PROVINCES AND DISTRICT CENTRES, ETHNOGRAPHICAL
AND OROLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION
Afghanistan to-day is divided into five major provinces--Kabul,
Herat, Kandahar, Afghan Turkestan and Badakshan; and two
territories--Kafiristan and Wakhan. Kandahar includes Seistan and the
basin of the Helmund; Herat the basin of the Hari-Rud and north-western
Afghanistan; Afghan Turkestan the former khanates Andkhui, Maimana,
Balkh and Khulm; the province of Badakshan administers the territory
of Wakhan and the regions of the Upper Oxus. Kabul, Herat and Kandahar
are the centres of their respective provinces; Tashkurgan and
Mazar-i-Sharif of Afghan Turkestan and Faizabad of Badakshan.
The province of Kabul is bounded on the north-west by the Koh-i-Baba,
north by the Hindu Kush, north-east by the Panjsher river and on the
east by Jagdalik. In the south its limits are defined by the Sufed Koh
and Ghazni; to the west by the hill country of the Hazaras, while its
area of administration includes Bamian and Haibak. The province is
very mountainous, but it contains also a large portion of arable lands
which, lying along the base of the hills, derive much of their richness
from the off-scourings of the mountain faces.
Wheat and barley are the chief products, these grains constituting
the staple food of the poorest classes. Nonetheless, the crops are
not sufficient for the needs of the province and the demands of an
inter-provincial export trade, which exists in a flourishing condition.
Cereals are imported from Ghazni and rice from Upper Bangash,
Jelalabad, Lughman and even Kunar. In bad years, when prices rule
high, corn is obtained from Bamian, which is also the chief centre
for supplies of ghee. The Hazara country and the Ghilzai region are
active competitors with Bamian in this trade. Agriculture and pastoral
pursuits in the main attract the sole energies of the countryside;
the most important pasturage existing in Logar. Grass is plentiful
in the Kabul valley and also towards Ghorband, while agricultural
development is greatest in the Butkhak district. Water is abundant
and every landowner devotes considerable attention to fruit-culture.
A large proportion of the population in the Kabul province live in
tents during the summer months. The villages are of various sizes and
usually number 150 families. As a rule the villages are not fortified;
but each contains a small guard-tower from where a watch is kept over
the villages, fields and flocks. Sheep are maintained for purposes
of breeding, but bullocks, camels, mules and horses are employed in
transport--trading between Turkestan, India and Khorassan. Bullocks are
made use of within the precincts of the Kabul valley; camels between
Kabul province, Khorassan and Turkestan; mules and ponies between the
province and the Hazara country.
The province of Badakshan lies in the extreme east of Afghanistan. It
is bounded on the north and the east by the course of the Oxus, south
by the crests of the Hindu Kush as far as the junction of the Hindu
Kush with the Mustagh and Sarikol ranges, west by a line which crosses
the Turkestan plain southwards from the junction of the Kunduz river
with the Oxus, from which point it proceeds ultimately to strike the
Hindu Kush. The principal sub-divisions of Badakshan are: on the west,
Rustak, Kataghan, Ghori, Narin and Anderab; on the north, Darwaz, Ragh
and Shiwa; on the east, Gharan, Ishkashim, Zebak and Wakhan; elsewhere,
Faizabad, Farkhar, Minjan and Kishm. Numerous lofty mountain ranges
and deep rugged valleys, wherein there is no little agricultural
development, define its physiography, while ethnographically the bulk
of the people of the province are Tajik.
In winter the climate is severe, the mountain passes being blocked by
snow and the rivers frozen. In general it appears somewhat diversified
and in the loftier parts of the province the agricultural seasons are
frequently ruined by early frost. The chief industrial centres of the
region are situated in the more temperate zones where the valleys are
sheltered by the orological development. The rain-fall, by reason of
the stimulating influence of the forests, is abundant, especially in
March and April. With the end of April a period of drought, continuing
throughout May, June, July and in a lesser degree in the months of
August, September and October, begins. Snow makes its appearance in
November, but the heavier falls do not begin until the middle of
December.
The principal industry of Badakshan is agricultural; but there is
also considerable mineral wealth, while salt deposits and sulphur
mines are known to exist and in some measure have been exploited.
Salt and sulphur are found in the valley of the Kokcha; iron exists
near Faizabad, while the ruby mines, for which the province has been
celebrated, and the lapis-lazuli mines, are found respectively on the
right bank of the Oxus close to Ishkashim, in Gharan and near the
sources of the Kokcha. The ruby mines lie some 1200 feet above the Oxus
river; but the deposits are not worked regularly, although from time
to time in the reign of Abdur Rahman projects for developing them were
initiated.
