N
1895
1895
THE
JOURNAL
ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
1895.
PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY,
22, ALBEMARLE STREET, LONDON, W.
MDCCCXCT.
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Xi
CONTENTS.
FAOK
Am. I. — Description of Mesopotamia and Baghdad, written
about the year 900 a.d. by Ibn Skrapion.
(Part 1.) By Gut le Strange. . * 1
Art. II.— The IA Sdo Poem and its Author. Part I : The
Author. By the Rev. Prof. Legge 77
Art. III. — Ssiima Ch ( ien's Historical Records. Chapter II :
The Hsia Dynasty. By Herbert J. Allen,
M.R.A.S 93
Art. IT. — Kami Vocabularies. By Bernard Houghton, ./
M.R.A.S Ill X
Art. V. — On the Stress-Accent in the Modern Indo-Aryan •
Vernaculars. By G. A. Grierson, Ph.D., CLE. 139 X
Art. VI. — Nejamesha, Naigamesha, Kemeso. By Dr. M.
Wintbrnitz 149
Art. VII.— On the Khamtis. By P. R. Gurdon, M.R.A.S. 157
Art. VIII. — Mythological Studies in the Rigveda. By
A. A. Macdonell 165
The Tenth International Oriental Congress. —
Genera, 1894 191
Correspondence.
1. Relics found in Rangoon. By R. F. St. Andrew
St. John 199
2. Sanskrit MSS. in China. By F. Max Muller. . . 202
3. An Indo-Eranian Parallel. By L. C. Casartelli. 202
4. Bud, Bad-a-r, and Badra. By J. G. R. Forlong. 203
5. Ditto. By ditto 204
6. The Author of the Khalasat-at-Tawarikh 211
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CONTENTS. vii
PAOB
G. Buhlee. A Note on the Royal Asiatic Society's
Ancient MS. of the Ganaratnamahodadhi. . . 247
L. H. Mills. The Five Zoroastrian Gathas. By
E. W. West 248
JY. Additions to the Library 251
List of Members 1-28
Art. I. {continued). — Description of Mesopotamia and
Baghdad, written about the year 900 a.d. by
Ibn Serapion. (Part 2.) By Gut le Strange. 255
Art. IX. — The Origin and Earlier History of the Chinese
Coinage. By L. C. Hopkins 317
Akt. X. — An unpublished Valabhi Copper-plate Inscription
of King Dhruvasena I. By Dr. Th. Bloch. . . 379
Art. XI. — The History of Kilwa. Edited from an Arabic
MS. by S. Arthur Strong 385
Correspondence.
1. The Burmese Hitopadesa. By R. F. St. Andrew
St. John. 431
2. Setebhissara. By V. Fausboll 432
3. The Vidyadharapitaka. By Lotus de la Valleb
Poussin 433
4. Chinese Biographical Dictionary. By E. H. F.. . 437
Notes or the Quarter.
I. General Meetings of the Royal Asiatic Society 439
II. Obituary Notices —
1. August Dillhann. By Wolf Wilhblm Count
Baudissin ....... 448
2. Dr. S. C. Malan. By Arthur A. Macdonell. . . 453
3. Heectrich Karl Bkugsch. By M. L. McClure. . . 457
III. Notes and News —
The Ruins of Anuradhapura 464
Oriental Studies in Ceylon. 464
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JOURNAL
THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.
Art. I. — Description of Mesopotamia and Baghddd, written
about the year 900 aj>. by Ibn Serapion. The Arabic
Text edited from a MS. in the British Museum Library,
tcith Translation and Notes. By Gut lb Strange.
Introduction.
The Geography of Mesopotamia daring the epoch of the
Baghdad Caliphate has not, I think, received the attention
which the subject deserves. With the exception of the
small maps found in the Spruner-Menke Atlas, I believe
no detailed description or delineation of the country at
this date has been attempted. Yet it must be admitted
that the history of the Abbasids is almost incomprehensible
without such an aid ; for the physical and political con-
dition of the country was not then what it is now, as a
glance at the accompanying map will show.
The basis of this map is the description of the two
rivers, Euphrates and Tigris, with their affluents and
inter-communicating canals, which was written by Ibn
Serapion at the beginning of the fourth century a.m., corre-
sponding with the tenth a.d. The text now published for
the first time is from the unique MS. of one volume of
his work preserved in the British Museum Library (Add.
MS. 23,379). Of Ibn Serapion, personally, I believe
J.B.A.S. 1896. 1
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\$\'\\ \ DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
nothing is known ; the date of his work, however, is fixed
by the minute description he has given of Baghdad.
Various palaces are described, the latest being the cele-
brated Ka$r-at-Tqf (the Palace of the Crown), completed
by the Caliph Al-Muktafi immediately after his accession
in a.h. 289 (902). That Ibn Serapion wrote not later
than the first part of the tenth century a.d. is proved by
the fact that no mention is made of the palaces which
were built in Baghdad by the Buwayhid princes, sub-
sequent .to the year 334 a.h. (945), when Mu'izz-ad-
Dawla became master of both the capital and the person
of the Caliph.
In regard to the Topography of ancient Baghdad — a
subject which I hope to take up again and elucidate more
fully in a future paper — the information given by Ibn
Serapion is of much importance, for it enables us to complete
the minute description of the city which we possess in the
work of Ya'kubl, written in a.h. 278 (891), a decade
or so before the date of Ibn Serapion. Now Ya'kubl
describes Baghdad from the centre outwards, going along the
main-roads ; while, on the other hand, Ibn Serapion follows
the course of the canals, beginning above and passing
down to where each flows out into the Tigris. It will
readily be understood that the canals and the high-roads,
for the most part, cross each other, and interlace ; hence by
plotting out the palaces and quarters described by these
two independent authorities, a net -work of points is
gained, which, with the main course of the Tigris for a
back-bone, enables us to reconstitute the ground-plan of
Baghdad of the times of the Caliphate. This is what I
have attempted in my plan, but full details concerning the
various buildings given in Ibn Serapion, and of others
mentioned by Ya'kubl must be reserved for a future paper.
It will be convenient, in this Introduction, briefly to
point out how the courses of the Tigris and Euphrates
differed in the 10th oentury a.d. from what is at present
found. Ibn Serapion describes the Tigris as rising at a
spring and flowing down past Amid, which is proof that
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 3
the eastern branch of the Tigris (and not the Bitlis river)
was that regarded as the main-stream by the Arabs. Down
as far as Samarra, the towns given show that the course
was then much what it is now. From this place, however,
to a point a few miles above Baghdad, the river followed
a shorter and more westerly channel than it does at the
present day. The line of this older river-bed — which
still has the ruins of the towns named by Ibn Serapion
lying on its bank — is marked on our maps. After flowing
through Baghdad and past Al-Madain (Ctesiphon), (the
Tigris passed down to the latitude of Kut-al-Amarah,
and here the great alterations in its course are to be noticed.
Aft the present day the Tigris follows an easterly channel
down to Korna — this also, as we shall show (see Note 1 to
Section xiv.), was its course in Sassanian times — and here
its waters join the Euphrates to form the Shatt-al-'Arab
or Tidal Estuary of the combined streams. In the days of
the Caliphate, however, the Tigris flowed due south from
Kut-al-Amarah, running down the channel now known as
the Shatt-al-Hay, and passing through the city of Wasit,
below which, by various canals and mouths, the stream
spread out and became lost in the great Swamp, whioh is so
important a feature in the geography, political and physical,
of that epoch. From the great Swamp — into which, as
we shall see later, the Euphrates also poured its waters — a
canal flowed ont direct into the Tidal Estuary, which
thus served to drain off the waters of both the Tigris and
the Euphrates. This Estuary, after passing to the eastward
of Al-Basra, finally came to the open sea at 'Abbadan,
a town which, on account of the recession of the Persian
Gulf, now lies nearly twenty miles distant from the
present shore-line.) In the account which Ibn Serapion gives
of the Estuary of the Dujayl, as he calls the river Karun,
there are some matters of importance which will be dis-
cussed in the notes appended to my translation.
The description of the Euphrates presents many points
of interest. In the first place the Orientals then, as now,
considered what we call the Western Euphrates, which
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4 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
rises in the mountains to the north of Erzeroum, as the
main arm of the great river. The Eastern Euphrates,
now generally called the Murad-Su, a name given to it
by the Turks, Ibn Serapion and other mediaeval geographers
speak of as the river Arsanas. This latter name has,
apparently, long since fallen into desuetude, but it is
evidently identical with the classical Ananias Flumen,
which Pliny describes in the first century after Christ.
It is curious to find another classical name, apparently,
still in use in the tenth century a.d., although, as in the
former case, this also has now been long forgotten ; for
the Nahr Lukiya, no longer to be found on our modern
maps, is doubtless the river Lycm of the Roman geographer.
In the time of Ibn Serapion, many of the other great
tributaries of the Euphrates, as also their secondary affluents,
bore names which are evidently not Arabic. As instances
I may mention the rivers Salkit, Jarjariya, and Karakis—
possibly there are some others — all of which are now known
under Turkish names, but which, in the tenth century a.d.,
evidently still kept the nomenclature of pre-Islamic times,
and thus, in a modified form, preserved the original Greek
or native denomination for these streams.
The main-8treanr of the Euphrates, after passing out
from the mountains, received various affluents in the plain
of northern Mesopotamia, and flowing south-east, followed
its present course down to a point a short distance north
of Al-Eufa. Here the stream bifurcated. The branch
to the right — considered then as the main-stream of the
Euphrates, but now known as the Hindiyya Canal — ran
down past Al-Eufa, and a short distance below this city
became lost in the western part of the great Swamp,
which has already been spoken of as swallowing up the
waters of the Tigris. The stream to the left or eastward,
called the Sura Canal — which, in its upper reach, follows
the line of the modern Euphrates — ran a short course
and then split up into numerous canals whose waters, for
the most part, flowed out into the Tigris above Wasit.
Those canals which did not join the Tigris above that
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DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 5
city, joined its waters lower down, for they all drained into
the northern part of the great Swamps.
The Arabs had inherited from the Persians, their pre-
decessors in Mesopotamia, the system of canalization which
joined the lower courses of the Euphrates and the Tigris,
making the Sawad — or Alluvial plain to the south of
Takrit and Al-Anbar — one of the richest countries of the
East. A glance at the map will show that the system
adopted was to carry off the surplus waters of the
Euphrates into the Tigris, for the purpose of irrigating
the lands between the two rivers. On the other hand,
the waters of the Tigris were, for the most part, tapped
by canals on its further or eastern bank, in order more
thoroughly to irrigate the lands which lay on the Persian
border of its stream. The four great irrigation canals of
the Euphrates were the 'Isa, Sarsar, Malik, and Kutha, and
these four with the Sura Canal (flowing eastward from
the bifurcation above Al-Kufa) carried off the greater
part of the waters of the Euphrates to the Tigris. The
distances separating these canals which Ibn Serapion
mentions are of great importance, since they enable us to
fix their positions. The main canal of the left bank of
the Tigris was the great KatukNahrawan channel, dating
from the days of the Chosroes; but a shorter line also
existed on the right bank of the Tigris, formed by the
Ishakiyya and the Dujayl Canals, and this irrigated the
lands immediately to the north of Baghdad.
With only a single MS. of the work of Ibn Serapion to
oonsult, the reconstitution of the text has been a matter
of some difficulty. Most of the place-names, it is true,
occur again either in the works of the contemporary
geographers of the third and fourth centuries a.h., or in
the later compilations of Yakut and Bakri; but in some
instances places are mentioned once only in Ibn Serapion
and by no other geographer, and often the reading of our
MS. is corrupt or uncertain. For plotting out the names on
my map, I have in most cases been able to fix the position
of the towns along the various streams by a reference
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6 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
to the distances given in the Road-books of Kudama
and other authorities, taking as fixed points the places
therein mentioned which still exist. In the three sections
describing the city of Baghdad, great help has been derived
from the work written by Al-Khatib on the "History of
Baghdad," of which the British Museum possesses three fairly
correct MSS. Al-Khatib has often copied Ibn Serapion
verbatim; and some portions of the work of Al-Khatib
have been incorporated by Yakut, who thus quotes Ibn
Serapion at second-hand; Abu-1-Fida in his geography,
on the other hand, appears to have copied some of the text
of Ibn Serapion at first-hand.
With all these aids, however, a few corrupt passages
remain over, which I have emended as best I could, and
these, with minor verbal additions, have been marked by
enclosure in square brackets [ ]. The translation has been
made as literal as possible, but to avoid ambiguity the
antecedent proper-name has constantly been repeated in
place of the pronoun; such additions, however, I have
marked by enclosure in parentheses ( ). All dates are
given in years of the Hijra; the succeeding, and higher,
figures (in parentheses) represent the corresponding dates
ad. I have translated the term Farsdkh by "league,"
with which measure it practically corresponds; for along
roads, and counting the winding course of the rivers, three
miles as the crow flies is above, rather than below, the fair
estimate of the Farsikh. The Arab mile (mi/), the one
used by Ibn Serapion, is equivalent to our nautical mile
or knot — that is to say, about one English statute mile and
a quarter. It must be remembered, however, that distances
in those early days were not measured, but only estimated
by time, being counted as so many Ihrsdkhs (the League,
or Hour), or so many Mdrhalas (the Day's march) ; hence
the Arab mile may, as a rule, be taken as roughly the
equivalent of our mile. On the Map nineteen Farsdkhs,
or fifty-seven Arab miles, go to the degree of latitude.
I have divided up the text (and the translation) into
sections, for convenience in adding the notes. These last
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 7
have been made as succinct as was compatible with giving
translations of short passages from contemporary geo-
graphers, whose descriptions enable us to fix distances and
positions*
The text of Ibn Serapion, which I now publish, occupies
a little over eleven leaves (22 pages) of the MS., which
contains in all 68 leaves of a folio-sized volume, written
in a clear hand, and dated a.h. 709 (1309). The
beginning of the volume contains a description of the
various seas, islands, lakes, and mountains of the world,
after which come the rivers. Following on the notice of
the Euphrates and Tigris (now published) is a page
devoted to a minute description of the course of the Nile,
and this contains some curious information. The volume
closes with an enumeration of various springs and minor
streams. The whole of this volume by Ibn Serapion would,
I believe, be well worth translating and editing. Ap-
parently, however, in our present MS. we only possess a
portion of the entire work, for Ibn Serapion refers to a
chapter "On the Roads and Ways 9 ' (see Section XIV.),
which is nowhere to be found in the volume in the
British Museum.
In conclusion I add a list of the authorities quoted in
my notes, with a sufficient bibliography to enable my
readers to identify the editions of the texts from which
my translations have been made*
Ibn Kutayba, wrote about a.h. 250 (864). Edited by Wiistenfeld, 1850.
Ibn Khurdadbih, a.h. 250 (864). Edited by De Goeje. Bibliotbeca
GeogTaphorum Arabicorom, vol. vi.
Bflidhuri, a.h. 256 (869). Edited by De Goeje, 1866.
Kudama, a.k. 266 (880). fiibl. Geogr. Arab. vol. vi.
Ya^ubi, a.h. 278 (891). Idem. toI. vii.
Ibn Rusta, a.h. 290 (903). Idem. vol. vii.
Has'udi, a.h. 332 (943). Edited by Barbier de Meynard. Nine yoIs.
Paris, 1877. — Tanbih, by the same Author, in Bibl. Geogr. Arab.
toI. viii.
Istakhrl, wrote about a.h. 340 (951). Bibl. Geogr. Arab. vol. i.
Ibn Hawkal, a.h. 367 (978). Idem. vol. ii.
Hufcaddasi, a.h. 876 (985). Idem. vol. Hi.
