214 CHRONOGRAPHY. 



capital. After a long war, Kerreem Khan, (Kerim or Kurrim), who 

 had served under Nadir, acquired the sovereignty of Persia ; and 

 fixed his residence at Shiraz, in 1755 ; but the Shah Futteh Jlli, (or 

 Feth Aly), whose reign began in 1796, removed the capital to Tehe- 

 ran, probably in order to watch more closely the Russian frontier. 



5. The early History of Hindoo st an is very imperfectly known. 

 The war of the Pandus and Kurus, described in the Mahabharat, 

 carried on by Krishna and his brother Bali Rama, against Jara 

 Sandha, is usually dated 1391 B. C. The invasions by Sesostris, 

 Darius Hystaspes, and Alexander the Great, have been referred to 

 in the preceding sections. The latter was followed by the wars of 

 Sandracoltus, (or Chandra Gupta), who usurped the throne of Ma- 

 gadha, and whose daughter was married to Seleucus, Alexander's 

 successor in Persia, about 300 B. C. Antiochus the Great visited 

 India, and made peace with Sophagasemus, (or Shivaca Sena), about 

 120 B. C. The reign of Vicramaditya, 56 B. C., is the era from 

 which the Hindoos reckon time. From this era, the race of Bali 

 Rama, or Putras, declined, till it was superseded by Sipaca, who 

 founded the dynasty of the Jlndharas, A. D. 151. They ruled over 

 Magadha, comprehending the greater part of Hindoostan, till the 

 death of Puloman, A. D. 648 ; when the country was divided into 

 several small states. 



Next came the Mohamedan invasion, by Mahmoud, son of Sebec- 

 taghin, and king of Gazna, (Ghazna or Ghizni), who took Delhi, 

 A. D. 1011 ; and thence extended his conquests southward. His 

 dynasty was overthrown, in 1158, by Kassim Gauri, king of Gaur, 

 (Ghaour), whose successor, Jya Chandra, was in turn dethroned by 

 Shahabodien, in 1194. The empire of Gazna was divided in 1212; 

 when the Persian part became subject to Eldoze, and the Hindoo 

 part to Cuttub, (Kutub), who founded the Patan or Afghan dynasty, 

 with Delhi for its capital. This state was partially subdued by 

 Genghis Khan, in 1222 ; and was overrun by Tamerlane, (Timur 

 the Tartar), who sealed his conquests in blood, in 1397. Delhi was 

 next taken by Saber, (Babur), who founded the Mongul or Mogul 

 dynasty, in 1525. His grandson, Jlkbar, also reduced Cabul and 

 Cashmere, in 1601; and appointed nabobs to govern his numerous 

 provinces. Under *flureng Zebe, who began to reign in 1657, not- 

 withstanding the wars with Sevajee, (Savajee), chief of the Mahrattas, 

 in the south, the empire rose to its greatest glory. Delhi was again 

 taken by Nadir Shah, in 1739; and after his death it became a part 

 of Afghanistan, or East Persia, under Ahmed Mdallah ; who van- 

 quished the Mahrattas and Ghauts of the south, in 1761. From this 

 period, the Great Mogul of Delhi held only nominal power, till the 

 last who bore this title became a pensioner of the British, in 1803. 



The Portuguese settlements in Hindoostan, commenced with the 

 first voyage thither, by Vasco de Gama, in 1498. Ten years after 

 this, Albuquerque took Goa from the natives ; and the colonies grew 

 rapidly, till the union of Portugal with Spain, in 1580. The Dutch 

 soon found their way to India; and, in 1619, fixed their capital at 

 Batavia, in Java, which they still hold. By them, most of the 

 Portuguese settlements were taken, about 1060: but they, in turn, 



