' 
592 
Guzerat. lying between the gulfs of Cutch and Cambay ; but 
History. 
Aspect. 
‘the’ province*of Cutch on the west, Malwah and Khan- 
» of these again into districts or pergunnas, 
t stretches’ far inland towards the north-east, having 
desh on the east, Aurungabad on the south, and Agi- 
mere or Ajimeer on the north. | It‘! was one of the 11 
soubahs, * into which Akbar divided Hindostan; and 
is understood to have, at that time, extended south- 
ward as far as Damaun. It contained nine circars, 
namely, Guzerat proper, or Ahmedabad; Putten; Na- 
dowt; Behrodeh, or Baroda; Behroatch, or Baroche ; 
Chumpaneer; Kodehra; and Sorat. ‘These were sub- 
divided into 198 pergunnas, of which thirteen ¢on- 
tained sea ports. ‘The whole Soubah furnished 67,375 
cavalry, and 8900 infantry ; and, in the reign of Au- 
rungzebe, the amount of its revenue was equivalent 
to £1,800,000 sterling. 
Guzerat ‘was subdued in 975 by the Afghans or Pa- 
tans, a hardy race, from the mountainous regions be- 
tween Persia and Hindostan, who established the ex- 
tensive empire of Ghizni, and maintained their autho- 
rity till the end of the thirteenth century, when the 
Moguls commenced their ravages. In the fifteenth 
century, it was governed as an independent kingdom, 
by a dynasty of Rajpoot princes, who had adopted the 
Mahommedan religion, and removed the seat of go- 
vernment from the ancient capital Nehrwallah to Ah- 
medabad. In 1572, it was reduced by the emperor 
Akbar ; and was, at that period, in a flourishing state 
| as a maritime and commercial country. In the begin- 
ning of the 18th century, after the death of Aurung- 
zebe, many of the more distant provinces renounced 
their allegiance to the Mogul emperor ; and the gover- 
nor of Ahmedabad and Cambay following these. ex- 
amples, assumed the sovereignty of that part of Guze- 
rat. About the middle of the 18th century, it was 
conquered by the Mahrattas under Ragonauth Row ; 
and its nabob Mohman Khan, took refuge in Cambay, 
where he held a small territory subject to the payment 
of an annual tribute to the Mahrattas. The capital was 
taken from the Mahrattas by general Goddard in 1779; 
but for political reasons was ceded to Futty Singh, a 
Hindoo chieftain, and at the end of ‘the war in 1783 
was restored to the Mahratta government. ‘The more 
civilized and cultivated districts are at present posses- 
sed by the East India Company, the Guicowar and the 
Peishwa. The territories of the Company comprehend 
a considerable extent of country on both sides of the 
Gulf of Cambay ; and include the populous cities’ of 
Surat, Baroche, Cambay, and Gogo. The sea-coast, 
from the Gulf of Cambay to the river Indus, is occu- 
pied by different independent chiefs, who are generally 
addicted to piracy, and are kept only in awe by the naval 
superiority of the British. The northern, western, and 
even central quarters of the provinee, have been but 
recently explored, and are overrun, or rather occupied, 
by numerous tribes of armed banditti, who are thieves 
not so much by profession as by nation. 
The province of Guzerat, in its general aspect, is flat 
and unvaried. In many places, not the smallest stone 
is to be seen ; and there is scarcely a rising ground in 
the whole district to the west of Powagur, the name of 
the mountain by which it is separated from the interi- 
or of Hindostan. . It is more hilly. towards the eastern 
frontier, and much covered with jungle. Much of the 
more level’tracts is either an arid sandy country, or a 
saline swamp of a singular description, which, even 
* Akbar divided Hindostan into eleven soubahs, 
GUZERAT. 
‘face is apparently smooth to 
when dried up, 
ctive. 
eon tied. epepitdaediiehsashen 
sected by ravines, of contains e extent and depth, 
which in the rainy season are filled with rapid torrents, 
and cannot be crossed without the assistance of rafts or 
boats. 
r, asteep and rocky height, ing the Table 
Land of the Cape of Good Hope, but a seri more 
lofty. On its summit is at d, deemed im- 
regnable, and supposed to be the Tiagura of Pto- 
emy. ” 
Chiktitet is watered by several rivers, of which 
which takes 
and, 
tain of Pindara, near the north-east corner of E 
and proceeding westwards about 640 miles, terminates 
its course on the east coast of the Gulf of Cambay ; 
and the Taptee, which descends from the mountains 
of Burhanpour, and after a course of above 320 miles, 
nearly parallel to that of the Nerbudda, falls into the 
sea belie Surat. These larger rivers are ordinarily 
extremely gentle and pellucid ; but begin to swell some 
time before the rain falls in the m8 countries ; and 
then become furiously rapid, frequently sweeping away 
whole villages, with the inhabitants and their cattle. 
In the rainy season, the mountain torrents swell the 
smallest streams in a wonderful manner, so as to make 
them rise ina few hours 20 or po mergers. usual 
level. In the dry season, nevertheless, a great scarci~ 
ty of water is experienced in many places, especially 
in the sandy soil to the north of the Myhi river, where 
the periodical ‘rains are speedily absorbed, and wells 
must be dug to the depth of 80 and 100 feet. 
remains in a great measure sterile and Gi 
In those places, also, where the sur- ™ 
¥ 
- The rainy season sets in with the south-west mone Clima 
soon before the middle of June, accompanied with 
tempestuous weather, and continues with more or less 
violence about four months. The greatest quantity of 
rain always falls in July ; yet in the province of Gu- 
zerat, there is not so much rain during the wet season 
as there is at Bombay, and the southern of the Ma- 
labar coast. In December, January, and February, the 
mornings and evenings are cold and sharp, and some- 
times ice has been seen at Surat in the month of Janua- 
At this period the thermometer is frequently un- 
der 60° at sun-rise, and ee ot 70° Po noon ; 
and the weather throughout the whole day 1s see xed 
and agreeable. But, he succeeding months, during 
the prevalence of the hot winds, though the morning 
may be tolerably cool, the thermometer gradually rises 
from 70° to 100°; and in the plains near Cambay, has 
been observed at 116° in the soldiers’ tents. During 
the hot and dry months, the surface of the country is 
covered with sand or dust; and, in the rainy season, 
becomes a thick mire, and often a sheet of water. 
The soil is generally sandy or marshy ; but, in 
cultivated districts, is a‘reddish light earth, or a, rich 
black mould, both of which are highly fertile — 
ductive. Except for the richer crops, manure is seldom 
required ; and the dung of the cow-house is then the 
or grand divisions; each of these into smaller provinces called circars; and each 
A twelith was afterwards added, formed of countries west of the Indus. . 
the coi 
P 
tions. 
