CABUL, or Caubul, a province of Afghanistan, which sometimes gives its name to the whole kingdom, with which its limits are frequently confounded. It is estimated to extend 250 miles in length by 150 in average breadth. It is situated between the 33d and 35th degrees of north lat. and is bounded on the north by Kuttore or Caffristan, on the east by Peshawer or the Indus, on the south by Ghizni and Candahar, and on the west by Hazarch. The country is divided into two parts by a ridge of very high mountains, which run from east to west, and are covered with snow the greater part of the year, whilst the valleys are scorched with excessive heat; the country contains, besides, hills of moderate height, and extensive plains and forests. But from the Indus to the city of Cabul there is a great scarcity of wood, and a want or fuel in the winter season for the poorer classes. Near Baramow is a sandy uninhabited valley, twenty miles in length; the tract lying to the north of the dividing ridge of mountains is named

Lumghanat, that to the south Bungishshat. There are valleys, each inter sected in its whole length by one or more considerable streams running through it. The valley of Cabul lies between the Hindoo Coosh Mountains on the north and the Soliman ridge on the south, and is in many places about twenty-five miles in breadth. Towards the east the valley is occupied by hills of inferior elevation, that connect the mountainous ridges. West of these hills is the town of Jellalabad, and farther west the country still rises. The river Cabul runs through the centre of this province, which is principally occupied by pastoral tribes, who constantly live in tents, migrating periodically with the seasons; during the summer months occupying the mountains, and in winter returning to the valleys. These vagrant tribes attend little to agriculture, and it is in the vicinity of the towns only that the country is well cultivated. The chief towns are Cabul, Peshawer, Ghizni, Jellalabad, &c. A considerable trade is carried on by the inhabitants of the towns. To Cabul resort merchants from the most distant countries. A number of horses are brought here from Tartary, which are exported to Hindustan; also furs and hides, which are exchanged for the indigo and other productions of Hindustan. To Candahar are exported iron, leather, and lamp-oil, whence the returns are made in the manufactures of Persia and Europe.

Cabĳl, a very ancient city, and at present the capital of Afghanistan, surrounded by a brick wall about a mile and a half in circumference, with towers at the angles, and scarcely any ditch. It stands on the eastern side of two united hills of a semicircular form, in the midst of an extensive and fertile plain, well watered, and interspersed with walled villages. A stream runs through the town, and has a small bridge over it. Through the plain runs the Cabul river, over which, at the distance of four or five miles to the southward of the city, is a bridge of brick. The houses are built of rough stones and clay, and make but a mean appearance. Four spacious bazars were erected here in the centre of the city, by Ali Murdan Khan, a celebrated Persian nobleman, who for many years governed these western provinces. These are now occupied by the meanest order of mechanics, and the fountains with which they were supplied are choked up with filth. The citadel, called Bala-Hissar, or Upper Fort, is situated on a rising ground in the eastern quarter of the city, and it contains the palace and other public buildings. The climate, from the vicinity of the great central range of the Hindoo Coosh Mountains, covered with perpetual snow, inclines to cold, and is liable also to sudden variations. Cabul is a great resort of trade, and the great bazar is frequently crowded with Usbeck Tartars, and with Hindoos from Peshawer. This city is mentioned by the Arabian historians in the seventh century as the residence of a Hindoo prince. It was for some time the capital of the Emperor Baber, and in the year 1739 was taken by Nadir Shah, who, after abandoning it to plunder, annexed it, along with the province, to his Persian dominions. On his death Ahmed Shah Abdally took possession of it, and in the year 1774 it was constituted the capital of Afghanistan by his son Timour Shah. The travelling distance from Delhi is S39 miles, from Agra 976, from Lucknow 1118, and from Calcutta 1815 miles.