On the east lies the Lamghānāt,*
which comprehends five
Tumāns and two Bulūks.*
The largest of the Tumāns of
Lamgān is Nangenhār,*
which, in many histories, is written
Nagarhār. The residence of the Dārogha, or commandant
of this district, is Adīnapūr. Nangenhār lies to the east of
Kābul, thirteen farsangs of very difficult road. In three or
four places there are some very short kotals or steep hill-passes,
and in two or three places there are narrows or
straits. The Khirilchi and other robber Afghan tribes infest
this road with their depredations.*
There was no population
along this road till I settled Karatū below the Kurūk-sāi,*
which rendered the road safe. The Garmsīl (or region of
warm temperature) is divided from the Sardsīl (or region of
cold temperature) only by the steep pass of Bādām-chashmeh.*
Snow falls on the Kābul side of this pass, but
not on the Kurūk-sāi and Lamghānāt side. The moment
you descend this hill-pass, you see quite another world. Its
timber is different, its grains*
are of another sort, its animals
of a different species, and the manners and customs of the
inhabitants are of a different kind. Nangenhār has nine
streams.*
Its rice and wheat are excellent. Oranges, citrons,
and pomegranates are very abundant, and of good quality.
Opposite to the fort of Adīnapūr,*
to the south, on a rising
ground, I formed a chārbāgh (or great garden), in the year
nine hundred and fourteen.*
It is called Bāgh e wafā (the
Garden of Fidelity). It overlooks the river, which flows
between the fort and the palace.*
In the year in which
A. H. 930.
A. D. 1524.
I defeated Behār Khan and conquered Lahore and Dipālpūr,
I brought plantains and planted them here. They grew
and thrived. The year before I had also planted the sugar-cane
in it, which throve remarkably well. I sent some of
them to Badakhshān and Bokhāra. It is on an elevated
site, enjoys running water, and the climate in the winter
season is temperate. In the garden there is a small hillock,
from which a stream of water, sufficient to drive a mill,
incessantly flows into the garden below. The fourfold
field-plot*
of this garden is situated on this eminence. On
the south-west part of this garden is a reservoir of water
ten gaz square, which is wholly planted round with orange
trees; there are likewise pomegranates. All around the
piece of water the ground is quite covered with clover.
This spot is the very eye of the beauty of the garden. At
the time when the orange becomes yellow, the prospect is
delightful. Indeed the garden is charmingly laid out. To
the south of this garden lies the Koh-e-sefīd (the White
Mountain) of Nangenhār, which separates Bangash from
Nangenhār. There is no road by which one can pass it on
horseback. Nine streams descend from this mountain.
The snow on its summit never diminishes, whence probably
comes the name of Koh-e-sefīd*
(the White Mountain). No
snow ever falls in the dales at its foot. Between the mountain
and the garden there may be as much interval as would
serve a party to encamp on.*
On the skirts of this hill there
are many airy and beautiful situations. The water which
descends from it is naturally so cold, that it does not require
ice to cool it. On the south of the fort of Adīnapūr is
the Surkh-rūd*
(the Red Rivulet). The fort is situated on
an eminence, which, towards the river, is forty or fifty gaz
in perpendicular height. On the north there is a detached
mass of mountain. The fortress is very strong. This last
mountain forms the division between Nangenhār and the
Lamghānāt. Whenever it snows at Kābul, the snow falls
also on the top of this mountain, by which means the people
of the Lamghānāt can tell, from the appearance of its top,
when it snows at Kābul. In travelling from Kābul to
Lamghān,*
there is one road by which, after passing Kurūk-sāi,
you proceed through the steep pass of Dibri, and
reach the Lamghānāt by way of Būlān.*
There is another
road,*
by which, crossing Kurūk-sāi lower down than
Karabūk, and passing the river Bārān*
at Uluk-Nūr,*
and
thence proceeding by the hill-pass of Badij,*
you come
down upon Lamghān. If one travel by the road of Nijrau
he passes on by Bedrau, and, proceeding by Karabankerik,*
falls into the hill-pass of Badij. Though Nangenhār be
spoken of as one of the five Tumāns of Lamghān,*
yet there
are only three Tumāns which properly bear the name of
Lamghān.
