Shahpurshah Hormasji Dinshahji Hodivala (1867-1944), was an iconic figure in the field of medieval Indian numismatics and his contribution to the study of Mughal Numismatics is unequalled. In 1923 he published his seminal work on the coins of the Mughal rulers of India Historical Studies in Mughal Numismatics. It has served as a beacon of light to the students of Mughal Numismatics for over ninety years.
The present volume contains 34 papers of Hodivala which were published over a span of 18 years (between 1915 and 1933). Most of these articles deal with the mint-towns of the Mughals. The essays have been grouped thematically for easy reference and a chronological list of the original publication has been given separately as an appendix. A comprehensive bibliography has been added to make the work a veritable research tool.
Also included in the volume are eight unpublished letters written by Hodivala to another great numismatist of his times, R.B. Whitehead. These letters which are now part of the Whitehead Papers, in the archival collection of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, cover a period of twelve years and shed interesting light on the otherwise obscure life of this great savant of Mughal numismatics.
This volume provide a much needed fillip in rekindling serious research in Mughal numismatics based on original sources that Hodivala so zealously propounded.
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