Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

the language of birds, which Suliman alone could interpret; and others advised me to wait till I was dead, when I might perhaps know. The works of Sheab-addin Soherwerdi, and the Mabahese Meshrakiya were equally unprofitable. At length I satisfied myself with these conclusions: -The soul is subject to increase and diminution, and to various modifications of condition, from one period to another. The notion of its separate existence is altogether irrational; and man differs in no respect from other animals. I held the doctrines of the Sherakians, or fire-worshippers, for true, as I discovered what light they meant, and what fire they adored.

"I have since been settled at Rasa

[blocks in formation]

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE GOANDS.

THE Goands, who differ widely from the Mahrattas in many respects, are a most singular race, and they must strike the most casual observer as being unlike in appearance to any cast of people in Hindoostan. They are semibarbarous, of low caste as Hindoos, and speak a lan guage unintelligible to the inhabitants of the plains. A few of them get domesticated in the villages as servants; but chiefly they are to be found in the hills, where they reside in secluded parts, apparently accessible only to themselves.

The women carry burdens, more like beasts that human creatures; and in "fat and feature," might well pass for Hottentots; they are not overloaded with cloathes, one piece, or "dhotee," answering their purpose; their bodies are tattooed all over, and they wear the usual, but very heavy, brass ornaments: unlike most women, they neglect the hair, which is generally cut short. The women seem to do the work, which in other parts is the province of the men, and it is quite astonishing how much stronger, in conse

quence, they are than the males, and what heavy burdens they can carry. Their chief employment is in bringing down from the jungles, the seeds of the Mowah tree for making shurab, and selling them to the distillers; bringing down also wood, grass, and bamboos, which resting on the crown of the head, rubs off the hair, causing a premature baldness. They are Hindoos, but bury their dead; and in caste, are as low or lower than Chumars, extremely carnivorous, eating the sacred cow herself, and feasting on fowls. I have even seen them cutting up and carrying off large pieces of cows and bullocks that die near the villages, which in most parts of India become as carrion, the portion and midnight meals of wolves, hyænas, jackals, &c. &c.

The Goands, however, are deservedly famed for almost invariably speaking the truth, and thus differ as widely from the Mahrattas, as in altitude the hills they inhabit, rise above the plains of the latter.

ACCOUNT OF CHEEN OR CHINA.

(Translated from a letter from a Persian Moonshee, dated Nepaul, Oct. 20, 1823.

In the month of June 1822, the Rajah of Nepaul dispatched Dilbunjun Pandee and Divee Bhughut, and others, on a mission to China, from whence they re

turned in the following year, on the 18th of October 1823, to Nepaul, and reported as follows:

It took them eight months to reach the

[blocks in formation]

and general officers assemble at the imperial durbar.

All the females of China are purda nusheen, or veiled.

Every shop is obliged to sell a particu. lar article, and nothing more.

In summer the heat is excessive, and in winter the rivers of China are ice-bound, and the ice of such a thickness that Elephants cross over the rivers.

On the departure of the before-mentioned agents, they were invested, by order of the Emperor, with khillats, or dresses of honour.

The Emperor sent to the Rajah of Nepaul three Tanghan horses, with a variety of rich presents of all kinds.

CENTRAL ARABIA.

A WORK has recently been published in Paris, by M. Jomard, illustrative of the geography of Nedjd, or Central Arabia, a most extensive tract of country wholly unexplored by Europeans. D'Anville was almost entirely dependent upon Arabian authorities in compiling his map and geographical notices of this country. M. Jomard has derived intelligence from more recent sources. Ibrahim Pasha, the son of the present Pasha of Egypt, has lately carried on hostilities in Central Arabia, and has furnished M. Jomard with all the information he had thus an opportunity of collecting. It appears that the interior of the peninsula of Arabia, in common with all other countries (New Holland excepted), gradually becomes more elevated as its distance from the sea increases. It is generally supposed that this country is for the most part desert, but this is by no means the case; for it abounds in small oases which afford subsistence to a tolerable population, of which it is estimated that 60,000 men at least

There are

are able to bear arms. many towns, the principal of which is El-Derreyeh, which seems to have surpassed El-Yemameh in importance. El-Derreyeh is the capital of the Wahabees, an Arab tribe which has already been the dread of the Ottoman empire, and may again resume its energy.

