SHAHRASTANÍ (1086-1153). Abu’l-Fath Mohammed ibn 'Abd al-Karím, called al-Shahrastání, a native of Shahrastán (Shehristán) in Khorásán, Persia, was noted as a jurisconsult and theologian of the Ash'arite school. He went to Baghdad in 1116 and stayed there three years, but afterwards returned to his native place, where he died. Sam'ání, the famous historian of Baghdad, was one of his hearers, and to him Ibn Khallikán (No. 622, Eng. tr. ii. 675 sq.) mainly owes the little that is known of Shahrastâni's life.

He wrote various works, of which several still exist; that which gives him a claim to notice here is the interesting Kitáb al-Milal wan·Nihal, or “Account of Religious Sects and Philosophical Schools,” published by Cureton in 1846 and translated into German by Haarbrücker (Halle, 1850-51). The book was already used by Pocock for his account of the ancient Arabs and has been much referred to since, but has to be read with caution, as the author is often very uncritical. It treats successively of the Mohammedan sects, of other religious bodies (Jews, Samaritans, Christians, Magians, Manichaeans, &c. ), of philosophical schools (including the Greeks), and of the ancient Arabs and Indians, and contains a great deal of curious and valuable matter.

SHÁH JAHÁN, Mogul emperor from 1627 to 1658. See India, vol. xii. p. 795.

SHÁHJAHÁNPUR, the easternmost district of the Rohilkhand division in the lieutenant-governorship of the North-Western Provinces of British India, lying between 27° 36' and 28° 29' N. lat. and between 79° 23' and 80° 26' E. long. It has an area of 1746 square miles, and is bounded on the N. and N.W. by Pilibhit, on the E. by Hardoi and Kheri, on the S. by the Ganges, separating it from Farukhabad, and on the W. by Budaun and Bareilly. The district consists of a long and narrow tract running up from the Ganges towards the Himalayas, and is for the most part level and without any hills or considerable undulations. The principal rivers are the Gumti, Khanaut, Garái, and Rámganga. The last-named is the main waterway of the district, and is navigable as far as Kola Ghat near Jalálábád, whence grain is shipped for the Ganges ports. To the north-east beyond Gumti the country resembles the tarai in the preponderance of waste and forest over cultivated land, in the sparseness of population, and in general unhealthiness. Between the Gumti and the Khanaut the country varies from a rather wild and unhealthy northern region to a densely inhabited tract in the south, with a productive soil well cultivated with sugar-cane and other remunerative crops. The section between the Deoha and Garái comprises much marshy land; but south of the Garái, and between it and the Rámganga, the soil is mostly of a sandy nature. From Rámganga to the Ganges in the south is a continuous low country of marshy patches alternating with a hard clayey soil requiring much irrigation in parts. Sháh-jahânpur contains a number of jhils or lakes, which afford irrigation for the spring crops in their neighbourhood. The Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway traverses the district a distance of 39 miles. The ...

SHÁHPUR, the southernmost district of the Rawal Pindi division in the lieutenant-governorship of the Punjab, India, between 31° 32' and 32° 42' N. lat. and between 71° 37' and 73° 24' E. long., with an area of 4691 square miles. The district is bounded on the N. by the Jhelum district, on the E. by Gujrát and the Chenab, on the S. by Jhang, and on the W. and N.W. by Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu. On both sides of the Jhelum stretch wide upland plains, utterly barren or covered only with brushwood; a considerable portion of this area, however, is composed of good soil, only requiring irrigation to make it productive. The most important physical subdivisions of the district are the Salt range in the north, the valleys of the Chenáb and Jhelum, and the plains between those rivers and between the Jhelum and the Salt range. The characteristics of these two plains are widely different: the desert portion of the southern plain is termed the bar; the corresponding tract north of the Jhelum is known as the thal. That part of Sháhpur to the north of the Jhelum is by far the most interesting, containing as it does such varieties of scenery and climate, such contrasts of soil, vegetation, and natural capabilities. Communications are carried on by well-made roads, by the Jhelum, which is navigable for country craft throughout its course within the district, and by 52 miles of the Salt branch of the Punjab Northern State Railway. The climate of the plains is hot and dry, but in the Salt range it is much cooler; the average annual rainfall is about 15 inches. Tigers, leopards, and wolves are found in the Salt range, while small game and antelope abound among the thick jungle of the bar....

SHÁHÁBÁD, a British district in the Patna division of the lieutenant-governorship of Bengal, India, between 24° 31' and 25° 43' N. lat. and between 83° 23' and 84° 55' E. long., with an area of 4365 square miles. It is bounded on the N. by the district of Ghazipur in the North-Western Provinces and by Saran, on the E. by Patna and Gaya districts, on the S. by Lohardaga, and on the W. by Mirzapur, Benares, and Ghazipur districts of the North-Western Provinces. About three-fourths of the whole area lying to the north is an alluvial flat, wholly under cultivation, and fairly planted with mangoes, bamboos, and other trees; while the southern portion of the district is occupied by the Kaimur Hills, a branch of the great Vindhyan range, and is a densely wooded tract. The chief rivers are the Ganges and the Son, which unite in the north-eastern corner of Sháhábád. A series of canals on the Son are reported to have secured for the district immunity from future famine. In the southern portion of the district large game abounds, including the tiger, bear, leopard, and several varieties of deer; and among other animals met with are the wild boar, hyaena, jackal, and fox. The nylghau is seen on the Kaimur Hills. The climate is very sultry, and the rains heavy. The East Indian Railway traverses the north of the district for 60 miles, and the aggregate length of roads is about 1000 miles....