Coin Afghanistan Ghaznavids, Bahram Shah - Silver Dirham - 1118 / 1135 Ghazna

This silver dirham was struck during the reign of Bahram Shah, ruler of the Ghaznavid dynasty, between 1118 and 1157, at the mint of Ghazna, the historic capital of the kingdom located in present-day Afghanistan.

This issue is of particular interest as it explicitly names two overlords: the powerful Seljuk sultan Ahmad Sanjar and the Abbasid caliph al-Mustarshid. This mention reflects the position of vassalage in which Bahram Shah found himself at the time, thereby acknowledging the political and religious supremacy of these two high authorities.

The reign of Bahram Shah falls within a period of profound reorganisation of Ghaznavid power. Having been forced into exile by his brother Arslan Shah, Bahram Shah was only able to reclaim the throne with the decisive military support of the Seljuk sultan Sanjar, of whom he became a vassal. This dependence is concretely reflected in the coinage through the mention of Sanjar's name alongside that of the caliph. The Ghaznavid kingdom, once powerful under Mahmud of Ghazni, was by then considerably weakened and territorially reduced, in the face of the rising power of the Seljuks to the west and the Ghurids to the north. Ghazna itself, while remaining the centre of monetary production, experienced a declining political influence. Bahram Shah nonetheless managed to maintain a relative internal stability and to sustain a monetary output still bearing witness to an organised administration.