1850.] On the Ghassdnite Kings. 469 



my specific name Affinis can stand as equally applicable to the sup- 

 posed Morungian, and to the known Tibetan, animal ; or, the Shou can 

 be denominated Tibetanus, if considered distinct from the Morungian 

 species, of which there is a fine sample in the British Museum. 



I have already given my reasons for holding that the Gyana of 

 Tibet or Cervus Wallichii is distinct from Affinis ; and, as those 

 reasons equally apply to the Shou, the distinctness of the latter from 

 Wallichii of the same region, is thus established. 



Dimensions of (lie horns. 



feet in. 



Greatest divergency of the tips between the upper snags, .... 3 7 



Divergency between the ends of beams, 2 5 J 



Greatest length, along the curve, 4 9% 



Girth, just above the burr, 9f 



Chord of arc of beam, or greatest curve, 1 2\ 



Length of greater basal snag, 1 8 \ 



Length of lesser basal snag, 1 5 



Length of mid snag, 1 4 



Length of upper snag, 1 8 



Interval of basal and mid snags along the beam, \\\ 



Interval of mid and upper snag, 1 \ 



"Weight of a, single horn, 13 lbs. 



On the Ghassdnite Kings. — By A. Sprenger, Esq., M. D. 



Before the conquest of the followers of Mohammad there reigned a 

 dynasty of kings in Arabia Petrea which is usually called the Ghas- 

 sanite dynasty. They had come from Yaman and their tribe was relat- 

 ed to the Khazrijites and Awsites, the tribes which occupied Madynah, 

 to the Mazinites who are mentioned by Ptolemy and to some families 

 of the Banu 'amr b. al-Azd, also to some of the Band Aq9& and to the 

 banu Harithah b. 'amr b. 'amir.* All authors agree that the Ghassa- 

 nites derived their name from the spring Ghassan which according to 

 Mas'udy is in the valley of the al-Ash'arians (the Elisari of Ptolemy) 



* Khoshaybary. 



3 p 