[Illustration: WOMAN POUNDING GRAIN]
The alpine territory of Wakhan lies in the extreme north-east. It
consists of two upland valleys which are traversed by the Panja. These
are hemmed in on either side by lofty mountains; those to the south
form the northern section of the Hindu Kush here crossed by very
difficult passes, the easiest of which is the Baroghil (12,000 feet)
leading to Chitral and Gilgit. The chief resources of the people are
derived from their flocks of sheep and droves of Tibetan yak. Wakhan
is too elevated and sterile for tillage, but it yields a pasturage like
that of the Pamir region. In this alpine district the lowest hamlet
is 8000 feet; Sarhad, the highest, is no less than 11,000 feet above
the sea. Nevertheless, pulse and barley crops are grown in the more
sheltered glens.
As a province Afghan Turkestan ranks among the most important in
the State. Before its division at the hands of Abdur Rahman it
embraced much of the territory which he apportioned to the province
of Badakshan, including every important khanate contained within the
Oxus region. If now, when Afghanistan has been reduced to order and a
settled system of administration has given place to the authority of
the Khans, its revenues are less than others, its position is equal
to Herat and Kandahar. In importance it has ranked hitherto with the
capital province and contained the divisions of Maimana, Andkhui, Balkh
and Khulm, together with a number of so-called industrial centres,
including Tashkurgan, a commercial market and Mazar-i-Sharif. The
limits of the province include the southern half of the Oxus basin
from the frontier of Badakshan on the east to the upper waters of
the Murghab on the west. The Oxus forms the northern border from the
confluence of the Kokcha river to Khwaja Sala. To the south it is
contained by the high mountains of the Hindu Kush, which form the
dividing line of the country from east to west.
Quite lately Habib Ullah has proposed to re-distribute the various
districts which make up the provinces of Badakshan and Afghan
Turkestan, so that two new provinces may soon come into existence.
These will have their headquarters at Mazar-i-Sharif and Khanabad
respectively. The first will consist of the districts of Balkh, Akcha,
Shibirghan, Andkhui and Tashkurgan, extending to the Oxus on the north
and Bamian on the south. The second will take in all the country
eastwards to Chitral, including Badakshan and Wakhan. Each province
will have a Governor with two Deputies. Sirdar Ghulam Ali Khan, brother
of the Amir, will be Governor of one, and another brother, Sirdar Omar
Khan, will have his headquarters in the other. It is intended at a
later date to subdivide the provinces of Herat and Kandahar in similar
fashion, all the governors being of royal blood.
[Illustration: A BALUCHI SHEPHERD]
The province of Herat extends, east and west, from near the sources of
the Hari-Rud to the Persian boundary beyond Ghorian, some 300 miles;
and in length, between its northern frontier and Seistan in the south,
some 200 miles. As a whole the region lacks any particular industrial
or agricultural activity, its present appearance suggesting that
the unsettled conditions prevailing on its northern frontiers have
discouraged all efforts towards local development. Although it contains
such centres as Obeh and Sabzawar, besides places of less note, it is
an impoverished province and requires years of honest administration
before it can recover from the ill-effects of the abuses which have
distinguished its existence.
Although the Herat province for a long time has been the seat of
Afghan government, sometimes in subordination to Kabul or upon
occasion independent, it has been, nevertheless, the object of
constant attention from Persia. Since Ahmed Shah Durani founded the
Durani empire Herat has ranked as one of the three chief cities of
the country; and, even with the downfall of the dynasty which Ahmed
Shah established and his son Timur wrecked, it has contrived to play
an interesting part in the fortunes of the State, if not always an
important one. But from the time when it was incorporated in the Afghan
kingdom by Dost Mahommed forty-three years ago, it has experienced
without any serious interruption the yoke of the Kabul Government,
until, freed from the menace of Persian aggression by British
intervention, it needs to-day only a period of equitable government to
restore its fortunes.
At the present date the province comprises between five and six hundred
villages, with some forty-five thousand households distributed over the
centres of Ghorian, Sabzawar, Farah Bakwa, Kurak, Obeh, Ghor and Kala
Nao. In the days when it formed a separate principality, many tribes,
now lying within the Persian and Russian boundaries, were allied in
arms with Herat, the prestige of its reputation enforcing a general
recognition of its position and obedience to its behests. The old order
has now quite disappeared. With the advance of Russia to the northern
frontier of Afghanistan the independence of these roving peoples has
been curtailed and their love of war suppressed, the new arrangement
depriving the former khanate of no small proportion of its earlier
glories. As a province of Afghanistan, Herat is the headquarters of
the Commander-in-Chief of the north-western frontier and the seat of a
provincial governor; it remains to be seen whether it becomes a centre
of industrial activity in connection with the army.
