1840.] from Bacirian and Indo- Scythian coins. 639 



Indian language to a point beyond Jelalabad. To arrive at a con- 

 clusion, would involve the necessity of acquaintance with the 

 more minute peculiarities of those languages in their ancient 

 condition. 



Again_, the existing relics of the ancient languages in these 

 countries, admit the inference of no deduction. The Deggani lan- 

 guage in Lamghan, as well as the spoken language of Kaferis- 

 tan, may still be recognised as remnants of old Indian dialects, 

 but we do not know them so well, as to be able to make use of 

 them here. The language of the remaining ancient races of 

 western Cabulistan, the Kohistan of the present day, is entirely 

 unknown. We can therefore only say generally, that in one of 

 those dialects the remnants of the ancient Cabulian language 

 must exist, the oldest traces of which occur on the coins, but 

 without being able to decide ourselves in favour of any particular 

 dialect among them, as being the receptacle of those remains. 

 I indeed know, that some have pretended to recognise the 

 Afghans in eastern Cabul, even as early as Alexander's time ; 

 not so Mr. Elphinstone,* who rather proves their immigration 

 into Cabul at a much later period; this conjecture has originated 

 with Professor Wilken, who thinks, he recognises the Afghans 

 in the Assakanes.f If these were indeed Afghans, the Afghan 

 language would have been spoken throughout Cabul, and the 

 language of the coins must be the sources of the Pushtoo. 

 Without observing, that neither ancient authorities nor modern 

 Afghan history, admit or require this supposition, the correct 

 assertion of the learned academician himself, that the Afghans 

 belonged to the Medo-Persic tribe, is at variance wath it ; the 

 Assakanes inhabited a country, where even in the 7th century 

 A. D., an Indian language was spoken. The language of the 

 Afghans, moreover, shows an evident difference from the lan- 

 guage on the coins ; as, for instance, it substitutes like Zend, 

 z for the Indian h, zumy, winter, for himay and this z is altered 

 in the western Afghan dialect into gh^ urighu (rice) for urizu, 

 for vrihi.X 



* Account, &c. II, 10. 33. 44. 50. 56. &c. 

 t Abhandlg. der Berl. Acad. 1818-19 p. 261. 

 \ ' Ojou^tt has been introduced through Persian into Grecian language. 



