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Durrani Dynasty
Ahmad Shah
Mohur Gold Coin
杜蘭尼王朝
艾哈邁德沙 莫哈爾金幣
Item number: A166
Year: AD 1747-1773
Material: Gold
Size: 18.0 x 18.0 mm
Manufactured by: Mashhad, Iran
Provenance: Spink 2023
This gold coin, known as the “Mohur” in South Asia, was minted during the reign of Ahmad Shah Durrani (r. AD 1747-1773), the founder of the Durrani Empire, who laid the foundation for the modern Afghan nation-state.
The coin features Nastaliq script on both sides, which was written in Dari, a kind of Persian branch commonly used in Afghanistan. The obverse side bears a poetic couplet in the form of “Beit”, popular in Persia and northern India, praising the ruler. The inscription reads: “Sovereignty came from the Unparalleled Empowerer to Ahmad Shah, mint coins of silver and gold (as the ruler of) earth and heaven.” This style of praising the ruler with “Beit” couplets on the obverse side was continued by subsequent rulers of the Durrani Empire. As for the reverse side of the coin, it bears the inscription of the minting place: Mashhad, the name of the present-day second largest city in Iran.
In AD 1724, Ahmad Shah was born near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. He later served as a general under the Afsharid dynasty in Iran. In AD 1747, taking advantage of the chaos following the assassination of the Shah of Iran, Ahmad Shah returned to his homeland and, at the Pashtun tribal council called the loya jirga, persuaded the Pashtun tribes to break away from the Afsharid dynasty and declared the establishment of the Durrani Empire.
Upon becoming Shah, Ahmad Shah immediately launched expansionist wars in all directions, and at its height, the empire spanned present-day northern Iran, northern India, parts of Turkmenistan, the entire territory of Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, after Ahmad Shah’s death, the empire plunged into severe civil war. Despite this, Ahmad Shah’s achievements are still revered in Afghanistan, where he is regarded as the father of the nation and a national hero.