The Ancient Geography of India. I. The Buddhist Period, including the Campaigns of Alexander, and the Travels of Hwen-Thsang c5.s1.t10.7

c5.s1.t10.7

In the time of Hwen Thsang the city was 20 *li*, or upwards of 3 miles, in circuit, and we may reasonably suppose that it must have increased in size during the sway of the Brahman dynasty. It would seem also to have been still a place of importance under the successors of Changiz Khan, as the Mogals had changed its name to Kârajâng. But the building of Attak, and the permanent diversion of the high-road, must seriously have affected its prosperity, and its gradual decay since then has been hastened by the constant encroachments of the Indus, which has now carried away at least one-half of the old town.* In the sands at the foot of the cliff, which are mixed with the *débris* of the ruined houses, the gold-washers find numerous coins and trinkets, which offer the best evidence of the former prosperity of the city. In a few hours' washing I obtained a bronze buckle, apparently belonging to a bridle, a female neck ornament, several flat needles for applying antimony to the eyes, and a considerable number of coins of the Indo-Scythian and Brahman princes of Kabul. The continual discovery of Indo-Scythian coins is a sufficient proof that the city was already in existence at the beginning of the Christian era, which may perhaps induce us to put some faith in the tradition, mentioned by Abul Feda, that *Wehand*, or *Ohind*, was one of the cities founded by Alexander the Great.