2019-04-23 Tue

The third Sultan of Ilyas Shahi dynasty, Ghiyath Al-Din A'Zam ruled the Bengal Sultanate from 1389 to 1410 AD. He succeeded the throne after his father Sikandar Shah, and established friendly relationships with the Ming Empire of China and encouraged trade. During his reign, Ma Huan, a Chinese traveler visited Bengal.

During the early part of his reign, he conquered and occupied Kamarupa in modern-day Assam. He issued gold and silver coins with a different description. These coins were issued in the denomination of Tanka from various mints such as Arsah, Arsah Chatgaon, Arsah Satgaon, Hadrat Firuzabad, Hadrat Muazzamabad, and Jannatabad.

The above shown silver Tanka was issued during his reign from Arsah Satgaon mint. The obverse of a coin has legend ‘ghiyath al-dunya wa'l din abu'l muzaffar a'zamshah al-sultan’ within a fancy diamond-shaped border. The reverse of a coin bore the legend ‘nasir amir al-mu'minin ghawath al-islam wa'l muslimin khallada allah malkahu’ within a circle, the margin has AH date and mint name.

Image Source: Classical Numismatic Gallery