The Coinage of the Bengal Sultans: 1205 – 1576 AD

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Coinage of the Bengal Sultans: 1205 – 1576 AD Quadrant IV: The Coinage of the Bengal Sultans: 1205 – 1576 AD 5.1 Do you know Description Image Source “In the very beginning of Image source: the 13th century, the people of Bengal saw a completely alien coinindia.com/galleries-bengal.html coinage so far as their language, script, metrology and type are concerned. The language on the coin is Arabic, script is Nashq and Tughra. The metals used for manufacturing these coins was grossly Silver” “Large number of silver tankas of Bengal are found with chisel cuts and various other type of punches generally known as ‘shroff marks,’ a special characteristic of this coinage. This was probably the result of a system of discounting and reminting of older coinage” “Starting with a single mint in 13th century, the number of mints increased from 14th century and reached its highest number of fourteen mints simultaneously were in operation in 16th century” 5.2 Timeline Timelines Image Description Bakhtyar Khalji invaded Bengal, struck coins in the name 1205 CE of Muhammad bin Sam, bilingual with horseman motif Bengal as a provincial kingdom was under the rule of the 1205-1334 CE Governors deputed by Delhi Sultans Period of early Independent Sultan under the leadership of 1334 – 1345 CE Fakhr al-din Mubarak Shah Shams al-din Ilyas Shah conquered the entire Bengal and 1345 CE established the first independent sultanate in Bengal Hindu chieftain Raja Ganesa captured the power in 1416-18 CE Bengal for a brief period in the name of Danujamarddana Deva Nasir al-din Mahmud Shah established a new 1434 CE dynasty known as Later Ilyas Shahi dynasty The Abyssinians (Palace guards or Khwajas) 1487 – 1493CE overthrown Sultan Jalal al-din Fath Shah and held their sway over Bengal for a brief period With the reign of Ala al-din Husain Shah, Bengal 1493 – 1538CE entered into its most prosperous period of almost 50 years, the golden period in medieval Bengal 5.3 Glossary Starting Related Term Definition Character Term T Tanka Silver/ Gold coins of Medieval Bengal weighing 10.4- Sikkah 10.8 gm N Nashq A type of script for writing Arabic language T Tughra A special type of script for writing Arabic language K Kalima Profession of faith Shahada H Hadrat Jalal The holy seat of majesty S Sikandar al- The second Alexander Sani K Khazanah The treasury D Dar al-darb The mint 5.4 Web links Web links coinindia.com/galleries-bengal.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengal_Sultanate www.anwarscoincollection.com/category/sultanate/bengal-sultanate https://en.numista.com/catalogue/bengal_sultanate-1.html https://www.mintageworld.com/media/detail/3012-coins-of-bengal-sultan-husain-shah/ 5.5 Bibliography Bibliography Ahmed, Shamsuddin, Supplement to the Catalogue of the Coins in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, Vol.II, 1938. Bhattasali, N.K., Coins and Chronology of the Early Independent Sultans of Bengal, Cambridge, 1922 (New Delhi, 1976 reprint) Deyell, John S, ‘Rupar Bangla. the Politics and Religion of Mediaeval Bengal through Coins’, in Martha. L. Carter (ed.), A Treasury of Indian Coins, Marg, Bombay, 1994. Karim, Abdul, Corpus of the Muslim Coins of Bengal (Down to A.D. 1538),Dacca, 1960. Mitra, Pratip Kumar, ‘Silver Coin of Bengal Sultans in the Collection of the State Archaeological Museum, West Bengal’, Pratna Samiksha, Vol. I, Calcutta, 1992. Hussain, Syed Ejaz, The Bengal Sultanate, Politics, Economy and Coins, (AD 1205-1576), Manohar, New Delhi, 2003. Stan Goron and J.P.Goenka. The Coins of the Indian Sultanates Covering the Area of Present-day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. New Delhi: Munshiram and Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, 2001. .
