1867.]' The Initial Coinage of Bengal: 4& 



Obv. Rev. 



lylliU. y^r >a^/l 



r ^| 



Margin, fj U***j ^±*~"!j cr*^ ***■ c$V^ *a>y*-^ A*fliJ|<*A ^^ 

 II.— SIIAMS-UD-DI'N FI'RUZ. 



Whatever may have been the actual date of Nasir-ud-din's decease 

 or political obscuration, we tread upon more firm ground in the con- 

 joint testimony of the coins and the historical reminiscences of Ibn 

 Batutah, in the assurance that his son, Shams-ud-din Firuz, was in 

 full possession of power in Western Bengal at the time of Muhammad 

 bin Tughlak's abortive revolt against his own father, in 722-3 a.h.* 

 The African traveller incidentally mentions that to the court of this 

 southern monarch fled the nobles who had engaged in the contem- 

 plated treason, which originated in the camp of the army of the 

 Dakhin, of which the imperial heir was commander. Professedly 

 written history is altogether at fault in establishing the existence 

 or illustrating the reign of this sovereign ; and even Ibn Batutahf 



* As this passage presents no particular difficulty, beyond the difference of the 

 texts from which English and French translators have drawn their inspiration, I 

 merely annex the rendering given in the amended Paris edition, voL iii., p. 210. 

 " Les autres emirs s'enfnirent pies clu Sultan Chems eddin, fils du sultan Nacir- 

 edd in, fils du sultan Ghiyath eddin Balaban, et se fixerent a sa cour. . . Lesemh*3 

 fugitiis sejournerent pres du sultan Chems eddin. Dans- la suite, celui-ci 

 mourut, leguant le trone a son fils Chiliab eddin. Ce prince succeda a son pere; 

 mais son frere cadet, Ghiyath eddin Behadour Bourah (ce dernier mot signifie, 

 dans la langue indienne le noir), le vanquit, s'empara du royaume, et tua son 

 frere Kothlovi Khan, ainsi que la plupart de ses autres freres. Deux de Geux-ci, 

 le sultan Chihab eddin, et Nasir eddin, s'enfuirent pres de Togbluk, qui se mit 

 en marche avec eux, afin de combattre le fratricide. Illaissa dans son royaume 

 son fils Mohammed en qualite de vice-roi, et s'avanca en hate vers le pays de 

 Lacnaouty. II s'en rendit maitre, fit prisonnier soe sultan Ghiyath eddin Beha- 

 dour et reprit avec ce captif le chemin de sa capitale." See also Lee's Translation, 

 p. 128. 



f Ibn Batutah in the following extract tells us so much about the veal history 

 of Bengal at, and previous to his own visit, that I quote the Arabic text in 

 extenso ; I feel it is the more necessary to reproduce the original version on this 

 occasion, as Dr. Lee's translation is altogether deficient in any reference to the 

 passage, which was clearly wanting in the MSS. at his disposal. 



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