292 RAWLINSON ON SOUTHERN PERSIA. [Feb. 9, 1857. 



sitting down, that all the rivers running through the country of 

 Susiana have at one time or other changed their courses. It was 

 suggested, I think, by Mr. Loftus, on a previous occasion, that some 

 of these rivers seemed to have formerly run in different beds ; but 

 I would go much farther, and undertake to prove historically 

 that one and all the rivers have changed their courses, and that 

 these physical changes have given rise to much political confusion. 

 For instance, the original course of the river Kariin was through 

 Guhan to the sea, and it was mainly owing to a great dam being 

 erected at Sabla to raise the water of the river for the pui-pose of 

 irrigation, that it came across and joined the Bahmishir. I am now 

 speaking of later times ; but Alexander is said, in antiquity, to have 

 dug a canal from the Pasitigris to the Euphrates, along the line which 

 has again recently become the river bed. The course of the Kariin 

 through Guban, was the original frontier between Persia and Turkey ; 

 but the river, having changed its course, is still regarded as the 

 frontier, and the Persians, in consequence, have got a large acces- 

 sion of territory, to which they have no political right. If you refer 

 indeed to the old maps, you will see that Persia has no right either 

 to the Guban territory or to the Island of Abadan. I do not re- 

 member that I have anything further to state on the geography of 

 this part of the country. I see many gentlemen present who have 

 travelled over the same regions, and who possess, no doubt, much 

 information on the subject. I shall be happy both to listen to 

 them, and, if required, to answer any questions. 



General Monteith, f.r.g.s. — I am not by any means so well informed on 

 the subject as Sir Henry Eawlinson, but I was directed by Sir John Malcolm, 

 in the fii'st instance, to proceed to Shuster, to trace the river Karun, and par- 

 ticularly to visit the ruins of Susa. We marched by land along the shores of 

 the Persian Gulf to Bassorah by Rohilla, Rig Gunnowa, Hissar, Delim, 

 Shebulsha, Endecan Mashur, and Darak, the capital of the Chab Sheik's 

 territories ; from thence traced the Karun to Shuster, and visited Desfnl 

 and the ruins of Susa. Another object was to see by what routes the 

 French, who were then expected to make the attempt, might advance on 

 India. The principal route is that which Alexander is supposed to have fol- 

 lowed. It leads from Shuster, through the valley of Hormuz, to Persepolis. 

 There is a desert destitute of water for about eighty miles from the Karun to 

 Ram-Hormuz, The people of the country have"a tradition that a settlement 

 from this place established themselves on the island of Ormuz, at the mouth 

 of the Persian Gulf, which afterwards became so renowned for its wealth and 

 commerce. I cannot say much for the road up the valley of Hormuz, leading 

 through rice swamps, but the valley is beautifully cultivated. The passes 

 there would be practicable for artillery with very little trouble, being only 

 separated from the plain of Babahoon by a low range of hills. Ihe celebrated 

 pass, which was forced by Alexander, can be distinctly recognised about 10 or 

 12 miles from the Kalai-sefid. That Kalai-sefid I ascended, and remained 

 there for two or three days. . It is the most singular place I ever saw, and rises 

 1500 feet above the level, and abounds in springs all round it. An artificial 



