The Amu Daria, the more modern rendering of the name of the classic Oxus, serves along the north and north-east of Afghanistan for a distance of 330 miles as the frontier between Afghan territory and the dominions of the Amir of Bokhara. Rising in the region of the Pamirs this river, which is among the most historical in Asia, falls into the Aral sea after traversing more than 1400 miles. The area of its basin is estimated at 308,804 square kilomètres, while for a space of 200 miles it flows through Bokharan territory, after which, for a further 200 miles, it acts as the frontier between the Syr Daria province and the Khanate of Khiva. Contributing to the volume of its upper waters are two principal streams, the Pamir and the Panja. The latter is the name by which the Upper Oxus is known. The word Panja, which is somewhat generic, is believed to refer to five streams existing in this region. It is related also to the names of the well-known Afghan forts of Kala Panja and Kala Bar Panja. It denotes the five fingers. It will be admitted that the existence of a sacred edifice erected over a stone bearing the imprint of the hand of Hazrat Ali, son-in-law of Mahommed, and situated in the vicinity of Kala Panja, is presumptive evidence of an affinity between the existence of the five streams and the shrine. Further down the river, in Shignan, at Kala Bar Panja which means “The fort over the Panja,” a fort has been constructed above a similar mark to that defining the position of Kala Panja. There is little doubt that some numerical quantity is expressed in the nomenclature.