Peeping into the Past via a Silver Dirham of Mahmud Ghaznavi

Sultan Yamin-ud-Daula Abul Qasim Mahmud ibn Sebuktigin of Ghazni (r. 998-1030 C.E.) was a zealous Islamic ruler whose entire reign was spent in expanding the authority of his kingdom on the decadent structure of the Abbasid Caliphate taking over territories captured from his ancestors' suzerains, the Samanids in Central Asia, the Shia' Buyid Empire's remnants in Eastern Iran and the kingdoms south of Hindukush into the Indian sub-continent.

Mahmud almost would have taken over the Abbasid Caliphate but was restrained by the nominal suzerainty he owed to the Abbasid Caliph Al-Qadir Billah (991-1031 C.E.), who ruled the declining caliphate contemporary to Mahmud's period. Caliph Al-Qadir appeased Mahmud by recognizing his rising status in the world of realpolitik and upgrading his title from Amir to Sultan in 992 C.E.

Caliph Al-Qadir's ideological war with the Fatimids Shias of Egypt also gave Mahmud a valid reason to attack both the Ismaili kingdom of Multan as well as the Shia Buyid rulers of Eastern Persia. 

Mahmud was most probably inspired by the 'Golden Age' of Islam which has just passed by his reign. This is evident from his efforts to fashion his capital city, Ghazni in central-east Afghanistan in the mould of Abbasid Baghdad, enriching the capital city with his newfound riches and treasures plundered from kingdoms as far as the Caspian Sea to the Gangetic plains of North India.

As Mahmud's vast plundering raids increased, they brought him enormous riches especially in the form of bullion and coins of these foreign realms. He was thus obliged as a good Islamic ruler to issue coins in the joint name of the Caliph and him in the newly instituted tradition of Sikka (Coinage). Additionally, he was also obliged by Islamic law to distribute these spoils termed as Ghanima among his victorious soldiers after deducting one-fifth of the same as the traditional tax of Khams to be transmitted to the Caliph's treasury, the Bait-ul-Maal at Baghdad, though it is highly likely that in view of the Caliph's weak status Mahmud would have withheld this tribute to the Leader of the Faithful. 

However, like all conquerors before him, the best example being Alexander the Great, Mahmud would have converted the captured treasuries of his opponents into his own coinage thus expanding the volume of Ghaznavid currency exponentially.

Thus, the coin above represents the basic raison d'etre of Ghaznavid currency as well as its propensity to survive the long period that has passed by since Mahmud's era.

If we look at the weight of the coin, it is fashioned on the Greek drachm, thus the name dirham which is not the only Greco-Roman legacy connected to this Islamic currency. The coin's legend begins with the word Adl (Arabic for Justice), which was a term used by Abbasid Caliphs on their coinage as well. The term is philologically similar to the Latin Ideal  (Adl also lends to the term, Adil to describe a just ruler as well as recalls the English description 'ideal and just' ruler) which again points to the use of the phrase inspired from Greco-Roman coinage where the rulers were supposed to dispense Justice. As a further pointer, I have shown a commemorative coin of Livia 'Julia Augusta' with the image/legend 'IUSTITIA' issued by her son, Emperor Tiberius.

Another highlight of the dirham illustrated here is that it gives the major title of Mahmud, Yamin-ud-daula (literally ~ right hand of the realm) which again point to the borrowing of the concept of Satraps of Greco-Roman rulers both in ancient and early medieval times. In fact, Mahmud's kingdom comprised of Eastern Iran, Central Asia, Afghanistan and North-West India which matched the ancient Satrapal kingdom of Greco-Bactria which rose by breaking away from the Seleucid Empire just like Mahmud grew on the remains of the Abbasid Caliphate. 

Thus, this single dirham of Mahmud of Ghazna helps us understand the various theoretical underpinnings of his tumultous reign which though controversial and bloody, contributed immensely to the History of the world, adding a new thrust to Islam's growth in the Indian sub-continent.  

