2020-04-24 Fri

The Malwa Sultanate, An independent late medieval kingdom was established by Dilawar Khan in 1392 AD with its capital at Dhar. Hisam Al-Din Hushang Shah ruled the Malwa Sultanate from 1405 to 1435 AD. Today it is situated in the Indian States of Madhya Pradesh. Later, Dilawar Khan shifted its capital from Dhar to Mandu, which was renamed as Shadiabad by the Malwa Sultanate.

? The Malwa Sultanate is well known for its art and architecture which flourished under their rule. Coins of the sultanate were issued in Gold, Silver, and Copper and were issued in various denominations. It has been said that the history of Malwa is fragmented and can be concluded only from the chronicles of the Mughal Emperors and a few original Malwa texts. The kings of Mandu had great artistic taste; they made their coinage, their architecture in various geometrical shapes including the arched design known as the Mehrabi.

? This square gold tanka which weighs around 11g was issued by Nasir Shah during his reign in Malwa Sultanate. The obverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Al Wathiq Ba'al Samad Lam Yazali Abu'l ‘Muzaffar Nasir Shah’. The reverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Bin Ghiyath Shah Al Khalji Al Sultan Khallada Mulkahu’ and the Hijri date ‘908’ written at the bottom.

Image Courtesy: Todywalla Auction