Hisjr-i-Khiisraw, a-h. 438 (1047). Edited in Persian by C. Schefsr, 1881.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Al-Khatib, wrote about a.h. 450 (1058). Three MSS. of his Htitory of
Baghdad exist in the British Museum under the numbers Or.
1507, 1508, and Ad. 23,319. It is to the folios of the first of these
copies that my references are made. There is also an excellent
MS. at the Bibliothtque Rationale in Paris, No. 2128 of the new
Catalogue, and this I have collated.
Bakri, wrote in a.h. 585 (1189). Edited by WUstenfeld, 1876.
Yat&t, wrote in a.h. 623 (1225). Edited by Wustenfeld. Six yoIs. 1873.
Epitome of the same, called the Maraeid t written about a.h. 700 (1300).
Edited by Juynboll. Six toIs. 1859.
Dimashfci, wrote about a.h. 700 (1300). Edited by Mehren, 1866.
Fakhri, of about the same date. Edited by Ahlwardt, 1860.
Abu-1-Fida, wrote a.h. 721 (1321). Edited by Reinaud, 1840.
Ibn-al-Athir. Chronicle. Edited by C. J. Tornberg. Fourteen toIs.
1876.
Z. D. M. O. refers to the Journal of the German Oriental Society.
Jones (Commander J. F. Jones, B.N.). Various papers in the Reeorde of
the Bombay Government. No. xliii. New Series, 1857.
Bitter. Die Brdkunde. The volumes relating to Western Asia of the
second edition. Berlin, 1844.
The Maps I have used are those of Kiepert, namely Province* Atiatiquet de
V Empire Ottoman. Six feuiUes, Berlin. — And the Ruinenf elder
der JJmgegend von Babylon. Published in the Zeiteehr. der Gee.
fSr Erdkunde. Vol. xviii.
An anonymous Arabic MS. in the Bibliotheque National* of a work on
Geography, written for the Hamdanid prince Sayf-ad-Dawla, who
died in a.h. 366 (967), gives some curious native maps, which have
occasionally been of use to me in fixing the position of towns.
This MS. bears the number 2214 in the new Catalogue.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
ARABIC TEXT.
l^jl Ub-d u 1 uXi j j * i^lI J1 <!j1 ^ &*r^ ^yt* [I.]
^^J^ *jjjl*?Ij^4j J l^ L*U* J^^Jl a^ju**« vJ^^rM (^ ^ L»l**
^i^ Jl^ j i^s\JLi i£\j ^jbj AJL\ ijj^ jAj ^ JL-UiiM
^«j J *4J»IAj LJ\j ^yjj l^k^ J J ^A xA\ tux* ^J\ jaj J
^ c^,UJl j U V> j ^^ J\j+i fS 4W&* *?fy ^ j ^j
1 MS. third line of f. 30 b. The Roman numeral refers to the Section of the
Translation.
* MS. <kU.
1 By an error of the MS. Dayr Konnfi and Humfiniya are made to precede
Dayr al'A^nl. The first name is more generally spelt aij*>.
* MS. without points.
* F. 31 a.
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10 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
^ ^ cyJ/H > Jjl ♦ *>-T J1 4iy ^ cylyW *i^ [II J
^•J J dyv< C-^U jjo^ J(jw Jjt *Xi* j^*eL JjSl J->- cJ
JUb J^ LU. 51 [^y \] *&!>/*{} fJWI , i^Jl j L-J/
j flkt jl^il 4jj£H ^ jUjII jj-j &* cyLj J l^ LiU^ djjfll
*U Jjk J\ C^t^ljU tilt JX jjo/i j ip- Jjt Ju* Asjkjt J
tali ^je^JaJl ^^fit ^jjjb J** ^ c^iy \3\i [III.]
* CJ3 ^U-j! U *|ili J^U J1 <ty ^ \j$ \j$ ^ J
1 MS. here and below ^.
9 MS. in error pate KarkiriyS above the Sa'id Canal.
•MS.^.
* MS. jlffl , MyJV-
• F. 31 b.
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DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. H
v,^ *~* Jjk Axe *Jjl J*>- ^ ci^yM ti c^ ^gJ yfi c-flfc) ^
cj «^t (J-Jf ij* Sl1)\ £«Jj) ^i 4] JUb ^|i Labi <lJ\ c--*«3> j
cul^M (J ^ .J' oU J-cj- j-^ c?4rf^^ Mi' **J' H^^J j
cul^l J k-^aJ j JL^- i^f+JjAJj+tuJ £&J XJaLt J^t £s^*
jV Js^ cf* ^ **iM^J* ** J^> Mi' ^' ^r^ij
iS^sf* t£ ^Jujo l^** jAJ *j +)j0\ «xb J hJ»j&. izyos*? **-r*tJ*
1 MS. u^fc.
* Added.
1 MS. jyl, below with diacritical points.
* MS. tjj^\.
* Without points, below points given.
* P. 32 a.
' Without points, below points given.
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12 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
j*+J± ♦Joe j# y^ i-~«*V* ^ J W t^ ^d^ *s^ l-*^ ^
f &*M u»\j fcW ^-Jj^iUJb^M^^ Jl ^ImII ^ ^/< j
* MS. «JtU*n.
» MS. W ^V.
» F. 32 b.
< MS. U>.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 13
* ^M ^ s^»d 3 *i^j 4 ^ eft «~i/ J' £& f^ jl J
1 MS. UL but below section XVIII. with the article.
2 MS. J2,*. See note to the translation.
* MS. without points, below pointed.
« F. 33 a.
* MS. ,Ja,).
* MS. in one place jy jM, in another ojj}\.
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14 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
* il^J ^ l^^oj ) U^ J-**? ,^1 jl|j^ iiyn [V.]
^X-^. ^ JL*j ij^j\^\ *** ijici) 2 J^j^\ ^Jj* fj& J
^ J^t *i* djt L5 "**y-f J ** i)\*ij+J ^ ^'J^Cj
U*Jj U*J i^ki l^ Jl& i!^t »Ja£ teJbji ^Jlgj (J^J <j^ j
ju^ji** ^H* ls*^ V;^" j^'^^j c^-iH X-fy *y
1 MS. here and below ^tjfr- See note to the translation.
» MS. y.>ll.
» MS. «U41.
* P. 33 b.
» MS. VU.
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DE8CBIPTI0N OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 15
ijltfjb cJ/u i^S <_£Lfe aJl£ ^ ^U-iil id; £-*$■* -J^ ^4J J
|j t^iJUll ^ ^a-**!! Syki ^^i J i^Jl *^J uJ^ i^ki
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J\fJ\ ^ ty*^ )* 3 *r*^ jV *-*" f/^H. 3 ^W j *£&£
L-^lsll J ^^ AAA 4 ..) cr^**"*^ cT* J-*- 1 ' *A>-i3 ti ****• j
> ^ JiJ 4 *^ ^/ [j+i] <! JUb> Ml' ^* J^T5
u^.3 5 J^Vj*^ *j$ &• J/ ^r^ J LJ j 1 ^ *~ £/**
i Added from Yakut IV. 842. MS. ^,yi.
* MS. m>>. Cf. Maratid I. 368.
» F. 34 a.
* MS.JU^l
* MS. JL\*.
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16 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
i^+A-i **Ju\ x*\J* Zz*»> ^jjfj+j cl}\j&\ jj&r \6\i [VI,]
jjh j ^1 j e^iJl ^ ^ U-ks J^ yJl f*^ ^ j
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jfJI 1**/* J g/ij*® J^ ^ ^J ^> *** l>< J Up
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» MS.^.
* MS. U^y.
» F. 34 b.
4 MS. ««J^» below with points.
e MS. vjl\ below with points.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 17
• c^y» Ji^i li ^oM ii/lt *>^ li JJI itjJ1 ^i
J-^H i^j *x* JJLif ^. g jO^ ^fJ1 cJ ^r^t j cJUa $L^Jf jiwJ
i^kJ cJLa **-U j J~H (LjJ^ ^J3I iV^JI^J^ ^^i Jbbj
uiljh c5 4--j ^ ilsr*> *r^H J^lH u*A*^ ,%}\j*£ ^^ cr«'
JlL^j J\ w-j h^jjJ»> *J J^^ U3J ^ [VII.} .
J cij^ ^ cr* c^> *^ u*r* J J? J> *** Jfr cr* **/
J-ri^^^ V*3 -» J*. <> Hi' Wl
»MS.wJUW' ;
» P. 86 a.
■ M8. jJ*.
«MS. tr *U..
j.B.A.t. 1895.
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18 DE8CEIPTI0N OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Jj)» Oi-e Hjfti j *- ~ 9 * J <— JU yi^c j *k- «k« JjJ» JO-is
JU J^» ji* J-*>- ^ Uj*-1 J,0 ^y ^1 l|J1 i^~a J j
> •u!^n
• \& c^ IfJ^ lf*# JW J*M jV*» Ayu [VIII.]
1 MS. «S k* or q k*j without points.
• M8. WLU. .
> MS. y-i*..
« F. 86 b.
• MS. J-1. *
9 MS.*U»U.
• MS. WA
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 19
3 iiyib e^li^t +jfrj ^j* Zh** i^iA ^ ^^ jfi tH"
^**sj- u-Sbjb aJibj &JU^1 iJ^'jAl ($ 'h$f*£ *J*£ <~S\ub
<LaB** ijji yjJ j*j J* IfAAj^fJI ) -gpJ V *-* ^i 4 ^ l5*-> J *^
^ z^yW l«Ly j-Mydl £Jblt U1 **• j**a [IX.]
'us. 4*.-
s MS. ijy.Ul below as corrected.
» F. 36 8.
4 Below written ^jJU.
•MS-l^U
• MS. ^^V.
f MS. possibly iJAu. In the Thnbih, p. 63 g.hy.
•MS.VyU
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20 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Ijh^i! V^ J l//^ *"^ J J^ L5^ LT^ fc^' LS*** 5 ^-
[$& w%-aJ kJj £uX« JaJ j S^ jlf/1 il>-d ^ J^^Cj
(^ a^ > u**^ o 5 " ^ fc* M> J* - ' '^ teA* > ^ J^-
u b ^ JiJ *!j! &ufl> JlA\ &j*x* j jSj&\ <*-*+* y* j u-^Jl J
* MS. J*.
1 P. 86 b.
» MS. 4,1.
« Added.
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DESCBIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 21
o^ «r* c* A^ M> W "-V"" , J-fe«*H -r -i> J
^.jJo ,>* ^Sw j ^4 , 1(J ^ 4-Lft > li^Jt Jj^ J^. ^ jU^
*LJ} iiJJ uJUa ^.g.;gj *LM amI« <d JUb t - ^ ^'ya-^J
j^auM *,*»» ^in^fM 8 A-i s-^-*J ^Ul ^1 ^/< J «Ju#jH
* P. 37 ».
* MS.^oijft^UI.
» MS. J.
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22 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
j\$\ <LlJj t_£L* <u* J^flKji jloiSl i^k-i ^l \£*yj$j+l)
J* ) Ji^ Mj J fcA* J' \^*rj* J*l 3 d 3^ u^ ^
^\ C-^-^i J <U*jjJJ J ^y^J^U uJjjmH Jbd&**H y^l3 J^JJ *J
i MS. ^cviU In place of this line the MSS. of Al-Khatfb ha?e the
following : ^-Ult j«u*. J\ p fA\ j^- «^V Jt «*.£jf/4 *•
• MS. here and below ^tA.
» MS. «&*.
« P. 37 b.
• MS. iUull.
•MS. ail. • i. ". • t
' M8. ^h'V Al-Kha^^rt^.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 23
cr^> j>» *V J* j* a J^> c^rf ^ ct* cJ^Cj
u-^-aj ^iiH J*LLl\j4> d <-r*^i) s^*jt^ mVj uH/** ^^
JlSj^i & x4ljM JiJ c-p^i \Jl5 ^ii\ ^JU?!^; ^ J*taCj
^-*uj ^uLj <-jU1 Jji djl cffAftlljfJ 4! Jl«^ J-flill^|i ' jfcj
JuAjc?! <-j1jj)1 f*^ ^J"* L5* ^A^v* 8 ^ '** CT* J***? J
IflljlfJl ^j ^i/Jl i^iUll ^ "I* • v^H/** ^^i
1 MS. gire^yiul^ in error.
1 F. 38 a. r
* The MS; gives in error J4ft1^.
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24
DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
^Lj J cL* ^iMliji^fJl \&bjAjj~*J ^^Jj+fQ) Jj**^ *jyf
**jJl iJ*A\ *J\jAj fi fiuaJI iJ*A\ J\j4i (J jjjJ! '*>*
*l«Jt &jA« J^>- j^Jui ^ cL^aN ^JLu+ijAJ '<f*j*> *Jby ^ Ji-»1
» MS. W,,.
• MS. »)\.
» MS. J>«.
• MS. *Ul.
• MS. j**.
• MS. *fr*l
7 MS. 44(11.
• F. 38 K
* MS. ^V-
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 25
tal* ^^JUj j fWj *JJ* **!^°? \J X *3 i—ijMj ) ^*~^ ^ijy^i
• \tf ^Jl\ j\f>\ fcJUjb i±* fjki* Jjf«*
>«J jl*« Jjli ^U-jU-Jl *>i bU/j^V lit cj3i ^
^^ *jV ^ J* *! *jfl l5"^ ^r 1 M^ v&)j$}* ^3
Js^Jui iijfli c_A* c,Ll Jl bU^J iZfj&\ *ijau&\ ^ ->yl
gJa«i jjj*i*M^A«^ ^ £j*x* jiff ^^ ij\ cJL* ^ 4 [^i]
^J iU.1 jjl ^11 ^Ifi! 4jw* c^j i^jJVjfJI y* j jyjJl t_£bdb
i M8. c^J.
■MS.Jrf.
» MS. £UI.
4 Added.
• MS. «*^1.
• P. 39 a.
' MS. tjjJ\i.
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26 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD,
iMS.1rf.
• MS. ^yi.
8 MS. ukJ\. The reading given is that of the MSS. of Al-Kha^b.
•MS.^MJI^.
• MS. ijl.
• MS. J^. From Al-Kha$fb.
» MS. ^rfWU
• MS. i^Jl >
•F. 39 b.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 27
LtUaJ^f) J JU, Jja^J ^ J^esT^ cJ3j ^j [XII J
J ki/ j ULi ^Lu^ijAJ &*\ji l Ls*m) J*>-A &hji JaJ ^ *]j!
Jlc ^**i aUI £j Jt* ^* ^stT ^m*j ^^Lj LkUaj S /*kSj- JJL»1
ciy«J v-^Ua ^ J^Jju JflL jj J ^Ltf! c->U i^ki — .y i^Lt
<_>b j l^j^ c->b ^jj ^jfll 5,La l^ JU> $,Lc Jlc ^J
J\ J-*sj-4) £jlA «-J>*i ) s^L* ^ jljoc Jfl^Jui^j ^ JjjJl
L5 ^ j bdt *JfojV J J^dT^ cJLfc 4^* J^asji U*/^ ***(/•
j u^ iu^ JV ^Ul c^b£ J1 ^ uJUd> <^ J^vi
J L.-^i ^ ^jai ^l^ J! ^j jj ^yU ^ ^li jt • d9 *h
^•Atfj J-^aj j c-^ wb ^kii ,J* &?.*J** fj>*j*l3
* MS. ^^ JU 1^.
* MS. \j.
* MS..***.
* ms. u^n it> \^.
VMS. ^U
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28 DESOBIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
• JUJ
M,jJ1 a^o j XaaUl £i* j Jy^Jl jLfJl UU [XIII.]
