Dehli Sultanate & their Coinage (1001) (1192 - 1526 A.D.)

                                 Ghaznavids In India

Early Muslim rulers of Sind and  Punjab.

Mahmud Ghazni ( 998-1030 AD) Mahmud of Ghazni a Turkish slave who vowed to undertake every year an expedition against the idolators of India, was the first to carry the banner of Islam into the heart of India and to  tread the path in which so many followed him . Mahmud began raiding the Indian territories on a regular basis between 1001 and 1021 A.D,and said to have raided 17 times  and  destroyed hundreds of Hindu temples and plundered dozens of Indian cities. The plunder taken was enormous : 548 pounds of pure gold from Mathura and 1260 elephants , 53000 human captives ,excluding diamonds ,etc .In January 1025 he plundered the famous temple of Somnath in Gujarath . He made no attempts to rule Indian territory except for the Punjab which was the gateway to India .He established  Ghaznavid province in Punjab, Sindh & Lahore  consistent with his Afghan territories in 1028 A.D.

He issued a  remarkable silver Dirham from Mahmudpur (Lahore) has a unique bilingual legend with the Kalima in Arabic on the obverse and its translation in Sanskrit on the reverse as “ avyaktameka muhammada avatar nripati mahamuda ” (The Invisible is One , Muhammad is the manifestation, Muhammad the King.) Marginal legend in Sanskrit as : avyaktiya name ayam tankam hato muhamuda samvati 418 (In the Name of Invisible , This tanka was struck at Mahmudpur 418 ” Most Islamic coins of India simply  carry legends in Persian .But this early Islamic coin reflects a more compromising attitude ,in that the local population is approached through the presence of Sanskrit on the coin 

Yamin ud daula Bahram-1118-52

He came to the throne executing Arsalan and then he finished his other brothers also. He lost Ghazni to the Ghur ruler and so had to shift capital to Lahore

      
                                                                    - Turks -

Muhammad Ghori (1192 -1206 AD) / Muhammad Bin Same

In 1192 AD Muhammad Ghori invaded India with large army and defeated Prithviraj Chauhan of Rajput Dynasty . this victory of Taraori gave Muhammad  northern India   almost to the gates of Delhi , Muhammad appointed  Qutb-ud- Din Aibak as his viceroy of his new conquests with a discretion to extend them .At the end of 1192 AD Aibak captured Delhi which was destined to be the capital of Islamic power in India . The dynasty of Muhammad Ghori is known as the slave dynasty ..

 Mahmud’s successors adopted the ‘Bull-and-Horseman’ type modifying it into a ‘Bull-and-legend’ type with the name of the ruler in Kufic Arabic script. 
The Ghaznavids were deposed by Ghorids in Ghazni and finally evicted from Lahore by the Ghorid brothers, Ghiyath-uddin and Muizz-uddin in 1186 A.D. Muizzuddin or Muhammad Ghori (known as Muhammad bin Sam on his coins) succeeded in laying down the foundations of the Dehli Sultanate by defeating Prithviraj Chauhan at the Battle of Tarrain in 1192 A.D. 
Muhammad bin Sam copied the ‘Bull-and-Horseman’ coin called Dehliwalas with either side devoted to Arabic inscriptions and issued them in billon and copper. Muhammad  also copied the Lakshmi type gold coin when he captured Kashi from Jayachandra, the famed rival of Prithviraj Chauhan, with the Nagari legend ‘Sri Mahamada bini saame’! In Bengal, his general Bakhthiyar Khilji initiated a new gold prototype with the obverse image of a charging Turkish horseman with a mace and the Nagari legend ‘Gaud Vijaye’ and a reverse Arabic inscription with Muhammad’s titles
Five different families followed the slave at Delhi  and all of them are collectively known as Sultans of Delhi .

