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Mint:
Calcutta
Ruler:
Shuja al-Mulk (1803-9, 1839-42)
Issuer:
East India Company
Ruler:
Victoria (1837-1901)
The First Anglo-Afghan War was brought about, against a background of British desire to control this troublesome area on the Indian North-West Frontier, by the campaign of the exiled Shah Shujah al-Mulk, to oust his brother Mahmud from the Afghan throne (something which he had done in 1803 in order to succeed in the first place).
After an unsuccessful attempt in 1833 backed by the ruler of the Punjab, Shujah managed to add British support for a campaign of 1839 and was thereby restored, although he was assassinated almost as soon as the British left the country, provoking a return to conflict for which other medals were awarded.
The most difficult part of the campaign was the capture of the fortress in the mountain pass of Ghazni, and for participation in this battle Shah Shujah had a medal stuck at Calcutta. He was dead before it could be issued, but Queen Victoria and the East India Company allowed it to be awarded through the usual channels anyway.
This medal is unnamed, but from its provenance it is clear that it was awarded to Brigadier George Warren of the European Regiment; the medal's award to him has been verified. Brigadier Warren's medal group has come as one into the Watson Collection and the Catalogue considers them as Group 9, but as the pieces are not physically attached they are treated separately here. Lester Watson purchased them as a group from the London dealers Baldwin in 1931.
History note: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Baldwin 1931
Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009
Diameter: 37.2 mm
Weight: 38.92 g
Method of acquisition: Given (2009) by Watson, Lester
Production date: AD 1839
Inscription present: Fortress
Inscription present: Recipient's name above mural crown, with laurel branches around
Accession number: CM.1514-2009
Primary reference Number: 141613
Watson Catalogue: 131
Ordering: M-0402
Previous object number: LW.0367d
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Coins and Medals
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Ghuznee Medal" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141613 Accessed: 2024-11-22 10:07:23
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/141613
|title=Ghuznee Medal
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-22 10:07:23|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-141613
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm15/LW_0367d_281_29.jpg"
alt="Ghuznee Medal"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Ghuznee Medal</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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