a city of Persia, in the province of Koom. It stands on an extensive plain, and on the banks of a small river, which rises at no great distance, and is lost in the great Salt Desert. This city was built by the Saracens in the year 806, upon the site, as D'Anville supposes, of the ancient Choona. It was erected from the ruins of seven towns, which had composed a small sovereignty under an Arabian prince. It afterwards became one of the finest cities of Persia, and was long celebrated for the manufacture of silks. It was taken by the Afghans in 1722, when they invaded Persia, and completely destroyed it. Part of it has since been rebuilt, but it has still the appearance of a vast ruin. There is a very beautiful college, with a celebrated mosque and sanctuary erected to the memory of Fatima, the daughter of Imaum Reza. In the mosque are still to be seen the tombs of Sofi the First and Shah Abbas the Second. The dome is lofty, and has been gilded at the expense of the king. About ten miles to the north of the town is a very curious hill in the middle of the plain, called by some Nimick Koh, or the mountain of salt, and by others Koh Talism, the mountain of the talisman; for, according to the tradition of the country, no person ever succeeded in gaining its summit. Long. 50. 29. E. Lat. 34. 45. N.