In speaking of the existence of Grecian colonies in the remote regions of Asia, and said to be descended from Alexander of Macedon, it is necessary to premise that I am not indulging in speculation, but asserting a lineage of various tribes of people, that is claimed by themselves, and meriting, therefore, our attention. Marco Polo is the first author who mentions the existence of such a tradition, and informs us that the Meer of Budukhshan laid claim to a Grecian origin. The emperor Baber corroborates the testimony; and Abool Fuzzul, the historian of his grandson, Acbar, points to the Kaffir country north of Peshawur as the seat of these Macedonians. Mr. Elphinstone has, I think, successfully refuted the supposition of this historian; for the Kaffirs are a savage and mountainous tribe, without a tradition on the subject, as has been noticed in the preceding chapter. Mr. Elphinstone, however, confirms the statements of Marco Polo, by the information that the chief of Durwaz, in the valley of the Oxus, claimed a descent from Alexander, which was admitted by all his neighbours. Such was the extent of information with which I entered these countries, sufficient, it will be said, to excite the utmost curiosity; and it will be seen that I found ample encouragement in the investigation of such traditions while in the valley of the Oxus, and in the very seats of their existence.
Their actual condition.
If it was believed that the chiefs of Budukhshan and Durwaz alone laid claim to these hereditary honours, what was my surprise to find that there were six other personages established, to the satisfaction of the people, in like honours. The chiefs that extend eastward of Durwaz, and occupy the provinces of Koolab, Shughnan, and Wakhan, north of the Oxus, claim the same descent. The chief of Budukhshan received in modern times the same honours as have been ascribed to him by the Venetian traveller. He has the title of Shah and Malik, or King, and his children that of Shahzadu; but this ancient house has been subverted within these twelve years by the Meer of Koondooz, and Budukhshan is now held by a Toork family. To the eastward of Budukhshan, and extending to Cashmere, lie the hill states of Chitral, Gilgit, and Iskardo, where the claims to a Grecian descent are likewise conceded to each of the princes. The first of these has the title of Shah Kuttore. The present ruler is of small stature, and, in these countries, has as great a celebrity for his long beard as the Shah of Persia. The chief of Iskardo occupies a singular fortress on the Indus, which he has the hardihood to assert was constructed in the days of Alexander himself. The country borders on Little Tibet, or Baltee. Nor is this the ultimate limit of the tradition, for the soldiers of the Toonganee tribe, who are sent from the western provinces of Chinese Tartary, and garrison Yarkund and the neighbouring cities, claim also a Grecian origin. They, however, seek, with greater modesty, a descent from the soldiers of Alexander’s army, and not from the conqueror himself.
Examination of these claims.
Such is a correct list of the reputed descendants of Alexander, and it is in some degree confirmatory of their claim, that the whole of these princes are Tajiks, who were the inhabitants of this country before it was overrun by Toorkee or Tartar tribes. But how shall we reconcile these accounts with the histories that have travelled down to our times, whence we learn that the son of Philip did not even leave an heir to inherit his gigantic conquests, much less a numerous list of colonies, which have survived a lapse of more than 2000 years in a distant quarter of Asia? Whether their descent is viewed as true or fabulous, the people themselves acknowledge the hereditary dignity of the princes; and they, in their turn, claim every royal honour, and refuse to give their children in marriage to other tribes. These Tajiks being now converted to Islam, view Alexander as a prophet; and to the distinction which they derive from his warlike achievements, they add the honour of being related to one of the inspired messengers of the Deity. I have had opportunities of conversing with some members of the Budukhshan family, but there was nothing in form or feature which favoured their Grecian lineage. They are fair-complexioned, and not unlike the Persian of modern times; while there is the most decided contrast between them and the Toorks and Uzbeks.
Conjectures regarding them.
We learn from the historians of Alexander’s expedition, that he warred in the kingdom of Bactriana. The city of Balkh, which lies in the vicinity of these territories, is readily fixed upon as the Bactra of the Greek monarchs. Setting aside every local identity, the modern inhabitants state, that the country between Balkh and Cabool had the name of “Bakhtur Zumeen,” or the Bakhtur country, in which we recognise Bactria. The fact renders it by no means improbable, that a Grecian colony had some time or other existed in the country. It may, therefore, be supposed, that the Grecian dynasty, which succeeded Alexander in his empire, ascended the valley of the Oxus, the fertility of which would attract them. They would have been conducted at Iskardo into Baltee, or Little Tibet, and the neighbourhood of Cashmere; and we may perhaps account for the early civilisation of that beautiful valley in such a migration of Grecian colonists. The introduction of the religion of Mahommed into every country seems to have been fatal to its historical annals; and I doubt not that any traces which here existed of the Macedonian inroad, or of the Seleucidæ, their successors, were effaced in that great revolution. I have already observed, that the countries on the upper course of the Oxus seem to have lain out of the channel of Tartar invasion, and I infer, from their language and connection with Persia, that they followed the destinies of that country, which would be favourable to their having been conquered by Alexander. If we cannot bring ourselves to concede to these moderns the illustrious lineage of Alexander of Macedon, we must yet receive their tradition as the most concurring proof of his having overrun these countries; and, till some well-grounded arguments can be brought forward to the contrary, I cannot, for my own part, deny their title to the honours which they claim. I received the information from several natives of the country; and, as they entertained no doubt of its being genuine and authentic, I have contented myself with recording that which will enable others to enlarge and speculate upon it.
CHAP. V.
ON THE SOURCES OF THE INDUS.
Interest attached to the sources of the Indus.