1 Abbasi – Derbent Khanate

In 1804, the Derbent Khanate, a small semi-independent state on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, existed within a complex and volatile monetary ecosystem shaped by overlapping spheres of influence. Its economy was fundamentally tied to transit trade, agriculture, and tribute, operating without a unified national currency. Instead, circulation was dominated by a heterogeneous mix of foreign coins, primarily the silver Russian ruble and kopecks from the north, and the Persian qiran and abbasi from the south. This reflected the khanate’s precarious political position, caught between the expanding Russian Empire, to which it paid nominal allegiance following the 1796 Persian Expedition, and the lingering economic and cultural pull of Persia.

The local monetary reality was one of chronic instability and confusion. The simultaneous circulation of Russian, Persian, and even older Ottoman and Dutch coins led to constant problems of valuation and exchange. Merchants and officials had to navigate fluctuating exchange rates and varying silver purity, which facilitated arbitrage but hampered reliable taxation and state finance. Furthermore, the supply of specie was irregular, often dependent on the fortunes of war and trade routes, leading to periods of severe shortage that stifled commerce and increased the use of barter, particularly in rural areas.

This fragmented system underscored the khanate’s limited sovereignty. While local khans likely minted small-change copper coins (puls) for everyday market transactions, they lacked the authority and silver reserves to issue high-value currency that could unify the economy. The monetary chaos of 1804 was, therefore, a direct symptom of Derbent’s transitional status. Within just two years, this ambiguity would be resolved by force: following the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813), the khanate was fully annexed into the Russian Empire in 1806, and its monetary system was gradually subsumed and standardized under the Russian imperial rubric.