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1 Jital - Shams al-Din Iltutmish
| Issuer | Delhi Sultanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1220-1224 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Billon |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Log in to see details |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Nagari |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Irregular hammered flan bearing a bold Arabic legend across the central field, reading 'al-Sultan al-A'zam Shams al-Dunya wa al-Din' — 'The Supreme Sultan, Sun of the World and the Faith' — the honorific titles of Sultan Shams al-Din Iltutmish. The inscription is struck in a dense, cursive Naskh-influenced style characteristic of early Delhi Sultanate billon coinage, with the legend filling the field without a border. The flan shows the typical irregular shape and die displacement common to hammered jitals of this reign. |
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| Additional information |
Iltutmish consolidated the Delhi Sultanate into a genuinely independent power after breaking from the Ghurid succession following the death of Qutb ud-Din Aibak in 1210. These billon jitals were the workhorses of his monetary system, struck at Delhi and circulated across the Indo-Gangetic plain during a period when he was simultaneously fending off Mongol pressure from the northwest and absorbing the remnants of rival Rajput and Muslim kingdoms to the east. The billon content varies noticeably across surviving examples — silver percentages fluctuate enough to suggest multiple die pairs and possibly multiple mints operating without strict central supervision.