Page:History of India Vol 5.djvu/57

 IBN HAUKAL'S DESCRIPTION OF SIND 31 There appears to have been no native coinage, but the money in circulation was chiefly Kandahar and Tartar dirhams. The dress of the Sindians was like that of the people of Irak, but the amirs habited themselves like the native princes. Some persons wore their hair long, and their dresses loose, with waistbands, on ac- count of the heat, and there was no difference between the garb of the faithful and of idolaters. The Amirs of Multan and Mansura were independ- ent of one another, but both deferred to the spiritual authority of the Caliph of Baghdad. The former was still a descendant of Sama ibn Lawi, in the days of Ibn Haukal, and the latter a descendant of the Habbari family. Alor, the ancient Hindu capital, surrounded by a double wall, was nearly as large as Multan, and was a dependency of Mansura. Its territory was fertile and rich, and it was the seat of considerable commerce. Rahuk (or Dahuk), on the borders of Mekran and to the west of the Hala range, was also included in Man- sura. There were other principalities to the west, be- sides the two in the valley of the Indus, such as Turan, Kusdar, Mekran, and Mushki. With respect to those other parts of India to which the Mussulmans resorted, such as the maritime towns in the jurisdiction of the Balhara, between Cambay and Saimur, Ibn Haukal observes that they were covered with towns and villages. The inhabitants were idola- ters, but the Mohammedans were treated with great consideration by the native princes. They were gov-