NEW BOOK: BAHMANI SULTANS THROUGH COINS

The Gulbarga Bahmani Numismatics Research and Educational Trust recently published a book titled ‘A Legacy of Bahmani Sultans through coins' authored by Numismatist Mohammad Ismail in which he depicts the numismatic journey of Bahmani Sultans through his collections.

The book traces the journey of coins belonging to all the 18 Bahmani Sultans starting from Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah (1347-58), till the last Sultan - Kalimullah Shah (1526-1538). Mr. Ismail has meticulously worked, richly illustrated, about each coin issued during Bahmani Sultans period.

Mr. Ismail has got a rare treasure of antique coinage, belonging to Bahmani Sultans from 14th Century to 16th Century. The numismatist has more than 2,500 coins in his collection of various rulers, dynasties and kingdoms. Among his treasury are also coins dating back to 1,600 years ago.

The numismatist also organises a campaign Save Coin Save Heritage. The objective of this campaign is to spread awareness about ancient coins at schools and to take forward the legacy to younger generations.

Speaking to The Hindu, the numismatist explained the legacy of Bahmani Sultans and displayed a collection of nearly 80 copper coins issued in one year period between 1378-1379, and said that all the four Sultans including Dawood Shah-I, Muhammad Shah-II, Ghiyasuddin Tahmathan Shah, Shamshuddin Dawood Shah–II (4th, 5th, 6th and 7th sultans, respectively), have ruled for less than a year. His collection has got nearly 500 coins issued during Tajuddin Firoz Shah (8th Bahmani sultan), followed by 400 coins of Muhammad Shah-I (the second Bahmani sultan), and 300 coins of Kalimullah Shah (18th Bahmani sultan) Period.

Some of the rarest coins in his collections are of Tahmatun Shah, Dawood Shah, Ahmed Shah III, Muhammad Shah IV and Mujahidin Shah. Mr. Ismail's rare collection includes 10 copper and one gold and silver coin minted during the Tahmatan Shah period. It took him eight years to find those coins. His collection also includes the rare gold and silver coins of Ahmed Shah II and Mujahidin Shah.

To read the complete article, see:
Numismatist tells legacy of Bahmani Sultans through coins (https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/numismatist-tells-legacy-of-bahmani-sultans-through-coins/article65592779.ece)

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