234 A. F. R. Hoernle — Muhammadan and Hindu Coins. 
[No. 3, 
Obv. : in circular area, 
■within ornamental margin : 
ill 
til* 
Rev. : in oblong double-lined toothed 
area, within a circle surrounded 
by dots : 
ydu ! t _*j| <sJ| , LW| 
| jsLw 
The toothed or fringe-like orna- 
mentation is peculiar. 
The date 858 is distinct. The mint Firuzdbad is probable. 
I wish to draw attention to two points : — 
Firstly, these new coins carry Nasiru-d-din Mahmud Shah’s rule back 
to the years 843 and 842. The end of his reign is well ascertained to 
have been in 864, by Barbak Shah’s inscription of 865 and Mahmud’s 
own coin of 864 (Journal LIT, p. 216, No. 86). This gives Mahmud 
Shah a reign of, at least, 23 years, and goes some way in support of the 
statement of the native historians. Some of them say, that he reigned 
32 years, others, that he reigned “ not more than 27 ” years. These 
conflicting statements are susceptible of a not improbable explanation. 
Giving Mahmud Shall 32 years, his reign would have commenced in 833. 
Mr. Blochmann ( Journal , Vol. XLII, p. 268) shows with great probabi- 
lity, that Sliamsu-d-din Ahmad Shah’s reign must have commenced in 834 
or thereabouts. He was the third member of an usurping Hindu dynasty, 
and the native historians relate, that he was so cruel and tyrannical that 
Nasir Shah (afterwards Mahmud Shah), a descendant of the old 
Muhammadan dynasty of Ilyas Shah, with the support of the old party, 
set up an opposition reign. What happened, I suppose then, was this : 
Ahmad Shah succeeded in 832 ; soon afterwards, in 833, Mahmud Shah 
set up his counter-reign ; Ahmad certainly lived to 836, as shown by 
one of his coins (see this Journal, Vol. XLII, p. 268, and Brit. Mus. 
Cat., No. 88), and he probably lived to 838, in which year accordingly 
Mahmud Shah become sole and indisputed ruler of Bengal. Counting 
Mahmud’s reign from 833, we obtain a total of 32 years, but counting 
from 838, a total of 27 years. 
Secondly, in this Journal, Vol. LII, pp. 212-216, 1 have fully proved, 
that Mahmud Shah I made use of the two kunyats, Abul Muzaffar as well 
as Abul Mujahid. I gave another proof of the use of two kunyats 
in Journal, Vol. LIX, p. 167. The coins I now publish add further 
proof^ if any were needed. In the British Museum Catalogue published 
m 1885, I see, there are two coins still ascribed to Nasiru-d-din Mahmud 
Shah II (Nos. 103, 104), following herein Mr. Blochmann, who in 1873 
