very great, though stated by Balbi at 150,000 in time of war. The greatest army raised by an Afghaun was 100,000 men, under Timoor Shah, in 1789, when he marched against Shah Morad. The conduct of the Dooraunees in their civil wars gives but a mean idea of their military character. Their armies were very small, seldom exceeding 10,000 men on each side, and these generally ill-paid and discontented. The victory was usually decided by some chief going over to the opposite side, on which the greater part of the army followed his example, or took to flight. Even when the battle was decided by the sword, little blood was shed, and that chiefly among the great khauns interested in the result, the common soldiers being quite indifferent about the issue.

CHAP. VI.-CHIEF CITIES.

THE chief cities of this region are: Candahar, Caubul, Peshawer, Ghiznee, Furrah, and Jellallabad.

Candahar.] When and by whom this city was founded is unknown. The oriental geographers will it to have been founded by Secunder Zulkernain, or Alexander the Great.' This notion has also been adopted by many modern geographers and historians; and, amongst the latter, by Dr Robertson, who makes it the Paropamisan Alexandria. But, as D'Anville justly remarks, the name Kandahar does not come from Alexander, but from the Persian (or rather Turkish) term Kand, denoting a fortress.' The ancient name of Candahar was Balioos, according to Kirkpatrick, quoted by Rennel. This completely sets aside the derivation of Candahar from Iscander, or Alexander. The Paropamisan Alexandria was besides built at the southern foot of the Hindookhoosh, and at the northern extremity of Paropamisus, according to Arrian, whereas Candahar is to the S. of the Paropamisus. It stands in 32° 20′ N. lat. and 66° 30′ E. long., according to Elphinston's map. The ancient city stood till the reign of Shah Hussein, who founded a new city under the name of Husseinabad. Nadir Shah again altered its site, and called it Nadirabad. Finally, Ahmed Shah founded the present city, and denominated it Ahmed Shauhee, and Ashreff-ool-Belaud, or 'the noblest of cities;' by which latter name and title it is mentioned still in public papers, and in the language of the court, during the Dooraunee dynasty. But the old name Kandahar still prevails among the people. It is the capital of Western Afghanistaun, and in Ahmed Shah's time was that of all his empire. But his son Timoor removed the seat of government to Caubul. Its population, according to Elphinston's information, amounts to 100,000 souls. The form of the city is an oblong square, and very regular. Four long and broad bazaars meet in the centre of the town, and at their place of junction is a circular space of 40 or 50 yards in diameter, covered with a dome, into which all the four streets meet. This place is called the Chaursoo.— Around it are shops, and it may be considered as the public market-place. Here proclamations are made, and the bodies of criminals exposed to the

10 There is a place called Kandar in the Deccan, where no one can pretend, Alexander ever came, and another of the same name in Ajmeer; and Gandhara is the Sanscrit name for all the three. There is also a place called Caendar on the borders of the Attruck, N.E of Mesched, and a fortress of great importance in the times of Jenghis Khan and Tamerlane, corresponding to the Gandar or Gadar of Isidore of Charax, and the Gandarii of Herodotus and Pliny; and a people called the Gandaræ are placed by Ptolemy between Suastene and the Indus, a tract corresponding to the modern valley of Boonere.

IV.

