2017-12-26 Tue

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 Nikusiyar, another lesser known son of the Emperor Muhammad Akbar.

Nikusiyar was the 12th Mughal Emperor. He was the great-grandson of Aurangzeb and was brought up in a harem in Agra.

In 1695 at the age 16 he was appointed Subedar of Assam and he continued until 1701. In 1702 the prince was appointed as the Subehdar of Sindh by Aurangzeb and he served until 1707. He took the throne in 1719.

This extremely rare silver rupee of Nikusiyar which weighs around 11.28g was minted in 1131 AH. The obverse the coin is inscribed with the Persian legend ‘Dar Afaq Sikkah zad bar seem-o-zar ba-fazl khuda shah nikusiyar’ and AH year. The reverse of the coin is read as ‘Julus Mainamat Manus Zarb Mushtaqir Al Khilafa Akbarabad Sanah Ahad’.