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The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5: Northern India.

The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5

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Contents

Northern India.

I. Kaofu, or Afghanistan.

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For several centuries, both before and after the Christian era, the provinces of Northern India beyond the Indus, in which the Indian language and religion were predominant, included the whole of Afghanistan from Bamian and Kandahar on the west to the Bholân Pass on the south. This large tract was then divided into ten* separate states or districts, of which Kapisa was the chief. The tributary states were Kabul and Ghazni in the west, Lamghân and Jalâlâbâd in the north, Swât and Peshâwar in the east, Bolor in the north-east, and Banu and Opokien in the south. The general name for the whole would appear to have been *Kao-fu*, which in the second century before Christ is described as being divided between the Parthians, the Indians, and the Su or Sacæ of Kipin. According to this statement, the south-west district of Kandahar would have belonged to the Parthians, the eastern districts of Swât, Peshâwar, and Banu, to the Indians, and the north-western districts of Kabul and Ghazni with Lamghân and Jalâlâbâd to the Sacæ Scythians. *Kaofu* has usually been identified with Kabul on account of its similarity of name and correspondence of position; but this can only be accepted as politically correct, by extending the boundaries of Kabul into Parthia† on the west, and into India on the east. The *Kaofu* of the Chinese would, therefore, have embraced the whole of modern Afghanistan. Etymologically, however, it seems quite possible that the two names may be the same, as *Kaofu* was the appellation of one of the five tribes of the *Yuchi* or *Tochari*, who are said to have given their own name to the town which they occupied, towards the end of the second century before Christ. This statement of the Chinese writers is confirmed by the historians of Alexander, who notice the city of Ortospana, without making any mention of Kabul. The latter name is first given by Ptolemy, who describes *Kabura* or *Ortospana* as the capital of the Paropamisadæ. I conclude, therefore, that Ortospana was most probably the original metropolis of the country, which was supplanted by Alexandria during the Greek domination, and restored by the earlier Indo-Scythian princes. But it would appear to have been again abandoned before the seventh century, when the capital of Kapisene was at Opiân.

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∗ M. Julien’s ‘Hiouen Thsang,’ i. 71. † That Kandahar then belonged to Persia is proved by the fact, that the begging-pot of Buddha, which Hwen Thsang (ii. 106) mentions as

1. Kapisene, or Opiân.

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According to the Chinese pilgrim Kiapishe, or *Kapisene*, was 4000 *li*, or about 666 miles in circuit. If this measurement be even approximately correct, the district must have included the whole of Kafiristan, as well as the two large valleys of Ghorband and Panjshir, as these last are together not more than 300 miles in circuit. Kiapishe is further described as being entirely surrounded by mountains; to the north having been removed from Gândhâra to Persia, still exists at Kandahar, where it was seen by Sir H. Rawlinson. The removal must have taken place during the sixth century, after the conquest of Gândhâra by the king of Kipin.

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by snowy mountains, named *Po-lo-si-na*, and by black hills on the other three sides. The name of *Polosina* corresponds exactly with that of Mount *Paresh* or *Aparasin* of the ‘Zend Avesta,’* and with the Paropamisus of the Greeks, which included the Indian Caucasus, or Hindu Kush. Hwen Thsang further states, that to the north-west of the capital there was a great snowy mountain, with a lake on its summit, distant only 200 *li*, or about 33 miles. This is the Hindu Kush itself, which is about 35 miles to the north-west of Charikâr and Opiân; but I have not been able to trace any mention of the lake in the few imperfect notices that exist of this part of Afghanistan.

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The district of *Capisene* is first mentioned by Pliny, who states that its ancient capital, named *Capisa*, was destroyed by Cyrus. His copyist, Solinus, mentions the same story, but calls the city *Caphusa*, which the Delphine editors have altered to *Capissa*. Somewhat later, Ptolemy places the town of *Kapisa* amongst the Paropamisadæ, 2½ degrees to the north of Kabura or Kabul, which is nearly 2 degrees in excess of the truth. On leaving Bamian, in A.D. 630, the Chinese pilgrim travelled 600 *li*, or about 100 miles, in an easterly direction over snowy mountains and black hills (or the Koh-i-Bâbâ and Paghmân ranges) to the capital of *Kiapishe* or *Kapisene*. On his return from India, fourteen years later, he reached *Kiapishe* through Ghazni and Kabul, and left it in a north-east direction by the Panjshir valley towards Anderâb. These statements fix the position of the capital at or near *Opiân*, which is just 100 miles to the east of Bamian by the route of the Hajiyak Pass and Ghorband Valley, and on the direct route from Ghazni and Kabul to Anderâb. The same locality is, perhaps, even more decidedly indicated by the fact, that the Chinese pilgrim, on finally leaving the capital of Kapisene, was accompanied by the king as far as the town of Kiu-lu-sa-pang, a distance of one yojana, or about 7 miles to the north-east, from whence the road turned towards the north. This description agrees exactly with the direction of the route from Opiân to the northern edge of the plain of Begrâm, which lies about 6 or 7 miles to the E.N.E. of Charikâr and Opiân. Begrâm itself I would identify with the Kiu-lu-sa-pang or Karsawana of the Chinese pilgrim, the Karsana of Ptolemy, and the Cartana of Pliny. If the capital had then been at Begrâm itself, the king’s journey of seven miles to the north-east would have taken him over the united stream of the Panjshir and Ghorband rivers, and as this stream is difficult to cross, on account of its depth and rapidity, it is not likely that the king would have undertaken such a journey for the mere purpose of leave-taking. But by fixing the capital at Opiân, and by identifying Begrâm with the Kiu-lu-sa-pang of the Chinese pilgrim, all difficulties disappear. The king accompanied his honoured guest to the bank of the Panjshir river, where he took leave of him, and the pilgrim then crossed the stream, and proceeded on his journey to the north, as described in the account of his life.

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∗ ‘Zend Avesta,’ iii. 365, Boundehesh. “It is said that Aparasin is a great mountain, distinct from Elburj. It is called Mount Paresh.”

