Coins of Deccan Sultanates

5.1 Do you know

Description Image Source Alauddin Muhammad Khalji was the first of who invaded the region of Deccan in 1294 CE and later he also issued his coins from QilaDeogir. Deccan, however, became a strong province of during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. He even transferred his capital from Delhi to Devgiri and named it Daulatabad.

Jalaluddin Ahsan founded sultanate in 1334 CE and ruled till 1339 CE. The dynasty ruled for a short period of about 40 years by as many as eight . It was finally conquest by Vijayanagar Empire. Jalaluddin Ahsan was the first independent sultan of Deccan or south , who had issued his coins on Islamic pattern.

HasanGangu, an important Deccani noble established Bahamani dynasty in 1346 CE. He ruled in the name of AlauddinBahman (1347-1359 CE) with Gulbarga its capital, later, it was shifted to . The dynasty continued to rule for about 200 years by as many as 18 rulers.

Initially, the Bahamanis issued their coins similar to the coins of Khalji and Tughluq of Delhi sultanates, but gradually they introduced some changes and made them distinct than that of Delhi sultanate.Like Alauddin Muhammad Shah Khalji, AlauddinBahman Shah also used the title of Yaminul- khilafahandSikander-us sani on his gold and silver coins.

The silver coins of AdilShahi are calledlarin, a type of coin that resembles hairpin. These were issued on the pattern of Persian Larin, which were regularly coming to coastal region of Deccan and accepted among the traders. Both Persian and Adilshahilarins are well reported from Deccan and Gujarat regions. Adilshahilarins were issued from Dhabol mint.

The inscription on copper coins of AdilShahi reflects shia faith of . (1558-80 CE) issued coins in the name of hazrat Ali (the first Imam of shia and fourth pious caliph of sunni), bearing asadullahghalib on the one side and Ali ibnTalib on the other. Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1580-1627 CE) calls himself ghulamMurtaza Ali (servant of Ali) on his coins.

NizamShahi dynasty was founded by Malik Ahmad in 1490 CE and made Ahmadnagar () its capital. The dynasty ruled for about 125 years by 14 rulers. But only four sultans (MurtazaNizam I, BurhanNizam II, MurtazaNizam II,

BurhanNizam III) are represented in their coins. Their coins are mainly issued in copper and mostly anonymous, bearing inscription fi shahursanah (hijri date) on the one side andMurtazazarbAhmadnagar or nagaron the other

The QutubShahi coinage took its final shape during the reign of fifth sultan, Muhammad QuliQutub Shah (1580-1611CE) who issued his coinage in good number and made the QutubShahi currency popular. Apart from copper coins, his coins are also known in gold. The copper coins are issued in two weight standards----about 17-18 gms. and 13.5- 15 gms, with their fractions.

5.2 Timeline

Timelines Image Description

Madurai sultanate ruled with its capital at Madrai (). The dynasty was founded by Jalaluddin Ahsan and 1334-1377 CE during the reign of AlauddinSikander Shah, the last sultan it was conquered by Vijayanagar. Bahamani ruled in Deccan by as many as 18 sultans. 1347-1526 CE Bahaman shah was the first and Kalimullah was the last sultans. AdilShahi sultan Muhammad Adil Shah ruled during this 1627-1656 CE period. He is the only ruler of AdilShahi reported to have issued gold coins. TheQutubShahi sultanate ruled with its capital at Golconda by as many as eight sultans.The QutubShahi coinage took 1489-1687 CE its final shape during the reign of fifth sultan, Muhammad QuliQutub Shah and made the QutubShahi currency popular.

5.3 Glossary

Staring Related Term Definition Character Term L Larin The silver coins of AdilShahi are calledlarin, a type of

coin that resembles hairpin. P Pagoda A type of gold coins, issued by the kings of Vijayanagar

and other south Indian rulers C Shia A sect of Islam. Most of the AdilShahi sultans and a few NizamShahi sultans were the followers of Shia sect. The inscription on their coins reflectsShia faith of Islam. D Sunni A sect of Islam. Almost all the Indian sultanates were followers of Sunni faith of Islam. Their inscription on their coins reflectsSunni faith of Islam.

5.4 Bibliography

Bibliography Hunarikkar, Jayant R.,“ Some Interesting Coins of NizamShahi Dynasty,” Numismatic Digest Vol. 21- 22(combined), 1997-98 , pp. 75-80. Khan,AbdulWali., Coins of Bahamani in the Government Museum, .

Khan,AbdulWali., QutubShahi Coins in the Andhra Pradesh Government Museum, Hyderabad, 1961.

Moin, Danish, “Inscription on Medieval Indian Coins; An Analysis”, in Medieval Indian Coinages: A Historical and Economic Perspective, AmiteshwarJha (ed.), Nasik, 2001. 193-210. Moin, Danish, “Two Gold Coins of BurhanNizam II of NizamShahi Dynasty” Numismatic Digestvol .21-22, 1997-98, pp.71-73. Moin. Danish, “ Coinage Tradition of Medieval Deccan” NumismaticaIndicaFestchrift to Prof. D. Raja Reddy, Prof. P. Chenna Reddy (ed.), New Delhi, 2011, pp.197-200.