Punjaub, Or Panjab (Pers., the country of the five rivers), a province in the N. W. portion of British India, between lat. 27° 40' and 35° 5' N., and Ion. 69° 30' and 78° 30' E., and bounded N. by Kafiristan and Cashmere, E. by the Himalaya range and Northwest Provinces, S. by Rajpootana and Bhawalpoor, S. W. by Sinde, and W. by Beloochistan and Afghanistan. According to the official statement of the progress and condition of India submitted to the British parliament in June, 1874, the area of the Punjaub is 103,748 sq. m., evidently including the Bannu district, which was omitted in the statement of the previous year. (See India.) According to the last census, taken in January, 1868, the population was more than 17,500,000, but is supposed now to have increased to 19,000,000. There are ten civil divisions, each under a commissioner, and subdivided into districts as follows: 1. Am-bala or Umballa - Ambala, Loodiana, Simla. 2. Amritsir - Amritsir, Gurdaspoor, Sealkote. 3. Delhi - Delhi, Goorgaon, Kurnal. 4. Dera-jat - Bunnoo or Bannu, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan. 5. Hissar - Hissar, Rohtuk, Sirsa. 6. Jalandhar - Hoshiarpoor, Jalandhar, Kangra. 7. Lahore - Ferozepoor, Gujranwala, Lahore. 8. Mooltan - Jhang, Montgomery, Mooltan, Mozuffergurh. 9. Peshawer - Huzara (Abbottabad), Kohat, Peshawer. 10. Rawul-pindi - Gujrat, Jhylum, Rawulpindi, Shahpoor. Under the supervision of the Punjaub government are 32 native Himalayan hill states, of which Cashmere is by far the most important. (See Cashmere.) Of these, five in addition to Cashmere are beyond the river Sutlej; among them Chumba, area 3,216 sq. m., pop. 110,-000, paying an annual tribute of £500; Mandi, area 1,080 sq. m., pop. 135,000, annual tribute £10,000; and Sukhet, area 420 sq. m., pop. 45,000, annual tribute £1,100. The remaining 26 hill states lie S. of the Sutlej, and are geographically arranged into four groups, known as the northern, east central, west central, and southern groups.

Each of these states is very small, the most important being Nahun or Sir-mor, in the southern group, whose sovereign has 90,000 subjects. The affairs of the native state of Bhawalpoor are managed by a British political agent, whose administration is supervised by the lieutenant governor of the Punjaub. - The territory of the Punjaub is exceedingly irregular in outline, but consists mainly of the extensive plain which slopes S. W. from the highlands of Cashmere. This plain is drained by the Indus, and its five great tributaries, from which the country derives its name, though some geographers improperly regard it as derived from the Indus and its four larger tributaries, excluding the Beas. The Indus is the westernmost river; the tributaries, from W. to E., are the Jhylum, the Chenaub, the Ravee, the Sutlej, and the affluent of the latter, the Beas, all flowing into the Indus near Mittun Kote, lat. 28° 58' N, Ion. 70° 23' E., through the Punjnud, a broad stream in which their waters unite about 50 m. N. E. of this point of confluence. The Punjnud is formed by the union of the Chenaub from the north, bearing the accumulated waters of the Jhylum and the Ravee, with the Ghara, or united Sutlej and Beas, from the east. These streams are all described under their own names.

The only portion of the Punjaub not included in the Indus basin is the region about Delhi bordering the Northwest Provinces, which lie within the valley of the Ganges. - The mountains of the Punjaub are confined to the N. E. and N. W. corners of the province. In the former region is the Himalayan district of Kangra, comprising Lahool, Spiti, and Kulo; and in the latter the Salt range, about 2,000 ft. high, trends westward from the Jhylum and crosses the Indus, beyond which it is known as the Kalabagh and extends to the Suleiman or Solyman mountains in Afghanistan. The general aspect of the districts of the Punjaub N. of the Salt range is hilly and even mountainous. The elevation of the great plain at the foot of the mountains, however, is only about 1,000 ft., and thence the surface slopes gradually southward, diversified by scarcely an eminence, until it is little more than 200 ft. above the level of the sea in the southern part of the province, where the country is for the most part an absolute desert. - The plain is divided into five extensive doabs, as the natives term the spaces enclosed between the convergent rivers.

Enumerated from W. to E., these doabs are: 1, the Sindh Sagur doab, the largest of all, between the Indus on the west and the Jhylum, Chenaub, and Punj-nud on the east; 2, the Jetch, between the Jhylum and the Chenaub; 3, the Richna, between the Chenaub and the Ravee; 4, the Baree, which is the most densely populated and prosperous, between the Ravee and Chenaub and the Ghara; and 5, the Jalandhar, between the Beas and the Sutlej. Fertility is diffused over the narrow plain along the base of the Himalaya range by the six rivers which there first enter upon it, and the abundant rainfall of not less than 40 inches in the year to which it is subject. Here artificial irrigation is needless. In the northern dry zone, a strip of country below this, from 100 to 200 m. broad, and where the annual supply of rain is between 15 and 30 inches, the rivers have worn down their valleys to a level from 10 to 50 ft. lower than the general surface of the plain. The width of these valleys varies from 4 to 10 m., and they contain the fertile tracts of this portion of the province, called Khadar lands. Their borders are the loftier sterile expanses of the plateau, known as Bangar lands and forming the doabs.

