KHELAT, Ke-lat', or KELAT. The capital of
Baluchistan, 6780 feet above sea level and 88 miles
south of Quetta (Map: Asia, Central, M 8). It is the
residence of the Khan, who exercises a suzerainty,
more or less nominal, over the other khans of Baluchistan.
The town, situated on the slope of a hill, consists
of mud houses and is surrounded by a mud wall, 30
feet high, with three gates. It is dominated by a
citadel containing the Khan's palace. Its chief
importance is as a centre for caravan routes to Quetta,
Nushki, Gondava, and Khozdar. The town was occupied
by England during the Afghan War in 1839, when Merab
Khan, the ruler, was killed during the assault on the
fort. In 1854 the British obtained the right of
maintaining a garrison here. In 1877 a treaty was
concluded with the Khan, by which a British agent,
with military escort, became a resident at the court.
The town has a good water supply. Its industries are
small, but its bazar is the centre of a considerable
domestic trade in Hindu wares and the products of the
surrounding region. Pop., 14,000.
From The New International Encyclopaedia
edited by Daniel Coit Gilman, Harry Thurston Peck,
Frank Moore Colby 1911