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From all the evidence above noted it would appear certain that the capital of Kiapishe, or Kapisene, in the seventh century, must have been situated either at or near Opiân. This place was visited by Masson,[*]

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∗ ‘Travels,’ iii. 126.

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who describes it as “distinguished by its huge artificial mounds, from which, at various times, copious antique treasures have been extracted.” In another place * he notes that “it possesses many vestiges of antiquity; yet, as they are exclusively of a sepulchral or religious character, the site of the city, to which they refer, may rather be looked for at the actual village of Malik Hupiân on the plain below, and near Charikâr.” Masson writes the name Hupiân, following the emperor Baber; but as it is entered in Walker’s large map as Opiyán, after Lieutenant Leach, and is spelt Opián by Lieutenant Sturt, both of whom made regular surveys of the Koh-dâman, I adopt the unaspirated reading, as it agrees better with the Greek forms of Opiai and Opiane of Hekatæus and Stephanus, and with the Latin form of Opianum of Pliny. As these names are intimately connected with that of the Paropamisan Alexandria, it will clear the way to further investigation, if we first determine the most probable site of this famous city.

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The position of the city founded by Alexander at the foot of the Indian Caucasus has long engaged the attention of scholars; but the want of a good map of the Kabul valley has been a serious obstacle to their success, which was rendered almost insurmountable by their injudicious alterations of the only ancient texts that preserved the distinctive name of the Caucasian Alexandria. Thus Stephanus† describes it as being ἐν τῇ ᾿Οπιανῇ κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ινδικήν, “in Opiane, near India,” for which Salmasius proposed to read ᾿Απιανῇ. Again, Pliny‡ describes it as Alexandriam Opianes, which in the Leipsic and other editions is altered to *Alexandri oppidum*. I believe, also, that the same distinctive name may be restored to a corrupt passage of Pliny, where he is speaking of this very part of the country. His words, as given by the Leipsic editor, and as quoted by Cellarius,[*] are "Cartana oppidum sub Caucaso, quod postea Tetragonis dictum. Hæc regio est ex adverso. Bactrianorum deinde cujus oppidum Alexandria, a conditore dictum." Both of the translators whose works I possess, namely Philemon Holland, A.D. 1601, and W. T. Riley, A.D. 1855, agree in reading *ex adverso Bactrianorum*. This makes sense of the words as they stand, but it makes nonsense of the passage, as it refers the city of Alexandria to Bactria, a district which Pliny had fully described in a previous chapter. He is speaking of the country at the foot of the Caucasus or Paropamisus; and as he had already described the Bactrians as being "aversa montis Paropamisi," he now uses almost the same terms to describe the position of the district in which Cartana was situated; I would, therefore, propose to read "hæc regio est ex adverso Bactriæ;" and as *cujus* cannot possibly refer to the Bactrians, I would begin the next sentence by changing the latter half of *Bactrianorum* in the text to *Opiorum*; the passage would then stand thus, "Opiorum (regio) deinde, cujus oppidum Alexandria a conditore dictum,"—"Next the Opii, whose city, Alexandria, was named after its founder." But whether this emendation be accepted or not, it is quite clear from the other two passages, above quoted, that the city founded by Alexander at the foot of the Indian Caucasus was also named Opiane. This fact being established, I will now proceed to show that the position of Alexandria Opiane agrees as nearly as possible with the site of the present Opiân, near Charikâr.

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∗ ‘Travels,’ iii. 161. † In voce Alexandria. ‡ Hist. Nat., vi. c.

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¹⁷ Philemon Holland calls it “the city of Alexandria, in Opianum.”

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∗ Hist. Nat., vi. 23.

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According to Pliny, the city of Alexandria, in Opianum, was situated at 50 Roman miles, or 45·96 English miles, from Ortospana, and at 237 Roman miles, or 217·8 English miles, from Peucolaitis, or Pukkalaoti, which was a few miles to the north of Peshâwar. As the position of Ortospana will be discussed in my account of the next province, I will here only state that I have identified it with the ancient city of Kabul and its citadel, the Bala Hisar. Now Charikâr is 27 miles* to the north of Kabul, which differs by 19 miles from the measurement recorded by Pliny. But as immediately after the mention of this distance he adds that “in some copies different numbers are found,”† I am inclined to read “triginta millia,” or 30 miles, instead of “quinquaginta millia,” which is found in the text. This would reduce the distance to 27½ English miles, which exactly accords with the measurement between Kabul and Opiân. The distance between these places is not given by the Chinese pilgrim Hwen Thsang; but that between the capital of Kiapishe and Pu-lu-sha-pu-lo, or Purushapura, the modern Peshâwar, is stated at 600+100+500 =1200 li, or just 200 miles according to my estimate of 6 li to the English mile. The last distance of 500 li, between Nagarahâra and Purushâwar, is certainly too short, as the earlier pilgrim, Fa Hian, in the beginning of the fifth century, makes it 16 *yojanas*, or not less than 640 *li*, at 40 *li* to the *yojana*. This would increase the total distance to 1340 *li*, or 223 miles, which differs only by 5 miles from the statement of the Roman author. The actual road distance between Charikâr and Jalâlâbâd has not been ascertained, but as it measures in a direct line on Walker’s map about 10 miles more than the distance between Kabul and Jalâlâbâd, which is 115 miles, it may be estimated at 125 miles. This sum added to 103 miles, the length of road between Jalâlâbâd and Peshâwar, makes the whole distance from Charikâr to Peshâwar not less than 228 miles, which agrees very closely with the measurements recorded by the Roman and Chinese authors.

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∗ Measured by Lieutenant Sturt with a perambulator. Masson gives the same distance for Begrâm. See No. III. Map from Sturt's Survey.

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† Hist. Nat., vi. 21. “In quibusdam exemplaribus diversi numeri reperiuntur.”

