Note to Mr. Vansittart's Paper on the Afghans

This account of the Afghàns may lead to a very interesting discovery. We learn from Esdras, that the Ten Tribes, after a wandering journey, came to a country called Arsareth; where, we may suppose, they settled: now the Afghàns are said by the best Persian historians to be descended from the Jews; they have traditions among themselves of such a descent; and it is even asserted, that their families are distinguished by the names of Jewish tribes, although, since their conversion to the Islám, they studiously conceal their origin; the Pushto language, of which I have seen a dictionary, has a manifest resemblance to the Chaldaick; and a considerable district under their dominion is called Hazáreh, or Hazáret, which might easily have been changed into the word used by Esdras. I strongly recommend an inquiry into the literature and history of the Afghàns.