Under The Name Of Sin, Given To The Southern Districts, The
Arabian Geographers Frequently Comprehended All The Country To The
Ganges.
The Arabians divided the present Hindostan into two parts; Sind and Hind:
the first seems to have comprised the
Countries lying on the Indus; Hind
lay to the east, and comprehended Delhi, Agra, Oude, Bengal, &c. The Decan,
at least the western part of it, belonged to Sind. The coast of Coromandel,
as well as the interior, was unknown to them. On the west or Malabar coast,
their information was full and accurate; but it terminated at Cape Comorin.
While part of the forces of the Caliph Walid were employed in the conquest
of Spain, another part succeeded in reducing Multan and Lahore; and the
Arabian geographers, always ready to take advantage of the success of their
arms, to promote geographical knowledge, describe their new eastern
conquests, and the countries which bordered on them, in the most glowing
language. The valley of Cashmere, in particular, affords ample matter for
their panegyrics. The towns of Guzerat, Cambay, and Narwhorra are
described: in the last resided the most powerful king of India; his kingdom
extended from Guzerat and Concan to the Ganges. The city of Benares,
celebrated as a school of Indian philosophy, and the almost impregnable
fortress of Gevatior, are mentioned by them, as well as a colony of Jews in
Cochin, and the Maldive islands: these they frequented to obtain cowries,
which then, as now, were used as money.
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