1849.] Notes on the Geography of Western Afghanistan, 565 



rocks, and last, but not least, the names of all learned or religious men 

 to which the spot has given birth. All such are fully recorded, and 

 had time spared sufficient particular histories, I believe a most com- 

 plete general map could be produced. 



Moslem authors do not forge facts of science, though they often 

 misunderstand and misrepresent them ; and taking too much for granted, 

 do not sufficiently distinguish and examine ere using the statements of 

 others. More attention is paid to embellish a fact with words, tropes 

 and epithets, than to examine the correctness of the fact, or its bearing 

 to the subject under discussion. 



I believe the names of places do not change to the extent supposed; 

 and that more is traceable to the mistakes of copyists and of readers, 

 and to modern forcing of names, to suit particular theories. 



"We must also bear in mind, that the seat of the supreme authority 

 has been so often removed, that there is hardly a district in the capital 

 of which the dominant power over Southern and Western Asia has not 

 resided. From Mecca it has advanced to Kofa, Baghdad, Merve, Bo- 

 khara, Sumurkund, thence retraced its steps to Khewa, Guznee, Seestan, 

 Herat, Ardewan, Demascus, and Constantinople. Even Kara Korum, 

 in Chinese Tartary has been the residence of a mighty chief, whose 

 sway extended over the whole of Asia ; while Abewurd, Balkh, and even 

 Kundahar, are not without their claims to be considered as royal 

 residences. Hence in the various histories of these places, now lost, 

 I have no doubt could be traced ample means to fill up all the blanks 

 in all our modern maps. 



The professed works on Geography, in which recourse has been 

 taken to determine the positions of places by the means of latitude and 

 longitude, are many, and of two distinct classes ; the first class embraces 

 those of which the authors were both travellers and men of science, 

 who could determine their own position at any period by rules of 

 science, and reduce other neighbouring places to a fairly correct posi- 

 tion, such I have no doubt were Ebne Huokul and Aboo Rehan ; both 

 celebrated authorities on geography, whose original works would prove 

 treasures of great value ; Although their absolute longitudes and lati- 

 tudes are not very correct, when compared with the scientific calcula- 

 tions of modern days, still they were close approximations in the case of 

 the latitude, to the truth, — sufficiently near to answer all the required 



