Afghanistan

by A. Hamilton

The province of Herat extends from near the sources of the Hari Rud on the east to the Persian frontier on the west, and from the Russian southern boundary to the northern limits of Seistan. The area is 300 miles from east to west and 200 miles from north to south. North, south and west there are tracts of unproductive country, presenting facilities for development only over restricted surfaces. In the east the upper reaches of the Hari Rud valley stretch away to the mountain regions of the Koh-i-Baba. It has been estimated that the valley of the Hari Rud is capable of furnishing supplies for an army of occupation which should not exceed 150,000 men. It is this fact, coupled with the value of its position as the converging point of roads from the Caspian, Merv, Meshed, Bokhara, and from India through Kandahar, which has invested Herat with the title of The Key of India. The Hari Rud oasis presents a wonderful appearance of fertility; near the city groves of pistachia and mulberry trees, blackberry bushes, wild roses and innumerable settlements abound. The Hari Rud, flowing in a single channel 100 to 140 feet in width which diminishes as the summer wanes, has been the means of converting into a smiling paradise the surrounding wilderness. Flood-water in this river lasts from the close of January until the end of March, when fords are dangerous to cross. The subsidence of flood-water in April makes it more readily passable, the average depth of the fords then measuring 4 feet. Later, when the warmer weather appears, the permanent channel breaks up into long lakes, fed by springs and underground continuations of supplementary streams. The northern extremity of the river, which waters the Tejend oasis and the Sarakhs region, preserves in the main the characteristics of the upper stream. The undulating country between the Hari Rud and the Murghab, extending from the northern slopes of the Paropamisus to the edge of the Kara Kum, is called Badghis. At one time this district included the oasis of Yulatan and, even now, it embraces Pendjeh. Across it, along the banks of the Murghab and through the valley of the Kushk, runs the direct road from Merv to Herat. From the levels of valleys within Russian jurisdiction, which are about 2000 feet above sea-level, the road rises throughout a distance of 35 miles until it pierces the Paropamisus range by the Ardewan pass, 4700 feet above sea-level. From these mountains, it descends across the broken slopes of the Koh-i-Mulla Khwaja until it meets at last the alluvial flats of the Hari Rud plain, wherein the city of Herat stands, 2600 feet above sea-level.

The city of Herat, built entirely of mud with certain outworks lying beyond its walls, stands in a hollow. It forms a quadrangle 1600 yards by 1500 yards. On the western, southern and eastern faces the wall is a straight line, the only projecting points being the gateways and the bastions. On the northern face, the line is broken by the old Ark or citadel, which stands back about 200 yards from the main wall and is situated upon a high, artificial mound, which is 250 feet in width and between 50 and 60 feet in height. Above this the walls of the city rise an additional 30 feet. There are five gates—the Kutabchak near the north-east angle of the wall and the Malik gate at the re-entering angle formed by the wall of the Ark and the continuation of the north wall. The other gates are on the western, southern and eastern faces, the names respectively being the Irak, Kandahar and Kushk. Four streets, running from the centre of each face, meet at the Charsu, a domed square covered with beams and matting in the heart of the city. A wide, road encircles the walls on the inside, although its upkeep has been sadly neglected. The defences of the city are contained by the wall which stands above the mound. On its outer slope there were at one time two parallel trenches, covered by low parapets; but the trenches, like the moat at the foot of the mound, are now choked up. There are 25 bastions on each wall. The gates, defended by works differing from one another in shape, are of irregular design. They resemble redans, with sides of unequal length and project about 200 feet beyond the main wall. The defences of the gateways are of a lower profile than those of the main works. At the apex of the projection a small rectangular traverse screens the postern.

The northern wall is irregular. Near its centre, thrown back about 200 yards from the main wall and standing on a mound of its own, is the position of the old citadel. A “return” in the wall, leading down on this work from the eastern portion of the north face, terminates on the counterscarp of its ditch. The western face, retired about 100 yards behind the eastern face, connects with the north-west angle of the citadel by a slight bend. There are two gateways on this front, the one about 200 yards to the westward of the north-east angle and the other in the main wall. This latter is unprovided with the irregular projecting work attached to the others.

The wall of the fort is about 14 feet thick at the base, 9 feet thick at the top and 18 feet high, exclusive of the parapet. The parapet is 2½ feet thick at the base, 9 inches at the crest and 7½ feet in height. It is loop-holed and crowned with the ruins of small battlements which, like so much attaching to Herat, have been permitted to crumble away. In several places the walls have broken down, the repairs subsequently effected adding to the general insecurity of what has remained rather than improving the original breaches. The width of the pathway behind the parapet is 6 feet; but there are many gaps, and continuity of communication is preserved only by the severe physical exertion of flying leaps. Their condition renders them ill-adapted to the employment of artillery, while the ramps leading up to this pathway are barely broad enough to admit the passage of a single man.

At one time this wall was flanked by small exterior towers, placed at intervals of 100 feet. They varied in size and are now so generally in ruin that it is difficult to estimate their dimensions. In their original state they were probably from 40 to 60 feet in diameter, the larger towers being 30 feet in width and projecting 25 feet. In contrast with the containing wall of the city the wall of the fort possesses an outward inclination, equal perhaps to one-seventh of its height. The slope of the towers is generally greater; many of them are splayed at the base to accommodate their foundations to the sloping surface upon which they rest. The whole work appears originally to have been constructed of sun-dried brick, backed with layers of moist earth. Some of the towers have foundations and facings of rough stone or burnt brick, laid in mud. The wall itself is a very old one; stone, brick and earth have been used indiscriminately, so that it now presents a patchwork appearance.

THE IRAK GATE

The interior slope of the mound, upon which the walls stand, is steep and from the base of the wall drops perpendicularly into the town. No attention whatever appears to have been paid to this part of the fortifications. The inhabitants of the city have been for several generations in the habit of removing earth from it for the construction or repair of their dwellings. At one time, too, houses were erected close to the foot of the rampart and also upon it, the slope being excavated to admit of the walls being erected against it. A partial collapse of the mound has followed, the fallen masses of earth serving as a convenient resting-place for the dead.

The old citadel is a brick structure 150 yards long from east to west and 50 yards wide. It occupies an elevation of its own, and, when erected, stood nearly in the centre of the north face of the city. It was flanked by several towers, differing greatly in size; those at the angles were the largest, while those on the north-east angle were the most imposing. The interior, in part occupied by Feramorz Khan, the Commander-in-Chief, is divided into three courts. The inhabited portion is a lofty building, supported by four bastions along its face, with the entrance gate facing the main street to the Charsu. It fills a space 110 yards in length by 60 yards in breadth. The Ark, from its massive appearance, is very dignified, but it is not calculated to withstand protracted defence if the town itself were captured. Its walls, thickly built but of inferior masonry, are exposed from base to parapet, and a few shells dropped behind them would create great havoc.