* JbqkJl a* • jj^l\ aju ^ ^lI^ c£j CXI isr -H^ Lili
U U *jn ^^5 ^ ^Ull 1 jl 3 * •ljjdl iU j aA* [XIV.]
cr**J ^ */*?" ls^ cHs^^ ^ **r*~ a^fcjyyj ^j«M a?- j
^ uciu^ij jpji im, J ^\ a^ j ^u j^jhHj
> F. 40 a.
» MS. ^-i*.
> MS. JfaUJL.
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DESCBIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 2d
jjjfcj \j yiJ Jlc i / *2\ Jt litfi j * l ij*l\j\j\ aL. [XV.]
^IsJt, * w li-^j ,xJl ^ ^ cr -j j Ay ^ *i^»> aJ JUj
/^^twj *v»y ^ a)J! j *^^^ <J J^*i^ i/"-*W' 3
&.)**>) <J*X& A Jli.> ut jU\j * ^ &w,1 *[Ji*«]
£u,1 t^jk! ^ ^tfJt ^^Li ^1 t^^dJ l^ AmwaN ^3\ «jjb j
J MjjjJI iL»-0 cj w bLe doe «-^-*» ^a-iN j^ j JS! ^ x*\j
cXLJ ^ji-J ^-Jl^ j\fi! Ai^ J*aCj Jt^|i jlfiJII irjjb J U j
t-_-*il«5l ,ji ^jjJ' aIImI! »,jfwU)1 i^-aJI jlf3l jrj^fi * cL-i!!
* JU" aUI Ha J U3 J Ul
> F. 40 b.
•MS.,,,-.
* MS. m error, AiRjf.
« MS. \j\fi.
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30 DB8CWPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
j,u a-h ijWjj &, ^\jM- ^ *-&> ^ [xvi ]
jjL,9j*.\j »j^ jlfrt V- *>*v !A*N> *J J&>;tffl
l«U* ^ uu*y UU ijfl^\JJl\ ijaXjty >^i [XVIII.]
^I^Jt ^U* *jl>- U £-**>- ^ w-iy Ai ^/r J19- LLU
* MS.>J1.
*P.41a. :.:
» M8. t;Vl.
* Query to read jIUI.
» MS. ^yt
* MS. ^Vrf.
» MS. ^a-.
8 MS. hereof? and below^.
* Above flection IV. Udu.
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PESCBIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 31
^J ^ fL>W^ A ^ *?*" 3 <Hji^ fs^ <-W &* **>**
(J 5 J^ij c^U ^ c^y J! ^fC ^ JL> ^^ **■>*
1 M8 « -Of**
* MS. v*>
• P. 41 b.
♦MS.^.
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32 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD;
J-rr ^ A s \ J lJ3j , •)^ « f Jrt^ ii^ 1 [XVII.] "
• Jpj»&j^\ J'c^^j 4 C |Vy3llH jy a!^\ ^U^-mJ^
i Frpm f. 47 a. of the MS.
• MS, J*-.
•Added.
* MS. (tfljstUn.
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Ez I
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 33
TKANSLATION.
[SECTION L]
Account op the River Tigris from its Source to its
Mouth.
Now the source of the Tigris is at a spring in longitude
64° 4(r, or 65°, or another (says) 39° 5', and in latitude
38° 30'. Passing to longitude 64° 45', and latitude 37° 45',
with mountains to either side, it flows on even with the
mountains to longitude 68° 5' and latitude 38° 5', going
by the city of Amid, which lies upon the stream. 1 Thence
it passes on to JazIra-Ibn-'Omar, surrounding the same,
so that the city is as an island in the midst of the stream.
Thence it passes to the city of Balad, which lies on its
bank ; and thence to the city of Al-Mawsil (Mosul), likewise
on the river side. Then it passes by the following: 3 Al-
Hadltha, As-Sinn, Ae-Sudakaniyya, Jabilta, and Takrit.
Next it comes to the city of Surra-man-raa (Samarra), 8
which lies on its bank. After this it passes the following :
Al-Kadislya, 4 Al-Ajama, Al-'Alth, Al-Hazira, 5 As-Sawami',
'Ukbara, Awana, Busra, 6 Bazugha, Al-Baradan, Al-Mazrafa,
Katrabbul, Ash-Shammasiyya, add next divides the City of
Peace (Baghdad), which lies across the river on either bank.
After this it runs on to Kalwadha, and next to the city of
Al-Madain, 7 passing through the midst of the same, which
lies across on either bank of the stream. After this it flows
by the following : As-Sib, 8 Dayr-al-'Akul, As-Saflya, Dayr
Kunna, Humanlya, Jarjaray, 9 An-Nu'maniyya, Jabbul,
Nahr Sabus, Fam-as-Silh, and thence it reaches Wasit, 10
passing through the midst of the town, which lies across
the stream and on either bank. From here it passes on
to the following : Ar-Rusafa, 11 Nahr Ban, Al-Faruth, Dayr-
al-'Ummal, Al-Hawanit, and then in longitude 78° 5' and
latitude 32° 5' it flows out, at Al-Katr, into the head of
the Swamps, and this same place is in the midst of them.
Further on, if it please Allah Almighty, I will give an
J.&.A.8. 1895. 3.
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34 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
account of these Swamps, and a description of the same,
and of the streams which fall into them and which flow
out of them, but this will be after concluding the subject
of the Euphrates, and of the streams lying between it and
the Tigris.
1 The Arabs call the Tigris Dyla (without the article),
and under this name (with certain modifications of
pronunciation) the river has been known in all ages.
In the Jewish Targums the word occurs under the
form Diglath, which corresponds with the latter part
of Hiddekel, the name under which the Tigris is
mentioned in Genesis ii. 14.
Amid, the Roman Amida, is the capital of the
province of Diyar Bakr. The town is now more
generally known by the name of the province, Diyar
Bakr, which means " the habitations of the Bakr," an
Arab tribe who had already settled here in Sassanian
times. Yakut (I. 66) says that Amid was a very
ancient city, on a height, being built of black stone,
from which fact, doubtless, its modern name of Kara
(or Black) Amid is derived.
JazIra-Ibn-'Omar, "the island of the son of Omar/ 9
is still a flourishing town. According to Yakut
(II. 79) it took its name from a oertain Al-Hasan
Ibn-'Omar of the Taghlib tribe, who founded this
place, taking a wife from among the women of
the country. The city has the Tigris going round
it in a semicircle on the one side, and on the
other side a ditch has been dug and filled with
water, so that the town stands on an island.
Balad was the first stage, and seven leagues north
of Mosul, and therefore at the place now marked
by the ruins of Eski Mosul, where the road to
Amid and the one running west to Sinjar forked
(Kudama, p. 214). According to Yakut (I. 715)
the name was often written Balat, and it occupied
the site of the ancient Persian town of ShahrabSdh.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 35
Al-Mawsil (Mosul) became the capital of Upper
Mesopotamia under the Omayyads ; and Marwan II.,
the last Caliph of this dynasty, rebuilt the town
and surrounded it with walls. According to Yakut
(IV. 682) the ancient Persian name of Mosul was
Nawardashir or Bawardashlr, and opposite, across
the river, were the ruins of Nineveh.
* Between Mosul and Baghdad the high road lay along the
eastern side of the Tigris, and it did not therefore pass
through Takrlt, which stood on the western bank. The
distances are given by Kudama (p. 214) and others.
Al-Hadltha, "the New Town," stood at the junction
of the Upper, or Greater Zab, with the Tigris. The
city was restored by the last Oraayyad, Marwan II. ;
and according to Yakut (II. 222) it was in Persian
times also known as Nawkird, or " New City."
As -Sinn lay on the Tigris, according to the
Tanbih (p. 53), one mile below the junction of the
Lower or Lesser ZSb. It is, however, described by
Mukaddasi (p. 123) as having the latter river on its
eastern side. According to Yakut (III. 169) there
were many Christian Churches here. The positions
of Al-Haditha and As-Sinn are fixed respectively
by the two rivers Zab, but no trace of either
appears on the modern maps.
As-Sudakaniyya was a stage on the high road,
10 leagues south of As-Sinn, and 14 north of
Samarra. Jabilta lay five leagues south of As-
Sudakaniyya. Both of these towns have disappeared
from the map, but by the distances in Kudama
(p. 214) Jabilta must have been situated not far
from, and nearly opposite to, Takrlt The name
of Jabilta (or Jabulta), from the lack of diacritical
points in the MS., has often been incorrectly read
Habulta (e.g. Mukaddasi p. 135, but cf. Ibn
Khurdadbih p. 93, note k) ; the initial j is, how-
ever, very clearly pointed in the MS. of Ibn
Serapion. Jabilta is further a mint city, but the
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36 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
name on the coin-die was unfortunately likewise
engraved without points. The town is not given
in the Geographical Dictionaries of Yakut or Bakri,
where its position in the alphabetical list would have
settled the question of the initial J or h ; but under
the form Gebhitta the place is repeatedly mentioned
in the Syriao Chronicle of Thomas of Marga (see
The Book of Governors, E. A. W. Budge, II. 290),
and this confirms the reading of Ibn Serapion.
TakrTt, with its strong castle, stands on the western
bank of the Tigris. According to Yakut (I. 8bl) the
town dated from Persian days, having been founded
by King Sabur (Sapor), son of Ardashir. It received
its name from Takrit, daughter of Wail, ancestor
of the Arab tribe of that name.
3 Samarra, sometimes written Samira, was an ancient
Persian town, the name of which the Caliph Al-
Mu'tasim changed, for the sake of good augury, into
Surra-man-raa, meaning "Who sees it, rejoices."
Samarra, during more than half a century, was made
the capital of the Caliphate, dating from a.h. 221
(836), when Al-Mu'tasim betook himself thither with
his court and body-guard; and Baghdad only re-
gained its former pre-eminence in a.h. 279 (892),
on the accession of Al-Mu'tadid. Ya'kubl (pp. 255—
268), writing about the year 278 (891), has left a
long and detailed account of Samarra, and of the
various palaces which adorned it. The city proper
stood on the eastern bank of the Tigris, while on the
western bank were many of the palaces and pleasure-
grounds. The houses of the city, on the left bank,
extended for a distance of seven leagues along the
river, and fabulous sums, of which Yakiit (III. 18)
gives the details, were spent on the palaces. These
all fell to ruin when the seat of government was
removed back to Baghdad, and Samarra became what
it had been before — a provincial town ; remaining,
however, a place of pilgrimage to the ShPa Muslims,
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 37
for here were to be seen the tombs of two of their
Imams, also the Mosque with the underground
chamber, from which the promised Mahdi, Al-Kaim,
is to appear in the fulness of time.
Al-Kadisiya, also on the eastern bank of the Tigris, some
three leagues below Samarra, still exists. It must
not be confounded with the place of the same name,
where the great battle was fought between the Arabs
and the Persians, which last lay in the plain to the
westward of the Euphrates, near Al-Kufa. Al-
Kadislya, on the Tigris, is said by Yakut (IV. 9) to
be famous for its glass works.
Al-Ajama, meaning "the Thicket," is not marked
on the map, and apparently is not mentioned by any
other authority. Ibn Serapion later on (Section
VIII.) states that it lay on or near the Nahrawan
Canal.
Al-'Alth is still found on the map, and Mukaddasi
(p. 123), who, however, writes the name without the
article, speaks of it as a large town lying on a canal
derived from the Tigris. Its wells of sweet water
were easy of access and its men were handsome.
Yakut (III. 711) notes it as the first place in Al-
'Irak on the east side of the Tigris coming from
Persia. By the change of bed, however, Al-'Alth
now lies on the western bank of the river. From
below Al-Kadisiya, and down almost to Baghdad,
the Tigris in the tenth century a.d. flowed by a
more westerly course than it does at the present day.
The old river-bed, with the ruins of 'Ukbara, Awana,
and Busra, all lying on its eastern bank, is still
marked on the maps. At the present time, however,
owing to the change of course, these places stand
at a considerable distance from the western bank of
the Tigris. That the western course was the one
followed by the river in Ibn Serapion's day admits
of no doubt, for the great post-road from Baghdad
to Samarra, and the north, passed up the eastern
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38 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
bank of the Tigris, going through Al-Baradan and
'Ukbara to Al-Kadislya; further, among other early
authorities, Biladhuri (p. 249) in the ninth century
a.d. couples together 'Ukbara and Al-Baradan as
lying to the east of the Tigris, and the two towns
are so marked in the native map of the Paris MS.,
a work of the tenth century a.d. When the river
changed over to its present western course, I have
been unable exactly to ascertain. As early as the
date of Mas'udi, a.h. 332 (943), the bed appears to
have begun to shift, for in his Meadows of Gold
(I. 223) this author refers to the law-suits to which
this changing of the stream had given rise, between
the landowners of the eastern and western banks
immediately above Baghdad. The first clear mention
of 'Ukbara as lying (as at the present day) to the
west of the Tigris is, I believe, given by the author
of the Mar&fid (II. 270), who wrote about the year
1300 a.d. This author, correcting Yakut, remarks
that both 'Ukbara and Awana stood in his day at
a considerable distance to the west of the Tigris, that
being a consequence of the changing of the river
bed, ea8ttcards, into the course then known as Ash-
Shutayta— "the little Shatt" or Stream. The exact
date of this change, however, he does not give ; but
he adds that the Caliph Al-Mustansir, between
a.h. 623 and 640 (1226-1242), had dug a canal to
irrigate the lands whioh the Tigris, by its shifting,
had left dry — at this epoch, therefore, the change
must have been complete.
5 Neither Al-Hazira, meaning "the Enclosure," nor As-
Sawami', "the 06118/' have left any trace of their
names on the present maps, and the latter place is
not apparently mentioned by any other authority.
Yakut (II. 292) states that Al-Hazira was a
large village on the Dujayl Canal (see Section V.),
where cotton stuffs, called Kirbds, were manu-
factured for export; and in another passage (II.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 39
235) he speaks of it as lying opposite to Harba.
This last place still exists on the western side of
the Dujayl Canal, where there is a magnificent
stone bridge, now partly in ruin, built by the last
Abbaaid Caliph but one, Al-Mustansir, in a.h.
629 (1232). This has been drawn and described,
and its dedicatory inscription copied, by Commander
J. F. Jones, R.N. (Records, p. 252). In another
passage Yakut (I. 178) speaks of Al-Hazlra as
lying near the village of Balad, a place which like
Harba still exists.
• The ruins of 'Ukbara, Awana, and Busra, lying one
close to the other, still exist on the left bank of
the old bed of the Tigris, as has been already
mentioned. Yakut (III. 705, I. 395, and I. 654)
describes these towns as of the Dujayl District,
lying some ten leagues distant from Baghdad,
being very pleasant places surrounded by gardens.
Bazugha, Al-Baradan, and Al-Mazrafa, all three,
lay on the eastern bank of the Tigris. Al-Baradan,
which gave its name to a gate and bridge in
eastern Baghdad (see Section X.), Kudama (p. 214),
gives as the first stage on the north road,
and it was four leagues distant from the capital.
The existing ruin at Bedran doubtless represents
the older name. Bazugha has apparently disappeared
entirely ; according to Yakut (I. 606) it lay near
Al-Mazrafa and about two leagues from Baghdad.
Of Al-Mazrafa the name is apparently preserved
in the district of Mazurfeh, marked on the map as
immediately to the north of eastern Baghdad.
According to Yakut (IT. 520) Al-Mazrafa was a
large village lying three leagues above the city.
Eatrabbul was the name of the district on the
western bank of the Tigris, and up-stream, lying
between Baghdad and 'Ukbara (Yakut IY. 133). On
the eastern bank, also up-stream, lay Ash-Sham ma-
siyya, meaning "The Deaconry," the northernmost
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40 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
suburb of eastern Baghdad, which gave its name to
the gate opening in this direction (see Section X.).
