408 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. |N.S., XVI, 
I am glad to acknowledge, to begin with, that his careful des- 
ira coi assistance to 
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Mr. Thomas’ pioneering work on Bengal numismatics) ; and 
as, in the cases of most of the Kings concerned, independent 
material is now available on which a complete historical analy- 
sis of a considerably longer period than the Curator of the 
Dacca Museum dealt with can be based, I am in a position to 
carry out the survey of the field that I was on the point of 
making in 1915 with even greater prospect of arriving at the 
truth than I could have hoped for six years ago, 
efore passing on to the paper, I should also like to ac- 
all custodians of national and provincial collections of coins 
that it was necessary for me to consult. Mr. J. Allan. of the 
Devartment of Coins and Medals at the British Museum, be- 
sides supplying me with casts of an important coin that does 
not seem to have been previously noticed, afforded me free 
access to the Bengal coins in his charge. Dr D. R. Bhandar- 
cabinet ; while the courtesy of Mr. A. W. Botham, C.1E., 
Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam, as well as that 
of Monsieur Foucher, has enabled me to reproduce several 
important coins in Plate X. The opportunities I was given 
by these gentlemen of re-studying every Bengal coin included 
in the Indian Museum ani the Shillong supplementary Cata- 
logues will sufficiently explain the varte lectiones in the case 
of certain coins already published. I would also mention in 
conclusion that I am indebted to Babu Nalini Kanta Bhatta- 
sali for the excellent photographs of the coins given in Plate X. 
THe Batpant Kinas oF BENGAL. 
Nastruddin Mahmid, c. 682-690 A.H. 
The annals of independent Muslim rule in Bengal are 
usually taken to commence with the reigns of Fakbruddin 
Mubarak and his rivals ‘Ali Shah and Ilyas Shah, but except 
for the incidents that led to the extinction of the earlier line of 
Balbani Kings and the temporary re-appointment of Governors 
by the Dehli Sultan Muhammad ibn Tughlaq between 725 and 
735 A.H., there is nothing to distinguish the status of the 
Balbani Kings from that of the Muhammadan (and Hindu) 
Kings who ultimately succeeded them. I therefore propose to 
begin with a survey of the numismatic and other evidence that 
