What can a coin tell you about the historical context in which it was minted or the ruler reigning at the time? Can it tell you about their interests or faith? Does it reflect their power, or lack thereof? Ask anyone with an interest in numismatics (the study of coins) or material culture, and they will give a resounding ‘yes’, but most people have probably never thought about it.

Between 1526 and the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Mughal Empire transformed from a relatively small fledgling state that struggled to maintain its borders to a mighty empire with the largest economy in the world. Whilst the imposing architecture, luxurious textiles, objects, and lavishly illuminated paintings and manuscripts of the age provide fine examples of the history and achievements of the Mughal period, I will concentrate on one of their less obvious achievements - the establishment of a universal pure silver currency, based on the rupee. In the first of three blogs focussing on coins from the Indian subcontinent, this piece will survey the initial two centuries of Mughal history as revealed through developments of their coinage.

The Mughal dynasty was founded by Bābur (r.1526-30), a central Asian prince and descendant of Emperor Tīmūr (Tamerlane) from the paternal side, and Genghis Khan from the maternal side. After he was exiled from his ancestral home, he turned his attention east, conquering Kabul (Afghanistan) in 1504, followed by the Lodhi Sultanate of Delhi (India) in 1526, thus establishing the Mughal dynasty.

A ‘Shahrūkhī’ coin of Abū Saʿīd Mirza, Timurid emperor (r.1424-1469) and grandfather of the first Mughal emperor, Bābur. He was the grandson of Mīrān Shāh.

Bābur’s focus was mainly on his conquests rather than administration, so he continued to issue the typical Timurid coin referred to as a ‘Shahrūkhī’, named after Shahrūkh Mirza (Timūr’s eldest son). Typically, the coin weighed less than five grams of silver, featured the shahādah (Muslim testament of faith) and names of the first four caliphs on the obverse, with the name of the ruler and place of mint on the reverse.

Bābur was succeeded by his son, Humāyūn, whose first reign lasted from 1530 to 1540. Humāyūn continued to use the Shahrūkhī. The mint names on coins can act as useful material witnesses of important cities and expanding empires. The coin below was minted in Lahore during Humāyūn’s rule – a city that proved a major conquest for his father in 1524 (before he marched on to Delhi) and sixteen years later would provide much-needed refuge to Humāyūn when he was deposed by the Afghan ruler Sher Shāh Surī in 1540. Humāyūn then fled to Persia and the court of Shāh Tahmasp, where he remained exiled until he managed to regain his throne in 1555, ruling for just one year before he died.

‘Shahrūkhī’ of Humāyūn, minted in Lahore

Sher Shāh introduced a new currency system during Humāyūn’s exile: the silver rupaiyah and the copper paisa. This system was adopted and modified by Humāyūn’s son and the third Mughal emperor, Akbar the Great (r.1556-1605). Akbar is generally credited as having laid the real foundation of the Mughal Empire. During his long reign, the size of Mughal territories tripled and developed a sophisticated administrative system. Akbar was the first major Mughal patron of arts and architecture: he commissioned new building projects in what would become a distinctive Mughal style and assembled a royal atelier from which he commissioned numerous illustrated manuscripts. In addition to these achievements, he introduced a more refined trimetallic currency system with gold ashrafī (mohur), silver rupee and copper dām coins. He applied the same zeal that he had for other areas of his administration to refining his coins, hiring calligraphy experts to engrave the dies of his coinage with legends, and standardising the weight of the silver rupee. Weighing in at around 11.5 grams, the Mughal rupee was among the heaviest silver coins in the world. The practice of inscribing Persian poetry praising the ruler on coinage was also introduced under Akbar with imperial mints established in important towns, including Lahore, Agra, Delhi and Ahmedabad. The Mughals were powerful, wealthy, sophisticated and cultured, and this was clearly reflected in their coinage for all to see.

Similarly, Akbar’s religious beliefs and attitudes were also reflected in his coins. Akbar had an interest in learning about different religions and was known to have audiences with members of different faiths. He went on to develop his own eclectic system of beliefs referred to as Dīn-i-Ilāhī (‘Religion of God’). Coins issued in the first half of his reign continued to feature the shahādah, but those issued in the second half of his reign reflect his changing religious practices: coins issued with new ‘Ilāhī era’ dates - a dating system that begins in the year of Akbar’s succession, replacing the traditional Islamic Hijri calendar - and replaced the Muslim testament of faith with the expression Allāhu Akbar Jalla Jalālhu (‘God is great, may His glory be glorified’). Although on the surface this may appear to be a traditional glorification of God, it is thought to have been a punning reference to his own name.

Silver ‘Ilahī’ rupee minted in Lahore from the second half of Akbar’s reign featuring the expression ‘Allāhu Akbar Jalla Jalālhu’ (‘God is great, bright is His glory’).

Akbar’s territorial expansion, as well as his patronage of arts, literature and architecture, was continued during the reigns of his successors Jahāngīr (r.1605-1627), Shāh Jahān (r.1627-1658) and Aurungzaib (regnal name: Alamgīr, r.1658-1707). The two centuries covering the reign of these first six emperors is often considered the peak of Mughal rule. Whilst this period was generally politically stable, it also had its fair share of intrigue, sometimes with the heirs keen to ‘take the reins.’

