a country of Asia, situate on the north-western coast of the Indian Peninsula. It is bounded on the N. by Afghanistan; on the E. by Sind; on the S. by the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea; and on the W. by Persia. It extends from Lat. 24° 50' to 30° 20', and from Long. 57° 56' to 68° 38'; its extreme length from E. to W. being 660 miles, and its breadth 370.

The outline of the sea-coast is in general remarkably regular, running nearly due E. and W., a little N. of Lat. 24° 46', from Cape Monze, on the border of Sind, in Long. 66° 35', to Cape Zegin, in Long. 58° 4'. It is for the most part craggy, but not remarkably elevated, and has in some places, for considerable distance, a low sandy shore, though almost everywhere the surface becomes much higher inland. The principal headlands, proceeding from E. to W., are Cape Monze or Ras Mouree, which is the eastern headland of Sonnanece Bay; Goorab Sing, Ras Arubah, Ras Noo, forming the western headland of Gwaddel Bay; Ras Jeenee, forming the eastern point of Gwettar Bay, and Cape Zegin at the western extremity. There is no good harbour along the coast, though extending about 600 miles; but there are several roadsteads with good holding-ground, and sheltered on several points. Of these the best are Sonnanece Bay and Choubur Bay, at which last point is the only place on the coast deserving the name of a town, there being elsewhere nothing but small and wretched villages.

Of the early history of this portion of the Asiatic continent little or nothing is known. The poverty and natural strength of the country, combined with the ferocious habits of the natives, seem to have equally repelled the friendly visits of inquisitive strangers and the hostile incursions of invading armies. The first distinct account which we have is from Arrian, who, with his usual brevity and severe versacity, narrates the march of Alexander through this country, which he calls the country of the Orizt and Gadrossi. He gives a very accurate and judicious geographical account of this forlorn tract, its general aridity, and the necessity of obtaining water by digging in the beds of torrents; describes the food of the inhabitants as dates and fish; adverts to the occasional occurrence of fertile spots, the abundance of aromatic and thorny shrubs and fragrant plants, and the violence of the monsoon in the western part of Mekran. He notices also the impossibility of subsisting a large army, and the consequent destruction of the greater part of the men and beasts which accompanied the expedition of Alexander. At the commencement of the eighth century, this country was traversed by an army of the kaliphate.

The Belooches are, with few exceptions, Mahommedans of the Soonnee persuasion. They date their origin from so late a period as the Mahommedan invasion of Persia, and are very desirous of being supposed to be of Arabian extraction; but the latter part of this supposition derives no confirmation from their features, their manners, or their language, which bear not the slightest similitude to those of the Arabs. There can be little doubt, however, that they originally came from the westward; of which indeed there is strong evidence in the affinity between the Beloocheeke and Persian languages; and their institutions, habits, and religion, seem to indicate that they are of Turkoman lineage. It appears highly probable, indeed, that, during the frequent sanguinary revolutions to which the monarchy of the Seljukide Tartars was subject, some of these barbarians had been forced to wander over the country in quest of new settlements; and that a portion of them had found refuge in the mountainous districts of Beloochistan. But, besides the Belooches, there are in Beloochistan other distinct tribes of inhabitants. These are, the Brahooes, apparently a race of Tartar mountaineers, who settled at an early period in the southern parts of Asia, but whose history is extremely obscure and uninteresting; the Dehwaras, a Persian colony, whose original settlement cannot be traced; and the Hindus, who appears to have been the first settlers in the upper part of the Brahoock Mountains, on their being expelled from Sind, Lus, and Mekran, by the armies of the khalifs of Baghdad. This last tribe appears for a time to have constituted the governing party. Beloochistan was subsequently exposed to the transient and devastating inroads of the Moguls, and became nominally a portion of the dominions of the Emperor Akbar. The Brahooes and Belooches, however, gradually spread over the country; and the Hindu power was at length subverted by a revolution, which placed the ancestors of the present khan of Kelat upon the throne.

