Lot 267

Bengal Sultan, Ghiyath al-din Bahadur joint issue with Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Sultan of Delhi (AH 728-729, 1328-1329 AD), Silver Tanka, 10.86 gms, 25.79 mm, Hadrat Sunargaon Mint, Obv: in double rectangle set in circle, Arabic legend Darb bi -Amr al-Wathiqq Billah Muhammad bin Tughlaq shah; mint and date details in margin (off flan). Rev: in double rectangle, Arabic legend legend al -Sultan al-Mu'azzam Ghiyath al-Dunya wa al-Din Abu al-Muzaffar Bahadur Shah al-Sultan bin al –Sultan.

Ghiyath al-Din Bahadur Shah was the independent Sultan of Bengal from 1320-24 CE (720-24 AH). His reign as an independent ruler ended when his brother and rival to the throne, Nasir al-Din Ibrahim requested the assistance of the Dehli Sultan Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq in ousting Bahadur shah. Bahadur Shah’s army were defeated by the imperial forces albeit after stiff resistance, Bahadur shah was captured and taken to Dehli as a prisoner. Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq’s successor, Muhammad bin Tughlaq released Bahadur shah and granted him the rule of Bengal as a vassal. As a vassal of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Bahadur shah struck coins in his names from Bengal. The specimen being offered here is a brilliant example of the joint coinage of the Dehli and Bengal Sultan. These joint issues are known only for the year 728 AH which is also the year in which Bahadur Shah rebelled and asserted his independence. The coin being offered here was issued from the mint of Hadrat Sunargaon. The word Sunargaon is clearly legible in the obverse margin from six to four o'clock while the date is also readable as ‘thaman wa ashrin …” i.e., eight and twenty and therefore attributable to the year 728 AH. G&G # B116, very fine, extremely rare.