National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

Laháwar (Lahor). Then there are the mountains of Billúr, in the direction of Turkistán, which
are denominated Shamilán. ¹

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-dàrya.
The city of Kanauj stands on the western bank of the Ganges; to which
BINÁKITÍ, 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 Binákití. He says: »The Ganges
issues from its source, called Gangdwár, 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
Ámak, 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 accom-
plished 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 pre-
decessors.
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 126e 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 pèlerinage; 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 préférence:
Djebel est le nom d'une chaîne, qui partant des frontières de la Chine s'étend à l'occi-
dent jusqu'au pays de Fergana et de Osrouschna (dans le Transoxiane); elle passe entre les