Kalwadha was the outlying suburb on this same
eastern bank, but down-stream. Kudama (p. 193)
gives it as two leagues below Baghdad and five
above Al-Madain. In the present maps its site is
marked by the village of Gerara.
7 Al-Madain, meaning " the Cities," a plural form of
the word Madina, was the name by which the
Arabs called the remains of the twin cities of
Ctesiphon and Seleucia. Ya'kubl (p. 321) at the
close of the ninth century a.d. describes three
towns as standing on the eastern bank among the
ruins of Ctesiphon. Of these one was Al-Madlna
al-'Atlka, "the Old Town" (which also occurs as
a mint city), where was to be seen "the White
Palace" of the Chosroes, and here was the Great
Mosque. One mile south of this lay the town of
Asbanbur, with the great Arch of the Chosroes
(still standing at the present day) and the equal of
which there was none in all Persia for height,
seeing that its summit was 80 ells above the ground.
Adjoining these two towns lay Ar-Rumiyya, built
by the Greeks when they conquered Persia, and
here the Caliph Al-Mansur took up his abode for
some months of his reign. These three cities on
the eastern bank covered ground measuring two
miles from end to end. The towns on the western
bank (the ancient Seleucia) were Bahuraslr, and a
league to the south of this, Sabat. Ibn Busta
(p. 186) speaks of a fire-temple as existing on this
western side, which, in Sassanian days, had been
endowed with the revenue of half the land-tax of
Fars.
8 As-Sib, surnamed for distinction Sib of the Bani
Kuma, was a place noted for its olive trees (Ibn
Rusta, p. 186). It was the site of the battle
where, in a.h. 262 (876), Ya'kub the Saffarid was
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 41
routed by the troops of the Caliph Al-Mu'tamid.
As-Sib is not marked on the maps, but according
to Kudama (p. 193) it lay seven leagues below
Al-Madain.
Dayr-al-'Akul, " the Convent of the (river) Loop,"
is still marked on the map, and the name is
descriptive of the Tigris course at this point*
Yakut (II. 676), writing in the thirteenth century
a.d., states that in his day the Convent, which
originally had lain on the river bank, then stood
solitary in the middle of the plain, a mile distant
from the water's edge, by reason of the shifting of
the Tigris bed. In former days a populous town
had (he says) stood there, with good markets, but
this bad fallen to ruin with the decay of the
District of An-Nahrawan. Ibn Rusta (p. 186), in
the beginning of the tenth century a.d., alludes to
the Great Mosque here, and says that across the
Tigris at this point were set toll-barriers, such as
will be described below (see under Hawanlt, note
11), and that this was a Station for the Officials
for Travellers and Customs.
As-Saflya is described by Yakut (II. 687, and
III. 362) as a small town overhanging the Tigris,
and of which in his day (thirteenth century a.d.)
nothing but the walls and some ruins remained
standing. It lay over against Dayr Kunna, which
last stood near Dayr-al-'Akul.
For Dayr Kunna (more usually spelt Dayr
Kunna), otherwise called the Convent of Marmari
as-Salikh, "the Impotent," Yakut (II. 687) quotes
the description left by Ash-Shabushti, who died
a.h. 388 (998). The Convent lay sixteen leagues
down stream from Baghdad, on the eastern bank,
and stood at the distance of a mile from the river.
Ash-Shabushti describes it as a huge monastery,
surrounded by a high, solidly-built, wall, so as to
be impregnable and almost like a fortress. Within
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42 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
this wall there were a hundred cells for the monks,
and the right to a cell was only to be bought for
a price ranging from 200 to 1000 Dinars (£100 to
£500). Surrounding each cell lay a garden, irrigated
by a small canal. Every garden was planted with
fruit trees, the crop of which brought in yearly a
sum of from 50 to 200 Dinars (£25 to £100).
Neither As-Safiya nor Dayr Eunna have apparently
left any trace on the map; but judging from the
description of Yakut— who says that Dayr-al-'Akul
lay fifteen leagues from Baghdad, that "near it' 9
and sixteen leagues from Baghdad lay Dayr Eunna,
this last standing a mile distant from the Tigris,
on whose bank was As-Safiya — it seems probable
that Dayr Eunna and As-Safiya occupied a position
on the eastern bank about halfway between Dayr-
al-'Akul and Humanlya. In accordance with these
data I have changed the order of names in the
Arabic text, placing Dayr Eunna and Humanlya
after, instead of before, Dayr-al-'Akul and As-Safiya.
Humanlya is marked on the present maps as lying
on the western Tigris bank, in a great loop of the
river, about two leagues to the south-east of Dayr-al-
'Akul. Yakut (IY. 980) describes it as a large
village standing in the midst of cultivated lands and
on the river bank. In the beginning of the ninth
century a.d. it must have been a place of some im-
portance, for after the death of the Caliph Al-Amln
in Baghdad, his two sons and his mother, Zubayda,
widow of HarGn-ar-Rashld, were brought down the
river in boats and kept prisoners at Humayniya (as
the name is otherwise spelt) before being despatched
into Khurasan to Al-Mamun (see Ibn-al-Athir, YI.
207).
9 Jarjaray, more generally spelt Jarjaraya, still exists.
According to Ya'kubl (p. 321) this was the capital
of the district of Lower Nahrawan ; and in his day
(ninth century a.d.) it was still inhabited by many
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 43
Persian nobles. Yakut (II. 54) says that it lies on
the eastern river-bank, but had become a ruin, as, in
fact, had most of the other towns of the Nahrawan
district.
An-Nu'maniyya, Yakut (IY. 796) counts as the
half-way stage between Baghdad and Wasit It lay
four leagues down stream from Jarjaraya, and five
leagues above Jabbul (compare Kudama, p. 193,
with Abu-1-Fida, p. 305). By this reckoning An-
Nu'maniyya probably occupied the position marked
Tell Na'aman of Kiepert's larger map of Babylon*
Ya'kubi (p. 321) counts An-Nu'maniyya as the
capital town of the district of the Upper Zab Canal,
and mentions a convent here called Dayr Hizkil,
where mad persons were treated. Ibn Rusta (p. 186)
adds that the lands of An-Nu'maniyya lay, mostly,
on the western bank of the Tigris; that it was
counted one of the dependent cities of Al-Hlra,
and that the celebrated carpets of Al-Hira were
really made at An-Nu'maniyya.
Jabbul is, apparently, the place now called Jambil.
It lies on the eastern bank, and Ibn Rusta (p. 187)
speaks of it as a large town with a great mosque,
where there were bakehouses belonging to the
Government. Yakut (II. 23) says that in his day
(thirteenth century a.d.) the former town had sunk
to the size of a large village.
Nahr Sabus was the name of a town occupying
the western bank of the Tigris and situated on the
canal of the same name (see Section VI.). Ya'kubi
describes it as lying opposite the town of Al-Mubarik,
which was on the eastern bank of the Tigris. It
was one day's journey above Wasit, and is mentioned
by Yakut (II. 903) as being the chief city of the
district of the Lower Zab Canal. Nahr Sabus is
not marked on the present maps, but according to
Kudama (p. 194) it was situated seven leagues
below Jabbul and five leagues above Fam-as-Silh,
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44 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Fam-as-Silh was situated seven leagues above
Wasit. Fam in Arabic means " mouth," but
applied to a canal designates what we should call
the " head " or point of origin, where the canal
branches from the parent stream — not the place
where it runs out to join the river again, which in
English would be the usual acceptation of the term
"mouth" as applied to a canal. Fam-as-Silh,
therefore, is "the Head of the Silh," the place
where that canal left the Tigris, and it was also
the name of a town on the eastern river-bank.
Ibn Rusta (p. 187) speaks of its Great Mosque and
markets. The place also was famous in Arab history
for the palace built here by Hasan ibn Sahl, Wazlr
of Al-Mamun, and in which he celebrated the
espousals of his daughter Buran with the Caliph
his master, spending fabulous sums in banquets and
gifts (cf. Mas'udi VII. 65). Yakut (III. 917), in
the 13th century a.d., found the town and neigh-
bouring villages already gone to ruin.
10 Wasit, the "middle" city, was so called because it
lay equidistant (about 50 leagues) from Al-Kufa,
Al-Basra, and Ai-Ahwaz. It was the capital of
the district of Kaskar, and was founded in a.h. 84
(703) by Hajjaj, the great viceroy of Al-'Irak, in
the reign of the Omayyad Caliph 'Abd-al-Malik.
The city occupied both banks of the Tigris, and
the two quarters were connected by a bridge of
boats. According to Ya'kubi (p. 322) the eastern
quarter had been a town before the days of Hajjaj,
and here the population was for the most part
Persian. In the western quarter stood the Great
Mosque, the palace of the Governors, and the
celebrated Green Dome (the Khadrd of Wasit),
which Ibn Rusta (p. 187) states was so high that
it could be seen from Fam-as-Silh. There was also
a great mosque in the eastern quarter. The lands
round Wasit were extremely fertile, and their crops
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DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 45
provisioned Baghdad in times of scarcity. Some
idea of the richness of the Wasit District may be
gathered from the statement made by Ibn Hawkal
(p. 162), who was here in a.h. 358 (969), when
the revenue paid into the Baghdad treasury was
being collected; he says that the yearly total then
amounted to a million of Dirhams, about £40,000.
The ruins of Wasit, lying on what is now called
the Shatt-al-Hay, were examined in 1831-2 by
Messrs. Ormsby and Elliott (see Col. Chesney's
Report of the Euphrates and Tigris Expedition, I.
p. 37), but their exact position is not given. In
the accompanying map, Wasit is placed to agree
with the distances given in Kudama.
11 Ar-Rusafa — "the Causeway" — surnamed for distinction
Rusafa of Wasit, was a village or small town lying
ten leagues below Wasit, and twelve leagues above
Al-Katr (Eudama, p. 194). The next place mentioned
is Nahr Ban, which Idrisi (A. Jauber's translation,
I. 368) gives as lying half a day's journey by water
below Wasit, or a whole day's journey by land; it
would thus have been situated but a short distance
south of Ar-Rusafa. It must be noted that neither
these nor the following places on the Tigris below
Wasit are any of them marked on the present map.
Nahr Ban is the name of a small town at the head of
the Nahr or canal of the same name, which according
to Ibn Rusta (p. 184) lay on the eastern bank of the
Tigris. The name is variously spelt, Nahr Ban or
Bin, also Nahrawan and Nahr Aban, the last being
the form given by Yakut (IY. 758), who states that
it took its name from Aban, a Persian woman, to
whom the Ghosroes had granted the land in fief.
This canal is again mentioned by Ibn Serapion
(Section IX.), but it must not be confounded with
either the great Nahrawan (Section VIII.) or the
Nahr Bin of Baghdad (Section X.).
Al-Faruth is mentioned by Yakut (III. 840) as
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46 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
a large Tillage, with a market, lying on the bank
of the Tigris in the country between Wasit and
Al-Madhar. It stood, therefore, on the eastern bank.
Of Dayr-al-'Ummal, " the Monastery of the Gover-
nors " (in the singular *AmiV), apparently no mention
is made, elsewhere, sufficient to determine its position.
Al-Hawanit means "the Booths," and according
to Ibn Rusta (p. 184) both this place and Al-Katr
1 lay on the eastern bank of the Tigris. Near Al-
Hawanft (at the beginning of the 10th century
a.d.) toll-barriers were moored across the river, and
placed under the superintendence of Government
officials called Afhdb cu-Sayy&ra wa-l-Maafir—
"Masters of Travellers and Barriers" — such as
have already been mentioned as existing up the river
at Dayr-al-'Akul (see above, note 8). The descrip-
tion of these, as given in Ibn Rusta (p. 185), is as
follows: — "The toll-bar (called al-Maasir in Arabic)
is the name given to the place on the Tigris where
two boats have been moored on the one bank of
the river, opposite two other boats on the further
bank, which two likewise are firmly moored. Then
across the stream they have carried cables, their two
ends being fastened to the boats on either bank, and
these prevent ships from passing by night without
paying toll. Now at Al-Katr the Tigris divides
into three arms, which flow out into the Swamps."
The Swamps will be described in Section XIII.
[SECTION II.]
Account of the River Euphrates from its Source
to its Mouth.
The source of the River Euphrates 1 is at a spring in
Jabal Akradkhis in longitude 60° 30' and latitude 41° 20'
or 42° 20'. Flowing thence, it passes by the spur of Jabal
Misfina, in longitude 60° 20' and latitude 42° 25'. Then
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DE8CBIPTI0N OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 47
it passes the city of Kamkh and by Hisn-al-Minshar. Next,
after flowing past Malatya, 2 which is two miles distant from
its bank, it comes to the city of Hinzft, next to the city of
Sumaysat,* after which come Jisr Manbij and Balis. Next
it flows beside the city of Ar-Rakka, 4 which stands upon
the river, and then it passes Al-Mubarik, and the head
of the canal called the Nahr Sa'id. Next follow Karklsiya, 5
Ar-Rahba, Ad-Daliya, and then it passes* [between hillocks
bat not] skirting the mountain, which is called Jabal-al-
Kusus, from whence it passes on to 'Ana, 6 and the same
it surrounds, forming an island, on which stands the city.
Thence it passes to Alusa and An-Nawusa, coming next
to the city of Hit, from whence it flows by the westward
of Al-Anbar, 7 which is a city, and here there is a bridge
over the (canal of the Nahr 'Isa). Thence it passes to the
city of Al-Kufa, 8 which stands upon the river-bank. Now
between Al-Anbar and Al-Kufa there divide from the
Euphrates many great canals, and these I will describe in
what follows. After this the river passes on to a place in
longitude 71° 6' and latitude 31° 5', and thence to longitude
78° 5' and latitude 31° 30', where it falls into the Swamp.
Now when the Euphrates is in longitude 71° 5' and
latitude 31° 5' aforesaid, there is a division of its waters
into two streams ; and from here the outermost (or eastern)
stream passing onwards, flows between (the main arm of)
the river Euphrates and the Sawad (or plain) of Al-Kufa
and of Al-Basra, till finally it likewise flows out into the
Swamp near by where (the main arm of) the Euphrates
flows out.
1 To Ibn Serapion, the main stream of the Euphrates
was the branch which is now known to the Turks
as the Kara Su (Black River), but which is still
called Frat by the Arabs, and which we designate
the Western Euphrates. The mountains of Jabal
Akradkhis (no longer bearing this name) must be
* MS. corrupt, translation tentatire.
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48 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
those near Erzeroum, where the river takes its rise.
Akradkhis is not given in the Dictionaries of
Yakut or Bakri. By omitting a diacritical point,
Mas'udi (I. 214) writes the name Afradkhis, and
in his Tanbih (p. 52) Afradkhamish, adding that
the Euphrates rises in the Kallkala country, of
which mention will be made in a subsequent note
(Section IY. note 1). Kudama (p. 233), in the corre-
sponding passage, gives the name of the mountains
as Barujis. It is possible that this word Akradkhis
may be the Arab form of the native name, which
the Roman geographers gave as Caranitis.
Jabal Misfina is mentioned by Kudama (p. 233),
but by no other authority. The name is not Arab
in form, and the mountain range referred to is
apparently that lying to the north of Arzinjan, and
called Ak Dagh and Kashlsh Dagh at the present
day.
Kamkh is the city on the left or south bank of
the Euphrates, which the Greeks called Kamacha,
and which still exists. Yakut (IY. 304) says that
its inhabitants pronounce the name Eamakh, and
that it lies one day's journey from Arzinjan. It is
perhaps worth noting that in the MS. of Ibn
Serapion the name is invariably written Kamh (not
with the kh).
Hisn-al-Minshar, "the Fort of the Saw," has
apparently disappeared from the map. Yakut (IY.
