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Dirham - Muhammad bin Tughluq Daulatabad
| Issuer | Sultanate of Delhi (Indian Sultanates) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1325 |
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| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Variable alignment ↺ |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse field is entirely occupied by a continuous Arabic legend in bold Naskh-style script, struck across the full surface of the irregularly shaped flan without a framing border. The inscription, reading 'sikka zad ja'iz dar ahd-i banda umidwar Muhammad Tughlaq' (currency struck, current in the reign of the hopeful servant Muhammad Tughlaq), fills the field in multiple registers with deeply incised, high-relief lettering. The hammered flan exhibits the characteristic surface texture and slight irregularity of Tughlaq-period brass coinage struck at Daulatabad. There is no subsidiary ornament or divisional device; the calligraphic legend alone constitutes the entire design. The die alignment is variable, consistent with the hand-struck production methods of the Delhi Sultanate. |
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| Reverse lettering | سكة زد جائز در عهد بنده امیدوار محمد تغلق |
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| Additional information |
Muhammad bin Tughluq's decision to shift his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad in the early 1330s was one of the most catastrophic administrative experiments in the sultanate's history — he forced the entire population of Delhi to relocate roughly 1,100 kilometers south, a march that killed thousands. Daulatabad-mint issues from his reign exist within that turbulent administrative context without being reducible to it.
The brass composition reflects his equally controversial token currency experiment, in which he attempted to introduce copper and brass coins at the value of silver — a policy that collapsed within years due to widespread counterfeiting.