Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Attock

ATTOCK, a town and fort of British India, in the Panjab, situated on the eastern bank of the Indus, in 33 54 N. lat, and 72 20 E. long. The place is both of political and commercial importance, as the Indus is here crossed by the military and trade route through the Khaibar Pass into Afghanistan. Alexander the Great, Tamerlane, and Nadir Shah, are believed to have suc cessively crossed the Indus at or about this spot in their respective invasions of India. The river runs past Attock in a deep rapid channel about 200 yards broad, but is easily crossed in boats or on inflated skins of oxen. A bridge of boats is maintained for a considerable part of the year, but withdrawn in the summer as soon as the melting of the snows in the northern mountains endangers it. The fort of Attock was built by the Emperor Akbar in 1581, on a low hillock beside the river. The walls are j)f polished stone, and the whole structure is handsome ; but from a military point of view it is of little importance, being commanded by a hill, from which it is divided only by a ravine. The town was formerly a place of importance, but has now fallen into decay. On the opposite side of the river is the village of Khairabdd, with a fort, also erected by Akbar according to some, or by Nadir Shah according to others.