ISLAMIC, Persia (Post-Mongol). Afsharids. Nadir Shah, as king, AH 1148-1160 / AD 1736-1747. Rupi (Silver, 21 mm, 11.10 g, 8 h), type D2, struck during the occupation of Delhi by the Afsharids, Shahjahanabad (Delhi), AH 1152 = 1739/40. ‘hast soltān bar salātin-e jahān shāh-e shāhān Nāder-e sāhebqerān’ (‘Sultan over the sultans of the world, King of Kings, Nadir, lord of the auspicious conjunction [of planets]’ in Persian). Rev. ‘khallada Allāh mulkahū zarb-e dār al-khilāfa Shāhjahānābād’ (‘May Allah perpetuate his kingdom. Struck in the Abode of the Caliphate Shahjahanabad’ in Arabic/Persian). Album 2744.2. Rare. Areas of die rust and with a test punch on the reverse, otherwise, very fine.



Nadir Shah was possibly the greatest military commander among the modern Persian shahs. He established a vast empire that stretched from Turkey to Pakistan. In 1738, he invaded India, and on 27 February 1739, he defeated the army of the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah, capturing and plundering Delhi in the aftermath. The Shah renamed the city Shahjahanabad and minted coins such as our Rupi there. However, the Persian troops soon withdrew, taking with them vast amounts of plunder, including the famous Peacock Throne, which became a symbol of Persian rulers.