The precise period at which this revolution took place cannot be accurately ascertained; but it is probable that two centuries have not elapsed since that event. The last rajah of the Hindu dynasty found himself compelled to call for the assistance of the mountain shepherds, with their leader, Kumbur, in order to check the encroachments of a horde of depredators, headed by an Afghan chief, who infested the country, and even threatened to attack the seat of government. Kumbur successfully performed the service for which he had been engaged; but having in a few years quelled the robbers against whom he had been called in, and finding himself at the head of the only military tribe in the country, he formally deposed the rajah, and assumed the reins of government.

The history of this country subsequently to the accession of Kumbur is involved in the same obscurity as during the Hindu dynasty. It would appear, however, that the sceptre was quietly transmitted to the descendants of that chief, who seem to have persevered in a peaceable system of government, until the time of Abdulla Khan, the fourth in descent from Kumbur; who, being an intrepid and ambitious soldier, turned his thoughts towards the conquest of Kutch-Gundava, then held by different petty chiefs, under the authority of the Nawauhs of Sind.

After various success, the Kumburances at length possessed themselves of the sovereignty of a considerable portion of that fruitful plain, including the chief town, Gundava. It was during this contest that the famous conqueror Nadir Shah, commonly called Thamas Koolee Khan, advanced from Persia to the invasion of Hindustan; and while at Kandahar, he despatched several detachments into Beloochistan, and established his authority in that province. Abdoola Khan, however, was continued in the government of the country by Nadir's orders; but he was soon after killed in a battle with the forces of the Nawauhs of Sind. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Hajee Mohammad Khan, who abandoned himself to the most tyrannical and licentious way of life, and completely alienated his subjects by his arbitrary and oppressive system of taxation. In these circumstances Nusser Khan, the second son of Abdulla Khan, who had accompanied the victorious Nadir to Delhi, and acquired the favour and confidence of that monarch, returned to Kelat, and was hailed by the whole population as their deliverer. Finding that expostulation had no effect upon his brother, he one day entered his apartment when the prince was alone, and stabbed him to the heart. As soon as the tyrant was dead, Nusser Khan mounted the musnad, amidst the universal joy of his subjects, and immediately transmitted a report of the events which had taken place to Nadir Shah, who was then encamped near Kandahar. The shah received the intelligence with satisfaction, and despatched a firman, by return of the messenger, appointing Nusser Khan beglierbey of all Beloochistan. This event took place in the year 1739. Nusseer Khan proved an active, politic, and warlike prince. He took great pains to re-establish the internal government of all the provinces in his dominions, and improved and fortified the city of Kelat. On the death of Nadir Shah in 1747, he acknowledged the title of the king of Cabul, Ahmed Shah Abdalla. In 1758 he declared himself entirely independent; upon which Ahmed Shah despatched a force against him, under one of his ministers. The khan, however, levied his troops and totally routed the Afghan army. On receiving intelligence of this discomfiture, the king himself marched with strong reinforcements, and a pitched battle was fought, in which Nusseer Khan was worsted. He retired in good order to Kelat, whither he was followed by the victor, who invested the place with his whole army. The khan made a vigorous defence; and, after the royal troops had been foiled in their attempts to take the city by storm or surprise, a negotiation was proposed by the king, which terminated in a treaty of peace. By this treaty it was stipulated that the king was to receive the cousin of Nusseer Khan in marriage; and that the khan was to pay no tribute, but only, when called upon, to furnish troops to assist the royal armies, for which he was to receive an allowance in cash equal to half their pay.

Subsequently to this period, the khan frequently distinguished himself by his gallantry and judgment in the wars carried on by the monarch of Cabul; and, as a reward for his eminent services, the king bestowed upon him several districts to hold in perpetual and entire sovereignty. Having succeeded in quelling a dangerous rebellion, headed by his cousin Beheram Khan, this able prince at length died at an extreme old age, after a long and prosperous reign, in the month of June 1795, leaving three sons and five daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Muhammed Khan, then a boy about fourteen years of age. During the reign of this prince, who has been described as a very humane and indolent man, the country was distracted by sanguinary intestine broils; the governors of several provinces and districts withdrew their allegiance; and the dominions of the khans of Kelat gradually so diminished, that they now comprehend only a small portion of the provinces which were formerly subject to Nusseer Khan.