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Pliny further describes Alexandria as being situated *sub ipso Caucaso*,* at the very foot of Caucasus,” which agrees exactly with the position of Opiân, at the northern end of the plain of *Koh-dâman*, or “hill-foot.” The same position is noted by Curtius, who places Alexandria in *radicibus montis*,† at the very base of the mountain. The place was chosen by Alexander on account of its favourable site at the *τρίοδον*,‡ or parting of the “three roads” leading to Bactria. These roads, which still remain unchanged, all separate at Opiân, near Begrâm.

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† Vit. Alex., vii. 3.

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‡ Strabo, xv. 2, 8.

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1. The north-east road, by the Panjshir valley, and over the Khâwak Pass to Anderâb.
2. The west road, by the Kushân valley, and over the Hindu Kush Pass to Ghori.
3. The south-west road, up the Ghorband valley, and over the Hâjiyak Pass to Bamian.

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∗ Hist. Nat., vi. s. 21.

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The first of these roads was followed by Alexander on his march into Bactriana from the territory of the Paropamisadæ. It was also taken by Timur on his invasion of India; and it was crossed by Lieutenant Wood on his return from the sources of the Oxus. The second road must have been followed by Alexander on his return from Bactriana, as Strabo* specially mentions that he took "over the same mountains another and shorter road" than that by which he had advanced. It is certain that his return could not have been by the Bamian route, as that is the longest route of all; besides which, it turns the Hindu Kush, and does not cross it, as Alexander is stated to have done. This route was attempted by Dr. Lord and Lieutenant Wood late in the year, but they were driven back by the snow. The third road is the easiest and most frequented. It was taken by Janghez Khan after his capture of Bamian; it was followed by Moorcroft and Burnes on their adventurous journeys to Balkh and Bokhara; it was traversed by Lord and Wood after their failure at the Kushan Pass; and it was surveyed by Sturt in A.D. 1840, after it had been successfully crossed by a troop of horse artillery.

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Alexandria is not found in Ptolemy's list of the towns of the Paropamisadæ; but as his Niphanda, which is placed close to Kapisa, may with a very little alteration be read as Ophianda, I think that we may perhaps recognize the Greek capital under this slightly altered form. The name of Opián is certainly as old as the fifth century B.C., as Hekatæus places a people called Opiai to the west of the upper course of the Indus. There is, however, no trace of this name in the inscriptions of Darius, but we have instead a nation called *Thatagush*, who are the *Sattagudai* of Herodotus, and perhaps also the people of *Si-pi-to-fa-la-sse* of the Chinese pilgrim Hwen Thsang.* This place was only 40 *li*, or about 7 miles, distant from the capital of Kiapishe, but unfortunately the direction is not stated. As, however, it is noted that there was a mountain named *Aruna* at a distance of 5 miles to the south, it is almost certain that this city must have been on the famous site of Begrâm, from which the north end of the *Siah-koh*, or Black Mountain, called *Chehel Dukhtarán*, or the "Forty Daughters," lies almost due south at a distance of 5 or 6 miles. It is possible, also, that the name of *Tátarangzár*, which Masson gives to the south-west corner of the ruins of Begrâm, may be an altered form of the ancient *Thátagush*, or *Sattagudai*. But whether this be so or not, it is quite certain that the people dwelling on the upper branches of the Kabul river must be the *Thátagush* of Darius, and the *Sattagudai* of Herodotus, as all the other surrounding nations are mentioned in both authorities.

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∗ Geogr., xv. 1, 26.

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*Karsana, Kartana or Tetragonis.*

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The passage of Pliny describing the position of Alexandria is prefaced by a few words regarding the town of *Cartana*, which, while they assign it a similar position at the foot of the Caucasus, seem also to refer it to the immediate vicinity of Alexander's city. I quote the whole passage, with the correction which I have already proposed:*—" Cartana oppidum sub Caucaso, quod postea Tetragonis dictum. Hæc regio est ex adverso Bactriæ. Opiorum (regio) deinde cujus oppidum Alexandria a conditore dictum." " At the foot of the Caucasus stands the town of Cartana, which was afterwards called Tetragonis (or the Square). This district is opposite to Bactria. Next (to it) are the Opii, whose city of Alexandria was named after its founder." Solinus makes no mention of Cartana, but Ptolemy has a town named Karsana, or Karnasa, which he places on the right bank of a nameless river that comes from the vicinity of Kapisa and Niphanda (or Opiân), and joins the river of Locharna, or Lohgarh, nearly opposite Nagara. This stream I take to be the united Panjshir and Ghorband river, which joins the Lohgarh river about halfway between Kabul and Jalâlâbâd. This identification is rendered nearly certain by the position assigned to the Lambatæ, or people of Lampaka or Lamghan, who are placed to the east of the nameless river, which cannot therefore be the Kunar river, as might otherwise have been inferred from its junction with the Lohgarh river opposite Nagara.

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∗ Sipitofalasse is probably the Sanskrit Saptavarsha or Sattavasa, which might easily be changed to Thatagush.

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This being the case, the Karsana of Ptolemy may at once be identified with the Cartana of Pliny; and the few facts related by both authors may be combined to aid us in discovering its true position. According to Pliny, it was situated at the foot of the Caucasus, and not far from Alexandria; whilst, according to Ptolemy, it was on the right bank of the Panjshir river. These data point to Begrâm, which is situated on the right bank of the united Panjshir and Ghorband rivers, immediately at the foot of the Kohistan hills, and within 6 miles of Opiân, or Alexandria Opiane. As I know of no other place that answers all these requirements, it seems most probable that Begrâm must be the true locality. Parwân and Kushân are ancient places of some consequence in the neighbourhood of Opiân; but they are both on the left bank of the Ghorband river, while the first is probably the Baborana of Ptolemy, and the other his Kapisa. Begrâm also answers the description which Pliny gives of Cartana, as Tetragonis, or the "Square;" for Masson, in his account of the ruins, specially notices "some mounds of great magnitude, and accurately describing a square of considerable dimensions."*

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∗ Hist. Nat., vi. 23.

