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Lucknow is the present capital of Oude, having superseded the late capital Fyzabad, on the occasion of the Rohilla and other conquests; which left it rather in a corner of the kingdom, as it is now constituted, and in that corner the farthest removed from the scene of business. It is a very ancient city, and moderately extensive: but after the short account given above of the nature of the ordinary buildings, a city may very suddenly be augmented, on its becoming a royal residence: and Fyzabad of course may have declined. A small river, named the Goomty, runs under Lucknow, and communicates with the Ganges; but this last river is at least 43 miles to the SW of Lucknow. With respect to Calcutta, it is distant by the nearest road, 650 miles; and about 280 from Delhi. All is one vast plain from Lucknow to the mouth of the Ganges.

Fyzabad lies on the river Gogra, a very large river from Thibet; and is situated about 80 miles to the eastward of Lucknow, 560 from Calcutta. It is a very large city: and nearly adjoining to it, is the very ancient city of Oude or Ajudiah. Fyzabad, as we have just seen, was the capital of the Nabob of Oude, till within these few years; but it was an inconvenient situation, even before the Rohilla conquest.

Jionpour is a small city on the Goomty river, about 40 miles to the NW of Benares, and in the road from that city to Fyzabad.

Corah, or Corah-Jehenabad, is a small city in the Doab, or country between the two rivers Ganges and Jumnah, subject to the Nabob of Oude.

Bereilly is the capital of Rohilcund, which was added to the dominions of Oude, in the year 1774. It is but a small city, and is situated about half way between Lucknow and Delhi.

The city of Agra,* as I have said before, is situated at the western extremity of the tract under discussion; and on the south bank of the Jumnah river, which is very seldom fordable. This

* Latitude 27° 15', longitude 78° 29' by Claud Boudier: 78° 28′ in the map.

city appears to have been, during the late century, and in the beginning of the present, the most splendid of all the Indian cities; and at this time exhibits the most magnificent ruins. About the year 1566, the Emperor Acbar, liking its situation, made it his capital; since which, it is often named Acbarabad. It was then a small fortified town; but it soon became an extensive well built city, regularly fortified according to the Indian method, and with a fine citadel of red free-stone. Perhaps it has seldom happened, that a city of such great extent and magnificence has declined so rapidly. If Ptolemy, by Agara, meant Agra, it is certainly a place of great antiquity; but he has not placed Agara in the situation where we should look for Agra: and I rather suppose that Agaroa was the place meant.* Biana or Baniana seems to have immediately preceded it, as the capital of the province now called Agra, and which was originally included in the kingdom of Canoge.

Bernoulli, Vol. I. p. 135.

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SECTION III.

The Tract occupied by the Course of the River INDUS and its principal Branches: with the adjacent Countries on both Sides, from the Mountains of CABUL and CASHGAR, to the Cities of AGRA and AGIMERE.

THIS

HIS part comprehends in general the soubahs or provinces of Cabul, Cashmere, Lahore, Moultan, and Sindy; with the northern parts of Agimere, and the western parts of Agra and Delhi: and is about 750 B. miles in length from NE to SW; and from 750 to 350 in width. It is bounded on the east by mount Sewalic, and by an imaginary line drawn from Hurdwar to Agra; on the south by the great road leading from Agra to Agimere, and by the river Puddar; on the west by the Arabian sea, and Persia; and on the north by Balk, Badakshan, and Cashgar. But as the original of Hindoostan is not extended so far to the N and NW as these limits imply; and as much valuable information concerning this tract, has been communicated since the publication of the first edition of this work; an appendage to the original map, on a similar scale, is here given. To this the reader is referred for an explanation of what belongs generally to Hindoostan, in this Section; as well as to another, on a smaller scale, for its connexion with Persia and Tartary.

map

Delhi, the nominal capital of Hindoostan at present, and the actual capital during the greatest part of the time since the Mahomedan conquest, has its position determined by observations of latitude and longitude; which observations accord both with the maps, and with the popular estimation of its distance, from the nearest points in the surveyed tract, mentioned in the last Section.

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