its of the natives, seem to have
equally repelled the friendly visits of inquisitive strangers and the
hostile incursions of invading armies. The first distinct account which we
have is from Arrian, who, with his usual brevity and severe veracity,
narrates the march of Alexander through this region, which he calls the
country of the Oreitae and Gadrosii.[2] He gives a very accurate account of
this forlorn tract, its general aridity and the necessity of obtaining
water by digging in the beds of torrents; describes the food of the
inhabitants as dates and fish; and adverts to the occasional occurrence of
fertile spots, the abundance of aromatic and thorny shrubs and fragrant
plants, and the violence of the monsoon in the western part of Makran. He
notices also the impossibility of supporting a large army, and the
consequent destruction of the greater part of the men and beasts which
accompanied the expedition of Alexander. In the 8th century this country
was traversed by an army of the Caliphate.

The precise period at which the Brahuis gained the mastery cannot be
accurately ascertained; but it was probably about two and a half centuries
ago. The last raja of the Hindu dynasty found himself compelled to call for
the assistance of the mountain shepherds, with their leader, Kambar, in
order to check the encroachments of a horde of depredators, headed by an
Afghan chief, who infested the country and even threatened to attack the
seat of government. Kambar successfully performed the service for which he
had been engaged; but having in a few years quelled the robbers against
whom he had been called in, and finding himself at the head of the only
military tribe in the country, he formally deposed the raja and assumed the
government.

The history of the country after the accession of Kambar is as obscure as
during the Hindu dynasty. It would appear, however, that the sceptre was
quietly transmitted to Abdulla Khan, the fourth in descent from Kambar,
who, being an intrepid and ambitious soldier, turned his thoughts towards
the conquest of Kach Gandava, then held by different petty chiefs under the
authority of the nawabs of Sind.

After various success, the Kambaranis at length possessed themselves of the
sovereignty of a considerable portion of that fruitful plain, including the
chief town, Gandava. It was during this contest that the famous Nadir Shah
advanced from Persia to the invasion of Hindustan; and while at Kandahar he