Bronze kesarah (punchee), 15th-early 16th century, Kashmir Sultanate, India

Al-Sultan / Al-Azam / (name of the ruler), with a horizontal line with a knot above the Sultan's name // Zarb Kashmir. 20mm, 5.34 grams. 

The Kashmir Sultanate was an independent Muslim kingdom that ruled the Kashmir Valley from the mid-14th to the late-16th century. Founded by Shah Mir, who established the Shah Mir dynasty around 1339 CE, it marked the region’s transition from Hindu to Muslim rule. The sultans, such as Zain-ul-Abidin (“Budshah”), fostered a flourishing of art, literature, and architecture, blending Persian, Central Asian, and local Kashmiri traditions. The sultanate maintained its independence for over two centuries but gradually weakened due to internal rivalries and external pressures, eventually falling to the Mughal Empire under Akbar in 1586.