560 Notes on the Geography of Western Afghanistan, [June, 



Northern, and Imaus the Eastern and Southern branch of the grand 

 Hemalayan chain. The whole of Pliny's references to these parts bear 

 the appearance of an assemblage in a common-place book of all that 

 could be found relating to them in other works. 



Mistaking places of the same or nearly the same name, but of 

 entirely different locality, has led to much confusion, of which the 

 following appears to me an instance. " On the borders of Bactria, 

 conterminous with India, is the district of Choarene, the nearest coun- 

 try to India occupied by the Parthians ; according to Strabo it is 1900 

 stadii from Ariana, and yet he says Craterus marched through it on 

 his way from India, to the country of the Arachoti, which would 

 bring it within the limits of Ariana itself. The statements are clearly 

 incompatible, and it is not easy to conjecture a situation for a province 

 of which no other notice occurs." Such is an extract from Wilson's 

 Ariana. But if we accept Bactria for Bakhtur, as considered by 

 Moslem authors ; including Gurmsail and the countries N. W. of the 

 Helmund, and read Kharan for Choarene, we have a province which 

 shall fulfill all these required conditions. 



The Nuzuhut-ol-Kuloob of Humdallah Kuzweenee, gives the following 

 routes and distances : — 



The Wurameen of maps — once a large town of Rue. 

 The Dur may have reference to Pylce. 



Rue 





Dure ameen,. 



. 6 



Khawur, .. 



. 12 



Ras-al-Kulb, 



. 12 



Semnan, . . 



. 10 



Damghan, . 



. 20 



Bostam, . . 



. 13 



Jajurum, . . 



. 23 



Neshapore, 



. 42 



Boochegan, . 



. 38 



Herat 



. 30 



Supposed to be Hecatompylos. 



Polybius says Hecatomphilos takes its name, " for that all the pas= 

 sages of the neighbouring countries join there ;" now Humdallah makes 

 two roads from Khorasan unite near Damghan ; but from Bostam he 

 carries off the grand northern road to Kharism, which is more in the 

 sense of Polybius. From Bostam to Herat is 133 Fursukhs x 4.25 = 





