Khor

“ It was no wonder that they were puzzled, for upon their spent camels their situation was as hopeless as could be conceived. The Sarras men had all emerged from the khor, and had dismounted, the beasts being held in groups of four, while the rifle-men knelt in a long line with a woolly, curling fringe of smoke, sending volley after volley at the Arabs, who shot back in a desultory fashion from the backs of their camels. But it was not upon the sullen group of Dervishes, nor yet upon the long line of kneeling rifle-men, that the eyes of the spectators were fixed. ”

“ It is said, that there is a still more important pass, called Khor, four coses east from Barakadwar. This is said to be the easiest of all the ascents to the mountains, and leads to the town of Khachi, from whence there are routes in many directions leading to places at a great distance, without any very difficult ascent or descent. The town of Khachi, which was the capital, stands on a hill plentifully supplied with water. The town contained about 300 houses, mostly thatched; that of the chief was built of brick. ”

“ Khoten (in China) to the east, the Caspian to the west, Khodjend to the north, and India to the south. It is a pity that this people, in spite of the high antiquity of their origin, and their {368} grandeur in time gone by, should have attained the very highest stage of vice and profligacy: if they are to be taken as a specimen of antique Asia, the cradle of our race, it must, indeed, have presented in those early ages a sorry appearance.
[Footnote 128: Khor means 'sun,' and son 'district;' hence the whole word signifies 'district of the sun.']
Kirghis. ”

“ Gekrek 3 31 Name of locality; good camping ground on left of khor, which is easily crossed in dry season; 2 feet of water covered with matted weeds, water fair; ground gradually becoming more wooded; heglig and gemmeiza. Adodit 21⁄4 331⁄4 Name of locality; khor twists about considerably; track cuts across a corner here, and joins khor again after 2 miles, and continues to Biar 61⁄2 393⁄4 Name of locality; country between M’Yolga and Nerol uninhabited, being a “no man’s land” between Dinkas and Nuers; men of one tribe crossing to territory of other tribe do not return as a rule. ”

“ Long range of black hills on east, running with khor, country west much more open and hills far away. Six miles on, cross Khor Tamaguanti, running south-west, which is lined with dom palms, has an old well with good water, and a few inhabitants. Track continues over plain passing “Mala” of Sheikh Abu Tahir, who was head of the Hadendoa tribe in Mohammed Ali’s time. Here there are between 200 and 300 graves; plain is covered with coarse grass and acacia. Khor Lokweb 11 159 Track now leaves Khor Baraka and enters Khor Lokweb, a large khor running into the Baraka from the south-west ”

“ Not a village of Afdal Khan's remains unburned save only Khoruk itself. And of the outlying towers, only my sangar remains, which lies between this spot and Khoruk. Now he has seized the cavern called Akbar's Castle, and that is in Orakzai territory. By Allah, for an hour we have been riding in country claimed by us Orakzai, but now it has become a no man's land, a border strewn with corpses and burned villages, where no man's life is safe. At any moment we may be fired upon. ”

“ I have already told you that the valiant Khan, the noble Khoros Kaloret, has seen you—that he loves you. He is rich and brave; hundreds of retainers obey his commands and follow him to battle. He has numerous slaves who till his fields; rich pastures on which large herds of cattle graze; innumerable flocks wander over his mountains, while none can boast of finer horses or richer armour. ”

“ Population.—The total Kūrd population probably exceeds two and a half millions, namely, Turkish Kūrds 1,650,000, Persian 800,000, Russian 50,000, but there are no trustworthy statistics. The great mass of the population has its home in Kūrdistān. But Kūrds are scattered irregularly over the country from the river Sakarīa on the west to Lake Urmia on the east, and from Kars on the north to Jebel Sinjar on the south. There is also an isolated settlement in Khorasan. The tribes, ashiret, into which the Kūrds are divided, resemble in some respects the Highland clans of Scotland. ”

“ Close on their heels marched the Khoraja spearmen, always comparatively few in any Hyborian state, where men thought cavalry the only honorable branch of service. These, like the knights, were of ancient Kothic blood—sons of ruined families, broken men, penniless youths, who could not afford horses and plate-armor, five hundred of them.
The mercenaries brought up the rear, a thousand horsemen, two thousand spearmen. The tall horses of the cavalry seemed hard and savage as their riders ”

