Coinages of Pandya Country
Sangam Period to 18th Century CE
The ancient Pandya country comprises of modern-day districts of Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Tuticorin, Tirunelvelli, Nagerkovil, few parts of Karur and Pudukottai.
Many rulers & dynasties held sway over the Pandya country. Foremost among them is the ancient Sangam-fame Pandyan dynasty. Later Pandyas issued coins bearing legends primarily in Tamil. There were other kings and dynasties too - Madurai Sultans, Maavali Vanathirayan Dynasty, Vijayanagar Kings, Nayaks, Sethupathi Rajas, Tippu Sultan, Arcot Nawabs and several feudatory kings.
The coins bear legends in myriad of languages - Tamil, Arabic, Persian, Telugu, to name a few. The talk will touch upon several not so well-known aspects of those coins and their role in reconstruction or re-telling of glorious history of a hallowed land the Pandya country is.
Abdul Rasul, Delivery Head in an IT company, has been fascinated with coins and stamps from his childhood. His singular passion helped him to get in to the Guinness Book of World Records for his “Largest collection of Stamps Featuring Mosques”. He also earned ‘Naanaya Kalaignar’ title from “International Institute of Tamil Studies” and several other awards. Madras Coin Society awarded him first Prize for his “Coins of Tamilnadu - 3rd BC to 1836 AD”. He has also published a book on Coins of Madurai Sultanate, co-written with Mr. Arumuga Seetharaman, in June 2018. Rasul now specialises in collecting ‘Tamil Legend’ Coins, ‘Islamic Coins’ around the world, and coins of Indian Sultanates, Arcot Nawabs, Tippu Sultan, Madurai Nayaks etc,