M. Jomard, after a most careful collation of his more recent information with earlier authorities, has arrived at the conclusion, that the productions of the learned geographers of Europe are exceedingly inaccurate; and that the positions of even the celebrated cities of Mecca and Medina are very incorrectly given in their best maps.

The liberal and even enlightened character of the present Pasha of Egypt, holds out to the learned and scientific world the fairest prospects of interesting research in countries which have been hitherto closed against modern discovery, though history will render them for ever memorable.

ORIENTAL COINS.

To the Editor of the Asiatic Journal.

SIR: The occasional insertion in your Journal of something regarding the literature or antiquities of India in the Oriental character, although perhaps not interesting to a number of your readers, is very gratifying to a portion of them; I was therefore well pleased to peruse in your Journal for this month the inscriptions on some medals recently discovered in Bengal ; not that they are particularly interesting or novel, as they have been already noticed by Mr. Wilkins, in his " Views of the Ruins of Gour," published in 1817, and every information regarding the Princes by whom they were struck may be found in "Stewart's History of Bengal," published in 1813.

But I will embrace this opportunity of making a few observations on Mohammedan coins, which will enable your Oriental readers more easily to decipher those which accident may throw into their hands. It is not, however, my intention to enter into a prolix discussion on this subject, but refer your readers to Mr. Marsden's admirable work, the "Numismata Orientalia Illustrata," where they will find every information they can require.

Few of your subscribers are ignorant that a number of Musselman ⚫ states have risen on the ruin of the Khalifat, but they are probably not aware that many of the princes who founded these empires still retained a nominal respect for the successors of Mohammed, and continued to impress their coins with the name and titles of the Khalif.

The first race of Khalifs commenced in the eleventh year of the Hejira, corresponding with A.D. 632, and termi. nated in the year 656, A.D. 1228; the cities of their residence, generally speaking, were Wâsit and Bagdad.

There was a second dynasty of Khalifs who resided in Spain or Africa, Asiatic Journ.-No. 102.

and two other dynasties called the Fatimite and Abbassy Khalifs in Egypt, all of whom, at various periods, were acknowledged as their superior by several princes,

The accompaning specimens, taken from Mr. Marsden's work, will better illustrate this subject than pages of writing.

What I wish to impress on your readers is, that a great proportion of Mohammedan coins contain not only the titles of the reigning princes, but also that of the Khalif. These titles are generally on different sides of the coin, but are sometimes so intermixed as to render the deciphering of them very difficult; thus the words le

in No. 5 of the Journal belongs to the reverse side of the coin. See also No. 3 of the Specimens.

On several coins a temporal prince is acknowledged to be the Lord Paramount; thus in 181 of the Numismata, the Atabeg of Irak has admitted Mangû Kâan, the Moghul prince, to be his superior. Mr. Marsden's second volume will probably contain a number of such coins, as it frequently constituted one of the articles of peace between two potentates, an example of which may be seen in page 58 of the "History of Bengal."

The translation of the inscriptions on the coins which has given rise to this discussion is literal, but from want of attention to these circumstances, the author has ascribed to the prince, the titles which belonged to the Khalif of Egypt, whose name was

whom ناصر

Dow, in his History of Hindostan, page 311, has by mistake called the Khalif of Mecca.

The legend on the reverse of No. 1 of your Journal should be: The pillar (or strength) of the Khalifat, Nasir, commander of the faithful. VOL. XVII. 4 N

the word

In Nos. 3, 4, 5 of the Journal, the word an oath, corresponds with (No. 100 of the Numismata, and 1st of the Specimens. See Mr. Marsden's note), and the legend may therefore be translated: Attested of, or by, the Khalif of God, &c. &c.

