THE name Baloch is used in two distinct ways by travellers and historians. In the first place, it is employed as including all the races inhabiting the geographical area shown on our maps under the name of Balochistan; and in the second place, as denoting one especial race, known to themselves and their neighbours as the Baloch. It is in the latter signification that I employ the word. I take it as applying to the Baloch race proper, not as comprising Brahois, Numris and other tribes of Indian origin, nor any other races which may be found within the limits of the Khan of Kilat's territory, or the Province of British Balochistan. On the other hand, it does comprise the true Baloch tribes outside those limits, whether found in Persia on the west, or in Sindh and the Panjab on the east. In the native use of the word, apart from modern political boundaries, Balochistan includes Persian Balochistan, the Khanat of Kilat, and the British Districts of Dera Ghazi Khan (with the adjoining mountains), Jacobabad, and part of Shikarpur as far as the Indus. Applying the test of language, the true Baloches may be considered as those whose native language is (or was till recently) Balochi, and not Brahoi, Persian, Sindhl, Jatki, or Pashto. The spelling and pronunciation of the name have varied considerably, but the Baloches themselves only use one pronunciation - Baloch, with the short a in the first syllable and the o in the second.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ The Baloch Race: A Historical And Ethnological Sketch; Volume 4 Of Asiatic Society Monographs Mansel Longworth Dames Royal Asiatic society, 1904 History; General; Baluchi (Southwest Asian people); History / General

During the early 19th century the British came in direct contact with the Baloch, first with those living in the Punjab and Sind, and later with those in Balochistan proper. Soon after their arrival in the region, they began studying the Baloch as an ethno-national group, their language, literature, folklore, tribal structure, physical features, and so on, forming theories and suggesting hypotheses regarding their origins and relations with other nations and peoples. While some maintained that the Baloch originated from north-western Iran, others believed they came from Central Asia, from Arabia, or from else- where.1 Among the early British writers, some also opined that while some tribes might have a foreign origin, bulk of the Baloch were the autochthonous population of the country. With the passage of time, however, other theories were abandoned and a northwest Iranian origin came to be the widely accepted one. This thesis was established on three basic grounds: first, from the Balochi oral tradition which claims that the Baloch came from a place called Alab/Alap, identified as Aleppo in Syria by Western writers and later followed by some lo- cal writers too; secondly, their mention in the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi where they are sometimes shown along with the people of Gilan and Dilam, regions situated on the Caspian Sea regions; and thirdly, on the basis of their language, which is classified as belonging to the northwestern group of Iranian languages having close affinities with Kurdish and other languages of that branch.