While it is impossible to define with absolute accuracy the various
boundaries, there is no doubt that in point of size the province
of Kandahar is the most extensive of any in Afghanistan. Although
it has long ceased to be the seat of the supreme government of the
country, this province is second to none in the value of its commercial
importance, while its revenues have become an important factor in the
upkeep of the kingdom. The dimensions of its wide area extend from a
few miles south of Ghazni in the north-east to the Persian frontier and
from the northern extremity of the Hazara country to the Afghan-Baluch
border. The district centres which the province contains are Farah,
Kelat-i-Ghilzai, Girishk, Laush, Khash, Barakail and Afghan-Seistan. A
division of interests marks the relations existing between Kandahar and
the Farah district which, although governed from Kandahar, exercises
complete jurisdiction over its own revenues. Excluding this source,
the local revenue, which is assessed in grain, returns a little short
of a million rupees annually, the customs and town duties of Kandahar
city equalling the land revenues of the entire province. Lying somewhat
closer to Kabul than does Herat, Kandahar has shared the fortunes
of the capital city, revealing the effect in itself of any change
of rulers in Kabul. Nevertheless, while it has experienced certain
intervals of independence, Kandahar province unlike Herat province
has not suffered from the effects of continuous dynastic wars and the
dread of Persian invasion. In general, too, the tide of its disasters
has flowed from India, British armies of occupation having been in
possession of its areas at various dates since Anglo-Indian arms first
supported the cause of Shah Shujah. The days of British intervention
have passed long since and the province, no less than the city, is now
an integral part of the Amir’s dominions.
[Illustration: ELDERS FROM WAKHAN
_Photo, Olufsen_]
The division of Afghanistan into settled provinces is due to the
initiative of Dost Mahommed, the earliest movement in this direction
being the despatch of an expedition under Mahommed Akbar Khan, his son.
This brought about the downfall of the khanates in the regions south of
the Oxus. Turkestan, including what is now described as Badakshan, was
not completely subjugated as the result of this individual’s military
activities. It was not until about 1866, when Shir Ali despatched
Mahommed Alum Khan to Balkh as Governor of that centre, that the
operations began which were to lead to the complete conquest by Afghan
arms of all the khanates contained within the Oxus region. Mahommed
Alum Khan through his general, Hafiz Ullah Khan, defeated Mahmud
Shah the ruler of Badakshan. By this victory the dependent states of
Shignan, Roshan and Wakhan were occupied. Subsequently, the annexation
of Maimana rounded off the operations which, in the first instance
at the hands of Mahommed Akbar Khan and later at the instigation of
Mahommed Alum Khan, had brought about the extension of the Afghan
dominions to the banks of the Oxus and the Murghab. The conquered
area was not to remain long without a change in the fashion of its
government; one of the earliest administrative acts of Abdur Rahman was
to split it up into two divisions--Afghan Turkestan and Badakshan. With
this improvement upon the previous condition of their affairs, these
troublous little hot-beds of anarchy and misrule were extinguished, the
areas being incorporated in one or other of the two provinces; their
former boundaries now represent the limits of the districts or counties
into which they were converted.
The chief of these khanates was that of Kunduz, presided over by a Mir
and covering 19,000 square miles. It was divided into three districts:
(1) Kunduz, with the sub-districts of Baglan, Ghori, Doshi, Killagai,
Khinjan, Anderab, Khost, Narin, Ishkashim, Khanabad, Tashkurgan,
Haibak.
(2) Talikhan, with the sub-districts of Talikhan, Rustak, Chiab,
Faizabad, Jarm, Wakhan.
(3) Hazrat Imam, with the sub-districts of Hazrat Imam, Siab, Kulab,
Tapa, Kurgan Yube, Kabadian, Muminabad.
Great changes have taken place in the territory which once belonged to
Kunduz. Kulab, Muminabad, Kabadian, have passed into the possession of
Russia; while Ghori, Narin, Kunduz, Baglan, Anderab, Rustak, Wakhan and
Faizabad have been shorn from its territories and handed over to the
province of Badakshan for administrative purposes. In the days when the
Khan of Kunduz exercised jurisdiction over a belt of country extending
from the Wakhan valley to the Kunduz river, the population was returned
at 420,000 people, in the main composed of Uzbegs and Tajiks. At that
time, too, the district of Kunduz possessed 60,000 houses, that of
Talikhan 25,000 houses, while in Hazrat Imam there were 20,000 houses.
Kunduz, the former capital of this territory, has fallen from its
high estate. It is nowadays a mean and sparsely inhabited district;
the little town itself contains barely 1500 houses, the extreme
unhealthiness of the region having caused the residents of this former
populous centre to abandon it. The place still boasts traces of a
fortress; and a wretched citadel, situated in its north-east corner, is
the seat of a petty official. Time has quite obscured the lines of the
defences, and a dry ditch, which once surrounded the work, is now laid
out in fruit gardens or sown with patches of corn.
West of Kunduz lay the Khanate of Khulm, now eclipsed by the more
important centre of Tashkurgan. In the days of its supremacy the Khulm
territory included the districts of Tashkurgan, Haibak and Khurram
Sarbag. When the seat of local government was removed from Khulm to
Tashkurgan, the place lapsed into decay and, now that Haibak has
been brought under the direct administration of the Kabul province,
Tashkurgan has become the most important centre of what was once a
flourishing khanate. The town of Khulm stood out in the Oxus plain,
surrounded by a belt of very productive land. The irrigation of this
district was highly developed; even now there are numerous orchards and
cultivated fields about the site of the ruined city. The population has
disappeared and barely 100 families remain on the outskirts.
