Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/206

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190 EAJAHMUNDRY RAJPOOTANA they are placed in casks, and made into a solid mass by treading. They were formerly called corinths, and are mentioned in old books as currans. The demand for them is very large in the United States. Raisins are sometimes employed instead of grapes in making wine, and among the ancient Greeks and Romans some of the best wines were of this character. RAJAIIMl.VURY, or Biymahendri, a town of British India, in the province and 280 m. N. N. E. of the city of Madras, capital of a district formerly of the same name, but now known as the district of Godavery; pop. between 15,000 and 20,000. It is on the N. bank of the Godavery river, here nearly two miles wide. The houses are mainly of mud, but one story high, and roofed with tiles. The district (pop. in 1872, 1,584,179) includes the rich al- luvial delta region of the Godavery, which has been made very prosperous by the existing sys- tem of irrigation. The chief products are rice, millet, maize, cotton, indigo, tobacco, and sugar cane. Ooriuga, at the mouth of the Godavery, is the principal port. RAJPOOTANA (formerly RAJASTHAX), a terri- tory of British India, consisting of 18 native states, principally inhabited by Rajpoots, in subsidiary alliance with the British govern- ment. This aggregation of states, which com- pletely encloses the district of Ajmeer, ex- tends E. and W. a distance of 520 in. between Ion. 69 35' and 78 10' E., and N. and S. 480 m. between lat. 23 15' and 30 10' N. It is bounded N. by Bhawalpoor and the Punjaub ; E. by the Northwest Provinces, the Chitore hills, and the river Ohumbul, a tributary of the Jumna, beyond which lie the dominions of Sindia ; S. by Malwa and Guzerat ; and W. by Sinde. For purposes of British interven- tion and control the region is divided into seven political agencies, and the following table exhibits the area and population of the several states in each : DIVISIONS. An* In iqotre milw. Population. Mewar Agency : Odeypoor or Mewar 11.614 1,161.400 Purtabgurh 1,460 150000 Dongurpoor 1,000 100000 Banswara 1,900 I;-MKMI Jeypoor Agency : Jeypoor .... 15000 1900000 Kisliriiu'iini 720 TIM i.i Bickaneer 17,878 531)000 Marwar Agency : Joodpoor or Marwar 86.672 1 7S8600 Jessulmeer. 12,252 Til IMll Haraotee Agency : Boondee 2,291 220000 Kotah 6.000 433400 Jhalawar 2.500 220000 Tonk 1,800 182 000 Eastern States Agency : Dholepoor 1 626 500000 Bhurtpoor 1 :iT4 ('.:, i it.ii i Kerowlee 1 260 1 in..,,, i Alwur (or Ulwur) Agency : Alwnr 3000 778596 Serohee Superintendency : Serohee 8000 55,000 Total I 120.845 The Aravulli mountains are for the most part within the limits of Rajpootana, extending from Ajmeer southwesterly between Marwar and Mewar to Mt. Aboo, near the southern frontier of the country in the state of Serohee, where they attain a height of 5,650 ft. The regions of Marwar immediately W. of the range are watered by the river Loonee, which rises on its western slope and flows S. W. more than 200 m. into the runn of Cutch. West- ward, beyond this river, a great part of Raj- pootana is a sandy expanse of desert, extend- ing from Joodpoor, the capital of Marwar, through Jessulmeer, the westernmost of the Rajpoot states. The towns scattered over this arid tract are situated in oases, and among them are some of the most salubrious and beautiful inhabited places in India. The state of Bickaneer, in the north, bordering upon Bhawalpoor, is also a dry and desolate region. Greater fertility prevails in the states which lie N. E. and E. of Ajmeer and the Aravulli range, and which are watered by the Chumbul and its tributaries, as well as by other affluents of the Jumna. Directly N. of Ajmeer, on the boundary between Jeypoor and Joodpoor, is the Sambhur salt lake, 22 m. long and 6 m. broad, which yields a valuable product of salt, the annual receipts from the Joodpoor por- tion being about 40,000. There are several smaller lakes in the country. Of the 18 states of Rajpootana, 15 are occupied principally by Rajpoots ; there are two Jat states, Dholepoor and Bhurtpoor; and the population of Tonk is Mohammedan. Each of the seven political agencies is under the charge of a British offi- cer, who maintains constant political relations with the native ministers of state. The chief administrative and diplomatic authority for the entire territory is vested in a political agent of the viceroy, who resides at Ajmeer and on Mt. Aboo. An interjurisdictional court of wakils is held under the presidency of the Marwar agent, for the settlement of all disputes be- tween the several states of Rajpootana. In March, 1873, the military force stationed in Rajpootana comprised 2,919 native infantry, 1,472 native cavalry, and 42 British officers. The Rajpoots, by far the most numerous por- tion of the population, who claim to be de- scendants of the original Kshattriya caste of the Hindoos, appear to have inhabited the coun- try from the earliest historical period. Not- withstanding their formidable resistance to the Mohammedan invasion, they became peaceful subjects of the earlier emperors, who treated their religion with tolerance ; but in the time of Aurungzebe his oppressive measures induced them to take part in the war of the Mahrattas against him. Subsequently Rajpootana was invaded by various marauding armies, but in 1761 the Rajpoots had achieved practical inde- pendence both of the Mohammedans and of the Mahrattas. In the early part of the pres- ent century Sindia and Holkar exacted tribute from the chiefs, and the Pindarrees made re-