GIRISHK

girishk, a village and fort of afghanistan. it stands on the right bank of the helmund 78 m. w. of kandahar on the road to herat; 3641 ft. above the sea. the fort, which is garrisoned from kandahar and is the residence of the governor of the district (pusht-i-rud), has little military value. it commands the fords of the helmund and the road to seistan, from which it is about 190 m. distant; and it is the centre of a rich agricultural district. girishk was occupied by the british during the first afghan war; and a small garrison of sepoys, under a native officer, successfully withstood a siege of nine months by an overwhelming afghan force. the dasht-i-bakwa stretches beyond girishk towards farah, a level plain of considerable width, which tradition assigns as the field of the final contest for supremacy between russia and england.