Note 18 — Feast of the Second New Year.

Autumn and Spring in Kashmir are things worthy to be seen. I witnessed the Autumn season, and it appeared to me to be better than what I had heard of it. I have never seen Spring in that province, but hope to do so some day. On Saturday the 1st of Muḥarram (18th April, 1607) I left the bank of the Bihat, and with one day between reached the fort of Rohtās, which was built by S͟hīr K͟hān Afg͟hān. This fort was founded in a cleft of the ground, and the strength of it cannot be imagined. As the place is near the Ghakhar territory, and they are a proud and rebellious people, he had looked to this fort specially as a means of punishing and defeating them. When a little of the building had been done S͟hīr K͟hān died and his son, Salīm K͟hān, obtained the grace to complete it. On each of the gates18 they have carved on a stone the cost of erecting the fort; 16 krors, 10 lakhs of dams, and more were expended, equal in Hindustan reckoning to 4,025,000 rupees, and according to the currency of Iran to 120,000 tūman, and in the currency of Turan to 1 arb, 21 lakhs and 75,000 k͟hānī, that are now current.19