In 1839, when the British army advanced through the Bolan Pass towards Afghanistan, the conduct of Mehrab Khan, the ruler of Beloochistan, was considered so treacherous, hostile, and dangerous, as to require "the exaction of retribution from that chiefain," and "the execution of such arrangements as would establish future security in that quarter." General Willshire was accordingly detached from the army of the Indus at Quetta to assault Kelat. A gate was knocked in by the field-pieces, and the town and citadel were stormed in a few minutes. Above 400 Belooches were slain, among them Mehrab Khan himself; and 2000 prisoners were taken. The British force consisted of 1049 men. In the following year Kelat changed hands, the governor established by the British, together with a feeble garrison, being overpowered. At the close of the same year, it was re-occupied by the British under General Nott. In 1841, Nadir Khan, the youthful son of the slain Mehrab Khan, was recognised by the British, who soon after evacuated the country.

The territories of Beloochistan are now comprised under the following divisions—Ihalawan, Sarawan, Kelat, Mekran, Lus, Kutch-Gundava, and Kohistan.

The most remarkable features of this extensive country are its rugged and elevated surface, its barrenness, and its deficiency of water. A stupendous range, to which the appellation of the Brahooick Mountains has been assigned, and which seems to be the primitive root of all the others, springs abruptly to a conspicuous height out of the sea, at Cape Moarree, or Monze, in E. Long. 66.58. N. Lat. 25°, whence it takes a north-easterly direction for about ninety miles. There it projects a ridge, E. by N., the base of which is washed by the river Indus, at the fort of Schwan. From the separation of this arm, in Lat. 25.45. to that of 30°, the primitive body runs due N., marking the western limits of Sinde, Kutch-Gundava, and a part of Seistan; and from thence it once more regains its original inclination to the N.E., and decreases in magnitude and elevation so rapidly, that, in the course of forty miles, it sinks to a level with the hills inhabited by the Kaukers and other Afghan tribes, with which it becomes incorporated. To the westward the Brahooick Mountains send forth many collateral chains, some of which extend the whole length of Beloochistan, and join the mountains of Persia; others elongate southward till they touch the sea, or come within a few miles of it, and then either take the inclination of the coast or subside in the low and barren plains in its vicinity. The main body, or rather its western face, stretches away N.W. by N., to the 28th degree of N. latitude, where it meets the south-eastern corner of the sandy desert, about the 64th degree of E. longitude: from thence it inclines with a northern aspect between the N.E. and N. points of the compass to Nooshky, in latitude 30° N.; from which place it runs more easterly, till at length it gradually sinks, like the eastern front, to an equality of size with the Afghan hills. Besides the Brahooick chain, there are several other ranges of mountains, extending in various directions and ramifications throughout Beloochistan, but all of them inferior to the former in magnitude and height. This stupendous chain is believed to attain its greatest altitude at Kelat; from which city, according to the natives, a traveller, whatever route he may pursue, must descend; but the descent is so very trifling for a long way on either side of that capital that it is not perceptible by the eye.

In brief, Beloochistan may be described as one maze of mountains, except on the N.W.; in which direction the surface descends to the Great Desert on the S., where a low tract stretches along the sea-shore, exhibiting a dreary waste of inconsiderable rocks or dry barren sands, and for a small extent on the E., where the burning plain of Kutch-Gundava extends along the eastern base of the Hala Mountains. From this plain to the elevated table-land lying to the W., the eastern face of the mountain range is furrowed by two long and very deep ravines, through which the Bolan (called by Pottinger "Koahce") and Moola Rivers hold their way. Along the courses of these rivers lie the celebrated passes bearing their names, and affording the means of communication between the valley of the Indus and Beloochistan.

