Billon Jital of Muhammad bin Sam– Ghorids

 

Obverse

Inscription	Shri Mahmad Sami	श्री महमद सामि	شری محمد سامی
Translation	Shri Muhammad Sam	श्री मुहम्मद साम	شری محمد سام

Reverse

Inscription	Shri Hamirah	श्री हमीर:	شری ہمیرہ
Translation	Shri Amir	श्री अमीर	شری امیر

 

Muhammad bin Sam

Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad bin Sam or better known as Muhammad Ghori (reigned: 1173–1(206 was a Ghurid dynasty emperor who reigned from 1173 to 1206 and was located in Ghor in modern-day central Afghanistan. He is most famously known for having laid the foundation of Islamic rule in the Indian Subcontinent, which lasted for the next one thousand years.

Khusru Malik, the last of the Ghaznavid kings of Lahore, was overthrown in 1187 by Ghori, who established the first Islamic dynasty of Hindustan in 1192 when Prithviraj Chauhan of Ajmer and his Hindu allies were finally defeated at the second battle of Thanesar or Tarain.[i]

He controlled areas in the north and northwest, and his power extended as far south as the Gangetic Valley, which encompassed portions of Bihar and Bengal. Qutbuddin Aibak, Muhammad bin Sam's trusty commander and slave, was left in charge of administering his Indian possessions while Muhammad bin Sam returned to Ghazni. After Sam passed away, Aibak assumed the role of Sultan over the region in India, creating the Delhi Sultanate.[ii]

The coin

In their Indian territories, the Ghurids maintained the local coinage types as they found them, altering only the inscriptions on them to include the name if the Ghurid ruler. This billion coin, which is known as a jital or a Delhiwal, was common in various parts of northern India and Punjab. In fact, this coin is almost identical to the ones issued by Prithviraj Chauhan, barring the name in the inscription.

Here, the ruler’s name occurs in medieval Nagari characters above the bull motif, while the above the horseman the expression ‘Shri Hamirah’ (The Amir) can be found.

Most of these coins were struck in former Hindu territories of Delhi, Lahore and Budaun.[iii]

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[i] Brown, C. J. (1980). The Heritage of India Series: The Coins of India. University of Toronto Library.

[ii] Lane-Poole, S. (1884). The Coins of the Sultans of Delhi in the British Museum. London: Order of the Trustees.

[iii] Goenka, S. G. (2022). The Coins of the Indian Sultanates: Covering the Areas of Present Day India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. New Delhi: Manoharlal Publishers & Distributors.