Baldwin & Sons
Auction 89 8 May 2014
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A COLLECTION FORMED BY PAUL STEVENS, SULTANATES Ghiyath al-Din Barbak (AH 893 / 1487-1488 AD), Gold Tanka, Khazana, AH 893, triangle and pellet border type, 10.43g (G&G B460). Two shroff marks, very fine and really extremely rare.
All coins of the usurper Ghiyath al-Din Barbak are extremely rare. This gold type, all the more so, was only known to Goron & Goenka by reputation at the time of publication.
Ghiyath al-Din Barbak is the first of the so-called Habshi dynasty of Bengal. The name "Habshi" refers to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Already in the 14th Century, a number of Abyssinian slaves are known to have served in Bengal under Shams al-Din Ilyas and his descendents. Some of them rose to positions of importance. The historian, Ferishta, reports that, in the time of Rukn al-Din Barbak (1459-1474 AD), some 8000 Abyssinian slaves were recruited for the Bengal army and to fill various key posts in the state. It is probable that the Abyssinians were intended to serve as a counterweight to overambitious local nobles. If so, the policy backfired as over the next twenty years the Abyssinians gained in power and influence, coming to occupy most of the important positions at court, while also forming the Sultan's palace guard. Jalal al-Din Fath Shah (1481-1486 AD) sought to take steps to curb their power as a result of which, according to the traditional sources, the Abyssinians joined with the chief eunuch of the palace, Barbak Shahzada, to murder the Sultan, whereupon Barbak Shahzada took the throne with the title Ghiyath al-Din Barbak Shah, only to be deposed and killed soon afterwards!
Estimate: £4000-5000
All coins of the usurper Ghiyath al-Din Barbak are extremely rare. This gold type, all the more so, was only known to Goron & Goenka by reputation at the time of publication.
Ghiyath al-Din Barbak is the first of the so-called Habshi dynasty of Bengal. The name "Habshi" refers to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Already in the 14th Century, a number of Abyssinian slaves are known to have served in Bengal under Shams al-Din Ilyas and his descendents. Some of them rose to positions of importance. The historian, Ferishta, reports that, in the time of Rukn al-Din Barbak (1459-1474 AD), some 8000 Abyssinian slaves were recruited for the Bengal army and to fill various key posts in the state. It is probable that the Abyssinians were intended to serve as a counterweight to overambitious local nobles. If so, the policy backfired as over the next twenty years the Abyssinians gained in power and influence, coming to occupy most of the important positions at court, while also forming the Sultan's palace guard. Jalal al-Din Fath Shah (1481-1486 AD) sought to take steps to curb their power as a result of which, according to the traditional sources, the Abyssinians joined with the chief eunuch of the palace, Barbak Shahzada, to murder the Sultan, whereupon Barbak Shahzada took the throne with the title Ghiyath al-Din Barbak Shah, only to be deposed and killed soon afterwards!
Estimate: £4000-5000