64 



The Initial Coinage of Bengal. 

 Obv. Rev. 



[No. 1, 



r 



&31&. &JLL| ^ii. 



Margin, &U*a.«» j ^*a*» *.U> aty jj^-j^ ci^.^^ *CJ| *<>A 



No. 23. 

 Firuzabad, a. h. 769. 

 Silver. Size, vii. Weight, 166 grs. Very rare. Plate II. fig. 11 

 Type No. 5. Similar design to type 1. 



Obv. Rev. 





Margin, 



No. 24. 



Satgaon, a.h. 780, 781, 782, 783, 784, 788. Plate II. fig. 13. 



Type No. 6. Obverse, a quadrated scalloped shield, with open 

 bosses on the margin containing the names of the " four friends," the 

 intermediate spaces being filled in partially with the king's titles. 



JReverse } hexagonal star-shaped lozenge, with exterior marginal 

 legend.* 



* The pattern legend of this mint-die seems to have been taken from oral 



data, as it is engraved as *1J| as 5/ Jb&J\ instead of the more critical &U\ |«Xs| 

 9 

 &U|^.AliU|The increased facilities of intercourse by sea probably aided ^thecol- 

 loquial knowledge of Arabic in the estuaries of Bengal j while the learned of Dehli 

 had to rely more upon books and occasional teachers. Ibn Batutah tells us, that 

 Muhammad bin Tughlak, though pretending to speak Arabic, did not distinguish 

 himself in the act, while Hdji Ilias must himself have performed the pilgrimage 

 to Mecca. 



