Item number: A3591

Reference number: KM#87

Year: AD 1848 (VS 1905)

Material: Gold

Size: 9.0 x 8.8 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 0.65 g

Manufactured by: Multan Mint

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2025

This is an unofficial gold coin of one-fifteenth mohur struck in AD 1848 during the siege of Multan by Diwan Mulraj, the Sikh governor of Multan. Historical records suggest that one mohur was valued at 14 to 16 Nanakshahi rupees.

The obverse bears the Persian inscription سهاى ستگرو (sahai satguru), literally “May the true teacher help.” In Sikh doctrine, the word guru may refer either to a religious teacher or to God himself, and thus the “true teacher” here effectively denotes the divine.

The reverse carries the inscription ١٩٠٥ (1905), indicating the year 1905 of the Vikram Samvat calendar, equivalent to AD 1848. At the centre is a leaf-shaped emblem signifying that the coinage remained within the Khalsa (the Sikh religious commonwealth) system. At the bottom appears مندركه (mundarka), possibly meaning “siege,” denoting the emergency circumstances of its issue.

The Sikh Empire was founded by Ranjit Singh in AD 1799, with its first capital at Lahore. At its height the empire encompassed most of present-day Pakistan and Indian Punjab, extending eastward to the Sutlej River, westward to the Khyber Pass, northward to Kashmir, and southward to Sindh and the desert tracts. It ruled explicitly in the name of the Khalsa. During Ranjit Singh’s reign, the empire was strengthened through the modernisation of its army and the integration of diverse communities, making it one of the most formidable indigenous powers in South Asia. After his death in AD 1839, however, factional conflicts and external pressures weakened the state.

In AD 1845, under the growing pressure of the British East India Company’s forces along the Sutlej frontier, conflict with the Sikh army escalated into war. Despite initial successes, the Sikh forces were divided and ultimately defeated, leading to the Treaty of Lahore in AD 1846, under which territory was ceded, indemnities paid, and British garrisons imposed. The Second Anglo-Sikh War broke out in AD 1848–1849, sparked by the rebellion at Multan and defections among Sikh commanders. After the siege of Multan and the decisive Battle of Gujrat, the Sikh army was crushed, and Punjab was formally annexed by the British in AD 1849, bringing the Sikh Empire to an end.

In AD 1844, the governor (Diwan) of Multan, Sawan Mal, was assassinated, and his son Mulraj succeeded him. Relations with the Lahore Regency Council and the British deteriorated after he refused to pay the enormous nazarana (tribute in money) demanded for confirmation of his succession. In AD 1848, Mulraj resigned, but when British envoys arrived in Multan to install a new governor, two officers were assassinated. Mulraj rewarded the perpetrators and rose in rebellion, initiating the siege of Multan. The East India Company dispatched forces to suppress him, but parts of the Sikh army, such as the contingent under Sher Singh, defected to the rebellion, transforming a local uprising into a general war across Punjab. As British pressure increased, Multan fell in January AD 1849, Mulraj surrendered, and the city was incorporated into British India.

The monetary system of the Sikh Empire centred on the Nanakshahi rupee, symbolising political legitimacy derived from Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism. From Ranjit Singh’s reign onwards, coins never bore the name of the Maharaja or ruler but carried Persian inscriptions dedicated to the Guru, in contrast with contemporary South Asian dynasties that displayed the monarch’s name. The system was trimetallic: gold mohurs were rare and largely used for ceremonial or gift purposes; silver rupees formed the principal medium of circulation across north-western India; copper coins were struck in local languages and scripts, including Gurmukhi, to meet regional needs. Different mints, particularly Amritsar and Lahore, often employed leaf symbols or other distinguishing marks to differentiate their series, producing a complex system of coin legends.

