Aurangzeb Alamgir, Karnatak / Carnatic Mint, Silver Rupee, AH (10)99/3X RY, “Badr Munir” Couplet, Obv: sikka zad dar jahan chu badre munir shah aurangzeb alamgir & hijri (10)99, Rev: sana 3X julus, zarb karnatak completely visible at bottom, 11.4g, 22.52mm, (KM # 300.47), about very fine, with tiny test mark, Exceedingly Rare.

Mughals founded their kingdom in 1526 A.D. but they did not show any active interest in South for sometime. The Sultans of Bijapur agreed to pay tribute to Jahangir in 1621. As they became defaulters, Shahjahan invaded Bijapur in 1636 A.D, and a treaty was concluded by which the sultan of Bijapur agreed to pay annual tribute of twenty lakh rupees.

The Adil Shahi kingdom of Bijapur was one of the celebrated kingdoms of the Deccan. The Mughals did not capture the kingdom so easily as they had to face stiff resistance. It was only the personal ability, determination and to some extent stubbornness of Aurangzeb, Bijapur was capitulated. Aurangzeb paid costly price for the same, his major expeditions under best of his generals had failed. Many of generals like Amanullah Khan, Sayyed Fateh Ali Khan Barha, Fateh Mamur Khan and others were killed. It took 18 months (from March 1685 to September 1686) in total for surrender of the fort. So that the siege prolonged for 72 days (3 July to 12 September 1686) under the personal command of Aurangzeb.

As the capital of Adil Shahi kingdom had come under Aurangzeb, at capital the Khutbah was read and the gold and silver coins were struck in the name of the Emperor. Later an Imperial Farman to the commandants in the above regions asking them to surrender their forts to the Imperial officers appointed for this purpose and then come and pay their respects to him. As no reply of submission had come, the Emperor ordered his generals to take possessions by assaults. Ishwar Das Nagar writes that by November 1686 Qasim Khan (the Fauzdar of Sira) captured 20 forts belonging to Bijapur.

Before 1686 the Mughal Deccan was consisted of four Subah of Khandesh, Berar,Telangana and Daulatbad including Ahmednagar. In the beginning Daulatbad was seat of the viceroy. During Aurangzeb's time it was shifted to Aurangabad. After the fall of Bijapur and Golkonda, the Mughals supposed to be acquiring the whole ex-kingdoms and their boundaries reached up to Trichinopoly(Tiruchirappalli), in the far south. Hence the need of reorganization of the Subahs was felt and the whole Deccan was organized into Subahs of Aurangabad (Khujista-Buniyad), Khandesh, Berar, Bidar (Mohammadabad), Bijapur (Dar-uz-Zafar) and Haidarabad(Farkhundah-Buniyad).

The territory of ex-Adil Shahis kingdom was divided into three Subahs, the details are as under:

Bijapur-18 Sarkars, Bidar - 6 Sarkars (except Nanded), Aurangabad (12 Sarkars). The Subah of Bijapur (18 Sarkars) was the second largest Subah of the Deccan after Haidarabad (43 Sarkars). It was divided into two Subahs namely Bijapur and Bijapur Carnatic (Karnatak) respectively administered from Head quarters of Bijapur Haveli and Sira (in Tumkur District).

For the sub-Subah of Bijapur called Bijapur Carnatic, Sira was made its headquarters. The Mughals had established a mint at Sira and the coins minted here were known as Sirahi fanam. Such coins have come to the light. Thus contain the legend "Alamgir Badshah", zarb sira and date. It is also opined that the coins of Aurangzeb which contains the mint name Carnatic (Karnatak) were also minted at Sira for an important reason that the Bijapur-Carnatic (Karnatak) coins were already being minted from the Subah of Bijapur so from Sub-Subah which was Sira coins bearing mint Carnatic (Karnatak) were minted.

One of the highest rarity in the coinage of Aurangzeb!

Referece: Masir-i-Alamgiri, Masir-ul- Umara and Karnataka-Bijapur ( A new mint of Aurangzeb) by A.A. Kadiri

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