DescriptionSulayman was a member of a minor branch of the Ilkhan family. The Ilkhan Sultans were puppets of various Persian strongmen. Local branches and unrelated families vied for power in Sulayman’s time. Rulers were assassinated, puppets were installed. Treachery and intrigue were everywhere. Sulayman was supposed to be a puppet of the leader of a local family. When that guy was assassinated some people blamed Sulayman, but it didn’t matter because Sulayman had a chunk of that guy’s treasury. That enabled him to act on his own for a while. He was unable to improve his position. The biggest big shot of the time and place, Hasan Buzurg (Big Hasan), the Jalair, escorted him out of Ilkhania when the situation got too hot, and another puppet was put on the Ilkhan throne. Sulayman and Hasan fell out after a while, and he retired to a safe city, where he struck coins as a kind of government in exile.Ilkhan is a Persianization of the name of the founder, the Mongol Hulagu, son of Tolui, grandson of Chingis Khan. It was powerful and wealth for about a century, then the twin scourges of dynastic wars and the Black Plague hit it hard and it fell apart.The term “Islamic coins” refers to coins made by Muslim governments from the time of the first caliphs to an end point in time that varies with the particular country being considered, but is generally some time from the 17th to 19th century. There is a geographic exclusion: India and points east are generally considered separately. The main reference used here is “Checklist of Islamic Coins,” by Stephen Album.
