88 
H. Bev eridge —Major Francldin s description of Gaur. [No. 2, 
are cultivated, highly productive. About half a mile from the Katwali Gate . 
is a bridge regularly paved with brick, with stones underneath. It has a 
gentle ascent and descent, and appears to be of great antiquity. At the 
western extremity are two stone pillars having Sanscrit inscriptions. 1 On 
each side of the road leading to the royal palace are several mosques built in 
the Pathan style of architecture, like those to be seen at Delhi. They are 
entirely round, and have arched windows of brick. In the neighbourhood 
are many tanks, and the cultivation is considerable and the appearance of the 
surrounding scenery picturesque. Nearly opposite the fort, in which is 
situated the royal palace, is a lofty column of Pathan architecture. It is cir¬ 
cular in form, has several windows, and is surrounded at the top by a cupola. 
“ This column was built by Firoz Shah, one of the Pathan princes of 
Gaur, and in the style of its architecture resembles the columns built by 
Firoz Shah which are still to be seen at Allahabad and Delhi.” 
Then follows the description of the Minar, which Mr. Grote has 
extracted, (p. 28, 1. c. ) It may be noted that Francklin prefixes to the 
fragmentary inscription, obtained 2 by him at Goamalty, these words in 
Persian :— 
That is, “ Copy of the inscription on the door of the Minar of Firoz 
Shah, in the Fort of Gaur.” 
These words show that the tradition that the Minar was built by 
Firoz Shall existed before Francklin’s time. We know too that it was 
in existence when the Hiydzu-s-saldtln was written, i.e ., about 1787. See 
Persian text of that work, p. 126. In his note, p. 28 of Ravenshaw’s Gaur, 
Mr. Grote refers to Firoz Shah as having only reigned from 893 to 895, 
but the inscription from the Murshidabad district, of which a translation 
appears in the Proceedings of our Society for February 1893, p. 55, shows 
that Firoz Shah’s reign extended to at least the beginning of 896 (2, Mu- 
haram). Mr. Bloclnnann also states that Firoz Shfili reigned till 1491, or 
896, vide historical note in Ravenshaw’s Gaur, p. 100. The coin, how¬ 
ever, to which Mr. Grote refers, as fixing the chronology of Firoz Shah 
II, only gives the date 893, and Blochmann prefers 895 for the last year 
of his reign. At p. 56, l. c., Mr. Grote gives an inscription stated by 
Francklin to belong to the Golden Mosque at Pandua. The quotation 
is correct, and in Francklin’s journal, p. 25, the inscription is preceded 
1 Cunningham does not notice these inscriptions. 
2 Francklin uses the word ‘ found,’ but this merely means, that he saw it 
there after it had been removed to the factory by Mr. Ellerton or Mr. Creighton. 
The Chand Darwaza inscription was also ‘found’ at Goamalty. Ravenshaw, p. 18, 
note. 
