1. Altamsh. Æ.
Obv., in hexagon, _’Adl_.
Rev., in square, inscribed in a circle, _As-sult̤ān_.
2. Id: AR. Wt. about 165 grs.
Rev., in square, inscribed in a circle, _As-sult̤ānu-l-a’z̤am
Shamsu-d-dunyā wa-d-dīn abu-l-muz̤affar Altamsh as-sult̤ān_,
“The supreme sultan, the sun of the world and the faith, the
father of the victorious, Altamsh the sultan.” Marginal legends
incomplete.
3. Raẓiya. Bil. Wt. about 54 grs.
Obv., horseman to right. Around, in Nāgarī, _Śrī Hamīrah_
(= the Amīr).
Rev., in Arabic, _As-sult̤ānu-l-a’z̤am Raẓiyatu-d-dunyā wa-d-dīn_.
4. Ghiyās̤u-d-dīn Balban. Bil. Wt. about 55 grs.
Obv., in circle, in Arabic, _Balban_; around, in Nāgarī,
_Śrī Sultān Giyāsudīn_.
Rev., in Arabic, _As-sult̤ānu-l-a’z̤am Ghiyās̤u-d-dunyā
wa-d-dīn_.
5. ’Alāu-d-dīn Muḥammad. Dehlī. 698 A.H. AV. Wt. 170 grs.
Obv., in a circle, _Sikandaru-s̤-s̤ānī yamīnu-l-khilāfati
nāṣiru amīru-l-mominīn_, “The second Alexander, the right
hand of the Khalifate, the helper of the commander of the
faithful”; margin, _Ẓuriba hazihi-s-sikkatu bi ḥaẓrati
Dehlī fī sinate s̤amāna wa tis ’aina wa sittami ’ata_,
“Struck this coin at the capital, Dehlī, in the year eight
and ninety and six hundred.”
Rev., as on No. 2, but title, _’Alāu-d-dunyā wa-d-dīn_, and
name _Muḥammad Shāh_.
6. Qut̤bu-d-dīn Mubārak. 719 A.H. Bil. Wt. 80 grs.
Obv., in circle, _Ḵẖ̱alīfatu ’llah Mubārak Shāh_, “The
Khalif of God, Mubārak Shāh”; around, _As-sult̤an al
wās̤iqu bi ’llah amīru-l-mominīn_, “The sultan, the
truster in God, the commander of the faithful.”
Rev., _Al imāmu-l-a’z̤am Qut̤bu-d-dunyā wa-d-dīn abu-l-muz̤affar_,
“The Supreme Imām, Qut̤bu-d-dīn, the father of the victorious.”
7. Muḥammad bin Tughlaq. Dehlī. 726 A.H. AV. Wt. 199 grs.
Obv., in circle, _Al wās̤iqu bi taʾīdu-r-rahman_ (“The
truster in the help of the Merciful”) _Muḥammad Shāh
as-sult̤ān_. Margin similar to that on No. 5, but
_hazihi-d-dīnār_ and date 726 in Arabic words.
Rev., _Ashhadu an lā ilāha illallaho wa ashhadu an Muḥammadan
’abduhu wa rasūluhu_, “I testify that there is no god but
God, and I testify that Muḥammad is his servant and apostle.”
8. Id: in the name of the Khalif Al Ḥākim. Bil. Wt. about 140 grs.
Obv., within quatrefoil, _Al Ḥākim b’ amru ’llah_.
Rev., within quatrefoil, _Abū-l-’abbās Aḥmad_.
9. Id: Forced Currency. Tulghlaqpūr, 730 A.H. Brass. Wt. about 140 grs.
Obv., in circle, _Man atā’ as-sult̤ān faqad atā’ ar-rahmān_,
“He who obeys the sultan surely he obeys the Merciful”;
margin, in Persian, _Dar iqlīm-i-Tug̱ẖlaqpūr’urf Tirhut
sāl bar hafsad sī_ “(Struck) in the territory of
Tulghlaqpūr, alias Tirhut, in the year seven hundred and
thirty.”
Rev., in Persian, _Muhar shud tankah-i-ra’īj dar
rūzgāh-i-bandah-i-ummīdwār Muḥammad Tug̱ẖlaq_, “Stamped
as a tankah current in the reign of the slave, hopeful (of
mercy), Muḥammad Tughlaq.”
