Rafi-ud-Darjat Mughal Empire Silver Rupee Shahjahanabad Dar-ul-Khilafat Mint AH 1131/Ahad RY

Mughal Empire, Rafi-ud-Darjat, (AH 1131/1719 CE), Denomination: Rupee, Composition: Siver, Shahjahanabad Dar-ul-Khilafat Mint, AH 1131/Ahad RY, Obv: “ba hazaran barkat” couplet, Rev: sana julus, zarb on top, 11.30 grams, 22.33 mm, Reference: KM# 405.19, about fine, Rare.

Rafi-ud-Darjat, the Mughal emperor of 1719 CE, came to the throne at a time when the Mughal Empire was facing deep political decay and internal power struggles. He was elevated by the influential Sayyid Brothers after the deposition of Farrukhsiyar, making him largely a nominal ruler with limited authority. His reign was extremely short, lasting only a few months, and was marked by poor health and factional dominance at the imperial court rather than effective governance. Despite the brevity of his rule, coinage continued in his name to maintain imperial legitimacy. The silver rupee struck at the Shahjahanabad Dar-ul-Khilafat mint in AH 1131 bears the elegant “ba hazaran barkat” couplet on the obverse, symbolizing prayers for prosperity, while the reverse records the sana julus with the mint name. Due to his short reign and limited minting period, Rafi-ud-Darjat’s rupees are rare and represent an important transitional phase in late Mughal numismatics.