1 512 . 1»0WEBS OF THE KING.
2 and chanufter of each of the prinoei j and their voice secures the
3 possession of the capital, and gives a great advantage to the prince in
4 whose iavour it declares ; but the practice of conferring the different
5 great governments on the King's sons generally leads to a contest,
6 which is decided by the wealth, abilities, and popularity of the
7 rivals.
8 The whole of the royal family, cxco]>t those whom the King [larti-
9 cularly favours, are imprisoned in the upper citadel of C'aubul, where
10 they are well treated, but closely cojifined. Those who remain at
11 large are appointed to the government of provinces or the command
12 ol ariuies, where the ostensible autlu)rity of a Sialdoz ve is required to
13 secure the obedience of the great, and to sanction capital punish-
14 ments ; they are, however, in general, entirely under die control of
15 a d^uty of the King's appointing.
16 The King^B title is Shauhee Boorree Doorraiin, but it is only used
17 in treaties and other public instruments. In general, he is merdy
18 styled Shanh or P^ahauh (llie King), and the oommon people often
19 call Kim by his name, Mahmnod, or Shi^s, without any addition aft
20 all. The court Is called the Derree Khauneh, which, like Durbar in
21 jbidi% and Aulee Kaupee (Sublime Forte) in Turkey, signifies the
22 gate, a form of oriental adulation which implies that a sidb^ect oof^
23 to intrude no further into the palace even in his thoughts.
24 Tlie King has the exclusive privilege of coining, and his name is
25 put on nil thn money in the empire. It is well known what conse-
26 quence till' Asiatics ?ittfirh to this right, and that they regard the
27 possession oi it iiji the chiei test ol sovereignty. A similar test is the
28 privilege enjoy^ by the King, of being prayed lor in the Khootbeh
29 (part of the Mahommetlan r( ligious service).
30 He has the right of war .md peace, and can make treaties of his
31 own authority. Notwithstanding the example of Shawl *, it seems
32 But of dw oomtiy «f ^ OnfcM, wUdi mm mttmd hf Akmd SMitoifat
33 «f]
34 Digitized by Google