"دليل بلاد فارس، المجلد I ويشمل محافظات أستراباد، شاهرود-بوستان، خراسان، وسيستان" [و‎‎٣‎١‎٢] (٧٢٢/٦٣٠)

RACHAMAN— Rat. ^Long. j Elev.
A flourishing village in Khurasan, miles west of Zurabad, on the Jagatai-
Juvain plain. The people here are very much accustomed to meeting
Europeans—so many Russians and Russian Armenians travel about this
part of the country purchasing provisions for the troops in the Trans-
Caspian province of Russia.— [Stewart.)
RADKAN— Lat. 36° 5-2' 0", Long. 58° 5B 7 20"; Elev. ' [Napier).
A large village in Khurasan, 52 miles from Mashhad, on the road to Dara-
ghaz. It contains 1,000 houses of Kiwanlu Kurds, and is defended by
double mud walls, towers, and a ditch. It is the seat of one of the Kurdish
chiefs in that quarter.
Two miles from the village is the tower, or Mil, of Radkan—a very fine
specimen of ancient brickwork. It is a circular, cone-shaped tower formed
of fluted brick columns. The roof has been covered with blue porcelain tiles,
and there are the remains of an inscription in the Cufic character in blue
porcelain letters, much defaced, especially on the north side. The inscription
was in giant letters, each letter having been several feet in height. The
interior bad originally been divided into three stories; but the wooden floors
have fallen in. There is a stair in the thickness of the wall, and the tower
can be ascended for a considerable height, though the stairs are in a very
ruinous state. The object of the tower is obscure. It was not intended
for defence, as there are no loopholes or openings of any sort, except two
doors opposite each other at the bottom. As the tower is very lofty, and
placed on rather high ground, it may have been intended for a look-out
tower. Tradition points to this tower as a shooting lodge of one of the
Turkoman kings of Persia. A similar tower, with a similar name, stands
near the village of Radkan, on the road from Shahrud to Ghaz, in the bay
of Astarabad. It may fairly be presumed that the towers have given their
names to the villages, and that some clue to their history may be traced in
the name. ‘ Radkan ' appears to be neither Turkish nor modern Persian ; it
is probably some obsolete word indicating the purpose of the building.—
[Fraser, Napier, Stewart.)
RADKAN— Lat. 36° 40' 30", Long. 54° 13' 40"; Elev. ' [Napier).
A village in the province of Astarabad. It is situated on the hillside above
the camping-ground of Asp-wa-Niza and the Nikah stream. [Napier.)
RADKAN— Lat. , Long. ; Elev. /
A subdivision of the Mashhad district of Khurasan. It lies about 40 to 50
miles to the westward of Mashhad, and consists of 10 to 14 villages lying
at the foot of the Kalat range, the principal of which has 500 houses.
The population in all amounts to about 1,500 families of Kiwanlu Kurds..
All the villages have fine gardens, cornlands, and pasture. Phey supply 300
mounted men. Revenue—cash, 4,680 tumans ; grain, 660 kharwars. Esti
mated population, 6,000.— [Napier.),
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