When Sher Shah Suri introduced a coin of Rs

In 1540, Farid Khan, also known as Sher Shah Suri, defeated Nasiruddin Muhammad Humayun, the second ruler of the Mughal Empire, and ascended the throne of Delhi. And start implementing administrative reforms.

While running the affairs of the government, Sher Shah Suri came to know that the current currency system of the country is suffering from flaws due to which there are difficulties in trade and transactions, so he ordered the relevant people to mint new coins. .

In the year 1542, when a silver coin weighing 11.4 grams (one tola) was presented to Sher Shah for observation, after looking carefully at both sides, he said, ‘This is rupee.’ By the way, Rupee is a Sanskrit word which means raw silver. However, there was no uniform coin used everywhere in India.

Sher Shah Suri revived this ancient word and gave the silver coin a name 479 years ago that is now the name of currency in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles.

On the orders of Sher Shah Suri, in addition to ‘Rupee’, gold and copper coins called ‘Mahr’ and ‘Pisa’ were minted in various provinces of India, which facilitated trade and transactions and boosted the economy. A new direction was found.

Along with the introduction of a standard currency system, Sher Shah Suri banned mixed metal taka coins. These Taka coins were probably introduced by Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughluq of Delhi in 1329 AD.

Indian economic historian Sashi Shiv Ramakrishna writes in his article titled ‘Tales of the Rupee’: ‘The rupee was introduced as a standard currency in 1542 by the Pashtun Sultan Sher Shah Suri. The rupee had a specific quantitative meaning, it was a silver coin weighing 11.4 grams.

The value of the rupee coin was fixed according to its weight and purity.’

The rupee coins introduced by Sher Shah Suri were continued with minor modifications by the Mughal Empire and the East India Company, and these coins form the basis of the currencies of eight countries, including India and Pakistan.

Dost Mohammad Khan writes in his blog titled ‘Story of coins and our proverbs’: ‘The one rupee coin in circulation today has gone through many stages and reached this point. The first rupee coin was issued by Sher Shah Suri between 1540 and 1545 during his reign. The weight of this silver coin was about 11 and a half grams.

Apart from this, Sher Shah Suri also issued gold coins called ‘Mahr’ and minted copper coins called ‘Pisa’. Mughal Emperor Akbar also adopted Sher Shah Suri’s monetary system at the beginning of his reign, under which one (gold) mahar was worth nine (silver) rupees and one (silver) rupee (copper). There were 40 paisas which were called ‘Daam’ in Akbar’s time.’

Indian historian Dr. RP Tripathi in his book ‘Rise and Fall of the Mughal Empire’ mentions the money: ‘Sher Shah raised the value of the country’s coin which had fallen greatly during the Turkish and Afghan rule. Standard coins of fine gold, silver and copper were introduced to replace old, inferior and mixed metal coins.

‘Sher Shah’s silver rupee was so strong that it was considered the standard for many centuries. Apart from the coins of different components of the rupee, copper coins were also minted which were called dams and there were also coins of half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth parts of the rupee.

Eminent Indian historian Ishwari Prasad in his book ‘A Short History of Muslim Rule in India’ writes: ‘It was Sher Shah Suri who abolished the medieval monetary system and introduced the silver rupee coin. The weight of this rupee used to be around 11 and a half grams.

Kalma Tayyaba and the names of the Rashidun Caliphs inscribed

The rupee coins introduced by Sher Shah Suri are on display in the museums of the central banks of India and Pakistan, ‘Reserve Bank of India’ and ‘State Bank of Pakistan’.

On one side of these silver coins, the words Kalma Tayyaba and the names of the Caliphs are engraved on the edges, and on the other side, the name of the ruler is engraved in Arabic script in the middle part and in Devanagari on the edges.

A photograph of Sher Shah Suri’s rupee coin on the website of the State Bank of Pakistan Museum is captioned: ‘Sher Shah’s silver coin, called the rupee, weighed 178 grains (about 11.5 grams). was On one side of the silver coin of Sher Shah is the word and the names of the Rashidun Caliphs, and on the other side “Khaldullah Malika” (translation: May God continue his reign), the name and date of the mint and the Arabic and The ruler’s name was engraved in Devanagari.’

In his book ‘Sher Shah — A Critical Study Based on Original Sources’, Kalkaranjan Law Go writes: ‘Sher Shah’s coins bear inscriptions in two languages ​​(Arabic and Devanagri). The ruler’s name is written in both languages. The inscription of the names of the four caliphs Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Ali and Hazrat Usman on the coins shows that Sher Shah was a devout Sunni Muslim.

