Saif-Al-Din-Hamzah-Shah-of-Bengal-Sultanate

Saif Al-Din Hamzah Shah of Bengal Sultanate

27 Apr 2019  Sat

Saif Al Din Hamzah was the fourth ruler of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty of the Bengal Sultanate. His reign spanned from 1410-1412. In all probability, he was a puppet king, with real power resting in the hands of Raja Ganesh. A civil war in Bengal broke out during Hamza's reign. In 1412, after only 2 years of ruling, he was killed by his slave Shihabuddin.

Hamzah Shah ruled for a brief period, and, as a consequence, his coins are scarce to rare. During the reign, he issued silver coins in the denomination of Tanka. These coins were struck from mints such as Hadrat al-Firuzabad, Iqlim Muazzamabad, and Satgaon.

Depicted above silver Tanka is attributed to his reign. The obverse of the coin depicted the legend ‘saif al-dunya wa'l din abu'l mujahid hamzah shah ibn a'zamshahbin Sikander Shah bin Ilyas Shah al-sultan’. The reverse of the coin has legend ‘Nasir Ameer al-Momineen Ghaus al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen Khallada Mulkuhu’ within field.

Image Source: Classical Numismatic Gallery

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