The Kabul district and the Qizilbash population of Kabul (1893)

The Kabul district and the Qizilbash population of Kabul

The home district of Kabul, i.e., the land immediately around the capital, is very fertile and populous. Its principal sub-divisions are Chardeh, Paghman, Butkhak, Chaharasia, and Chahil Dukhtaran, and within these limits are numerous townships and villages. The district is watered by the Kabul and Logar rivers and by several streams from the west, which unite and fall into the Kabul at Guzargah. Irrigation by means of karezes is extensively practiced, and the natural streams are thereby much reduced in volume. Wheat is the chief product, and after it barley. Corn is imported from the Ghazni and Logar districts; rice from Logar, Jalalabad, Laghman, and Kunar. From Turkistan and Herat come cattle and sheep, whilst horses and ponies are imported from the former as well as bred in the district itself. For carriage, bullocks are used chiefly in the valley about Kabul; traders to the north use camels; to the east and south camels, mules, and ponies; and to the Hazara country mules and ponies.

With regard to the sub-divisions of the Kabul district and the city itself, a very brief description is all that is required.

Chardeh. ― The Chardeh valley lies to the west of the city. It is as nearly as possible six miles square, and is very fertile. It is watered by the Kabul river and its tributaries, and also by numerous karezes. The Chardeh villages and forts number more than sixty, and are inhabited principally by Tajiks and Kizilbashes.

Paghman. ― The villages of this sub-division are located to the west of the Chardeh valley in the glens running down the Paghman range, and the cultivation is carried on by means of the small streams running through these glens.

Butkhak. ― This sub-division lies to the east of Kabul. Its largest village, known as Butkhak, is 8 miles from Kabul, and is occupied by Ghilzais, Tajiks, and a few Khugaiuis. It contains 400 or 500 houses. It is an important place owing to its position at the junction of the roads viâ the Khurd Kabul and Lalaband passes. The country towards Kabul is level with a good deal of cultivation, but much cut up by watercourses.

Chaharasia. ― This sub-division consist of a group of hamlets lying about 10 miles to the south of the city. It consists of a small plain enclosed by hills on all sides, except the south-west. The Logar river cuts through the eastern range, and makes its exit through a gorge at the north-east corner of the plain. The main route to Kabul runs through this gorge. Other roads lead over the hills into the Chardeh valley. The inhabitants of Chaharasia are chiefly Tajiks, but there are also Ghilzais, Barakzais and Kizilbashes to be found here.

Chahil Dukhteran. ― This sub-division includes the country in the neighbourhood of the large village of that name about two miles south of Chaharasia. Its inhabitants are Barakzais, Tajiks, and Ghilzais.

Kabul. ― With regard to Kabul itself, a little more detailed description will be necessary. It is the capital of Afghanistan, and is situated on the right bank of the Kabul river, six miles above its junction with the Logar. North of the city, on the left bank of the river, is Deh-i-Afghan and other suburbs, beyond which is the military cantonment of Sherpur, about  mile from Deh-i-Afghan, backed by the Bemaru hill. South of the city are the Sher Derwaza heights, whilst to the east is the Bala Hissar and the Siah Sang range. On the west the Kabul river flows through the gorge formed by the Asmai and Sher Darwaza hills. The city is 3 miles in circumference, and is no longer walled. The population (including that of the suburbs) is about 140,000. Of this number over 103,000 are classed as Kabulis. These closely resemble Tajiks, and away from Kabul they call themselves such, and are apparently tolerated by the latter as inferior kinsmen. After the Kabulis come the Tajiks proper, who number 12,000. The other inhabitants in order of numerical strength are Kizilbashes, Hindus, Safis, Duranis, Kashmiris, Parachas, Ghilzais, Armenians, and Jews, the last only numbering about 50.

The climate of Kabul may be pronounced a healthy one. The height of the city above sea level is 5,780 feet. The low-lying marshy land in its vicinity gives rise to malaria, and consequently to fevers; but with proper drainage and good shelter from the rigours of winter and the midsummer sun, the place should be well suited to European constitutions. Both British and native troops at Kabul in the winter of 1879-80 suffered a good deal from pneumonia, but this was due to the exposure to cold they had to undergo. The city itself, wedged in as it is between two hills, its confined streets, want of proper drainage, and proximity to extensive marshes, seems to labour under strong disadvantages, but in compensation it has the benefits of a fine atmosphere, excellent water wells, and also from an excellent canal (amongst several others) which is brought from the Paghman hills, and joins the Kabul river near the Chandaol quarter of the city. There are five bridges across the river at Kabul, of which four were in 1880 lit for the passage of guns.

For further details, the article on “Kabul” in the “Gazetteer of Afghanistan” may be referred to.

The Military Geography of Afghanistan. Part [04]. Kabul (1893)