Abaqa Khan, 1265-1282 (663-680 AH) - AE Fals

AC-515; Bennett 359; ANRO-66

AE Fals

Obverse: Large cross in center with the legend 'Lord God, Jesus Christ' (in Armenian) in angles; around, 'bism al-Ab wa 'l-Ibn wa-Ruh al-Quds Alahu wahid' ('in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the one God' (in Arabic).
Reverse: Legend in Uyghur naming Abaqa.

Kapanadze-86, table VIII #106; AC-515; Bennett 359

In the late 1270s, the Mongol Ilkhanate under Abaqa Khan stretched from Persia into the Caucasus. Local Christian realms—Cilician Armenia to the south and the Georgian Bagratid kingdom to the north—served as crucial buffers against the expanding Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria. Both Armenian and Georgian rulers acknowledged Mongol overlordship in exchange for military protection and internal autonomy.

In 1244, Armenian King Hethoum I was the first to submit Cilicia to Mongol suzerainty and, under Mongol patronage, began issuing bilingual coins bearing both Armenian legend and Arabic script. His son, King Levon II (r. 1269–1289), deepened that partnership. Levon II provided Armenian cavalry and troops to every major Ilkhanid campaign—most notably at the Second Battle of Homs in 1281, where Armenian and Georgian forces formed Abaqa’s right wing. In return for Levon’s steadfast support, Abaqa pursued a policy of religious tolerance and practical cooperation, granting Christian customs full expression under his rule.

Around AH 679–681 (AD 1280–1282), a bronze fals was struck at Dmanisi, a town on the Armenian‑Georgian frontier within the historic Armenian province of Gugark. The obverse features a large cross surrounded by an Armenian inscription reading “Lord God, Jesus Christ,” while an Arabic legend encircles the design with the Trinitarian formula “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God.” The reverse carries an inscription in Uyghur script naming Abaqa Khan as issuer. Using Armenian script ensured immediate recognition and acceptance by Leo II’s Armenian subjects; the Arabic text addressed broader Near Eastern Christians; and the Uyghur legend asserted Mongol authority.

Although the fals bears no mint signature, all known examples come from around Dmanisi in southern Georgia, pointing to a local origin. It names only Abaqa Khan—omitting any Georgian ruler—and is therefore regarded as anonymous, likely struck under Mongol authority by minor regional nobles or feudal lords. Centuries earlier, Dmanisi had fallen within the Armenian Kingdom of Lori, which ended in 1118 AD; by the late 13th century that kingdom no longer existed, but the region still supported a large Armenian‑speaking community. In that setting, inscribing “Lord God, Jesus Christ” in Armenian around a Christian cross spoke directly to local faithful, while the Uighur legend on the reverse affirmed Abaqa’s authority. Its exclusive discovery at Dmanisi confirms this coin as a specialized regional issue, tailored to the Christian Armenian population of a former Lori territory now under Ilkhanid rule.