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1 Tanka - Shams-ud-din Muzaffar Shah II
| Issuer | Sultanate of Gujarat |
|---|---|
| Year | 1518-1519 |
| 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 |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Hammered billon tanka with the field occupied entirely by a multi-line Arabic legend inscribed in bold Naskh script, reading 'Al-Mu'ayyad bi-ta'yid al-Rahman Shams al-Dunya wa-l-Din Abu al-Nasr', meaning 'The one supported by the support of the Merciful, Sun of the World and the Faith, Father of Victory'. The inscription is arranged in horizontal registers across the irregular round flan, separated by a ruled horizontal line dividing the field into upper and lower registers. The lettering is deeply struck in high relief against a flat field, with no figural imagery, consistent with the aniconic tradition of Islamic coinage. The coin's irregular flan edges and slightly uneven strike are characteristic of the hammered production technique employed at the Gujarat Sultanate mint. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Rough |
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| Additional information |
Shams-ud-din Muzaffar Shah II ruled Gujarat from 1511 to 1526, a reign bracketed by the expanding Portuguese presence on the western coast and the approaching Mughal tide from the north. The year of this strike — roughly corresponding to 1518–19 CE by Hijri conversion — falls near the midpoint of his rule, before the catastrophic defeat at Khanwa in 1527 reshaped the entire subcontinent's political order. Gujarat under Muzaffar II was among the wealthiest sultanates in India, its revenues driven by textile exports and the port of Surat.
Billon tankās from this series are notoriously inconsistent in flan preparation, and off-center strikes are the norm rather than the exception.