Exploring the Numismatic heritage

Although Mughal period coins are known for their wonderful legends, motifs and executions  throughout the entire globe, but no less impressive are the coins of Durrani period in their executions and technologies.  Minted beautifully these coins carried  wonderful legends in round Persian characters. These are mostly Persian couplets which look to have been sung in praise of their respective currencies.  Indeed the Durrani coins do not only consist as the rich treasure of our numismatic heritage but also serve as the valuable literary treasure for Persian literature.

In fact history records that  during the period of later Mughals, a time reached when Mughal rule disappeared from all over India and remained confined within the four walls of Red Fort of Delhi. As such, like other regions, Kashmir also disintegrated from Mughal Empire. History further records that in the year 1753 AD it was conquered by Ahmad Shah Abdali. Ahmad Shah Abdali was an Afghan invader who brought Kashmir under the administration of Durrani Empire, which then extended from modern day Kabul up to Attock and included the lands of Qandhar, Peshawar, Lahore, Herat and Multan.

This empire in the history is known as Durrani Empire that extended on the north western lands of then India. They made Kashmir as one of the provinces of this grand empire and in administration  followed the tradition of the Mughal Empire, and ruled this land from their central seat of Kabul.  They appointed their governors and administrated this land for about sixty years -circa 1753-1819.

Durranis also made Kashmir as their permanent mint and issued coins in the name of their emperors. On their Kashmir coins they also placed mint name as khatie Kashmir in Persian letters.  Which in other terms meant that they still recognized its distinctive identity and called it Khatie Kashmir which means the land of Kashmir? Indeed they did not interfere with its local character but often respected its local culture and identity. They also issued several such coins in the name of local Reshi and Sufi saints which in numismatic terms are known as the posthumous coins

Durrani kings issued coins in gold, silver, and copper. Their coins are wonderful in execution and display Persian couplets in praise of their respective coinages. The reverse have given way to Aurangzeb’s formula which the later invented during his time with mint name and date  in  Hijra era. The couplets are seen on gold and silver coinages while the copper one’s displayed the name of the king with respective tiles on obverse and mint name and date in reverse. The coins of Durrani rulers known to have been found in Kashmir included the coins of Ahmad Shah, Suliaman Shah, Timur Shah, Timur shah II, Zaman Shah, Shah Shuja, Qaisir Shah and Ayub Shah. Their different coins bear different Persian couplets, which have been sung in the praise of their respective currencies.  Few of the coins of this period are illustrated as under:

Ahmad Shah coins bear the following couplets

Obverse: Hukum Shiud Az Qadir Bachnu ba Ahmad Badshah

Sika Zan bar seem zer Auj Mahe ta ba Mah

Reverse;- Mint name Khaita Kashmir with date

Suliman Shah

Obverse: Seam wa Zar sarfaraz Ra wa chnu khurshid-u-Mah

Wazarat Shahi Dawran Suliman Shah.

Reverse: Mint name Khaita Kashmir with date

Timur Shah

Obverse: Persian couplet  reading, Charkh may Arad tula Wa Naqarai Az Khurshid-u-Mah, Ta Kunad bar chahri naqushi Sika Timur Shah

Reverse: Mint name Khaita Kashmir with date

Mohammed Shah

Obverse;- Persian couplet reading ,Sika Parvaz zad Taufeeq Allah

Kushru Gasti Shan-i- Mohammed Shah

Reverse; - Mint name Khaita Kashmir with date

In tracing the study of Durrani coins, R.B. Whitehead is known as the first European numismatist who identified the Durrani period coins and deciphered their legends. He made the first cataloguing and documentation of Durrani coins in his Punjab museum Lahore catalogue published from oxford press in the year 1934.  The scholar has illustrated most of the Durrani coin types which also included few coins of their Kashmir mint.

More recently, in my own book on Kashmir coins titled, Coins and Currency of Jammu and Kashmir, I have also catalogued and documented few coins of this period found in the lands of Jammu and Kashmir. The coins which I have documented under the Durrani Period chapter are the coins which have been minted from Kashmir and bear the mint name as Zarbi khatie Kashmir.

Apart from these coins there are few extremely rare coins of Durrani period which were posthumously struck in the name of the patron saints of Kashmir, including names of Sheikh Noor Ud Din and Sheikh Humza Makhdoom. Such coins have been minted from the land of Kashmir and bear the couplet mentioning the names of these two saints. C.J. Rodjers, a British numismatist was the first scholar who deciphered such coins. Nowadays such coins are also recorded in various numismatic papers.

Durrani coins of Kashmir mint are not only found in the museums of this country but are also found in good number in other museums and numismatic collections of south Asia and Europe. And in those places these coins are very much identified and well documented. Most of such coins are well illustrated in the catalogue of coins of Lahore Museum Punjab, Pakistan.  The SPS Museum of Srinagar also houses a good number of such coins and it is learnt that recently this museum has also documented most of its numismatic heritage which included the coins of Durrani period as well. This is very rich numismatic treasure trove which needs to be preserved on modern scientific lines. This heritage also needs to be introduced to the new generations so that they can feel proud of this their heritage and understand their rich numismatic traditions

(The writer is a senior archaeologist and author)