Item number: A279

Year: AD 1628-1658

Material: Gold

Size: 20.2 x 19.9 x 1.6 mm

Weight: 10.84 g

Manufactured by: Multan, India

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a Mohur gold coin minted during the reign of Shah Jahan, the most renowned emperor of the Mughal Empire, known for commissioning the construction of the Taj Mahal. During Shah Jahan’s reign, he discontinued the practise initiated by his father, Jahangir, of imprinting portraits or animals on coins, designs that were perceived to potentially violate Islamic doctrines, and returned to the tradition of imprinting religious inscriptions on coins. The central square on the obverse side of the coin is inscribed with verses from the Quran, while the corners feature the names of the four rightly guided caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. On the reverse side of the coin is written the emperor’s title and the place of minting: Multan, with a sun emblem resembling a canopy at the bottom left corner.

Shah Jahan was born as Khurram, and during his time as crown prince, he instigated a rebellion against his father, Jahangir. Although the rebellion was quickly suppressed, he was pardoned by his father and allowed to return to his own fiefdom. In AD 1628, after enduring brutal wars among his siblings, Khurram successfully ascended the throne and adopted the title Shah Jahan, meaning “King of the World” in Persian. Shah Jahan’s most renowned achievement is the construction of the Taj Mahal in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal. He had a total of seven wives and fifteen children, with Mumtaz Mahal being the mother of fourteen of his offspring. In AD 1631, during her fourteenth childbirth, Mumtaz Mahal tragically died due to complications, plunging Shah Jahan into grief. He spent the next twenty years constructing the mausoleum for his beloved wife.

However, in AD 1658, five years after the completion of the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan fell gravely ill and was confined by his son, able to view the Taj Mahal from his quarters until his death in AD 1666. Shah Jahan was buried beside Mumtaz Mahal, resting eternally together at the Taj Mahal. The renowned Indian literary figure Tagore described the Taj Mahal as “a teardrop on the cheek of eternity.”

物件編號: A279

年代: 公元 1628-1658 年

材料: 黃金

尺寸: 20.2 x 19.9 x 1.6 mm

重量: 10.84 g

製造地: 木爾坦，印度

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是蒙兀兒帝國最知名的皇帝，即建造泰姬瑪哈陵的沙賈汗在位期間鑄造的莫哈爾金幣。沙賈汗停止父王賈漢吉爾在硬幣上打印肖像或動物，這些疑似違反伊斯蘭教義的設計，重新回歸在硬幣上打印宗教格言的傳統。硬幣正面的中央方格內鐫刻古蘭經的經文，周圍的角落則是四位正統哈里發：阿布·巴克爾(ابو بكر)、歐瑪爾(عمر)、奥斯曼(عثمان)和阿里(على)的名諱。金幣背面則寫上皇帝頭銜和鑄造地點：木爾坦，左下角還有一個頂端類似傘蓋的太陽圖騰。

沙賈汗本名赫拉姆，王儲時曾發動兵變挑戰父王賈漢吉爾。雖然兵變很快就被鎮壓，但他卻得到父親寬恕得以返回自己的封地。公元1628年，經歷跟手足之間的殘酷戰爭後，成功奪得皇位的赫拉姆改名為沙賈汗，在波斯語的意思是「世界的統治者」。沙賈汗最為膾炙人口的成就，乃是他為了愛妻慕塔芝·瑪哈建造的泰姬瑪哈陵。

沙賈汗先後有七名妻子和十五名子嗣，慕塔芝·瑪哈是其中十四名子嗣的生母。公元1631年，慕塔芝·瑪哈在第14次生產中不幸因難產離世，悲痛的沙賈汗花費二十年光陰替愛妻打造陵墓。然而公元1658年，泰姬瑪哈陵竣工的五年後，病重的沙賈汗被兒子軟禁在能眺望泰姬瑪哈陵的宮廷，直到公元1666年去世為止。沙賈汗死後葬在慕塔芝·瑪哈的棺木旁邊，一同於泰姬瑪哈陵長眠。印度知名的文學巨擘泰戈爾形容泰姬瑪哈陵為「一滴永恆的淚珠」。