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of Boodh, whose principal tenet is the doctrine of
transmigration; the Jains are the third, who
chiefly worship Pariswanath; the other class of
inhabitants are Mahometans, of whom there are
about the eighth part of the number of Hindoos.
To give an idea of the modern revolutions in the
empire of Hindoostan, it is proper to observe, that
from a pure # Hindoo government, it became, at
last, a Mahometan state, and continued to be so,
under various dynasties, till the beginning of the
18th century. The first irruption of the Maho-
metans was in the year 1000. From this period
the provinces of Hindoostan were held rather as
tributary kingdoms, than as provinces of the same
empire; and the conquest of the Deccan, in par-
ticular, was for ages an object of. considerable im-
portance to the emperors. In 1389 the Mogul
Tartars, under the conduct of Timur, or Tamer-
lane, invaded Hindoostan; but the conquest of
the country wins not effected till 1525, by sultan
Baber, one of his descendants, who, from this cir-
cumstance, was the founder of the Mongul dy-
nasty ; and hence Hindoostan has been called the
Mongul Empire, and its chief, the Great Mogul.
The illustrious Acbar, his son, failed in his attack
upon the Deccan ; an attempt in which many of
his successors were equally unfortunate, and which
tended, in the sequel, to the decline and dissolu
tion of the empire. In 1615 emperor Jehangire,
his son, received Sir Thomas Roe, as the first
English ambassador, and the Portuguese had. by
this time, acquired considerable settlements in
Bengal and Guzerat. In the reign of his grand-
son Aurungzebe, which lasted from 166*3 to 1707,
the empire attained its full extent; his authority
reached from 10 to 35 degrees in lat. and nearly
as much in long., and his revenue exceeded 32,
000,0002. sterling. But in the course of 50 years
after his death, a succession of weak princes and
wicked ministers reduced this astonishing empire
to very narrow limits, and deprived it of all its
power and splendour. In consequence of the
intrigues of the nizam of the Deccan, Nadir Shah,
the Persian usurper, invaded Hindoostan in 1738.
In the reign of Ahmed Shah, successor of Ma-
homed Shah, the entire division of the empire
took place ; nothing remaining to the house of
Tamerlane but the city and small territory of
Dehli. The last imperial army was defeated by
the Rohilias, in 1749. The Jats, a Hindoo tribe,
founded a state in Agra; Oude was seized by
Mahomed Kooli: and the Mahrattas. beside their
ancient cumins in the Deccan, obtained great
part of Malwa. Guzerat, Berar, and Orissa. The
Mongul empire was now become nearly nominal;
and the em-jenrs. from this period, must be re-
garded as of no political consequence, otherwise
than as tneir mines and persons were made use
of, bv different parties, to promote their own
views : tor the name and person of the emperor
retains a c . nsideraaie degree of veneration among
the bulk of the people in Hindoostan. Ahmed
wras deposed La 1753. and his successor was de-
osed and murdered in 1760. He was succeeded,
owever. bv nis s-on Shah Ahlum, who was alter-
nately dependent on the contending powers, and
more particular! v cpin the English, who obtained
from him a grant ofthe provinces of Bengal, Bahar,
Orissa, and the Circars This prince died in 1806,
and was succeeded by his second son. Acbar Shah.
The Mahometans or Musselmans, whoih the Eng
lish improperly call Moors, are represented to be
of a detestable character. The Hindoos, or Gen
toos, are of a black complexion; their hair is long,
their person straight and elegant, and their coun
tenance open and pleasant. They differ materiallv
from all other nations, by bei''g divided into tribes
or castes. The four principal tribes are the
Brahmins, Soldiers, Labourers, and Mechanics:
and these are subdivided into a multiplicity of in-
ferior distinctions. There are Brahmins of various
degrees of excellence, who have the care of reli-
gion allotted to them, and are held sacred by the
rest; some of these acknowledge the errors that
have crept into their religion, owin one Supreme
Being, and laugh at the idolatry of the multi-
tude, but insist upon the necessity of working
upon the weaknesses of the vulgar ; yet the gen-
erality of them are as ignorant as the laity. Such
as are not engaged in worldly pursuits are a very
superstitious, innocent people, who promote cliai-
ity as much as they can, both to man and beast.
but those who engage in the world are generally
the worst of all the Gentoos ; but, persuaded that
the waters of the Ganges will purify them from
their sins, and being exempt from the utmost ri-
gour of the courts of justice (under the Gentoo
governments) they run into much greater exces-
ses. The Soldiers are commonly called Rajah-
poots; that is, descended from rajahs. They are
much more robust than the rest, have a great share
of courage, and a nice sense of military honour,
which consists, among them, in fidelity to those
they serve. Fighting is their profession; they
readily enter into the service of any that will pay
them, and will follow wherever he leads; but
should their leader fall in the battle, their cause is
at an end, and they run off the field without any
stain of their reputation. The English East India
Company have many battalions of them in their
service; they are called Sepoys, and are clothed
afld disciplined in the European manner. The
Labourers include farmers, and all who cultivate
the land. The Mechanics include merchants,
bankers, and all who follow any trade ; these again
are subdivided into each profession. Besides these,
are the Hallachores, who cannot be called a tribe,
being rather the refuse of all the tribes. They
are a set of unhappy wretches, who perform all
the vilest offices of life, bury the dead, and carry
away every thing that is polluted. All the dif-
ferent tribes are kept distinct from each other by
insurmountable barriers: they are forbidden to
intermarry, to cohabit, to eat with each other, or
even to drink out of the same vessel with one of
another tribe. Every deviation from these points
subjects them to be rejected by their tribe, renders
them polluted forever, and obliges them, from that
instant, to herd with the Hallachores. The men-
bers of each caste adhere invariably to the profes-
sion of their forefathers , from generation to gen-
eration the same families have followed, and still
continue to follow, one uniform manner of life.
To this may be ascribed that high degree of per-
fection conspicuous in many of the Indian man-
ufactures ; and also that striking peculiarity in the
state of Hindoostan, the permanence of its insti-
tutions, and the immutability in the manners of
the inhabitants. The Hindoos vie with the
Chinese, in respect to the antiquity of their na
tion. Their institutions of religion form a com
plete system of superstition, upheld by everything
which can excite the reverence of the people.
The temples consecrated to their deities are mag-
nificent; their religious ceremonies splended; and
the absolute dominion which the Brahmins have
obtained over the minds of the people is support
ed by the command of the immense revenues with
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