Chapter V the Monetary System and Taxation in Adil Shahi Sultanate
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Chapter V The Monetary System and Taxation in Adil Shahi Sultanate The main focus of this chapter is particularly on the Monetary System and Taxation, however it also attemps to find out Prices of various commodities and the salaries and wages of various services during the period of the study. An attempt has been made here to study; how money was provided in the economy of the kingdom through the institutions like mints, money and coinage, and finance was made available for the expenditure of state by imposing agricultural and non-agricultural taxes and custom duties. An endeavor is also made here to study how the prices of the commodities, salary and wages of various services were determined by manufacturing cost, market place, competition, market condition, quality of product. 1. Monetary System 1.1 Coinage The discovery of coins associated with the remains of the early civilization is often cited as proof of the marketing systems. Coinage is viewed as the “consequence of the demand of market network that has evolved beyond previous localized commodity exchange. While earlier, localized exchange, was largely an extension of a reciprocity-based community, the use of coins implies less personalized marketplace, transactions and likely exchange with external economic agents. However, scholars have recently challenged this assertion by demonstrating that gold and silver coinage initially had prestige value in early societies, and might be used, especially in the case 207 of large-unit gold and silver coins in condition of reciprocity rather than market exchanges.”462 The coins belong to first four Adil Shahi rulers have not been found; hence it is believed that the Sultans preceding Ali Adil Shah I had not issued coins of their own. Therefore it may be presumed that they carried out transaction through the Bahmani coins and hons of Vijayanagar. From the numismatic data available, it can be argued that the coinage tradition of Adil Shahi began during the reign of Ali Adil Shah I (1558-1580 AD). It was continued by his successors. While most of the ‘Adil Shahi coins so far found are primarily in copper, some gold and silver coins are also known. The Adil Shahi were the only dynasty of the post Bahmani period to issue coins in all three metals. The only known mint of the Adil shahis was located at Dabhol, and the name of this mint appears only on the silver coin called larin. Other than larin no coin bears the mint name.463 a. Gold Coins The gold coins were issued in the weight standard of the south Indian pagoda and fanam. These coins fall into two main categories: those with inscriptions and those without inscriptions. The latter may or may not have been struck during the sultanate period; some of them have an initial letter ‘ain or sin on them, suggesting that they were struck in the reigns of ‘Ali ‘Adil Shah II and Sikandar respectively.’464 The gold coins of Muhammad Adil used a legend written in the form of the Persian couplet, ‘Jahan zin do Muhammad giraft zeenat jah yake Muhammad mursil duam 462 Colin Renfrew, ‘Trade as Action at Distance: Question of Integration and Communication’, in Jeremy A. Sabloff and C.C. Lamberg-Karlovsky, eds, Ancient Civilization and Trade, Albuquerque, 1975, p. 53. 463 Danish Moin, ‘The Coinage of Deccan Sultans: Some Observations’, Numismatic Studies, Vol. VI, pp. 171-72. 464 Stan Goron and J. P. Goenka, The Coins of the Indian Sultanates, New Delhi, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 2001, p. 314. 208 Muhammad Shah’, which translated means, ‘The world received beauty and dignity from two Muhammads: the one is Muhammad the apostle the other Muhammad Shah.” Some other gold coins with symbols are also attributed to Adil Shahi. Firishta, writing during the reign of Muhammad Shah’s predecessor, Ibrahim II, states that “after the dissolution of the Bahmuny dynasty, the several kings of the Deccan assumed the chutr, or canopy, and the Khootba; but none struck coins of gold in their own name, or sounded the nobut five times daily, excepting the King of Golconda, styled Kootb Shah.”465 It thus appears that Muhammad Shah was probably the first of the Adil Shahi rulers to issue gold coins. Descriptions of these gold coins have been given by Henry Cousins, who described two gold coins’466 of Muhammad Adil Shah of Bijapur, which have also been described by Dr. Taylor, ‘These very two coins had been, it seems, the average weight of which was 52 grains, the size .4”(i.e. inch) and which