To the east of Kunduz, 15 miles distant, is Khanabad, the proposed
centre of one of the suggested new provinces. It is situated on the
right bank of the Farkhan branch of the Kunduz river. The population
is dependent on traffic from Cis-Oxus areas, although in recent years
considerable local trade has sprung up. The town is surrounded by
high walls and lies on the brow of hills which overlook the Kunduz
region; it contains some 1500 households. In summer-time a far larger
estimate could be returned as its numbers fluctuate. A position of some
military strength has been made, and the fort, which is comparatively
new, possesses strong mud walls, 18 feet in height. The Farkhan river,
abreast of Khanabad, divides into two channels: the western channel is
3 feet deep and 15 yards wide; the stream possesses a rate of 5 miles
an hour. The eastern channel is 60 yards wide and flows immediately
below the walls of the town.
Tashkurgan, a cheerless group of villages enclosed by a mud wall, is
the great trade mart of Afghan-Turkestan and a distributing point for
the merchandise which caravans bring there from India and Bokhara. The
wall, which is 3 miles in circumference, is pierced by wooden gates,
and the houses of the villages number between 15,000 and 20,000. The
population is subject to fluctuation. It falls as low as 15,000 in the
winter season, rising with great rapidity so soon as the opening of the
passes permits the resumption of trade relations with China, Russian
Turkestan and India. Each house is protected by an 8-foot high mud
wall, which imparts a dreary and monotonous appearance to the streets.
The houses are built of clay and sun-dried bricks, with one storey and
a domed roof. As a rule, they stand amid a profusion of fruit-trees;
and, in the approach from the west, the town is lost in a maze of
fruit-gardens. The streets are straight and only of moderate breadth;
they intersect each other at right angles and down the centre of each
there is an irrigating channel. A branch of the Doaba river, increased
by many rivulets, runs through the town, but it is absorbed by the soil
soon after it has passed Old Khulm.
Bazaars are held every Monday and Thursday and, in addition to the
produce of Bokhara and India, there is a considerable market in
live-stock: horses, mules, cows, sheep, goats and asses being assembled
in their respective quarters for sale. Cotton goods, cloth and
silk-stuffs from India; tanned leather, raw cotton, hides, fuel from
Turkestan; grapes, raisins, pistacia nuts, pomegranates, dried plums
from the country-side; rock salt, Russian boots, indigenous dyes--as
the pomegranate bark and madder--and indigo imported from India, are
exposed, together with chogas from Chitral and raw wool from Badakshan.
Printed chintzes, quilts and turbans are also brought from Russian
Turkestan; and coarse saddlery from Kabul is much in request. One
section of the bazaar is set aside for the sale of melons, which are
raised in great quantities in the neighbourhood.
The population is typical of a frontier region, and a sprinkling of
natives from every quarter of Central Asia may be found there. The
Hindus act as money-lenders and bankers, exacting an exorbitant usury;
and other natives of India keep the drug stores and the dye shops. The
vendors of dried fruits are mostly from Kabul. The trade with Yarkand
is in the hands of Andijani merchants, who acquire the sheep and furs
of the Oxus territory in exchange, at Yarkand, for tea, which is
disposed of in Turkestan.
Fifty miles to the west of Khulm there is the beginning of what once
was the territory of Balkh, which draws its water from 18 canals
fed from the Balkh river. To-day the scene of the Mother of Cities
reflects nothing but decay. The bazaar, simply a covered street with
a few shops in it, runs through the village. The combined population
of the district does not exceed 2000, including a small colony of
Hindus and about 70 Jews. Both these classes are shop-keepers and each
is subject to a capitation tax. The caste of the Hindus is shown by
the usual painted marks upon the forehead and the Jews wear a black
sheepskin cap. The climate of Balkh is very insalubrious, but the heat
is temperate. In June the thermometer does not rise above 80°, while
July is the hottest month of the year. The crops do not ripen until
July, which makes the harvest fifty days later than Peshawar. The
region is unusually fertile. Indeed, the fruit of Balkh is most famous,
and the apricots grow to the size of apples. The soil is of a greyish
colour, like pipe-clay and very rich. Within the Balkh region water
is distributed by means of aqueducts leading from the Balkh river.
The area of cultivation is not sufficient to exhaust the capacity
of these canals, their constant overflow accounting for the extreme
unhealthiness of the place. Aside from this peculiarity, the country is
not naturally marshy. The district lies some 1800 feet above the level
of the sea, about 6 miles from the hills on a gentle slope, which sinks
towards the Oxus. The waters of the Balkh river do not at the present
day reach the Oxus, the stream being consumed in the Balkh plain.
