calls the fort Atak-Banáras, and states that it was built in the reign of his Majesty. Baber never mentions the place, although he frequently speaks of Nilâb. Rashid-ud-din, however, states that the Parashâwar river joins the Indus near Tankur, which most probably refers to the strong position of Khairabad. I have a suspicion that the name of Attak, the "forbidden,” may have been derived by Akbar from a mistaken reading of Tankur, with the Arabic article prefixed, as Et-tankur. The name of Banaras was undoubtedly derived from Banár, the old name of the district in which the fort is situated. The name of Banâr suggested Banâras, and as Kási-Baánras was the city which all Hindus would wish to visit, so we may guess that this fact suggested to the playful mind of Akbar the exactly opposite idea of Attak Banaras or the "forbidden" Banâras, which all good Hindus should avoid. Or the existence of Katak Banáras* (or Cuttack) in Orissa, on the extreme eastern limit of his kingdom, may have suggested an alteration of the existing names of Attak and Banâr to Attak-Banaras as an antithesis for the extreme west.

Wehand, or Uhand as I believe it should be written, was the capital of the Brahman kings of Kabul, whose dynasty was extinguished by Mahmud of Ghazni in A.D. 1026. Masudi, who visited India in A.D. 915, states that "the king of El-kandahar (or Gândhâra), who is one of the kings of Es-Sind ruling over this country, is called Jahaj; this name is common to all sovereigns of that country."+ Now, Chach is the name

*Ayin Akbari,' ii. 194, and Stirling's 'Orissa,' in Bengal Asiat Researches, xv. 189.

Sir Henry Elliot's 'Muhammadan Historians of India,' i. 57. In

of the great plain to the east of the Indus, immediately opposite to Ohind; and as the plain of Banár is said to have been named after Raja Banár, it seems probable that the plain of Chach may have been named after the Brahman dynasty of Ohind. It is curious that the Brahman dynasty of Sindh was also established by a Chach in A.D. 641; but it is still more remarkable that this date corresponds with the period of the expulsion of the Brahman dynasty from Chichito, or Jajhoti, by the Chandels of Khajurâ. I think, therefore, that there may have been some connection between these events, and that the expelled Jajhotiya Brahmans of Khajurâ may have found their way to the Indus, where they succeeded in establishing themselves at first in Sindh and afterwards in Ohind and Kabul.

In the time of Hwen Thsang the city was 20 li, or upwards of 3 miles, in circuit, and we may reasonably suppose that it must have increased in size during the sway of the Brahman dynasty. It would seem also to have been still a place of importance under the successors of Changiz Khan, as the Mogals had changed its name to Kârajâng. But the building of Attak, and the permanent diversion of the high-road, must seriously have affected its prosperity, and its gradual decay since then has been hastened by the constant encroachments of the Indus, which has now carried away at least one-half of the old town.* In the sands at the foot of the cliff, which are mixed with the débris of the ruined houses, the gold-washers find numerous coins and trinkets, which offer the best evidence of the

the new edition by Professor Dowson, i. 22, the name is altered to Hahaj. * See No. IV. Map for its position.

former prosperity of the city. In a few hours' washing I obtained a bronze buckle, apparently belonging to a bridle, a female neck ornament, several flat needles for applying antimony to the eyes, and a considerable number of coins of the Indo-Scythian and Brahman princes of Kabul. The continual discovery of IndoScythian coins is a sufficient proof that the city was already in existence at the beginning of the Christian era, which may perhaps induce us to put some faith in the tradition, mentioned by Abul Feda, that Wehand, or Ohind, was one of the cities founded by Alexander the Great.

After the surrender of Peukelaotis, Arrian* relates that Alexander captured other small towns on the river Kophenes, and "arrived at last at Embolima, a city scated not far from the rock Aornos," where he left Kraterus to collect provisions, in case the siege should be protracted. Before he left Bazaria, Alexander, with his usual foresight, had despatched Hephæstion and Perdikkas straight to the Indus with orders to "prepare everything for throwing a bridge over the river." Unfortunately, not one of the historians has mentioned the name of the place where the bridge was made; but as the great depôt of provisions and other necessaries was formed at Embolima, I conclude that the bridge must have been at the same place. General Abbott has fixed Embolima at AmbBalima on the Indus, 8 miles to the east of Mahâban; and certainly if Mahâban was Aornos the identity of the other places would be incontestable. But as the identification of Mahâban seems to me to be altogether untenable, I would suggest that Ohind or Ambar-Ohind * 'Anabasis,' iv. 28.

inferred, with some certainty, that the place is at least as old as the time of Pânini himself, or about B.C. 350. I have, therefore, no hesitation in identifying Sâlâtura with Lahor. The loss of the first syllable of the name is satisfactorily accounted for by the change of the palatal sibilant to the aspirate, according to the well-known usage of the people of western India, by whom the Sindhu river was called Hendhu and Indus, and the people on its banks Hindus or Indians; Sâlâtura would, therefore, have become Hálátura and Alátur, which might easily have been corrupted to Lahor; or, as General Court writes the name, to Lavor.

Aornos.

In describing the countries to the west of the Indus I must say a few words on the much vexed question of the position of Aornos. In 1836 General Court wrote as follows:-"As relates to Aornos, it is probably the castle which was opposite Attak, and the vestiges of which we see upon the summit of the mountain. Its foundation is attributed to Raja Hodi."* In 1848 I suggested that the "vast hill fortress of Ráni-gat, situated immediately above the small village of Nogrâm, about 16 miles north by west from Ohind, corresponded in all essential particulars with the description of Aornos, as given by Arrian, Strabo, and Diodorus; excepting in its elevation, the height of Ráni-gat not being more than 1000 feet, which is, however, a very great elevation for so large a fortress." In 1854 General James Abbott

* Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1836, p. 395.

† Ibid., 1848, p. 103.