2016-09-17 Sat

In the year 1297, Alauddin Khilji defeated the King of Gujarat and made Khusru as his slave. Khusru was a Hindu and was later converted to Islam.

His Hindu name is still a mystery but the name Nasir al din Khusru Shah was given to him by Qutb al Din Mubarak. Khusru Khan tried to gain favors from Qutb al Din Mubarak or Mubarak Khan, the third son of Alauddin Khilji. But a conspiracy was cooking in Khusru's mind. He wanted to kill the Sultan! Unaware of the real plans of Khusru, Mubarak got impressed by his work and raised him to a higher position.

Soon Qutb al Din Mubarak became the victim of Khusru’s plan and was killed by him. But the tables turned on Khusru and he himself was assassinated for the throne of Dehli. This victory of Khusru’s was not long lasting and Ghiyath Al Din Tughluq came to power within a year after Khusru’s ascend to the Sultanate throne.

Though he was assassinated within a short period of being a Sultan, coins were stuck by him. These gold and silver coins are less in numbers and hence are some of the most sought after coins of Sultanate period.

A gold tanka of Nasir al din Khusru shah was sold at Todywalla Auction for INR 1,50,000 in their 98th Auction held on Sept 2015.

The obverse side of the coin contains the legend “Khusru Shah Al-Sultan Al-Wathiq Al-Rahman wali amir Al-Mu’minin” and the reverse reads “Al-Sultan Al-Azam nair Al-dunya Wa’l din”.