the country to the Indus River.

The conquest by Alexander the Great changed the course of trade and
diverted it to other routes, thus depriving the country of much of its
revenue; the invasions of the Arabs left the empire a hopeless wreck.
Iran blood dominates the country at the present time, it is true, but
the religion of Islam does not encourage any material development, and
the industries are now purely local. There is no organization of trade,
nor any system of transportation except by means of wretched wagon-roads
with innumerable toll-gates. "Turkish" tobacco, opium, and small fruits
are grown for export; silk and wool, however, are the most important
crops. The former is manufactured into brocaded textiles; the latter
into rugs and carpets. There are famous pearl-fisheries in the Persian
Gulf.

_Tabriz_, situated in the midst of an agricultural region, has important
manufactures of shawls and silk fabrics of world renown. The Tabriz rugs
are regarded as among the finest of the rug-maker's art. _Shiraz_, the
former capital, _Kermanshah_,[77] and _Hamadan_ are noted for rug and
carpet manufactures. _Mashad_ is the centre of the trade with Russia.
_Bushire_ and _Bender-Abbas_ are seaports, but have no great importance.
Most of the trade with Russia passes through the port of Trebizond.

=Afghanistan.=--The nomadic tribes that inhabit Afghanistan have but
little in common with the British civilization that is slowly but surely
closing in upon them, and driving them from routes of commerce. A
considerable local traffic is carried on between Bokhara and Herat, and
between Bokhara and Kabul through Balkh, all being fairly prosperous
centres of population in regions made productive by irrigation.

By far the most important route lies between Kabul and Peshawur, at the
head of the Indus River. A railway, the Sind-Pishin, extends along the
valley of this river from Karachi, a port of British India, to Peshawur,
also in British India near the Afghan border, and the route lies thence
through Khaibar Pass to Jelalabad and Kabul. A branch of this road is
completed through Bolan Pass nearly to Kandahar.

_Kabul_, the capital, is a military stronghold rather than a business
centre, although it is a collection depot for the Khiva-Bokhara rugs and
carpets that are marketed at Peshawur. _Kandahar_ has a growing trade
resulting from the railway of the Indus Valley. _Herat_ is the market of
the famous Herati rugs. There is n