Silver rupee of Aurangzeb – Surat
Obverse
|
Inscription |
Dar Jahan sikka zad cho bedr
monir Shah Aurangzeb Alamgir |
दर जहान सिक्का ज़द चो बद्र मनीर शाह औरंगज़ेब आलमगीर |
در جہان سکہ زد چو بدر منیر شاہ اورنگ زیب عالم گیر |
|
Translation |
Shah Aurangzeb Alamgir struck coin in the world like the shining full moon |
शाह औरंगज़ेब आलमगीर ने दुनिया में चाँद की रोशनी
जैसा चमकता हुआ सिक्का ढाला |
شاہ اورنگ زیب عالم گیر نے دنیا میں چاند کی روشنی جیسا چمکتا ہوا سکہ ڈھالا |
Reverse
|
Inscription |
Julus manus sanah ahad mimnat zarb Bandar-e-Mubarak
Surat |
जुलूस मानूस सनह अहद मीमनत ज़र्ब बंदर-ए-मुबारक सूरत |
جلوس مانوس سنہ احد میمنت ضرب بندر مبارک سورت |
|
Translation |
Struck in the year one of his reign of
tranquil prosperity in the Blessed Port of Surat |
सूरत के धन्य बंदरगाह में शांत समृद्धि के पहले वर्ष में ढाला गया |
سورت کی بابرکت بندرگاہ میں پرسکون خوشحالی دور حکومت کے پہلے سال میں ڈھالا گیا |
About
Muhi al-Din Muhammad, commonly known as Aurangzeb Alamgir
(reigned: 1658-1707) was the sixth Emperor of the Mughal Dynasty and the last
of the so-called "Great Mughals." He is known to have greatly
expanded the Mughal empire to its greatest extent. He was a man of simple habits.
Unlike his forefathers, he was not interested in undertaking the construction
of grandiose buildings, even his own tomb in Khuldabad, Aurangabad district is
a simple structure with an unmarked grave.[i]
His reign was characterised by deteriorating social
relations largely because of his religious policies. His death was followed by
a steady decline of Mughal power, at the hands of the Marathas, the Sikhs and
the newly arrived European powers.
The coin
Aurangzeb Alamgir forbade the use of the Kalima on coins, as
he did not want it be defiled by usage by unbelievers. On the obverse, he opted
to use a traditional lyrical passage honouring him and his rule, while on the
reverse, he came up with a formula specifying the mint's location and the reign
year. The look of Mughal currency changed significantly after this, leaving
limited room for calligraphers to express their creativity.[ii]
Each ruler’s personality is reflected in his coins. While Akbar
and Jahangir had very elaborate and beautiful couplets and formats which
changed frequently, Aurangzeb preferred a more simplistic approach by standardizing
the layout of the coinage.
Surat was one of the major ports and was a principal mint town
of the Mughals after Jahangir. This coin also features an epithet for Surat
which is not used in most other coins minted there. ‘Bandar-e-Mubarak’ so
termed because it was the Bab-al-hajj, or starting point of the Indian pilgrimage
to Mecca. This epithet was abandoned after the third year.[iii]
Usually the ‘Julus’ or regnal year is in numbers but here
since it is the first year of Aurangzeb’s ruler, ‘ahad’ meaning one is used.
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