661) mentions it as one of the fortresses near the
Euphrates.
2 Malatya, which the Greeks called Melitem, is still a
flourishing town, and was in early days one of the
most important of the Muslim fortresses of the
Greek frontier. The garrison, according to Bila-
dhurl (p. 187), held the military post at the bridge,
three miles distant, over the river Kubakib (see
Section III. note 5). Istakhri (p. 62), among others,
describes Malatya as a large town, having over it
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DB9CRIPT10N OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 49
one of the strongest of the frontier fortresses, and
one of the most important in the matter of both
garrison and armament.
Hinzlt, which appears to have been a place of
note in early times, is difficult to identify. Ibn
Serapion locates it near the Euphrates, between
Malatya and Sumaysat, and in this he is confirmed
by Kudama (p. 233). Ibn Serapion (see Section
IIL) speaks of one of the affluents of the Euphrates
(unnamed) as flowing past Hinzlt, and Yakut (IY.
993) counts the town as of the Greek frontiers —
by whioh a place lying to the west of the Euphrates
is evidently indicated. Further, he says, that Hinzlt
lay near Sumnin, and in other passages the same
author (III. 146, IV. 168) speaks of Sayf-ad-
Dawla, the HAmdanid prince, as passing Hinzlt in
a.h. 335 (947), when he made his expedition
against Kuluniya (query Sink Colonia). Bakri (p.
832) counts Hinzlt as of the frontier fortresses
of Mar'ash, and mentions it in connection with
Malatya and Sumaysat. In another passage (p.
495) he couples it with Kharshana (see Section III.
note 4).
These indications seem to point to some strong
place on the present Eakhta Su (possibly the
ruins near the town of Eakhta), or else Hinzlt
may be identified with Earkar (Gerger), which is
described as a magnificent Saracenic ruin occupying
a commanding position (see Bitter, X. 870, 872).
Both Eakhta and Earkar are mentioned by Abu-1-
Fida (p. 385) as castles situated near Malatya, but
neither names, I believe, occur in the works of the
earlier Arab geographers; hence the name Hinzlt
may have been replaced by one of these two in
the later Middle Ages.
* Sumaysat (not to be confounded with Shimshat), below
Hinzlt, is the well-known town which the Greeks
called Samosata. It lies north, and on the right
J.&.A.S. 1896. 4
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50 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD;
bank of the Euphrates. Mas'udi (I. 215) states
that its fortress was called £al'a-at-Tln, " the Clay
Castle/ 9 and according to Yakut (III. 151) one of
its quarters was inhabited exclusively by Armenians.
Jisr Manbij, Balis, and Ar-Rakka are all marked
on the map. The fortress of Jisr Manbij, otherwise
called Kal'a-an-Najm, " the Castle of the Star/' stood
on a hill, according to Yakut (IV. 165), which over-
looked the eastern bank of the Euphrates, where the
high road from Manbij to Harran crossed the river.
Balis is the ancient Barbalissu*, also on the western
bank of the Euphrates. Istakhri (p. 62) counts it
as the first Syrian town after crossing from Mesopo-
tamia, and he says that it was the river-port of
Syria on the Euphrates. Yakut (I. 477) remarks
that Balis, which in former times lay on the
Euphrates, in his day (13th century a.d.) stood
four miles distant from the stream, by reason of
the shifting of the course.
4 Ar-Rakka, on the left (northern) bank of the Euphrates
immediately above where the Balikh river flows in,
was counted the capital of the province of Diyar
Mudar. The name Ar-Rakka, in Arabic, is applied
to any plain beside a river that is at times covered
by the inundation, and the word occurs in many
other place-names. This Ar-Rakka occupies the
approximate site of the ancient Callinicus or Nice-
phorium. «
It is curious that Ibn Serapion should here make
no mention of Ar-Ra6ka, the town built by the
Caliph Al-Mansur in a.h. 155 (772) as a place of
garrison for his Khurasan troops. It lay close
beside Ar-Rakka, being only 300 ells distant, and
its ground-plan resembled that of Baghdad. Bila-
dhurl (pp. 179 and 297) relates the above particulars,
and says that Harun-ar-Rashld added to the town,
building many palaces, and himself lived there, pre-
ferring its climate to that of Baghdad. Yakut
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DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 51
(II. 734) states that with the rise of Ar-Raflka,
Ar-Rakka fell to ruin, so that in time the very
name even of Ar-Rakka passed to the younger city,
the whole of the intervening lands having come to
be built over and occupied by markets, which last
took the place of a shallow lake that formerly
had existed here.
Al-Mubarik is a station on the high road down the
right bank of the Euphrates, and is given by Kudama
(p. 217). He says it lay eight leagues below Ar-
Rakka, while the beginning of the Sa'id Canal was
eight leagues above Karklsiya. Nothing further is
recorded of Al-Mubarik, a name common to many
localities (see Section I. note 9), and meaning " the
Blessing." This Al-Mubarik is omitted in Yakut.
The Nahr Sa'id, which is more particularly
described in Section V. f according to Biladhuri
(pp. 179 and 332), was dug by Sa'id, son of
the Omayyad Caliph 'Abd-al-Malik, and at one time
governor of Al-Mawsil. He was a man of great
piety, and was surnamed Sa'id-al-Khayr, "the Good."
Where the canal was dug there had been originally
a thicket and swamp infested by lions; and the
reclaimed lands were granted in fief to Sa'id by
his brother, the Caliph Al-Walid.
* Karklsiya, the ancient Circesiutn, was a town of some
importance, standing at the angle formed by the
Euphrates and the inflowing river Khabur. It lay
therefore on the eastern side of the Euphrates, and,
according to Yakut (IV. 66), stood six leagues distant
from Ar-Rahba.
The remains of Ar-Rahba, "the Square," are
shown on the map, lying on the western bank of the
Euphrates. Both this place and Ad-Daliya, meaning
"the Water-wheel," were surnamed for distinction
Rahba, and Daliya of Malik-ibn-Tawk, who Bila-
dhuri states (p. 180) was a man of the Taghlib tribe,
and lived in the reign of Al-Mamun. From what
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52 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Yakut (II. 538, 764) says, Ar-Rahba and Ad-Daliya
must have stood very near each to the other, but the
distance between the two is not given.
The range of hills called Jabal-al-Kusus — a name
mentioned by no other authority, and signifying "the
Hill of the Priests" — is marked on the map above
'Ana. Hitter (XI. 711) names part of the range
Al-Muhadiya, and other heights appear now to be
called the Sultan 'Abd-Allah Hills. The reading,
however, of the MS. of Ibn Serapion in this passage
is very uncertain, and the words which are translated
"between hillocks, but not skirting the mountain,"
are emended conjecturally.
6 'Ana is still marked on the map, and represents the
ancient Anatho. Yakut (III. 595) speaks of it as
a celebrated town, having a strong castle, that over-
hung the Euphrates.
Alusa and An-Nawusa are places frequently men-
tioned in the history of the Arab Conquest (cf.
Biladhuri, p. 179). Kudama (p. 217) places Alusa
seven leagues above An-Nawusa, which last lay seven
leagues above Hit. Alusa is marked on the map
under the name of El Uz, and it appears to be
identical with the place which the ancients called
Olabus (Hitter, XI. 731). Yakut (I. 352, IV. 734)
speaks of Alusa as a small town, and adds that An-
Nawusa was one of the villages of Hit.
Hit still exists, and, according to Yakut (IY. 997),
was celebrated for its palm groves.
7 Al-Anbar, "the Granaries/' stood above,, and to the
north of where the first great canal, the Nahr 'Isa
(see Section V.), flowed off from the Euphrates to
the Tigris (cf. Kudama, p. 231). It was a mint
city, and a town of great importance in the days of
the Caliphate. In Sassanian times it was called
Flruz Sabur (Perisabor), after King Sapor, its founder,
and this name the Arabs applied to the district. The
first Abbasid Caliph, As-Saffah, for a time made Al-
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 53
Anbar his capital, and he died in the palace which
he built there. Yakut (I. 367) states that the name
Al- Anbar, "the Granaries," was derived from the
fact that of old the Persian kings stored the wheat,
barley, and straw, for the rations of their troops
in this town. The site of Al- Anbar appears to be
that marked on the modern maps by the ruins named
Sifeyra.
The anoient main-stream of the Euphrates, which
flowed down to Al-Kufa and then became lost in the
Swamps, is called Al-'Alkami by Kudama (p. 233),
and in the Tanbih (p. 52). Branching off westwards
below Musayyib from what is the present main-
stream, the old main-stream corresponds with the
channel now known as the Nabr Hindiyya, and flowed
past Al-Kufa, the ruins of which lie on its western
bank. The present main-stream of the Euphrates,
below Musayyib, is the Nahr Sura of Ibn Serapion,
which will be described in Section VI.
• Al-Kufa, the sister-city and rival of Al-Basra, was
founded by the Arabs at the time of the first
conquest of Persia, and was intended to serve as
a permanent camp on the Arab, and desert, side of
the Euphrates. It occupied an extensive plain lying
above the river-bank, and in its immediate vicinity
was the Persian city of Al-Hira. Fronting Al-Kufa
was the Bridge of Boats across the Euphrates
arm, over which, during the times of the Abbasid
Caliphate, lay the great pilgrim road running from
Baghdad southward to Mecca and Medina.
[SECTION III.]
Affluents of the Euphrates.
And since now thou art free in the matter of these two
great rivers (the Euphrates and Tigris), I will begin with
the streams which flow into the Euphrates and the streams
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54 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
which are carried from the same and run into the Tigris,
proceeding from its source to its mouth, stream by stream :
so do thou give heed to what I shall explain to thee.
Of these is a river which falls into the Euphrates, flowing
down from a mountain where its source lies in longitude
62° 20', and latitude 41° 5'. It passes the city of Hinzit
and the province thereof, falling into the Euphrates in
longitude 61° 30' and latitude 39° 20'.
There also l falls into the Euphrates a river called Arsanas,
and this is the river of Shamshat. Its source is in a
mountain in the limits of the country of Tariin. It flows by
the g&te of the city of Shamshat, and then passes near the
gate of a fortress called Hisn Ziyad, and on the banks
of this river are six other fortresses. Finally it falls into
the Euphrates about two marches above Malatya, and on
the eastern bank.
There also falls into (the Euphrates) a river called Nahr
Lukiya. 2 Its source is in Jabal Marur in the frontiers of
the country of Abrik. On its bank stands a single fortress.
Its point of junction with the Euphrates is at a point one
day's march below the city of Eamkh, but above the
mouth of the river Arsanas, and on the western bank (of
the Euphrates).
There also falls into (the Euphrates) a river called Nahr
Abrik. 8 It has a mountain extending right down to its
point of junction with the Euphrates, which lies a short
way below the mouth of the Nahr Lukiya, and likewise
on the western bank (of the Euphrates).
There also flows into (the Euphrates) a river called the
Nahr Anja. Its source is in the mountain of Abrik, a
little way above the crossing of the high road from
Malatya. It flows between mountains, and falls into the
Euphrates at a distance of five leagues below the mouth
of the Nahr Arsanas.
There also falls into (the Euphrates) a river called the
Nahr Jarjariya. 4 Its source is in the mountain of Jabal
Marur, near the fortress of Eharshana in the Greek
country. From thence it passes, traversing a long course
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 55
through plains and meadows, and falls into the Euphrates,
on its western bank, at a point ten leagues below the mouth
of the Nahr Anja.
There also falls into (the Euphrates) a river called the
Nahr Kubakib.' This is a great and mighty stream, into
which many lesser rivers flow, and these I will mention
later. The source of the Nahr Kubakib is in the interior
of the Greek country, beyond the Nahr Jayhan. Its
course is between mountains, passing by fortresses, plains,
and meadows, till finally it comes out into the Arab
dominions, falling into the Euphrates on its western bank
at a point three leagues or more below the mouth of the
river Jarjarlya. Here there crosses it a great bridge called
Kantara Kubakib.
There falls into (the Euphrates) also a river called Nahr-
al-Balikh* Its source is in the land of Harran at a
spring called 'Ayn-adh-Dhahbaniyya. It waters many
domains, hamlets, and gardens, passing by Bajadda, Hisn
Maslama, and Bajarwan. Then, after flowing round at the
back of the city of Ar-Rakka, it falls into the Euphrates
on the eastern bank of the same, below Ar-Rakka, which
is surnamed As-Sawda (the Black).
There also flow into the Euphrates, at one spot, the
waters of two rivers that have joined above (to form
one stream). One of these is called Al-Khabur, 7 and the
other Al-Hirmas. The source of the Khabur is near the
city of Ras-al-'Ayn at the spring called 'Ayn-az-Zahiriyya ;
the source of the Hirmas is in the land of Nasibin at a
place called Tur 'Abdin. Now the Hirmas is the river of
Nasibin, and in its course it waters the domains and
gardens of that city; then, leaving the cultivated lands, it
passes out to the plain. Here it meets the Khabur,
which has watered the domains of Ras-al-Ayn; and the
waters of the Khabur together with those of the Hirmas
form one stream, which flows on through the plain. It is
the Hirmas which thus flows into the Khabur, for the
chief river down to the junction of the two streams is
the Khabur. Passing on, this single stream, formed by
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56 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
the united rivers, irrigates the domains which lie to the
north of Karkislya, and finally flows into the Euphrates,
on the eastern bank near Karklsiya.
From the Hirjnas, also, there flows off a river called
Ath-Tharthar. 8 Its origin is at Sukayr-al- 'Abbas. It
passes through the midst of the plain, and runs into the
•Tigris below Takrit, after passing Al-Hadr, and cutting
through the hills called Jabal Barimma.
There also flows into (the Euphrates) a river coming down
from 'Ayn-at-Tamr., 9 It passes through the lands of the
same, and then flows on through the plain, falling into
the Euphrates, on its western bank, below the city of Hit.
1 The River of Hinzit has been noticed above (Section II;
note 2). ■
The Eastern Euphrates, which by some geographers
is considered the main source of the great river, is
given in Pliny (Nat. Hist. Bk. V. 24, Teubner's
edition) as the Arsanias Flumen, and this is evidently
identical with the Nahr Arsanas of Ibn Serapion.
The name is apparently now entirely lost, for this
stream, at the present time, is known by the Turkish
name of Murad Su (or Teh ay), being so called, it is
said, in honour of Sultan Murad IV., the conqueror
of Baghdad, in a.d. 1638. The name Arsanas,
however, is given by Yakut (I. 207), who refers
to the coldness of its waters, and by Bakri (p. 91),
who gives the pronunciation as Arasnas. It would
appear, therefore, that this name was in use from the
time of Pliny in the first century a.d. down to the
12th or 13th century a.d.
The Tarun country, where the Arsanas took its
rise, js mentioned by both Kudama (pp. 246, 251) and
Biladhurl (p. 201), The name is identical with the
Armenian Daron, which in earlier times occurs in
Strabo as Taronifas, and. in Tacitus as . Taurantium.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 57
At the present day, however, the name Tarun has
completely disappeared from the maps,
The town of Shamshat (or Shimshat) was, during
the early centuries of the Hijra, a place of much
importance; it is frequently mentioned in the his-
tories of the Arab Conquest, and in the works of the
earlier geographers. It has been suggested that the
name represents the Arsamosata of Pliny (op. tit.
