Lohūger* is another Tumān, the largest town of which is Chirkh. Moulāna Yākūb, on whom be mercy, was of Chirkh; the Mulla zādeh Mulla Osmān is also from Chirkh. Sajāwend* is also one of the towns of Lohūger, whence are Khwājeh Ahmed and Khwājeh Yunis. Chirkh has numerous gardens, but there are none in any of the other villages of Lohūger. The men are Aughān-shāl, a term well known in Kābul; it is probable, that the phrase Afghān-shaār (or Afghanlike) has been converted into Aughān-shāl.Ghazni.
There is also the country of Ghazni,*
which is often
denominated a Tumān. Ghazni was the capital of Sabuktegīn,
of Sultan Mahmūd, and of the dynasty sprung from
them. Many call it Ghaznīn. This was also the capital of
who, in the Tabakāt-e-Nāsiri, and
many of the histories of Hind, is called Muizzeddīn. It is
situated in the third climate. It is also named Zābul, and
it is to this country that the term Zābulistān relates; many
include Kandahār in Zābulistān. It lies to the west of
at the distance of fourteen farsangs. A person
setting out from Ghazni at early dawn may reach Kābul
between noonday and afternoon prayers. Adīnapūr is only
thirteen farsangs distant; but, from the badness of the
road, it is never travelled in one day. Ghazni is a country
of small extent. Its river*
may be large enough to drive
four or five mills. The city of Ghazni, and four or five other
are supplied from this river, while as many more
are fertilized by subterraneous water-courses.*
of Ghazni are superior to those of Kābul, and its melons
more abundant. Its apples too are excellent, and are carried
into Hindustān. Cultivation is carried on with great
difficulty and labour, and whatever ground is cultivated is
obliged to have a new dressing of mould every year; but
the produce of the crops exceeds that of Kābul. The madder
is chiefly cultivated here, and is carried over all Hindustān.*
It is the most profitable crop in this district. The inhabitants
of the open country are Hazāras and Afghans. Ghazni is
a cheap place compared with Kābul. The inhabitants are
Moslems of the sect of Hanīfah, and orthodox in their faith.
Many of them fast for three months*
in the year, and
their wives and children live in a correct and sequestered
manner. Mulla Abdal Rahmān was one of the eminent men
of Ghazni. He was a man of learning, and always taught
He was a holy, pious, and virtuous person. He
took his departure from this world the same year with Nāsir
Mirza. The tomb of Sultan Mahmūd is in one of the
suburbs of Ghazni, which, from that circumstance, is termed
The best grapes in Ghazni are from Rauzeh. The
tombs of his descendants, Sultan Māsaūd and Sultan
Ibrahīm, are in Ghazni. There are many holy tombs at
1504-5.] that city. In the year in which I took Kābul, after ravaging Kohat, the plain of Bannu, and Afghanistān with great slaughter, I proceeded by Dūki, and having come on to Ghazni, along the banks of Āb-istādeh,* I was told, that in one of the villages of Ghazni there was a mausoleum, in which the tomb moved itself whenever the benediction on the Prophet was pronounced over it. I went and viewed it, and there certainly seemed to be a motion of the tomb. In the end, however, I discovered that the whole was an imposture, practised by the attendants of the mausoleum. They had erected over the tomb a kind of scaffolding; contrived that it could be set in motion when any of them stood upon it, so that a looker-on imagined that it was the tomb that had moved; just as to a person sailing in a boat, it is the bank which appears to be in motion. I directed the persons who attended the tomb to come down from the scaffolding; after which, let them pronounce as many benedictions as they would, no motion whatever took place. I ordered the scaffolding to be removed, and a dome to be erected over the tomb, and strictly enjoined the servants of the tomb not to dare to repeat this imposture.
Ghazni is but a poor, mean place, and I have always wondered how its princes, who possessed also Hindustān and Khorasān, could have chosen such a wretched country for the seat of their government, in preference to Khorasān. In the time of the Sultan, there were three or four mounds for collecting water.* One of these, which is of great dimensions, was formed by the Sultan of Ghazni, on the river of Ghazni, about three farsangs up the river, on the north-west of the town. The height of this mound is about forty or fifty gaz, and its length may be about three hundred gaz. The water is here collected, and drawn off according as it is wanted for cultivation. Alāeddīn Jehānsōz* Ghūri, when he subdued this country, broke down the mound, burned and destroyed many of the tombs of the royal family of the Sultan, ruined and burned the city of Ghazni, and plundered and massacred the inhabitants. In short, there was no act of desolation and destruction from which he refrained. Ever since that time, the mound had remained in a state of ruin. In the year* in which I conquered Hindustān, I sent by Khwājeh Kalān a sum of money for the purpose of rebuilding it, and I entertain hopes that, by the mercy of God, this mound may once more be repaired. Another mound is that of Sakhen, which lies to the east of Ghazni at the distance of three or four farsangs from that city. This also has long been in a state of ruin, and is not reparable. Another mound is that of Sardeh,* which is in good repair. Some books mention, that in Ghazni there is a fountain, into which, if any filth or ordure be thrown, immediately there rises a tempest and hurricane, with snow and rain. I have seen in another history, that, when the Rai of Hind besieged Sabuktegīn in Ghazni, Sabuktegīn ordered dead flesh and other impurities to be thrown into this fountain, when there instantly arose a tempest and hurricane, with rain and snow, and by this device he drove away the enemy.* I made strict inquiry in Ghazni for this well, but nobody could give me the slightest information about it. In these countries, Ghazni and Khwārizm are celebrated for their cold, in the same manner as Sultanīah and Tabrīz are in the Irāks and Azarbāijān.Zurmet.
Another Tumān is that of Zurmet,* which lies on the south of Kābul, and south-east of Ghazni. It is distant twelve or thirteen farsangs from Kābul, and seven or eight from Ghazni. It contains seven or eight districts or villages, and the residence of the Dārogha is at Gerdez. In the walled town of Gerdez, the greater part of the houses are three or four stories in height. Gerdez is of considerable strength; and when the inhabitants were in a state of hostility to Nāsir Mirza, occasioned the Mirza no small trouble. The inhabitants of Zurmet are Aughān-shāl (Afghans in their manners). They apply to agriculture, and the raising of corn, but not to orchards or gardening. On the south of this Tumān, there is a mountain which is termed the Hill of Tūrkestān;* on the skirts of which, on a rising ground, is a fountain, near which is the tomb of Sheikh Muhammed Muselmān.Fermūl.
Another Tumān is that of Fermūl,* which is of small extent, and little importance; but its apples are tolerable, and they are carried even to Multān and Hindustān. The Sheikh zādehs (descendants of Sheikhs), who were treated with such distinguished favour in Hindustān during the time of the Afghans, were all of Fermūl, and descended of Sheikh Muhammed Musalmān.Bangash.
Bangash* is another Tumān. It is entirely surrounded by hills inhabited by Afghan robbers, such as the Khugiāni, the Khirilchi, the Tūri, and the Lander, who, lying out of the way, do not willingly pay taxes. Being occupied by many affairs of superior importance, such as the conquest of Kandahār, Balkh, Badakhshān, and Hindustān, I never found leisure to apply myself to the settlement of Bangash. But if Almighty God prosper my wishes, my first moments of leisure shall be devoted to the settlement of that district, and of its plundering neighbours.Alah-sāi.