ALLAHABAD, a large province of Hindostan, which is situated between the 24th and 26th degrees of N. lat. It is bounded on the north by the provinces of Oude and Agra, on the south by the Hindoo province of Gundwana, on the east by the provinces of Bahar and Gund-wana, and on the west by the provinces of Malwah and Agra. It may be estimated in length at 270 ‘miles, by 129 the average breadth. The principal geographical and political subdivisions of Allahabad are the following: lst, The District of Allahabad; 2d, Benares; 3d, District of Mirzapoor; 4th, District of Juanpoor; 5th, The Rewah Territory; 6th, District of Bundeleund; 7th, District of Cawnpoor; 8th, Maniepoor Territory.

The surface of this province is unequal. Along the shores of the Ganges and Jumna the country is flat and extremely fertile; but to the south-west, in the Bundel-cund territory, the land rises, aňd is diversified with high hills, which abound in strongholds. This mountainous region contains the famous diamond mines of Pannah. Its climate is also more temperate than that of the lower plains, which are extremely sultry, and subject to hot winds. The province is in many parts well watered. The principal rivers in the north are the Ganges, the Jumna, the Goomty, and the Caramnassa, besides other streams of inferior note, which, supplying abundant moisture, diffuse fertility over several of the subdivisions, especially those of Benares and Allahabad. In the high country water is scarce, and the principal rivers are the Kena and Goggra. The husbandman consequently depends for supplies of moisture on the periodical rains, or on wells, which are often sunk to a great depth. On the whole, however, Allahabad may be classed among the most productive provinces of India. The exports are, diamonds, saltpetre, opium, sugar, indigo, cotton, cotton-eloths, &c. The imports are various, consisting of European manufactures, salt from the maritime ports of Bengal being one of the staple articles in regular demand. The principal towns within this province are, Benares, Allahabad, Callinjer, Chatterpoor, Juanpoor, Mirzapoor, Chunar, and Ghazipoor. The inhabitants are estimated at 7,000,000, the proportion being one Mahometan to eight Hindoos. In remote times this province held a high rank, as it contained Allahabad and Benares, two of the most venerated places of Brahminical pilgrimage. The province is now comprehended within the British jurisdiction, with the exception of a small portion of the Bundelcund division, which is held by petty chiefs under British protection.

It is mentioned by Abul Fazel, that the territory which now forms the province of Allahabad was invaded in the year 1020 by Sultan Mahmood of Ghizni. He returned in 1023, but made no permanent establishment. It was afterwards subdued by the Patan emperors of Delhi, and swallowed up in the Mogul empire, of which it was formed into a distinct province by the emperor Acbar, under the name of Allahabad, which it still retains. On the dissolution of the Mogul dynasty, the northern quarter was taken possession of by the nabobs of Oude. But in 1764, through the interference of Lord Clive with the nabob of Oude, Korah and Allahabad were ceded to Shah Allum, the nominal though fugitive sovereign of Delhi. In 1772 they reverted to the nabob of Oude; and in 1775 the Bengal government acquired the Benares districts by treaty with Azoph-ud-Dowlah, and Allahabad and the adjacent districts in 1801 by cession, from his successor on the throne of Oude. The south-eastern districts were received from the Mahratta peshwa in 1803, in exchange for a tract of equal value in the Carnatic, above the Ghauts and Gujerat. (Hamilton’s Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Description of Hindostan) (f.) Allahabad, a fortified town of Hindostan, in the province of Allahabad, most "favourably situated in a dry and healthy soil, on a triangle, at the junction of the two mighty streams, the Ganges and the Jumna. It has been occasionally the residence of royalty, and still contains some fine ruins; but it never appears to have been a great and magnificent city, and has now a desolate and ruinous appearance, having obtained among the natives the name of Fakeerabad, or Beggar abode. The city is small, with very poor houses, and narrow, irregular streets, confined to the banks of the Jumna. Nine-tenths of the present native buildings are of mud, raised on the foundations of more substantial brick edifices, which have long ago fallen to decay. The port, which is placed at the distance of a quarter of a mile, on a tongue of land washed by the Jumna and the Ganges, is lofty and extensive, and completely commands the navigation of the two rivers. It is strong both by nature and art, and has a noble castle. It has gained as much in strength as it has lost in appearance by some modern improvements which it has undergone, by which its lofty towers have been lowered into bastions and ravelins, and its high stone ramparts covered with turf parapets, and obscured by a green sloping glaeis. It is still, however, according to Bishop Heber, a striking place, and its principal gate, surmounted by a dome, with a wide hall beneath, surrounded by areades and galleries, and ornamented with rude but glowing paintings, forms a noble entrance to a place of arms. The barracks are handsome and neat. On one side is a large range of buildings, which are still in the oriental style, and contain some noble vaulted rooms, chiefly occupied as officers’ quarters, and overlooking from a considerable height the rapid stream and craggy banks of the Jumna. The principal mosque, which is still in good repair, is but little frequented. This building, which is solid and stately, but without much ornament, is advantageously situated on the banks of the Jumna, adjoining the city on one side, and an esplanade before the glacis of the fort on the other. It was at one time the residence of the general of the station, but has since been restored to its original destination. The finest buildings in the neighbourhood are the sultan’s serai and garden. The former is a noble quadrangle, with four fine Gothic gateways, surrounded within an embattled wall by a range of cloisters for the accommodation of travellers, the whole now in a dilapidated condition. Adjoining the serai is a neglected garden, plant [7:2:518] ed with fine old mangoe trees, in which are three beautiful tombs, raised over two princes and a princess of the imperial family. The houses of the civil servants of the company are at some distance both from the fort and the town.

Allahabad is one of the most noted resorts of Hindoo pilgrimage. It owes its celebrity to the confluence of three sacred rivers, the Ganges, the Jumna, and the Sereswati. This latter river is no longer to be seen; but the Hindoos assert that it joins the other two under ground, and that consequently the same religious merit is acquired by bathing at this sacred confluence as by bathing in all the three separate rivers. From this superstition a shameful tax is collected by government, of three rupees, for permission to bathe in the river; and crowds of pilgrims collect for this purpose from all quarters. They amounted in 1812-13 to 218,792; and by their eagerness to rush into the river to bathe, they exposed themselves to risks which were sometimes fatal. The gross amount of the receipts amounted in 1812-13 to 221,066 rupees. In 1815-16 they had fallen off to 79,779 rupees. Allahabad is now the permanent station of the British court of justice, which makes an annual circuit through the province for deciding suits between the natives. Allahabad was taken in the year 1765 by the British army under Sir R. Fletcher∙ It is 820 miles from the sea by the river. The travelling distance is only 550 miles, from Benares 53, from Lucknow 57, from Agra 296, and from Delhi 212 miles. In 1803 the population, exclusive of the garrison, amounted to 20,000. Long. 81. 50. E. Lat. 25. 27. N. ∙ (r.)