The Army of the Indian Moghuls: Its Organization and Administration c21.3

c21.3

Niccalào Manucci saw these measurements actually being made when ʿĀlamgīr left Dihli in 1663, Berlin Ms. Phillipps 1945, fol. 48, and he gives a detailed account of the process. "Other men on foot march with a rope to measure the road, as follows. They begin at the royal tent when the king starts. The first man, who holds tho rope in his hand, makes a mark in the ground, and when the man behind comes up to it, he calls out "One". Then the other man makes another mark and counts two: and thus they continue for the whole march, counting "Three", "Four" and so on, the other peon also keeping count. Should the king ask how far he has gone, they calculate the number of ropes making up a league, and answer accordingly".