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Mughals: Aurangzeb (1658-1707 AD) - square silver 'legal dirham' or Dirham Shara'ai, Shahjahanabad M

Currency:INR Category:Coins & Paper Money / Indian Coins - Mughal Empire Start Price:NA Estimated At:700,000.00 - 900,000.00 INR
Mughals: Aurangzeb (1658-1707 AD) - square silver 'legal dirham' or Dirham Shara'ai, Shahjahanabad M
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Aurangzeb (1658-1707 AD) - square silver 'legal dirham' or Dirham Shara'ai, Shahjahanabad Mint, AH 1091/RY 23, 3.05g. Obv: Farsi inscription Dirham Shara'ai with AH date and RY. Rev: Mint-name.

Very fine, Exceedingly rare.

Aurangzeb imposed Jizya or poll-tax/'safety money' on select non-Muslim population in AH 1090/RY 22. The tax was to be paid by three categories and in three sums - the 'poor' were to pay “3 Tolas, 1 Masha plus 0.45 and 1/20th of Masha” of silver, the middle classes twice this amount and the rich, four times. The sums in equivalent Dirhams were going to be 12, 24 and 48 Dirhams respectively. These quantities were in accordance with prescriptions laid down by Islamic Law or Shari'a but since there were no 'Dirhams' current in India, special coins were struck to facilitate the collection of the tax. They remain an interesting aspect of Mughal coinage and as such as are highly collectible. Since the coins were issued very sporadically, they are also very rare.