556 Note on the Passes into Hindoostan [No. 126. 



The subsequent expeditions into India from Ghuzni, being in support 

 of the dominion thus established at Lahore, and extended afterwards 

 to Dehli, and even into the Dukhun, were not hostile in their traverse 

 of the passes of Afghanistan. 



The overwhelming irruption of Chungeez Khan, is therefore the next 

 event in history to be noticed in connexion with these passes. 



Chungeez Khan is said to have brought from Mongolia as many as 

 700,000 fighting men, and his army must have been immense, for de- 

 tachments from it made expeditions, exceeding in daring and skill, every 

 thing we read of since the march of Alexander to India. He entered 

 by Toorkistan, where his son Joojee Khan, with an advance guard, 

 fought with such determination the whole army of Mohummed Shah 

 of Kharizm, as to induce that prince to yield the open plain, and betake 

 himself to the defence of his cities and fortresses. The principal seats 

 of this king's dominion were in Mawur-ool-Nuhur, that is, in the 

 country between the Oxus and Jaxartes, (the Amoo and Sir rivers,) 

 but the whole country from Ghuzni and Kabool, to the mouths of the 

 Wolga, owed him fealty and allegiance, direct or tributary. 



Chungeez Khan advanced himself to Bokhara, sending two de- 

 tachments under his sons to take Otrar, the principal city on the 

 Jaxartes on his right, and Khojund and other places in Furghana on his 

 left. He was rejoined by them at Bokhara, after they had reduced all 

 the places on that river, so as to secure that base for future operations. 

 In a. d. 1219, Chungeez reduced and utterly destroyed Bokhara, 

 Samarkund, and Bulkh, and while he proceeded against the last named 

 place, passing by and destroying Turmuz, he detached two of his sons 

 against the capital of Kharizm, then called Orgunj, which they reduced 

 after a long siege of seven months. He had thus the whole line of the 

 Oxus at command. His generals had some years before overrun the 

 whole of Kashghur and Yarkund, and had followed up and slain the 

 chief of the hostile tribes of that region at Sir Kool, the source of the 

 Oxus, so that his flanks were quite secure. 



From Samarkund, Chungeez had detached a strong army, stated 

 at 80,000 horse, to follow Mohummed Shah into Persia. This de- 

 tachment admitted Merv, then a place of great consideration, to a 

 composition, and advanced to Herat. The governor, Khan Malik, 

 submitted, and two of Chungeez Khan's generals, Zena or Juna- 



