CANDAHAR, the capital of the above province, and a large and populous city. Its form is that of an oblong square; and as it was built at once on a fixed plan, it has the advantage of great regularity. All the four great streets or bazars in the city meet in a central point, where there is a circular space of about forty or fifty yards in diameter, covered with a dome. This place is called the Chaursoo. It is surrounded with shops, and may be considered as the public market-place, where proclamations are made, and where the bodies of criminals are exposed to the view of the populace. The four streets are each about fifty yards broad. The sides consist of shops of the same size and plan, all one story in height, with the lofty houses of the town overlooking them from behind; and in front runs an uniform veranda, along the whole length of the street. There are gates at the entrance of the streets, with the exception of the northern one, where stands the king's palace facing the Chaursoo. All the other streets run from these four; and though they are narrow, they are all straight, and almost all cross each other at right angles. This city, however, though it is more regular in its plan than most of the cities of Asia, has but a mean appearance, being built for the most part of brick, often with no other cement than mud. It is divided into various quarters, which are attached to the respective tribes and nations which form the inhabitants of the city. Almost all the great nobles of the Dooraunce tribe have houses in Candahar, and some of them are said to be large and elegant. Among the common people the Hindus have the best houses, which they are in the practice of building very high. There are many caravanserais and mosques; but of the latter, one only near the palace is said to be handsome. The palace is not remarkable; but it contains several courts, many buildings, and a private garden. Near the palace stands the tomb of Ahmed Shah, which is not a large building, but has a handsome cupola, and is elegantly painted, gilt, and otherwise ornamented within. It is held in high veneration, and is a sure asylum, from which the king does not even venture to drag his enemies. It is also common for any of the great lords who are discontented with the world, to retire to this tomb, and to spend the remainder of their lives in prayer. The city is well watered by two large canals from the river Urghundaub, which are crossed in different places by small bridges. From these canals small water-courses run to almost every street in the town, which are in some parts open, and in others are under ground. Candahar is a place of great trade and resort; its streets are crowded from noon till evening; all sorts of trades are carried on in it; and all articles of manufacture from the west are in much greater plenty and perfection than at Peshawer. The Turcoman merchants from Buckharia and Samarcand frequent the markets of Candahar, whence they transport into their own country a considerable quantity of indigo
and other commodities. Candahar so far differs from the other cities in Afghanistan, that the greater part of the inhabitants are Afghans, and of these the greater number of the Dooraunce tribe. But the rude institutions and manners of the Afghans are here superseded by regular government and an efficient police. (See AFGHANISTAN.) The other inhabitants are the same as those in the province, being an assemblage from the different nations of the East. Candahar is surrounded with gardens and orchards, and many places of worship, which are more frequently scenes of pleasure than of devotion. About two miles to the north of the city stands the fortress of Candahar, on the top of a precipitous rock, which, before the introduction of cannon, was considered impregnable. This fortress was in very early times the residence of a Hindu prince. In the beginning of the eleventh century it was in possession of the Afghan tribes, from whom it was taken by Sultan Mahmood of Ghizne. It was afterwards captured by the troops of Ghenghis Khan in the beginning of the thirteenth century, and by those of Timur in the fourteenth. In 1507 it was taken by the Emperor Baber, but was soon afterwards recovered by the Afghans. In 1521 Baber again got possession of it, after a long siege. Homayon, the son of Baber, when he was expelled from the throne of Hindustan, agreed to make over the fort and district of Candahar to the Persian monarch, in return for the aid which he gave him. But repenting of his promise, he again got possession of the fortress, which by its strength defied all the efforts of the Persians to reduce it, and it remained an appendage of Hindustan until the year 1625, when it was taken by Shah Abbas the Great, and being surrendered by treachery, was recovered in 1649, and was successfully defended against Aurungzebe with an army of 50,000 men. Three years after, he was again compelled to retreat from it with disgrace. It remained in possession of Persia till 1709, when it was taken by an Afghan tribe. It was retaken by Nadir Shah, after a siege of two years; and on his assassination, it was taken in 1747 by Ahmed, the chief of the Abdallies, who thereby laid the foundation of the Afghan power. We have no information as to the population. Elphinstone, to whom we are indebted for the preceding account, says, "I am utterly at a loss to fix the extent of Candahar, or the number of inhabitants which it contains." The travelling distance from Delhi by Cabul is 1071 miles; from Calcutta, 2047 miles. (Foster's Journey from Bengal to England; Rennell's Memoir of a Map of Hindustan; Elphinstone's Account of the Kingdom of Cabul.) (v.)