Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/180

 160 AFGHANISTAN assembly. He was the author of several re- ligions and educational works. AFGHANISTAN, an extensive country of Asia, between lat. 28 30' and 36 N., and Ion. 60 and 71 30' E., bounded N. by Turkistan, E. by the Punjaub and Sinde, S. by Beloochistan, and W. by the Persian highlands of Khorasan. Area estimated at upward of 215,000 sq. m. ; pop. upward of 5,000,000, and estimated even as high as 9,000,000. The surface of Af- ghanistan is very irregular lofty table lands, vast mountains, deep valleys, and ravines. Like all mountainous tropical countries, it presents every variety of climate. In the Hindoo Koosh the snow lies all the year on the lofty summits, while in the valleys the thermometer ranges up to 130. The heat is greater in the eastern than in the western parts, but the climate is generally cooler than that of India; and although the alternations of temperature between summer and winter, or day and night, are very great, the country is generally healthy. The soil, where not too rocky, is very fertile. Date palms flourish in the oases of the sandy wastes ; the sugar cane and cotton in the hot regions ; and European fruits and vegetables on the hillside terraces up to a level of 6,000 or 7,000 feet. The mulberry tree flourishes in the cool valleys. The moun- tains are clothed with noble forests, which are frequented by bears, wolves, and foxes, while the lion, the leopard, and the tiger are found in districts congenial to their habits. There is a fine variety of sheep of the Persian or large- tailed breed. The horses are of good size and blood. The camel and ass are used as beasts of burden. The country is rich in lead, plumbago, saltpetre, sulphur, salt, and alum. The iron is believed to be equal to any in the world, while the copper ore yields in some localities nearly 80 per cent, of the metal. r>esides the Hindoo Koosh on the northeast, there is a chain called the Solyman mountains on the east and southeast ; and between north- western Afghanistan and Balkh there is a mountain labyrinth known as the Paropamisan range, which has as yet been little explored. Several minor ranges traverse the interior. The rivers are few in number; the Helmund and the Cabool are the most important. These take their rise in the Hindoo Koosh, the Ca- bool flowing east and falling into the Indus near Attock, the Helmund flowing southwest through the centre of the country and fall- ing into the lake of Hamoon. The Helmund overflows its banks annually like the Nile, bringing fertility to the soil, which, beyond the limit of the inundation, is sandy desert. The four principal cities, Cabool, the capital, Ghuz- ni, Candahar, and Herat, are important sta- tions on the highway of commerce from India to central and western Asia. Cabool and Jelalabad protect the passage to India on the north, Candahar on the south, and Herat, in the extreme west, guards the Persian frontier. The geographical position of Afghanistan, and the peculiar character of the people, invest the country with a strategical and political im- portance that can scarcely be overestimated in the affairs of central Asia. The government is a monarchy, but the king's authority over his high-spirited and turbulent subjects is personal and very uncertain. The kingdom is divided into provinces, each superintended by a royal officer who collects the taxes. The Afghans are a brave, hardy, and independent race; they follow pastoral or agricultural occupations only, eschewing trade and commerce. They are divided into clans, over which the various chiefs exercise a sort of feudal supremacy. The two principal tribes are the Durranis and Ghiljies or Ghilzais, who are frequently at feud with each other. The Durranis are the more powerful, and the military contingents are chiefly furnished by them. Justice in the towns is administered by cadis, but the Afghans rarely resort to law. Avenging of blood is a family duty ; and the rights of hospitality are sa- cred. In religion they are, with the exception of some not purely national portions of the pop- ulation, Sunnite Mohammedans, and are conse- quently opposed to the Persians, who are Shiahs ; but they are not bigoted, and alliances between Shiahs and Sunnis are by no means uncom- mon ; and they are tolerant toward Christians and Hindoos. Afghanistan was subjected for centuries alternately to Mongol and Persian dominion. Previous to the advent of the Brit- ish on the shores of India, the foreign invasions which swept the plains of Hindostan always proceeded from Afghanistan. Sultan Mahmoud the Great of Ghuzni, Genghis Khan, Tamer- lane, and Nadir Shah all took this road. After the death of Nadir in 1747, Ahmed Khan, who had served under him, liberated his country from Persia and made himself king. Under him Afghanistan reached its highest point of greatness and prosperity in modern times. He belonged to the Durranis, and his first act