3 A

popular gaze. The four bazaars are each about 50 yards broad, the sides consisting of shops of the same size and plan,-in front of which runs a uniform veranda for the whole length of the street. The shops are only one story high, and the lofty houses of the town are seen over them. There are gates issuing into the country at the end of all the bazaars, except the northern one, where stands the royal palace fronting the Chaur800. Its external appearance is not remarkable; but it contains several courts, many buildings, and a private garden. All the bazaars, except that leading to the palace, were once planted with trees, with a narrow canal running through the middle of each. But many of the trees have withered, and the canals are now no longer visible. The city, however, is wellwatered by two large canals, drawn from the Urghundaub, which are crossed in different places by little bridges. From these canals watercourses run to almost all parts of the town. All the other streets run from the four great bazaars. Though narrow, they are all straight, and almost all cross each other at right angles. The city is divided into many mohullahs, or quarters, each of which belongs to one of the numerous tribes and nations forming the population of the place. Almost all the great Dooraunees have houses in Candahar, and some of them are said to be large and elegant. Mosques and caravanseras are numerous. The tomb of Ahmed Shah, the founder of the city and dynasty, also stands near the palace. It is not large, but it has a handsome cupola, and is elegantly painted, gilt, and variously ornamented within. It is highly venerated by all the Dooraunees, and is an asylum against all enemies, the king not even daring to touch a man who has taken refuge there. When any of the great lords are discontented, they commonly give out their intention of quitting the world, and spending their lives in prayer at this tomb. Candahar is chiefly built of brick, often with no other cement than mud. The Hindoos, as is usual, have the best houses of the common people, and adhere to their common custom of building them very high. The streets are very crowded from morning till night; and all the various trades, as at Peshawer, are carried on here, except that of water-sellers, which is here unnecessary, there being reservoirs every where, furnished with leather buckets, fitted to wooden or horned handles, for the people to draw water with. Ballad-singers and story-tellers are numerous in the bazaars ; and all articles from the west are in much greater plenty and perfection than at Peshawer. The greater part of the population are Afghauns; and the other inhabitants are Taujiks, Eimauks, Hindoos, Persians, Seistaunees, Beloochees, and a few Usbecs, Arabs, Armenians, and Jews. The gardens and orchards round the town are numerous, and there are many places of worship, where the inhabitants make parties, more for pleasure than devotion. Candahar, with the surrounding country, was usually considered a province of the Persian empire. In the days of Akbaur, both city and province were subject to the Mogul dynasty, and had been so from the time of Baber; but they were wrested from Jehan Ghir, the successor of Akbaur, by Shah Abbas the Great. In 1638 the city was betrayed into the hands of Shah Jehaun by Alinurdan Khaun, the Persian governor, who was disgusted at the cruelty and incapacity of Shah Sefi. In 1650 it was recovered by Shah Abbas II., and remained in the Persian hands till the revolt of the Ghiljies, who possessed it under their hereditary chiefs till 1737, when the celebrated Nadir Shah, having expelled the Ghiljies, and reduced the Abdallies of Heraut, besieged it in the beginning of 1736, and took it, after a siege of 18 months, by storm, put the gar

rison to the sword, put Husseyn Khaun, the Ghiljie chief, to death, and totally demolished the fortifications, and removed the inhabitants to a new site, on which he founded a new city, called, as above-mentioned, Nadirabad. On the assassination of that great conqueror in June, 1747, it fell into the hands of Ahmed Shah, and during his life-time was the capital of the Afghaun monarchy. Its travelling distance from Delhi by Caubul is 1071 miles, and 2074 miles from Calcutta.

Caubul] Is the second capital of Afghaunistaun, since the reign of Timoor Shah. This city stands in 34° 10′ N. lat. and 69° 15′ E. long., on the banks of a small stream of the same name, which a little below falls into the river of Ghiznee. The plain on which it lies is abundantly well-watered, and interspersed with walled villages. The stream divides the city, and in its vicinity are many groves and gardens, especially on the N. and W. Forster, who passed through it in 1783, describes it as a walled town of a mile and a half in circumference, and situated on the eastern side of a range of two united hills, forming a semicircle, enclosing it on three sides. There is an opening towards the E. enclosed by a rampart; and here the principal road enters through a gate, after passing a bridge over the river. The Balla-hissar, or Acropolis,' stands on the part of the hill N. of this entrance, and contains the royal palace. Balbi has fixed its population at 80,000 in his statistical table published in 1828; but the authority on which he has grounded this estimate not being there stated, it is impossible to say whether it be correct or erroneous. If the city be only a mile and a half in circumference, it cannot possibly contain so great a number, especially as, owing to the frequency of earthquakes, the houses are for the most part low, and constructed of wood. With the exception of Mr Forster, none of our countrymen have visited Caubul. But it would appear, from Elphinston's information, that several French and Germans have visited Caubul on their way from India to Europe. It must be from some such sources as these that Balbi has derived his information. The distance of Caubul from Delhi by the road is 839 miles; from Candahar 232 do.; and 1815 from Calcutta.

