18 II. Blochnumn — CunnmgTiawCs Bengal Inscriptions. [Jan. 



work dealing exclusively with Bengal history, has come down to us. What- 

 ever we know we glean from incidental remarks made hy the historians of 

 the Dihli empire, or from the meagre extracts given in the Tabaqat i Akbari 

 and Firishtah. Firishtah, a Dak'hin writer of the beginning of the 17th 

 century, copied partly from the Tabaqat ; but either work contains informa- 

 tion not given in the other, and I hope to give with General Cunning- 

 ham's inscriptions a comparative analysis of both som*ces. 



Besides the Tabaqat and Firishtah, we have in the Tabaqat i Naciri 

 valuable notes on the Muhammadan governors that ruled in Gaur or Lakh- 

 nauti, after the overthrow of the last Hindu king of Bengal by Bakhtyar 

 Khilji in 1203. This source has been completely used by Mr. E. Thomas. 

 Lastly, we have a modern history of Bengal, entitled Riyazussalatin, written 

 by Gbulam Husain, poetically styled Salim, of Zaidpur, and completed (as 

 indicated by the title, which is a tarilchi name) in A. H. 1202, or A. D. 

 1787-88, at the request of Mr. George Udney of Maldah. Stewart's ' His- 

 tory of Bengal' is based upon this work. The Persian text has not been 

 printed ; but a critical examination would be desirable.- Salim must have 

 had access to works that no longer exist, for he gives details not to be 

 found in the Tabaqat or Firishtah. 



These are the only written sources which we possess of the history of 

 the governors and independent kings of Bengal, i. e. for a period of 335 

 years, from 1203 to 1537, A. D. Our knowledge, therefore, is entirely 

 derived from mere extracts and second-hand compilations, and it is no won- 

 der that for several portions of that period we have no guide. The impor- 

 tance of Bengal coins and inscriptions thus becomes apparent. 



Bengal coins have hitherto received more attention than inscriptions. 

 Marsden, in 1823, and Laidley (a former Secretary of the Society) in 1846 

 published Bengal coins, which for the first time revealed the importance of 

 their testimony. But far greater results were obtained by Mr. E. Thomas, 

 who examined the selections made from the 13,500 pieces of silver, which in 

 August 1863 were found in Koch Bihar. His contributions, which refer 

 to the years from 1203 to 1357 A. D., are the most important that have 

 hitherto been made to Bengal History. For the remaining portion of the 

 above period, viz., from 1357 to 1537 A. D., the coins have not yet been 

 examined ; these scientific treasures lie still buried in public and private coin- 

 cabinets. 



The most obscure portion of Bengal history, at the present stage of 

 research, extends over more than sixty years, from 1385 to about 1150 

 A. D. To this time belong the usurpation of the throne by a Hindu Baja, 

 hitherto called Kanis or Kansa, — a corruption, as it would seem, of ' Ga- 

 nesha' — , and the reigns of his son and grandson, who turned Muhamma- 

 dans. Whether Ganesh himself became a Muslim, has not yet been proved. 