Bk. YI. 9). Shamshat on the Arsanashas frequently
been confounded with Sumaysat* on the Euphrates,
a totally different town, which, as already mentioned,
is the classical Samosata. Shamshat has completely
disappeared from the maps. Its site, however, may
be fixed by the indications of Ibn Serapion (see below,
Section XVIII.) and Yakut (III. 319). Yakut pre-
feces his account by noting that this town must not
be confounded with Sumaysat. He writes that, in his
day, Shamshat was already in ruins and had but few
inhabitants; adding that the city had Khartabirt
(modern Kharput) to the west of it, and Baluya
(modern Palu) to the east, and that it was a town
of Armenia. Ibn Khurdadbih (p. 123) refers to
Shamshat as lying close to Hisn Ziyad, which fortress
Yakut (IL 276) says is identical with Khartabirt
(i.e. Kharput). The ruins of Shamshat are to be
sought for on the right or northern bank of the
Murad Su, one mile above where the Nahr-as-
Salkit (see Section IV.), the modern Peri Tchay,
flows in, and they must lie somewhere near the
village marked Pistik on Kiepert's map.
1 The river Liikiya, flowing into the Euphrates one day's
march below Kamkh, corresponds fairly with the
modern Tchalta Irmak. The name Liikiya is not
found on our maps, neither is it mentioned by any
other Arab geographer. The name is evidently not
Arabic, and it is remarkable that Pliny (op. tit. Bk.
* E.g., Bitter X. 931 ; and in many places of Janbert's translation of Idrisi,
#.*., II. 129, 137, 314. )
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58 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Y. 24) names a river Lycus as one of the affluents
of the Euphrates. Possibly this is the same stream,
which in the 10th century a.d. still preserved the
name under which it was known in classical times.
3 The Nahr Abrik is the river now called Sari-tchitchek
Su ; and the Nahr An ja corresponds with the stream
at the mouth of which is the village of Tchermik
as marked on Kiepert's map. The Castle of Abrlk
(see Section IY.) is the fortress which the Byzantines
called Tephrik& % corresponding to the modern Divrigi;
it is mentioned in the Tanbih (p. 183), and by Yakut
(I. 87), who quotes a curious description of the place,
which is said to have been a sanctuary venerated both
by the Christians and the Moslems. He spells the
name Al-Abruk.
4 The Nahr Jarjarlya is the river now called Euru Tchay.
The fortress of Eharshana is mentioned by Yakut
(II. 423) as situated at no great distance from
Malatya, in the Greek country, but no trace of it
is to be found on the present maps. Eharshana is
the place so frequently mentioned in the Byzantine
Chronicles under the name of Kharsianon Kastron.
5 The Nahr Kubakib, which is described by both Yakut
(IY. 26) and Bakri (pp. 657 and 726), is the river
of Malatya, and except for the Arsanas is by far the
most important affluent of the Upper Euphrates.
The Greeks called it the river Melas, and its present
Turkish name is the Tokhma Su. The Jayhan,
beyond which the Kubakib takes its rise, is the
ancient Pyramus, which flows out into the Mediter-
ranean in the Bay of Alexandretta. Kubakib may
mean "babbling" in Arabic, or as the plural of
Kabkab is the name given to the "wooden-clogs"
worn in the bath ; in either case the word is evidently
onomatopoeic.
6 The river Al-Ballkh is the Bilecha of the Greek
geographers; while Harran represents the ancient
CarrhcB. Yakut (II. 231) counts Harran as the
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 59
capital of the district of Diyar Mudar. According
to tradition, this was the first city built after the
Flood, and was the original home of the Sabseans,
also called the Harranians.
The spring at the source of the Ballkh, Yakut
(I. 734) names the 'Ayn-adh-Dhahbaniyya, which
name Ibn Rusta (p. 90) writes Ad-Dahmana, and
Ibn Khurdadbih (p. 175, but cf. note k for other
readings) Adh-Dhahbana. Of the three places
lying on this river, Hisn Maslama took its name
from Maslama, son of the Omayyad Caliph 'Abd-
al-Malik. Yakut (I. 734, II. 278) writes that this
fortress stood five miles from the source of the
Ballkh, nine leagues from Harran on the road to
Ar-Rakka, and about a mile-and-a-half from the
actual river-bank. From this latter point a canal
brought water to the fortress, in which Maslama had
dug a cistern, 200 ells square by 20 ells deep, lined
with stone, in order to supply the wants of the
garrison. This cistern needed only to be filled once
a year, and at other times the canal served to
irrigate the lands round Hisn Maslama. The
fortress itself covered an area of a Jarib (an Arab
land-measure equivalent to about a third of an
acre, it being a plot of land measuring 60 ells by
the like), and the walls of the fortress were of
fifty ells in height
Bajadda is described by Yakut (I. 453) as a
large village lying near Hisn Maslama, and between
Ras-al-'Ayn and Ar-Rakka. Maslama had granted
this land in fief to one of his captains, named Asid,
of the Sulaym tribe, who surrounded the place with
a wall and built the village. Springs abounded
here, and the gardens were celebrated.
Bajarwan, Yakut (I. 454) mentions as a village
of Diyar Mudar, on the Ballkh. According to
Kudama (p. 215) Bajarwan lay three leagues north-
ward of Ar-Rakka on the high road to Harran,
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60 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
which last was eleven ' leagues from Bajarwan,
while from Bajarwan it was seven leagues to Hisn
Maslama on the road to Bas-al-'Ayn in a north-
easterly direction. (For Ar-Rakka, see above,
Section II. note 4.)
7 The Khabur is the river which the Greeks called
Chaboras. The origin of the name Hirmas appears
to be unknown. The Greek geographers called
this river either Saocoras or Mygdonim. The Khabur
has kept its name to the present time, but the river
of Naslbin, the Hirmas, is now generally known as
the Jaghjagha.
The town of Ras-al-'Ayn, meaning in Arabic the
" Spring-head/ 9 bore this name long before Arab days,
being mentioned in Resaina by the Latin geographers.
The place was noted for its numerous springs, and
their waters made the surrounding country a garden.
The 'Ayn-az-Zahiriyya, by Yakut's account (II.
731, 911), was fathomless, and the stream flowing
from it was in old times sufficiently deep to carry
small pleasure-boats, in which people went from
garden to garden, and down to Karkislya. In the
13th century a.d., however, the Hirmas was no
longer navigable.
Naslbin is the Roman Nisibis, which Yakut (IV.
787) says was celebrated for its white roses and its
forty thousand gardens. It was counted the capital
of the district of Diyar Rabi'a, and is still a
flourishing town.
Tur 'Abdin, " the Mountain of (God's) Servants,"
is the hilly district still bearing this name, which is
so celebrated in the annals of the Jacobite Christians.
According to Muslim tradition (see Yakut III. 559)
Jabal Judi, a mountain of this district, was the place
where the Ark of Noah came to rest, as related in the
Kuran, chapter XI. verse 46. (For Karkislya see
above, Section II. note 5.)
. * The account of the river Ath-Tharthar is repeated below
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 6l
in Section VII. At the present day its stream is so
shrunk in volume that it no longer forms a natural
water-way between the Euphrates and the Tigris.
According to Ibn Serapion, it flowed out from the
Hirmas at Sukayr (the "little Dam" of) aPAbbas.
Yakut (III. 109), however, describes this place as a
small town on the Ehdb&r 9 where there is a mosque.
Further, both Kudaraa (p. 216) and Ibn Khurdadbih
(p. 96) likewise place Sukayr on the Khabur, and
give it as lying on the high road, fourteen leagues
from Sinjar, and eighteen leagues from Karklslya.
These distances (especially the latter) are difficult
to fit in with what is shown on the present map.
The Tharthar river must have cut through the
Sinjar mountains (the Jabal Barimma) at the gap
to the west of the town of that name ; but possibly
the point of junction of the Khabur and Hirmas
was not in the tenth century a.d. where it now is.
Yakut (I. 921) describes the bed of the Tharthar,
in his day (13th century a.d.), as running in flood
when the rains were plenteous, but in summer as
showing only pools of warm water, with here and
there brackish springs. He had himself travelled
along its course, and adds that of old, as it was
reported, boats could pass up its stream, and that
many villages lay along its banks in the midst of
well-cultivated lands.
Al-Hadr is the ancient Hatra, still standing, with
the ruins of a Parthian palace. Yakut calls it the
city of a certain As-Satiruu, adding (II. 281) that
it is built of squared stones, which form chambers,
with their roofs and doors likewise of stone. There
were originally sixty towers, with three turrets in
between each tower, and a castle stood over against
each.
Jabal Barimma, Yakut says (I. 464), is also known
as Jabal Humrin, and this is the chain of hills which
stretches across Upper Mesopotamia from west to east,
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62 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
till it reaches the mountains of Persia. Through this
chain the Tigris cuts its way at As-Sinn. The hill-
chain here spoken of is evidently that at present
called Jabal Sinjar, from the town of Sinjar, which
also gave its name to the plain referred to by Ibn
Serapion (Section VII.) . Sinjar city still exists, and
Yakut (III. 158) describes it as a fine town with
magnificent gardens that were celebrated for their
crops of dates, oranges, and lemons. It was from
this city that the famous Saljuk Sultan, Sinjar, took
his name, it having been his birth-place.
9 The town of 'Ayn-at-Tamr, meaning "the Date Spring,"
was a place of importance in the days of the first
Muslim conquest, but its site is apparently lost.
Yakut (III. 759) says that it lay near Al-Anbar, and
to the west of Al-Kufa on the borders of the Arabian
desert, but unfortunately no authority gives its
distance from either of these towns. Further, near
'Ayn-at-Tamr was a place called Shafatha, and from
both towns great quantities of sugar-cane and dates
were exported to neighbouring lands. Kudama
(p. 236) counts 'Ayn-at-Tamr as one of the six sub-
districts of the Astan, or District, of Upper Bihku-
badh, coupling it with Babil (Babylon) and other
neighbouring territories. The stream on which it
stood is apparently either the present Wadi-al-'Amlh
of Kiepert's map, or the WadI Burdan. The town
of Shafatha referred to by Yakut may be the place
marked under the name of Shethatheh on the above-
mentioned map.
[SECTION IV.]
Streams flowing into Affluents of Euphrates.
And now regarding the streams which are the affluents
of these rivers flowing into the Euphrates, they too are
great rivers, and among them are the following : —
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD, 63
Into the Nahr Ananas flows a river called the Nahr-adh-
Dhib 1 (the " Wolf River "). Its source is in a mountain
in the neighbourhood of Kallkala. It turns and passes
many fortresses, falling into the river Arsanas a short dis-
tance above the city of Shamshat.
There also flows into the Arsanas a river called As-Salkit.
Its source is in the mountains called Jabal Marur (or
Mazur). It turns passing many fortresses, and falls into
the Arsanas a little below the city of Shamshat and the
mountain near it.
Into the river Abrik flows a river called Zamra.* Its
source is in the mountain called Jabal Marur, a little above
the source of the river Luklya, and it falls into the river
Abrik a little below the Castle (of Abrik).
Into the river Jarjariya flows a river called the Nahr
Ghawth.' Its source is in a mountain in the neighbourhood
of Abrik, and it falls in the Nahr Jarjariya.
Into the river Kubakib falls a river called Karakls. 4 Its
source is in a lake in the Greek country. It passes near the
gate of Zibatra, and it falls into the Kubakib.
There also falls into the Kubakib the river called Nahr-
az-Zarbuk (or Zarnuk). Its source is in a mountain lying
between Malatya and Hisn Man§ur. It falls into the
Kubakib below the mouth of the river Karakls.
From the river Az-Zarnuk there is carried a stream called
the Nahr Malatya ; it waters various domains, and falls into
the Kubakib below (the mouth of) the river Az-Zarnuk.
From this stream are brought the water-courses of Malatya,
which, entering the city, afterwards pass forth and fall into
the Kubakib below the Bridge.
There also falls into the Kubakib a river called Jurlth
(or Hurith). 5 Its source is at (the Spring of) 'Ayn Zanitha ;
its course lies through certain lakes, and it passes near the
city of Al-Hadath, falling out into the Kubakib at a point in
the direction of this town.
Into the Jurlth (or Hurith) there falls a river called
Al-'Arjan. Its source is in the mountains of Jabal-ar-Rlsh,
and it flows into the Jurlth (or Hurith). From the river
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64 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Al-'Arjan are brought the water-courses of Al-Hadath, and
their waters flow back into the same.
1 It will be seen that Ibn Serapion has given this section,
describing the tributaries of the affluents of the
Euphrates, in duplicate (see below, Section XVIII.) ;
but since some additional information is to be found
in the second account, it has seemed worth while to
print the texts and the translations, in full.
The two tributaries of the Arsanas serve to fix the
site of Shamshat, as already stated (see Section III.
note 1). Nahr-adh-Dblb, the "Wolf River," is a
common name for streams, and there is an affluent
of the Tigris which is likewise so-called (see below,
Section VII.). This Nahr-adh-Dhib is evidently the
stream now known as the Gunek Su. Kalikala,
where it is said to rise, according to the somewhat
"vague statement of Yakut (IV. 19), was the name
by which the Arabs called the chain of mountains
in Greater, or Fourth, Armenia, and it was of the
province of Minazjird (modern Melasgird) or of Khilat
(Akhlat). Further, Ibn Serapion (MS. folio 466)
says that the river Ar-Rass (the Araxes) "has its
source in the mountain between Khilat and Kalikala,
being from the Kalikala district.'* Ibn Rusta
(p. 89) and Ibn Khurdadbih (p. 174) both confirm
this, and the latter authority gives Kalikala, also,
as the country of the head-waters of the (western)
Euphrates. The name has entirely disappeared
from the maps, but from the above Kalikala
evidently represents the mountainous district lying
between the various sources of the Eastern and
Western Euphrates and those of the Araxes.
The river Salkat (or As-Salkit), which (see Section
XVIII.) joined the Arsanas " one mile below Sham-
shat," is the stream now called Peri Tchay, with its
numerous tributaries. The statement that this
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 65
stream rises in the Jabal Marur is puzzling. By
our author's account, repeated more than once, these
mountains were in the Abrik Country, that is to
the westward of the Euphrates, while the present
passage evidently refers to the district lying
eastward of the great river, and between the two
great arms of the Eastern and Western Euphrates.
The name Marur, to my knowledge, occurs in no
other author, and I am inclined to think that the
MS. in this and the corresponding passage (Section
XVIII.) may be in error, for by the addition of a
diacritical point Marur becomes MazQr, and this,
written Mezour Dagh, is the mountain which, at
the present day, gives its name to a tributary
stream of the upper waters of the Peri Tchay.
Jabal Marur may mean "the Mountain of the
Passage,' 1 while Maziir is a name applied to any
place "visited" by pilgrims.
* The tributary of the Abrik, called Zamra, is probably
the modern Miram Tchay, which flows into the Sari
Tchitchek SO, a little below Divrigi, "the Castle of
Abrik," mentioned in the text and referred to in
Section III. note 3. A place called Zimarra is
marked on Kiepert's map at this spot.
8 The Nahr Ghawth must be the tributary stream shown
on the map as flowing from the northward past the
Tillage of Mirlabey into the Euru Tchay, the Jarja-
riya of our author.
4 The tributaries of the Eubakib (the ancient Melas and
the present Tokma Su) are of importance, since they
give us the sites of two places of much note in early
days, namely, Zibatra and Al-Hadath. The Nahr
Karakis, on which stood Zibatra, is evidently the
present Sultan Su, and Zibatra itself I feel inclined
to identify with the remains now called Viran Shahr,
"the Ruined City" (see Ritter, X. 850). Zibatra was
a frontier fortress of great importance in mediaeval
times. According to Biladhuri (p. 191) it was an
j.e.a.8. 1895. 5
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66 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
ancient Greek fortress: possibly it may be identical
with Sosopetra, which is, I believe, mentioned in the
Byzantine Chronicles. Biladhuri tells us that it was
conquered at the same time as Al-Hadath (see below,
note 5), that it was rebuilt by the Caliph Ai-
Mansur, after having been destroyed during an
incursion of the Greeks; later on it was strongly
fortified by Al-Mamun, and since that date had been
dismantled and refortified several times over. Abu-
1-Fida (p. 234), who had visited Zibatra in a.h. 715
(1315), describes it as a ruin, of which only the line
of the walls remained : — " Its fields are all wasted ;
it lies in a plain surrounded by mountains, and the
vegetation grows close up to its walls. It stands
two marches southward of Malatya, and the same
distance westward of Hisn Mansur." Kudama (p. 97)
states that from Malatya to Zibatra was five leagues,
and thence on to Al-Hadath it was four leagues.
