Delhi first became the capital of the Tomara Rajput. They were defeated by the Chauhans of Ajmer in the middle of the twelfth century. It was under the Tomara and Chauhans that Delhi became an important commercial centre.

The transformation of Delhi into a capital that controlled vast areas of the subcontinent started with the foundation of the Delhi Sultanate in the beginning of the thirteenth century.

At the end of 12th Century, in a northern part of India, few dynasties came to power making Delhi the centre of their rule. These dynasties were ‘Mamluks’, ‘Khaljis’, ‘Tughluks’,’Sayyid’ and ‘Lodis’. The rule of these 5 dynasties came to be collectively called as the Delhi Sultanate.

This gold tanka was issued by the Sultan of Tughluq dynasty, Muhammad Bin Tughluq. It was issued by him from the mint ‘Dar-ul-Mulk Daulatabad’. The weight of the coin is around 9.1g. The obverse of the coin is inscribed with the name and title of the king and reverse of the coin in inscribed Kalima within the circle, mint name and date is written in the margin.