Indian Epigraphy c15.s1.t1.4

c15.s1.t1.4

The Hijrī era was introduced in India by the Muslim conquerors. It is first used in the legend of the bilingual coins issued by Sultān Maḥmūd of Ghaznī from the Maḥmūdpūr (Lahore) mint in Hijrī 418 and 419 (1027 and 1028 A.D.).¹ The era is called, in the Sanskrit legend on the reverse of one of the specimens, the Tājikīya-saṁvat, i.e. the era of the Tājika people. The word Tājik, from Tāzī meaning ‘Arabic’, denotes ‘one of the Arab blood, born and brought up in Persia.’²