The river that flows by Malatya (see also Section
XVIII.) is called Nahr-az-Zarnuk or Az-Zarbuk by
Ibn Serapion, for both these readings are given in
the MS., and I have been unable to find the name
in any other authority. This stream, whose waters
irrigated the plain round the city (see Hitter, X.
851) is now known as the Shakma Su.
Hisn Mansur, now more often called Adiaman, lies
immediately to the north of Sumaysat. According
to Biladhuri (p. 192) this fortress took its name from
a certain Mansur ibn Ja'wana, who commanded some
troops here, and rebuilt the fortifications in the days
of Marwan II., the last Omayyad Caliph. Harun-ar-
Bashid restored the buildings, and Istakhrl (p. 62)
describes it as a small fortified town with a Friday
Mosque.
5 The site of Al-Hadath and the streams on which it lay,
are difficult to identify. Al-Hadath was conquered
by the Muslims in the reign of 'Omar ; and Biladhuri
(p. 189) states that the name was originally Darb-aU
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 67
Sadat h-as-Saldma, that is " the Road of the News of
Safety." This, in course of time, was shortened to
Al-Hadath, meaning " the News " (of Safety), and
held as of good augury. The town was rebuilt by the
Caliph Al-Mahdi, and again later by Ar-Rashld, when
its garrison was fixed at 2,000 men. Istakhri (p. 62)
mentions its arable fields and excellent fruit-trees, and
relates how this frontier-fortress was taken and re-
taken alternately by the Greeks and Muslims. Yakut
(II. 218) speaks of the town, with its strong castle,
as lying between Malatya, Sumaysat, and Mar'ash.
It was surnamed Al-Hamra, "the Red,' 9 and its
Castle crowned a hill called Al-Uhaydab. Dimashki
(pp. 208, 214) says that Al-Hadath, on being rebuilt
by Al-Mahdi, took the name of Al-Muhammadiyya,
after that Caliph, being called by the Armenians
Eaytuk. Abu-1-Fida (p. 263) states that this Castle
stood twelve miles distant from a point on the river
Jayhan (the Pyramus), where this stream was crossed
at "the Ford of the Alide." Ibn Khurdadbih (p. 97)
writes that between Al-Hadath and Mar ( ash was a
distance of thirty miles, but Kudama (p. 216) gives it
as five leagues, or about fifteen miles.
Turning now to the rivers of Al-Hadath, the
name of the Nahr Jurlth is very clearly so written
by Ibn Serapion, i.e. with an initial j\ Yakut (IV.
838), however, gives the name as Hurith, placing
it among the Hs in his alphabetical list, and, as
usual, specifying the exact pronunciation. He goes
on to state that the river Hurith " flows out of the
Lake of Al-Hadath, near Mar'ash/' but adds (and
I believe in error) that "flowing on, it finally
falls into the Nahr Jayhun," the Pyramus, which
runs to the Mediterranean. The spring of 'Ayn
Zanitha and the tributary Nahr-al-'Arjan, flowing
down from the mountains of Jabal-ar-Rish, are
none of them, to my knowledge, mentioned by any
other authority. On an examination of the map,
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68 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
the only tributary of the Tokhraa Su, which at all
satisfies the requirements of the case, is the Gurun
Su (see Hitter, X. 841), on which lies Gurun, an
important town, in Byzantine days called Qauraina,
at or near which I am inclined to place Al-Hadath.
The Gurun SO I conclude to be the mediaeval Jurlth
or Hurith, and the 'Arjan would be one of its
tributaries, possibly that now called the Inja Su.
[SECTION V.]
Account of the Canals which akb brought prom (the
Euphrates or Tigris), and which flow back into
(the same or other River).*
From the Euphrates is taken (the canal called) the Nahr
Sa'id. 1 Its origin is just below the Dome (Al-Eubba),
which is called Fam (or Mouth of the) Nahr Sa'id. It
flows watering the domains which lie to the west of the
Euphrates, and, passing on, next irrigates the domains of
Ar-Rahba, and then falls into the Euphrates on the
western bank, and above Daliya of Malik ibn T& w k, after
various canals have branched from it, which water the
domains of Daliya aforesaid.
From the Tigris is taken a canal called Dujayl. 2 Its
beginning is a league or more above the village of Ar-
Rabb. Then it passes cross-wise, and from it branch
many canals which water the domains of Maskin and
Katrabbul, and the hamlets pertaining thereto, and finally
it falls into the Tigris between 'Ukbara and Baghdad.
From the Euphrates is taken a canal called the Nahr 'Isa. 8
Its beginning is in longitude 68° 50' and latitude 32° 20'.
At its head is a wonderful bridge, called Eanfara Dimimma,
Dimimma being the name of a village lying on the
* The Arabic is ambiguous, but this, from what follows, is evidently the
sense.
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DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 69
Euphrates and on the canal. The canal passes on, with
running waters, and irrigates the districts of Firuz Sabur,
flowing by villages and domains which lie on both its banks.
When it reaches Al-Muhawwal the canals of the City of
Peace (Baghdad) branch from it, but these we will detail
later. From Al-Muhawwal it passes to Al-Yasiriyya, and
here there crosses it the bridge called Kantara-al-Yasiriyya.
Thence it passes through the midst of (the district of)
Baduraya, which lies (mostly) to the eastward of it Thence
it passes to Ar-Rumiyya, and there is here a bridge over it
called Kantara-ar-Kumiyya. Thence it passes to (the Place
of the Oil-sellers, called) Az-Zayyatin [and here there is
a bridge over it called by the same name] *; and thence to
the Place of the Sellers of Alkali (Ushnan), where over
it is a bridge called Kantara-al-Ushnan. Thence it passes
to the Place of the Sellers of Thorns (Shawk), where over
it is a bridge called the Kantara-ash-Shawk ; from thence
to the Place of- the Sellers of Pomegranates (Rumman),
where over it is a bridge called the Kantara-ar-Rumman.
Thence it goes to (the bridge called) Kantara-al-Maghld,
and. (the place called) Al-Maghld. Then it passes to
Kantara-al-Bustan (the Garden Bridge) ; then to (the
bridge called) Kantara-al-Ma'badI ; next to (another called)
Kantara Bani Zurayk, and finally falls into the Tigris on
its western bank, below (the palace called) £asr 'Isa-ibn*
Musa, of the City of Peace (Baghdad).
From the Euphrates also is taken the canal called the
Nahr Sarsar. 4 Its origin is three leagues below the village
of Dimimma. It is a great canal, with running waters, and
the lands (adjacent) are irrigated from it by means of the
(water-wheel called) Daliya and the (lever called) Shaduf.
Over it is a Bridge-of-Boats (Jisr), and there are domains
and villages (on its banks) * It passes through part of (the
District of) Baduraya, and finally flows into the Tigris, on its
western bank, between Baghdad and Al-Madain, and at a
point four leagues above Al-Madain.
• Supplied from Yafc*t, IV. 842.
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70 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
From the Euphrates also ie taken a canal called the Nahr-
al- Malik. 5 Its point of origin is five leagues below the head
of the Nahr Sarsar. It is a canal that has along it numerous
domains and fertile lands. There is also a Bridge-of-Boats
over it; and further many villages and fields (along its
banks). From it branch numerous other canals, and its
lands form a District of the Sawad. Finally it flows out
into the Tigris on its western bank, three leagues below
Al-Madain.
From the Euphrates also is taken a canal called the Nahr
Kutha. 6 Its point of origin is three leagues below that
of the Nahr-al-Malik. It is a canal watering numerous
domains and villages. There is a Bridge-of-Boats over it,
and from it branch other canals, irrigating the District of
Kutha — which is of the province of Ardashir Babakan— also
part of the District of Nahr Jawbar. After passing by
Kutha Rabba, it finally flows out into the Tigris on its
western bank, ten leagues below Al-Madain.
1 The canal of Sa'id has been described in Section II.
note 4.
The word Daliya, in Arabic, besides meaning " a
grape-vine/ 9 or " bunch of grapes," is also the name
for " a water-wheel," being the synonym of N&'ura.
This last is the more common term for these in-
struments of irrigation, and under the plural form
of An-Nawa'ir this occurs as a place-name (see
Section VI.)
* The Dujayl, or "Little Tigris," is the name given to
the canal above Baghdad, on the right or western
bank of the Tigris, whose waters irrigate the district
called Maskin, which lies immediately to the north
of the Katrabbul district The village of Ar-Babb is
not, I believe, mentioned by any other geographer.
According to Yakut (II. 555) the Dujayl Canal
begins opposite Al-Kadislya. Its course may still
be traced on the modern maps.
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DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 71
* The Nahr 'Isa is the first of the four great canals
which carry the surplus waters of the Euphrates
into the Tigris, and irrigate the intervening lands,
called the Sawad (or " black " alluvial plain) of lower
Mesopotamia. The Nahr 'Isa left the Euphrates
immediately below Al-Anbar, and so much of its
waters as was not diverted by the Sarat — and the.
other minor canals, which branched from its left
bank — flowed out at last into the Tigris some
distance below Baghdad at a place known as Al-
Farda, "the Harbour" (see Ta'kubl, p. 250). In
general the Nahr 'Isa followed the line of the
modern Saklawiyya Canal. Dimimma is described by
Yakut (II. 600) as a large village on the Euphrates
near the hamlet of Al-Falluja; and these two villages
with Al-Anbar were the chief places of the district of
Flruz Sabur, the Perisabor of the Greek geographers
(see Section II. note 7). The whole of this section of
Ibn Serapion has been copied almost verbatim by
Yakut (IV. 842).
Al-Muhawwal, meaning the " Place of Unloading/ 9
is described by Yakut (IV. 432) as a fine township,
one league distant from Baghdad, and celebrated for
its gardens and markets. The name AUMahavcwal
is explained by the account in Ibn Hawkal (p. 166),
who says that ships could float unimpeded down the
Nahr 'Isa from the Euphrates to the Tigris, but
that, by reason of the bridges and weirs, their
cargoes had to be "unloaded" into small boats in
order to pass into the Sarat, the canal (see Section
XI.) which branched from the Nahr 'Isa, im-
mediately below Al - Muhawwal, and flowed into
Baghdad.
The District of Baduraya is described by Yakut
(I. 460) as comprising the lands lying to the
westward of Baghdad. It is divided, he says, from
the Katrabbul District by the Canal of the Sarat,
the lands to the west (and north) of this being
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73 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Katrabbul, while Baduraya is to the east (and
south) of this canal.
In regard to the various bridges over the Nahr
'Isa, Yakut gives particulars of the following. The
Yasiriyya (IY. 1002) was called after a man named
Yasir, and the village of this name lay about one
mile from Al-Muhawwal, and two miles from
Baghdad, on the canal bank. It was famous for
its gardens. Ibn Hawkal (p. 165) mentions the
gate called Bab-al- Yasiriyya as marking the wester-
most limit of Baghdad, adding that formerly five
miles of streets intervened between this point and
the Khurasan Gate to the north-east, which lay at
the boundary of the Eastern quarter of the city,
on the Persian side of the Tigris (see Section XI.
note 1). Ushndn, Yakut (I. 284) says, is the
substance (alkali) used for washing clothes, and he
adds that the bridge of this name was a well-known
quarter of Western Baghdad. The bridge of Ash-
Shawk is noticed in like terms (IY. 191). Here
dwelt the clothes - merchants (Al-Bazzazun) and
other hucksters. Kantara - al - Maghid means the
Bridge of "the Place which-lacks- water," but is
not otherwise, specified. Kantara-al-Ma'badI, Yakut
says (IY. 191), was called after a certain 'Abd-
Allah ibn Muhammad Al-Ma'badi, who possessed
fiefs here, and built this bridge, with a mill and a
palace (Dar) which were all called after him.
These buildings afterwards came into the possession
of Muhammad Az-Zayyat (the Oil-man), who was
Wasir of the Caliph Al-Wathik. The Bridge of
the Bani Zurayk is described (IY. 190) as having
been built of marble. The family of Zurayk were
celebrated architects, and of Persian origin.
The great Nahr Isa was named after an 'Abbaaid
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DESCHIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD, ?3
Prince whom Ibn Serapion calls Ibn (son of) Miisa,
but whom all other authorities call Ibn 'All, This
canal was, however, far more ancient than Arab
times, and its upper portion, according to Kudama
(p. 234), was originally called Ad-Dakll, while its
lower reach was apparently known as the Nahr
Rufayl (compare Yakut, IV. p. 839, with pp. 117
and 190 of the same volume). In regard to the
Prince 'lea, who re-dug this canal, and whose palace
stood just above its point of junction with the Tigris,
if he be called 'Isa-ibn-Musa (as in the text of Ibn
Serapion), he was nephew to the Caliph Al-Man§ur,
founder of Baghdad, who at one time appointed him
to be his successor in the Caliphate. This 'lea was
governor of Al-Ahwaz and Al-Kufa, at which latter
city he died, after having been ousted from his right
to the succession by Al-Mansur, who proclaimed his
own son, Al-Mahdi, heir-apparent in his stead. It
seems likely, however, that Ibn Serapion has here
made a mistake, and that it was 'Isa, son of 'All, and
uncle of the Caliph Al-Mansur, who (as all other
authorities concur in stating) was the person from
whom the Nahr 'Isa took its name. Yakut (IY. 117)
says that his palace (Ka§ r) was the first of those built
by the 'Abbasids, during the reign of Al-Mansur,
after Baghdad had been founded; and though no
traces of it remained in the thirteenth century a.d.,
a great quarter of the city, with its markets and
streets, was still known as the Kasr 'lea. Apparently
this palace had changed its name in a.h. 278 (891),
when Ya'kubi wrote his description of Baghdad, for
the only palaces he mentions (p. 245) at this point
are those of 'Isa and Ja'far, grandsons of Al-Mansur,
their sister, Zubayda, being the famous wife of
Harun-ar-RashlcL The following table makes clear
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74 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
the relationships of the various 'Isas. The capital
roman numerals indicate the 'Abbasid Caliphs.
'Ali,
Grandson of Al- 'Abbas
(from whom the 'Abbasids took their name),
who was Uncle of the Prophet Muhammad.
Ja<
'Isa-ibn-'Ali.
Muhammad.
i
I. As- Sap ah.
i
II. AL-MAxsihu
1
Musa.
Ja'far.
1
III. Al-Mahdi.
1
•isa-ibn-MnBa,
far. 'Isa. Zubaydc
i«V. Habun-ab-Kashid.
IT. Al-Hadi.
4 The beginning of the Nahr Sarsar followed the line
of the modern Abu Ghurayb Canal. The Bridge-of-
Boats mentioned was at the point where the great
pilgrim high road, from Baghdad to Al-Kufa, crossed
the canal, namely, according to Ibn Rusta (p. 182)
at a point ten miles south of Baghdad. Here stood
the town of Sarsar at no great distance from the
Tigris bank, to judge from the account in Yakut
(I. 768). The water-wheels called Daliya have been
mentioned above (Section V. note 1) ; the Shad Of is
described by E. Lane in his Modern Egyptians
(Chapter XIV.), where an illustration will be found
representing it. Here, and in the following pages,
the word Jur is always translated "Bridge-of-Boats,"
while Kantara is rendered by " Bridge," and implies
an arched structure of masonry.
