YOUR GURU

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Medieval India Coinage

Medieval India Coinage

Map of Medieval India, Courtesy Government of India

The Arabs conquered Sindh in 712 AD and ruled it as a province of the Caliphate. By the 9th Century AD, provincial governors established independent rule and struck their own coins. However, it was with the emergence of Turkish Sultans of Delhi in the 12th Century that a decisive break was made with the past and the existing motifs were gradually replaced by Islamic devices, largely calligraphy. The unit of account came to be consolidated and was referred to as the 'tanka' with the 'jittals' as the smaller value coins. With the Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 AD) came the attempt at standardisation. This period was marked by a considerable expansion of the money economy. Coins were struck in gold, silver and copper. In the monetary system, the equation between gold and silver was probably at 1:10. The Khilji rulers issued coins in abundance with grandiloquent titles (Ala-ud-din Khilji struck coins assuming the title 'Sikandar al Sani', the second Alexander) as well as honorific epithets for mints (the Delhi mint bore titles 'Hazrat Dar-al-Khilafat, etc.).

Description	Obverse	Reverse
Coin of Nasiru-d-din Mahmud 1246 - 1266 AD
Coin of Ghiyasu-d-din Balban 1266 - 1287 AD

Coins of the Delhi Sultanate

MODEL QUESTION PAPER FORMAT

SUBJECT :: MATHEMATICS

Paper - II Max Marks : 50 Time : 2 1/2 Hours.

This paper - II consists the following Topics/Chapters

Topic/Chapter

Number in the text book & Chapter / Topic

7. Geometry

8. Analytic Geometry

9. Trigonometry

10. Statistics

11. Matrices

12. Computing

There are two (2) parts : Part - "A" and part -"B"

Part - A 35 Marks Time : 2 Hours.

This part "A" consists for sections i.e., section I to IV

Section - I 5x2=10Marks

( Short Answer Type )

Answer any five questions choosing at-least two (2) from each of the following groups i.e., Group "A" and Group "B".

Group " A"

Under this group "A four (4) question ( i.e., questions 1 to 4 are given covering following Topics/ Chapters.

7. Geometry. 8.Analytic Geometry and 10 Statistics

( minimum of one question from each Chapter )

Group "B"

The four (4) questions ( i.e., questions 5 to 8 ) of this group cover the following chapters.

9.Trigonometry 11. Matrices 12. Computing

( Minimum of one question from each Chapter)

Section - II 4x1=4Marks

( Very Short Answer Type )

Answer any four (4) questions (i.e., questions 9to 14 ) from the following six questions.

(One question from each of the six chapters to be given)

Ancient India Coinage

Punch Marked Coins

The Indus valley civilisation of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa dates back between 2500 BC and 1750 BC. There, however, is no consensus on whether the seals excavated from the sites were in fact coins.


Seals of Mohenjo-Daro

The first documented coinage is deemed to start with 'Punch Marked' coins issued between the 7th-6th century BC and 1^st century AD. These coins are called 'punch-marked' coins because of their manufacturing technique. Mostly made of silver, these bear symbols, each of which was punched on the coin with a separate punch.

Punch Marked Coin, Silver Bentbar

Issued initially by merchant Guilds and later by States, the coins represented a trade currency belonging to a period of intensive trade activity and urban development. They are broadly classified into two periods : the first period (attributed to the Janapadas or small local states) and the second period (attributed to the Imperial Mauryan period). The motifs found on these coins were mostly drawn from nature like the sun, various animal motifs, trees, hills etc. and some were geometrical symbols.