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38

EARLY ARAB GEOGRAPHERS.

The city of Fámhal[1] is on the borders of Hind, towards Saimúr, and the country between those two places belongs to Hind. The countries between Fámhal and Makrán, and Budha, and beyond it as far as the borders of Multán, are all dependencies of Sind. The infidels who inhabit Sind are called Budha[2] and Mand. They reside in the tract between Turán, Multán, and Mansúra, to the west of the Mihrán. They breed camels, which are sought after in Khurásán and elsewhere, for the purpose of having crosses from those of Bactria.
Tht city where the Budhites carry on their trade is Kandábíl, and they resemble men of the desert. They live in houses made of reeds and grass. The Mands dwell on the banks of the Mihrán, from the boundary of Multán to the sea, and in the desert between Makrán and Fámhal. They have many cattle sheds and pasturages, and form a large population.
There are Jám’a Masjids at Fámhal, Sindán, Saímúr, and Kambáya, all which are strong and great cities, and the Muhammadan precepts are openly observed. They produce mangoes, cocoa-nuts, lemons, and rice in great abundance, also great quantities of honey, but there are no date trees to be found in them.
The villages of Dahúk[3] and Kalwán are contiguous to each other, situated between Labí[4] and Armábíl. Kalwán is a dependency of Makrán, and Dahúk that of Mansúra. In these last mentioned places fruit is scarce, but crops grow without irrigation, and cattle are abundant.
Túrán[5] is a town.
Kasdár is a city with dependent towns and villages. The governor is Muín bin Ahmad, but the Khutba is read in the name

  1. [See Note A. in Appx.]
  2. The passage is difficult. Gildmeister says, “Gentiles, qui in Sindia degunt, sunt Bodhitæ, et gens quaæ Mund vocatur. Bodha nomen est Tariarum tribuum,” etc. (p. 172), where see also the note in which he adduces a passage from Ibu Haukal, showing that there was a class of Jats known by the name of Nodha, in the neighbourhood of Multán, and therefore the passage may be translated “Nodhites and Mands.” [See Note A. in Appx.]
  3. [Ibn Haukal has “Rahuk,” and Idrísí “Ráhún and Kalwán.”]
  4. [“Kíz” in Ibu Haukal and Idrísí.]
  5. The printed text says. “Túrán is a valley, with a city of the same name, in the centre of which is a citadel.”