10. Fīroz Shāh. Dehlī. 773 A.H. Bil. Wt. 140 grs.
Obv., _Al Khalīfatu amiru-l-mominīn khuldat khilāfatuhu 773_,
“The Khalif of the Commander of the faithful, may the
Khalifate be perpetuated.”
Rev., _Fīroz Shāh sult̤ānī ẓuriba bi ḥaẓrati Dehlī_,
cf. No. 5, Obv., margin.
11. Fīroz Shāh Z̤afar. AV. Wt. 169 grs.
Obv., in circle, _Fī zamani-l-imāmi amīru-l-mominīn Abu
’Abdu ’llah khuldat khilāfatuhu_, “In the time of the Imām,
the commander of the faithful, Abu ’Abdu ’llah,” etc.; margin
illegible.
Rev., _As-sult̤ānu-l-a’z̤am Fīroz Shāh Z̤afar Shāh ibn-i-Fīroz
Shāh sult̤ānī_, “The supreme sultan Fīroz Shāh Z̤afar Shāh,
son of Fīroz Shāh, sultan.”
12. Abūbakr Shāh. 792 A.H. Æ. Wt. about 102 grs.
Obv., in square, _Abūbakr Shāh_; in margin, _bin Z̤afar
bin Fīroz Shāh sult̤ānī_.
Rev., _Nāʾībi amīru-l-mominīn 792_, “The deputy of the
Commander of the faithful.”
13. Bahlol Lodī. Dehlī. 858 A.H. Bil. Wt. 140-146 grs.
Obv., _Fī zamani amīru-l-mominīn khuldat khilāfatuhu 858_.
Rev., _Al mutawakkilu ’ala-r-rahmān_ (“Trusting in the
Merciful one”) _Bahlol Shāh sult̤ān bi ḥaẓrati Dehlī_.
The western silver coinage of the Guptas may have been imitated by
some of the powerful Maitraka rulers of Valabhī, who asserted their
independence at the end of the fifth century: coins bearing the name
Kṛishṇarāja, at present unidentified, are copied from Skandagupta’s
bull type. Far more important are the coins struck by Īśānavarman,
the Maukhari, and his successors, whose kingdom was in Bihār. These
follow the Central Peacock type, but the head on the obverse, excepting
the issue of one king, is turned to the left instead of to the right.
These otherwise insignificant coins have a twofold interest: they
were copied by the Hun Toramāṇa; and, more important still, the
name appearing on the last and most abundant coins of the series is
Śilāditya (Pl. VI, 3), who is almost certainly to be identified with
the great Harshavardhana of Thāṇeśar and Kanauj, himself a relation of
the Maukhari princes. What further strengthens this conjecture is the
fact that the dates on the Śilāditya coins are reckoned in a new era,
doubtless that which commenced with Harshavardhana’s coronation in
A.D. 606, whereas the Maukhari kings use the Gupta era. It is striking
testimony to the havoc wrought by the Hun invasions that these tiny
silver pieces are the only coins[34] known to have been issued by this
great king, who built up on the ruins of Northern India an empire
scarcely less extensive than that of the Guptas.
[34] Certain thin silver coins of Sassanian type have been doubtfully
ascribed to him. Cf. Rapson, _Indian Coins_, p. 34, § 122.
The copper money of the Guptas was copied by the Hun princes, Toramāṇa
and Mihiragula, but left no legacy behind, unless the small coins which
record the names of six Nāga princes of Narwar in Northern Rājputāna
may have been derived from it.
[Illustration: Fig. 5. _Śrī Maj Jajalla-deva_, in old Nāgarī Script.]
V
MEDIÆVAL COINAGES OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL INDIA TILL THE MUHAMMADAN
CONQUEST
The centuries which elapsed between that great turning point in
Indian history, the Hun invasions, and the coming of the Muhammadans
in the twelfth century, suggest several points of comparison with
the so-called Dark Ages of European history. It was an age of
transition, pregnant with important developments for the future, but
individualistic expression, both in art and literature, remained
largely in abeyance. This want of originality is particularly marked
in the limited coinage of the numerous petty kingdoms which flourished
and declined during the seventh, eighth and ninth centuries. The most
important movement of the time was the rise of the Rājpūt clans, which
were now emerging as the dominant powers in Hindustān. The Bull and
Horseman type in the Rājpūt coinage symbolises this new force. In
addition to the issues of the Huns and the Rājpūt dynasties will be
described the money of Kashmīr, which, protected by its mountainous
frontiers, ordinarily remained shut off from the influence of political
events which agitated the kingdoms of the plains.