These are largely overgrown with grass and brushwood, and though they are fertile, cultivation is dependent upon an artificial supply of water. Near the confluence of the rivers the Khadar lowlands extend from stream to stream and the high tracts disappear; but the aridity of the climate in this region is such that the rivers alone do not suffice to maintain the productiveness even of their valleys, and without artificial irrigation the adjacent country would be a mere waste. Frequent changes occur in the course of each of the great rivers of the Punjaub, and from October, when the Indus is lowest, until springtime, its capacious bed is occupied by a number of shallow watercourses hardly navigable. In the plains the periodical rise of the river begins in February, when the melted snows of the Himalaya begin to come down, and its volume increases till July, when the river is in full flood. - Three kinds of irrigation are practised in the Punjaub. In the Himalayan districts and elsewhere in the north, where water is less than 25 ft. from the surface, the supply for agricultural and horticultural purposes is obtained from wells.

A system of irrigation through inundation canals, whereby the water is conducted from the rivers when they are highest, is applied in the comparatively rainless districts wherever the land is low enough. The inundation system comprises the' canals of the lower Sutlej and Chenaub division, 39 in number and 632 m. in length, which water the garden-like district of Mooltan; the upper Sutlej canals above Mooltan, 213 m. long; and the Indus canals, of which 600 m. are in the district of Derajat on the right bank of the river, and 66 m. in Mozufergurh on the left. The inundation system, however, was not applicable to the higher lands of the doabs, which require perennial canals to make their natural fertility available. This want has been supplied only to the upper portion of the Baree doab, which is traversed by a canal from the Ravee at Madhopoor, where that river leaves the Himalaya, extending in three branches to Lahore, Kussoor, and So-braon. In 1872-'3 the main channel of this state canal was 212 m. long, with 692 m. of distributaries, Watering 228,796 acres. All the canals are managed by the government irrigation department. - The climate of the plains is dry and exceedingly warm.

In the colder season the midday temperature is seldom below 70° F., and not infrequently 80°, while in summer it sometimes rises to 112° in the shade. In the higher northern districts the climate is proportionately cooler. - The flora of the province is not abundant or varied. Characteristic forms of vegetation are acacias, tamarisks, a tree-like caper without leaves, the jujube, and a species of wild palm. There is a great deficiency of timber. The government leases and manages the deodar forests in the native tributary states of the Trans-Sutlej highlands, where this valuable tree grows only at a height of from 5,000 to 9,000 ft. The valleys of all the principal rivers also contain forests of deodar. The Indus is bordered by babul forests in the arid districts of the south near Sinde. In the doabs of the dry region are tracts of wood and jungle called rakhs, from which considerable fuel is obtained, and the management of which, to the extent of about 8,000 sq. m., has recently been undertaken by the forest department. The collection of waif and drift timber on the rivers is regulated by law. In 1872-'3 the receipts from the government forests were but £65,300, against an expenditure of £79,594 upon them.

Earnest efforts are being made to promote the growth of forest trees, and the forest administration has established several tree plantations, one of them on the Bari doab canal covering 7,200 acres. Fruit is grown in the vicinity of the towns and villages, the mangoes, oranges, and pomegranates of Mooltan being especially noted for their excellent quality; almonds, figs, mulberries, dates, apricots, peaches, apples, quinces, and melons are also raised. At Lahore there is an agri-horticultural society, through whose efforts the olive and the Australian blue gum tree (eucalyptus globulus) have been introduced into the province. - The tiger is the most formidable of the wild animals found in the Punjaub. The lion has sometimes been enumerated among the carnivora of the region, but probably does not now exist in India except within or near the peninsula of Guzerat. The leopard and wild cat commit annoying depredations on the smaller domestic animals. Lynxes, wolves, hyaenas, jackals, porcupines, foxes, and hares are common. A species of black bear (helarctos Tibetanus) is met with in the Salt range, where also the wild pig is distributed in large numbers.