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If I am right in identifying Begrâm with the Kiu-lu-sa-pang of the Chinese pilgrim, the true name of the place must have been Karsana, as written by Ptolemy, and not Cartana, as noted by Pliny. The same form of the name is also found on a rare coin of Eukratides, with the legend Karisiye nagara, or "city of Karisi," which I have identified with the Kalasi of the Buddhist chronicles, as the birthplace of Raja Milindu. In another passage of the same chronicle,† Milindu is said to have been born at Alasandu, or Alexandria, the capital of the Yona, or Greek country. Kalasi must therefore have been either Alexandria itself or some place close to it. The latter conclusion agrees exactly with the position of Begrâm, which is only a few miles to the east of Opiân. Originally two distinct places, like Delhi and Shah Jahanabad, or London and Westminster, I suppose Opiân and Kar-

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[^ *]: 'Travels,' iii. 155. For the position of Begrâm see No. III. Map. [^ †]: Milindu-prasna, quoted by Hardy, in 'Manual of Buddhism,' pp. 440, 516.

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sana to have gradually approached each other as they increased in size, until at last they virtually became one large city. On the coins of the earlier Greek kings of Ariana,—Euthydemus, Demetrius, and Eukratides,—we find the monograms of both cities; but after the time of Eukratides, that of Opiana disappears altogether, while that of Karsana is common to most of the later princes. The contemporary occurrence of these mint monograms proves that the two cities were existing at the same time; while the sudden disuse of the name of Opian may serve to show that, during the latter period of Greek occupation, the city of Alexandria had been temporarily supplanted by Karsana.

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The appellation of Begrâm means, I believe, nothing more than "the city" *par excellence*, as it is also applied to three other ancient sites in the immediate vicinity of great capitals, namely, Kabul, Jalâlâbâd, and Peshâwar. Masson derives the appellation from the Turki *be* or *bi*, "chief," and the Hindi *grám*, or city,—that is, the capital.[*] But a more simple derivation would be from the Sanskrit *vi*, implying "certainty," "ascertainment," as in *vijaya*, victory, which is only an emphatic form of *jaya* with the prefix *vi*. *Vigráma* would therefore mean emphatically "the city"—that is, the capital; and *Bigrám* would be the Hindi form of the name, just as *Bijay* is the spoken form of *Vijaya*.

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The plain of Begrâm is bounded by the Panjshir and the Koh-dâman rivers on the north and south; by the Mahighir canal on the west; and on the east by the lands of Julgha, in the fork of the two rivers.

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[*] ‘Travels,’ iii. 165.

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Its length, from Bayân, on the Mahighir canal, to Julgha, is about 8 miles; and its breadth, from Kilah Buland to Yuz Bashi, is 4 miles. Over the whole of this space vast numbers of relics have been discovered, consisting of small images, coins, seals, beads, rings, arrow-heads, fragments of pottery, and other remains, which prove that this plain was once the site of a great city. According to the traditions of the people, Begrâm was a Greek city, which was overwhelmed by some natural catastrophe.* Masson doubts the tradition, and infers from the vast number of Kufic coins found there, that the city must have existed for some centuries after the Muhammadan invasion. I am inclined to think that Masson is right, and that the decline of the city was caused by the gradual desertion of the people, consequent on the transfer of the seat of government to Ghazni, after the conquest of the country by the Muhammadans. Coins of the last Hindu Rajas of Kabul and of the first Muhammadan kings of Ghazni are found in great numbers; but the money of the later Ghaznavi princes is less plentiful, whilst of the succeeding Ghori dynasty only a few specimens of some of the earlier sovereigns have yet been discovered. From these plain facts, I infer that the city began gradually to decay after the Muhammadan conquest of Kabul by Sabuktugîn, towards the end of the tenth century, and that it was finally deserted about the beginning of the thirteenth century. As the latter period corresponds with the date of Janghez Khan's invasion of these provinces, it is very possible, as Masson has already supposed, that Begrâm may have been finally destroyed by that merciless barbarian.

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∗ Masson, ‘Travels,’ iii. 159.

Other Cities of Kapisene.

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I will close this account of Kapisene with some remarks on the few other cities of the same district that are mentioned by ancient authors. Pliny describes one city as "ad Caucasum Cadrusi, oppidum ab Alexandro conditum," which is slightly altered by Solinus to "Cadrusia oppidum ab Alexandro Magno ad Caucasum constitutum est, ubi et Alexandria."* Botn authors place the city close to the Caucasus, to which Solinus adds, that it was also near Alexandria. Following these two distinct indications, I am disposed to identify the city of Cadrusi with the old site of Koratás, which Masson discovered under the hills of Kohistan, 6 miles to the north-east of Begrâm, and on the north bank of the Panjshir river.† There are the usual remains of an old city, consisting of mounds covered with fragments of pottery, amongst which old coins are frequently found. There are also remains of masonry works about the hills, which the people cail Kâfir-kot, or the Kâfir's fort. The commentators have accused Solinus of misunderstanding Pliny, whose Cadrusi, they say, was the name of a people, and whose "oppidum ab Alexandro conditum" was the city of Alexandria.‡ But the passage was differently understood by Philemon Holland, who renders it thus:—"Upon the hill Caucasus standeth the town Cadrusi, built likewise by the said Alexander." As a general rule, the Greeks would seem to have designated the various peoples whom they encountered by the names of their principal towns.

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∗ Plin. Hist. Nat., vi. 25. Solin. lvii.

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† 'Travels,' iii. 166.

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‡ Cellarius, iii. 22, p. 514, "quod Solinus pervertit."

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Thus we have Kabura and the Kabolitæ, Drepsa and the Drepsiani, Taxila and the Taxili, Kaspeira and the Kaspeiræi, from which I would infer, that there was most probably also a town named Cadrusia, whose inhabitants were called Cadrusi. This inference is strengthened by the correspondence, both in name and in position of the ruined mound of Koratâs, with the Cadrusi of Pliny.

