Vol. VI, No. 4] History and Ethnology of N.-E. India— 1. 159 



[N.S.] 



This latter condition was observed by the Jaintia Rajas, at 

 first literally and later technically, for nearly 170 years. 

 Another sign of their dependence on the Koch kingdom is the 

 fact that their coinage is modelled on the same type as that of 

 Kuch Bihar. This will be seen from the coin in the Shillong 

 Cabinet reproduced as No. 9, Plate XXIII. 



No. 9. — Silver tanka of Jayantapur (probably minted by 

 Pratapa Simha, 1669—1678 A.D.). Weight 1507 grains. Size 



M3". 



Obverse. Reverse. 



(1) Hi«nr.-. (1) MFt 



(2) Tret^ (2) a tw^ *£ 



(3) Tw*rj*n (3) o^*re$* £ 



. CO 



(4) o$ :«a* (4) <r7fJ ^ 



The coin given by Mr. Gait ' as 1592 Saka, though very simi- 

 lar, appears to be of 1692. The three dots on the right of the 

 first line of the obverse are a reproduction of those that appear 

 so prominently at the end of the first line of the reverse of the 

 Koch coin. These dots also reappear above the first line of 

 the reverse, just under a star and crescent which can be traced 

 either to another Bengal coin issued by ; Ala' u-d- Din's son,Nasrat 

 Shah (vide PI XXIII, No. 11) or to the undated coin of Ghiyasu-d- 

 Dln Mahmud referred to later on (vide PL XXIII, No. 13), on one 

 or other of which the Assam coinage is based. The gun and two- 

 handed sword appear to have only a local reference, while the 

 Solomon's seal is probably taken from the coins of the later 



/. I.M 



954 A.H.; and 



No. 879— Muhammad « Adil— A.H. 961 = 1553 A.D.). It is also 

 a common shroff mark (cf. LM.C. H Bengal Coins, No. 216). The 

 number of lines on obverse and reverse are the same in both 

 Koch and Jaintia coins, and the inscription on the reverse of 

 both is the same. As no coins seem to have been issued from 

 Jayantapur prior to 1591 Saka\( = 1669 A.D.), it would appear 

 that the Jaintia Rajas, for 1O0 years after the conquest of 

 Jaintia by Silarai, observed the orders of their conqueror liter- 



issued 



to 



their issuing coins about 1670 were probably the conquest of 

 Pran Narayan by Mir Jumlahin 1661 and his subsequent death 

 in 1666, but as the Rajas of Kuch Bihar — especially Mada Na- 

 rayan, Pran Narayan's successor — continued to maintain a 

 certain amount of local authority, the Jaintia Rajas -till 

 technically observed the condition imposed on them in 1563 by 

 referring to themselves not by name but as the " Purandars of 



1 Some Notes on Jaintia History, J-A.S.B., 1895 p. 244; and Fiir. 

 9, Plate XX IV. 



