All the institutions of the Afghans are favourable to a republic; and the supremacy of the Barukzye family in Cabool is acceptable to the people; and I even think favourable to the prosperity of the country. It is by far the greatest clan of the Dooranees, amounting to about 60,000 families, which will enable it to maintain its authority. The late royal family of the Sudozyes, on the other hand, were few in number, and looked for support to other tribes. Of these, the principal were the Barukzyes. Hajee Jumal, the most influential of its chiefs, willingly bowed to the authority of Ahmed Shah; and contributed to fix him on his throne. The successors of that monarch rewarded his services by the murder of his son Poynda Khan; and we have related the atrocious assassination of his grandson the Vizier. Had the royal house treated these benefactors with justice, and their subjects with moderation, they might still have reigned in peace. The hatred of this family to the house of Cabool, and the cause which excites it (the assassination of two of their chiefs), forbid the belief that the Barukzyes will ever consent to their restoration. It is certain that the aid of no other tribe can avail them, for the whole wealth of the country is in the hands of their enemies; and the bulk of the people view their misfortunes with indifference, since it is believed they have drawn them upon themselves. It is evident, therefore, that the restoration of either Shooja ool Moolk, or Kamran, is an event of the most improbable nature. The dynasty of the Sudozyes has passed away, unless it be propped up by foreign aid; and it would be impossible to reclaim the lost provinces of the empire, without a continuation of the same assistance. It is more difficult to revive than to raise a dynasty; and in the common chain of events, if the country is to be ruled by another king, we must look for another family to establish its power in Cabool; and this, in all probability, will be the Barukzyes.
Relative power of Cabool and Persia.
At present, there is no connexion of a political nature between the states in Cabool and any foreign power. The Persians have long talked vaingloriously of invading the country, but if there were no treachery on the part of the Kuzzilbash guards, at Cabool, they could not certainly make an impression on the kingdom. In a general war, the enmity between the different houses would probably be forgotten, and the united force of the Barukzyes alone amounts to about 30,000 horse. While we were in Cabool, the chief received a notice from his brother at Candahar, who had been threatened by an ambassador from the Persian camp. The reply of Dost Mahommed Khan was characteristic:—“When the Persians come, let me know, and as I am now your enemy, will I then be your friend.” The natural strength of Cabool is its best barrier against a successful invasion by an Asiatic power, and if we look to the expedition of Nadir Shah, we are to remember that he was accompanied by many Afghan chiefs, whom he had advanced to favour, and who largely participated in his acquisitions, and the spoils he gained from others.
The political state of Cabool, as a kingdom, becomes at all times an object of the deepest importance to India, from the many changes which constantly take place in that country. Of its four chiefships, one is subject to the Punjab, and another to Persia. The chief of Cabool himself is a man of enlightened views, and may secure a thorough supremacy over the country, on the death of Runjeet Sing. It would not be difficult for him to subdue Peshawur, and he might then seize the provinces on the Indus, and very probably Cashmere. He is a man favourably disposed towards the British Government, as indeed are the whole chiefs of the kingdom. They were not in power when the British mission entered the country in 1809, but our reputation was then established, and the good opinion of all parties has been acquired by our immediate withdrawal afterwards. That circumstance, it is true, was unavoidable; but it has left impressions most favourable to our disinterestedness. In Cabool, therefore, it would not be difficult to form a connexion; and the chief is certainly worthy of notice, since his country lies on the great road by which the manufactures of Britain are imported, and which of late have been considerably increased by his equity and justice. It would require no great expenditure of the public funds to conciliate this chief; and, it is to be remembered, that he is in possession of the most important position in Asia, as regards the protection of British India. Had circumstances brought us into an alliance with Cabool instead of Persia, we might have now possessed more trusty and useful allies, nearer home, than we can boast of in that country. We also should have never incurred a tenth of the expenditure, which has been so freely lavished in Persia.
CHAP. VII.
ON THE POWER OF KOONDOOZ.
Chiefship of Koondooz.
The territories of Koondooz lie between Cabool and Bokhara. I shall comprehend under that designation all which I have to say on the countries, north of Hindoo Koosh, and south of the Oxus, as far westward as the city of Balkh. Its extent. These limits bound a chiefship, which is ruled by an Uzbek family that has lately extended its power, and is now possessed of great influence in these countries. This is the tribe of Kutghun; the name of the chief is Mahommed Moorad Beg, and Meer is the title by which he is known to his subjects. At no late period the tribe was confined to the canton of Koondooz, but this chief has established a power over all the neighbouring states; he holds Khooloom, Heibuk, Ghoree, Inderab, Talighan, and Huzrut-Imam, and is master of the valley of the Upper Oxus, and its tributary rivers. The city of Balkh has likewise been in his hands; he contented himself with sacking it, and marching off a great part of the population to his other conquests. He has also reduced the whole kingdom of Budukhshan, and is at present engaged in operations against the hill states north of the Oxus. The district of Koolab, which is one of these, and lies between Durwaz and Shughnan, is already in his possession. His power extends south to Syghan, within thirty miles of Bameean, and across two of the passes of Hindoo Koosh.
Rise of Moorad Beg.
The population of the territory consists chiefly of Tajiks, the aborigines of the country, who form the entire body of the people in Budukhshan. The Uzbeks bear a very small proportion to them.