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The names of other peoples and towns are recorded by Ptolemy; but few of them can now be identified, as we have nothing to guide us but the bare names. The Parsii, with their towns Parsia and Parsiana, I take to be the Pashais, or people of the Panjhir or Panjshir valley. The true name is probably Panchir, as the Arabs always write *j* for the Indian *ch*. The modern spelling of Panjshir adopted by Burnes, Leech, and others, appears to be only an attempt to give the Afghan pronunciation of *ch* as *ts* in *Pantsir*. A town named Panjhir is mentioned by the early Arab geographers, and a mountain named *Pashái* was crossed by Ibn Batuta, on his way from Kunduz to Parwân.*

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Other tribes are the Aristophyli, a pure Greek name, and the Ambautæ, of whom nothing is known. The towns not already noticed are Artoarta and Barzaura in the north, and Drastoka and Naulibis in the south. The second of these may be Bazârak, a large town in the Panjshir valley, and the last may be Nilâb of Ghorband. The third was most probably a town in one of the *darás* or valleys of the Koh-dâman.

2. Kophene, or Kabul.

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The district of Kabul is first mentioned by Ptolemy, who calls the people *Kabolitæ*, and their capital *Kabura*, which was also named *Ortospana*. The latter name alone is found in Strabo and Pliny, with a record of its distance from the capital of Arachosia, as measured by Alexander's surveyors, Diognetes and Baiton. In some copies of Pliny the name is written *Orthospanum*, which, with a slight alteration to *Orthostana*, as suggested by H. H. Wilson,[*] is most probably the Sanskrit *Urddhasthána*, that is, the "high place," or lofty city. The same name is also given to the Kabul district by the Chinese pilgrim Hwen Thsang. But I strongly suspect that there has been some accidental interchange of names between the province and its capital. On leaving Ghazni, the pilgrim travelled to the north for 500 *li*, or 83 miles, to *Fo-li-shi-sa-tang-na*, of which the capital was *Hu-phi-na*. Now by two different measured routes the distance between Ghazni and Kabul was found to be 81 and 88½ miles.[†] There can be no doubt, therefore, that Kabul must be the place that was visited by the pilgrim. In another place the capital is said to be 700 *li*, or 116 miles, from Bamian, which agrees very well with the measured distance of 104 miles[‡] between Bamian and Kabul, along the shortest route.

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∗ ‘Travels,’ p. 98.

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The name of the capital, as given by the Chinese pilgrim, has been rendered by M. Vivien de St. Martin as *Vardasthána*, and identified with the district of the Wardak tribe, while the name of the province has been identified with Hupiân or Opiân. But the Wardak valley, which receives its name from the Wardak tribe, lies on the upper course of the

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[*] ‘Ariana Antiqua,’ p. 176. [†] Thornton’s ‘Gazetteer,’ Appendix. [‡] Lieutenant Sturt, Engineers, by perambulator.

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Logarh river, at some distance to the south of Kabul, and only 40 miles to the north of Ghazni, while Hupiân or Opiân lies 27 miles to the north of Kabul, or more than 70 miles distant from Wardak. My own researches lead me to conclude that both names refer to the immediate neighbourhood of Kabul itself.

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Professor Lassen has already remarked that the name of *Kipin*, which is so frequently mentioned by other Chinese authors, is not once noticed by Hwen Thsang. Remusat first suggested that *Kipin* was the country on the Kophes or Kabul river; and this suggestion has ever since been accepted by the unanimous consent of all writers on ancient India, by whom the district is now generally called Kophene. It is this form of the name of *Kipin* that I propose to identify with the *Hu-phi-na* of Hwen Thsang, as it seems to me scarcely possible that this once famous province can have remained altogether unnoticed by him, when we know that he must have passed through it, and that the name was still in use for more than a century after his time.* I have already stated my suspicion that there has been some interchange of names between the province and its capital. This suspicion is strengthened when it is found that all difficulties are removed, and the most complete identification obtained, by the simple interchange of the two names. Thus *Hu-phi-na* will represent *Kophene*, or *Kipin*, the country on the Kabul river, and *Fo-li-shi-sa-tang-na*, or *Urddhasthána*, will represent *Ortostana*, which, as we know from several classical authorities, was the actual capital of this province.

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∗ Lassen, ‘Points in the History of the Greek Kings of Kabul,’ p. 102.

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I may remark that *Huphina* is a very exact Chinese transcript of *Kophen*, whereas it would be a very imperfect transcript of *Hupián*, as one syllable would be altogether unrepresented, and the simple *p* would be replaced by an aspirate. The correct transcript of Hupiân would be *Hu-pi-yan-na*.

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M. Vivien de St. Martin has objected* to the name of *Urddhasthána* that it is a “conjectural etymology without object.” I am, however, quite satisfied that this reading is the correct one, for the following reasons:—1st. The name of Ortospana is not confined to the Paropamisadæ; but is found also in Karmania and in Persis. It could not, therefore, have had any reference to the Wardak tribe, but must be a generic name descriptive of its situation, a requirement that is most satisfactorily fulfilled by *Urddhasthána*, which means literally the “high place,” and was most probably employed to designate any hill fortress. 2nd. The variation in the reading of the name to *Portospana* confirms the descriptive meaning which I have given to it, as *porta* signifies “high” in Pushtu, and was, no doubt, generally adopted by the common people instead of the Sanskrit *urdha*.

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The position of Ortospana I would identify with Kabul itself, with its Bala Hisár, or “high fort,” which I take to be only a Persian translation of *Ortospana*, or *Urddhasthána*. It was the old capital of the country before the Macedonian conquest, and so late as the tenth century it was still believed “that a king was not properly qualified to govern until he had been inaugurated at Kabul.”† Hekatæus also describes a "royal town" amongst the *Opiai*,* but we have no data for determining either its name or its position. It seems most probable, however, that Kabul must be intended, as we know of no other place that could have held this position after the destruction of Kapisa by Cyrus; but in this case Kabul must have been included within the territories of the *Opiai*.

