New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-09-25
THE PEARL OF KHORASSAN.
IIERAT. A CITY THAT HAS BEEN DESTROYED
AND REBUILT FIFTY TIMES.

The capital Of the Afghan land, and the home
Of it's indomitable ruler, is the place which Oscar
Wilde has described
That dread city Of Cahil,
set at the mountainS scarpcd feet,
Whose marble tanks arc ever full
OF water for the nooniidc heat
And, indeed, the Ameer is, strictly speaking,
simply Amccr Of Cabul. Yet the capital is by
no means the only important, nor the most in
terestng city in Afghanstan. Candahar certainly
can rival il in many respects, and in many 1T is
decidedly surpassed BY the imperial city OF old
Ierat
This Pearl Of Khorassan," and Gate OF
India" is one Of the oldest cities in the world and
one Of the most unfortunate There is perhaps
no other that has so suffered the vicissitudc't
Of war. Other great cities have been destroyed
and rebuilt, perhaps once twice, three times. But
1t was no stretch Of truth by the Persian his
torian who said that IIcrat has been fifty times
taken fifty times destroyed, and fifty times tri-
umrhantly rebuilt Whether it deserves now,
or not, to bc called the "Gate OF India" may be
disputed; but in old times, when it was given, the
title was true one. Lying in the Herr Rud
Valley, on the great road to the Indus, at the
extremity OF one OF the most fruitful OF lands, it
was an objective point Of every army that moved
from Central Asia toward the plains Of llindostan
THUS it was visited by Alexander of Mncedon,
who called it Alexandria Ariana and regarded it
with much favor. In those days il was already
a great city, surprising in size and spendor all
others in that part OF Asia
Toward the end of the first century OF the
Christian era il was of more importance than Ca
bul, Candahar. Balkh, Merry, or Samarcand. 1t
was famed everywhere for its gardens and public
buildings; and it was the site Of an important
Christian church Thenccforth it generally pros
pcrcd. Again and again it was destroyed only to
be recreated speedily and made greater than be-
fore In the thirteenth century il contained H.
600 shops and more than 100000 houses. Gen
ghis Khan was attracted ththcr. lie bcsicgel II
for six months, captured it, mastered nearly
100000 people and laid tie city in ruins II
is said that only forty Of the Inhabitants escaped
death AS soon az the destroyer had passed on
they returned 10 the ruins and for a time dwclt
there by themselves. But multtudcs soon came
ncckng thither. and within 100 years the city
rebuilt and occupied by more than 900, 900
inhabitants
The Persiars scizcl IIerat in the sixteenth cen
fury, and from that time down 10 fifty years ago
il was bone of contention between them and the
Afchans Now one held il, now the other, thu city
suffering much and steadily declining in size and
wealth One Of its most stirring chapters bears
date of 1897. II then belonged to the Afghans
Tho Persian, MohammcG Shah marched against
it with army of $1,000 men and fifty guns
Tie army had Russac officers and whole regi
mcnt Of choice Russian troops Within the be-
lcagucrcd city all was confusion and dsmay BIT
young English officer, Eldrcd PottnGcr. Glanced
to be there on a haf-ofcial GRAND. lie at once
took an active part in the work OF defence AMI
to him the glory Of the victory is due. For ten
months ho hold tho Pity aguipef nj
determined foes without and against disaGcc,ion
and discord within. assisting by his sage advice in
military councils, acting the part OF Intermediary
between the chiefs OF the opposing armies, and
leading the Afghans in the thick Of tho fight on
June "a, 1888 when the Pcrsans acting on Rus
sian opinion that the breaches were practicable
assaulted in force, Var Mahomet, the Vizer
broke down, and paralyzcd with fear. refused TO
lead his wavering troops The young English
man. seizng the Vizicr by the arm. dragged him
to the front, and by his brilliant conduct gained
the reputation among the PENSIONS Of being worth
an army" Without his aid the enemy who had
already pissed through the breach. would have
entered the town and scattered the terror stricken
Mghans like sheep. For few months longer
the siege was protractcd no further offensive
movements were attempted. and. hearing OF the
landing Of British force on the island OF
Karrack. Mohammed Shah's advanced guard b.
gan its return march on September 0.
The Pcrsans did capture lIcrat. however. in
1856, and were forced by England 70 restore
it to the Afghans in 1857 In 1863 il was
stormed by Dost Mohammed and in 1871 by
Yakoob Khan. Since the latter date It's history
has been less eventful until now, when the CITY
is the rnllying point OF the great rebellion that
is being waged against Abdurrahman Khan. thc
Amcer Of Cabul.
The present town Of TIcrat stands on the RIGHT
hank Of the Herr Rud from which water Is brought
by several channels Tho surrounding country
is exceedingly well watcred, and wells are seldom
deeper than eight or ten feet. Judging from the
largo number Of ruins in the vicinity, the state.
mcnts OF Persian historians regarding its former
grandeur are fairly accurate, but as it now stands
it is a rather insignificant place The town Is
built in the form OF rectanglc. the north and
south faces being about 800, and the east and
west faces 500 yards in length Surrounding
the town is immense eartwork about fifty
feet high, surmountcd by wall ranging from
twenty-five 10 thirty feet, with deep ditch, which
can easily be flooded from the Iler-Rud Tho
citadel occupies the centre Of the town. and is also
surrounded by a wet ditch. Although enjoying
O high reputation q fortress, the past history Of
Hera proves that it is considerably overrated, and
could easily he taken by European force Pottin-
ger saw this at once, as he states in his journal
that the real dcfcnces OF tie place consist of two
covered ways on the slope Of the entertainments,
one within, and the other without the ditch The
lower one is on level with the surrounding
country, and partly covered by accumulations Of
rubbish from the cearsings OF the ditch. II WIS
his firm belief that Mahommcd Shah might have
carried the city by assault the very first day that
he reached lIcrat, and that even when the garrison
gained confidence, 10 might BY proper Use OF the
means at his disposal have taken the place in
twcnty-four hours"
The town is divided into four quarters by two
main streets crossing at right angles, the central
space. where once stood mosque, being now occu-
picd by the principal blzar. The Europeans who