Recommended publications
  • Downloaded From
    Arakan and Bengal : the rise and decline of the Mrauk U kingdom (Burma) from the fifteenth to the seventeeth century AD Galen, S.E.A. van Citation Galen, S. E. A. van. (2008, March 13). Arakan and Bengal : the rise and decline of the Mrauk U kingdom (Burma) from the fifteenth to the seventeeth century AD. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/12637 Version: Not Applicable (or Unknown) Licence agreement concerning inclusion of doctoral thesis in the License: Institutional Repository of the University of Leiden Downloaded from: https://hdl.handle.net/1887/12637 Note: To cite this publication please use the final published version (if applicable). CHAPTER TWO THE ORIGINS OF THE MRAUK U KINGDOM (1430 – 1593) The sixteenth century saw the rise to power in south-eastern Bengal of the Arakanese kingdom. At the same time the Mughals entered Bengal from the northwest and came into contact with the Arakanese. The arrival of the Mughals and the Arakanese in Bengal would spark a conflict between both parties for control over the economic heart of Bengal situated around Dhaka and Sripur. The war over Bengal would last for approximately ninety years. Starting in the early fifteenth century this Chapter describes the origins of the Mrauk U kingdom and the beginnings of the Ninety Years’ War. 2.1 The early years of the Mrauk U kingdom From the third decade of the fifteenth century the Arakanese kings of Mrauk U extended their hold over the Arakanese littoral. The coastal areas and the major islands Ramree and Cheduba were slowly brought under their control.1 During the sixteenth century successive Arakanese kings were able to gain control over the most important entrepôt of Bengal, Chittagong.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded License
    Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 64 (2021) 217-250 brill.com/jesh Regimes of Diplomacy and Law: Bengal-China Encounters in the Early Fifteenth Century Mahmood Kooria Researcher, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands and Visiting faculty, Ashoka University, Sonepat, Haryana, India [email protected] Abstract This article examines the Bengal–China connections between the Ilyās Shāhī and Ming dynasties in the early fifteenth century across the Bay of Bengal and South China Sea. It traces how law played a central role in the cultural geography and diplomatic vocabulary between individuals and communities in foreign lands, with their shared understanding of two nodal points of law. Diplomatic missions explicate how custom- ary, regional and transregional laws were entangled in inter-imperial etiquette. Then there were the religious orders of Islam that constituted an inner circle of imperial exchanges. Between the Ilyās Shāhī rule in Bengal and the Ming Empire in China, certain dimensions of Islamic law provided a common language for the circulation of people and ideas. Stretching between cities and across oceans the interpolity legal exchanges expose interesting aspects of the histories of China and Bengal. Keywords Bengal-China connections – Ming dynasty – Ilyās Shāhī dynasty – interpolity laws – diplomacy – Islam – Indian Ocean Introduction More than a decade ago JESHO published a special issue (49/4), edited by Kenneth R. Hall, on the transregional cultural and economic exchanges and diasporic mobility between South, Southeast and East Asia, an area usually © Mahmood Kooria, 2021 | doi:10.1163/15685209-12341536 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0Downloaded license.
    [Show full text]
  • Lesser Known Capitals of Bengal Before Calcutta: Geo-Historical Aspects of ‘Tanda’
    International Bilingual Journal of Culture, Anthropology and Linguistics (IBJCAL), eISSN: 2582-4716 https://www.indianadibasi.com/journal/index.php/ibjcal/issue/view/3 VOLUME-2, ISSUE-1, ibjcal2020M01, pp. 1-10 1 Lesser Known Capitals of Bengal Before Calcutta: Geo-Historical Aspects of ‘Tanda’ Samir Ganguli Email: [email protected] ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Tanda was the capital of Sultan Sulaiman Khan Karrani, ruler of Received : 26.07.2020 Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, who shifted his capital from Gaur to Received (revised form): Tanda in 1565. It was the capital of Bengal Sultanate till 1576, till 01.09.2020 Sulaiman’s son Sultan Daud Khan, declared independence from the Accepted : 10.09.2020 Mughals which cost him his kingdom and life in 1576. Tanda Paper_Id : ibjcal2020M01 continued as the capital of Bengal Subah of the Mughals till Raja Man Singh shifted the capital to Rajmahal in 1595, except for a short period when the capital was shifted by Munim Khan to Gaur. Keywords: Tanda was located at the juncture of Padma and Bhagirathi, about Tanda 15 miles from Gaur. As happened with many cities of Bengal Bengal Sultanate located on the banks of rivers, Tanda also suffered the same fate. Sulaiman Karrani Tanda does not exist today. It is said that in about 1826, the city Daoud Karrani was destroyed by floods and disappeared into the river. Capitals of Bengal Lesser known capitals 1.0 Introduction Bengal has a rich history over hundreds of years and there have been many capitals in this part of the country over this period.
