Paper long abstract:

A Mongol in the Cairo Mint

In 650 and 651 AH/1252 and 1253 AD, Ilqāy was a high official at the Mamlūk mint of Cairo. One source only sheds light on Ilqāy's unexpected existence, a series of rare monetary weights: only ten are known, located in six museums from Cairo to California. The weights are made of translucent glass with clear legends written in Arabic script as well as Coptic numerals. As a Mongol, how could Ilqāy have achieved this status when the Mamluks and Mongols were adversaries? This presentation offers an answer with a hypothetical construction of his career indicating amongst other points that he may have been a Jalayrid and also converted to Islam. It also suggests that originally he was a treasury official of the Ögödeids, working first in Qarā Qorum under Ögödei and then for Güyük. He took the imperial style of coinage across the steppe, striking silver, and then organized vassal coinages in Georgia and Anatolia. With the harsh civil war among the Chingizids after Güyük's death, he offered his services to the Mamlūks. As a result, some small objects have led to an investigation of a strange name, Mongol clan and tribal loyalties, and an individual's conversion from shamanism to Islam. This biography also follows a numismatic trail from Qarfā Qorum to Cairo, considering monetary movements, messages of legitimacy, and mint structure. No matter what his detailed biography really is, Ilqāy spent his life surviving regime changes throughout Central Asia and the Middle East. Therefore, this small glimpse of a refugee emerging from a piece of glass the size of a coin is more poignant for its human tale than for Ilqāy's important financial roles.