The spectacle of ruined Balkh, which at one time extended in a circuit
of 20 miles, must recall Old Merv. Formerly it was surrounded by walls,
some 6½ miles in circumference. Nothing is left of these walls to-day
but a mound of dried mud, worn by the weather into all manner of
desolate and fantastic shapes. The whole of the northern half of the
old city is one vast waste. Within the Akchah gate, three lofty arches
mark the remains of the Jumma Masjid and at the cross-roads there are
the foundations of the charsu. A little to the east of it there are
two lofty gateways, the remains of the main city gates--the western
portion of the city having been added subsequently. The southern and
south-eastern portions stood upon a high mound which resembled the
position of Herat; but all the remainder, with the exception of the
old fort and citadel, was low and not more than 10 feet thick. The
citadel, in its south-west corner, stood some 50 feet higher still.
The whole was surrounded by a separate moat, rather narrow towards
the city but with steeply-scarped sides.[29] This citadel must now be
nothing but a mound, the weather having obliterated even the remnants
found by Colonel C. E. Yate. To its north lay the fort, an empty, bare
place, surrounded by high walls and ruined bastions, with no signs of
habitation except the débris of a mass of low brick buildings at its
southern end. It stood at a considerable height above the level of its
surroundings.
Between Khulm and Balkh, 9 miles east of Balkh and 26 miles from Khulm,
is Mazar-i-Sharif, situated on a canal drawn from the Balkh-ab and
containing rather more than 2000 households. It is held in the greatest
veneration by Mahommedans in general and especially by Shiahs, on
account of the firm conviction that Hazrat Ali was buried there. The
tomb consists of two lofty cupolas which were built some 480 years
ago. An annual fair is held, during which old and young, the blind,
the infirm, the halt and the maimed of many a distant region crowd to
Mazar-i-Sharif and, encamping round its shrine, plead day and night for
the saint’s interposition on their behalf. Where cures are effected,
they are the result more usually of a change of air and scene; but the
greater portion of the faithful return as they came, bewailing their
want of belief and their sins, yet never questioning the potency of the
shrine.
Mazar-i-Sharif is the summer resort of nearly the whole population of
the Balkh district, as its situation is more elevated, its temperature
less oppressive and its air less impure than that enjoyed by the Mother
of Cities. In contrast with Balkh it is the centre of a flourishing
district, where the soil is rich, returning ample compensation for any
agricultural attention that it may receive. A large trade emanates from
this region, as, in addition to an extensive settled population, there
are considerable military establishments. The headquarters of these
are located at Takht-a-Pul, where Dost Mahommed was occupied for five
years in constructing a fortified cantonment, and Dehdadi. The former
is protected by a broad deep moat and enclosed within double walls 30
feet in height, pierced for musketry, bearing gun towers and flanked
by imposing bastions; the latter commands the road from the Oxus and
lies upon the summit of a high mountain overlooking Mazar-i-Sharif
from the south-west. Twelve years were spent upon the construction and
equipment of this frontier stronghold, and in the days of Abdur Rahman
it was defended by an assortment of guns, embracing Krupp field-pieces,
naval quick-firers--such as Nordenfeldt and Hotchkiss--and a number of
maxims. The works are well protected from gun-fire, and great pains
have been taken to depress all epaulements to the level of the mountain
face.
Beyond Balkh the territories of a number of minor khanates began.
Forty miles west of Balkh there was Akcha, an Uzbeg khanate, while
further west again there were the areas of the four territories of
Andkhui, Shibirghan, Saripul and Maimana. The first and the last of
these petty governments were the most important, the latter preserving
until lately a form of independence. Each of these little states
has experienced singular vicissitudes, fighting constantly among
themselves, occasionally uniting against the Afghans or the Amir of
Bokhara. Andkhui, particularly, has endured many reverses of fortune,
since, lying upon the roads from Herat, the Turcoman country and
Bokhara, it has always been subject to attack. In recent years it has
enjoyed a period of peace, but even under existing conditions it has
not regained its earlier prosperity. At one time the khanate contained
nearly 50,000 families, 13,000 living in the town. The population is a
mixture of many races--Tajiks, Uzbegs, Persians and Turcomans--whose
religious convictions are divided between the Shiah and Sunni sects in
almost equal proportions.
Andkhui is situated on the Sangalak river, which, rising in the
Band-i-Turkestan, flows past Maimana to be lost in the desert before
reaching the Oxus. The water of the river is undrinkable; but it is
used extensively for purposes of irrigation, and imparts so much
prosperity to the Andkhui district that a zone of cultivation extends
several miles round the city. Fruit, corn, rice and live-stock are
raised in great abundance; a bustling trade is conducted in black
lambs’-skins with Persia, in camels with the districts beyond the
Oxus, in fruit and cereal products with inter-provincial centres.
The population now resident in the town has fallen from its former
high figure; it is estimated that there are only 3000 families within
the walls. The houses are all flat-roofed, low mud-buildings. The
city walls are in ruins; the bazaar and the fort are the sole points
of interest in the place. The bazaar, which is situated where four
cross-roads meet, is insignificant. It lies in the centre of the town
and is roofed with matting. The market days are Sundays and Thursdays;
but little business at other times is transacted. Beyond the bazaar
there is the fort--a high, irregularly-shaped enclosure, some 250 yards
or 300 yards in diameter. It is occupied by a garrison consisting of
one company from the regular regiments at Maimana, three companies of
Khasadars, two guns and 100 sowars, the latter force being quartered
beyond the walls on the northern face.
