‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎117v] (239/722)

188
KilN, or GHAlN— Lat. 33°42.' 0", Long. 59* 8'O'^ Elev. 4,800' (Walker)
A town m Khurasan, formerly the capital of the district of that name
but now supplanted in this respect by Birjand. It is situated 48 miles
north of Birjand on the eastern side of a broad valley, about two miles 1 v
six, stretching north and south at the base of a lofty hill called Abuzir
and is said to be very ancient, dating back to the time of the Gabars It
contained formerly some 10,000 houses, only about 800 of which were
occupied m 1875, the rest being in ruins. The most prominent obiect is
the Masjid-i-.Tam, also in a state of decay. The town possessed in 1872
from 70 to 80 wretched shops, three hammdms, and two ruined caravan"
sarais. On the summit of the hill Abuzir are the ruins of strong and'
extensive fortifications, and behind it a natural reservoir in the ^oek
containing some 12 feet of water. The inhabitants are mostly Saivids’
with some Turks and Heratis. In happier days the district could show We
yields of silk and saffron; but the three terrible years of drought that have
passed over it have so blighted the mulberry trees, that the yield of silk
in 1871 was not more than one-fourth of the average ; while the cultivation
of wheat has every where superseded that of saffron.
Ration of Kam gives it some importance; being equidistant from
Ivhal and Birjand, it has command over the routes leading to those places
from Herat, and there are also direct roads from it to Herat, Sabzawar, Tabas
and Farah. It would likewise be able to furnish supplies for a small force*
and it could draw in more from the fertile districts of Tun and Gunabad to
its leai . Hie only means of transport that it could supply would be donkeys
which are, however, good and numerous. It would seem to be an excellent site
for a fortress to protect the east frontier of Persia, or to form a point d’appui
from whmh to advance against Afghanistan .—Goldsmith Euan-
bmitfi, Bellew.)
KAf N, or GHAlN, DISTRICT—
the district includes the whole of the south-east corner of Khurasan
extending from a few miles south of Khaf to the Sistan desert, and from the
crest of the Tun range to the Afghan border, or a length of about 300
miles by to0, the southern part, however, sloping off from about the 300th
mile to the extreme south point of Sistan. The country of Kain is entirely
mountainousj but between its hill ranges it supports a number of wide
plateaux and fertile valleys, that mostly trend from north-west to south-east,
and range in elevation from 4,000 to 7,000 feet above the sea.
ne principal products of the province of Kam are wheat, saffron, carpets,
a cloth called barak, unmanufactured silk, nuts of all sorts, dried fruits,
almonds, and a small quantity of cotton.
The Kain district consists of ten ‘ bdluks/ or divisions, each of which
contains from twenty to thirty villages and a great number of ‘mazra/
or hamlets. The buluks are Sistan, Nihbandan, Khusp, Narjun (including
Shahwa 3, and Bll,,aild ' Sumkllana J Zfrkuh, Alkur,* Kam, Nimbuluk, and
The inhabitants of Kainat are of various races and tribes, both of Arab
and Persian descent, with an admixture of Afghans and Baluchis.
Ihe population is probably not less than 80,000 souls. The ruling
ann y is escen e iom an Arab Saiyid of the tribe Khazma, byname
• T G J 7 Sma ; K h . a ; 1 ’ wk( ? received it as a grant from Nadir Shah. The governor,
in 1875 Mir Alam Khan, had the title of Hashmat-ud-Daulat, and vvas much
r us cc and lespected by the Persian Government. His country, though
* or “ Alghur.”