物件編號: A3591

參考書目編號: KM#87

年代: 公元 1848 年 (維克拉姆曆 1905 年)

材質: 黃金

尺寸: 9.0 x 8.8 x 0.6 mm

重量: 0.65 g

製造地: 木爾坦造幣廠

來源: 史蒂芬稀有錢幣專輯 2025

這是一枚於公元1848年，木爾坦圍城戰期間，錫克帝國木爾坦總督迪萬·穆爾拉傑所造的 非官方1/15 莫哈爾金幣。史載一莫哈爾曾等於14至16「納納克沙希盧比」(Nanakshahi rupee)。

金幣正面為波斯文「سهاى ستگرو」(sahai satguru)，直譯為「願真師相助」，「古魯」一詞在錫克教義中，既可指宗教的導師，亦可指神，而「真師」大約便指的是神了。

背面上方為「١٩٠٥」，即「1905」，標示維克拉姆曆的1905年，即公元1848年。中央為葉形圖樣，標示錢幣的形制仍屬於「卡爾薩」(Khalsa，錫克教共同體)系統。下方為「مندركه」(mundarka)，可能意為「圍城」，標示為緊急狀態下的造幣。

錫克帝國(Sikh Empire)由蘭吉特·辛格於1799年建立，首都最初在拉合爾。此帝國版圖曾橫跨今巴基斯坦及印度旁遮普地區，東抵薩特萊傑河，西達開伯爾山口，北界克什米爾，南延至信德與沙漠地帶。錫克帝國以「卡爾薩」的名義統治。蘭吉特·辛格在位時推行現代化軍隊、整合多元族群，使其成為當時南亞最強大的本土政權之一，直到他於公元1839年去世後，內部派系紛爭與外部壓力加劇，國力逐漸衰退。

公元1845年，在東印度公司軍隊不斷施壓下，錫克軍隊與駐守薩特萊傑河沿岸的英國東印度公司軍隊衝突不斷，最終開戰。雙方互有勝敗，但最終錫克帝國內部分裂，戰敗並於公元1846年簽訂《拉合爾條約》，割讓領土並接受駐軍與監管。第二次英錫戰爭則於1848–1849年爆發，起因是木爾坦的叛亂及錫克軍部分將領倒戈。經過木爾坦圍城戰與古吉拉特戰役後，錫克軍徹底潰敗，旁遮普於1849年被英國正式併入，錫克帝國走向終結。

公元1844年，木爾坦總督(Diwan)，薩萬·馬爾遇刺，其子穆爾拉傑繼位。由於拒絕支付拉合爾攝政委員會要求的巨額納扎拉納(nazarana，意為貢金)，他與英方關係惡化。公元1848年，穆爾拉傑 辭職，但當英方派使者安插新總督時，兩名英國官員在木爾坦遭刺殺。穆爾拉傑 獎賞行兇者並舉兵反叛，木爾坦圍城戰由此爆發。英國東印度公司派軍鎮壓，但錫克軍內部部分將領，如謝爾·辛格，也在戰事中倒戈加入叛軍，使地方暴動迅速演變為全旁遮普範圍的戰爭。但隨著英軍加強攻勢，公元1849年1月木爾坦被英軍攻陷，穆拉吉投降，木爾坦遂納入英屬印度。

錫克帝國的幣制以「納納克沙希盧比」為核心，象徵政權以錫克教祖師古魯·那納克為最高合法性來源。自蘭吉特·辛格統治起，錢幣上並未刻大君或統治者的姓名，而是以波斯文銘文奉獻給古魯，這與同時期南亞其他王朝在錢幣上彰顯君主名號的做法形成鮮明對比。錢幣體系採三金屬制：金幣莫哈爾(mohur)較為稀少，多作禮品或儀典用途；銀幣盧比則是流通主幣，在北印度及旁遮普廣泛使用；銅幣則多依地方需要，以古爾穆奇文或其他在地文字鑄造。不同鑄幣廠，特別是阿姆利則與拉合爾，常以葉形符號或其他標記區分系列，構成複雜的幣文系統。