Coinage of Golconda ; striking copper

Coinage of Golconda : striking copper

     The Qutub Shahi dynasty dominated entire Andhra-desa or Telugu country from the beginning of the 16th century to the end of the 17th century. The founder was Sultan Quli who had migrated to India from Hamadan,Persia and had finally came to the Bahmani court during the reign of Mohammad Shah III. During his reign many foreigners came as he welcomed them generously. He impressed the Sultan with his various talents and was appointed governor of Telangana in 1496.This included the areas of Warangal and Golconda.He decalred independence in 1518, but remained loyal to the Bahmani Sultan. He did not strike any coins in his name. He issued coins in the name of the Bahmani Sultan from the Golconda mint.

         The throne was taken over by his son Yar Jamsheed Quli after his assasination in 1593 which he himself got done. He ruled for seven years. During this time he issued coins in his own name. They were made of copper and bear the name of Mohammadnagar. The  round coins weighed differently and the size too varied. The coins had both the titles Sultan and Shah at the end.

Copper coins, image.

Source : pexels.com

  The rule of Sultan Jamsheed Quli in 1550 gave way to the rule by an young boy Subhan Quli who was Jamsheed Quli's son,with the help of a regent. However this arrangement did not work and Ibrahim Quli ascended the throne who was the sixth son of Sultan Quli, ending his exile at the Vijyanagara kindom. However there were coins issued in his name during the time of Subhan Quli's short reign of six months.

   Sultan Ibrahim Quli Qutub Shah ruled for thirty years 1550 to 1580 A.D. He is remembered as a great Qutub Shahi Sultan as there were many developments during his reign. He issued coins in his own name from the Golconda mint.

    The next king was Sultan Mohammad Quli Qutub Shah whose reign was from 1580 to 1612 A.D. He was a poet and a keen builder. He founded the city of Hyderabad. He built the Charminar,Jama Masjid, Darushifa and Badshahi Ashurkhana. the coins issued during his reign are both round and square issued from the Golconda mint. The weight is variable. There were coins issued from the mint at Hyderabad with the legend Abul Muzaffar Quli Qutub Shah on the obverse with date 1012 A.H on the reverse, ie. in 1603 A.D.

    His nephew and son-in-law Mohammad Qutub Shah succeeded Sultan Mohammad Quli and ruled from 1612 to 1626 A.D. He started building the Mecca Masjid at Hyderabad. His was apeaceful reign. Coins were struck in his name in copper with the legend Abul Muzaffar Sultan Mohammad Qutub Shah on the obverse and date and name of the place of the mint ie. Hyderabad on the reverse (Darussultanat Hyderabad), For eg. : 1025 A.H. 

     The next ruler was Sultan Abdullah Qutub Shah who ruled between 1626 and 1672 A.D. The kingdom was attacked by Aurangzeb during his tenure and he had to enter a treaty with the Mughals and give his daughter in marriage to Aurangzeb's son and name him his heir. The copper coins of his time bear the legend Sultan Abdullah Badshah Ghazi or Sultan Abdullah Badshah or Abdullah Qutub Shah on the obverse and  the place of mint, Hyderabad on the reverse. They resemble Mughal coins. Another variety was issued without the name of the Sultan with the legend Qutama Bilkhar-e-vassadath but the date is of his reign. The coins of all rulers show ornamentation like the half moon symbol, small circle, elongated 'v' among  others.

  The last ruler was Sultan Abul Hasan between 1672 and 1686/7 A.D.He was the son-in-law of Sultan Abdullah. His was a steady rule and was ended by the siege of Golconda by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1687. Coins were issued during his time had the same legend as in Sultan Abdullah's time  with a difference only in the date. Coins were also minted at Pulicat by the Dutch. Many coins are available at the State Museum at Hyderabad, Telangana.



Dutch Golconda map,1706.

By Leiden, Van der Aa [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

   There were other coins which were current in Golconda which included the Mughal coins of gold and silver,dinar,mohammadi of Gujarat,Larin of Persia, abbasis,tanknama,tanka, tretels of Siam, ducts of Hungary, sequins of Venice etc.The local name for the gold coin pagoda was hun.

References :

• Qutub Shahi coins in the Andhra Pradesh Government Museum/Khan,Md. Abdul Wali, Hyderabad-Deccan : The Government of Andhra Pradesh,1961.
• M.A.Nayeem/The heritage of the Qutub Shahis of Golconda and Hyderabad,Hyderabad: Hyderabad Publishers,2006.

