2020-06-24 Wed

Shah Shuja'a, the second son of Shahjahan and his queen Mumtaz Mahal, was born today on 23rd June 1616 in Ajmer. He was appointed by Shah Jahan as the Subahdar of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. During his governorship, he built the official residence Bara Katra in the capital Dhaka.

He proclaimed himself the king in November 1657, following a succession dispute that erupted between his brothers Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb and Murad Bakhsh when their father took severely ill. The coin which is depicted here is attributed to the Shah Shuja. Shuja crowned himself emperor and took imperial titles, the Khutba was read and coins were struck at Patna and Akbarnagar. The obverse of the coin bears the Kalima within a square border- ‘La Ilaha Illallahu Muhammadur Rasulullah’ and names of khalifa-e-Rashidoon in the margin. The reverse of the coin carries the name and title of the ruler ‘Shah Shuja'a Muhammadi Badshah Ghazi; other titles in the top margin (Nasir al-Din Muhammad), margin (Sahib Qiran Thani) and left margin (Abu al-Muzaffar, partially visible just after mint-name).’

Image Source: Classical Numismatic Gallery