2019-12-05 Thu

This gold mohur was issued by Mughal Emperor Muhammad Akbar in the Hijri Year 984 from the mint Muhammadabad urf Udaipur Maftooha. Akbar wanted to conquer the route of Gujarat through Mewar; in doing this he wanted Maharana Pratap, the King of Mewar to be his slave-like other Rajput leaders. When Maharana Pratap refuses to be the slave of Akbar, Akbar announced the war against Mewar; which is popularly known as the Battle of Haldighati. The Mughal army was successful in capturing the city of Udaipur in November 1576. This gold mohur was issued by Akbar after the Battle of Haldighati.

The success of the Battle of Haldighati was like a Hollow victory for Mughal as they were unable to overthrow Maharana Pratap. While the Mughal army was busy in capturing the nearby areas; but they were unable to have a hold over it for a long time. When the focus of the Mughal Empire shifted elsewhere; Maharana Pratap and his army came out from the hidden route and recaptured western regions of his dominion including Udaipur.

Though Udaipur was in the hand of the Mughal Empire for a very short period; coins issued by Mughal Empire from the mint Udaipur are very rare. This gold mohur is listed for INR 13,00,000 in the upcoming auction of Todywalla which will be held in Kolkata on 21st December 2019. The obverse of this coin is inscribed as Jalal ud-Din Muhammad Akbar Badshah Gazi, Zarb Muhammadabad urf Udaipur Maftooha. The reverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Kalima within Square area with names of Khalifas and AH 984 in the margin’.

Image Courtesy: Todywalla Auction