IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Southern Tibet : vol.7 |
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Citation Information
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| ORME AND DOW. 97 northern winds, after having scoured the vast plains of Tartary, receive additional keenness in their passage over the summits of mount Caucasus, covered with eternal snows: They bring intense cold into the countries which lay at the foot of these mountains ....» The map illustrating ROBERT ORME'S work, gives an idea of his conception regarding the country to the north of India.' A very sharply defined range or wall of mountains forms the northern boundary of Hindustan. On the S. W. side of its western part, is Kasmire. North of its eastern part is Tibet or Budtan. North of its western part is Tartary. Between the two, Kobi or Great Sandy Desert comes in and reaches to the presumed sources of the Ganges. The rest of the country north of India has been left blank. The same map also accompanies ALEXANDER DOW'S translation of FERISHTA, 1768.2 The single difference is that it has some scanty detail added to the north of the defined boundary range. But these additions do not improve the map. Nagracut, where an image was worshipped still in 1768 is entered as the name of a place, not of a mountain. The Himalayan boundary range is called Mt. Sewalic. Kash Mire is on the S. W. side of Mt. Jarcund. Yarkand is thus regarded as a mountain range and not as a town. N. E. of this range is Tarkhind, marked as a territory surrounded by mountains on all sides. The Upper Indus, which was so well conceived by MONSERRATE in 1581, does not exist at all. A meridional mountain range, the last remains of PTOLEMY'S meridional Imaus, starts from the neighbourhood of Nagracut and reaches a latitudinal range, representing the Kwen-lun. Cashgar and Chotan constitute two self-contained basins. Pl. XII is a reproduction of the northern half of this map. It is surprising that any mapmaker could draw such a fantastic representation of these parts of Asia 38 and 3 5 years after the publication of the excellent maps of STRAHLENBERG and D'ANVILLE. When Ferishta speaks of hostile invasions in India from the north, Dow, in his notes, is not able to tell which regions and roads are meant, and even in our days it would be difficult to do it. In Ferishta we find, for instance, the following description of an invasion: 3 In the beginning of the year 409 (A. D. i o i 8), as soon as the sun began to awake the children of the spring, Sultan Mamood, with a hundred thousand chosen horse, and thirty thousand foot, raised in the countries of Turkistan, Maverulnere, Chorrassan, and the adjacent provinces, undertook an expedition against Kinnoge, which from the time of Gustasp to this period, had not been visited by any foreign enemy. Kinnoge was distant from Ghizni three months march , and seven great rivers rushed across the way. When Mamood reached the confines of Cashmire , the Raja sent him presents of every thing I A General Map of Indostan or the Great Mogoi's Empire with the Adjacent Countries ... . 2 History of Hindostan by Mahummed Casim Ferishta of Delhi. Vol. I, London, MDCCLXVIII. 3 Op. cit., p. 71. 13. VII. | ||||||||||||
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