spirited Hindú becomes a helpless servant to his Moslem tyrant, and a willing inducer of his own extreme degradation.

Mahommedan governments have seldom proved conducive to improvement and civilisation, the reason of which may be found in the first great fact that the fanaticism of the Moslems always induces them to make converts instead of ameliorating the condition of the people; the Seyuds, who are commonly the advisers of the prince, taking great personal interest in this matter, while their nominal master is well satisfied to draw upon his subjects for the means of personal gratification for himself and his foreign adherents, without seeking by the improvement of agriculture or commerce to render the capabilities greater, but rather to increase oppression by demands not easily met. Mahommedans also bring into the country a vast throng of mercenaries, all ready to force every thing in their power from the helpless people of the subjugated country; and consequently, although some unique instances are on record of Moslem conquerors devoting themselves to introduce wise and benevolent laws among their Hindú subjects, and to improve equally their condition and character, the exception proves the rule; and the contrary, to a most frightful extent, has commonly distinguished the Mahommedan rule in India.

Sindh is a forcible example of this general fact; and its degraded condition, whether we consider its

political power or its commercial and agricultural value, during the eight hundred years that have passed since its conquest by the Moslems, affords undeniable proof of the selfish policy and misgovernment of its rulers.

Of the ancient Hindú cities of Sindh the most important were Alôr, the capital of the upper division, and Brahmanabad of the lower: the position of the former is evinced in its ruins, but the latter has not been accurately fixed. Bambúra, a ruined place in the Delta, is supposed to be the site. Tattah was a thriving and populous city, the seat of government of the Súmrahs, Súmahs, Ghorians, and Tirkhans. Mirza Janí Beg, of the latter tribe, on the invasion of Sindh by Akbar's armies, destroyed it in the sixteenth century. It recovered for a short time; but the government being subsequently removed by the Kaloras to Hyderabad, it still further declined in size and importance. Diwal or Dibal was the principal port of Sindh, and situated on the western branch of the Delta: it was ruined at the Mahommedan invasion. Neirunkót occupied the site of the present Hyderabad (the latter being founded by Ghúllam Shah Kalora). Nasirpúr, near Hyderabad, is alluded to by geographers as one of the most beautiful cities in Sindh; but it declined in consequence of the desertion of the main stream. (The learned D'Anville considers this to be the Mansúra of the Arabs, and a city of great importance.) Sehwun, vari

ously called Sewistán (from the territory in which it is situated), has from the earliest accounts occupied a prominent position in Sindhian history: here the most furious engagements were fought, and its possession appears to have often decided the question of supremacy over the whole country. It was at one period under a distinct authority, and bears evident remains of its former size and population.

Loharry, or Rorí, is only referred to in connection with Bukkur, which was founded by the Mohammedans: both places owe their origin to religious establishments of Seyuds, and holy men, whose memories are revered to the present day, and whose tombs adorn the river's banks. The title Bukkur or "Bakar," signifies in Arabic "the dawn," and is said to have been given to it by a holy Seyud some years after its foundation. The Urghúns considered this as their capital, and Shah Beg of that tribe, as we have seen, fortified it, using the materials of the old city of Alór. The tomb of Pír Khizir, near Bukkur, is that particularly sacred spot to which the Pullah fish pay so much respect!

There are various other towns mentioned by historians, as well as ruins and traditions of ancient Hindú cities, as far westward of the river as the mountains of Bilúchistan. The more inquiry is instituted into the condition of the country prior to and at its conquest, the more does it become

apparent that it possessed a degree of populousness and general prosperity in those days, under the Hindú rule, which it continued gradually to lose, and that the ancient splendour of its numerous cities amply testify to its wealth and importance.

The ruins of Khodabad above Hyderabad should be mentioned in connection with ancient towns, as there are Brahmins in Sindh who attribute the site of this place to that of Brahmanabad; it was a favourite place of residence with the early chiefs of Talpúr, who have some fine tombs here.

CHAP. X.

Kalora and Talpúr Dynasties. - First Settlement of Kaloras in Sindh. - Adam Shah's Sanctity. - Kaloras obtain Territory. -Punished by the Emperor for contumacy. - Núr Mahomed obtains Authority. — Nadir Shah invades Sindh, and mulcts Núr Mahomed. · Ghúlam Shah and Uttur Khan dispute Succession. Ghúlam Shah prevails. - First Establishment of British Factory. — Uttur Khan intrigues — Is defeated, and submits. - Accession of Sirafraz Khan - His cruelty to Talpúrs.—Revolution.—Ubdul Nubí murders Bijar Khan Talpúr-and flees to Kilat.

FERTILE as Sindhian history is in examples of the rapid rise and fall of dynasties, the two last of the Kaloras and Talpúrs, the first a religious and the latter a pastoral tribe, merit particular attention for their intrinsic interest as characteristic of the sudden changes of power peculiar to the constitution of society in Sindh, but have also now an additional value from the circumstance of the British Government in India having under the Kaloras first obtained a footing in Sindh, while under the Talpúrs the country fell as a conquest to their arms.

It will be better to give the account of the rise and downfal of the Kaloras, a tribe of wandering religious mendicants, in much of the graphic style of the historian who collected the materials on the spot, at the beginning of the present cen