Coin Abu Said - 2 Silver Dirham, Type F - 724 AH (1323 / 1324) Samsun

This silver 2 dirham was struck under the reign of Abu Sa'id Bahadur, the last great khan of the Ilkhanate, at the Samsun mint in 724 AH, corresponding to the years 1323?1324 of the Christian era.

Abu Sa'id came to power in 1316 at the age of twelve, under the regency and then the influence of Emir Choban. His reign was marked by relative stabilisation following the turmoil that had shaken the Ilkhanate. In 1323, he concluded an agreement with the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, marking a phase of appeasement between the two powers. This same period also witnessed the growing influence of Choban, of whom Abu Sa'id would eventually rid himself in 1327. The Ilkhanate then experienced relative economic prosperity, fostering the activity of mints across its territories, including in transit cities such as Samsun. Abu Sa'id's death without a direct heir in 1335 led to the rapid disintegration of the Ilkhanid state.

Samsun, a port located on the southern coast of the Black Sea, was at that time an important commercial and strategic centre of the Pontic region, integrated into the trade networks connecting Anatolia to the Ilkhanid territories.