Billon Tanka of Sikandar Khan Lodi – Lodi Dynasty
Year: 918 AH (1512/3 AD)
Regnal year:
N/A
Weight: 8.54
g
Mint: Attributed
to Agra
Obverse
|
Al-mutawakkil ‘ala Al-Rahman Sikandar Shah Bahlol Shah Al-Sultan |
अल मुतवक्किल आला अल रहमान सिकंदर शाह बहलोल शाह अल सुल्तान |
المتوکل علیٰ الرحمن سکندر شاہ بھلول شاہ السلطان |
|
Trusting in God The Merciful Sikandar Shah Bahlol Shah The Sultan |
ईश्वर, सबसे कृपालु में
भरोसा करने वाला सिकंदर शाह बहलोल शाह सुल्तान |
خدا، الرحمن پر اعتماد کرنے والا سکندر شاہ بھلول شاہ السلطان |
Reverse
|
Fi zaman Amir Al Momenin Khulidat Khilafatahu |
फ़ी ज़मन अमीर अल मोमीनीन ख़ुलिदत ख़िलाफ़तहू |
فی زمن امیر المومینین خلدت خلافۃ |
|
During the time of The Commander of the Faithful May God preserve the Caliphate |
विश्वासियों का सेनापति के काल में भगवान ख़िलाफ़त को कायम रखे
|
امیر المومنین کے دور میں خدا خلافہ کو قائم رکھے |
There was a period of anarchy produced by the weakness of
the later Tughluq rulers and the sack of Delhi by Timur in 1398 due to which
many provinces became independent. The Sultanate was a weak and destitute
shadow of its former self throughout the century of the rule of the Sayyids and
Lodis.[i]
About
Sikandar Khan Lodi, born Nizam Khan (reigned: 1489-1517) was
the second ruler of the Lodi dynasty of Delhi. He was the son of Bahlol Lodi
who had attempted to restore the glory of the Sultanate by extending its now
shrunken territories. Bahlol had annexed parts of the Jaunpur Sultanate.
Sikandar continued his father’s work by campaigning against the Rajputs and
also involving himself in the civil war of the Malwa Sultanate which resulted
in him gaining temporary control over Chanderi.
Sikandar took steps to centralize the administration of the
Sultanate. Trade and agriculture flourished and there was much literary
activity under him.
He was eventually succeeded by his son, Ibrahim Lodi who was
defeated and slain by an invader from the central Asia, Zahiruddin Muhammad
Babar in the First Battle of Panipat in 1526. This marked the end of the Delhi
Sultanate and the start of the Mughal Empire in India.
The coin
All the billon coins of Sikandar Lodi are heavily debased.
The silver content is only about 5%. It is thought that coins struck after 906
AH (1500 AD) were mostly struck at Agra, as it was the new capital of the
Lodis.
The later Lodi coins have more angular writing such as this
one. The obverse displays Sikandar’s and his father’s name alongside a
religious epithet. The reverse features a prayer. [ii]
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