells, Dar Al-Zarb Savojbolagh Mukri, Mukriyan. Mahabad.

Introduction
In the city of Mahabad in the past decades, copper coins with various animal motifs with the phrase “multiplication in Savojbolagh” along with “history of coinage” have been obtained (Ramidinia, 2005: 56-59; 1394: 54). These coins were first minted by the ruler in Savojbolagh and their minting continued until the time of another ruler for various unclear reasons, including the limited date of minting, the absence of the name on the coins, their distribution in the hands of the people, and private museums, inside and even outside Iran. One of the most obvious examples of Qajar rule is the granting of more powers to the rulers and provinces of different parts of the country to mint copper coins. During this period, in most provinces of Iran, copper coins were minted by local authorities and used only for a specific area. The design of this type of coin was a combination of text with many types of sculptural and ornamental designs whose text indicated the place of their minting while the design of gold and silver coins were inscriptions, and their coinage was under the authority of the central government (Soucek, 2001: 51-87). One of these provinces is Mokrian province in northwestern Iran and the southern basin of Lake Urmia with the center of Daryas, which was initially and later Savojbolagh and the Ottomans played an important role in it (Salimi, 1396: 331). In the city of Savojbolagh, a number of copper coins were found by the locals, which, according to the inscription, were minted in the same city. The necessity of conducting this research is because so far no coherent and comprehensive study has been done concerning the multiplicative flows of Savojbolagh Mukri, and their study can provide a broader understanding of the political and economic position of Savojbolagh Mukri in recent centuries of the Islamic era.

Text
Copper coinage has been going on since the Safavids until Nasser al-Din Shah. In the Safavid era, 40 copper coins were equivalent to one silver abbey. These coins were minted locally by the governors of the states, and outside the central government authority, they were less valuable, and to prevent abuse by the rulers, the minted copper coins did not bear the name of the rulers. These coins were collected every year by the order of the ruler or the tax agents of the government and re-minted in the new year so that the old coins were no longer worth their place (Olearius, 2006: 245; Severi et al., 2011: 171-172; Philosophy, 1353: 259-260). In the present study, 17 samples of Savojblag coinage were studied, documented, 5 of which were directly observed by the authors, and 10 others, some of which were kept in Mahabad and other places. They were published previously in the book of Mahabad Civilization (Pedram, 1994) and Mahabad Journal (Ramydnia, 2005; Ramydnia, 2015) with their images and their features. Also, through a Qajar-era Jewish cemetery, the writers discovered and identified a copper object, most likely a phallus. Generally, these coins are copper and circularly irregular and do not conform to the size of the governorate. Savojbolagh scales are also likely to have been repeatedly struck multiple times because of the effects of tearing and role-playing on one another. Mahabad coins are created on both sides of the role. On the main side of the coin is the phrase “Beat it Savojbalagh” and a few “Beat it Date” with Nastaliq writing style, and behind them are drawn various motifs including the role of the sun, the plant, the fish, the cattle, the lion and the sun, the lion, the peacock, the bluebirds, and the eagle.

Conclusion
Because of the scattered scales, the multiplication date, as well as their corrosion on the coins, cannot be accurately deduced. But as it has been noted, it is likely that in the late Safavid and early Afshariyah periods up to the middle Qajar rulers of Mukrian province, including Sheikh Ali khan, Budaq Khan, and Abdullah Khan, attempted to beat Foles in Savojbalagh. Among the coins studied, the minting dates of 1156, 1224, 1240, and 1242 Ah. can be seen. In the year 1138 to 1160. Ah. Alinaghi Khan Mukri (Sheikh Ali khan) ruled in Savojbalagh Mukri during the reign of Sultan Ahmad Safavi (1138-1141 AH) and Nader Shah Afshar (1160-1160 AH). Coinage dates 1224, 1240, and 1242. Ah. of these coins show the coinage of them during the Qajar era and the reign of Fathali Shah (1212-1250 AH) over Iran and the reign of Budag Khan over Savojbolagh. Plus written sources on 1233. Ah. at the same time, this refers to the existence of local money in the Mukrian region in the Fathali Shah era and the great power of the Budaq Khan. The city reached its peak in the middle of the Qajar period, with a dynamic market with numerous inns across the city, located on the Silk Road (Khorasan Road) as a bridge between Baghdad-Tabriz and the presence of various strata, including Jews, Jacobites, Armenians, Assyrians, and Chaldeans provided economic prosperity for the city’s inhabitants and eventually became the most prominent commercial center of northwestern Iran with its inland, Caucasian, Anatolian, northern Iraqi, Syrian and even European countries.