1867.] The Initial Coinage of Bengal. 67 



by small shields containing the names of the four companions of the 

 Prophet ; the intermediate spaces are filled in with titles which 

 occasionally pertain to the king, but at times exclusively belong to 

 the Imams.* 



Reverse, hexagonal field ; narrow margin. 



Obv. R ev . 



&S.Jz 







Obverse" Margin, 



( es 1 * ) tir+^l ^'^ ( cj 1 *^ ) e^V 1 (^r*- c ) f^ 1 (^-y' ) f^i 

 Reverse Margin, 



X.— A'AZAM SHAH. 



The accession of Grhias-ud-din Aazam Shah was disgraced by rebellion 

 against his own father and coincident open war, in the course of which 

 Sikandar fell in a general action between his own and his son's troops. 

 Native historians are more than ordinarily obscure in the narration of 

 these incidents, and the dates relied upon are singularly untrust- 

 worthy, when brought to the test of numismatic facts. Aazam's initial 

 revolt is admitted to have gained force chiefly in Eastern Bengal, where 

 his coinage substantially proves his administrative supremacy, whether 

 as nominally subordinate or covertly resistant to paternal authority, 

 dating from 772 a. h., — an increase of power seems to be associated 

 with the mint record of a hold over Satgaon in 790 A. h., and a real 

 or pretended occupancy of a portion of the territory of Pandua in 

 791, though the final eclipse of the royal titles of the father is delayed 

 till 792 a. n.f 



* (j}l\jh in many instances is replaced by <SL£jJ..s-'|j.j|j j while .JaA+Jl follows 



the name of uUjLc „ 



f Stewart supposes that Sikandar met his death in 769 A. h (p. 89) ; and an 

 even more patent error places the decease of A'azam in 775 a. h. (p. 93). The 

 Tabakat-i-Akbari, which devotes a special section to the history of Bengal, implies 

 an amiable and undisturbed succession in this instance. 