The circumstance of Mohammed, King of Delhi, having sent an ambassador to Egypt about A.H. 743-4, and obtaining a firman and investiture from thence, is confirmed by the historians of both India and Egypt.

[blocks in formation]

SPECIMENS OF VARIOUS COINS TO ILLUS

TRATE THE ABOVE REMARKS:

1st. A coin of the Seljukian princes, being No. 100 of the Numismata, the inscription on which nearly corresponds with those of the Journal.

considered as adjuring the head of the musulmân religion to attest the validity of his (the sultan's) title. On a dirhem of the same date, but without the equestrian figure, T.-Ch. Tychsen finds the still more peculiar expres

berhan برهان امير المومنين sion of

amir al-manenin praefectus principis ركن الدين قلم ارسلان بن كيخسرو

Rukn-ed-dîn Kilij Arslân Ben Kai

Khosru,

Thirteenth sultan.

L. AREA. Figura principis equo insidentis, arcam tendentis. In parte inferiore stella.

fidelium."

N.B. The Khalif here mentioned, was the last of the Khalifs of Bagdad.

Second Specimen.

A coin of the Turkoman Ortokites, being 115 of the Numismata:

Husâm-ed-dîn Yûluk Arslán.

السلطان الاعظم ركن الدنيا MARGIN حسام الدين يولق ارسلان

وا الدين قليج ارسلان بن كيخسرو قسم امیر المومنين

Sultanus maximus Rukn-ed-duniya wa

I. AREA. Figura feminæ, ut apparet, sedentis, cum tribus figuris adstantibus.

ed-din Kilij Arslån ben Kai Khosru, II. AREA.ool will joill playl

teste (adjurato) imperatore Fidelium.

المومنين

الدین امیر الامام الناصر

-Imam Al-Naser-ed-din imperator Fide الامام المستعصم بالله II AREA

lium.

حسام الدین ملک دیاربکر MARGIN

يولق ارسلان بن ايل غازي بن

امیر المومنين

Imam Al-Mostàsem-billah imperator

Fidelium.

ضرب هذا الدرهم بسيواس MARGIN ارتق سنه سبع وثمنين وخما

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]
[blocks in formation]

منكو قاان أعظم حلو II AREA

.Bedr-ed-din Lala بدر الدين لولو الامام لا اله الا الله وحده

I. AREA.

لا شريك له المستعصم بالله امير (خناو) بل عالم پاد شاه روي

زمین (تتر) معظم

المومنين

Imam Al-Mostàsem-billah imperator

Fidelium.

Mangú s. Mankû kâan maximus.... mundi, imperator orbis terra, Tatar? magnificus.

بالموصل سنه ست .MARGIN بسم الله ضرب هذ .INNER CIRCLE ....

[blocks in formation]

A coin of the same prince, on

Amir Timur Gûrgán.
(3 dw. 19 gr.)

Sirth Specimen

Specimen of the coins of the Mamluks of Egypt, No. 260 of the Numis

mata:

الملك الظاهر ركن الدين ابو الفتح which Manga Kian, grandson of the

بيبرس

celebrated Jengiz Khan, is acknowledged to be the lord paramount, being No. 181 of the Numismata:

Al-Malek ed-Dhaher Rukn-ed-din
Abu'l fat-ha Bibars,

Fourth Mamluk-Bahrite sultan of
Egypt. .

I. AREA. Infrà, Leo currens.

الغالي السلطان الملك الظاهر ركن

.Bedr-ed-din Lala بدر الدين لولو لولو الملك الرحيم بدر I AREA الدنيا و الدين سلطان الاسلام و

المسلمين ابو الـ (فضيل)

الدنيا والدين .. برس قسیم امیر Lili. Malek er-rahim (re miseri

Lulú.

cors) Bedr-ed-duniya wa ed-din, sul

المومنين

« AnteriorContinuar »