Order of Dooranée.—To reward the British officers who had been instrumental in restoring him to his throne, Shah Shooja instituted the Order of the Dooranée Empire, the first installation taking place at Cabul on September 13th, 1839, when Sir John Keane, the commander of the British army, received the First-Class Order from the Shah. There are three classes of the Order, which is not unlike the Guelphic Order of Hanover. Three of the first class, nineteen of the second, and thirty-six of the third were to be presented. The badge consists of a gold Maltese cross, the borders of which are raised, with eight points terminating in gold beads, resting upon two crossed swords. On a blue and green enamelled ground, which forms the centre, are two sentences in Persian characters; above "Authority is from God alone," and below "Every brave man recognises his sway." This translation, as Dr. Payne states, is very different from the usual one of Duri-i-Dauran, "Pearl of the Age." The enamelled centre is surrounded by a circle of pearls. The star is of cut silver shaped like a Maltese cross, overlaid with a smaller one of gold, in the centre of which is the same decoration as on the badge, except that a diamond is set in each arm of the gold cross, and the enamelled circle is surrounded by seventeen pearls. The star of the second class has rays between the arms, and the small gold cross which rests upon it has crossed swords between the arms; the centre is enamelled with a green flower on a blue ground, surrounded by eighteen pearls set in a gold band. The badge of the second class has twenty pearls set round the centre, and on the reverse a red enamelled centre circled by a green enamelled border decorated with gold tracery. The third-class badge has only fourteen pearls. The badges of each class were suspended from a half red and green ribbon, like that used for the Ghuznee medal.
MEDAL FOR KELAT-I-GHILZI, 1842.
Awarded to Major Robert Leech, C.B., who had also the medal for Candahar, Ghuznee, and Cabul, 1842, and the Order of the Dooranée Empire (3rd Class).
FIRST JELLALABAD MEDAL, 1842.
Awarded to Captain (later Lieutenant-Colonel) Peter R. Jennings, 13th Foot.
Ghuznee Medal, 1839.—Shah Shoojah had also determined to decorate the ordinary soldiers who had taken part in the campaign, but his assassination prevented the realisation of his desire, and subsequently—November 23rd, 1842—the Governor-General decided that the medals which had been struck at Calcutta in commemoration of the capture of Ghuznee should be given to the officers and men who had participated in the capture. This, the first Indian medal to be issued with a bar for suspension, is of silver, and, with the exception of the medal for Seringapatam, the first to be given to all the troops engaged, the previous medals having been bestowed upon native troops only. It is 1½ in. in diameter, with broad flat edge, bearing on the obverse a view of the gateway of the citadel, with GHUZNEE on an ornamental panel underneath, running with the lines of the medal. On the reverse, within a laurel wreath, a mural crown above 1839, and between the terminals of the wreath the date of the capture of the fortress, 23D. JULY, a space being left in the centre for the recipient's name, which had to be placed there at his expense. The medals are occasionally found with the names engraved or impressed upon the edge. Two dies were used for the obverse, and one has a much wider border. The medal was originally suspended from a half green and yellow ribbon, but it was changed to crimson and green 1⅖ in. wide.
Governor-General's Medal.—Dr. Payne has kindly enabled me to reproduce the unique silver medal presented to the Right Honourable the Earl of Auckland, G.B.C., Governor-General of India and Governor of the Presidency of Fort William. The medal is 1⅗ in. wide, has no bar for suspension, and is enamelled. On the obverse is represented the fortress of Ghuznee—a very different rendering to that on the medal just referred to—with the victorious army marching through the gate. On the reverse is the inscription AFGHANISTAN-GHUZNEE—23r.d. JULY 1839. This striking is the only one known to exist. (See facing page [88].)