Silver Flow and Horse Supply to Sultanate Bengal with Special Reference to Trans-Himalayan Trade (13th-16th Centuries)

The establishment of the Sultanate rule in Bengal marked the beginning of a standard monetized economy as well as emergence of new urban centres. These two most decisive factors transformed not only the economic life of the region but brought about a new era of political economy. Sustained minting of high-quality silver coinage and regular supply of war-horses for maintaining a strong cavalry formed two fundamental tasks for the Sultanate regime particularly in view of the fact that both the items i.e. raw silver and horses were not indigenous and the rulers were wholly depended on import. The primary goal of the paper is to reflect on the silver inflow and outflow into and from Bengal region through 13th to 16th centuries and correlate this with the expenditure faced by the Bengal Sultans on the maintenance of cavalry. *