I thank Stan Goron, Senior Numismatist and Author of the catalogue, 'COINS OF THE INDIAN SULTANATES' for his help in deciphering this coin especially in view of lack of resources like the Tuebingen Catalogue

A good online catalogue for Ghaznavid coinage can be seen on this link

http://ghaznavid.ancients.info/Mahmud/mahmud.htm 

http://ghaznavid.ancients.info/index.html#Table

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       Ghaznavid Empire c. 1030 at the end of Mahmud's reign. Image Courtesy: Wikipedia Commons
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Ghaznavid_Empire_975_-_1187_%28AD%29.PNG

Roman Commemorative  Coin in honor of Livia 'Julia Augusta' with the legend 'Justicia' issued by her son, Emperor Tiberius

A Bull-headed Huna ruler's coin issued in Kabul-Gandhara

The fifth century of the Common Era saw tectonic changes in the fortunes of the Gupta Empire of the Indian sub-continent and the Sassanid Empire of Persia due to the increasing incursions of the White Huns from the North-West border of India. 

Originating like the earlier dynasty of Kushans on the outskirts of China, the Shweta Hunas rose from the Eastern border of Persia and probably  spoke a variant of Eastern Iranian language. They first took over Tokharistan (Central Asia) from the Kidarite Kushans (Later Kushans) soon driving them out of areas around modern day Afghanistan and Pashtun belt of Pakistan. The Hunas soon attacked the outposts of the Gupta dynasty in the second half of the fifth century with a prominent defeat at the hands of  Emperor Skanda Gupta and a later expedition defeated by a coalition of Narasimhagupta (Baaladitya) and King Yashovarman in Central India. 

However, the Hunas overall succeeded in subduing the Later Guptas' chieftains in Northern India under Toramana and his son, Mihirakula forming their major base in Kashmir which became a refuge for them after the defeats and reverses at the hands of local rulers in the mainland. 

According to most experts, the Hunas spoke a variant of Iranian language which is attested by the legends on the coins of the initial rulers whose coins have a monolingual Pehlavi legend followed by later bilingual and trilingual legends. 

The coin on display in this post is a billon drachm issued in the name of 'NAAPKI MALLEKA' inscribed in Pehlavi script, as described by Michael Mitchiner in his book, 'ANCIENT CLASSICAL WORLD' 

The Coin is no doubt inspired by Sassanid drachms of the period in terms of fabric of the coin with the King's bust on the obverse with winged head-dress and the reverse having a fire altar with two attendants. However, the iconography of the Huna ruler, Naapki Malleka has a Bull's head surmounted on the king's head which is quite an unique feature of this series. The Bull's head could be indicative of Tantric worship by the Hunas or merely indicate a cultic practice of sacrificing bulls as indicated by a Chinese Buddhist traveller, Song Yun who visited Hunnic regions in A.D. 540 and states that the Huns "did not recognize the Buddhist religion and they preached pseudo gods, and killed animals for their meat." 

The Nezaka Malleka coinage's period would be guesswork but in view of its use of Pehlavi legend, one is inclined to place it in sixth century C.E. rather than a later period. The preference to Pehlavi over Brahmi legends would also place it in the far northern part of Kabul-Gandhara region. Additionally, the use of Pehlavi also indicates the coin's issue by Iranian dialect speaking people to the later Turkic people who replaced the Huns.

Napki Malleka coins were issued in probably two series, one in pure silver and the second in billon (with more copper than silver); our coin belongs to the latter series which would have been again issued in a later era of lesser prosperity with plateauing of the resources of the Huna Empire. The Napki Malleka series would thus have been issued as a continuum coinage by a series of rulers who could have the title, Napki Malleka (Malleka meaning King) with variant legends seen in the series. 

Thus, the Huna Coinage issued in the interim by Huna rulers represents a transitional coinage between two cultures, Sassanid Persian and Indian where the series was adopted by Huna rulers, Toramana and Mihirkula to transplant the series in the Indian mainland leading to a unique series called Indo-Sassanian. It also represents the power of coinage to convey religious messages by an alien people whose hybrid faith borrowed from other faiths but yet tried to impress its individual features upon posterity      

Pehlavi Legend 'NAAPKI MALEKA'