Akbar Dam of Ajmer mint, Mughal kingdom,1586. 19mm, 20.45g! One of my favorite emperor, this is also my first coin from that kingdom and looking to get a square silver rupee as well! A chunky coin that was worth a day's wage, penny for scale. A little backstory, Ajmer is the birth place of Jodha, a Hindu trophy wife married in 1562, so this coin was minted nearly 25 years into their marriage. While the marriage was merely a political one, their relationship grew, in fact Jodha was the first to give Akbar a male heir (Jahangir) despite him having multiple wives. Also, usually these brides would be converted to Islam, whereas Akbar not only let her be a Hindu, but also allowed her to worship idols in the palace! Akbar was relatively more tolerant towards Hinduism and other native religions to the extant that he abolished the taxes on all non-Muslims! His court also had ambassadors from Elizabeth I. Post anything relevant.
There was a Bollywood movie made of the romance between Akbar and Jodhaa, called appropriately enough "Jodhaa Akbar". In this scene, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad has just issued the decree repealing the special taxes on non-Muslims, and is receiving the acclaim of the people. They offer to call him "Akbar" (Great), which he gratefully accepts. Jodhaa arrives (she had earlier left for another palace after a disagreement) and reconciles with her husband. In celebration, Akbar orders his own weight in gold coins drawn from the treasury, to distribute to the people.
I have seen this movie around the time when it was released! the main reason why I got interested in Mughal kingdom! I usually don't go out of my way to collect Islamic coins for a lack of interesting types (absence of iconography), but this kingdom is an exception!
