1873.] H. Blochmann — Cunningham's Bengal Inscriptions. 19 



To the same period also belong two invasions of Bengal, one from the west, 

 undertaken by the kings of Jaunpur ; the other from the east by the Ahoms 

 of A'sam, who under Chadangpha in 1414 extended their conquests to the 

 Karataya river (Dinajpur and Rangpdr). Whether Bengal Proper was made 

 wholly or partially tributary to Jaunpur is not certain ; but it is clear from 

 South Bihar inscriptions that the whole of Bihar was annexed to Jaunpur. 

 The power of the kings of Bengal, therefore, in the first half of the 15th 

 century must have been reduced to a minimum. 



No inscriptions belonging to this dark period of Bengal history have 

 hitherto turned up ; and it seems as if coins alone could give the wanting 

 information. For the clearing up of the final portion, from 1150 to 1537, 

 A. D., though the coins have not yet been examined, many inscriptions have 

 now come to hand ; and it may reasonably be hoped that future discoveries 

 of inscriptions will clear up the few doubts that are left. 



Numerous as the inscriptions in Bengal appear to be, it seems strange 

 that so few have hitherto found their way into our Journal. In fact, with 

 the exception of three inscriptions given in the Journal for 1817, 1801, and 

 1807, I know of no others that have been published. In 1870, I invited 

 members of the Society to forward rubbings to Calcutta, and valuable Bengal 

 inscriptions have since been received from Mr. E. V. Westmacott, Dr. J. Wise, 

 and Mr. Walter M. Bourke, which together with General Cunningham's 

 collection amount to about 120. Last month also I received from Balm 

 Rajendralala Mitra an interesting rubbing from Rajshahi, which makes 

 mention of a rebel king, who, in 1581, attempted to establish himself. 



Of all these inscriptions a few are useless, being quotations from the 

 Qoran ; and about one-fourth refer to the 17th century, and are, therefore, of 

 less importance. Of General Cunningham's 65 Bengal inscriptions, 3 are 

 illegible, 19 are useless, 11 are of minor interest, and 28 are excellent.* 

 Twenty -three of them come from Panduah near Maldah, which place General 

 Cunningham, from the fact of its having once been the capital of Bengal, 

 significantly calls ' Hazrat Panduah,' to distinguish it from Panduah in 

 Hugh District ; 20 come from Gam- ; 1 from Maldah ; 1 from Munger ; 1 

 from Rajmahall ; 1 from Lakki Sarai ; 1 from Satgaon ; 2 from Panduah 

 in Hiigli ; and 12 from Sunnargaon and Dhaka District. They are nearly 

 all inscriptions from old mosques. 



The historical value of all Bengal inscriptions received by the Society 



* One (marked 37) lias not yet been received. Useless are Nos. 2, 9, 10, 13, 14, 

 15, 17, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 43, 44, 46, 53, and Sunnargaon (K). Illegible are 

 Nos. 28, 39, and Sunnargaon (G). Of little interest are 11, 12, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 

 23, 24, 29, 38, and Sunnargaon, (J,L). Good are Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 25, 26, 27, 30, 

 41, 42, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, and the Sunnargaon rubbings marked A, B, 0, D, 

 E, F, H, J. Some of them have since been published. 