    [Show full text]
  • Professor Sutapa Sinha Residence: 15/2/4
    CURRICULAM VITAE Professor Sutapa Sinha Residence: 15/2/4. Jheel Road, Flat - N2, Sweetland, P.O. Santoshpur, Kolkata PIN - 700075, West Bengal, India. Contact details: +91 9830403927; Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Date of Birth: 10 March, 1968, Nationality: Indian JOB PROFILE: Professor, Islamic History and Culture, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, INDIA. Since December 2012 Associate Professor, Islamic History and Culture, University of Calcutta December 2009-2012 Reader, Islamic History and Culture, University of Calcutta December 2006 -2009 Fellow, Centre for Archaeological Studies and Training, Eastern India, Kolkata (An autonomous Research Institute of West Bengal) 1996-2006 Research Fellow, Directorate of Archaeology & Museums, West Bengal (recruited for a research project) 1992-1996 EDUCATION: PhD in History 2004 Department of History,Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal Title of Thesis: Coin Hoards, Currency Pattern and Trade: The Bengal Sultanate (1205-1576 AD) Supervisor: Professor Syed Ejaz Hussain, Department of History, Visva Bharati M.Sc in Archaeology 1990 Department of Archaeology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata Secured 1st position in 1stclass (65.3%) University topper and Gold Medalist B.Sc in Geography 1988 University of Calcutta, Kolkata, (56.7%) TEACHING EXPERIENCE: As Professor w.e.f. December 2012 As Associate Professor w.e.f. December 2009 Full-time Faculty (joined as a Reader) in the w.e.f. December 2006 Department of Islamic History and Culture, University of Calcutta, Guest Faculty in the Department of Archaeology, 2004-2012 University of Calcutta Page 1 of 13 TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS: Teaches three major sections of Post Graduate students in the home department on medieval Indian Sultanate history, medieval history of Bengal and Indo-Islamic architecture of India.
    [Show full text]
  • (Four Semesters) MA in ISLAMIC HISTORY and CULTURE
    C S R ISLAMIC HISTORY AND CULTURE UNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA Sahid Kshudiram Sikshangan, Alipur Campus 1, Reformatory Street, Kolkata 700 027 Regulations for Two±Years (Four Semesters) M.A. in ISLAMIC HISTORY AND CULTURE University of Calcutta 2nd floor, Alipore Campus, 1, Reformatory Street, Kolkata ± 700 027 _____________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION: The Post graduate Department of Islamic History and Culture at University of Calcutta began to function in 1942 and the system of examination at the end of two years was in practice. It introduced the biennial system of examination Part-I and Part-II, where the students had to sit for a yearly final examination. The department has introduced a system of internal assessment of 20 marks each paper and 10 marks each half and 80 marks each paper and 40 marks each half system of examination as a step towards semester system of examination from the 2014-2015 session. But on and from 2018- 2019 sessions, the Semester system is being introduced in the department making provision for examination at six months regular interval based on CBCS. REGULATIONS 1. GENERAL The course of study leading to the Post-graduate M.A. Degree in ISLAMIC HISTORY AND CULTURE of the University of Calcutta shall be conducted by the Department of ISLAMIC HISTORY AND CULTURE. A student may write his/her examination in English or in Bengali but the question paper will be set in English only. The University shall lay down from time to time such subsidiary rules of admission, courses of study and methods of examination as may be deemed necessary for the maintenance of standards of University Education, in conformity with the relevant authorities.
    [Show full text]
  • Advent of Islam in Bengal: an Epigraphic Approach
    DOI: 10.7763/IPEDR. 2012. V48. 6 ∗ Advent of Islam in Bengal: An Epigraphic Approach + Mohammad Yusuf Siddiq Department of Islamic Studies, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan Abstract. A hinterland in the old world of Islam, the early history of diffusion of Islamic civilization in Bengal is shrouded with mystery. Though the maritime and trade contacts between Arab world and Bengal can be traced during the early period of Islam, the religious and cultural interaction between these two far-fetched lands started growing only after the Muslim conquest of the region in the early 13th century. After the establishment of Muslim rule in the region, the mass conversion to Islam took place over centuries in different forms and phases. The article attempts to make a major breakthrough in constructing an early religious and cultural history of Bengal using the substantively rich and hitherto untapped archaeological materials, namely epigraphic sources (i.e., Arabic inscriptions), scattered abundantly all over the region. Keywords: Islam, Bengal, Epigraphy, Inscriptions. 1. Introduction Historically speaking, Bengal played an important role in South Asia as well as in the old world. Its famous cotton fabric “Muslin” used to export in different parts of the world. The first Oriental encounter with European colonialism also started in this region. But it was the advent of Islam that left the deepest impact on this region, which the focus of this paper. 2. The Land The early account of the spread of Islam in Bengal is shrouded in myth and mystery due to the intricate nature of its history, complexities of its social evolution and the diversities of its religious traditions and popular beliefs.