“ When it was eventide, the king caused clear his sitting chamber and summoned the Wazir, who presented himself and making his obeisance to the king, kissed ground before him and related to him
THE TALE OF THE MAN OF KHORASAN, HIS SON AND HIS TUTOR. There was once a man of Khorasan and he had a son, whose moral weal he ardently wished; but the young man sought to be alone and far from the eye of his father, so he might give himself up to pleasuring and pleasance. ”

“ Koṛī is used exactly in the same way by natives all over Upper India. Indeed, the vulgar there in numeration habitually say do koṛī, tīn koṛī, for 40, 60, and so forth. The first of our quotations shows the word in a form very closely allied to this, and explaining the transition. Wilson gives Telugu khorjam, "a bale or lot of 20 pieces, commonly called a corge." [The Madras Gloss. gives Can. korji, Tel. khorjam, as meaning either a measure of capacity, about 44 maunds, or a Madras town cloth measure of 20 pieces.] ”

“ Like a regular tornado he pounced down upon his rival and at full gallop let his own hatchet fall on him. He cut the Arab through and through and threw him off his horse to the ground. Wishing to speedily arouse the dissatisfaction of the people, the moullahs (i.e., priests) surrounded the corpse, read aloud the Khoran and filled the air with their hideous mournful lamentations and cries. But the nation, greatly delighted over the daring exploit of Solagge, remained perfectly insensible to their never-ceasing weeping and howling. ”

“ Dr Sven Hedin explored the central depressions in 1906.
The surface of Khorasan thus consists mainly of highlands, saline, swampy deserts and upland valleys, some fertile and well-watered. Of the last, occurring mainly in the north, the chief are the longitudinal valley stretching from near the Herat frontier through Meshed, Kuchan and Shirvan to Bujnurd, the Derrehgez district, which lies on the northern skirt of the outer range projecting into the Akhal Tekkeh domain, now Russian territory, and the districts of Nishapur and Sabzevar which lie south of the Binalud and Jagatai ranges. ”

“ On the death of Mahmud, when Messud ascended the throne of the Seljukides, Itsis, the prince of Khowaresm, a country lying between the confines of Khorassan, and the mouth of the Oxus, came to him, to communicate the determination he had formed, of exterminating the Ismailites. Although the large province of Khorassan lies between Khowaresm and Kuhistan, or the Highlands, where the Ismailis nestled, like birds of prey, amongst the rocks, yet the sovereign of Khowaresm, not unjustly, dreaded the approach of such dangerous neighbours, whose poniards reached even their most distant foes. ”

“ Khorai, composed of four hundred and forty rifles—the 101st Grenadiers, Indian Army—evacuated Las Khorai and proceeded by sea to Berbera, thence to Las Dureh. It had at first been decided to use Las Khorai as the base from which the R.A.F. should commence operations, but, owing to the prevalence of wind and dust storms at that port, this plan was given up, and the base was fixed on—much to my regret as it meant land transport—at El-dur-Elan. ”

“ He drags him closer to the dark window of the church. Khorre mutters:
“How dark it is. If you raised me out of bed for this accursed music—”
“Yes, yes; for this accursed music.”
“Then you have disturbed my honest sleep in vain; I want no music, Noni.”
“So! Was I perhaps to run through the street, knock at the windows and shout: ‘Eh, who is there; where’s a living soul? Come and help Haggart, stand up with him against the cannons.’”
“You are confusing things, Noni. Drink some gin, my boy. What cannons?”
“Silence, sailor.” ”

“ A new Turkish power was founded by the khans of Khiva, who are known as the Khwarizm-shahs. They were originally vassals of the Seljuks, with the title of tasdar or ewer-bearer, but became independent and conquered Khorasan and Irak. They had, however, to contend with yet another new arrival from the east, the Kara-Kitais. These also were probably Turks, and were pushed westwards from China by the Kins. They conquered Kashgar, Khotan, Yarkand and later Transoxiana, pushing the Ghuzz tribes before them into Persia and Afghanistan. ”

