Ruler : Ghiyath Al-Din Balban
Era : (AH 664-686/1266-1287 AD)
Dynasty : Turk
Denomination : Tanka
Mint : Hadrat Delhi
Weight : 10.76 g
Diameter : 27.2 mm
Reference Number : G&G # D157

Obverse :
Arabic legend “al-sultan al A’zam Ghiyath ud dunya wa’l din Abu’l Muzaffar Balban al-sultan”.

Reverse :
Arabic legend “al imam al must’asim amir al mominin”, mint name & date in words in the margin.

Comment :
Ghiyas ud din Balban or غیاث الدین بلبن or ग़ियास उद-दीन बलबन
was the ninth sultan of the Mamluk dynasty of Delhi. His original name was Baha Ud Din. He was an Ilbari Turk. When he was young he was captured by the Mongols, taken to Ghazni and sold to Khawaja Jamal ud-din of Basra, a Sufi. The latter then brought him to Delhi in 1232 along with other slaves, and all of them were purchased by Iltutmish. Balban belonged to the famous group of 40 Turkic slaves of Iltutmish.
Balban was first appointed as a simple water carrier, but quickly rose to the position of Khasdar (king’s personal attendant) by the Sultan. He became one of the most notable of the forty Turkic nobles of Delhi, or the Chalissa. During the reign of Razia Sultan, he was the amir-i-shikar or lord of the hunt, a position of some importance at the time, having military and political responsibilities. After her overthrow, he made rapid strides in the subsequent reigns, earning the fief of Rewari under Bahram Shah, and later became the Jagir(lord) of Hansi, which was an important fief.