The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c27.6

v3.c27.6

‘Alā-ud-dīn Hasan claimed descent from the hero Bahman, son of Isfandiyār, and his assumption of the title Bahman Shāh was an assertion of his claim¹. Firishta relates an absurd legend connecting the title with the name of the priestly caste of the Hindus, but this story is disproved by the evidence of inscriptions and legends on coins, and the name Kankū, which frequently occurs in conjunction with that of Bahman, and is said by Firishta to represent Gangū, the name of the king’s former Brāhman master, is more credibly explained by Maulavī ‘Abd-ul-Walī¹ as a scribe’s corruption of Kaikāūs, which was the name of Bahman’s father as given in two extant genealogies².