Silver rupee of Akbar – Urdu Zafar Qarin

 

Obverse

Inscription	Khuld Allah Ta’ala Mulkahu Jalaludin Muhammad Akbar Badshah Ghazi 988 Zarb Urdu Zafar Qarin	ख़ुलद अल्लाह ताला मूलकहु जलालउद्दीन मोहम्मद अकबर बादशाह ग़ाज़ी ९८८ ज़र्ब उर्दू ज़फ़र क़रीन	خلد اللہ تعالیٰ ملکہ جلال الدین محمد اکبر بادشاہ غازی 988 ضرب اردو ظفر قرین
Translation	May God Almighty perpetuate his kingdom Jalaludin Muhammad Akbar Emperor Conqueror 988 Struck at the Camp associated with Victory	सर्वशक्तिमान ईश्वर इस राज्य को कायम रखे जलालउद्दीन मोहम्मद अकबर महाराजा ग़ाज़ी ९८८ विजय से संबंधित शिविर में ढाला गया	اللہ تعالیٰ اس سلطنت کو قائم رکھے جلال الدین محمد اکبر بادشاہ غازی 988 ضرب ظفر متعلق اردو

Reverse

Inscription	La ila illallah Muhammad Rasul Allah (centre)   (in Margins) Basidaq Abi Bakr Ba’adal Omar Bahya Osman [Gha]ni Ba’ilm Ali (in margins)	ला इलाहा इल्लल्लाह मुहम्मद रसूलुल्लाह (बीच में) अबीबक्र बसिदक़ बअदल उमर बहया उस्मान [ग़]नी बइल्म अली (चारों ओर)	لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله (بیچ میں) بصدقدق ابی بکر بعدل عمر بحیا عثمان [غ]نی بعلم علی (چاروں اور)
Translation	There is no God but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God (centre)     Abu Bakr, the Truthful Omar, the Just Osman, the Modest Ali, the Knowledgeable (in margins)	कोई भी परमेश्वर नहीं है, परमेश्वर के सिवा, मुहम्मद उस ईश्वर के प्रेषित हैं। (बीच में)   अबूबक्र, सत्यवादी उमर, न्यायप्रिय उसमान, विनयपूर्ण अली, सुविज्ञ	نہیں ہے کوئ معبود سواۓ اللہ کے محمد اللہ کے پیغمبر ہیں۔ (بیچ میں) ابی بکر بصدق بعدل عمر بحیا عثمان [غ]نی بعلم علی (چاروں اور)

 

 

About

 Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (reigned: 1542-1605), commonly known as Akbar the Great, is the most well-known of the Mughal Emperors. It is with Akbar’s coronation that the greatest epoch of Mughal history begins. Much of the Indian subcontinent was eventually added to the Mughal Empire by him. But because the Mughals dominated in terms of military, politics, culture, and economy, his power and influence spread throughout the whole subcontinent.[i]

In the matter of dealing with difficulties arising in the government of a uniquely heterogeneous empire, Akbar stands absolutely matchless. Akbar developed a centralised administrative system and undertook a policy of appeasing conquered monarchs through marriage and diplomacy in order to unify and consolidate the enormous Mughal realm. He implemented policies that gained the favour of his non-Muslim subjects in order to maintain peace and order in an empire with a diverse religious and cultural population. Akbar sought to connect the remote regions of his empire by eschewing tribal ties and Islamic state identity and relying instead on Indo-Persian culture to convey loyalty to himself as an emperor.

The coin

The currency of Akbar is unquestionably the most delicate, attractive, and diverse of any Mughal Emperor. The coins of Akbar are a striking representation of his character.

The mint-name of “Urdu” (Camp) or “Urdu-Zafar-Qarin” (Camp associated with Victory) first appears in the coins of Babur. This mint was supposedly a travelling mint which was used to pay the salaries of the soldiers while they were on campaign. Most of these were supposedly struck during Akbar’s campaign in Kashmir during the middle of his reign.

All Akbar issues of this mint, bear the date “Alf” meaning 1000 in Arabic. This is important to note as along with “Ahad” (One), it is the only time a word is used instead of Arabic numerals. For the previous twenty or so years, it is clear that Akbar’s thoughts had turned towards the renunciation of Islam. In 990 AH, Badaoni writes that ‘His Majesty was now convinced that the millennium of the Islamitic dispensation was drawing near. No obstacle, therefore, remained to promulgating the designs which he had planned in secret… The first order which was passed was that the coinage should show the era of the millennium.’[ii]
Akbar established the Ilahi era and ordered "Alf" to be added to the coins in 990 AH, 10 years before the actual millennium. This is considering the duration of Islam to be one thousand years from its advent (612 AD) and not the event of migration of the Prophet to Medina from Mecca (Hijrat), which occurred 10 years later in 622 AD.[iii]

The layout of the coin is relatively straightforward and similar to the other “Kalima” type coins of Akbar but still the calligraphic style stands to impress. The obverse features Akbar’s full name in the centre, the phrase “Khuld Allah Ta’ala Mulkahu” meaning “May God Almighty perpetuate his kingdom” and the mint name at the bottom. The reverse presents the Kalima Shahada in the centre, enclosed by the names of the four Rashidun Caliphs alongside their epithets.

 

 

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[i] Lane-Poole, S. (1892). The Coins of the Moghul Emperors of Hindustan. London.

[ii] Wright, H. N. (1908). Coins in the Indian Museum Calcutta. London: University of Oxford.

[iii] Mehta, A. (2023). Changeover from the Kalima to the Ilahi creed on the Coins struck at Ahmedabad in the reign of Akbar. RARE FAIR - NASHIK, 4.