■ 



1917,] Numismatic Supplement No. XX VI II. 53 



that the silence of these documents on the subject is far from 

 conclusive. I have however thought it my duty to state the 

 other side of the case, so far as my knowledge will permit. 



Briefly, we may say with some confidence that these 

 legal dirhams had their origin in, and were the direct result 

 of, Aurangzeb's re-imposition of the Jizya. Of this, we have 

 a confirmation in the fact that the only Emperor in whose 

 times the issue of these pieces appears to have been revived, 

 was Farrukhsiyar. A solitary specimen of this re-issue in the 

 Punjab Museum is of the 6th Regnal year (Whitehead. P.M.C. 

 No. 2271). We have the testimony of KJiafi Khan to the effect 

 that in that very year an order was passed for levying the 

 Jizya strictly from the Hindus, that this was done at the 

 instance of 'Inayat-u-llah Khan, who had been Aurangzeb's 

 own Munshi and now became Financial Minister, and that it 

 gave great offence to Ratan Chand, the Hindu Diwan and facto- 

 tum of the all-powerful Sayyad c Abdullah (E. D. VII, pp. 462 

 and 447. Muntakhbu-l-Lubab, II, 775. See also the Siyar-a - 

 Mutakharin. Eng. trans., Calcutta Reprint 1902, I, p. 105). 



Secondly, they appear to have been also connected with 

 Aurangzeb's projected reform in regard to the reduction of the 

 extravagant amounts which had then come to be demanded 

 as mahr. 



But it is impossible to say in the present state of know- 

 ledge, that they were issued with the object that the subjects 

 "may be assessed to alms or zakat on the basis of the Mint 

 Law Books." This part of the question must, for present, 

 remain undecided, and we must wait for further evidence on 

 that head. 



S. H, HODIVALA. 



P.S. — I have followed the manuscript referred to in taking 

 the weight of silver equivalent to 12 Dirhams as 3 Tolas, 

 and l+(f + T V) Masha, and supposed it to stand for 567grs. 

 at 180 grs to the Tola. If the weight of the Mughal Tola was, 

 as some competent writers believe, 186 grs. Troy, this would 

 amount to 585-^ grs. in the aggregate, and give an average 

 weight of 48f§ grs. for the single Dirham. In the Bombay 

 Lithograph of the Mirat4-Ahmadi, the weight of silver is thus 



stated : a£U &<&** *&**j « *£U a£U *j < • i ^ <?u» « &AU u& % &)+> *** 



A^o 



<w 



suspicion ; but supposing that the meaning is 3 Tolas, 1 Masha, 

 3 Surkhs (i.e. Rati 8) and (J + ¥ ^) of a Masha, the weight of 

 silver would, at 180 grs. to the Tola, be 564 f grs. (540 + 15 

 + 5£ + 3| + §), and we should have an average of 47 T V grs. 

 only for the Dirham. If the Tola is supposed to be equivalent 

 to 186 grs. this would result in an aggregate weight of 583* grs. 



