Ghiyas Ud-Din Balban was the 9th sultan of Mamluk Dynasty of Delhi; his real name was Baha ud Din. He was an Ilbari Turk; when Balban was young, he was captured by Mongols, was carried to Ghazni and sold to Khawaja Jamal ud-din of Basra, a Sufi. Later, in the year 1232 CE, he was brought to Delhi as a slave along with other slaves and all of them were bought by Iltutmish.

Ghiyas ud-Din Balban started his carrier as a slave and was later appointed as Wazir by Nasir Al-Din Mahmud, the last sultan of Mamluk Dynasty. Later, from the post of Wazir, he was ascended to the throne of Delhi. This journey from being a slave to the throne of Delhi was not less than a miracle. Balban was one of the most powerful rulers of the sultanates between Iltutmish and Alauddin Khilji.

This gold tanka, issued by Ghiyas-ud-Din Balban at Hazrat Delhi Mint, weighs around 10.9g. The obverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Al Sultan Al Azam Ghiyat Al Dunya Wa'L Din Abu'L Muzaffar Balban Al Sultan’. The reverse of this coin is inscribed as ‘Al Imam Al-Muntasir Ameer-Ul-Mominin, Mint and Date in Margin’.

Image Courtesy: Todywalla Auction