Vol. VI, No. 10.] Numismatic Supplement. 575 



[N.S.] 



mean ' Lord of the (happy) conjunction,' whence arose the 

 derivative meanings, 'a favourite of Fortune,' 'a great 

 Emperor,' 'aKaisar,' 'an Augustus.' 



Tamerlane is said to have been the first monarch to have 

 borne this title, but the epithet has not been found on his coins. 

 The late M. Ed. Drouin in his paper on ' ' Les Symboles astro- 

 logiques sur les monnaies de la Perse " mentions that Tlmur in 

 his desire to foster the prosperity of his capital city Samarqand 

 invited thither astrologers and other men of learning. During 

 his reign (A.H. 771-807) a remarkable planetary conjunction 

 took place, and the astrologers, availing themselves of the 

 occasion, fashioned as an adulatory tribute to their imperial 

 patron the title Sahib Qiran. Inasmuch as the celestial 

 phenomenon then observed recurs but once in thirty years, they 

 foretold that Timur's reign would last for at least that period 

 of time, and as a matter of fact it did cover the thirty-five 

 years from 1369 till 1404. The title thus assigned to Tlmur 

 seems to have become for a while a term distinctive of that 

 Emperor. The Tuzuk-i-Jahanglrl expressly states : 



u In these Memoirs whenever Sahib QiranI is written it 

 11 refers to Amir Tlmur Gurgan." 3 



In the Preface to the Persian translation of the Mulfuzat- 

 i-Timurl the translator, Abu Talib Husaini, says : 



" I saw in the library of Ja'far, Governor of Yaman, 

 "a book in the Turkl language, dictated by His Majesty 

 " who now dwells in Paradise, Sahib Qirani." 2 



In Jahangir's time the Royal Signet of the Great Mughal 

 bore, inscribed in the topmost of its nine circles, the words : 



None of Timur's successors on the throne of Samarqand 

 bore the title of Sahib Qiran, but in that later Empire of the 

 Great Mughals. founded in Hindustan by Babar, sixth in 

 descent from Tlmur, the coins of no less than nine of the 

 Emperors (or Claimants to the throne) exhibit the title either 



Turkey. Its origin dates so far back as B.C. 339. In that year Philip 

 of Macedon, while besieging Byzantium, attempted in the early night 

 hours an escalade of the city; but it is said a sudden silver gleam 

 flashing from the western sky revealed the advancing enemy, and thus 

 Byzantium was saved. In commemoration of the Divine aid so wonder- 

 fully vouchsafed, it was forthwith decreed that the city's badge should 

 be a crescent, its light reinforced by a star, and that both star and 

 crescent should be graven on the city's coins. This emblem was adopt- 

 ed by the Turks after Constantinople fell to Muhammad II in 1453, and 

 since then it has come to be popularly regarded as the distinctive 

 symbol of Islam. To the Muhammadans of India, however, it is a 

 foreign ensign, in no way associated with their religion. 



1 The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, translated by Rogers and Bevendge, 

 page 5. 



* The Mulfuzat Timuri, translated by Stewart, page 1. 



