It is situated in the third and fourth climates. Its length from Aṭak Benáres on the Indus to the Hindu kóh is 150 kós; its breadth from Ḳarábágh* of Ḳandahár to Cheghán Será, 100 kós. It is bounded on the east by Hindustán; on the north-west by the mountains and Ghór; between to the north lies Anderáb of Badakshán, the Hindu kóh intervening; on the south by Farmul and Naghr. Adequate praise of its climate is beyond the power of pen to express, and although its winter is severe rather than moderate, it occasions no distress. The torrid and cold belts are so contiguous that the transition may be made from one to the other in a single day. Such approximation of summer and winter pasturage in an inhabited country is uncommon. Snow falls both in the plains and on the mountains; in the former from November and on the latter from September: Báber states that the snowfall in the direction of Hindustán does not pass the crest of the Bádám Chashmah.* This doubtless was the case in those days, but at the present time it extends to the crest of the Nímlah, and indeed as far as the Khaibar pass. Even in summer time covering is needed during the nights. There are various delightful fruits, but the melons are not so good.* Agriculture is not very prosperous. The country is surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains, so that the sudden invasion of an enemy is attended with extreme difficulty.

The Hindu kóh separates Kábul from Badakshán and Balkh, and seven routes are employed by the people of Turán in their marches to and fro. Three are by the Panjhír* (valley), the highest of which is over the Khawák pass; below this is Ṭúl, and the next lower in succession, Bázárak. The best of these is Ṭúl but it is somewhat long as its name implies. The most direct is over the heights of Bázárak. Between the high range and Parwán are seven other heights called Haft Bachah (the Seven Younglings). From Anderáb two roads unite at the foot of the main pass and debouch (on Parwán) by the Haft Bachah. This is extremely arduous. Three other roads lead by Parwán up the Ghorband valley. The nearest route is by the pass of Yangi-yúli,* (the new road) which leads down to Waliyán and Khinján; another is the Ḳibcháḳ pass, also somewhat easy to traverse, and a third is the Shibertú. In the summer when the rivers rise, it is by this pass that they descend by way of Bámián and Tálikán, but in the winter the A´bdarah route is chosen, for at this season, all other routes but this are closed.

There is also a road leading from Khurásán to Ḳandahár which is direct and has no mountain pass.

From Hindustán five roads are practicable. 1. Karpah, which after traversing two defiles, leads to Jalálábád. This route is not mentioned by Báber and doubtless was not used in his time. 2. Khaibar, this was formerly somewhat difficult, but by the command of His Majesty it has been made easily practicable for wheeled conveyance, and at the present time travellers from Turán and India take this route.* 3. Bangash which is reached by crossing the Indus at the Dhankoṭ* ferry. 4. Naghr. 5. Farmul, by which the Indus must be crossed at the Chaupárah ferry.

Eleven languages are spoken in this province, each nationality using its own, viz., Turkish, Mughal, Persian, Hindi, Afgháni, Pushtu, Paráchi, Geberi, Bereki, Lamgháni and Arabic.* The chief tribes* are the Hazárahs and Afgháns, and the pasturage of the country is in the hands of these two clans. The Hazárahs are the descendants of the Chaghatai army, sent by Manku Ḳáán to the assistance of Hulákú Khán. These troops were sent to these parts under the command of his son Nikodár Oghlán. Their settlements extend from Ghazni to Ḳandahár and from Maidán to the confines of Balkh. They number more than 100,000 families,* the third part of which consists of cavalry. They possess horses, sheep and goats. They are divided into factions, each covetous of what they can obtain, deceptive in their common intercourse and their conventions of amity savour of the wolf.

