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1/2 Paisa - Shams Al-Din Adil Shah
| Issuer | Madurai, Sultanate of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1347-1358 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Rupee (1335-1377) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Arabic |
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| Reverse description | Hammered reverse field bearing a two-line Arabic legend reading السلطان الاعظم (Al-Sultan Al-A'zam, meaning 'The Greatest Sultan'), a royal title employed by the rulers of the Madurai Sultanate. The inscription is struck in a bold but irregular manner typical of small-denomination copper issues of this period. The flan is uneven and the lettering shows characteristic die-cutting of provincial Islamic coinage. No border or additional decorative elements are present. |
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| Additional information |
Shams al-Din Adil Shah ruled the Madurai Sultanate for roughly a decade following the chaos that consumed the dynasty after its founder Ma'bar broke from the Delhi Sultanate in 1335. The Madurai sultans were chronically isolated — no maritime trade lifeline, surrounded by hostile Hindu kingdoms, and dependent on a copper coinage whose fractional denominations like this half paisa were the primary medium for local market exchange in the Tamil interior.
GG#MD32 is among the scarcer fractional types of the series. The sultanate itself collapsed with Kampana's Vijayanagara campaigns of the 1370s, which ended Muslim rule in the far south permanently.