Peshawer.] This city was the third capital of the Dooraunee dynasty in the reign of Shah Shujah in 1810. It stands on an uneven plain, and is about 5 miles in circumference. It owes its existence to the emperor Akbaur, who encouraged the inhabitants of the Punjaub to settle here, finding the Afghauns averse to the pursuits of agriculture and commerce. The district of Peshawer is called Bekram, both in Baber and Abul Fazil. On the site where Peshawer stands were a number of cavernous excavations, collectively called Gurhkatri, originally intended by the Boodhists as so many cells for hermits of their sect. Baber says, that nowhere else, in the whole world, were such narrow and dark cells as here. This immense excavated cave was not only the abode of hermits in its numerous excavated cells, but also a place of pilgrimage to Boodhist devotees and Jogees, who cut off their hair and beards, and left them as a votive offering to the place. Peshawer, from its convenience as a connecting position between India, Afghaunistaun, and Persia, soon became of great importance both in a political and commercial respect, and subsequently it rose to be the capital of the Afghaun dominions, and the occasional residence of the Dooraunee sovereigns. The houses are generally built of brick in wooden frames, and are commonly 3 stories high, the lowest appropriated to commercial purposes. The streets are paved, but narrow, having the kennel in the centre. The mosques are numerous; but the

Balla Hissaur and a fine caravansera are the only public buildings worthy of notice. The former is a castle of no strength on a hill near the city. It contains several fine halls, commands a romantic view, and is adorned with some spacious and pleasant gardens, well described by Mr Elphinston, who visited them whilst there in 1809. Some of the palaces are splendid, but few of the nobility have houses here. The population is estimated by Elphinston at 100,000, which has been adopted by Balbi. This city is now, or was lately, garrisoned by 2 battalions of Runjeet Singh, king of Labore's troops, and was under the government of Yar Ali Mohammed, a son of Futteh Khaun, and now dependent on Runjeet Singh. This city is situated in 34° 6' N. lat. and 71° 13′ E. long. Its travelling distance from Caubul is 210 miles, and from Attock 45 miles.

Ghiznee.] This city was for nigh two centuries the capital of a potent empire, which, in the days of Sultaun Mahmood, reached from the Tigris to the Ganges, and from the Indian oceau to the laxartes. It was successively the capital of the Ghiznevides, the Gaurides, and the Kharismians. But after the destruction of the last-named dynasty, it gradually sunk into political insignificance; and in the time of Baber, 3 centuries after its capture by Jenghis Khan, it was a mean place. It consists at present of only 1500 houses, besides an extra-mural suburb. It stands on a height, the foot of which is washed by a pretty large stream, running N.E. from the Paropamisan mountains. According to Baber, the stream is large enough to drive 4 or 5 mills. The town is surrounded by a stone wall. Alaoddin Jehansus Ghoree, when he subdued this country in A. D. 1159, broke down the mound, ruined and burned the city of Ghiznee, massacred its inhabitants, and destroyed the tombs of the Ghiznevide sultauns. For seven successive days was this city devoted to plunder and carnage; and for this horrible tragedy did this Ghorian conqueror obtain the epithet of Jehansus, or he who sets the world on fire.' The tomb of the great Sultaun Mahmood still remains undamaged 3 miles from the city. It is a spacious, but not a magnificent building, covered with a cupola. The doors, which are very large, are of sandal wood, and are said to have been brought as a trophy by the sultaun from the famous temple of Sumnaut in Gujeraut, which he sacked in his last expedition to India. The tomb-stone is of white marble, on which are sculptured some Arabic verses from the Koran; and at its head lies the plain but weighty mace said to have been wielded by Mahmood himself. It is of wood, with a head of metal so heavy, that few men can use it. There are also some thrones or chairs, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, in the tomb, said also to have belonged to Mahmood. The tomb-stone is under a canopy, and some moollahs are still maintained, who incessantly read the Koran aloud over the grave. Baber declares that a man, setting out from Ghiznee at early dawn, may reach Caubul at 5 P. M. This seems incredible, if the roaddistance be 82 miles. Its position in the map of Elphinston, however, is set down solely on Forster's authority." The population of Ghiznee is given at 9000 by Balbi, which calculation is probably under than above the truth. Jellallabad, &c.] Respecting Jellallabad we can say nothing of its population, only that it is a large and populous place W. of Peshawer to the

"By a mistake in the last edition of Hamilton's Indian Gazetteer, Ghiznee is placed in 66° 57′ E. long., instead of 68° 57′, as in Elphinston's map. Its latitude is there given at 33° 10' N. It may be remarked, once for all, that not a single position, except Peshawer, is fixed by celestial observations, all being done by a calculation of routes and bearings in Elphinston's map.

