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Javaher A, Emamifar N, Shairi H. (2025). Typography as Image: Analysis of Discursive Oppositions in the Uljaytu's Coins with Emphasis on Greimas' Semiotics Method. JIC. 9(2), 143-163. doi:10.61882/jic.9.2.423
URL: http://jih-tabriziau.ir/article-1-423-en.html

Coins of the Ilkhanid Sultan Muhammad Khodabandeh (Uljaytu) transcended their economic function. These coins served as influential media through which the government displayed and managed its discursive system of power, identity, and religion. The primary question of this research is how the fundamental tensions of that period including the conflict between the Mongol roots of the rulers and the inclination toward an Iranian-Islamic identity, as well as the clash between tradition and innovation are reflected and managed in the inscriptions (typography and designs) on these very coins. The aim is to examine the semiotic analysis of these oppositions as constitutive components of the governing discursive system, expressed through both script and image. The methodology is qualitative, advancing based on Greimas's semiotic theory, relying on narrative analysis and the semiotic square model. Five silver coins minted in Tabriz from the years 709, 710, and 714 AH were selected as key samples and meticulously examined. The data included precise images of the coins as well as library resources, which were processed and analyzed according to the Greimassian semiotic approach. The findings reveal a three-phase narrative of this transformation. In the initial years (709-710 AH), the coins simultaneously maintained two contradictory aspects: the Uighur script on one side and Shiite texts on the other. This intentional duality indicates the government's cautious strategy at the outset. Subsequently, emotional symbols such as intertwined heart motifs reinforced the affective charge of the message. However, in the final phase (714 AH), no trace of the Uighur script remains. Uniform Shiite texts and regular geometric designs, such as seven-petaled flowers, constitute a consolidated and unified discourse. The fundamental conclusion is that the coins were not merely passive mirrors of developments but rather an active arena for displaying and ultimately mastering tensions in favor of the official narrative of power. This process reveals the Ilkhanids' intelligent strategy for consolidating their new legitimacy through integration with Iranian-Islamic culture.