These commemorative sculptures denote that the stranger King (Moses) and his forces took possession of Derses near Shahpúr by conquest; and the length of time he remained in the country may be inferred from the interregnum, or unrecorded interval, between the Assyrian epochs of Nimrúd and Khorsabad. The supposed duration of that period is about sixty or seventy years, and it began just about the time that Moses left the children of Israel, so that it synchronises with the arrival of Moses in the country, and his residence there fills up the gap. The number of his followers must have increased during the years that Moses travelled from one country to another, and he was likely in consequence to leave some of them to colonise, and to teach his doctrine, and to carry on the ordinances of his religion, in every region that was suitable for that purpose. The Afghans, whose country lies nearest to Persia, claim descent from the Jews, and the people of Kafiristan are unmistakably Jews. These inhabit a mountainous country adjoining Afghanistan, on the north-west of Cashmere. “The Caufirs[56] have no general name for their nation. Each tribe has its peculiar name, for they are all divided into tribes, though not according to genealogy, but to geographical position, each valley being held by a separate tribe. The Mussulmans confound them all under the name of Caufir, or infidel, and call their country Caufiristaun. They also call one division of them Seeaposh (black-vested), or Tor Caufirs (black infidels), and another Speen Caufirs (white infidels). Both epithets are taken from their dress, for the whole of the Caufirs are remarkable for the fairness and beauty of their complexion, but those of the largest division wear a sort of vest of black goat-skin, while the others dress in white cotton. “There are several languages among the Caufirs, but they have all many words in common, and all have a near connection with the Sanskrit. Their religion does not resemble any other with which I am acquainted. They believe in one God; but they also worship numerous idols, which, they say, represent great men of former days, who intercede with God in favour of their worshippers. These idols are of stone or wood, and always represent men or women, some mounted and some on foot. “They have hereditary priests. They have also persons who can procure an inspiration of some superior being by holding their heads over the smoke of a sacrifice. Their festivals are often accompanied with a sacrifice, and always with a feast. They have no titles of their own, but they have borrowed that of Khaun from the Afghans for their rich men. Their property chiefly consists in cattle and slaves.