    [Show full text]
  • BHIC-107 English.Pmd
    Political Formations UNIT 8 EMERGENCE OF NEW KINGDOMS IN THE 15th CENTURY* Structure 8.0 Objectives 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Emergence of Regional Powers: Some Theories 8.3 Central and Eastern India 8.3.1 Malwa 8.3.2 Jaunpur 8.3.3 Bengal 8.3.4 Assam 8.3.5 Odisha 8.4 Northern and Western India 8.4.1 Kashmir 8.4.2 Northwest: Rajputana 8.4.3 Gujarat 8.4.4 Sindh 8.5 Regional States and Legitimization 8.5.1 Characteristics of the Regional States 8.5.2 Nobles and landed Aristocracy 8.5.3 North Indian Kingdoms as Successor States 8.5.4 Succession Issue 8.5.5 Legitimization 8.6 Summary 8.7 Keywords 8.8 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises 8.9 Suggested Readings 8.10 Instructional Video Recommendations 8.0 OBJECTIVES In the present Unit, we will study about regional states during the 13-15th centuries. After reading this Unit, you would learn about: • the emergence of regional states in Central and Eastern India, • the regional powers that emerged in Northern and Western India, * Dr. Firdaus Anwar, Kirorimal College, University of Delhi, Delhi; Prof. Sunita Zaidi, Department of History and Culture, Jamia Milia Islamia, New Delhi; and Prof. Abha Singh, School of Social Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. This Unit is taken from our earlier Course EHI-03: India from 8th to 15th Century Block7, 150 Units 23, 24 and 25. • the territorial expansion of these kingdoms, Emergence of New Kingdoms in the 15th • their relationship with neighbours and other regional powers, Century • their relations with the Delhi Sultanate, • the characteristic features of the regional states, • how the succession issue was decided, and • the ways in which the regional kings legitimized their powers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Diffusion of Islam in Bengal and the Articulation of a New Order
    Yousuf Siddique THE DIFFUSION OF ISLAM IN BENGAL AND THE ARTICULATION OF A NEW ORDER The Land: The fruit grows from the tree, And the tree again from the fruit.... The egg comes from the bird, And the bird again from the egg. ‘All is one’ - is the essence of truth.... Shar¬‘a and Ma‘rifa are essentially one. (Ali Raja, Agam folio 24-25)1 The lines that appear above are typical of the Bengali mystical verses found in a genre of early Muslim Bengali literature known as puthi, which was popular among the rural masses until the late nineteenth century. Like this folk poetry, the early history of the spread of Islam in Bengal is still shrouded in myth and mystery due to the intricate nature of its history, complexities of its social evolution and the diversities of its religious traditions and popular beliefs. The name Bengal in its English form -- Bang®la or Bang®l, in Arabic and Persian and Bangl® or Bangladesh (as a historical term), in its Bengali version -- refers to the territory roughly situated between 27o and 21o latitude and 92.50o and 87o longitude (see map 1). The eastern parts of the present Dhaka district, the districts of Comilla and Sylhet (Hab®naq according to Ibn Battuta, Sukn®t in other Islamic sources and Xrihatta in Sanskrit) in Bangladesh and the state of Tripura in 1 2 [J.R.S.P., Vol. 45, No. 2, 2008] India were known in ancient times as Samatata. The northwest part of Bengal, to the west of the river Atrai up to the Ganges, is relatively high land.
    [Show full text]
  • Persian at the Court Or in the Village? the Elusive Presence of Persian in Bengal
    2 Persian at the Court or in the Village? The Elusive Presence of Persian in Bengal Thibaut d’Hubert Persian[,] which was closely connected with the life of the court, does not seem to have had any direct impact on the ordinary people, nor could it produce literature of any importance in our period. Momtazur Rahman Tarafdar, Husain Shahi Bengal, 1494–1538 When listening to Persian from someone else’s mouth, one cannot under- stand properly and be content. ‘Abd al-Hakim, Nur-nama (Book of Light, ca. 1660) The available historiography of Persian in Bengal tells the story of travelling saints, men of letters, and political elites, with occasional signs of indigenization; or else it tells of its opposite: a fierce resistance to identifying the Bengali environment with the Persianate cultural ethos.1 Then, we have the influential historiographical notion of the influence of Persian on Bengali language and culture, which appears as the natural outcome of the cultural hegemony of Persianate elites in the re- gion.2 In such narratives, Persian belongs to the cosmopolitan elite. Correspond- ingly, the Bengali expression of whatever is Persian is primarily seen as a matter of translation, usually performed by some intermediary figures located between the elite and the lower, vernacular strata of Bengal’s society.3 This schema foregrounds narratives of successive colonizations and the attempts by vernacular agents to negotiate with hegemonic cultures so as to survive and elevate their status. Part of this historiographical narrative can indeed be verified in the primary sources that have come down to us.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Islamic Empire in Urdu Pdf
