Jalalabad District,1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Jalalabad District
A large district in Afghanistan. It was formerly a province, and contains the tracts known as Kafiristan, Kunar, Laghman, Tagao, Ningrahar, Safed Koh, and Jalalabad. The head-quarters are at Jalalabad Town. The district is bounded on the north by Badakhshan ; on the east by Chitral and territory within the sphere of British influence ; on the south by Afridi Tirah ; and on the west by the Kabul province. The whole country is intersected by vast mountain ranges, which include the eastern extremity of the Hindu Kush with its numerous spurs and branches. The Safed Koh forms its southern boundary, separating the Jalalabad valley from Afridi Tirah. From its highest point, Sikaram (15,600 feet), this range falls gently to the west and gradually subsides in long spurs, reaching to within a few miles of Kabul and barring the road from Kabul to Ghazni. The district is drained by the Kabul basin, which receives, besides numerous other streams, the waters of the Panjshir, Tagao, Alishang, Alingar, and Kunar. The valleys of the first three lead into Kafiristan ; and the Kunar affords a means of communication with Chitral, Badakhshan, and the Pamirs.
The district is inhabited by various races. The principal Afghan tribes are the Shin war is, Khugianis, Mohmands, and Ghilzais. Tajiks are fairly numerous, and there are small communities of Arabs and Hindus. Kunar contains people of the same race as the Chitr&lis ; in Tagao and Laghman Safis are found in considerable numbers, especially in the former valley. The Safis speak a language of Indo- Aryan origin, resembling that of the inhabitants of Kafiristan. There can be little doubt that the Safis were originally Kafirs, who have been converted to Islam during the last few centuries. Ningrahar, or Nangrahar, the old name of the Jalalabad valley, is now applied to the southern portion. Bellew (Races of Afghanistan) writes that it is supposed by some to signify ' the nine rivers,' though the valley does not contain so many, and is explained to be a combination of the Persian nuh, 'nine; and the Arabic nakar, 'river.' It is, however, as he points out, a word of much more ancient date and purely of Sanskrit derivation— nawa vihard, ' the nine monasteries,' the valley having been a flourishing seat of Buddhism so late as the fifth century.
The climate of the plains of Jalalabad bears a general resemblance to that of Peshawar. For two months in the hot season the heat is excessive. Rain usually falls in the months of December, January, and February ; snow rarely, if ever, on the plains east of Gandamak. During the winter, from November to May, the wind blows steadily from the west, often bringing violent dust-storms. The wide stony waste of Batikot is dreaded for a pestilential simoom which blows over it in the hot season.
From an archaeological point of view few tracts are more interesting than Jalalabad. Although it has been occupied by Muhammadans for a thousand years, there still remain abundant traces of an ancient Hindu population. The localities where these remains are found in great profusion are at Darunta, at the meeting of the Siah Koh range with the Kabul river; in the plain east of Jalalabad town; and in the vicinity of the small village of Hadda, about six miles south of Jalalabad. Three kinds of buildings are met with : namely, topes, tumuli, and caves, all undoubtedly Buddhist. In some of the topes ancient gold coins of the Eastern Roman Empire — solidi of Theodosius, Marcian, and Leo — have been discovered. Sassanian and old Hindu coins have also been found there, but no Graeco-Bactrian.
