Islamic - Shahs of Iran. SAFAVID: Sulayman I, 1668-1694, AR 20 shahi (35.76g), Isfahan, AH1099, A-2664, Rabino-17 (same obverse die), 50.1 mm; lengthy couplet around the obverse, the Shiite kalima and the names of the 12 Imams on the reverse; an excellent example with only minor traces of clasps on the obverse, with no significant damage to the surface, bold VF, R. Ruler cited as "sulayman bande-ye shah-e velayat" ("Sulayman, servant of the King of the Velayat"), where the King of the Velayat is Ali b. Abi Talib, the fourth caliph after the death of the Prophet and regarded by Shiites as the rightful successor to the Prophet, thus the first Shiite Imam.