The first of these three is the Tumān of Alisheng,* which, on the north, consists of rugged snowy hills that join the mountain of Hindū-kūsh. That mountainous country is entirely in Kaferistān. The part of Kaferistān nearest to Alisheng is Mīl; and the river of Alisheng comes down from Mīl.* The tomb of the holy Lām, the father of Nūh,* is in the Tumān of Alisheng. In some histories, the holy Lām is denominated Lāmek and Lāmekān. The people of that country have a general practice of changing the letter Kāf into Ghain, and it seems very probable that the name Lamghān originated from that circumstance.
Alingār.The second Tumān is Alingār. The part of Kaferistān that is nearest to Alingār is Gawār, and the river of Alingār comes down from Gawār. These two rivers,* after passing through Alisheng and Alingār, unite with each other, and afterwards fall into the river Bārān,* below the third Tumān, which is called Mandrāwar.
Dareh-Nūr.Of the two Bulūks which have been mentioned, one is Dareh-Nūr* (the Valley of Light), which is an uncommonly fine tract. The fort is situated at the entrance of the valley, on the projecting point of a mountain, and washed by a river on both of its sides. The grounds are chiefly laid out in rice-fields, and can be passed only by the high road. It has the orange, the citron, and the fruits of a warm climate. It has likewise a few date trees. The banks of the river, which flows on the two sides of the fort, are quite covered with trees; the most abundant of which is the chob-amlūk, which the Tūrks generally name karayemūsh.* This fruit is very abundant in the Dareh-Nūr, but is found nowhere else. It has also grapes, all of which they grow upon trees.* The wine of Dareh-Nūr is famous over all the Lamghānāt. It is of two kinds, which they term areh-tāshi (the stone-saw), and suhān-tāshi (the stone file). The stone-saw is of a yellowish colour; the stone-file, of a fine red. The stone-saw, however, is the better wine of the two, though neither of them equals their reputation. Higher up, at the head of the glens, in this mountain, there are some apes to be met with. Apes are found lower down towards Hindustān, but none higher up than this hill. The inhabitants used formerly to keep hogs,* but in my time they have renounced the practice.
Kūner andKūner and Nūrgil form another Tumān, which lies out of the way, and at some distance from Lamghān. It is situated in the midst of Kaferistān, which forms its boundary. Although it is equal in extent to the other Tumāns, yet, from this circumstance, it yields less revenue, and the inhabitants pay less. The river of Cheghānserāi,* after passing through Kaferistān from the north-east, and dividing this country, unites with the river Bārān, in the Bulūk of Kāmeh, and then passes onward to the east. Nūrgil* lies on the west, and Kuner on the east of this river. Amīr Syed Ali Hamadāni departed this life in a spot one farsang higher up than Kuner.* His disciples carried him hence to Khutlān. A mausoleum A. D. 1514. is erected on the place where he died. In the year 920, when I came and took Cheghānserāi, I circumambulated his tomb*; the orange, citron, and karenj* abound there. They get a strong and heady wine from Kaferistān. The inhabitants relate a strange circumstance, which appears to be impossible, but which is, however, constantly told. The lower part of this Tumān is called Milteh-Kandi, below which the country belongs to the Dareh-Nūr and Ater.* Higher up than this Milteh-Kandi, in the whole of this hill country, comprehending Kuner, Nūrgil, Bajour, Sawād, and all that neighbourhood, it is the custom, when a woman dies, to place her on a bier, which they lift up by the four sides. If the woman has lived virtuously, she shakes the bearers to such a degree, that, even when they are upon their guard, and attempting to prevent it, the corpse falls from the bier. If, however, she has done anything amiss, no motion takes place. It is not solely from the people of this place that I have had information of the practice, but the men of Bajour, Sawād, and the whole of the hill-country, agree in their accounts. Haider Ali Bajouri, who was Sultan of Bajour, and who governed that country with much justice, when his mother died, neither made lamentation, nor expressed sorrow, nor arrayed himself in black, but only said, ‘Go and place her on the bier; if she does not move, I will burn her.’* They placed her on the bier, and the corpse had the desired motion. On hearing this he put on black, and gave vent to his sorrow.
Cheghān-