AL'LAHABAD (" city of God "), the seat of the government of the n.w. provinces of British India, occupies the fork of the Ganges and Juin na, lat. 25° 20' n., long. 81* 85' e., thus forming the lowest extremity of the extensive region which, as lying between those natural boundaries, is distinguished as the Doab, or the country of Two Rivers—an analo gous term to the Punjab, or the country of Faze Rivers. The situation of A., at the con fluence of the holy streams of India, besides giving the city its sacred appellation, has rendered it a much frequented place of pilgrimage for the purposes of ablution. some of the devotees sinking themselves with weights to rise no more. In point of appearance, A. was scarcely worthy of its character and renown. With the exception of a few ancient monuments of costly, elaborate, and tasteful workmanship, the native part of the city consists of mean houses and narrow streets. As in the towns generally of India, the European quarter, on the whole, is vastly superior. Its nucleus appears to have been the native fort, which, on the e. and s., rises directly from the banks of both rivers. while towards the land its artificial defenses, of great strength in themselves, are not com manded from the neighborhood by any higher ground. This citadel, described by Heber as having been at one time " a very noble castle," has lost much of its romance by having had its lofty towers pruned down to bastions and cavaliers. The Europeans of the garri son occupy well-constructed barracks. Beyond the fort are the cantonments for the native troops. In connection with these are numerous villas and bungalows, few other spots in India boasting such handsome buildings of this kind; and these showy retreats are rendered still more attractive and agreeable by avenues of trees, which wind between them, and connect them with the fort, the city, and several of the circumjacent localities.
The summer of 1857 brought disaster to A. On the 6th of June of that year, the insurrection, which had began at Meerut on 10th May, extended itself to A. Though the Europeans continued to hold the fort, yet the mutineers were, for some days, undis puted masters of all beyond; and between the ravages of the marauders and the fire of the garrison, the city soon became little better than a heap of blackened ruins. In the
history of this fearful outbreak, A. must be "a magic word " to every English ear, as the spot where the fiery Neill entered on his brief career of glory. Iti was here also that Lord Canning, after the close of the mutiny, distributed three millions sterling in presents to the chiefs who had remained loyal. But although situated thus in the heart of the outbreak, and feeling its disastrous effects, the city possesses natural advantages that have allowed it to recover. Its position at the confluence of the holy rivers, which has so long made it a center of superstitious reverence and worship, now renders it naturally a center of commerce and civilization, and has been fully appreciated by government. It commands the navigation both of the Ganges and of the Jumna. It is on the direct water-route between Calcutta and the upper provinces; and is a main station, not only on the Grand Trunk road, but also on the East Indian railway. New buildings, many of them possessing great architectural merits, have accordingly sprung up with rapidity since 1857; the most noteworthy buildings being still, however, the great mosque and the Sultaun Khossor's caravanserai—a fine cloistered quadrangle. The fort is of red stone, and is approached by a very handsome gate: it contains the palace or residency, and the Gada pillar or club of Elfin Sen, in the Chalee Satoom temple, which is said to communicate with Bewares by a subterranean passage, through which flows a third holy river, the Sereswati, visible only to the eye of faith. A. possesses a college, a hospital, theaters, bazaars, etc. The inhabitants number (1872) 143,693. So many poor pilgrims throng the city, especially at the time of the great fair, which is held once every twelve years, that instead of Allahabad, the natives call it " Fakirabad," or the city of beggars. The cotton, sugar, and indigo produce of the fertile district of A. is brought in large quantities into the city, to be transported thence to Calcutta and elsewhere. Steamers sail to Calcutta and barges to Delhi. A. is distant from Calcutta, by land, 496 m. ; by water, 808 m. in the rainy season; by water, 985 m. in the dry season. From Delhi it is distant 386 m.; and from Bombay by the Jubbulpore branch of the East Indian rail way, 840 m.