2/3 Gani of 'Ala' al-Din Ahmad II

[asm]

Please help identify this coin which is 10.09 g and 18mm in diameter

[Rangnath]

Hi ASM,
You have the reverse and obverse in correct order! This appears to be a copper two-thirds Gani of 'Ala' al-Din Ahmad II, of the Bahmanis of the Deccan.  He reigned between AH 838 and 862, 1435 to 1457 AD. 
If I am correct, the coin was minted in Muhammadabad and it is BH85 in Goron and Goenka.

The legend on the obverse says "He who trusts in God, the rich".  Someone who knows Arabic please help me.  Would I be wrong to render that "He who trusts in God is wealthy"? Anyway, I like the sound of that. 

The reverse offers the Bahmanis name, making attribution easier, and "Ahmad Shah, son of Ahmad Shah". 

I don't see a date.  Perhaps it is off the flan.  G & G offer the following observed dates for this coin:  840, 848-857 and 860. 
richie

[Overlord]

Would I be wrong to render that "He who trusts in God is wealthy"? Anyway, I like the sound of that. 
richie

I think "Ghani" here could be a reference to the title of Caliph Uthman.

[Rangnath]

The full legend on silver coins, rendered into English by G & G, is:

"The gracious and generous sultan, who is benevolent to the worshippers of Allah, the rich, the protector, the Father of the Conqueror, the glory of the world and the faith, Ahmad Shah son of Ahmad Shah, the governor, the Bahmani."

Is this really saying that the Sultan is benevolent to the rich?  Our politicians are benevolent to the rich, but they certainly do not boast of it and they wouldn't put that in a coin!

I assumed "ghani" meant "rich".  But my Arabic phrase book, which contains useful sentences like "Where is the toilet?" and "We want another room because this one has bedbugs" is not much help. 
richie

[asm]

Richie, In Hindi, Dhani means rich. In our local language (Gujarati) Ghani means many. But this was a coin of the Deccan of a long gone era....
Amit

[Figleaf]

Maybe "the rich" is one of te titles of the sultan (ah, the flexibilities of the English language).

I am not sure at all if it was the case in earlier centuries, but the last rulers of India were certainly rich. There was a simple reason for that. On death, every inheritance fell to the ruler. He could choose to give it for instance to the eldest son of the deceased, or keep it for himself or one of his current favourites. Generosity was the other side of this coin, so when the ruler was travelling, he was supposed to throw money to the admiring crowds. To facilitate generosity, super-light, hollow silver "almonds" were produced. I saw one and I'd love to add one to my collection.

Peter

[Overlord]

@ the legend Al-Mutawakkil Al-Allah Al-Ghani. I think I have it!

"Al-Ghani" (meaning the self-sufficient/the rich beyond need/the free from need) is also one of the 99 names of Allah. Therefore, in my opinion the legend just means

He who trusts in god, the rich beyond need (the last part being a quality of god.)

I have another question though. "Al-Mutawakkil" itself means "the one who puts his trust in Allah". Then why "Al-Mutawakkil Al-Allah"?

[Rangnath]

Yes, i think that you have it Overlord. Though Peter might be right too.  It depends on how closely the Ruler identifies with his God. 

"Al-Mutawakkil" itself means "the one who puts his trust in Allah". Then why "Al-Mutawakkil Al-Allah"?

I remember a prayer from my youth which contained the words "thy Lord, thy God". 
When attempting to describe the Indescribable, people may resort to seemingly apparent redundancies, dualities (God the Creator and God the Product), Trinities and subtly different Divine Characteristics.  To understand the motives of the selectors of the language used, we would need a lot more than we can get from Goron and Goenka! 
richie

[Overlord]

Here are the two possible versions we have:

Version A
Al-Mutawakkil Al-Allah Al-Ghani
Ahmad Shah bin Ahmad Shah Al-Wail Al-Bahmani

He who trusts in god, the allah, the rich,
Ahmad Shah son of Ahmad Shah, the governor, the Bahmani
(with "rich" used as a title of the sultan)

Who is "He" in the first line? The sultan himself, showing the world how much faith he puts in himself? Somehow, I don't find that plausible.

Could "He" refer to the people? If yes, what does the inscription expect the "people who put their trust in god and the sultan" to do? It seems incomplete as a sentence, doesn't it? Or does it imply something like

(This coin is for) the people who put their trust in god, the allah, and the sultan
Ahmad Shah son of Ahmad Shah, the governor, the Bahmani

A bit too ambiguous in my opinion.

Version B
Al-Mutawakkil Al-Allah Al-Ghani
Ahmad Shah bin Ahmad Shah Al-Wail Al-Bahmani

He who puts his trust in (the one) god, the allah, the rich beyond need,
Ahmad Shah son of Ahmad Shah, the governor, the Bahmani

Here "He" in the first line is Ahmad Shah himself and obverse and reverse legends read together seem to make perfect sense.

In many instances, literal translations do not convey the exact meaning. Abu al muzaffar, for example. The literal translation is "Father of (the) conqueror", but the intended meaning is better expressed as "The supreme conqueror", as Oesho observed in an older thread.

[Figleaf]

I find your arguments for version B convincing, overlord. Also, I think this thread is delicious. Thanks all.

Peter