In the northern part of Beloochistan, the only rivers of any importance are the two just mentioned, and these are little more than prolonged torrents, being ultimately lost in the sands of Kutch-Gundava. Pottinger observes that "there is not a single body of running water in this part of the country worthy of a higher appellation than that of a rivulet, unless when swollen by partial floods to a tumultuous and unfordable torrent, nor one even of that description that can be said to flow through a regular and unbroken channel to the main." The southern part abounds in torrents, which rise in the mountains, and cross the low sandy tract lying between them and the ocean. Near the base of the mountains the channels are very small, and in the dry season are filled with vegetation. Towards the coast they are much broader and deeper. Of this description of water-course is the Hub, rising in that part of the Hala Mountains which separates Beloochistan and Sinde. After heavy rains, it rushes down with a vast body of water; but on the setting in of dry weather the flow ceases; there is no longer any stream, the bed containing merely a few pools. The Poorally, another of these torrents, farther west, has generally a very inconsiderable stream, which in long-continued dry weather totally ceases at Lyaree, about twenty miles from its mouth. Below that town it becomes a creek of the sea, navigable for small boats. The Aghor, farther west, passes by Hinglaj, the celebrated place of Hindu pilgrimage. It is thought to have a longer course than most of the streams along this coast, and to rise amidst mountains frequently covered with snow, as, at the setting in of hot weather its waters, as is the case with such rivers, become higher. Proceeding westward from Hinglaj to the mouth of the Dustee, a distance of 250 miles, we find that only a few small rivulets occur. The Dustee, where Pottinger crossed it, was, within 100 yards of the beach, about 20 inches deep, and 20 yards wide; yet, if his opinion be correct, it has a course of nearly 1000 miles, rising in the Gurmselh, near the southern course of the Helmund river. The upper part, called the Boordoor, makes its way, in the wet season, through the loose and parched sands of the desert south of Seistan; but for the greater part of the year its channel is a dry ravine. Pottinger makes a bold, yet perhaps not improbable, conjecture, that this was formerly a channel through which the superfluous water of the valley of the Helmund was discharged into the ocean, but that now the whole is carried off by means either of absorption or of evaporation from the swamp of Hanoon. Westward of the Dustee there are only a few small brooks, which discharge themselves into the sea, and, in fact, along the whole distance of 600 miles, through which the coast of Beloochistan extends, there is no stream which might not in dry weather be forded by a child.

The climate of Beloochistan is extremely various in the different provinces. The soil in general is exceedingly stony. In the province of Kutch-Gundava, however, the soil is rich and loamy, and so very productive, that, it is said, were it all properly cultivated, the crops would be more than sufficient for the consumption of the whole of Beloochistan. Gold, silver, lead, iron, tin, antimony, brimstone, alum, sal-ammoniac, and many kinds of mineral salts, and saltpetre are found in various parts of the country. The precious metals have only been discovered in working for iron and lead, in mines near the town of Nal, about 150 miles S.S.W. of Kelat. The different other minerals above enumerated are very plentiful. The gardens of Kelat produce many sorts of fruit, which are sold at a very moderate rate, such as apricots, peaches, grapes, almonds, pistachio-nuts, apples, pears, plums, currants, cherries, quinces, figs, pomegranates, mulberries, plantains, melons, guavas, &c. All kinds of grain known in India are cultivated in the different provinces of Beloochistan, and there is abundance of vegetables. Madder, cotton, and indigo are also produced; and the latter is considered superior to that of Bengal. The culture of the date fruit is conducted with great attention in the province of Mekran. The domestic animals of Beloochistan are horses, mules, asses, camels, dromedaries, buffaloes, black-cattle, sheep, goats, dogs, and cats, besides fowls and pigeons; but there are neither geese, turkeys, nor ducks. The wild animals are lions, tigers, leopards, hyenas, wolves, jackals, tiger-cats, wild dogs, foxes, hares, mongooses, mountain goats, antelopes, elks, red and moose deer, wild asses, &c. Of birds they have almost every species to be met with either in Europe or India.

