The economy of the Delhi sultanate seems to be marked by a considerable expansion of the money economy, accelerating particularly during the first half of the fourteenth century. Among the metals, iron ore of an exceptionally high grade was mined in India and was used to produce damascened steel which had a worldwide reputation. Among precious stones, diamonds were mined in the Deccan. The pearl fishery off Tuticorin in south India is described by Marco Polo. The shawl industry of Kashmir had been equally firmly established much before the thirteenth century. The arrival of the ' Saracenic' architecture represented something more than a change in the appearance and design of buildings. Indian metallurgy enjoyed a worldwide reputation in the fashioning of swords. Alā'ud'dīn Khaljī's price-control measures enticed the historian BaranI not only into giving us important price data, but also into reflections as to the factors which govern prices and the relationship between prices and wages.