1836.] Conjectures on the march of Alexander. 391 



and he himself pursued that which led to Lagman, and which an- 

 swers the historical description, being very rugged and mountainous, 

 but still such as to allow the cavalry to penetrate through it. From 

 thence he could give assistance to that division of his army which 

 were detached towards Peucelaotis. 



"Whilst pursuing this train of supposition, 1 cannot help observing 

 that the Macedonian conqueror must of necessity have passed through 

 Cdbul ; for its geographical position is so brilliant, so advantageous, 

 that it is a military position which we cannot but suppose that he 

 noticed, and therefore traversed it. 



It is then only the more unaccountable, that to this day that no 

 geographer has been able to ascertain the ancient name of this town, 

 the foundation of which the inhabitants attribute to Keikobad. From 

 the fertility and luxuriance of this territory, I am led to think that it 

 must be the same as Cabura or Ortospanum, of which Barbie' du 

 Bocage speaks, describing it as " a town situated upon the route 

 which led from the Alexandria of the Areians to India, and which was 

 not very far from the Paropamisan Alexandria." 



Rennel's opinion appears to be erroneous when he says, that the 

 Cow-mul of Baber Shah is the same as the Cophenes, the principal 

 branches of which, he adds, are rivers flowing from the Ghazni and 

 Guerdiz ; for the river Ghazni, according to the account given by 

 its neighbouring inhabitants, empties itself into a lake which is 

 situated at the south of Moukkor, in the canton of Zermele. As 

 to the branch called the Guerdiz, it is no other than a narrow 

 stream, and can scarcely be denominated a river. On the other hand, 

 he adds, that the river of Cophenes was defined as the eastern boun- 

 dary of the province of Paropamisus, of which Alexandria was the 

 capital. I must observe, that from the direction the Cow takes in its 

 course, it goes too far southward of the Paropamisus to form its 

 eastern boundary ; what he says there seems to have a more just refer- 

 ence to the province of Arachosia. 



I am very tenacious, then, of my opinion, that the Cophenes must 

 be the same as the river of Cdbul. This river has its source in the 

 country of the Hazares, betwixt Bamian and Cdbul ; it has its fall in 

 the mountains of Meidan, through which runs the road which leads 

 from Cdbul to Balkh ; from thence it traverses Cdbul, and receives 

 below this town the river of Sheikabad, which also takes its source 

 from the Hazarh ; a little lower still it is enlarged by its junction 

 with the Panje-shir ; this takes place at the spot called Teng-carun. 

 From thence it proceeds in its course through a mountainous part of 

 the country, and empties itself in the western extremity of the valley 



