The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c16.s14.2

c16.s14.2

VERY little light is thrown by the chronicles on the working of mints or the numismatic history of the period; the relevant passages have been fully utilized by Mr. Nelson Wright. It will be superfluous to repeat here the views expressed in his work, *The Coinage and Metrology of the Sulṭāns of Dehli*. The evidence produced in favour of a forty-eight *jītal tankah* is conclusive. The pieces mentioned in the *Ṣubḥ-u'l-a'shā* as well as *‘Afīf* are multiples of 3 as well as 2, which cannot fit into a sixty-four *jītal tankah*. The only flaw in the argument—the explicit mention of a sixty-four *jītal tankah* in the *Masālik-u'l-abṣār*—is more than counterbalanced by incontrovertible evidence contained in another passage.¹ The fifty *jītal tankah* also became popular in the north; it first originated in the Deccan.² The numismatic evidence contained in Nelson Wright's book adds Fīrūz Shāh Ẓafar ibn Fīrūz Shāh, Fīrūz Shāh ibn Abū Bakr and Aḥmad bin Fīrūz to the list of Indian monarchs.³ There is no mention of these sultans in the chronicles; the date on the extant coins rules out the suggestion that Fīrūz Shāh Ẓafar was invested with authority during his father's life-time.⁴ He seems to have succeeded Ghiyāth-u'd-dīn Tughluq II. Fīrūz Shāh ibn Abū Bakr is capable of being distinct.⁵ It is difficult to make a concrete suggestion in view of the lack of proper evidence; these might have been read as Abū Bakr ibn Fīrūz Shāh; but Aḥmad is quite crowned monarchs or just pretenders during those days of turmoil. ‘Afīf mentions an interesting incident which shows how sensitive public opinion was regarding the purity of the coinage. The value of a *shashgānī* denomination having been questioned, the wazīr took spectacular, though fraudulent, measures to re-establish its reputation.¹ The coin was then restored to its full value. The wazīr’s remark on hearing the report of the suspicion regarding the value of the coin is significant. “The coins of the monarchs of the various countries of the world,” said the wazīr, “are like virgin daughters : if, God forbid, a virgin daughter’s reputation is injured and she rightly or wrongly gets a bad name, even though she be highly accomplished and beautiful, no one will desire her.”²