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∗ ‘Hiouen Thsang,’ iii. 416.

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† Ouseley, ‘Oriental Geography,’ p. 226.

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It is strange that there is no mention of Kabul in the histories of Alexander, as he must certainly have passed through the town on his way from Arachosia to the site of Alexandria. I think, however, that it is most probably the town of *Nikaia*, which was Alexander's first march from his new city on his return from Bactria. *Nikaia* is described by Nonnus as a stone city, situated near a lake. It was also called *Astakia*, after a nymph whom Bacchus had abused.† The lake is a remarkable feature, which is peculiar in Northern India to Kabul and Kashmir. The city is also said to have been called *Indophón*, or "Indian-killer," on account of the victory which Bacchus had gained over the Indians on this spot. From this name I infer, that Nonnus had most probably heard of the popular meaning which is attributed to the name of *Hindu-kush*, or "Hindu-killer," and that he adopted it at once as corroborative of the Indian conquests of Dionysius.

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∗ Steph. Byz. in v. ’Ωπίαι. ’Εν δὲ τεῖχος Βασιλήϊον μέχρι τούτου ’Ωπίαι, ἀπὸ τούτων ἐρημίη μέχρι ’Ινδων. † ‘Dionysiaca,’ xvi., last three lines :— Καὶ πτόλιν εὐλαΐγγα φιλακρήτῳ, παρὰ λίμνη, Τεῦξε θεὸς Νίκαιαν ἐπώνυμον, ἥν ἀπὸ Νύμφης ’Αστακίης ἐκάλεσσε, καὶ ’Ινδοφόνον μετὰ νίκην. The meaning of which appears to be, that "Bacchus built a stone city, named *Nikaia*, near a lake, which he also called *Astakia*, after the nymph, and *Indophón*, in remembrance of his victory."

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The province is described as being 2000 *li*, or 333 miles, in length from east to west, and 1000 *li*, or 166 miles, in breadth from north to south. It is probable that this statement may refer to the former extent of the province, when its king was the paramount ruler of Western Afghanistan, including Ghazni and Kandahar, as the actual dimensions of the Kabul district are not more than one-half of the numbers here stated. Its extreme length, from the sources of the Helmand river to the Jagdalak Pass, is about 150 miles, and its extreme breadth, from Istâlif to the sources of the Logarh river, is not more than 70 miles.

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The name of Kophes is as old as the time of the Vedas, in which the *Kubhâ* river is mentioned as an affluent of the Indus; and as it is not an Arian word, I infer that the name must have been applied to the Kabul river before the Arian occupation, or, at least, as early as B.C. 2500. In the classical writers we find the *Khoes*, *Kophes*, and *Khoaspes* rivers, to the west of the Indus, and at the present day we have the *Kunar*, the *Kuram*, and the *Gomal* rivers to the west, and the *Kunihar* river to the east of the Indus, all of which are derived from the Scythian *ku*, "water." It is the guttural form of the Assyrian *hu* in Euphrates and Eulæus, and of the Turki *su* and the Tibetan *chu*, all of which mean water or river. The district of *Kophene* must, therefore, have received its name from the river which flowed through it, like as Sindh from the Sindhu or Indus, Margiana from the Margus, Aria from the Arius, Arachosia from the Arachotus, and others. It is not mentioned by Alexander's historians, although the river Kophes is noticed by all of them.

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In Ptolemy’s ‘Geography’ the city of *Kabura* and the *Kabolitæ*, with the towns of *Arguda*, or *Argandi*, and *Locharna*, or *Logarh*, are all located in the territories of the Paropamisadæ along the Kabul river. Higher up the stream he places the town of *Bagarda*, which corresponds exactly in position, and very closely in name with the valley of *Wardak*. All the letters of the two names are the same; and as the mere transposition of the guttural to the end of the Greek name will make it absolutely identical with the modern name, there is strong evidence in favour of the reading of *Bardaga* instead of *Bagarda*. According to Elphinstone,[*] the *Wardak* tribe of Afghans occupy the greater part of the Logarh valley. This is confirmed by Masson,[†] who twice visited the district of Wardak; and by Vigne,[‡] who crossed it on his way from Ghazni to Kabul. The only objection to this identification that occurs to me is, the possibility that *Bagarda* may be the Greek form of *Vaekereta*, which is the name given in the ‘Zend Avesta’ to the seventh country that was successively occupied by the Arian race. From its position between Bactria, Aria, and Arachosia, on one side, and India on the other, *Vaekereta* has usually been identified with the province of Kabul. This, also, is the opinion of the Parsis themselves. *Vaekereta* is further said to be the seat or home of *Duzhák*, which further tends to confirm its identification with Kabul, as the acknowledged country of *Zohâk*. If the *Wardaks* had ever been a ruling tribe, I should be disposed to infer that the name of *Vaekereta* might, probably, have been derived from them. But in our present total ignorance of their history, I think that it is sufficient to note the very great similarity of the two names.

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∗ ‘Kabul,’ i. 160.

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† ‘Travels,’ ii. 223.

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‡ ‘Ghazni,’ p. 140.

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In the seventh century the king of Kophene was a Turk, and the language of the country was different from that of the people of Ghazni. Hwen Thsang mentions that the alphabet of Kapisene was that of the Turks, but that the language was not Turki. As the king, however, was an Indian, it may reasonably be inferred that the language was Indian. For a similar reason it may be conjectured that the language of Kophene was some dialect of Turki, because the king of the district was a Turk.

3. Arachosia, or Ghazni.

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The Chinese pilgrim places the country of *Tsau-ku-ta* at 500 *li*, or 83 miles, to the south of *Huphina*, or Kophene, and to the north-west of *Falana*, or Banu. The valley of the *Lo-mo-in-tu* river, which is mentioned as producing assafœtida, is readily identified with the Helmand by prefixing the syllable *Ho* to the Chinese transcript. The kingdom is said to have been 7000 *li*, or 1166 miles, in circuit, which cannot be far from the truth, as it most probably included the whole of south-western Afghanistan with the exception of Kandahar, which at that time, from the story of the begging-pot of Buddha already noted, would appear to have belonged to Persia.

