Bengal Sultan Ilyas Shahi Dynasty Sultan Shams al-Din Ilyas Shah al-Balad Firuzabad Pandua Mint Silver Tanka

Reverse: Arabic inscription within a double square enclosed by a circle reading Sikandar al-Thani Yamin al-Khalifa Amir al-Mu’minin, with marginal legend bearing the Hijri date in the 750s and mint name al-Balad Firuzabad.

Shams al-Din Ilyas Shah was the founder of the independent Ilyas Shahi dynasty and the first ruler to unite the three principal regions of Bengal—Lakhnauti (Gauda), Satgaon, and Sonargaon under a single authority. Emerging during the decline of the Delhi Sultanate’s influence in eastern India, Ilyas Shah established a powerful and sovereign Bengal Sultanate with Firuzabad (Pandua) as his capital. Contemporary chronicles and later historians describe his reign as the beginning of Bengal’s political unity and a turning point in the formation of a distinct Bengali Muslim kingdom. His administration strengthened trade, promoted urban development, and laid the foundations for one of the longest-lasting dynasties in medieval Bengal.

Coinage Note: The silver tankas of Shams al-Din Ilyas Shah represent some of the earliest coinage of the independent Bengal Sultanate. Their elegant inscriptions proclaim the ruler as Sikandar al-Thani (“The Second Alexander”), emphasizing sovereignty and imperial ambition. This variety corresponds to G&G B152, differing from the standard type by the omission of the word Nasir on the reverse. Early Ilyas Shahi silver tankas from Pandua are historically important and highly desirable among collectors of Bengal Sultanate coinage.