1885.] 
J. Beanies —On the Geography of India, 
163 
When we examine the extent and boundaries of the whole province 
as given in the Ain we find nevertheless that they correspond tolerably 
closely to those of the present day. The length is said to be from Garhi 
to Rohtas 120 kos. Garlii is the old fort now known as Teliagarhi a 
little to the west of Sahibganj at the point where the Santlial Hills touch 
the Ganges. This fort was regarded as the key of Bengal, and the be¬ 
ginning of that province. By Rohtas we must understand, not the 
historical fortress of that name, but the western boundary of the Sarkar 
of which it was the capital, for the fortress itself as will be seen from 
the map lies far to the east of the boundary. Taking Akbar’s kos at 
about 2-| English miles,* the distance would be about 300 miles ; but this 
must have been obtained by measuring along the then existing roads, 
for the actual distance as the crow flies is only 210 miles. 
Similarly the breadth from north to south, which is vaguely de¬ 
scribed as being from Tirhut to the hill ranges, meaning evidently the 
northern ranges of the Yindhyas, is given as 110 kos — 275 miles. But 
measuring as the crow flies on the modern map from the northern boun¬ 
dary of Tirhut to the southern boundary of Monghyr,f we find the 
actual distance not more than lbO miles. It will also be seen further on 
that some of the mahals included in Sarkar Tirhut are now under Nepal, 
and that it is impossible to decide how far to the south among the 
scattered and broken groups of hills which run all through this part of 
the Subah, Muhammadan power, or at any rate Muhammadan pretensions, 
extended. 
Abul Fazl states the boundaries of the Subah as follows. On the 
east Subah Bangalah (Bengal), on the west Subahs Ilahabad and Avadli, 
on the north and south high mountains, meaning of course the Hima¬ 
layas and Vindhyas respectively. These boundaries correspond with 
tolerable accuracy to the present ones on the east and west, though they 
can hardly be said to be defined at all on the north and south any more 
than they are in the present day. On the north disputes with the Nepal 
State have recurred at intervals down to the present time, and on the 
south the boundaries between districts in the Bihar Province and those 
in Chota Nagpur are varied from time to time to suit the exigencies of 
modern administration. The country is hilly and irregular, and it is 
difficult to draw a definite line of demarcation between the tracts inhabi¬ 
ted by an Aryan population, and those inhabited by Kolarian and Dravi- 
dian tribes, such as Santhals, Khonds and Koles. The former only 
would, it may be supposed, be included in the Subah. 
* Elliot. Eaces of N. W. P. vol. ii, p. 194. The exact length is 2 miles 4 furlongs 
158 yards. 
f I mean the modern districts bearing those names, not the Sarkars of the Ain. 