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This district possessed two capitals, called *Ho-si-na* and *Ho-sa-lo*. The first has been identified by M. de St. Martin with Ghazni, which is quite satisfactory; but his suggestion that the other may be connected with Hazára is, I think, very doubtful. Hazára is the name of a district, and not of a town; and its application to this part of the country is said by the people themselves not to be older than the time of Janghez Khan.* I would, therefore, identify it with Guzar or Guzaristan, which is the chief town on the Helmand at the present day; and with the Ozola of Ptolemy, which he places in the north-west of Arachosia, or in the very same position as Guzaristan.

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The name of Tsaukuta still remains to be explained. The identifications just made show that it corresponds exactly with the Arachosia of classical writers, which is the Arokhaj and Rokhaj of the Arab geographers. The latter form is also found in Arrian’s ‘Periplus of the Erythræan Sea’ as ’Ραχούσοι. It was, therefore, not unusual both before and after the time of Hwen Thsang to drop the initial syllable of the name. The original form was the Sanskrit Saraswati, which in Zend became Haraqaïti, and in Greek ’Αραχωτός, all of which agree in the last two syllables with the Chinese Tsaukuta. The first Chinese syllable Tsau must, therefore, correspond with the Ra of the other forms. This change may, perhaps, be explained by a peculiarity of the Turki language, which frequently changes the letter r into a soft z or sh, as the Turki words dengiz, “sea,” and okuz, “ox,” are the same as the Hungarian tenger and okur.† On the Indo-Scythian coins, also, we find the Turki names of Kanishka, Huvishka, and Kushána changed to Kanerke, Hoverke, and Korano in Greek. It seems possible, therefore, that the initial syllable Tsau of the Chinese transcript may be only the peculiar Turki pronunciation of the Indian Ra, which would naturally have come into use with the occupation of the country by the Turki tribe of Tochari, about the beginning of the Christian era.

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∗ ‘Ayin Akbari,’ ii. 163. † Prichard, ‘Physical History of Mankind,’ iv. 403.

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In the seventh century the king of Ghazni, who was a Buddhist, was descended from a long line of ancestors. Both the alphabet and the language of the people are said to have been different from those of other countries; and as Hwen Thsang was acquainted with both the Indian and Turki languages, I infer that the speech of the people of Ghazni was most probably Pushtu. If so, the people must have been Afghans; but, unfortunately, we have no other clue to guide us in settling this very interesting point, unless, indeed, the name of *O-po-kien*, a place to the south-east of Ghazni, may be identified with *Afghán*, a point which will be discussed hereafter.

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Of Guzaristân, on the Helmand, I am not able to give any further information, as that part of the country has not yet been visited by any European. Ghazni itself is too well known to require any particular description, but I may note that it must have been in a very flourishing condition in the seventh century, as Hwen Thsang estimates its circuit at 30 *li*, or 5 miles. At the present day the circuit of the walled town is not more than one mile and a quarter. Vigne calls it an irregular pentagon, with sides varying from 200 to 400 yards in length, strengthened by numerous towers. He adds,* that "the Afghans boast much of the strength of the walls and fortifications of Ghazni." But Ghazni has always been famous in the East as a place of strength and security; and for this very reason it received its name of Gaza, an old Persian term for a "treasury." It is described in some crabbed lines of the ‘Dionysiaca’ of Nonnus, who lived about A.D. 500, and also in the ‘Bassarica’ of Dionysius, who lived not later than A.D. 300. Both of them refer pointedly to its impregnability. Dionysius calls it,—

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∗ ‘Ghazni,’ p. 122.

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Ἀστύφελον δήοισι, καὶ εἰ παγχάλκεον ἦεν,
“As stern in war as if ’twas made of brass,”

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and Nonnus says,* “They fortified, with a net-like enclosure of interlacing works, *Gazos*, an immoveable bulwark of Ares, and never has any armed enemy breached its compact foundations.” These early notices of this famous place suggest the possibility that the *Gazaka* of Ptolemy may have been misplaced amongst the Paropamisadæ to the north of Kabul, instead of to the south of it. But as Stephanus of Byzantium, who quotes the ‘Bassarica’ of Dionysius as his authority for this Indian town, πόλις Ἰνδικὴ, takes no notice of the Indian *Gazaka*, I conclude that he must have looked upon it as a different place.

4. Lamghân.

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The district of *Lan-po*, or Lamghân, is noted by Hwen Thsang as being 600 *li*, or just 100 miles, to the east of Kapisene. He describes the road as a succession of hills and valleys, some of the hills being of great height. This description agrees with all the recent accounts of the route along the northern bank of the river from Opiân to Lamghân. The bearing and distance also coincide so exactly with the position of Lamghân that there can be no doubt of the identity of

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* ‘Dionysiaca,’ xxvi. 30:—

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καὶ οἵ λινοερχέϊ κύκλῳ
ΓΑΖΟΝ ἐπυργώσαντο λινοπλέκτοισι δομαίοις,
Ἄρεος ἀκλινὲς ἕρμα, καὶ οὔποτε δήϊος ἀνὴρ
Χαλκὸν ἔχων ἐρρήξε εὐκλώστοισι θεμέλλοις.

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the two districts. Ptolemy, also, places a people called *Lambatæ* in the very same position. From a comparison of this term with the modern appellation of Lamghân, it seems probable that the original form of the name was the Sanskrit *Lampaka*. I would, therefore, correct Ptolemy’s *Lambatæ* to *Lambagæ*, by the slight change of *r* for *T*. The modern name is only an abbreviation of *Lampaka*, formed by the elision of the labial. It is also called *Laghmán* by the simple transposition of the middle consonants, which is a common practice in the East. The credulous Muhamadans derive the name from the patriarch Lamech, whose tomb they affirm still exists in Lamghân. It is noticed by Baber and by Abul Fazl.

