The Numismatic Collection of the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan houses silver rupees dating to the Mughal Empire (Baburid dynasty, 1526–1857), which constitute valuable numismatic evidence for the study of Azerbaijan’s historical trade and economic relations.

Numismatic analysis of coin hoards discovered in Shusha, Fuzuli, the village of Tugh in the Khojavend district, the Karkijahan settlement in the Khankendi district, as well as in Shamakhi, Sheki, Absheron, and Jalilabad, has led to the identification of silver rupees minted during the reigns of the Mughal emperors Aurangzeb Alamgir (1658–1707), Farrukhsiyar (1713–1719), Rafi ud-Darajat (1719), and Muhammad Shah (1719–1748).

The silver rupees, weighing between 11 and 11.6 grams and struck at the mints of Atawa, Shahjahanabad, Akbarabad, and other cities, bear inscriptions in the Nastaliq script indicating the ruler’s name and honorific titles, the mint name, the date of issue according to the Hijri calendar, and the regnal year (julūs). Epigraphic formulas appearing in the coin inscriptions, including Badshah Ghazi and Sahib-Qiran Sani, reflect the political status of the Mughal rulers and the ideological foundations of their imperial authority.

In addition to silver rupees, the monetary system of the Mughal Empire included gold coins known as mohurs, as well as copper coins of various denominations, referred to as fulus and paisa.

The discovery in Azerbaijan of Mughal silver rupees dating from the second half of the seventeenth to the first half of the eighteenth century, within hoards also containing silver coins of the late Safavids, Afghan rulers, Afsharids, Zands, Azerbaijani khanates, and the Ottoman Empire, is of considerable scholarly significance. These numismatic finds constitute valuable historical sources for examining the characteristics of monetary circulation during the period under consideration, as well as Azerbaijan’s regional and international trade and economic relations.