2019-05-14 Tue

The Bengal Sultanate was the Islamic Kingdom which was established in Bengal during 14th Century in the Indian subcontinent on the coast of Bay of Bengal. It was the first independent unified Bengal Kingdom under Muslim rule. The sultanate was dominated by numerous dynasties of Turkic, Arab, and Persian, Bengali and Abyssinian origin.

Shams Al-Din Ilyas Shah was the first sultan of Bengal and also the founder of Ilyas Shah Dynasty. This dynasty ruled Bengal for almost 150 years. This dynasty was one of the leading diplomatic, economic and military powers in the Indian subcontinent. Shams Al-Din Ilyas Shah was a liberal ruler, he used to treat all his members of the court equally.

This gold tanka which weighs around 11.0g was issued by Shams Al-Din Ilyas Shah from the mint Balad Firuzabad. The obverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Al-Sultan Al-Adil Shams Al-Dunya Wa’l Din Abul Muzaffar Ilyas Shah Al-Sultan’. The reverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Sikandar Al-Thani Yamin Al-Khalifa Amir Al-Munin’.

Image Courtesy: Todywalla Auction