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The district is described by Hwen Thsang as being only 1000 *li*, or 166 miles, in circuit, with snowy mountains on the north, and black hills on the other three sides. From this account it is clear that *Lan-po* corresponds exactly with the present Lamghân, which is only a small tract of country, lying along the northern bank of the Kabul river, bounded on the west and east by the Alingar and Kunar rivers, and on the north by the snowy mountains. This small tract is very nearly a square of 40 miles on each side, or 160 miles in circuit. It had formerly been a separate kingdom; but in the seventh century the royal family was extinct, and the district was a dependency of Kapisene.

5. Nagarahâra, or Jalâlâbâd.

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From Lamghân the Chinese pilgrim proceeded for 100 *li*, or nearly 17 miles, to the south-east, and, after crossing a large river, reached the district of Nagarahára. Both the bearing and distance point to the Nagara of Ptolemy, which was to the south of the Kabul river, and in the immediate vicinity of Jalâlâbâd. Hwen Thsang writes the name *Na-ki-lo-ho*; but M. Julien* has found the full transcript of the Sanskrit name in the annals of the Song dynasty, in which it is written *Nang-go-lo-ho-lo*. The Sanskrit name occurs in an inscription which was discovered by Major Kittoe in the ruined mound of *Ghosráwá*, in the district of Bihâr.† Nagarahâra is said to be 600 *li*, or 100 miles, in length from east to west, and upwards of 250 *li*, or 42 miles, in breadth from north to south. The natural boundaries of the district are the Jagdalak Pass on the west, and the Khaibar Pass on the east, with the Kabul river to the north, and the *Safed Koh*, or snowy mountains, to the south. Within these limits the direct measurements on the map are about 75 by 30 miles, which in actual road distance would be about the same as the numbers stated by Hwen Thsang.

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† Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, 1848, pp. 490, 491.

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The position of the capital would appear to have been at Begrâm, about 2 miles to the west of Jalâlâbâd, and 5 or 6 miles to the W.N.W. of Hidda, which by the general consent of every inquirer has been identified with the *Hi-lo* of the Chinese pilgrims. The town of Hilo was only 4 or 5 *li*, or about three-quarters of a mile, in circuit; but it was celebrated for its possession of the skull-bone of Buddha, which was deposited in a *stupa*, or solid round tower, and was only exhibited to pilgrims on payment of a piece of gold. Hidda is a small village, 5 miles to the south of Jalâlâbâd; but it is well known for its large collection of Buddhist stupas, tumuli, and caves, which were so successfully explored by Masson. The presence of these important Buddhist remains, in the very position indicated by the Chinese pilgrims, affords the most satisfactory proof of the identity of Hidda with their Hilo. This is further confirmed by the absolute agreement of name, as Hi-lo is the closest approximation that could be made in Chinese syllables to the original Hira or Hida. The capital must, therefore, have been situated on the plain of Begrâm, which is described by Masson* as "literally covered with tumuli and mounds." "These," he adds, "are truly sepulchral monuments; but, with the topes, sanction the inference that a very considerable city existed here, or that it was a place of renown for sanctity. It may have been both." I think it is just possible that Hidda may be only a transposition of Haddi, a bone, as the stupa of the skull-bone of Buddha is said in one passage† to have been in the town of Hilo, while in another passage it is located in the town of Fo-ting-ko-ching, which is only a Chinese translation of "Buddha's skull-bone town." During the course of this disquisition I shall have to notice the frequent occurrence of short descriptive names of places which were famous in the history of Buddha. I am, therefore, led to think that the place which contained the skull-bone of Buddha would most probably have been known by the familiar name of Asthipura amongst the learned, and of Haddipura, or "Bone-town" amongst the common people. Similarly the skull-necklace of Siva is called simply the asthimálá, or 'bone-necklace.'

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∗ ‘Hiouen Thsang,’ ii. 96, note.

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∗ 'Travels,' ii. 164.

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† 'Hiouen Thsang,' i. 77.

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Nagarahâra was long ago identified by Professor Lassen with the Nagara or Dionysopolis of Ptolemy, which was situated midway between Kabura and the Indus. The second name suggests the probability that it may be the same place as the Nysa of Arrian and Curtius. This name is perhaps also preserved in the Dinus or Dinuz of Abu Rihân,[*] as he places it about midway between Kabul and Parashâwar. According to the tradition of the people, the old city was called Ajúna,[†] in which I think it possible to recognize the Greek Δίον, as the river Yamuna or Jumna is rendered Diamuna by Ptolemy, and the Sanskrit yamas or jamas, the south, is rendered Diamasa by Pliny.[‡] It is, however, much more likely that Ajúna, by transposition of the vowels may be only a corrupt form of the Pali Ujjána, and Sanskrit Udyána, “a garden,” as M. Vivien de St. Martin states that Udyánapura was an old name of Nagarahâra.[§] If this identification be correct the position of the capital must certainly have been at Begrâm, as I have already suggested. The name of Dionysopolis was no doubt the most usual appellation during the whole period of Greek dominion, as one of the commonest mint-monograms on the coins of the Greek kings of Ariana forms the letters ΔION, which will not suit the name of any Indian city recorded by ancient authors, save that of Dionysopolis. In the beginning of the fifth century it is called simply Na-kie or Nagara, by Fa Hian, who adds that it was then an independent State governed by its own king. In A.D. 630, at the time of Hwen Thsang’s visit, it was without a king, and subject to Kapisene. After this the Lacedaemonians, who had been waiting for the signal, now attacked the city. The Plataeans, seeing the enemy already inside and their own men falling, and knowing nothing of the plot, were seized with panic and, thinking that the Thebans were far more numerous than they really were, surrendered at discretion. But when they discovered that the Thebans were few, they took heart and, resolving to attack them, closed the gates and fell upon them.

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