2017-01-14 Sat

Ala Al-Din Ahmad Shah II (AH 838 -862; AD 1435-1457) was the Sultan of Bahamani kingdom. His real name was Zafar Khan; he got the title Ala Al-Din Ahmad Shah II at the time of his accession. He was son of Shihab Al-Din Ahmad Shah I.

Bahamani kingdom was the Muslim state of the Deccan in South India during the medieval era of Indian history. The Kingdom was founded by Ala Al-Din Hassan Bahman Shah, revolting successfully against the sultan of Delhi, Muhammad Bin Tughluq. The capital of Bahmani Kingdom was Gulbarga from 1347 to 1425; it was moved to Bidar in 1425 AD.

Ala Al-Din Ahmad Shah had issued coins in gold, silver, and copper. Copper coins issued by him are very common. Gold and silver coins issued by him have a different legend.

His gold tanka weighs around 11g. Obverse of the coin reads as “Abul Muzaffar Ala Al Dunya Wa Al-Din Ahmad Shah Bin Ahmad Shah Al Sultan” and the reverse of the coin reads as “Al Sultan Al-Qawt Al-Islam Jami Al-Fadl Wa Al Adl wa’l Ihsan” meaning “The Sultan who is strong in the faith of Islam, replete with grace, justice and good deeds”, Within Square and date 862 written in the margin, name of the mint is not clearly visible on the coin.