    History of islamic empire in urdu pdf Continue This article lists successive Muslim countries and dynasties from the rise of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad and early Muslim horses that began in 622 PO and continue to this day. The history of Muslim countries The early Muslim wars began in the life of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. In addition to the work of southern Europe and the Indian sub-corner, his successors hit the great sheep of the Middle East and North Africa. In the decades after his death, the caliphate, founded by his oldest successors, known as the Rashidun Caliphate, inherits the Umayyad caliphate and later the Abbasid caliphate. While the caliphate gradually broke and fell, other Muslim dynasties rose; Some of these dynasties have been overgroced into Islamic empires, with some of the most notable being the Safavid dynasty, the Ottoman Empire and the Mughal Empire. Regional Empires Iran Shah Ismail I, Founder of Safavid Dynasty Qarinvand Dynasty (550-1110) Paduspanid (655-1598) Justanids (791-1004) Dulafid dynasty (800-898, Jibal) Samanid Empire (819-999) Tahirid Dynasty (821-873) Saffarid Dynasty (861-1003) Shirvanshah (861-1538) Alavid Dynasty (864-928) Sajid Dynasty (889-929) Ma'danids (890-1110, Makran) Aishanids (912-961) Husaynid Dynasty (914-929) Ziyarid Dynasty (928-43) Banu Ilyas (932-968) Buyid Dynasty (934-10) 62) Rawadid Dynasty (955-1071) , Tabriz) Hasanwayhid (959-1015) Annazidi (990-1180; Iran, Iraq) Ma'munid dynasty (995-1017) Kakuyid (1008-1141) Great Seljuq Empire (1029-1194) Nasrid dynasty (Sistan) (1029-1225)
    [Show full text]
  • Dozakhpur to Jannatabad: Myth and Reality As an Environmental Episode in the History of Bengal Md
    Jagannath University Journal of Arts Vol-8, No. 2, July-December 2018 Dozakhpur to Jannatabad: Myth and Reality as An Environmental Episode in the History of Bengal * Md. Anisur Rahman Abstract Bengal presently divided as West Bengal, a state in Eastern India and Bangladesh as an independent state since 1971 had abundant wealth from the ancient times which was plundered and attacked by the foreign invaders several times. Visitors and travellers as well visited this land of natural beauty. It is also historically true that from the ancient time a number of travellers visited Bengal and praised lavishly in different names its nature and people. They also provided valuable information and presented the pen-picture of Bengal in their writings from their own experiences about this country. Among the foreign travellers Ibn Battuta (1304-1369 C.E.) came here in 1345-46 C.E. during the reign of Sultan Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah and visited different parts of this country particularly, Chittagong, Sonargoan and Sylhet. His narratives „Tuhfat un Nuzzar fi Gharaib al Amsar wa Azaib al Asfar, gives usa pen-picture of socio-economic, political and environmental condition of contemporaneous Bengal. Battuta entitled Bengal as „Dozakh-i-Pur Nimat’ a hell full of wealth where plenty of resources existed but not a suitable place for livelihood. He also presented the geographical condition of Bengal in his writing from his own experience. He mentioned that Bengal has huge wealth but its environment is not favorable to live here happily; even man cannot stay here permanently on account of natural disaster and epidemic diseases along with turmoil political condition.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760
    The Rise of Islam and the Bengal Frontier, 1204–1760 Richard M. Eaton UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley · Los Angeles · London © 1993 The Regents of the University of California Acknowledgments I am deeply grateful to the many people who over the past decade or so have given me valuable assistance during the various stages of preparing the present work. The idea of the book took shape in early 1980, when I was a fellow at the National Humanities Center at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. In fall 1981 and spring 1982 a fellowship with the American Institute of Indian Studies and a Fulbright-Hays Training Grant, administered through the American Cultural Center in Dhaka, enabled me to undertake exploratory field research in India and Bangladesh. Thanks to a University of Arizona Humanities grant, in fall 1984 I returned to Bangladesh for more research, and in spring 1985 I began analyzing data while a fellow with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Jerusalem. In spring 1987 I was able to work on the manuscript while at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris, and a sabbatical leave of absence from the University of Arizona in 1988–89 enabled me to complete the bulk of the writing. For funding my travel, facilitating my support, and opening the doors of my research generally, I wish to thank all the then directors and officers of the above institutions—in particular P. R. Mehendiratta and Tarun Mitra of the American Institute of Indian Studies, Ahmed Mustafa of the American Cultural Center, William Bennett of the National Humanities Center, Nehemia Levtzion of the Institute for Advanced Studies, and Marc Gaborieau of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales.
    [Show full text]