500 Somoni 2021, Tajikistan
| in Krause book | Number: 22 |
| Years of issue: | 2021 |
| Edition: | |
| Signatures: | President of Tajikistan: Эмомали Раҳмон, Chairman of the National Bank of the Republic of Tajikistan: Холикзода Хоким Хикматулло |
| Serie: | 2000 Issue |
| Specimen of: | 2010 |
| Material: | Cotton fiber |
| Size (mm): | 162 x 65 |
| Printer: | Giesecke und Devrient GmbH, Leipzig |
* All pictures marked 
are increased partially by magnifying glass, the remaining open in full size by clicking on the image.
** The word "Specimen" is present only on some of electronic pictures, in accordance with banknote images publication rules of appropriate banks.
Description
Watermark:
Rudaki. Please, read obverse description!
Avers:
Rudaki (also spelled Rodaki; Persian: رودکی; c. 858 – 940/41) was a poet, singer, and musician who is regarded as the first major poet to write in New Persian. A court poet under the Samanids, he reportedly composed more than 180,000 verses, yet only a small portion of his work has survived, most notably a small part of his versification of the Kalila wa-Dimna, a collection of Indian fables.
Born in the village of Banoj (located in the present-day Rudak area), the most important part of Rudaki's career was spent at the court of the Samanids. While biographical information connects him to the Samanid amir (ruler) Nasr II (r. 914–943), he may have already joined the court under the latter's predecessor, Ahmad Samani (r. 907–914).
Rudaki's success was largely due to the support of his primary patron, the vizier Abu'l-Fadl al-Bal'ami (died 940), who played an important role in the blooming of New Persian literature in the X-century. Following the downfall of Bal'ami in 937, Rudaki's career deteriorated, eventually being dismissed from the court. He thereafter lived his last years in poverty, dying blind and alone in his hometown.
In Iran, Rudaki is acknowledged as the "founder of New Persian poetry" and in Tajikistan as the "father of Tajik literature". 
The emblem of the National Bank of Tajikistan is in top right corner.
The emblem of the National Bank of Tajikistan shows three snow-capped ridges - Alai, Zaalaysky Mountains and the Pamirs (same as on the coat of arms).
The State Emblem of Tajikistan is on top, left of center.
It is a modified version of the original emblem of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic that was in use until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The crown at the center of the emblem is the same as the Tajik national flag, and refers to the Persian word taj, meaning crown, from which the name of the Tajik people is said to be derived, according to one interpretation. The base of the emblem contains a representation of a book and the Pamir Mountains. The emblem is flanked by cotton on one side and wheat on the other, as well a banner of the national red-white-green colors of Tajikistan is wrapped around the cotton and wheat.
According to M.Revnivtsev, the "crown", depicted in the center of the national flag and coat of arms in the upper part of Tajikistan, includes three stylized fixtures - three sacred inextinguishable fire that are the subject of religious worship in the Zoroastrian temples. A central element of "crown" symbolizes the world mountain Hara, located in the center of the world, and the curved arc of gold at the bottom of the emblem represents "retaliation bridge" Chinvat, where the Day of Judgment Zarathustra will separate the righteous from the wicked soul.
Seven gold five-pointed stars, according M.Revnivtsev, represent one of the basic concepts of Zoroastrianism - the seven good spirits Amesha Spenta - incarnation and inner circle of the supreme god Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd). Located along the arc of a circle of gold stars form Farn - sun shining beginning, the divine fire, its material emanation from analogue halo of Christian saints.
21 sunbeam - repeated three times in the group at 7-rays - represent the three emanations of Ahura Mazda with 7 good spirits Amesha Spenta.
Golden Mountains with silver tops - snow-capped ridges Alai, Zaalaysky Mountains and the Pamirs.
Wheat ears - a symbol of agriculture and settled life, inherited, like the rising sun, the emblem of the Soviet Union.
Although, left of center is the line with Tajik national ornament (pattern).
Unfortunately, so far, I have found absolutely no information about the image in the background of the obverse of the banknote, namely a woman, in a patterned window, similar to the decoration of the mihrab in a mosque.
Either this is a figurative allegory of a poetic muse, or such an image was published in some edition of Rudaki’s works. Information is being confirmed!
Revers:
The Palace of the Nation (Tajik: Қасри Миллат, romanized: Qasri Millat; Russian: Дворец Нации) is the official residence of the President of Tajikistan. It is located on Shirinshoh Shohtemur Street in central Dushanbe. The Presidential Palace is surrounded by Dushanbe Flagpole to the north, Rudaki Park to the east, Independence Monument to the south and Varzob River to the west.
The construction of the Palace began in 2000. In early 2006, the Dushanbe Synagogue and the local mikveh (ritual bath), kosher butcher, as well as Jewish schools were demolished by the government without compensation to make room for the new palace. After an international outcry, the government announced a reversal and said that would allow the synagogue to be rebuilt at its current site. However, in the final stages of the palace's construction, the government destroyed the entire synagogue, leaving Tajikistan without a synagogue as it was the only one in the country (this resulted in the majority of Tajik Bukharan Jews having negative views of the Tajik government).
On the eve of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Dushanbe in August 2008, the palace was completed, with the summit events being partially held under the golden dome with 20-meter columns. In September 2018, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko became the first foreign leader to visit the new wooden halls and rooms in the palace. The Old Presidential Palace (former seat of the Council of Ministers of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic), located on Rudaki Avneue, was demolished in 2021.
Above the building is the flag of Tajikistan.
The national flag of Tajikistan (Tajik: Парчами Тоҷикистон / پرچم تاجیکستان) was adopted in November 1992, replacing the flag of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic of 1953. It is a horizontal tricolour of red, white and green with a width ratio of 2:3:2, charged with a crown surmounted by an arc of seven stars at the center.
The tricolour preserves the choice of colours in the Tajik Soviet flag.
The middle white stripe has one-and-a-half times the width of the red and green stripes. The red represents the unity of the nation; the green represents the fertile valleys, while the white represents both the snow and ice of the mountains and the colour of cotton.
The crown and stars are set in a rectangle taking up 80% of the flag's total width. The crown represents the Tajik people, as the name Tajik is connected with Persian tâj "crown" in popular etymology.
In lower right corner is a text: "БАРОИ ҚАЛБАКӢ СОХТАНИ БИЛЕТҲОИ БОНКИ МИЛЛИИ ТОҶИКИСТОН МУВОФИҚИ ҚОНУН ҶАЗО ДОДА МЕШОВАД".
In English:" Counterfeit banknotes of the National Bank of Tajikistan shall be punished in accordance with the law."
Comments:
The somoni (Tajik: cомонӣ) is the currency of Tajikistan. It is subdivided into 100 diram (Tajik: дирам). The currency is named after the father of the Tajik nation, Ismail Samani (also spelled Ismoil Somoni).
The somoni was introduced on 30 October 2000; it replaced the Tajikistani ruble, at the rate of 1 somoni = 1000 rubles.
The currency is divided into 100 diram for one somoni. Diram banknotes were first introduced on 30 October 2000 to start the currency off and coins were introduced later in 2001 with the intention of creating a more efficient monetary system and gradually replacing the diram notes. This was also the first time circulating coins were introduced in Tajikistan.
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