The renaming of the 'Hindu Kush' mountains to 'Hindu-Koh' by Mughal Emperor Akbar

In 1586 AD, Mughal Emperor Akbar officially renamed the Hindu Kush mountain range—meaning 'Hindu killer mountain'—in present-day Afghanistan to 'Hindu-Koh,' meaning 'mountain of Hindus.' This alteration, documented in Bayazid Bayat's 1591 AD 'Tazkira Humayun wa Akbar,' was part of his 'Sulh-i-Kul' policy and intended to appease his Hindu subjects, who likely found the original name offensive. [1]

Following 1586, Mughal official documents began referring to the Hindu Kush as Hindu-Koh. However, the local population of present-day Afghanistan and many Indians continued to use the name Hindu Kush, and the new designation of Hindu-Koh failed to gain widespread popularity. 

The appearance of the name Hindu-Koh in numerous 17th-century books has led many modern Indians to mistakenly believe that it was the original and ancient name of the mountain range. This misconception stems from the limited accessibility of Bayazid Bayat's book. Due to the lack of translations into English or Hindi, it was not available to general readers in India. Only recently, in 2009, was Bayazid Bayat's memoir of Humayun translated into English by Wheeler McIntosh Thackston, under the title 'Three Memoirs of Humayun. Bayat's book clearly states that the name Hindu-Koh was coined in 1586 AD and that its preceding name was Hindu Kush. Prior to 1586, the name Hindu-Koh does not appear in any source.

The etymology of the Hindu Kush is narrated by the famous Arab traveler Ibn Battuta in his book. In 1333 AD, Ibn Battuta passed through the Hindu Kush while traveling from Qunduz to Andarab. He wrote that 'Hindu Kush' means 'killer of Hindus' because Hindu male and female slaves perished in large numbers from cold and snow in the region. 

"Another motive for our stop page was the fear of snow; for there is on the road a mountain called HinduKush, i.e. the Hindu-Killer,' because so many of the slaves, male and female, brought from India, die in the passage of this mountain, owing to the severe cold and quantity of snow." [2]

Ibn Battuta further writes that the passage through the Hindu Kush required a day's march. However, because crossing it in winter was extremely difficult, he waited until summer. Even in summer, the Hindu Kush remained heavily covered in snow.

"[The passge of Hindukush] extends for a whole day's march. We stayed until the warm weather had definitely set in , and crossed this moun- tain by a continuous march from before dawn to sunset . We kept spreading felt cloths in front of the camels for them to tread on , so that they should not sink in the snow ." [3]

It is important to note that the 14th or 16th century Hindukush denoted a much smaller range located north of Kabul, entirely within present-day Afghanistan.

References

1- Tazkira Humayun wa Akbar as cited by Joseph Theodore Arlinghaus in his thesis 'The transformation of Afghan tribal society: Tribal expansion, Mughal imperialism and the Roshaniyya insurrection, 1450-1600', p-58.

2- Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive, p-416

3- The travels of Ibn Battuta, A.D. 1325-1354. Volume III by Ibn Batuta, translated by Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen, p-586.

Painting of Ibn i Battuta

Mughal emperor Akbar