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『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

66

THE ARABIAN GEOGRAPHERS.

Lahåwar (Lahor). Then there are the mountains of Billûr, in the direction of Turkistan, which are denominated Shamilån.

The Jehlum he calls the river of Tibet, a new indication that by the name Tibet was generally understood only the western part of the mountainous world. The rivers of Panjab are all said to combine with the Satlader or Satlej. From the same mountains which send down the »panj-ab» or five rivers to the south, the »haft-ab», or seven rivers, go to the north and form the river of Balkh, Amu-darya.

The city of Kanauj stands on the western bank of the Ganges; to which BINAKITi, who quotes portions of this chapter, adds : »which comes from the city of Turmuz, through the mountains of the east» (Elliot); a curious statement, regarding Rashideddin's view that the seven rivers of the Amu-darya join at Turmuz. Rashideddin himself is better informed than Binåkitf. He says: »The Ganges issues from its source, called Gangdwår, and waters many of the cities of India ...)

Rashideddin quotes Alberuni word for word in giving the itinerary from India through Nepal to Tibet.

Of the source of the Indus we learn: »The Sind rises in the mountains of Amak, on the borders of the Turkish country.» Alberuni has Unang. 2

In the geography of the great prince ABULFEDA, who was born at Damascus in 1273 and died 1331, and who distinguished himself as much in scholarship as in the wars against the crusaders and Mongolians, we do not, however, find much of value as to the regions that are of special interest to us. His work was accomplished in 1321. Of the Indus, Nahr Mihran, he says it has also the name Sind, and gives the same description of its course in India as we know from his predecessors.

C'est un grand fleuve, dont l'eau est très-douce; il ressemble au Nil d'Égypte, en ce qu'il nourrit dans son sein des crocodiles ... On lit dans le Resm-Almamour que le fleuve Mihran prend sa source sous le I26e degré de longitude et le 36e degré de latitude; qu'il coule au sud-ouest ... 3

He has nothing about the source of the Ganges.

Le fleuve du Gange, Nahr Gang, est appelé par les Indiens Gangou. Il s'avance à l'orient de Canoge (Kanauj) ... Le Gange est un fleuve très-respecté des Indiens; les Indiens s'y rendent en pélerinage; ils se précipitent dans ses eaux ou se tuent sur ses rives.

The great latitudinal system of ranges in the interior of Asia he simply calls

Djebel, or »the Mountain» par ,référence:,

Djebel est le nom d'une chaîne, qui partant des frontières de la Chine s'étend à l'occident jusqu'au pays de Fergana et de Osrouschna (dans le Transoxiane); elle passe entre les

I The Billûr-tågh or )crystal mountains» running north through Badakhshan. Shamilår is probably from the Arabic )Shamil», north. (DowsoN). Sachau writes Bolor.

2 Of Amak CUNNINGHAM says: »This is apparently the Tibetan Gya-nag, pronounced Ganak, which means the Black Plains, and is the name for Chinese Tartary where the Indus actually rises) ELLIOT, op. cit. p. 64.

3 Géographie d'Aboulféda par M. Reinaud. Tome II, Paris 1848, p. 79.