[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [General history and culture](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general) › [History of the Qaraunah Turks in India](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.prasad-1936) › c8.107 # History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c8.107 History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c8.107 - **Language:** English ### [c8.107](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.prasad-1936.c8.107) made early in his reign during the conquest of the Deccan. Among later writers Yaḥyā, Badāoni and Firishta ascribe the measure to the emptiness of the royal treasury. Yaḥyā positively states⁵² that the treasury became empty, and the avenues of income were closed. But Niẓam-al-Din Aḥmad does not speak of the emptiness of the treasury and writes that because his troops and revenue were not sufficient for the conquest of the entire globe he designed to issue a copper coin in order to accomplish his object.⁵³ Ḥājjī-ad-Dabīr states that the principal objective of the Sultan was to hoard his gold coins by having recourse to the scheme, and it is probable that he may have desired to keep his gold in reserve for his foreign expeditions and other enterprises. The truth seems to be that the Sultan's object was to multiply currency and not to replenish an empty treasury. This is proved by the fact that he afterwards withdrew all the token coins, and paid gold and silver coins in exchange for those of copper and managed an acute financial crisis with success.⁵⁴ When Ibn Baṭūṭah came to India in 1333 A.D., he heard nothing about the token currency, and we may infer from his silence—it may be noted here that Ibn Baṭūṭah mentions the sufferings caused by the transfer of the capital to Devagiri which occurred before his arrival—that the people were entirely satisfied with the Sultan's policy. Neither Barani nor Ibn Baṭūṭah speaks of financial stringency after the failure of the token currency. On the contrary, both agree in saying that the Sultan's prodigal generosity continued, and large sums of money were spent in promoting agriculture, in administering famine relief and in financing punitive expeditions. It is difficult to follow Barani who makes two contradictory statements in the same breath. At first he says, the Sultan's treasury was depleted and in another place he says that when the people refused to accept the token coins the Sultan withdrew them and gave gold and silver \*tankahs\* in exchange.⁵⁵ How could this be possible if the treasury were depleted? The subsequent narrative of Barani indicates no financial distress, notwithstanding the severe and protracted famine which inflicted much misery upon the population, and he is fully supported by Ibn Batūṭah: To reinforce the desire to multiply the currency, there was probably the love of experiment, for the Sultan who was a man of an original cast of mind, well-versed in the arts and sciences of the age, may have felt a powerful impulse to embark upon this experiment in a scientific spirit. The royal exhortations which accompanied the introduction of the currency and the subsequent behaviour of the Sultan effectively rebut the charge of eccentricity, which has been brought against him by modern writers. That the scheme was not a mere figment of disordered fancy or the outcome of wanton caprice is proved by the fact that throughout his reign the Sultan evinced a keen interest in the reform of the coinage, and never sought to deprive his subjects of their wealth by any means. It must, however, be admitted that he was not a financial expert, for with the example of the Persian Chāo and its subsequent failure before him, he failed to provide those safeguards which were absolutely essential for the success of a token currency. - [Previous: c8.106](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.prasad-1936.c8.106) - [Next: c8.108](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.prasad-1936.c8.108) - [Up: c8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.prasad-1936.c8) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.prasad-1936.c8.107](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.general.prasad-1936.c8.107) · Pramāṇa