These are scarce Bull and horseman Jitals issued by
Mu'izz ad-din Muhammad, (Muhammad Ghori ) who ruled Budaon subsequently, between 1195 and 1206 AD

Taj ud din Yildiz-1212-14  Taj ud din Yildiz became the ruler of Ghazna following the death of Muhammad bin Sam in 1206. When he lost his Kingdom he captured Lahore from Nasir ud din Qubacha. He claimed Delhi also when Iltutmash was ruling Delhi. He issued coins from Lahore between 1212 and 1214. He was defeated by Iltutmash and executed around 1216.
Iltutmash-1210-35 Qutb-ud-din Aibak died in 1206 in a Polo accident in his capital Lahore. Aram Shah acceded to the throne in Lahore in 1211 assisted by some nobles. When Iltutmish claimed the throne in Delhi, Aram Shah marched towards Delhi but was slain in battle at Bagh-i-Jud. In 1215-1216, Yildiz moved towards Punjab and captured Lahore from Qubacha and laid claim to the throne of Delhi. ltutmish defeated Yildiz at Tarain.  By 1220, Jalal ud din Mingburnu fled to the Punjab and captured Lahore and much of the Punjab. Iltutmash marched towards Lahore. Mingburnu retreated from Lahore and moved towards Sind and inflicted heavy defeat on Qabacha. He plundered Sindh and northern Gujarat and returned to Persia in 1224.  Iltutmash captured Sind and Multan defeating Qubacha who committed suicide drowning in Indus river after his defeat. He ruled as a persistent invader of surrounding kingdoms until his death in 1235.

Jalalat al-Din Radiyya (Raziyya) (1236–1240 AD)

Razia Sultana who succeeded her father Shams-ud-din Iltutmish to the Sultanate of Delhi in 1236 AD. Iltutmish became the first sultan to appoint a woman as his successor when he designated his daughter Razia as his heir apparent. Razia was the first and last female ruler of Delhi Sultanate (reigning from 1236 to 1240 AD). 

Madurai Nayak Dynasty ( 1529 –1736 AD) Copper Kasu

The Madurai Nayaks  were the rulers of Tamil Nadu with Madurai as their capital from 1529 until 1736 A. They were originally governors belonging to Balija social group from the Vijayanagara Empire. Viswanatha Nayak was the Vijayanagara viceroy to Madurai in south India during the 16^th century. He later became the ruler of Madurai after the fall of the Vijayanagara empire. He is the founder of the Nayak dynasty of Madurai.Telugu was their native language. The Nayak reign marked a new era in Tamil Nadu, one noted for its vast administrative reforms, the revitalization of Temples previously ransacked by the Delhi Sultans, and the inauguration of a unique architectural style. 

Banas of Madurai & Ramnad , Samarakolakalan ( 1469 - 1476 AD )

Banas controlled much of Madurai , Ramanathapuram and some parts  of Kongu  regions from 14th to middle of 16th century their  epigraphs  are found in regions  of Madurai, Ramnad and Pudukottai . From the inscriptions, it appears that Irangavillidasan Navali Vanaraya Bana, Bhuvaneka Vira Samara Kolahala, Sundar Tol-udaiyan, Tirumal Irunjolai Mahabali Bana were the chiefs at Madurai as well as Ramnad.

They minted coins from Madurai with Garuda on the obverse and their title on the reverse. These coins bear two distinguishing  titles Bhuvanekavira and Samarakola kalan. Type 1: Obverse: a seated Garuda on a fish; flanking the Garuda are conch and discus. Reverse: The legend reading Samarakolakala. The legend is in three lines separated by line markings. Type 2: Obverse: Garuda with conch and discus Reverse: Legend Samarakolakala in beteen lines. Type 3: Obverse: Gauda with conch and discus Reverse: Legend Samarakolakala in between lines. Palaeographically earlier. Type 4: Obverse: Garuda. Sankha and Cakra, a beautiful umbrella above. Reverse: legend ‘Bhuvanekavira’. Type 5: Obverse: Garuda holding a snake in the arms. Sanka Cakra present in the obverse. Reverse: the legend Bhuvanekavira separated by lines. Type 6: Obverse: Garuda with conch and discus. Reverse: Two fishes shown horizontally with a crozier in between.