2021-05-18 Tue

Mir Usman Ali Khan issued a gold Half Ashrafi coin from Haidarabad (Farkhanda Bunyad) mint in 1337 AH. The obverse of the coin depicts, “Charminar with full Ain inside the archway, with inscribed legends, Asaf Jah Nizam-Ul-Mulk on right and Bahadur on the left with AH 1337 below, Ornamental border around the circle”. And the reverse of the coin depicts, “Persian legends, Mint name with regnal year, Ornamental border around the circle”.

The Hyderabad state was founded by Mir Qamar ud din Khan, the governor of Deccan under the Mughals from 1713 to 1721. He held the grand titles of Asaf Jah, Nizam ul Mulk and Nizam of Hyderabad. When the Mughal rule was ending he established his own Asaf Jahi dynasty. Asaf was a descendant of the first Khalifa of Islam. They originally belonged to Baghdad but came to India in the 17th century.

The Nizam was coerced to sign the agreement which made Hyderabad fall under the protection of the British. In the Second and Third Maratha war, Hyderabad was a British ally. Even during the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the state maintained solidarity with the British government.

Image Courtesy: Mintage World