Several species of deer and antelopes inhabit the province, and wild sheep, sometimes called deer-sheep on account of their shy habits and fleetness, are numerous in many districts. The fauna of the Punjaub is particularly rich in birds, among which are the Asiatic bald-headed eagle, the pea fowl and common jungle fowl, parrots, kites, ravens, jackdaws, owls, pigeons, pheasants, partridges, quails, and many kinds of water fowl, including geese, ducks, herons, cormorants, pelicans, and the black ibis. The Indian alligator haunts the rivers, which abound in many varieties of excellent fish. Fish is extensively eaten by the people. - The principal mineral product is rock salt, which occurs on the S. side of the Salt range in deposits said to be unsurpassed elsewhere in the world in extent or purity. It is mined from considerable depths and also quarried at the surface, and there are at least 12 localities in the range at which vast deposits are known to exist. Salt of a black or dark green hue is quarried in the hills of the Kohat district. Small quantities of gold, quite insignificant in proportion to the labor required to obtain them, can be washed from the gravel of many of the streams.

Petroleum has been discovered at Rawulpindi and elsewhere, but has not yet been put to any practical use. - Among the more important agricultural products are wheat, sugar, rice, barley, millet, maize, peas, beans, mustard, and hemp and other fibres. In 1872-3, 47,781 acres were planted with crotalaria juncea, a leguminous annual yielding the fibre known as sunn, from which twine is made. Tobacco was grown on 90,000 acres, and 7,732 acres are included within the 28 tea plantations of the Kangra district, where the average yield is 130 lbs. per acre. The crop of 1872 amounted to 428,655 lbs. The breeding of horses is encouraged by the government, which keeps 37 stallions in the province. An important horse fair is annually held at Ra-wulpindi for market purposes as well as the distribution of government prizes. There are also great cattle fairs at Hissar and Sirsa, sometimes attended by more than 25,000 persons. Sheep are raised in the grazing districts from English imported stock. - The manufactures of the province, valued at £5,315,400 in 1872-'3, consist largely of cotton, which is made into white and colored cloths and thick striped cloth for floors; woollen goods, from the fleeces of sheep, goats, and camels; and silk made at Amritsir, Lahore, and Mooltan, out of the raw material imported from Bengal, China, Afghanistan, and eastern Turkistan. The industrial progress of the country is actively stimulated by the numerous fairs frequently held in various localities.

Of these there are 128 in the Punjaub, each attended by at least 10,000 persons, and some by more than 100,000. In the year 1872-'3 the value of the trade up the Indus was £47,588, against a downward trade of £448,476, while the external trade of the province amounted to £5,024,883. - According to the parliamentary accounts for 1872-'3, there were in that year 410 m. of railway in the Punjaub, 2,470 m. of water communication, and 20,798 m. of roads. The railway system is not yet completed. At present there is the great trunk road from Delhi to Lahore and thence to Mooltan, whence the broad gauge Indus valley line, 480 m. in length, now in process of construction, will run southward to Kotree and there meet the Sinde railway from Kurrachee. Lahore is also to be connected with Peshawer by a narrow gauge line, 270 m. long, with three costly bridges over the Ravee, Chenaub, and Jhylum rivers. Lines of telegraph are already in existence along all these routes. - The ancient village communities have maintained their organization intact throughout a great part of the Punjaub, and the proprietors of the soil usually cultivate it themselves, paying the land tax through the elders of their village.

Otherwise the land settlement is like that of the Northwest Provinces. The revenue derived from it is easily collected, and in 1872-'3 amounted to £2,005,666. A revenue of £811,-190 was derived from the sale of salt and the duties on that mineral collected at the customs line, 982 m. long, which runs down the Indus, and is intended to restrict the importation of red salt from Peshawer. The opium excise and licenses for the sale of drugs and spirits yielded £87,633. In the same year, under a new arrangement, the local authorities received £748,718 from the supreme government of India for provincial expenditure upon . jails, police, education, hospitals, roads, buildings, miscellaneous public improvements, and other objects of a local character; and the disbursements out of provincial funds amounted to £515,153. The local revenue in that year was £751,040, and the local expenditure £468,174. Municipal institutions for local taxation and expenditure have been organized by the British government in 125 cities and towns, and 189 smaller places; a few of the more important municipalities elect their own officers. - The population of the Punjaub is made up of Ma-hommedans and Hindoos in the proportion of about two to one. The Sikhs constitute about half of the smaller and Hindoo portion.

The total number of native Protestant converts to Christianity in the province in 1872 was 1,870, of whom 14 were ordained ministers, and 707 were communicants. There are two colleges in the Punjaub affiliated to the university of Calcutta: one at Lahore, with 52 students in 1872-'3; the other at Delhi, attended by 36 students. The government maintains three normal schools and aids six others; of high schools it supports six and assists ten. There is a special educational institution at Ambala for instructing the wards of the government and the sons of natives of rank; and the government also manages an Anglo-Arabic school at Delhi endowed by a native nawaub. The entire number of government primary or village schools in the province is 1,046, having an average daily attendance of 51,251 pupils, in addition to which there are 188 aided schools of the same class with an average attendance of 20,825. There are 345 schools for girls, of which 91 are wholly sustained by the government, while the rest receive aid from it. No insignificant educational influence is exerted by the central museum at Lahore, which is visited by nearly 50,000 persons annually. There are 14 newspapers in the province, all printed in native languages except two, which are in English. In 1872-'3, 344 books were published.