The first of these was Prince Salīm, who later ruled as emperor Jahāngīr. During the last decade of Akbar’s reign, Salīm grew increasingly restless in his desire to assume supreme power. As governor of Allāhabād, he rebelled outright against Akbar several times. So, what is one of the first things a usurping prince might do in order to declare the supremacy of his own rule over that of his predecessor? Perhaps issue a decree and a public procession for all to see?

There is no message as powerful or public as taking control of the mint and issuing a coin with one’s own name as emperor. The coin below was issued in Allāhabād during one of Salīm’s rebellions that was quashed by Akbar. Even after he officially became Emperor Jahāngīr, his coinage was as unorthodox as that of his father. The coins went from featuring a realistic portrait of his father, to images of zodiac signs, to portraits of himself with a wine goblet in his hand – all of which would have drawn the disapproval of the Muslim scholars and clerics (ʿulemāʾ).

Rupee issued in Allāhabād during one of Salīm’s rebellions; minted with his name as emperor.

Palace intrigue and political manoeuvrings were not just limited to princes. Stories about Empress Nūr Jahān, the wife of Emperor Jahāngīr, are legendary in South Asia. Born Mehr an-Nissa, she became Jahāngīr’s favourite wife and rose to become the most powerful and influential woman at court. Jahāngīr increasingly relied on her to make decisions and she was even able to hold court and issue royal decrees in the emperor’s absence. Thomas Roe, then the British ambassador to the Mughal court, was so disgruntled by what he observed of her influence that he wrote, “[Jahangir’s] course is directed by a woeman and is now, as it were, shut up by her so that all justice or care of anything or publique affayres either sleeps or depends on her, who is most unaccesible than any goddesse or mistery of heathen impietye.”

Nūr Jahān’s sphere of influence extended to her father Mirza Ghiyas Beg (otherwise known by his title I’timād al-Dawlah) when he was appointed as Jahāngīr’s prime minister, and to her brother, who was also given a prominent role in court. She was also instrumental in the marriage of her stepson, Prince Khurram (Jahāngīr’s son and heir), to her niece, Mumtaz Mahal.

Rupee minted in Patna in the name of Jahāngīr’s favourite wife, Nūr Jahān, in 1627. Nūr Jahān was the only empress to have coins minted in her own name.

Upon his accession to the throne, Prince Khurram took on the regnal name of Shāh Jahān (r. 1627-1658). Shāh Jahān was a very able ruler; the empire grew significantly during his reign. He was also a great patron of the arts, and his rule symbolised the height of architecture: he built mosques and palaces – most famously the Taj Mahal mausoleum in honour of his beloved wife, Mumtaz. Shāh Jahān made more efforts to appease the ʿulemāʾ than his father and ordered that the ‘zodiac’ coins and those with Jahāngīr’s portrait be melted (making them quite rare) and reintroducing the inscription of the shahādah on coinage. He also moved the Mughal capital from Agra in 1638, building a new capital at Delhi called ‘Shahjahanabad’.

Rupee featuring the Muslim testament of faith (shahādah), minted in Shāh Jahān’s newly-built capital, Shahjahanabad (Delhi).

In 1657, Shah Jahān fell seriously ill, setting off a war of succession among his four sons. Aurungzaib emerged victorious and even though his father recovered from his illness, Aurungzaib (r.1658-1707) placed Shāh Jahān under house arrest in Agra Fort and crowned himself emperor. The Mughal Empire reached its largest extent under Aurungzaib’s rule. By the end of his reign, the Mughals had unified an empire that covered the majority of the Indian subcontinent.  Their wealth, opulence and luxury goods were known to the world and, by the end of the seventeenth century, their economy is thought to have accounted for approximately a quarter of the world’s wealth, with the Dutch and the English competing to establish trading posts in the subcontinent. Under Aurungzaib, the shahādah was again removed from coinage - in fact, it was forbidden to be used. However, the reason was different to that of his predecessors and again reflects the outlook of the ruler: he was religiously more conservative than his predecessors and removed it out of respect for the religious formula, which included the name of Allah. This prevented it being degraded during the course of its circulation. The shahādah was replaced with poetic verse praising the ruler.

Rupee minted in Multan during the 8^th regnal year of Aurungzaib.

In the next blog post, we will continue our numismatic journey by focussing on the changing fortunes of the Mughal emperors and the rise of regional and foreign powers during the long eighteenth century.

The paintings, coins and images used in this post belong to the Hussain-Islimi Collection and are used as part of the outreach work for the MIAH Foundation: @FoundationMiah

Bibliography:

Stephen Album, Checklist of Islamic Coins, 3^rd edition (Santa Rosa CA: 2011, Stephen Album Rare Coins) available online: https://coinsweekly.com/stephen-albums-checklist-of-islamic-coins-available-as-free-pdf-download/ (Accessed June 2020)

William Foster (ed.), The Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe to the Court of the Great Mogul 1615-1619, as narrated in his journal and correspondence, (London: 1899, The Hakluyt Society).

Ruby Lal, Empress: The Astonishing Reign of Nur Jahan (London: 2018, W. W.Norton & Company)

Thomas Michael & Tracy L. Schmidt (eds.), Standard Catalogue of World Coins, 1601-1700, 7^th edition (2018, Krause Publications)