The last of the little khanates, whose areas now compose the province
of Afghan Turkestan, is that of Maimana. This extends a distance of
18 miles in breadth and 20 miles in length. Besides the chief town
it contains ten villages, of which the most considerable are Kaisar,
Kafarkala, Alvar and Khojakand. Maimana itself has 35,000 families. The
population, divided into settlers and nomads, is estimated at 100,000
souls; in point of nationality they are for the most part Uzbegs of
the tribes of Min, Atchamali and Duz. There is a sprinkling of Tajiks,
Heratis and a few Hindus, Afghans and Jews. Hindus and Jews pay small
capitation taxes. The town Maimana is situated upon a plain in the
midst of hills. It is surrounded by an earth-wall 12 feet high, 5
feet thick and a ditch. It has towers at the angles and four gates.
Its extent is about 2 miles in circumference, but the place shows
considerable neglect and decay. The town is extremely filthy, and the
bazaar is in a most dilapidated condition. In it are three mosques and
two schools, the former constructed of mud and the latter of brick.
The revenue of the district is estimated at £20,000, but the taxes of
the town are levied by the local authorities as follows: one tithe on
the produce of land, one tila (Rs. 7) on each garden, 2½ per cent. on
cattle, sheep, and merchandise, one-half tila on each house, six tilas
on each shop, one tila on the sales of horses or camels. In addition to
the tax on merchandise, transit duties are levied on every camel-load
of iron or other goods, while the Government also forms a close
monopoly of alum, nitre and sulphur.
In a sense the Hindu Kush is the dominant mountain system, together
with that extension which radiates from the Tirogkhoi plateau and the
stupendous peaks of the Koh-i-Baba. Everywhere the orology is of a very
rugged and difficult nature and its natural divisions may be said to
be:
(1) The basin of the Kabul river, including its tributaries, the
Logar, Panjsher and Kunar rivers.
(2) The table-land valleys of the Ghilzai country from Ghazni to
Kandahar, including the Argandab, the Tarnak and the Arghesan.
(3) The tributary valleys of the Indus, viz., Kurram, Khost, Dawar,
Gomul, Zobe and Bori.
(4) The valley of the Helmund.
(5) The basin of the Hamun lake.
(6) The valley of the Hari Rud.
(7) The valley of the Murghab.
(8) The tributary valleys of the Oxus, viz., Maimana, Balkh, Khulm,
Kunduz and Kokcha rivers.
The general elevation of the country is considerable. Starting from the
Koh-i-Baba it slopes outwards and attains in the table-land of Ghazni
and the upper valleys of the Hari Rud, Helmund and Kabul rivers its
highest points. Sloping downwards towards its boundaries the waters of
its rivers become absorbed by irrigation or lost by evaporation. Except
in its north-east corner, it grows more desert-like in character and
is bounded in all other directions, if not by a desert, at least by a
belt of “bad lands,” in which the work of cultivation and the march of
habitation is everywhere arrested by a want of water.
As opposed to the mountain system of Afghanistan there is very little
plain. Except between the foot of the northern slopes of the Hindu Kush
and the Oxus, at the foot of their south-western slopes along the lower
courses of the Hari Rud, the Farah and the Helmund, and the desert
to the south of Kandahar, there is none. Certain of the valleys have
wide stretches of level, which, although they may not be described as
plains, are of such an open, undulating nature that they afford ample
space for cultivation. The water question is the great difficulty;
although the number of rivers in Afghanistan is considerable only the
Helmund is of any magnitude. Generally speaking, they are fordable
everywhere during the greater part of the year. Their volume, too, is
greatly diminished by the irrigating channels, by which a stream of
some promise at its source rapidly dwindles away. The supplies that
they yield to cultivation make them of importance.
The following are the chief hydrographic divisions:
(1) The Kabul river and its tributaries.
(2) The Indus affluents.
(3) The basin of the Oxus.
(4) The basin of the Helmund.
(5) The basin of the Hari Rud.
[Illustration: KASI KHODA DA OF ISHKASHIM
_Photo, Olufsen_]
The prevailing climatic conditions of Afghanistan are dryness combined
with great extremes of temperature. Snow lies on the ground for three
months during the year in the Kabul and Ghazni districts, while many of
the peaks from the Hindu Kush to Kelat rise above the snow-line. But
so much depends on elevation that Jelalabad, 2000 feet above the sea,
is scarcely colder than India, while the winters on the neighbouring
Kohistan uplands are as severe as those of Russia. The coldest month
of the year is February, the mean minimum being 17° F. and the maximum
38° in the northern districts. The greatest cold is accompanied by an
extreme lowness of temperature; during the continuation of the cold
wave, which may remain for several days, the temperature varies from
a mean of 12° below zero to a maximum of 17° below freezing-point.