“ So the Arab applies his ear to the bag, and hears, buzz—buzz—buzz. “Now,” says the man, “take this home, and when you arrive call all your friends together, then put the Khoran on your head, and tie the string tight; tell all your friends to say exactly what you say, and to do exactly as you do;—and then they will know how to pray aright.”
So in due course the Bedawin returns to his family and friends with “the Khoran,” and having assembled them together around him, says: “Here is the Khoran, which will teach you how to pray. ”

“ Khorassan is the north-eastern province of Persia, bounded on the east by Afghanistan, on the south by the Great Salt Desert, on the west by the other dominions of the Shah, and on the north by the recently acquired Russian province of Transcaspia. Its capital is Meshed, the sacred city of the votaries of the Sheite sect of the Mussulman religion, and till within very recent days no Christian was admitted within its sacred walls. Pilgrims flock to it from all quarters of Persia, and the pious dead are carried thither for burial in coffins slung upon the backs of mules. ”

“ Dihli ten paintîs kos Kanhaur Nigâna; Apni boi âp khâen, hâkim ne na den dâna.—“Thirty-five kos from Delhi are Kanhaur and Nigâna. There the people eat what they sow, and do not give a grain to the Government.”
6. Amongst these the Khoro rank first; but their claim to superiority is denied by the Aphiriya, who have certainly in modern times attained the highest distinction. They all, including the [54] Khoro, intermarry on terms of equality, avoiding, like all other Ahîrs, only the four gotras nearest related. ”

“ Though the Gur Khan himself is not described as having extended his conquests into Persia, the shah of Kharezm followed up the victory by invading Khorasan and plundering the cities and treasuries of Sanjar. ”

“ If cities which resisted were weak, they were stormed; if strong, they were left till a later occasion, since the work then on hand was to capture Mohammed.
When the Shah learned that the enemy had entered Khorassan he left Nishapur with a small escort under pretext of hunting. Consternation filled that place when the truth grew apparent. After the Shah deserted the city the vizir with the mufti and the cadi ruled, pending the arrival of a governor, who was on the way from Urgendj, the Kwaresmian capital. ”

“ A tremendous character. "And Subadar-Major Farman Ali Bahadar. He got the D.S.M. when he was with us in Egypt, led a handful of his men across the open at Touffoum, and turned the Turkish flank very neatly. He got an I.O.M. at Sheikh Saad. And he led the regiment back at Sannaiyat when all the British officers were down. He was a Khoreshi, by the way."
A Khoreshi is a member of the tribe of the Prophet. A good Khoreshi is a man to be sought for and honoured, for his influence is great; but a bad Khoreshi among the P. Ms. is as big a nuisance as a Mir among Pathans. ”

“ Upon them suddenly steals a band of horsemen who snatch up the incautious wanderers and bear them away shrieking at their doom, for they are rarely again seen alive by mortal men. The people of Khorassan declare that they are gathered round the dead body of On in an enchanted crowd, and hold up their living yet lifeless hands in vain supplication to Nisha, who stalks among them a strange semblance of humanity. ”

“ Khorassan, the largest province of Persia; is on the Afghan border, mountainous, and fertile only in the N. among the valleys of the Elburz range; grain, tobacco, and medicinal plants are grown; gold and silver, turquoises, and other gems found. The capital is Meshed (50) , a sacred Moslem city, with carpet, jewellery, and silk manufactures.
Khyber Pass, a narrow defile 33 m. long, in one place only 10 ft. wide, through not lofty but precipitous mountains; lies to the NW. of Peshawur, and is the chief route between the Punjab and Afghanistan ”

“ Khorasmin or Khuaresm, is a populous, pleasant, and fertile country, containing many good and strong towns, the capital being Khorasme. The country produces abundance of corn, and very little wine. This empire borders on a desert of an hundred days journey in extent. To the west is the Caspian sea, to the north Kumania, and to the east Turkestan. The inhabitants are heathens, without letters or laws. The Soldini are the most intrepid of warriors; have a particular language of their own, for which they employ the Greek characters in writing ”