History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c8.101

c8.101

in expenditure was he that some times he made presents to the Khātūns to the amount of 30 tumans at a time, and ‘many women fled away to avoid his lust, while others sent their boys and girls to distant places to escape him.’ The treasury was emptied by the extravagance of Gai Khātū and his equally profligate minister, and the debts of the state reached a high figure. To remedy this financial crisis, one ‘Iz-al-Din Muzaffar ibn Muhammad ‘Amid suggested to the wazir the use of a paper currency like the Chinese Chāo in lieu of metallic money. The proposal was welcome to Gai Khātū who ordered the issue of the Chāo from Tebriz in spite of the remonstrances of Singtur, the most intelligent and capable of the Mongol grandees. Having its origin in fraud, the new currency made an appeal to religion and at the top contained the Quranic formula ‘Lā Illah ill’Allah-Muhammad-al-rasūl-al-allah’ (There is no God but God and Muhammad is His Prophet). Its acceptance was enforced by means of a royal edict which ran thus: ‘‘whoever defaces it shall be punished with death, with his wife and children and his property shall be confiscated.’’ A Chāo house was established in every province with a regular staff of officers, and to crown all these follies the use of metallic money was forbidden by a royal decree, and the people were commanded to take their coins to the mint to receive paper notes in exchange on pain of death. The might of the Sultan compelled obedience for eight days, but afterwards the people refused to accept the new money and trade came to a standstill. The markets were deserted and riots and rebellions broke out everywhere. The wazir soon discovered his folly and an ordinance was issued to suppress the Chāo.⁵⁰