ritory of Balkh; its chief city, which has alfo a confiderable diftrict around it, is named VAKHSH; and the whole country is reprefented as fruitful, pleasant, watered by feveral rivulets, and even rich in golden ore, which the ftreams often bring down the mountains mingled with their fand.

At the extremity of Turkeftán, are the countries of KHATA and KHOTEN, which border on China, and, in this century, were governed by an independent King, who fent an ambassador to Nader Shah. The city of Khoten has a large territory round it of the fame name, which is famous for producing very fine musk, equal to that of Tibet. A Perfian poet, quoted by Golius in one of his manufcripts, alludes to the mufk of this country in the following paffage: When thy charming letter was brought to me, I faid; "Is it the zephyr that breathes from "the gardens, or is the fky burning wood of "aloes on the cenfer of the fun? or is a ca

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ravan of mufk coming from Khoten†?" To

* See the Bibliothéque Orientale, p. 999. where, by fome accident, the original of the third verfe is omitted.

+ In Perfian,

مكتوب جانغزاي تو آمد بسوي من گفتم مگر صبا از چمن رسید

understand these verses, we must know, that the Afiaticks have a cuftom of perfuming their letters, which they tie up in little bags of fattin or damask. The city of CASHGAR alfo, with its territory, belongs, according to fome writers, to Khatá; as well as KHANBALEK, which the Eaftern Geographers place actually in the Chinese Empire; this is not the Cambalu of our travellers, which is properly called Cabalig, and ftands forty-four degrees from the Line, and an hundred and three from the Canaries. CARACUM is likewise a city of Khatá, and is fituated in a large plain covered with black fand, from which it derives its name. All this extenfive Empire was conquered in the thirteenth century by Tamugin or Genghiz, who penetrated even into China, which his fucceffor Octaï almoft wholly fubdued, and took the city of Nám Kim, or Nang King, where the Chinese prince Altun burned himself and all his family, that he might not fall into the hands of the Moguls.

یا آسمان بهجمر خورشید عود سوخت یا کاروان مشک زراه ختن رسید

CHAP. III.

The Indian Empire.

THE celebrated Empire of India is called by the Perfians Hind, or HINDUSTAN*, The Country of the Hindus: it is bounded on the weft and fouth by the Ocean, on the north by Candahár and Turán, on the east by Chin or China; for fo the Afiaticks call the Peninfula beyond the Ganges, which comprises the kingdoms of Tipra, Afám, Aracan, and Siam. The country of Hind is divided into three parts; 1. Guzerat, or DECAN, including most of the fouthern provinces, and, among them, the city and territory of SUMENAT, where Sadi, as he tells us in his Bostán, had an adventure with the worshippers of an ivory image, whofe artful contrivance he detected at the hazard of his life. 2. MALABAR, or, The country of the Malais, which includes what the Arabians call Beladelfulful, or, The land of Pepper †, and is terminated on the fouth by the cape of Comron, famous for pro

هندوستان

بلاد الفلفل In Arabick +

ducing the best aloe-wood, a favourite perfume of the Afiaticks: to the fouth-west of this promontory are the numerous islands, which we call Maldives, and the Arabs Rabibát, and a little to the fouth-eaft, the famed Serandib or Seilán, which produces fo many precious perfumes, jewels, and fpices. M. d'Herbelot remarks, that the Eastern Geographers fay nothing of the cinnamon, with which Serandib abounds, and, as they call that spice the wood of China, he imagines, with fome appearance of probability, that it was transplanted to Seilán by the Chinese, who, as it is currently reported, had once a great connection with the natives of that island. Farther eastward are the islands of Samander, or Sumatra, Rámi, or Lameri, which may, perhaps, be Java, though, by the accounts of it, one would take it for the fame with Samander, and then Albinoman will be Java, Jálús, the Moluccas, and Mehrage, or Soborma, Borneo; to which ifle the Easterns feem to confine their knowledge of Afiatick Geography*; for what they call the ifle of Anam, is no other than the fouthern part of the peninfula, which the ancients named The golden Cherfonnefe; and

*They pretend, that a city called Fámcût is situated at the extremity of our Hemisphere.

as to Sinf, Sili, and Sindafúlat, they are rather ports on the coaft of China than islands. The city of Khancú, which the learned African Prince Edriffi mentions, feems to be the Cantón of our merchants.

The third divifion of Hind is called MABER* by the Arabians, and extends from the gulf of Bengal on both fides of the Ganges as far northward as the ftraits of Kupele; and here we may obferve, that it is ufual with the Afiaticks to give the fame name to the countries, which lie on both fides of any confiderable river: thus the province of Sind is divided by the Indus, Kharezm by the Oxus, Palestine by the Arden or Jordan, Egypt by the Nile, and this part of India by the Ganges. The ancient fyftem of government, which prevailed in this country, feems to have been perfectly feudal; all the territories were governed by Raï's or Rájas, who held their lands of a fupreme lord called Belbár, the feat of whose refidence was the city of CANNOUGE, now in ruins. There is a curious book at Oxford, which was presented to the University by Mr. Pope, and contains the pictures of all the Kings who reigned in India, from the most early times to the age of Timúr, whofe defcendant Báber founded the mo

* In Arabickor, The passage.