AFGHANISTAN". 



3 



Dufton, " Narrative of a Journey through Abys- 

 sinia ; " the works of Hotton, Chandler, Plow- 

 den, Peacock, Abbadie, Lejean, Dr. H. Blanc's 

 "Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia," etc. 

 (London, 1868) ; Markham, "A History of the 

 Abyssinian Expedition " (London, 1869. Mr. 

 Markham accompanied the expedition as official 

 geographer); Prideau, "A Journey through 

 the Soudan and "Western Abyssinia " (London, 

 1869); Stern, " The Captive Missionary " (Lon- 

 don, 1869); Hozier, "The British Expedition 

 to Abyssinia" (London, 1869). 



The following works of German missionaries 

 and smants on Abyssinia are the most impor- 

 tant: Heuglin's "Reise nach Abyssinien," in 

 1861-'62 (Jena, 1868); also his "Reise zu 

 Kaiser Theodoras " (1862) ; E. Andree's 

 "Abyssinia" (Leipsic, 1868); Th. Waldmeier 

 (pilgrim-missionary), " Erlebnisse in Abyssinien 

 in 1858-'68," prefaced by Dr. L. Krapf (Basle, 

 1869); T. M. Flad, "Zwolf Jahre in Abys- 

 ( sinien, oder Geschichte des Konigs Theodor's 

 II. und der Mission unter seiner Regierung " 

 (Basle, 1869); Rohlfs "Im Auftrage sr. Maj. 

 des Konigs von Preussen mit dem Englischen 

 Expeditions-corps in Abyssinien " (Bremen, 

 1869) ; Count of Seckendorff, " Meine Erleb- 

 nisse mit dem Englischen Expeditions-corps in 

 Abyssinien " .(Potsdam, 1869); Lieutenant F. 

 Stumm, under the same title (Frankfort, 1868). 



An interesting work on the Abyssinian Jews 

 (Falasha) has been published by the German 

 missionary, Flad, "Kurze Schilderung der 

 bisher fast ganz unbekannten Abessinischen 

 Juden" (Basle, 1869). The author, by a long 

 sojourn among the Falashas, was fully compe- 

 tent to give trustworthy information on the 

 life, the manners, and customs, of that inter- 

 esting tribe. The chief subjects of the book 

 are their origin, country, physical constitution, 

 food, and occupation, religious service, sacri- 

 fices, monks, nuns, priests, prophets, magicians, 

 festivals, purification-laws, books, betrothals, 

 wedding, marriage, death, and burial. The 

 Falashas, according to Flad, inhabit the fol- 

 lowing fourteen provinces: Semia, Vogera, 

 Armatshoho, Valkait, Tchelga, Dembea, Da- 

 gusa, Tankel, Atafa, Kunsula, Wandigio, At- 

 schafer, Agau-meder, and Quara. Since 1862, 

 a few hundred families have been living in 

 Shire, and, after the plundering of Dembea, in 

 1863, many families have emigrated to Begem- 

 der, Lasta, and Bellessa. As to their number, 

 only an estimate can be given ; according to 

 Flad, they, may amount to two hundred thou- 

 sand souls. 



AFGHANISTAN, the Persian name of the 

 land of the Afghans. This country is acquiring 

 a great importance in consequence of its connec- 

 tion with the approaching solution of the Cen- 

 tral Asian question {see ASIA). It has an area 

 estimated at 225,000 English square miles; it 

 rises toward the northeast to more than 6,000 

 feet above the sea, and sinks to 1,600 feet tow- 

 ard the southwest. It is bounded on the north 

 by the Hindoo Koosh, the Kohi-Baba, and the 



Ghoor mountain-ranges. On the east the deso- 

 late range of Takht-i-Suleiman separates Af- 

 ghanistan from India. The river Cabool flows 

 through the eastern mountains, and empties 

 into the Indus. Owing to the diversified eleva- 

 tion of the land, its climatic character offers 

 striking contrasts ; the protected valleys pro- 

 ducing various fruits, tobacco, and cotton, while 

 snow-storms rage in the northern highlands. 

 Bears, wolves, and foxes, are found, besides 

 lions, tigers, and camels. The mountains seem 

 to abound in valuable minerals and metals, 

 such as iron, lead, gold, and sulphur. The 

 number of inhabitants is variously estimated at 

 from 5,000,000 to 9,000,000. The Afghans be- 

 long to the Iranic race, and are divided into an 

 eastern and a western group. Of a vigorous 

 and proud temper, they appear disinclined to 

 amalgamation, though they have been, of late, 

 politically united. War is their element. 



The present ruler of Afghanistan, Shere Ali, 

 is the son of the powerful and energetic Dost 

 Mohammed, the ally of England, and the con- 

 queror of Herat, the key to India. Shere Ali 

 succeeded him in 1863. He concluded peace 

 with Persia, but Afghanistan soon fell again a 

 prey to discord and civil war, which ended in 

 January, 1869, after Shere Ali had completely 

 routed his adversaries. 



Afghanistan is not so much threatened by 

 the savage tribes of Central Asia as by England 

 and Russia, both of which desire the possession 

 of Herat. Shere Ali owes his success in part to 

 English subsidies in money and arms, for the fall 

 of Samarcand, and the Russian advance toward 

 the Oxus, made it an imperative necessity for 

 England to acquire a trustworthy ally and friend 

 at the gates of India. The grand reception of the 

 Afghan ruler in British India, and his confer- 

 ence with Lord Mayo at Umballa, in March, 

 1869, created a great sensation in Persia and 

 Russia. England recognized him formally as 

 the sovereign of Afghanistan. In order to 

 strengthen his power in the interior, Shere Ali 

 introduced various changes, the most impor- 

 tant of which is the reduction of his former 

 allies to the status of subjects. It would seem, 

 however, as if the plans of Russia had a greater 

 chance of success. The conquests of the gen- 

 erals Kaufmann and Abramo w have changed the 

 Emir of Bokhara from a bitter enemy to a de- 

 voted vassal to Russia, and opened the way to 

 the very gates of Afghanistan. The relations 

 of Russia to Persia secure to her the influence 

 of Nasredin-Shah, who recently concluded a 

 kind of compromise with Shere Ali by which 

 a portion of Afghan Sustan has been ceded to 

 the Persians, who erected, immediately, some 

 forts on the eastern shore of the Lake Zare, 

 while the Russians are building roads to Bu - 

 dukshan and Balkh. Iskender-Khan, the legiti- 

 mate heir of Herat, has been taken to St. Peters- 

 burg by General Kaufmann, and entered the 

 Russian army, in the hope of reobtaining his 

 paternal inheritance by Russian assistance. 



The literature on the history and geography 