The principal city of this country is Kelat, the capital of the whole of Beloochistan. This city stands on an elevated site on the western side of a well-cultivated plain or valley, about eight miles long and two or three broad, a great part of which is laid out in gardens and other inclosures. The town is built in an oblong form, and on three sides is defended by a mud wall, eighteen or twenty feet high, flanked, at intervals of 250 yards, by bastions, which, as well as the wall itself, are pierced with numerous loopholes for matchlock-men. The defence of the fourth side of the city has been formed by cutting away perpendicularly the western face of the hill on which it is partly built. On the summit of this eminence stands the palace, commanding a distinct view of the town and adjacent country. That quarter of the hill on which the khan's residence is erected has been inclosed by a mud wall, with bastions; the entrance to it is on the south-western side; and here, as well as at the city gates, which are three in number, there is constantly a guard of matchlock-men. Within the walls there are upwards of 2500 houses, and the number of these in the suburbs probably exceeds one half of that amount. The houses are mostly built of half-burnt brick or wooden frames, and plastered over with mud or mortar. In general the streets are broader than those of native towns, and most of them have a raised pathway on either side for foot-passengers, and an uncovered kennel in the centre; the latter of which is a great nuisance, from the quantity of filth thrown into it, and the stagnant rain-water that lodges there. The upper stories of the houses frequently project across the streets, and thereby render the part beneath them gloomy and damp. This seems a very rude attempt to imitate the bazars of Persia and Cabul. The bazaar of Kelat is extensive, well furnished with every kind of goods; and all the necessaries of life may be procured daily at a moderate price. The town is supplied with delicious water from a spring in the face of a hill on the opposite side of a plain, whence it meanders nearly through its centre; having the town and suburbs on one side, and on the other the gardens. It may be remarked of this spring, that the waters, at their immediate issue from the smaller channels, possess a considerable degree of tepidity until after sunrise, when they suddenly become exceedingly cold, and remain so during the day.

We have no data from which we can form an accurate computation of the total amount of the population of Beloochistan. The inhabitants are divided into two great classes, distinguished by the appellations of Belooche and Brahoee; and these two are again subdivided into an infinite number of tribes, which it were tedious and unnecessary to enumerate. The most remarkable distinctions between these two classes consists in their language and appearance. The Belooche or Beloocheeke language partakes considerably of the idiom of the modern Persian, although greatly disguised under a singularly corrupt pronunciation. The Brahoeeke, on the other hand, has nothing analogous to the Persian idiom. It appears to contain a great number of ancient Hindhuwee words; and, as it strikes the ear, bears a strong resemblance to the dialect spoken in the Punjaub. With regard to external appearance, the contour of these two classes seems to differ, in most instances, as much as their language. The Belooches in general have tall figures, long visages, and raised features; the Brahoohes, on the contrary, have short thick bones, with round faces and flat lineaments.

The Belooches are a handsome active race of men, not possessing great physical strength, but inured to changes of climate and season, and capable of enduring every species of fatigue. In their habits they are a pastoral people, and much addicted to predatory warfare, in the course of which they do not hesitate to commit every kind of outrage and cruelty. Notwithstanding their predatory habits, however, they are considered to be a hospitable people. After the fashion of other barbarous tribes in that part of the world, they will protect and kindly entertain a stranger while their guest, but feel no scruple in robbing and murdering him as soon as he has left their precincts. They are indolent, and, unless excited by amusement or war, or compelled to action by some urgent motive, spend their time in the manner common to all savage people—in idleness, rude dissipation, and the enjoyment of such coarse luxuries as they can procure; in lounging, gambling, smoking tobacco or hemp, and chewing opium. The tenets of their religion, and still more, perhaps, their poverty, preserve them from the abuse of fermented liquors. Their principal articles of food are milk in all its forms, the flesh of domestic animals, not ex- excepting that of the camel, and game, including wild asses, the flesh of which is considered a delicacy. Their appetites, like those of most savages, are voracious; they consume incredible quantities of flesh when it can be obtained, and prefer it in a half-cooked state. They also use grain in the form of bread, and of various preparations; but they enjoy most such articles of food or condiment as possess a strong and stimulating flavour, as capsicum, onions, and garlic. Their indolence prompts them to keep as many slaves as they can obtain and support. Polygamy is universal. Some of the lower order have as many as eight women, either as wives or mistresses, and the number is increased in proportion to the rank and means of the man. Wives are obtained by purchase, payment being made in cattle or other articles of pastoral wealth. The ceremony of marriage is performed by the mullah or priest; and on this occasion, as well as on some others affecting females, practices similar to those of the Levitical law are observed. For instance, in this country, as also among the Afghans, a man is expected to marry the widow of a deceased brother. When a death takes place, the body is watched for three successive nights by assembled friends and neighbours, who spend their time in feasting, so that the ceremony seems intended rather to furnish enjoyment to the living than to render honour to the dead.

