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828
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[NOVEMBER, 1889.
The coins of these chiefs are very rough but interesting, as showing & falling off in artistio merit from those of the surrounding Rajâs. They are all of one type, but the minor marks" differ considerably. 23
We must now turn to the history of the Afghans of Kotla-Maler, because their coins follow the general type of those of the chiefs already discussed, although, properly speaking, the history of the Phůlksån State of Nîbh should come next.
The history of Koti-Malêr has been written in a useful little book - A Description of the Principal Kofia Afgháns, by Khanakhib 'Inayat 'Ali Khan of Maler-Kotla, (Lahore, “Civil and Military Gazette" Press, 1882.) The Khaosahib is the brother of the present Nawab Ibrahim All Khåll, and the book was kindly sent to me by him. It is somewhat confused, but we may take it to be the best public information on the subject in existence.
The fonnder of the KotlA family at Malêr was Shekh sadr Jahan, a Sarwant Afghan, who was a safi saint of much celebrity in his time, and who came into prominence from his connection with Sultan Bah101 Lodi. This ruler, in fulfilment, it is said, of a vow, gave him a daughter in marriage in 1454 A.D. with, of course, a suitable dowry in the shape of land. After this the Shekh contracted a second wealthy marriage into the family of a local magnate. Ho left three sons - Hasan, 'Isâ and Müsa. Hasan by the Lodi Princess, and I and Ms by the local lady. The present Kotla-Maler family is descended from 1se, the descendants of Hasan being nowadays merely the mujawwirs, or attendants at the shrine of Sadr Jahûn.
Originally the property acquired by Sadr Jahan was equally divided amongst his song, and this gave rise to a pernicious custom which was, that every scion of the house got his own share of the State, with full rights, fiscal, judicial and advnistrative over it, the eldest living member being the Ra'is or Chief. The Chief was thus really only primus inter pares, and the State never had much power in consequence. The rule of primogeniture as regards the chiefship was introduced in course of time through the action of the British Government, but the rights of sovereignty were not vested in the Chief alone until quite recently. Much of the revenue of the State is still split up amongst the collaterals of the Chief.
The fifth in descent from Sadr Jahan, Bazid Khan, was the first to considerably enlarge the family estates, and founded Kotla, near Maler, in 1657. His grandson, Sher Muhammad Khan, was a prominent general of his time, and in his days began that incessant fight with the Sikhs, under Gurûs Têgh Bahadur and Gobind Singh, which lasted up to quite modern times and almost wiped out the State of Kôţ1A-Måler. He did not, however, suffer much himself, and died. in 1712, after converting the State into one of some importance. The next Ra'is was his son, Ghulam ussain Khan, a timid man, and on his death his sons were excluded from the chiefship for what was considered to be pusillanimity. His successor was his brother, Jamal Khan, a great chief in his day and the ancestor of all the present Kotla Afghans of any importance.
On the death of Jamal Khân, the principality was split up into five sections among his five sons, of whom the eldest, Bhikan Khan, became Ra'is under the law above explained. He seems to have been a temporizer and to have been a friend of the Sikhs and Ahmad Shah Durrant alternately. From the latter he received the right to coin in his own name, and was killed by the former in 1763. I have no specimen of his coin unfortunately.
Bhikan Khận left two sons, Wazir Khai, and Fath Khân, but his brother, Bahadur Khan, succeeded under the local law of seniority. I have no specimens of his coin.
Bahadur Khân also left two sons, Himmat Khan and Dalil Khan, but again the chiefship went to the next eldest brother, 'Umr Khan. His coin is shown in figs. 27 and 28, being the best from an artistic point of view of the whole series,
See post, pp. 397, 338.