S. of the Caubul river. The only account we have of Furrah is from Frazer in his appendix of routes, where we are told that Furrah is 11 days' journey S. of Heraut, that it is as large as Neeshapore, and is situated in a valley among hills, with about 20 villages and many gardens. Now Frazer does not estimate the population of Neeshapore at above 10,000, but admits that if it were peopled proportioned to its dimensions, it might contain from 30,000 to 40,000 persons. But if Furrah occupies as much ground as Neeshapore, its population may be about 40,000, independent of the villages. Subzwaur, or Isfezaur, lies, according to the same authority, 4 days' journey N. of Furrah, and 7 days' journey S. of Heraut in an extensive and well-watered plain or elevated upland, fertile, and surrounded by mountains covered with forests, and which form a western branch of the Paropamisan mass. The tract in its vicinity is highly cultivated and abounding in gardens replete with numerous and varied fruits.

III. BELOOCHISTAUN.

Name, Boundaries, and Extent.] The name of Beloochistaun, or 'the country of the Beloochees,' is comparatively modern, and was first applied to the mountainous country S. of Afghaunistaun, but has become extended of late years to the whole tract westwards to Kermaun and Laristaun, N. to Seistaun and S. to the sea, including the whole of Lus and Mekraun. Taken in this extensive sense, Beloochistaun is bounded on the S. by the Indian ocean, on the E. by Shikarpoor and Sinde, on the W. by Kermaun and Laristaun, and on the N. by Seistaun and Afghaunistaun. Sinde may, perhaps, be viewed as belonging to it, as a great part of its population are Beloochees. The maritime coast extends from Cape Jask, in 57° 55′ E. long. to Cape Monze in 66° 58′ E. long., or near 600 B. miles; but if taken from the fortress of Schwaun, washed by the Indus, at the N.E. angle of the Brahooick mountains, in 68° 7′ E. long., to Cape Jask, the length will be 615 B. miles. Its breath is from 24° 55', its extreme point, to 30° 40', its N. point; but the general breadth is from 25° to 30° N. lat., or nigh 350 B. miles, the whole containing an area of 146,000 B. square miles according to Balbi.12

12 This extensive tract corresponds to the Gedrosia of the ancients, which lay S. of Arachosia and Drangiana, and comprehended all the country from Carmania to the Indus, in their erroneous estimate of its boundaries. The name Gedrosia does not appear to have been known till the expedition of Alexander the Great; for it is not mentioned by Herodotus in his account of the 20 Satrapies of Darius Hystaspes. Though not so named, however, by that respectable historian, it is obvious that it formed the 17th Satrapy of the Persian empire for the Garicanii, as Rennel thinks, corresponded to the people of Poorah mentioned by Arrian; and the modern Fahraj, or Goorej, and the Ethiopians of Asia, to the inhabitants of Mekraun and Haur. He is, however, doubtful of the geographical situation of the Parycanii, being by no means satisfied with the meagre notices of Herodotus. The marches of Alexander throw little or no light on the subject, as he never crossed the Beloochistaun mountains, nor marched through the interior of the country, but merely along the coast, which, till his time, had never been explored, whilst the division under Craterus marched through Arachosia and Drangiana, or Candahar and Seistaun. Alexander, it appears, had heard enough of the Beloochistaun mountains and deserts to deter him from the attempt of traversing them on his route home. The interior of this region seems to have been as unknown to the Greeks as that of Africa to the moderns. They had heard, indeed, that there was such a country, and that it was mountainous and desert, and that on the mountains there lived a race somewhat resembling the Scythians in their habits and occupations; hence they denominated the eastern part of it Indoscythia, as may be seen in Ptolemy. Posterior to the Macedonian conquest, all the armies that have passed from India to Persia, and from the latter to the former-except that of Nadir Shah, who marched down the western side of the Indus, to the city of Tatta, in 1739, on his return from Delhi-have studiously avoided Beloochistaun, from the appearance of the wild and rugged mountains on the one side, and the barren deserts on the other. The Arabian army sent by the Khalif Alwalid, in the 99th year of the Hegira, marched alongst the sea shore of Kerman and Mekraun; and all the succeeding invaders of the Ghaznevide and