932 



CABULISTAN, OR AFGHANISTAN. 



vury. Six centuries later, Persia was overrun by the Mongols, who retained possession of the 

 country for 200 years, when it fell into the hands of the Turcomans. The empire has, during 

 the last century, suffered much from foreign and civil wars. 



CHAPTER CXLV. CABULISTAN, OR AFGHANISTAN. 



1. Boundaries and Extent. Afghanistan, or the kingdom of Cabul, is bounded on the N. 

 by Herat and Turkistan ; on the E. by the land of the Selks, in Hindostan ; on the S. by 

 Beloochistan ; and on the W. by Persia. It extends from lat. 28° to 36° N., and from long. 

 59° to 72° E., having an area of 146,000 square miles, and a population of 4,200,000 souls. 



2. Mountains. Rivers. The country is an elevated table-land, from 4,000 to 6,000 feet 

 high ; above this rise the summits of the Hindoo-Koo Mountains^ which traverse the kingdom 

 from east to west, reaching an elevation of above 20,000 feet ; a chain branches off to the south, 

 near Cabul, and is known under the name of the Soliman Mountains^ extending in two parallel 

 ranges into Beloochistan. The principal river is the Helmend, which runs into Lake Zerrah. 



3. Productions. Although much of the country consists of high, bleak hills, unfitted for 

 tillage, and the southwestern part is a vast desert, there are many fertile valleys and warm 

 plains, which are populous, productive, and well cultivated. The inhabitants are chiefly wan- 

 dering shepherds. Few Indian plants inhabit Cabulistan, but those of Europe are in great 

 abundance there. The vine, the peach, and apricot grow wild, and seem to be indigenous. 

 The prevailing trees on the mountains are various species of pine, one of which bears cones 

 as large as artichokes, and seeds as big as pistachio nuts. There are likewise cedars, a gigan- 

 tic cypress, and several kinds of oak, with the walnut, pistachio, and terebinth. On the un- 

 cultivated plains, the most common trees are the mulberry, the tamarind, the plane, the poplar, 

 and several sorts of willow. Fruits and corn are produced in the eastern part, and in the low, 

 hot districts of the East, sugar, ginger, cotton, dates, millet, &c., are raised. Among the 

 most valuable and remarkable productions of the eastern parts of the country is the assafoetida 

 plant ; its stem is from one to two and a half feet high, and when ripe it produces a cauliflower- 

 like head. The milky juice extracted near the root yields the well-known gum. The natives 

 stew or roast the stem, and boil or fry the head and leaves with ghee, or clarified butter, 

 and in this way the smell is even stronger than that of the drug, and no one but those accustomed 

 to it can bear its offensive efiiuvia. Lead, iron, and salt are abundant. 



At Cabul, where the summers are not so hot, and the winters, without being severe, are 

 colder, and accompanied with frequent falls of snow, the fruit-trees of Hindostan are not seen, 

 while those of Europe abound. The Emperor Baber caused the sugar-cane to be planted, but 

 it is not probable that it will succeed. 



4. Divisions. The kingdom is composed of two great regions, — Afghanistan, which is di- 

 vided into 7 provinces, and Sistan, or Segistan. 



5. Toicns. Cabul, the capital, is situated in a fertile and well-watered plain, celebrated for 

 its fine climate. The town is well built, but the houses are mostly of wood. Here is a citadel 

 built upon a low hill, and containing a magnificent royal palace ; the bazars are also vast build- 

 ings, and the commerce, till the recent civil wars, was extensive. The population, which was 

 80,000, is probably likewise diminished by the troubles which have distracted the country. 



Ghizneh, or Gazna, once the capital of an empire reaching from the Tigris to the Ganges, 

 is now fallen into decline, and its magnificent baths, rich palaces, superb mosques, and numerous 

 bazars, have disappeared. It now contains about 8,000 inhabitants. 



Candahar, a fortified place in a fertile and highly cultivated plain, is a large and populous 

 city, with about 100,000 inhabitants. It is regularly laid out and well built, and is the centre 

 of an active trade. It contains a royal palace, and in the centre of the city is the sharshee, a 

 vast rotunda, surrounded with shops, to which all the principal streets converge. Candahar has 

 lately been occupied by the English. Peshawer, the capital of the kingdom of Cabul previous 

 to its late dismemberment, stands in a fertile plain, bounded by the loftiest ranges of the Hindoo- 

 Koo and Soliman mountains. The city is rudely built, and the few good edifices are much 

 decayed ; the number of its population is also much reduced, in consequence of the late revo- 

 lutions in the country ; but it presents a picturesque aspect, and a motley population of Indians, 

 Persians, Tartars, &c. 



Segistan contains only small towns, and consists principally of a great desert. 



6. Inhabitants. The population consists chiefly of Afghans, a race nearly allied to the Per- 



