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Primary sourceArtifactc. 1296-1312

Silver Tanka of Alauddin Khilji

c. 1296-1312

A silver coin struck under Sultan Alauddin Khilji, whose reign preceded the Tughluq court that Ibn Battuta later joined in Delhi.

This coin reflects the Delhi court's political culture a generation before Ibn Battuta served the Tughluq sultans there.

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Two photographs of a silver coin on a dark fabric background, side by side. Left: obverse with raised Arabic-script inscription in several lines. Right: reverse with a square-framed Arabic inscription surrounded by a border of lettering. The coin is worn and slightly uneven.
Silver tanka, reign of Alauddin Khilji, Delhi Sultanate, c. 1296-1312.

About this source

What it is

This is a silver tanka coin issued under Alauddin Khilji, who ruled the Delhi Sultanate from about 1296 to 1312. Its inscriptions in Arabic name the sultan with grand titles, including comparing him to Alexander the Great and calling him defender of the Caliphate.

Why it matters

The coin's bold titles show how Delhi's sultans used language and imagery to claim power and legitimacy, linking themselves to Islamic and historical traditions. This happened a generation before Ibn Battuta arrived at the Delhi court, giving context for the political world he would later describe and serve.

Look closer

  • Why might a ruler compare himself to Alexander the Great on his coinage?
  • What do the titles on the coin suggest about how the sultan wanted to be seen?
  • What is missing from a coin that a written chronicle might tell us instead?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ibn Battuta on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scanned manuscript page in Arabic calligraphy on aged cream paper. The top has a line of black script with a decorative heading, and a red-ink title block in larger calligraphy reading the opening of the work. Below are about two dozen lines of brown-ink handwritten text in dense Arabic script, with a marginal note at the bottom left.Book

Primary source

The Rihla

Ibn Battuta · 1354-1356

Two facing pages of a handwritten Arabic manuscript on aged paper. The right page is written in dark ink in neat, flowing script; the left page is faded and more worn, with lines of script partly obscured. The pages show the text of the travel account.Book

Primary source

Manuscript of the Rihla by Ibn Juzayy

Ibn Juzayy · 14th century

Ruins of a stone fort on a dry, hazy hillside under a pale sky. Massive sloping stone walls with crenellated battlements stand on the left, and a long arched stone gallery with a flat roof runs across the right. Scrubby bushes and dry earth surround the site, with a distant city skyline on the horizon.Artifact

Secondary source

Tughlaqabad Fort

Ghiyath al-Din Tughluq · 1321

Photograph of an open handwritten Arabic manuscript with dense black ink script on cream pages, with some red-ink headings visible. The left page is in focus and the right page is angled and partly blurred.Book

Secondary source

Manuscript copy of the Rihla (1484)

Ibn Juzayy · 1484

Eight vertical panels of the Catalan Atlas side by side, showing an illuminated medieval world map with colored seas, decorated landmasses, compass roses, flags, rulers on thrones, and figures and animals.Painting

Primary source

Catalan Atlas

Cresques Abraham · c. 1375

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