In Kabul, where the snow lies upon the ground for three months, the
thermometer falls to 3° below zero and in Ghazni it sinks to 10° below
zero, with a daily maximum rise of 5°. The summer heat, on the other
hand, is everywhere high, especially in the Oxus region where a shade
maximum of 110° to 120° is usual. At Kabul (6500 feet) the glass rises
to 90° and 100° in the shade, and in Kandahar to 110°. None the less,
southern Afghanistan is, on the whole, decidedly more salubrious than
the fever-stricken lowland districts of Afghan Turkestan.
If such is an outline of the physical and climatic conditions of
Afghanistan, the ethnographic divisions no less require mention. In
spite of the disappearance of the khanates and the incorporation of
their territories with Kabul, strong differences of race still mark out
the several peoples.
The subjoined table comprises the different tribes classified according
to their geographical distribution:[30]
{ { Wakhis } Hindu Kush (northern
{ { Badakhshis } slopes).
{ {
{ Galcha { Swatis }
{ Branch { Siah-Posh Kafirs } Hindu Kush (southern
{ { Safis } slopes).
{ { Chagnans }
{
{ Kohistanis Hills north of Kabul.
{
Aryans. { { { Kabul; Suliman Mountains;
{ { Afghans { Kandahar; Helmund
{ { { basin; Herat.
{ Iranic {
{ Branch { Tajiks { Herat; most towns and
{ { { settled districts.
{ {
{ { Seistanis Lower Helmund. Hamun.
{
{ Indic { Hindkis Most large towns.
{ Branch {
{ Mongol { Hazaras } Northern highlands between
{ Branch { Aimaks } Bamian and Herat.
Mongol-. {
Tatars { Turki { Uzbegs Afghan Turkestan.
{ Branch { Turcomans Herat, Maimana and Andkhui.
{ Kizil Bashis Kabul chiefly.
The Afghans claim to be Ben-i-Israel, but since Ahmed Shah Durani
announced the independence of his state the Afghans of Afghanistan have
styled themselves Durani. They are settled principally in the Kandahar
country, extending into Seistan and to the borders of the Herat valley.
Eastward they spread across the Afghan border into the Toba highlands
north of the Khojak, where they are represented by Achakzai and Sadozai
clans. They exist in the Kabul districts as Barakzai (the Amir’s clan),
and as Mahmundzai (Mohmands) and Yusufzai. They occupy the hills north
of the Kabul river, Bajaor, Swat, Buner and part of the Peshawar plains.
After the Afghans the dominant people are the Pukhtun or Pathans,
represented by a variety of tribes, many of whom are recognised as
being of Indian origin. They inhabit the hilly regions along the
immediate British frontier. The Afridi Jowaki and Orakzai clans hold
the highlands immediately south of the Khyber and Peshawar, the Turis
of the Kurram, the Dawaris of Tochi and the Waziris of Waziristan
filling up the intervening Pathan hills north of the Gomul. In the
Kohat district the Khattak and Bangash clans are Pathan so that Pathans
are found on both sides of the border.
The Ghilzai is reckoned as a Pathan, and he is also connected with
the Afghan. Nevertheless his origin is distinct; he claims only ties
of faith and affinity of language with other Afghan peoples. The
Ghilzai rank collectively as second to none in military strength and
in commercial enterprise; further their chiefs take a leading part in
the politics of the country, possessing much influence at Kabul. They
are a fine, manly race of people, and it is from some of their most
influential clans (Suliman Khel, Nasir Khel, Kharotis, etc.) that the
main body of Povindah merchants is derived. These frontier commercial
travellers trade between Ghazni and the plains of India, bringing down
their heavily-laden _kafilas_ at the commencement of the cold weather
and retiring again to the hills ere the summer heat sets in. During
the winter months thousands of them circulate through the farthest
districts of the peninsula, where it not infrequently happens that
they prove to be troublesome, if not dangerous, visitors.
Underlying the predominant Afghan and Ghilzai elements in Afghan
ethnography there is the Tajik, who, representing the original Persian
possessors of the soil, still speaks his mother tongue. There are pure
Persians in Afghanistan, such as the Kizil Bashis of Kabul and the
Naoshirwans of Kharan. The Tajiks are the cultivators in the rural
districts: the shop-keepers and clerks in the towns; while they are
slaves of the Pathan in Afghanistan no less than the Hindkis are in the
plains of the Indus.
Next in importance to the Tajik is the Mongol Hazara, who speaks a
dialect of Persian and belongs to the Shiah sect of Mahommedans. The
Hazaras occupy the highlands of the upper Helmund valley, spreading
through the country between Kabul and Herat, as well as into a
strip of territory on the frontier slopes of the Hindu Kush. In the
western provinces they are known as Hazaras, Jamshidis, Taimanis and
Ferozkhois; in other districts they are distinguished by the name of
the territory which they occupy. They are pure Mongols; intermixing
with no other races, preserving their language and their Mongol
characteristics they are uninfluenced by their surroundings.
