Lot 79

Bahamani Sultanate, Muhammad Shah I (AH 760-777, 1359-1375 AD), Gold Dinar, 12.80 gms, 20.98 mm, Ahsanabad Mint (mostly visible at 9 to 10 o'clock on rev), AH 771 or 773, Obv: sultan al-'ahd wa'l-zamān, hāmī millat rasūl al-raḥmān, abū'l-muẓaffar muḥammad shāh bin bahman shāh al-sultan (Translation: The Sultan of the Era and the Age, the Defender of the Faith of the Messenger of the Merciful One, Abul Muzaffar Muhammad Shah son of Bahman Shah, the Sultan), Rev: muhammad hasan bahmanī, inside the circle, mint and date in margin, Muhammad Shah I was the second ruler of the Bahamani Sultanate and the son and successor of its founder, Ala al-Din Bahman Shah. He consolidated the young kingdom’s administration and military power, organizing the state into four major provinces - Gulbarga, Daulatabad, Berar and Bidar. His reign was dominated by prolonged conflicts with the Vijayanagara Empire and the Musunuri chiefs of Warangal, particularly over the strategically important Raichur Doab. These wars witnessed an early and significant use of gunpowder artillery in the Deccan. He ruled from Gulbarga (Ahsanabad) and strengthened it as the Bahamani capital. His coinage, generally inscribed in Arabic and Persian, affirmed his Islamic sovereignty and helped establish the monetary traditions followed by later Bahamani rulers. He died in AH 777 / 1375 AD and was succeeded by his son, Mujahid Shah. similar to Zeno # 49349, G&G # BH25, multiple test marks overall very fine, extremely rare.