484 Lassen on the History traced [No. 101. 



the east. A pass leads in an easterly direction from Bamian 

 into the valley of Gurbend ; Baber has described this defile ;* 

 I refer for this to the corrected map of Burnes 5 200 lis north- 

 wards from the capital are the great snowy mountains, conse- 

 quently the Hindookush, so that the capital cannot be Cabul, 

 as Mr. Landresse conjectures. It was then (632 a. d.) an 

 independent empire, to which some neighbouring states were 

 subjected ; we know this fact already of Nakie. There was 

 the old kingdom of the Gandharas, not perhaps of the Indians, 

 but of the Scythians, who took afterwards possession of the In- 

 dian Gandhara. Ptolemy places the town Kapisa two and a 

 half degrees northwards from Kabura, and Pliny, f (VI. 25. 23) 

 when numbering the countries westward from the Indus says, 

 " a proximis Indo gentibus montana Capissene habuit Capis- 

 sam urbem, quam diruit Cyrus P 



It is undoubtedly the Kiapiche of the Chinese. 



This district is indeed not assigned to India, but most of the 

 places, the names of which are cited by Hiuan Thsang, can be 

 derived from Sanscrit roots. The mountain Pilosolo, (steady as 

 an elephant,) is Pilusdra ; but this very term for ie elephant" is 

 considered as introduced into Sanscrit from another language. J 

 I only mention this in order to recall the affinity observable 

 here to an Indian language. 



When Hiuan Thsang leaving IndiaJ on his pilgrimage had 

 passed the snowy mountains, he descended for three journeys, 

 and reached Anthalofo. This is Anderab in the Balkh. On the 

 southern side, the furthest state is Foelichisatangna{$thkxid), 

 where a Turkish family reigned in the capital Houphina. Baber 

 made his first march to Cabul from the north through the Pan- 

 ghir or Kip-chak pass. He says., " On arriving at the top of 

 the pass, Upian or Hupian, I saw for the first time the star 

 Soheil.§" This statement determines Houphina. 



Below Houphina the empire Thsaokiutho was situated, attach- 

 ed in Hiuan Thsang' s time to Kiapiche ; it was therefore in the 

 valley of the Panjhir river. Here also he makes mention of 



* Denkwuerdigk, p. 363. 

 f De pentap. Ind. p. 84. 

 t p. 395. § p. 26'. 