had a couplet mentioning the name of Muhammad Adil Shah. Those coins therefore can easily be termed as Muhammad Shahi hons or the hons of Muhammad Adilshah.”467 In some Marathi documents one can find the mention of a certain Padashahi hon, the exchange value of which was most probably 3¾ rupees of the Alamgiri type.468 As there is no evidence found in the numismatic sources whether any hons were coined by any Mughal emperor, as these hons were current in Maharashtra in the beginning of the Dekkan expedition of Aurangazeb; and we do not know any other Adil Shahi sultan except Muhammad who had struck hons in his name, however G. 465 Firishta, John Briggs translation, op. cit., Vol III, pp. 87-115. 466 Henry, Cousins, Bijapur and its Architectural Remains, op.cit., p. 128. 467 Numismatic Supplement to the JASB for 1925, p.43. 468 G.H. Khare, ‘Currency in Shivaji’s times’ published in the quarterly of the Bharata Itihasa Samshodaka Mandala, Vol. p. 51. 209 H. Khare presumes that Muhammad Shahi hons were meant by the term Padashahi hons.469 G. H. Khare on the basis of a printed Marathi version of the assay report of the Bombay Government prepared on 21-8-1826 A.D. and published on 6-10-1826 A.D. in the Bombay Gazetteer, quotes that, ‘there appears the name of a Muhammad Shahi hon, the weight of which was 51.5 grains and the gold in which was of 78.75 p.c. fineness; its exchange value was equal to 3.69 Bombay rupees.”470 G. H. Khare also referred to a farman issued by Muhammad Adil Shah, to give some interesting details about the hons. Whiel he ws not sure that the hons mentioned in this farman were the same as those described in the assay report, he did suggest that they were the same. ‘The farman comes from one Sidramappa Mallikarjunappa, the hereditary Deshmukh of Solhapur (Bombay). It was issued to one Hasan Rumikhan, the specially appointed havaladar and the administrator of the muamila of Solhapur or Sandalapur as it is termed in the farman. It is dated the 22nd of Rajab 1064 A.H. (29-5-1654 A.D.). The gist of the farman runs thus: “At present it come to our notice that the bankers, merchants, the subjects and others residing in villages, towns and market-places included in the said muamila, refuse to accept hons bearing our name-stamp (Muhammadshah), do not exchange it for the coins of smaller denominations and do not use it in sale and purchase. What a boldness it is since it bears our name-stamp? Now we order that as the hons consist of gold of 43 ‘ayars or Kas, as it is called in the language of the Dekkan (82.69% fineness), whosoever terms it as a counterfeit, refuses to accept it after deforming the same and postpones to exchange it for coins of smaller denominations, should be chastised in an 469 G.H.Khare, ‘Some More Information on the Hons of Muhammad Adil Shah’ op. cit., p. 130. 470.Ibid. p. 130. 210 exemplary manner and his movable and immovable property should be sent to the royal mint, where the same will be melted and transformed into standard ones.”471 The only point of difference is that the Muhammad Shahi hon of the farman had 82.69% of gold, while the hon assayed in the Bombay mint had only 78.75% gold.472 Khare further suggested that the 4% difference in the two regarding the purity of gold could be ignored, given the fact that the method of assaying was not as accurate as it became later. He stated that “The British assay expert might be giving the purity of gold precisely known from scientific methods.”473 Gold Coin of Muhammad Adil Shah (1627-1656)474 From the above information one may argue that from the period of Muhammad Adil Shah, there could have been a greater need of gold coins for trade 471 G.H.Khare, ‘Some More Information on the Hons of Muhammad Adil Shah’ op. cit., p. 131. 472 Ibid. p. 131. 473 Ibid. p. 131. 474 Stan Goron and J. P. Goenka, The Coin of the Indian Sultanates, op.cit., p. 317. 211 and commerce of Sultanate. This argument is supported by the fact that some gold pagodas and half pagodas are regularly found in the heartland of Bijapur domains in such places as Dharwar, Hubli, Belgaum, Gudag and Bagalkot.475 This shows these places were probably vital in the trade and commerce. b. Silver Coins No evidence about the silver coins of a type similar to the copper or gold coins current in the territories of the Adil Shahi sultanate have yet been found. The silver currency that has been found is, on the contrary, of a very different, foreign type, and is known as larin. As this type of coin had originally been made in the district of Lar at the head of the Persian Gulf, it came to be known as larin.