Posted by :

Soma Ghosh

Ⓒauthor

     

Nizam VII : visionary of a new Hyderabad State

Nizam VII : visionary of a new Hyderabad State

  The seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan was one of the richest men in the world during his life time. He came to rule the princely state of Hyderabad in pre-independence India, when his father the VIth Nizam, Mahboob Ali Khan died in 1911. He was addressed as His Exalted Highness , the Nizam of Hyderabad. He ruled as Nizam for 37 years up to 1948. Later he was Rajpramukh from 26th January 1950 up to  October 1956.

     The Nizam had many other titles which included Nawab Bahadur Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqui, His Highness Rustam-i-Dauran,Asaf Jah VII, Nizam of Hyderbad, Sipah Salar, Fateh Jung,GCSI.

Farhan Nizam, Persian dictionary, first edition, 1926.

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

    He was a builder and visionary. He built many buildings to house institutions like a college,hospital,university for the benefit of the public. He also made the Hyderabad House at New Delhi. It is used by the Indian Government to hold diplomatic events. He built  a splendid building to house the court. He established a railway system called Nizam's State Railway and public transport by introducing buses. He also built the Asafiya Library now called State Central Library, the Hyderabad Museum and the Jubilee Hall.  He built the Nizamsagar dam in 1923-31 and Osman-sagar reservoir. He started a thermal electricity plant near Hussain Sagar in 1920, India's first, which supplied power to the state. He got many reports made by professionals which suggest an excellent documentation system. He started new departments like Archaeology, in 1914. He started the Nizamia General Hospital (Unani medicine) at Hyderabad in 1926. He established the City College in 1921.

      All his life he lived in a palace called King Kothi bought from a nobleman at Hyderabad.  He contributed to the World War I efforts of the British and came to be called Faithfully Ally of the British.

  Nizam VII of Hyderabad




















Nizam VII of Hyderabad.

Image courtesy : Syed Ahmed



 Nizam VII of Hyderabad with his grandson Mukarram Jah,1934.

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons




Gate,King Kothi Palace, Hyderabad.

By Kingkoti_palace_dwaramu.JPG: Bhaskaranaiduderivative work: Sarvagyana guru - This file was derived fromKingkoti palace dwaramu.JPG:, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22336570




Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru is greeted by the Nizam 
during his visit to Hyderabad State,photograph,late 1940s.

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

    He started the Deccan Nizam Airways at Hyderabad with an airport at Begumpet area at Hyderabad. He established a bank Hyderabad State Bank which later became State Bank of Hyderabad, now merged with State Bank of India. He started his own currency. He was responsible for educational reforms and made primary education compulsory. He started agricultural research in his state in the Marathwada region.  The Nizam did not want the Hyderabad state  to join India after Independence, hence Operation Polo had to be carried out under Major General J.N Choudhuri in 1948.

     The Nizam had a fabulous collection of jewels which was acquired by the Indian Government.The seventh Nizam contributed to India's Defence Fund for  India's war effort with China in 1965 by way of 5000 kg of gold.

High Court of Judicature, Hyderabad, 1930s image.

Image courtesy : Sultanuddin Ahmed

High Court of Judicature, Hyderabad,2017.

By Sudeeksha10 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons




Osmania General Hospital,Hyderabad,image, 2012.

By Bhargavinf - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21586970




Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad,image 2016.

By Akhil.challa - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=51475337





Hyderabad House, New Delhi, image 2016.

By Narendra Modi - With Prime Minister Theresa May at Hyderabad House., CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52921652



City College, Hyderabad, image, 2013.

By Bhaskaranaidu - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28557819



Hyderabad Railway Station, image, 1892,Hyderabad.

Lala Deen Dayal [Public domain, Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons



Secunderabad Railway Station,image,1948.

By Jack Birns (Jack Birns Photos) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons




A view of NSR bus on Tank Bund Road, Hyderabad,image,1932.

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons



Nizam Sagar Dam, Nizamabad.





Nizamia General Hospital, Hyderabad.

By Pranav Yaddanapudi from Hyderabad, India - [1], CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11746973 References :

• Hyderabad : a city in history/Khan,Raza Ali, Hyderabad : Zenith Press,1990.
• Pictorial Hyderabad/Mudiraj,Krishnaswamy, Hyderabad : Chandrakanth Press,1934.
• wikipedia.org

Posted by :


Soma Ghosh


Ⓒauthor