1870.] Arabic and Persian Inscriptions in the Hugli District. 295 



I have not succeeded in identifying these five places, although 

 six months of enquiry and search have elapsed since I first men- 

 tioned them in the Proceedings of the Society (June, 1870, p. 188.) 



The name even of * Husaindbdd the Great? mentioned in Inscr. I. 

 is somewhat doubtful; but the Husainabad in the Murshidabad 

 district may be meant. The only name which is certain is that of the 

 town of Sarhat (in Birbhuru), which on Inscr. I. is spelled Sirhat, 

 with an i. 



It is noticeable that in none of the inscriptions the words SirJcdr 

 and parganah occur. The word 'argah (*-y ) may be equivalent 

 to sirlcdr, and the word mahall is used, even in the Ain, in the same 

 sense as ' parganah.' The term y arcah seems also to have given 

 rise to the name of the parganah Arsd, to which Satganw and 

 Tribeni belong, though Arsd is spelt in the Ain, and by Muham- 

 madans now-a-days, Uyl, not s^y-. In this case the real name of 

 the district would have been omitted. There are many similar 

 cases on record. Thus the parganah opposite to Tribeni is called 

 Haweli shahr, and corrupted Hdlishahr, the proper noun having 

 likewise fallen away. 



The word thdnah meant in those days a ' standing camp,' as the 

 Muhammadans used to erect in newly conquered districts. 



The names and dates of the Bengal kings mentioned in these 

 inscriptions, do not entirely agree, as might have been expected, 

 with those given in our histories. The kings mentioned are — 



1. Shamsuddm Firuz Shah (I.),— A. H. 713 (Inscr. III). 



2. Barbak Shah, son of Mahmud Shah,— A. H. 860, (Inscr. 

 til). 



3. Nacjiruddin Abul Muzaffar Husain Shah (I.),— A. H. 861, 

 (Inscr. IX). 



4. Abul Muzaffar Yusuf Shah, son of Barbak Shah, no year. 

 Vide below under ' PanduahS 



5. Jalaluddin Abul Muzaffar Fath Shah, son of Mahmud Shah, 

 —A. H. 892, (Inscr. X). 



6. Nucrah Shah, son of 'Alauddin Husain Shah (II.),— A. H. 

 930 {vide below Inscr. XI, XII). 



The place in history of the first king, Finiz Shah (I), has been 

 alluded to above, on p. 288. 