In Afghan Turkestan the Tajik is allied with the Uzbeg and Turcoman;
the chief Turcoman tribes left to Afghan rule being the Alieli of
the Daolatabad-Andkhui districts and the Ersaris of the Khwaja Salar
section of the Oxus frontier. Originally robbers and raiders, they have
now beaten their swords into ploughshares and concern themselves with
agricultural pursuits.
Thus while there is an Afghan race almost identical in physical type,
speech, religion and culture, there is none possessing a distinct
sense of its unity, with common political sentiments and aspirations.
The Duranis, the Ghilzais, the Waziris, the Afridis, the Mongols,
Mohmands, Jusufzais and others form so many different communities
within the State. Each possesses separate interests, although Ahmed
Shah Durani endeavoured to give a national importance to his tribe,
not only by changing its name from Abdali to Durani, but also by
associating with it other sections--the Jusufzais, Mohmands, Afridis,
Shinwaris, Orakzais and Turkolanis--under the common designation of
Bar-Duranis. The attempt failed, and these sections still retain their
tribal integrity, declining to be fused together; so that, while the
peoples of Afghanistan have lost their independence, it cannot be said
that they have not preserved their individuality.
[Illustration: CHILDREN FROM THE UPPER OXUS
_Photo Olufsen_]
Whatever the descent of the Afghans may be, the following, a list of
the races inhabiting Afghanistan at the present day, represents an
endeavour to establish the connections between them.
(1) =The Durani tribes are=:
1. Popalzai; 2. Alikuzai; 3. Barakzai; 4. Achakzai; 5. Nurzai;
6. Ishakzai; 7. Khugianis.
(2) =The Tarins are divided into=:
(_a_) The Spin Tarins.
(_b_) The Tor Tarins.
=The Spin embrace=:
1. Shadizai; 2. Marpani; 3. Lasran; 4. Adwani.
=The Tor include=:
1. Batezai; 2. Haikalzai; 3. Malizai; 4. Kadazai;
5. Khanizai; 6. Khamzai; 7. Alizai; 8. Nurzai;
9. Kalazai; 10. Naezai; 11. Musizai; 12. Abdulrahmanzai;
13. Habilzai; 14. Hamranzai; 15.
Karbela; 16. Sezai.
(3) =The Kakars are composed of=:
1. Jalazai; 2. Musa Khel; 3. Kadizai; 4. Utman Khel;
5. Abdulazai; 6. Kabizai; 7. Hamzazai; 8. Shabozai;
9. Khidarzai.
(4) =The Ghilzais control=:
⎧ Zabr Khel Shahmomalzai.
⎪ Ahmadzai Kaisar Khel.
⎪ Umar Khel Khwazak.
Ibrahim ⎨ Adamzai Stanizai.
⎪ Chalozai Ali Khel.
⎩ Chinzai Andar.
⎧ Ohtaki.
Turan ⎨ Tokai.
⎩ Hotaki.
(5) =The Povindahs comprise=:
1. Lohani; 2. Nasir; 3. Nazai; 4. Kharoti.
(6) =The Waziris are made up of=:
1. Mahsud; 2. Utmanzai; 3. Ahmadzai.
(7) =Shiranis.=
(8) =The Turis are broken up among=:
1. Gundi Khel; 2. Alizai; 3. Mastu Khel; 4. Hamza Khel;
5. Dopazai.
(9) =The Zaimukht are represented by=:
1. Mamuzai; 2. Khwahdad Khel.
(10) =Orakzais.=
(11) =Dawaris.=
(12) =Khostwals.=
(13) =The Afridis are split into=:
1. Kaki Khel; 2. Malik Din; 3. Kambar; 4. Kamr; 5. Lakha
Khel; 6. Aka Khel; 7. Sipahs.
(14) =The Tajiks embody=:
1. Kehwani; 2. Ada Khel; 3. Petla; 4. Ahman Khel; 5. Ali
Khel; 6. Jamu Khel; 7. Husen Khel; 8. Keria Ahmud Khel.
(15) =The Mongols are formed of=:
1. Miral Khel; 2. Khajuri; 3. Zab; 4. Margai; 5. Kamal Khel.
(16) =Jadrans.=
(17) =The Shinwaris are constituted by=:
1. Khoja Khel; 2. Shekhmal Khel; 3. Mirdad Khel; 4. Ashkben
Khel; 5. Syad Khel; 6. Sangu Khel.
(18) =The Mohmands are indicated as=:
1. Tarakzai; 2. Alamzai; 3. Baizai; 4. Khwaizai; 5. Utmanzai;
6. Dawezai.
(19) =The Yusafzais (Kohistani) dissolve into=:
1. Baizai; 2. Khwazozais; 3. Malizais; 4. Turkilanis; 5. Utmanzais;
6. Hasanzai; 7. Akazai; 8. Mada Khel; 9. Iliaszai;
10. Daolatzai; 11. Chagarzai; 12. Nurizai; 13. Utman Khels.
[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN VILLAGE
_Photo Olufsen_]
[29] “Northern Afghanistan.” Major C. E. Yate.
[30] “Asia.” A. H. Keane.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO AMIR’S PAVILION AT JELALABAD]