ATTOCK  , a

town and fort of British India, in the Rawalpindi district of the Punjab, 47 M. by rail from Peshawar, and situated on the eastern bank of the Indus . Pop . (1901) 2822 . The place is of both political and commercial importance, as the Indus is here crossed by the military and trade route through the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan . Alexander the Great, Tamerlane and Nadir Shah are believed to have successively crossed the Indus at or about this spot in their respective invasions of India . The river runs past Attock in a deep rapid channel about 200.yds. broad, but is easily crossed in boats or on inflated skins of oxen . The rocky gorges through which it flows, with a distant view of the Hindu Kush, form some of the finest scenery in the world . In 1883 an iron girder bridge of five spans was opened, which carries the North-Western railway to Peshawar, and has also a subway for wheeled traffic and foot passengers . The fort of Attock was built by the emperor Akbar in 1581, on a low hillock beside the river . The walls are of polished stone, and the whole structure is handsome; but from a military point of view it is of little importance, being commanded by a hill, from which it is divided only by a ravine . On the opposite side of the river is the village of Khairabad, with a fort, also erected by Akbar according to some, or by Nadir Shah according to others . The military importance of Attock has diminished, but it still has a small detachment of British troops .