About 20,000 men are employed as police, more than half the number being Mohammedans. There are 34 jails; a ticket-of-leave system exists, and the prisoners are employed in industrial pursuits. The number of government hospitals and dispensaries is 116, including the Mayo hospital connected with the medical school at Lahore. A system of elementary medical instruction has been introduced for native physicians, who are supplied with the requisite medicines and paid for their services in times of epidemic. - In a military sense, the position of the Punjaub is more important than that of any other province of India, lying as it does in the very highway of invasion from the interior of the Asiatic continent. A large British force is constantly garrisoned there; in 1872-'3 it consisted of 35,885 men, with 97 field guns. In addition to this, the lieutenant governor had under his orders a frontier force of 12,416 troops, principally Sikhs, Gorkhas, and natives of the Punjaub. - The government of the province is administered by a lieutenant governor, whose official residence is at Lahore. The highest judicial authority is vested in a chief court composed of a barrister and a civilian judge.

In addition to Lahore, the chief towns are Delhi, Peshawer, Amritsir, Ambala or Umballa, Ra-wulpindi, Mooltan, Ferozepore, Leia, and Dera Ismail Khan. - In the year 327 B. C. Alexander the Great invaded the Punjaub, crossed the Indus, Jhylum (anc. Hydaspes), Chenaub (Ace-sines), and Ravee (Hydraotes), and marched to the right bank of the Beas or of the Sutlej (to either of which the ancient name Hyphasis may be referred), which was the limit of his advance eastward. At that time the country was ruled by a Hindoo monarch named Taxiles in the west, and by a sovereign called Porus, whose dominions extended from the Jhylum to Delhi. After the Greek invasion the whole appears to have become a part of the kingdom of Maghada, which existed until about 195 B. C. For many centuries subsequently the history of the Punjaub is enveloped in much doubt and obscurity. About A. D. 1000 Mooltan appears as a Mohammedan state, though it is not clear how it became so. At this period Mahmoud of Ghuzni invaded India from Afghanistan, subjugated the Punjaub, and made Lahore the seat of his dynasty, which came to an end in 1186. It was afterward subject to numerous different chieftains, principally Afghans, who ruled it until it was invaded and pillaged by Timour and his army in 1398. The Mogul dynasty was finally established over the country by bis lineal descendant Baber in 1526. Humayun, son and successor of Baber, lost the province temporarily, but recovered it in 1555 from his Afghan rival, Shere Ali Khan. The Punjaub was the scene of a considerable insurrection in 1709-11 on the part of the Sikhs, who had long been persecuted by their Mohammedan rulers, and it was quelled with some trouble by Bahadoor Shah, who had not long previously succeeded his father Aurung-zebe on the throne.

In 1752 the Afghan king Ahmed Shah Abdalli entered the province, exacted contribution from its inhabitants, and a few years later forced the Mogul emperor to cede it to him. Soon afterward the growing power of the Sikhs was manifested by a fresh uprising in the districts E. of the Jhylum. The Afghan dynasty terminated in 1809, and by that time Runjeet Singh, the greatest chieftain of the Sikhs, had acquired Lahore and controlled the larger portion of the province through a confederacy of the various Sikh clans within its boundaries. He endeavored to force the Sikh hill states E. of the Sutlej into this confederacy, and only yielded his claim to their allegiance upon the advance of a British army to the banks of the river. He reigned till 1839, and in the interval conquered Mooltan, Peshawer, and the Derajat district beyond the Indus. A period of anarchy followed the death of his son and successor Khuruk Singh in 1840, and the Sikhs finally determined to invade the British territories in India. Thus, in 1845, began the first Sikh war, in which were fought the battled known as those of the Sutlej. The Sikh forces were defeated with heavy loss, and in 1846 the English took possession of the Ja-landhar doab and the Sikh territories on the left bank of the Sutlej, and undertook the guardianship of the young Maharajah Dhu-leep Singh, a grandson of Runjeet Singh and then a minor.

In 1848 the disaffection of the chieftains led to the second Sikh war, in which the most celebrated battle was fought at Chillianwallah, where the English were nearly defeated; but the result of the contest was the annexation of the Punjaub to the British dominions, by a proclamation of the viceroy on March 29, 1849. (See Sikhs.) During the sepoy mutiny of 1857 Sir John Lawrence (now Lord Lawrence) was chief commissioner of the Punjaub, and by his prompt action in disarming the native regiments, the confidence which he displayed in the Sikhs as friends of the British, and his judicious administration generally, the rebellion was rendered utterly unsuccessful in that part of India.