58 



INDIA. 



Sututlc*. 

 TbePtuh- 



The Gui- 

 cow. 



Nabob of 



OuJc. 



Tlajahof 



' 



The Stiks. 



Hjhpoot 

 princts. 



Scindiah, Holkar, and Uie Guicowar, were established 

 and recognised. The territories of the 1'aishwah are by 

 no means extensive ; they lie in Guzerat, where they are 

 much intermixed with those of the British ; above the 

 Ghauts, to the north and west of Poonah ; and in the 

 provinces of Bejapoor, Aurungabad, and Allahabad. 

 Poonah is his capital: he is still the nominal head of 

 the Mahrattas. The Mahratta chieftain, known by the 

 family name of the Guicowar, possesses the northern 

 districts of Guzerat ; his capital is Brodrah ; he is also 

 an ally of the British. The Nabob of Oude is com- 

 pletely dependent upon the British ; a great part of his 

 dominions having been ceded by him to them, and 

 they also having the right of interfering at pleasure in 

 the administration of his remaining provinces. The 

 districts of Lucknow and Oude still belong to the Na- 

 bob ; the city of Lucknow is his capital and residence. 

 The Mysore Rajah's dominions .are divided into three 

 great districts, one of which alone contains a greater 

 extent of territory than was originally subject to his 

 family. The Rajahs of Cochin and Travancore, who 

 are also tributaries to the British, possess the territories 

 already described under the geographical divisions of 

 Cochin and Travancore. 



Scindiah is one of the most powerful independent 

 princes of Hindostan ; the greater part of the province 

 of Malwah belongs to him : Oojain is the capital of his ' 

 dominions. The Rajah of Nagpoor, the chief of the 

 Berar Mahrattas, possesses the greater part of the an- 

 cient Hindoo province of Gundwana ; his territories 

 bordering on Bengal, the Northern Circars, and the 

 Nizam possessions in the Decan. Over this extensive 

 tract of country he has a nominal territory ; but his ac- 

 tual power does not reach much beyond the vicinity of 

 his capital, Nagpoor. 



The Seiks inhabit and possess the territory that ex- 

 tends from 28 40', to 32 20' North Lat. comprehend- 

 ing the whole of the Punjab, a part of Multan, and 

 those districts of the province of Delhi which lie be- 

 tween the rivers Jumnah and the Sutlege. Their do- 

 minions are bounded on the north by Caubul ; on the 

 east by the territories of some petty Rajahs in the moun- 

 tainous parts of Lahore ; on the south by the British 

 provinces, and on the west by Caubul. The Seiks be- 

 tween the Jumnah and Sutlege are called Malawah 

 Singhs; those bordering on the Indus, Sinde Singhs; and 

 those residing in the province of Multan, Nakai Singhs. 

 The province of Sinde is almost entirely possessed by 

 five Ameers, or noblemen of the Talpoony family ; that 

 part of the province which is, properly speaking, in 

 Hindostan, is governed by Meer Sohrab, and his bro- 

 ther Meer Thora ; the districts subject to the authority 

 of the former are situated on the north-east quarter of 

 Sind; those belonging to the latter lie more to the 

 south, on the eastern banks of the Indus ; these brothers, 

 however, are subject to the authority of another Meer, 

 who has the title of hakim, or ruler of Sinde, and is re- 

 garded as the head of the government. The domi- 

 nions of the Rajahpoot princes are situated on the north- 

 west side of Hindostan, and principally in the central 

 division of the province of Ajmeer. The eastern quar- 

 ter of this division is subject to the Rajah of Jegenajur; 

 the south eastern to the Rajahs of Kotah, Boonde, and 

 other chiefs tributary to the Mahrattas ; the western 

 parts to the Rajah of Joudpoor, and the south western 

 to the Rana of Odeypoor. 



The following Table, given by Mr Hamilton, exhi- 

 bits, at one view, the extent of territory possessed by 

 the different modern rulers of Hindostan; it will be ob. 



served, however, that it comprehends Northern Hin- Statistics, 

 dostan, the description of jvhich does not fall within the S " "Y""'' 

 scope of this article. ^ 



Geographical Square 

 Miles. 



Bengal, Bahar, and Benares 162,000 



Acquisitions in Hindostan Proper, and Oris- 



sa, since 1799 60,000 



Under the Bengal presidency . . . 222,000 



Under the Madras do 125,000 



Under the Bombay do 10,000 



Total of British Hindostan 



357,000 



British Allies and Tributaries. 



The Nizam . . - 76,000 



The Paishwah and Guicowar 53,000 



Nabob of Oude 13,000 



Mysore Rajah 22,000 



Travancore and Cochin Rajahs 5,000 



Total under British jurisdiction and influence 526,000 



Independent Principalities. 

 Under the dominion and influence of Scindiah, 



Holkar, and other Mahratta chiefs . . . 75,000 



Ditto of the Nagpoor Rajah 58,000 



Ditto of the Lahore Rajah and the Seiks . 54,000 



Under the Rajahpoot chiefs ; the Ameers of 

 Sinde ; the Caubul and Cashmere govern- 

 ments, the Rajahs of Bootan, &c. . . . 



776,000 



Total of Hindostan 1,020,000 



The first notice of India by the ancient authors is Progressive 

 given by Herodotus : Prior to the invasion of that coun- g e g ra P h J'- 

 try by Darius Hystaspes, the Persian monarch sent Scy- Herodotu?. 

 lax of Caryandra to trace the course of the Indus, and 

 ascertain the place where it discharged itself into the 

 sea. From his account, Herodotus was supplied with 

 his knowledge of India, but it evidently does not ex- 

 tend beyond the sandy tract which lies east of the 

 Indus and south of the Punjab. 



The conquests of Alexander supply us with the next Alexander 

 step in the progressive geography of this country ; he the Great, 

 is generally supposed to have crossed the Indus at At- 

 tock ; but Major Wilford is of opinion that he crossed 

 at the ferry of Torbeilam, a few miles to the south of 

 Attock : from the east side of the Indus, he advanced 

 to the Acesines or Chunaub, which he crossed, and also 

 the Hydraotes or Rauvy. After this 'he deviated from 

 the direct road leading to the Ganges, and advanced in 

 a south-westerly route to Sangala; from this place 

 he turned again to the east, and reached the Hyphasis 

 Beyah. This was the limit of his march ; and cense- 

 quently the information which Arrian and other his- 

 torians afford reespcting India, derived from his vic- 

 tories, does not extend beyond this tract of country; 

 that is about 200 miles across the Punjab, or the mo- 

 dern province of Lahore, and the countries which, on 

 his .return, Alexander traversed from Multan to the 

 sea. 



Our first knowledge of the Ganges is derived from Megas . 

 Megasthenes, who was sent ambassador by Seleucus to t h enes . 

 Chandragupta or Sandracottus, king of the Prasii : the 



