Silver Tanka of Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah – Firozabad
Year: 74X AH, coin issued
from 746-752 AH (1345-1351 AD)
Regnal year: N/A
Weight:
Obverse
|
Al-Sultan Al-Adil Shams Al Duniya wa
Al Din Abu Al-Muzaffar Ilyas Shah Al-Sultan |
अल-सुल्तान अल-आदिल शम्स अल दुनिया व अल दीन अबू अल मुज़फ़्फ़र इलियास शाह अल-सुल्तान |
السلطان العدل شمس الدنیا الدین ابو المظفر الیاس شاہ السلطان |
|
The Sultan, The Just Sun of the World and
of Faith Father of the Conqueror Ilyas Shah, The Sultan |
न्यायप्रिय सुल्तान दुनिया और धर्म का सूरज विजेता के पिता सुल्तान इलियास शाह |
عدل سلطان دنیا اور دین کا آفتاب ابو مظفر سلطان الیاس شاہ |
Reverse
|
Sikander Al-Sani Yamin Al-Khilafat Amir Al Momenin (centre)
Hazihi Al-Fizzat Al-Sikka Al-Balad Firozabad Fi ___ Arba’un wa
Sebami’at (in margins) |
सिकंदर अल सानी यमीन अल ख़िलाफ़त अमीर अल मोमीनीन (बीच में)
हज़िही अल फ़ीज़्ज़त अल सिक्का अल बलद फ़िरोज़ाबाद फ़ी ___ अरबाऊन
व सबामीयात (चारों
ओर) |
سکندرالثانی یمین الخلافۃ امیر المومنین (بیچ میں)
ھزہ الفضۃ السکہ البلد
فروزآباد فی ــــــ أربعون و سبعة مائة
(چاروں
اور) |
|
Second Alexander Right Hand of the Caliphate Commander of the Faithful (centre) Struck this Silver Coin in the City Firozabad in
Year ___ Fourty and Seven Hundred (in
margins) |
सिकंदर द्वितीय ख़िलाफ़त
का दांया हाथ विश्वासियों का सेनापति (बीच में)
चांदी में यह सिक्का ढाला गया शहर फ़िरोज़ाबाद में, साल सात सौ और चालीस
और ____ में (चारों
ओर) |
سکندر دوم خلافت کا دائیں ہاتھ امیر المومنین (بیچ میں) چاندی میں یہ سکہ ڈھالا گیا شہر فروزآباد میں، سنہ سات سو اور چالیس اور ـــــ میں (چاروں اور) |
Sultanate of Bengal
In 1202 AD, during the Ghorid invasion of India, Bakhtiyar Khilji,
a commander of Qutbuddin Aibak who himself was one of the slave generals of
Muhammad Ghori conquered Bengal. He became the first governor of the province. Bengal
was ruled by officials chosen by the Delhi Sultans till 1338 AD. The province
was divided in two in the year 1310 AD, and Eastern and Western Bengal were
eventually under the control of independent governors. Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah,
the governor of Eastern Bengal, successfully revolted against Delhi in 1338 AD,
severing relations with Delhi forever. Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah became the Sultan
of a united Bengal in 1352 AD after a period of internal strife among the
earlier rulers.
The Bengal Sultanate had Bengali, Turco-Persian, Pashtun and
Abyssinian elites. The empire was renowned for its religious pluralism and the
peaceful coexistence of non-Muslim minorities. Bengali originally acquired
court recognition as an official language under the Sultanate, while Persian
was still the main language used for governmental, diplomatic, and commercial purposes.
A significant commercial hub on the Bay of Bengal coast was
the Bengal Sultanate. It drew traders and people from all over the world. The
Bengal Sultanate was described by contemporary European and Chinese visitors as
a prosperous kingdom. It was only in 1576 that Bengal was finally brought
firmly under Delhi's control, by the Mughal empire.[i]
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah
Shamsuddin Ilyas Shah (reigned: 1352-1358) is considered the
founder of the Ilyas Shahi Dynasty and the first independent Sultan of Bengal.
His dynasty ruled for more than a century and a half. During the start of his
reign, he moved his capital from Lakhnauti to Pandua, which was renamed Firozabad.
In AD 1355, he signed a treaty with Firoz Shah Tughluq of
Delhi by which Bengal was formally recognized as an independent kingdom. This
came after a vigorous but unsuccessful invasion of Bengal by the Delhi ruler.
He had also overrun Tirhut and advanced as far as Kathmandu in Nepal, where he
had destroyed a holy temple and obtained much booty. A similar raid was also
made into Orissa.
The coin
The calligraphy on the coin is quite crude making it hard to
read at some places. The format of the coin is clearly influenced by the format
used by the Sultans of Delhi, from which Bengal separated. The ruler’s titles
are distributed over both sides and are quite self-laudatory. Similar to some
other rulers, Shamsuddin fashions himself with the title of ‘Second Alexander’.
The margin on the reverse contains the mint, Firozabad which
has been identified as Pandua in the Malda district of West Bengal. The mint
name also contains the epithet of ‘Al-Balad’ simply meaning ‘City’.[ii]
The ones digit of the date is difficult to ascertain due to
it being off-flan.
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