The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s1.t1.20

c5.s1.t1.20

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.