The common dress of the Belooches is a coarse white or blue calico shirt, buttoned round the neck, and reaching below the knee; their trousers are made of the same cloth, or of a kind of striped stuff called Soosee, and puckered round the ankles. On their heads they wear a small silk or cotton quilted cap, fitted to the shape of the skull, over which, when in full dress, they place a turban, either checked or blue, and a hummurband or sash, of the same colour, round their waists. In winter the chiefs and their relatives appear in a tunic of chintz, lined and stuffed with cotton; and the poorer classes, when out of doors, wrap themselves up in a tartan made of cloth manufactured from a mixture of goats' hair and sheep's wool. The women's dress is very similar to that of the men; their trousers are preposterously wide, and made of silk, or a mixture of silk and cotton.

The fluctuation of power renders it difficult to define precisely the nature of the government of Kelat. During the reign of Nusseer Khan, the whole kingdom might be said to have been governed by a complete despotism; yet that ruler so tempered the supreme authority by the privileges granted to the feudal chiefs within their own tribes, that, to a casual observer, it bore the appearance of a military confederation. The tribes all exercise the right of selecting their own sirdar, or head; and the khan has the power of confirming or disapproving of their nomination; but this power is never exercised, and appears to be merely nominal. The khan of Kelat declares war and makes treaties connected with the whole of Beloochistan, and can order the sirdar of each tribe to attend in person with his quota of troops. Agreeably to a code of regulations framed by one of the earliest princes of the Kumburanece dynasty, the entire administration of justice was vested in the person at the head of the government. The sirdar, however, has the power of adjusting petty quarrels, thefts, and disputed points of every description, among the inhabitants of a khel or society; but, in all cases of importance, an appeal lies in the last instance to the khan at Kelat.

The amount of revenue enjoyed by the khan of Kelat is inconsiderable, as the ruling races, Belooche and Brabooce, pay no direct taxes, and their poverty and simple habits prevent them from contributing much indirectly. His income is therefore derived from his resources as a proprietor of lands or towns, from a proportion of the produce paid in kind by the Afghan, Delwar (Parsee), and Jet cultivators; from dues on direct and transit trade, and from arbitrary exactions, a never-failing mode with Eastern potentates of recruiting an exhausted treasury. Pottinger estimates the amount at 350,000 rupees; Masson, who had ample means of acquiring information through colloquial channels, at 300,000; which of these statements makes the nearest approximation to correctness cannot be determined, but neither seems improbable. With such a revenue, it is obvious that no standing army can be maintained; and Masson, certainly very competent to the task of acquiring information on this subject, states that Mehrab Khan, the late ruler, "nearly destitute of troops in his own pay, was compelled, on the slightest cause for alarm, to appeal to the tribes, who attended or otherwise as suited their whims or convenience." Pottinger computes the numbers available for the service of the khan at 60,000 fighting men, but has not mentioned how so vast a host could, if collected, find food in this barren country. Mehrab Khan could on no occasion assemble more than 12,000; and in his final struggle for property, power, and life, the number of his troops did not amount to 3000. The Belooche soldier is heavily encumbered with arms, carrying a matchlock, a spear, a sword, a dagger, and a shield. Pottinger considers them good marksmen, and states that in action they trust principally to their skill in this respect, avoiding close combat; but their readiness in general to close with the British troops shows that he is in this instance mistaken. They formed the strength of the armies of Sinde; but the battle of Meanee proves how little, even with great superiority of numbers, they are able to withstand a disciplined force. The greater part serve on foot; but a number, not inconsiderable, have horses, and, in their irregular forays, camels, which they often prefer, on account of their greater powers of endurance.