Corpus of the Muslim Coins of Bengal : (Down to AD 1538) /
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Bengal in the medieval period came to be ruled by the Muslim Sultans with the establishment of Bakhtiyar Khalji (r. 1203-1206). Apart from official and non-official literature and archaeological findings, numismatic studies too plays a very important role in understanding the socio-economic and political history of any region, nation, or confederation of states. In this book, we find that it is in Bengal the collection and publication of coins minted under the Muslim Sultans during the Delhi Sultanate and independent Sultanates, in the various museums and libraries. The book is divided into two major parts, one is the critical analysis of coins and the other is the study of coins issued by Muslim dynasts of Bengal. The first part covers the coins minted from the time of Sultan Iltutmish till Muhammad bin Tughluq. It also covers the coins issued by the Bengal governors under the rule of the Delhi Sultans. This section also covers the analysis of coins from Sultan Ghiyas-ud-Din Iwad Khalji (r. 1533-1538) of the Hussain Shahi Sultanate, who was defeated by Sher Shah Suri (r. 1537- 1545). The second part of this book covers the issues concerning the numismatic studies done with the help of tables and places made by the author. These include the following: a chronological survey of Bengal Sultan coins, the minting process, and popular Islamic titles issued, which include the famous Arabic-Persian titles, such as 'Khilafat' and 'Khilafat Allah', and the coins issued by princes and non-rulers. Interestingly, this part ends by covering the inscribed names of the Abbasid Caliphs and zamindars under the Muslim Sultans, such as Raja Ganesha and Raja Mahendra Deva.
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1 online resource (240 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004753723
Treasure Trade and Tradition : Post-Kidarite Coins of the Gangetic Plains and Punjab Foothills, 590-820 CE /
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This book has much to offer the numismatic enthusiast drawn to bold coinages shrouded in mystery. But it will also appeal to the general reader interested in a key formative period for the emergence of pre-modern India. It examines our turbulent social, religious, political and economic transition during the sixth through ninth centuries. The author focuses intensely on a single, tell-tale form of evidence, namely the enigmatic base gold dinara coins of the descendants of the Kidarite Huns. By thoroughly investigating the coins in their temporal, geographic and physical contexts, he teases out a fascinating story with three facets: treasure (gold and silver mineral wealth, as well as the spiritual wealth of pilgrimage centres sacred to Buddhism and Hinduism); trade (bearing horses, precious metals and pilgrims alike over the great caravan roads between Central Asia and north India); and tradition (the minting traditions of banking communities, the rulership traditions of royal lineages, and the spiritual traditions of religious art). Through its detailed analysis, the book clears up a great deal of confusion about the monetary systems of ancient Kashmir, the Punjab foothills and the Gangetic plains, from c. 590 to 820. With a large body of new metallurgical tests, the book defines, classifies and attributes this challenging series of trimetallic coins, revealing for the first time the money of Punjab's hill kingdoms nestled in the Siwalik valleys. Along the way, it prepares the groundwork for a new perspective on the role of hard money in early medieval economies, revealing preliminary evidence that the empire of the great Harshavardhana may have had a broadly-used coinage, contrary to expectations of the feudal model.
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1 online resource (228 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004752504