2017-12-16 Sat

History mostly highlights only those sons of the emperor who became their successor. Hardly the other children are mentioned. But numismatics gives you a chance to understand the political atmosphere of that time through coinage. So let’s learn about Shahjahan’s son other than the Emperor Aurangzeb.

Muhammad Murad Bakhsh was the youngest son of Mughal Emperor Shahjahan. He was born in 1624, at the Rohtasgarh Fort in Bihar.

In the year 1642, he was appointed as a Subedar of Multan. He was also the Subedar of Balkh until he was replaced by his elder brother Aurangzeb in 1647. On 30th November 1657, Murad Bakhsh proclaimed himself emperor at Ahmadabad.

He issued coin is gold, silver and copper. The above shown ‘The Second Sikandar’ type silver rupee was issued by him at Surat. The obverse of the coin reads as ‘' Giraft Irs Yaft Ze Sahib-e-Qiran Shah Jahani Muhammad Sikandar Sani Murad Bakhsh'’. The reverse of the coin is inscribed with the ‘Kalima’ and the mint name ‘Surat’.

This extremely rare silver rupee coin was sold for INR 44,000 by Classical Numismatic Gallery Auction.