The Afgháns consider themselves the descendants of the Israelites. They assert that their remote progenitor, named Afghán,* had three sons, viz., Saraban to whom the Sarabani clan trace their lineage; the second, Ghurghusht from whom the Ghurghustis claim descent, and the third Baṭan to whom the pedigree of the Baṭani tribe is ascribed. From these three branches they developed into their several clans, each distinguished by its eponymous tribarch. The following septs unite in SARABAN, viz., Tarín, Baraich, Miyánah, Kharshín, Shiráni, U´rmar, Kási, Jamand, Kheshgi, Katáni,* Khalíl, Mohmandzai, Dáúdzai, Yusufzai, Kaliyáni,* and Tarkaláni. From GHURGHUSHT spring the Suráli (var. Suráni), Jílam, Orakzai, Afrídi, Jagtáni, Khattaki, Kararáni, Báwar, Mansúb, Kákar, Nághar, Báni, Maswáni, Pani, and Táran. To BAṬAN are ascribed the Ghilzai, Lódi, Niyázi, Loḥáni, Súr, Bani, Sarwáni and Kakbór.*

It is said that Mast Ali* Ghóri whom the Afgháns call Matí had illicit intercourse with one of the daughters of Baṭan. When the results of this clandestine intimacy were about to become manifest, he preserved her reputation by marriage, and three sons were born to him, viz., Ghilzai, Lódi, and Sarwáni.

Some assert the Afgháns to be Copts, and that when the Israelites came to Egypt from Jerusalem, this people passed into Hindustán. The tradition is too long to be condensed within narrow limits, but it is noticed in passing as a fanciful digression.

There are many wild tribes, such as the Khwájah Khizri, Ḳáḳshál, Mai­dáni, Uzbek, Kalatki, Paránchi, Nilpúrchi, Bakderi, Bahsúdi, Sídibái, Tufa­kandáz (matchlockmen), Arab, Gilahbán (shepherds) and Túḳbai but not as numerous as the first mentioned, and most of them at the present time have become settled colonists.

The City of Kábul is situated in the fourth climate. Its longitude is 104° 40,'* and its latitude 34° 30.' It is one of the finest of ancient* cities, and is said to have been founded in the time of Pashang. It possesses a double earthwork fortress of considerable strength. To the south-west of the fortified town is a low hill which is a source of much beneficence, called Sháh Kábul,* doubtless with reference to an edifice erected upon it by one of its former kings. Upon its summit stands the citadel, and there was a separate ridge* named Aḳábain. As it somewhat overlooked the fort, it was included within its precincts by royal command. Skirt­ing its base are fair embankments, pleasure-g??rdens and delightful groves, amongst which the Shahr A´rá (Pride of the City) are especially beautiful. The city is watered by two streams. One of these, called the Júi Khaṭíbán, enters from Lalandar and flowing through the Shahr A´rá passes by the city; the other, the Júi Pul i Mastán,* more wholesome and limpid than the former, from the narrows of the Deh i Yạḳúb winds past the Delhi Gate and runs on to Deh i Mạmúrah. Near this a canal called Máhum Anagah* has been brought, which is of extreme convenience, and adjacent is the Gulkanah quarter fair to the eye and dear to the heart. From the hill (of Sháh Kábul) flow three streams citywards; at the head of one is the shrine of Khwájah Hamu;* the second, according to popular belief, had been visited by the prophet Khizr; the third is over against (the tomb of) Khwájah Abdu's Ṣamad known as Khwájah Roshanái. The wise of ancient times considered Kábul and Ḳandahár as the twin gates of Hindustán, the one leading to Turkestán and the other to Persia. The custody of these highways secured India from foreign invaders, and they are likewise the appropriate portals to foreign travel.

In Kábul as well as in Samarḳand and Bokhára, a parganah which comprises towns and villages is called a Túmán.* The Túmán of Bígrám is called Parasháwar, the spring season of which is delightful. Here is a shrine greatly venerated called Kórkhatri,* visited by people especially jógis from distant parts.

The Túmán of Néknihál* is one of the dependencies of Lamghán. The residence of the governor was formerly at Adínahpúr but is now at Jelálábád. There is here no snowfall and the cold is not so severe. Nine streams irrigate the cultivated lands; the pomegranates have no seed-stones. Near Jelálábád is the Bágh i Ṣafá* (The Garden of Purity) a memorial of Báber, and adjacent to Adínahpúr is the Bágh i Wafá (The Garden of Fidelity) another relic of the same monarch. To the south lies the stu­pendous range of the Safed kóh (The White Mountain) with its perpetual snows from which it derives its name. In this neighbourhood is a low hill* where when it snows in Kábul, a similar snowfall occurs.