"دليل بلاد فارس، المجلد I ويشمل محافظات أستراباد، شاهرود-بوستان، خراسان، وسيستان" [ظ‎‎٣‎٥‎٣] (٧٢٢/٧١٣)

villages neatly built, clean, and enlivened by troops of children of all ages—
an unusual si^ht. They bear a high character for courage; and are always
civil hospitable, and honest in their dealings. Their independent, manly
bearino- marked them as superior to the inhabitants of the southern districts,
and is “also an evidence of their prosperous condition. They have now
enfoyed almost uninterrupted peace for over thirty years. The villagers of
the northern mountains only are liable to molestation from the Tuikumans;
and even there the natural strength of the country is such, that they are more
usually the assailants than the assailed, and are able to maintain themselves
successfully at many points only a few miles from large settlements of the
Turkumans. , . , . „ i
The feelings of feudal attachment to their chief and of tribal union are
more marked among the Zafaranlu than among the Shahdilu—a circum
stance attributable, I believe, to their superior material condition and to the
personal character of the chief and his son, whose name was constantly m
their mouths. p r/ „
Ak-Kala was formerly the stronghold of Suliman Khan, the ^ata-
ranlu.— {Napier, Stewart.)
ZAGHtJDA—L at. , Long. ; Elev. '•
A halting-place in Khurasan, 100 miles from Shahrud, 125 miles from
Turshiz, Sultanabad, on the road between them. There is a well of water
here, but it is slightly brackish. Firewood is abundant; but the encamping-
ground is confined.— {Clerk.)
Z AH ARAB AD— Lat. , Long. ; Elev.
A village in the Kahkh subdivision of the Tabas district of Khurasan,
situated at the foot of the hills to the west of the road from Kahkh to
Bajistan, at about 3 miles from the village of Zihbad, and 12 miles from
Kahkh.— {Bellew.)
ZAHIDAN— Lat. 30° 57' 0", Long. 61° 42' 0"; Elev. ' {St. John).
A ruined fort in Persian Sistan, now containing only a few families of
labourers, but interesting, as being the site of the “ Mil-i-Zahidan ” (the
a Needle of Zahidan ”), a pillar built of kiln-baked brick without mortar, and
hollowed into a spiral staircase, but having no spiral column in its centre.
The dimensions of the tower are as follows—55 feet in circumfer
ence at the base, which is built in a square foundation, and 25 feet
at the summit: it is now 80 feet high, but has lost some of its
original height. It is sometimes called the “ Pillar of Kasimabad/' a village
about a mile off. The ruins stretch from 2 miles east of Bulai for many
miles north-east up to Jalalabad, where they are continuous with those of
Dih Shaikh, about 9 miles from the Helmand. Sarbandis and Dihkans
inhabit the place.— [Goldsmid, Bellew.)
ZAHRI— Lat. , Long. ; Elev. '.
A halting-place in Afghanistan, 32 miles, or three'stages, from Mazar-i-
Sharxf, on the road to Herat.— {Stewart.)
ZAIDAR— Lat. 37° 50' 0", Long. 57° 45' O'; Elev.
A village in northern Khurasan, about 35 miles north-east of Bujnurd.—
{Intelligence Department, War Office.)
ZAIDAR— Lat. 36° 25' 40", Long. 55°44' 0"; Elev. ' {Napier).
A hamlet in Khurasan, situated on the eastern slope of the lofty hill
of Maiumai, 43 miles east of Shahrud. It has some good trees and
running water. The Zaidar fort is described as situated on the edge