The Horde's Silver Crisis: Khan Mengu-Timur's Coinage Reform

In the late 13th century, the Golden Horde faced a monetary crisis that threatened its control over Russia. Khan Mengu-Timur, grandson of Batu, launched a radical reform: replacing the diverse coinage of conquered lands with a unified silver dirham stamped with Mongol tamgas and Islamic declarations. This episode traces how Sarai's mints produced millions of coins that funded tribute collection, trade on the Volga route, and the yam postal system. We examine the economic logic behind the reform, the resistance from Russian princes who lost minting privileges, and the surprising role of Venetian silver from Caffa. Lucas and Luna discuss the Horde's integration of Chinese, Persian, and Russian economic practices, and how Mengu-Timur's coins reveal the empire's blend of shamanic and Islamic identities. Along the way, they touch on the over 150,000 coins unearthed at the Tver hoard—a treasure that tells the story of Mongol Russia's monetary revolution. #MenguTimur #GoldenHorde #SilverDirham #CoinageReform #SaraiMint #MongolEconomy #TverHoard #VolgaTrade #YamSystem #IslamicCoinage #Tamga #JochidUlus #13thCentury #MedievalRussia #Numismatics #History #FexingoHistory #EconomicHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo