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1 Tanka - Ghiyas-ud-din Balban
| Issuer | Delhi Sultanate |
|---|---|
| Year | 1266-1287 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Tanka |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central field bearing a four-line Arabic legend in bold hammered calligraphy, reading 'al-Sultan al-A'zam / Ghiyath al-Dunya wa'l-Din / Abu'l-Muzaffar Balban / al-Sultan', proclaiming the sultan's full regnal titles and epithets. The inscriptions are enclosed within a square frame defined by double ruled lines, with decorative foliate or geometric ornaments at each corner. The square is itself contained within a circular border, with the lunette segments at top and bottom filled with additional ornamental motifs. The flan is irregularly shaped, characteristic of hammered coinage of the Delhi Sultanate period, and the die is struck slightly off-centre. The overall style reflects the established epigraphic tradition of Ilbari Sultanate silver coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Arabic |
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| Additional information |
Ghiyas-ud-din Balban ruled the Delhi Sultanate with a calculated brutality aimed at dismantling the Forty — the powerful group of Turkish slave-nobles who had effectively controlled sultanate policy since Iltutmish. His monetary reforms were part of the same consolidation: coinage bearing his name was a political instrument, asserting a legitimacy he had spent decades maneuvering to claim before formally taking the throne in 1266. He had served as regent under three weak sultans before that.
Silver tankas of this reign are struck on broad, thin flans and frequently show partial legends due to flan preparation rather than die failure — a known characteristic of the Balban series.