Coins of Nizam Shahi Dynasty

Ahmadnagar in Maharashtra once belonged to the Nizam Shahi kingdom and was one among the five Muslim kingdoms. This became independent after the fall of the Bahmani kingdom in 1491 A.D. The attempt to assume the title of `Shah` of governor of Ahmadnagar, Ahmad Nizam-ul-mulk Behri, met with fierce resistance from all quarters. But his successor Burhan I adopted the title `Shah` after the encouragement he received from the Gujarat Sultan Bahadur Shah.

The coins of Nizam Shahi dynasty were mainly of copper. The coins bore the name of the issuer and the name of the mint on one side and the date on the other side of the coin. All the rulers were called either Murtaza Shah or Burhan Shah and the coins bore their names as `Murtazi` or `Burhan`. Due to the fact that there was more than one ruler of identical name, the only way to distinguish the coins was by the mint name and the date they bore.

Even though Ahmadnagar was captured by Prince Danyal, the son of Akbar, the seat of the Nizam Shahi government was shifted first to Junnar and then to Daulatabad. Later Ahamadnagar was retained as the mint name on the coins. The succeeding ruler Burhan III issued coins in his names and included the name of Daulatabad as the issuing place.

This article is a stub. You can enrich by adding more information to it. Send your Write Up to content@indianetzone.com