Proceedings
of the
Royal
Geographical Society (Great Britain)
Norton Shaw, Francis
Galton, Clements Robert Markham, William Spottiswoode,
Henry Walter Bates, John Scott Keltie
Published 1879
The Basin of the Helmand.
By C. E. MARKHAM, C.B., Secretary K.G.S.
(Read
at the Evening Meeting, February 24th, 1879.)
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basin of the Abistada Lake, and,
lower down, from the Arghesan Valley. It is called the
Surkh-Koh.
Between the Gul-Koh and Surkh-Koh
hills on the east, and the Sulimani Mountains on the
west, is the lofty inland basin of Lake Abistada. It is
120 miles long and about 60 wide, with the above limits
to east and west, mountains separating it from the Arghesan
Basinon the south, and the Safed-Koh and its spurs to the
north. The Takri and Katasang hills intersect the
northern half of the Abistada Basin. These mountain
ranges form so many rays branching west and southwest
from the Hindu Kush.
First the Koh-i-Baba and Siah-Koh mountains form the
northern limit of the Helmand Basin. Next, the Paghman
Hills separate the Helmand from the Arghandab, the
Gul-Koh Hills separate the Arghandab from the Turnuk, and
the Surkh-Koh and Gul-Koh divide the Turnuk and Arghandab
valleys from the Abistada Lake system. The Sher-Dahan Rangeis
the water-parting between the Helmand and the Kabul, and
the Western Sulimanis between the Helmand and Abistada
and the Indus. Lastly, the Toba and Khoja-Amran
mountains, to the south, complete the chain encircling
the Helmand Basin. Having thus examined the geography of
this region, we may now proceed to consider the river
valleys which these ranges enclose. Three rivers flow
direct into the Lake of Seistan from the Siah-Koh Mountains,
without first joining the Helmand. The westernmost of
these is almost on the boundary between Afghanistan and Persia.
This is the Harut-rud, or Sabzawar River, rising in the
continuation of the Siah-Koh, to the south of Herat, and
flowing southwards for 50 miles under the name of
Adraskand. Here it receives the Rudi-i-Gaz, and flows
through the plain of Sabzawar tinder the name of Jaya.
Finally it is known as the Harut-rud until it falls into
the Seistan Lake, after a course of 230 miles. Much of
this course is through a sandy and barren region. The
Farah-rud is so called from the town of Farah near its
banks, on the road from Kandahar to Herat. It rises
in the unexplored region of the Taimani
Aimak, the ancient kingdomof Ghor. This mountainous
and secluded tract, in the recesses of the Siah-Koh
Mountains, formed an independent sovereignty in the
twelfth century, and its kings are said to be descended
from Zohak, the famous tyrant of ancient Persia. The
Ghori dynasty flourished from A.D. 1150 to 1214; and in
1180 Muhammad Ghori replaced the Ghaznivide dynasty in India,
taking Delhiand Ajmir in 1193. The Ghori supremacy came
to an end on his death, and Ghor was overrun in the
following century by the Mughal conquerors. The
inhabitants are men of Turanian origin, but speak a
dialect of the Persian language. A section is said by
Abul Fazl to be descended from a colony established by
the Mughal conquerors, consisting of four regiments of a
thousand men. Hence the name Hazara i.e. thousand) for
the people, and Hazarajat for the country. But the
question of the origin of these mountaineers is one of
great intricacy,
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