Afghanistan, 1200-1220 AD., Khwarizmshahs, Muhammad II, Kurzuwan mint, Jital, Tye 246.

Afghanistan, Khwarazmian dynasty (Khwarizmshahs, AH 521-628 / 1127-1231 AD.), Anushtiginids (AH 469-629 / 1077–1231 AD.), Muhammad II of Khwarezm (AH 596-617 / 1200-1220 AD), Kurzuwan mint in northern Afghanistan (Gurzuwan / Gurzuvan, near Taliqan), AH 596-617 / 1200-1220 AD,
Jital (ø 18-19,5 mm / 2,70 g), billon, axes irregular alignment ↑← (ca. 280°),
Obv.: ... / کرزوان , mint name "Kurzuwan" within a circle, ruler Muhammad and his title "As-sultan al-azam Muhammed bin as-sultan" around, Persian legend in plain and dotted circles.
Rev.: ... ("Allah la ilah illa Allah Muhammad Rasul al-Nasir") , Kalima, four lines Persian legend in plain and dotted circles.
Tye 246 ; Album 1731.2 ; BMC 601 .

The Khwarazmian dynasty (also known as the Khwarezmid dynasty, dynasty of Khwarazm Shahs, and other spelling variants; from Persian خوارزمشاهیان Khwārazmshāhiyān, "Kings of Khwarezmia") was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin.

The dynasty ruled Greater Iran during the High Middle Ages, in the approximate period of 1077 to 1231 AD, first as vassals of the Seljuqs and Kara-Khitan, and later as independent rulers, up until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. The dynasty was founded by Anush Tigin Gharchai, a former Turkish slave of the Seljuq sultans, who was appointed the governor of Khwarezm. His son, Qutb ad-Din Muhammad I, became the first hereditary Shah of Khwarezm.

Ala ad-Din Muhammad II (Persian: علاءالدین محمد خوارزمشاه; full name: Ala ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Abul-Fath Muhammad Sanjar ibn Tekish) was the Shah of the Khwarezmian Empire from 1200 to 1220. His ancestor was a Turkic slave who eventually became a viceroy of a small province named Khwarizm.
After his father, Tekish died, Muhammad inherited his lands, and it was from there he began expanding outwards. By 1205 he had conquered all of Persia from the Seljuk Turks.
Muhammad frequently clashed with Ghurids for hegemony at Khorasan region and with Western Karakhanids for Maveraünnehir. He conquered Herat in 1204, Balkh, regions of Cüzcan and Tokharistan. After defeating Muhammad of Ghor at the battle of Andkhvoy in 1205, he took Sistan from Ghurids in 1206. He captured Samarkand (captured by Karakhanids in 1208) in 1207 from the Kara Khitay, Tabaristan in 1210 from Ghurids and Maveraünnehir from Western Karakhanids. He pursued expansionist policy and conquered Tashkent and Fergana from Western Karakhanids and regions of Makran and Balochistan from Ghurids and Atabegs of Azerbaijan become his vassals in 1211. He finally destroyed Western Karakhanids in 1212 and Ghurids in 1215 annexing with their remainder territories. During 1212 the city of Samarkand revolted killing 8,000-10,000 Khwarezmians living there. Muhammad, in retaliation, sacked the city and executed 10,000 citizens of Samarkand.
By 1217 he had conquered all the lands from the river Jaxartes to the Persian Gulf he declared himself shah and demanded formal recognition from the caliph in Baghdad. When the caliph an-Nasir rejected his claim, Ala ad-Din Muhammad gathered an army and marched towards Baghdad to depose an-Nasir. However, when crossing the Zagros Mountains, the shah's army was caught in a blizzard. Thousands of warriors died and with the army decimated the generals had no choice but to return home.
In 1218, a small contingent Mongols crossed borders in pursuit of an escaped enemy general. Upon successfully retrieving him, Genghis Khan made contact with the Shah. Having only recently conquered two-thirds of what would one day be China, Genghis was looking to open trade relations, but having heard exaggerated reports of the Mongols, the Shah believed this gesture was only a ploy to invade his land. Genghis sent emissaries to Khwarezm (reports vary - one stating a group of 100 Muslim merchants with a single Mongol leading them, others state 450) to emphasize his hope for a trade road. The Shah, in turn, had one of his governors openly accuse the party of spying, their rich goods were seized and the party was arrested. Trying to maintain diplomacy, Genghis sent an envoy of three men to the Shah, to give him a chance to disclaim all knowledge of the governor's actions and hand him over to the Mongols for punishment. The shah executed the envoy (again, some sources claim one man was executed, some claim all three were), and then immediately had the Mongol merchant party (Muslim and Mongol alike) put to death. These events led Genghis to retaliate with a force of 100,000 to 150,000 men that crossed the Jaxartes in 1219 and sacked the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, Otrar and others. Muhammad's capital city, Urgench, followed soon after.
Ala ad-Din Muhammad fled and sought refuge throughout Khorasan, but died of pleurisy on an island in the Caspian Sea near the port of Abaskun some weeks later.