‘The circular coins minted in Sharifabad have the name of Hazrat Abu Bakr above, Hazrat Usman below, Hazrat Umar on the right and Hazrat Ali on the left.’

In his second book ‘Sher Shah and His Times’, Kalkaranjan Law writes: ‘Sher Khan was the first and last to have the distinction of issuing coins bearing his name in Arabic and Hindi (Devanagari). He got his name “Sri Sir Sahi” engraved on the coin.’

Munshi Syed Ahmad Murtaza writes in his compiled book ‘Sulat Sher Shahi’ that the coin issued by Sher Shah Suri in his name is also a living proof of his impartiality.

On one side of this rupee coin, the word Tayyaba, Abu Bakr, Umar, Usman and Ali, and on the other side Arabic and Devanagari script: “Sultan Sher Shah Sur Khaldullah Malika, Sultan Hifz al-Duniya wa Al-Din, Sri Sar Sahi” were inscribed. ‘

Coin India.com, a comprehensive online catalog of Indian coins, has images of rupee coins minted in Sher Shah Suri’s Gwalior, Shergarh, Jahan Panah and Sat villages bearing the Kalima Tayyaba, the names of the Caliphs and Sher Shah’s name is inscribed in Arabic and Devanagari script.

According to the captions written with the pictures, the weight of these silver rupee coins was about eleven and a half grams and their diameter was 25 to 29 mm.

Sher Shah Suri’s Bengal Kalma Tayyaba and Khalfa Rashidin Silver Rupee Coins are available for sale on the website ‘Indiancoins.com’.

The website has fixed the price of one coin at INR 3200 (approximately PKR 6677 and US$ 43) and guarantees 100% authenticity of the coin.

Had Sher Shah lived longer, his empire would have been unparalleled and the ‘Great Mughals’ would not have appeared on the stage of history: Historian Arthur Smith

Akbar’s rule and Sher Shah’s regime

On May 22, 1545, Nasiruddin Muhammad Humayun returned to Delhi almost a decade after the death of Sher Shah Suri due to a fire in his gunpowder store.

After Humayun’s accidental death on January 27, 1556, his son Jalaluddin Akbar was crowned, who led the Mughal Empire to its peak.

Despite the fact that Sher Shah defeated Humayun and gained the throne of Delhi, Emperor Akbar not only appreciated Sher Shah’s achievements and reforms but also adopted many reforms including the currency system.

Jalaluddin Akbar’s court historian Abul Fazl Ibn Mubarak admits in his work ‘Ayn Akbari’ that ‘Rupee’ is the religion of Sher Shah Suri.

Anjum Sultan Shehbaz writes in his book ‘Sher Shah Suri’: ‘This book (Ain Akbari) is the work of Abul Fazl which was written in the year 1597. It mentions Akbar’s agricultural reforms and taxation system and admits that Akbar adopted this system from Sher Shah Suri.

Munshi Syed Ahmad Murtaza has written in ‘Solat Sher Shahi’ with reference to journalist and historian John Clarke Marshman: ‘There is no doubt that Sher Shah was a very good-natured, smart and understanding, resourceful and most capable person. Just as he was famous in military campaigns, he was also capable in managing the country.

Although Sher Shah did not get respite from the battlefield, at the administrative level, he completely reformed every sector of the empire and after his death, the same rules and regulations continued in his family. Until Akbar’s system principles and constitution became a model, which later came to be known as the Akbari constitution.

Dr. RP Tripathi writes that no historian can deny the right of Sher Shah that he was the most eminent, enlightened and brave of all the Muslim rulers before Jalaluddin Akbar.

“Sher Shah is without a doubt one of the great thinkers and politicians of the sultans. He paved the way for Akbar’s successful rule and truly deserves to be called his (Akbar’s) predecessor.

“William Crook has done Sher Shah no favors by saying that the vast reforms he carried out in the short span of his five-year reign were a striking testament to his administrative ability.”

Irish historian Vincent Arthur Smith in his work ‘The Oxford History of India’ writes: ‘Sher Shah reformed the coinage system, issuing numerous silver coins which were excellent in fit and execution. This is a good record for an amazing five-year reign.

“Had Sher Shah lived a little longer, his empire would have been unparalleled and the ‘Great Mughals’ would not have appeared on the stage of history.”