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Thetaka, also known as thetanka ortangka, was one of the major historical currencies ofAsia, particularly in theIndian subcontinent andTibet. It was introduced in the 14th century and became a currency of theSilk Road. Its history is intertwined with the medieval Islamic history and culture of the Indian subcontinent.
In modern times, theBangladeshi taka is considered a legacy of the historical taka becauseBengal was the stronghold of the currency. It was inscribed in numerous languages across different regions, including in Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Hindustani, Bengali, Nepali, Tibetan and Mandarin.
According toThe American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language andBanglapedia, the wordtaka came from theSanskrit wordṭaṅka, meaning silver coin,[1][2][3][4] aKulturwort of unclear origin, related to Turkictəñkə "coin, money", compare Bashkirtəñkə, Tatartanka, Uzbektanga, Kazakhtenge, Russiandenʹga.[5]
TheRussian worddenga is borrowed fromTatar (cf.Chagatay:täŋkä;Kazakh:teŋgä;Mongolian:teŋge;lit. 'small silver coin'). Other proposals made are:Middle Persian:dāng,New Persian:dānag ('coin'), whereas other authors saw the word close to the Turkic wordtamga ('mark, stamp').[6]
The Bengal tanka was widely circulated in theKingdom of Mrauk U (now inMyanmar) in the 16th and 17th centuries, when it was avassal state of the Bengal Sultanate.
TheBangladeshi taka is the currency of modernBangladesh. It was officially introduced in 1972 by theBangladesh Bank to replace thePakistani rupee at par following the end of theBangladesh Liberation War and is produced by Bangladesh'sSecurity Printing Corporation. The Bangladeshi taka carries the symbols ৳ and Tk.
The taka was traditionally equal to one silver rupee in Islamic Bengal.[7] In 1338,Ibn Battuta noticed that the silver taka was the most popular currency in the region instead of the Islamicdinar.[8] In 1415, members ofAdmiral Zheng He's entourage also noticed the dominance of the taka. The currency was the most important symbol of sovereignty for theSultan of Bengal. The Sultanate of Bengal established at least 27mints in provincial capitals across the kingdom.[9][10]
The taka continued to be issued inMughal Bengal, which inherited the sultanate's legacy. As Bengal became more prosperous and integrated into theworld economy under Mughal rule, the taka replaced shell currency in rural areas and became the standardizedlegal tender. It was also used in commerce with theDutch East India Company, theFrench East India Company, theDanish East India Company and theBritish East India Company.
Sultan Shams al-DinIltutmish (r. 1210–1235) established the currency of theDelhi Sultanate drawing on Muslim settler and native Indian elements. The basic units were the silver tanka having the weight of onetola of 96rattis (11.2 grams). The tanka was made up of 48billonjitals containing 2 rattis of silver, mixed with copper, weighing about 3.5 grams in total.[11] The silver tankas minted in Delhi bear the name of Caliphal-Muntasir and the titles of Iltutmish, typicallyal-sultān al-a'zam (the very mighty sultan), while the reverse either theshahada,lā ʾilāha ʾillā -llāh' muḥammadun rasūlu llāh ("There is no god but God. Muhammad is the Messenger of God") or the legendfī 'ahd al-imām (in the time of the Imam).[12] Under the monetary reforms ofMuhammad bin Tughluq, the tanka was modeled asrepresentative money, a concept pioneered as paper money by theMongols inChina andPersia. Tughluq's tanka was minted in copper and brass. Its value was exchanged with gold and silver reserves in the imperial treasury. The currency was introduced due to the shortage of metals.[13] Over time, the tanka was minted in silver. However, chaos followed its launch in the 14th century, leading to the collapse of theTughluq dynasty. The Tughluqs were succeeded by numerous regional states, notably theBengal Sultanate, theBahmani Sultanate and theGujarat Sultanate. These kingdoms continued to mint the new currency in the name of their own rulers. Even much later under the early modernMughal Empire, regional currencies were still referred to as tanka/tangka/taka.
In the 15th century, theGujarat Sultanate, on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, began to mint silver tanka. It was a symbol of sovereignty for theMuzaffarid dynasty of Gujarat.
The tanka was widely minted in theDeccan, including theDeccan sultanates and Mughal provinces. In theBerar Sultanate andBerar Subah, one Tanka-i-Barari was equal to eight Delhi tankas.[citation needed]
In 14th-centuryOdisha, epigraphic records use terms such asvendi-tanka (alloyed silver) andsasukani-tanka (bullion). The tanka spread to the region from theDelhi Sultanate during the first half of 13th century. It remained in current use for a long time as is revealed by the epigraphs of Gangas and Survamshis.[14]
The tanka standard was introduced in the prosperous HimalayanKathmandu Valley (Nepal proper) in the 16th century. It was modeled on the currency of Delhi, Bengal and the Mughal Empire. The Nepalese tanka was a debased silver coin struck in 10 g. weight with minor denominations of 1⁄4, 1⁄32, 1⁄123, 1⁄512. It was introduced by King Indra Simha.[15]
Until 1971, the present-dayPakistani rupee had bilingual inscriptions in Urdu and Bengali, and was called both the rupee and taka. TheBengali language movement played a decisive role in ensuring the recognition of the taka inEast Pakistan, modern dayBangladesh.
TheTibetan tangka was an official currency of Tibet for three centuries. It was introduced byLhasa Newar merchants from Nepal in the 16th century. The merchants used Nepalese tanka on theSilk Road. The Tibetan government began to mint the tangka in the 18th century. The first Tibetan tangka was minted in 1763/64. China'sQing dynasty, Tibet's suzerain,[citation needed] established mints in the region in 1792.[citation needed] The Sino-Tibetan tangka carriedChinese language inscriptions.[16]
Banknotes were issued between 1912 and 1941 in denominations of 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 tangka.
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