After the battle of Pānīpat, in 1526, Z̤ahīru-d-dīn Bābur’s rule in Hindustān, until his death in 1530, was in reality nothing more than a military occupation, and Humāyūn’s position during the first ten years of his reign was even more unstable. The silver _shāhruḵẖ̱īs_, or _dirhams_, of Bābur and Humāyūn, which follow in every respect the Central Asian coinage of the Timurid princes, were obviously struck only as occasion warranted, chiefly at Āgra, Lāhor (Pl. X, 1), Dehlī and Kābul. The interesting camp mint Urdū first appears on a coin of Bābur, an eloquent testimony to the nature of his sovereignty. On the obverse of these coins is the Kalima, enclosed in areas of various shapes with the names of the four orthodox Khalifs or Companions and their attributes[59] in the margins; on the reverse the king’s name, also in an area, in the margins various titles, together with the mint and generally the date. Humāyūn’s gold are tiny mintless pieces, also of Timurid fabric (Pl. X, 2); a very few of these and some silver dirhams are known of Akbar’s first three years. Bābur and Humāyūn’s copper coins are anonymous, and were minted chiefly at Āgra, Dehlī, Lāhor and Jaunpūr. _Note._—The mint marks in Fig. 9 occur on coins of the following: (1) Humāyūn, Āgra, etc. (2) Shāh ’Ālam II, Shāhjahānābād. (3) Aurangzeb, Multān. (4) East India Company, copied from Mug̱ẖal coins. (5) Nawābs of Awadh, Muḥammadābād-Banāras. (6) The Kitār—“dagger,” Shāh ’Ālam II, Narwar, etc. (7) Ankūs—“Elephant-goad”—Marāṭhā coins. [59] For inscription, cf. Key to Plate X, 1. The Afg̱ẖān Sher Shāh Sūrī, who after the expulsion of Humāyūn in 1540 (A.H. 947), controlled the destinies of Hindustān for five years, was a ruler of great constructive and administrative ability, and the reform of the coinage, though completed by Akbar, was in a great measure due to his genius. His innovations lay chiefly in two directions: first, the introduction of a new standard of 178 grains for silver, and one of about 330 grains for copper, with its half, quarter, eighth and sixteenth parts. These two new coins were subsequently known as the _rupee_ and the _dām_. The second innovation was a large increase in the number of the mints: at least twenty-three mint names appear on the Sūrī coins. The object of this extension, probably suggested to Sher Shāh during his residence in Bihār by the Bengal coinage, was no doubt to provide an ocular proof of sovereignty to his subjects in the most distant provinces of his dominions; but the system needed a firm and resolute hand at the centre of government.