• The Nahr-al-Malik, "The King's Canal," dates from
very ancient times, and under the name of Nahar~
malcha is frequently mentioned by the classical
historians. Yakut (IY. 846) reports that tradition
assigned its digging either to Solomon or Alexander.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 75
Roughly speaking, it followed the line of the modern
Radhwaniyya Canal. The B rid ge-of- Boats crossed it,
on the Baghdad KG fa high road, at the town, likewise
called Nahr-al-Malik, and according to Ibn Rusta
(p. 182) this lay seven miles distant from the Sarsar
bridge. The town of Nahr-al-Malik, Ibn Hawkal
(p. 166) states, was larger by a half than the town
of Sarsar ; both districts were famous for their corn-
lands and datd-palms.
• The Nahr Kutha is represented by the line of the
modern Habl Ibrahim. The city of Kutha dates
from biblical days, for in II. Kings, xvii. 24, there
is mention made of Cuthah, one of the important
places near Babylon. According to Muslim tradition
Kutha is the place where Abraham was thrown into
the fire by the tyrant Nirarod (see G. Weil, Biblische
Legenden der Muselmdnner, p. 74) ; and Yakut (IV. 317)
asserts that Kutha, who dug this canal, was the grand-
father of Abraham. Ibn Hawkal (p. 168) states that
Kutha consisted of two cities called respectively
Kutha-at-Tarlk, " of the road/ 9 and Kutha Rabba,
which latter was a city larger than Babil (Babylon).
He adds : — " Here are great mounds of ashes which,
they say, are those of the fire made by Nimrod, son
of Canaan, into which he threw Abraham, the Friend
of God." Mukaddasi (p. 121), repeating the above,
adds that near the high road might be seen a building
resembling a minaret (or tower) about which the
people related many strange legends. The site of
Kutha is still marked by the mound called Tell
Ibrahim, " the Hill of Abraham." The Bridge-of-
Boats, mentioned by Ibn Serapion, lay on the Baghdad
Kufa high road, and it was four miles, according to
Ibn Rusta (p. 182), below the town of Nahr-al-Malik.
The point where the Kutha canal joined the Tigris
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76 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
(stated to have been ten leagues below Al-Madain)
would bring it out nearly opposite Dayr-al-'Akul
(see Section I. note 8). The canal of Nahr Jawbar
is mentioned incidentally by Yakut (I. 324 and II.
141), and in Kudama (p. 236) Nahr Jawbar is given
as one of the five districts of the rich province (Astan)
of Ardashlr Babakan, which last was called after the
founder of the Sassanian monarchy, whom the Greeks
knew as Artaxerxes, son of Babek.
[To 1* eontinu^d,']
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JOURNAL
THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.
Art. I. — Description of Mesopotamia and Baghdad, written
about the year 900 ad. by Ibn Serapion. The Arabic
Text edited from a MS. in the British Museum Library,
with Translation and Notes. By Guy lb Strange.
{Continued from pag$ 76.)
[SECTION VI.]
Canals of the Lower Euphrates.
Now six leagues after the Nahr Kutha has been led off
from the Euphrates, this last divides into two branches. 1
Of these the (true) Euphrates passes on down to (the town
called) Kantara-al-Eufa, then it runs past the city of Al-
Kufa, where there is a Bridge-of-Boats over it. And after
this it flows into the Swamps.
The other branch (of the River) is also a mighty stream,
which is greater even than the Euphrates itself and more
broad. 2 This is the channel called the Upper Sura Canal.
It passes by many villages and domains, and from it branch
numerous canals which water the Districts of Sura, Bar-
blsama, and Barusma. It passes in front of the city of
Kasr Ibn Hubayra, and between it and the town is less
j.k.a.8. 1895. 17
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256 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
than a mile of distance. Here there is a Bridge-of-Boats
over the same, which is called the Jisr Sura.
From the (Upper SGra) is brought (a canal) called the
Nahr Abu Raha. Its beginning is at a place one league
above the city of the Kasr, and it falls into the Sura again
one league below Kasr (Ibn Hubayra).
The Nahr Sura runs on past the town of the Kasr for
a distance of six leagues, and then there is taken from it a
canal called the Lower Sura. At the head of this canal
there is a great bridge called the Kantara-al-Kamighan,
and the water pours through it with a mighty rush. This
canal next passes by villages and cultivated lands, and from
it branch numerous channels which water the districts of
Babil, 3 of Khutarnlya, of Al-Jami'an (the Two Mosques),
and of Upper and Lower Al-Falluja. Now the (Lower
Sura) Canal passes through the ruins of the city of Babil,
and afterwards by the (town of the) Two Mosques (Al-
Jami'an), the New and the Old, and then it comes to
Hamdabad and Khutarnlya and it passes Kussln. From
here there branch from it the channels which water the
Districts of Junbula and those that lie adjacent thereto.
Finally, some way below Al-Kufa and it its Sawad (or
Plain) the (Lower Sura) falls into the canal which is
brought from the Euphrates, and which is called Al-Badat. 4
From the Lower Sura, aforesaid, is taken a canal called
the Nahr-an-Nars. 5 Its beginning is at the Old Jami'
(Mosque). It flows by villages and domains, and from it
divide the channels which irrigate the Sawad of Al-Kufa,
or some part thereof. It passes by Al-Harithiyya and by
Hammam 'Omar. Now from the bridge of Al-Kamighan to
the head of the canal of An-Nars is six leagues, and from
the head of the Nars Canal to Hammam 'Omar is likewise
six leagues. Finally, the canal of An-Nars falls out into the
canal of Al-Badat, in the Sawad of Al-Kufa, which lies to
the eastward of the Euphrates.
Then after the Upper Sura has passed the bridge of Al-
Kamighan it receives the name of the Great Sarat, 6 and it
flows near Al-'Akr and by (many) villages and domains.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 257
After passing Sabarnltha there branch from it the channels
which water the domains lying to the west of the canaL
From it also is taken a canal called the Nahr Sarat Jamas.
Its point of origin is at (the waterwheels called) An-Nawa'ir,
whence it flows, irrigating the domains in those parts, and
finally rejoins the Great Sarat at a point three leagues below
the city of An-Nll. 7 The Great Sarat itself flows past the
city of An-Nil, and there is here a bridge over it called
Kantara-al-Masi. After the canal has passed this bridge it
takes the name of (the Canal of) An-Nll. It flows next by
Tillages and cultivated lands to a place called Al-Hul, be-
tween which and (the town of) An-Nu'maniyya, on the
bank of the Tigris, is less than a league's distance, and
from this point they transport (goods to other boats) on the
Tigris. But the canal (of An-Nll) turns off here, and passes
towards Nahr Sabus, which is the name of a village lying on
the Tigris bank ; and the (canal) takes here the name of the
Nahr Sabus, flowing out into the Tigris one league below the
village (of Nahr Sabus).
These, therefore, are the streams which flow into, and are
derived from, the river Euphrates, and these having now
been described, there remains over for thee the specification
of the streams which fall into, and are derived from, the
Tigris. And these I will also explain clearly to thee, if it
please Allah. May He be exalted !
1 The distances here given agree very fairly with the
point on the modern map where the Hindiyya Canal,
by Ibn Serapion regarded as the main stream of the
Euphrates (see Section II. note 7), branches from the
Sura arm, which, in his day, was the name given
to part of what is the present main channel of the
Euphrates. On the Western or Kufa arm lay the
town of Al-Kantara (the Bridge), where one of the
roads from Baghdad to Al-KQfa crossed the stream.
This place, according to Ibn Rusta (p. 182), who names
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238 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
the town under the plural form of the word, viz. Al-
Kanatir, lay twenty-seven miles southward of the
Bridge-of-Boats at Sura, and twenty-eight miles
above the city of Al-Eufa. The town of Al-Eantara,
or Al-Kanatir, is, I presume, the place which Yakut
(IV. 180) names Eanatir of the Bani Dara, for dis-
tinction. The city of Al-Eufa has already been
noticed (Section II. note 8).
8 The eastern arm of the Euphrates, and its present main-
channel, was formerly called the Nahr Sura, a name
which in Ibn Rusta always appears under the older
form of As-Suran. This canal irrigated the Sura
district, which, according to Eudama (p. 236),
together with Barbisama and Barusma, formed part
of the great province (or Astan) of Middle Bihkubadh.
The city of Easr Ibn Hubayra lay on the Baghdad-
Eufa high-road, and according to Ibn Rusta (p. 182)
it was fifteen miles south of Eutha, and two miles
. above the Bridge-of-Boats over the Sura Canal. The
ruins of Easr Ibn Hubayra are identified by M. de
Goeje (Z.D.M.G. XXXIX. 6) with those now called
Tubayba. Ibn Hawkal (p. 166) writes that in his
day (tenth century a.d.) Easr Ibn Hubayra was the
largest town between Baghdad and Al-Eufa, and one
of the most populous places of the Sawad District.
It took its name from the Castle or Palace (Easr)
built here by Yazir-ibn-'Omar Ibn Hubayra, governor
of Al-'Irak, under Marwan II., the last Omayyad
Caliph. This castle, according to Yakut (IV. 123),
Ibn Hubayra never finished, but after the fall of the
Omayyads, the first of the Abbasid Caliphs, As-
Saflah, taking up his residence here, proceeded to
roof the chambers and enlarge the half-finished
buildings, to which he gave the name of Al-Hashi-
miyya, in honour of his ancestor Hashim. The
people, however, preferred the old name, and Easr
Ibn Hubayra it continued to be called.
The Canal of Abu Raha (meaning probably " the
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 259
Canal of the Mill," unless Abu Raha be taken as
a man's name), is apparently mentioned by no other
authority; and the same remark applies, I believe,
to the Bridge of Kamighan, where the Upper Sura
Canal bifurcated, forming the Lower Sura and the
Qreat Sarat. In general terms the Upper and Lower
Sura correspond with what is now the course of the
Euphrates from Musayyib to Lamlun, while the Sarat
is the present Shatt-an-Nll.
3 Babil (the ancient Babylon), Ehutarniya, and the two
Fallujas (not to be confounded with the Al-Falluja
near Al-Anbar) were four out of the six districts of
the Province of Upper Bihkubadh, according to
Kudama (p, 236). Al-Jami'an,» "the Two Mosques,"
is what subsequently came to be known as Al-Hilla,
called for distinction Hilla of the Bani Mazyad.
Yakut (III. 861) says that the river at Al-Hilla
was the Nahr Sura, and at another place (II. 322)
he relates how Al- Jami'an came to be called Al-Hilla,
" the Settlement," for it appears that Sayf-ad-Dawla
of the Bani Mazyad, fleeing hither with his people
for refuge in a.h. 495 (1102), his descendants after
his days " settled " permanently at this place.
Hamdabad is mentioned in Mas'udi (I. 215) as
Ahmadabad, but no details are given. Kussin is
written Kissln in Yakut (IV. 100), who states that
it is a district of Al-Kufa ; and he mentions Junbula
(II. 126) as a station lying between Wasit and Al-
Kufa, " from whence you go to Kanatir of the Bani
Dara" (see above, note 1).
4 The point where the Canal of Al-Badat leaves the
Euphrates is unfortunately not fixed by Ibn Serapion.
Yakut (I. 770, II. 31) and some other authorities
give the pronunciation as Al-Budat, but this is
probably incorrect. Kudama (p. 236) mentions
Al-Badat as a sub-district of the Astan of Middle
* Dual form of Jam**, a Congregational-Mosque for the Friday Prayers.
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260 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Bihkubadh ; and M. de Goeje gives good reasons
(Z.D.M.G. XXXIX. 12) for thinking that, while the
total length of this canal was about 22 leagues, the
place where it left the Euphrates main-channel
was at a short distance south (and west) of the
Sura Bridge. Below Niffar doubtless it finally
flowed out into the Swamps.
a The digging of the Nahr-an-Nars, Yakut (IV. 773)
ascribes to Narsi-ibn- Bahrain, that is to the Sassanian
Narses, son of Varahran, King of Persia, who came
to the throne in 292 a.d. It was, Yakut writes,
a canal taken from the Euphrates, and on its banks
lay many villages; no mention, however, is made
of Al-Harithiyya in this position. Hammam 'Omar
is mentioned by Mukaddasi (p. 134), who, however,
gives the name as the Bath of Ibn 'Omar; it lay
one march below Kasr Ibn Hubayra and a like
distance above Al-Kufa. The line of the Nars Canal
beginning at Hilla, is fixed by the town of Niffar,
whose ruins still exist, and which Yakut (IV. 798)
says lay on its bank.
6 The line of the canal called the Great Sarat, with its
continuation, the Nil Canal, is (as already mentioned)
marked on the modern map by the Shatt-an-Nil,
and the ruins of the city of An-Nll also exist
(see below, Note 7). The Sarat Jamas is that which
Biladhuri (p. 254) and YSkut (III. 379) call the
Sarat of Jamasb, and which was dug ♦ by Hajjaj,
the celebrated Governor of Al-'Irak, under the
Omayyads. Jamasb, or, in Persian, Jamasp, is the
name of the great Mobed, or Fire-priest, who was
Minister of King Gushtasp, and who helped to
introduce the religion of Zoroaster into Persia.
Why a canal should be called after him in Meso-
potamia is not stated.
The village of Al-'Akr, meaning " the Palace," is
probably that mentioned by Yakut (III. 695) as of
the Babil district, lying on the road towards Karbala,
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 261
and which Al-Husayn, the Prophet's grandson,
passed by as he went to the place of his martyrdom.
Sabarnitha the same author mentions (III. 359) as
of the Kufa District and on the Upper Sib Canal,
by which name, apparently, part of the Nil Canal was
known in the thirteenth century a.d.
7 The city of An-Nii, according to Biladhurl (p. 290),
was founded by the Governor Hajjaj, and made the
chief town of the province when he dug the Nil
CanaL Yakut (IV. 861) says that the canal was
named after the Nile of Egypt, which it was sup-
posed to resemble. I believe that no other authority
mentions the bridge called the Kantara-al-Masi. It
is perhaps worth noting that, according to Abu-1-Fida
(p. 53), it was the reach of the canal below (not
above, and west of) the city of An- Nil, which in
his day bore the name of As-Sarat.
Al-Hiil, or Al-Hawl, near An-Nu'maniyya, is
not mentioned by any other authority. As will be
explained below (Section XIIL note 1), this name
is applied to a place where a canal spreads out to
form a lake of clear water, free from reeds. The
Tillage of Nahr Sabus, on the canal of this name,
has been already mentioned (Section I. note 9).
From Yakut (II. 903) we learn that in his day
(thirteenth century a.d.) the Nil Canal, from the
town of An-Nli to opposite An-Nu'maniyya, was
known as the Upper Zab Canal, while the Lower
Zab Canal was what Ibn Serapion here calls the
Nahr Sabus.
[SECTION VII.]
Affluents of the Tigris.
Among these is a stream called Nahr-adh-Dhib, l and it
flows into the Tigris. Its source is in a mountain in
longitude 68° 30', and in latitude 39° 5'. Coming down
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262 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
from the district of Arzan, it falls into the Tigris under
longitude 68° 20', and latitude 36° 30'.
There also flows into the (Tigris) a river called [Fafan].* 2
Its source is at a spring in a mountain under longitude
49° 5', or 69° 5', and latitude 39° 20'. Its junction
with the Tigris is in longitude 69° 55' (or 15'), and
latitude 36° 30'.
There also falls into the (Tigris) the river called Basanfa. 5
Its source is in the country of Mayafarikfn, and it falls into
the Tigris on its eastern bank, five leagues above the town
of Jazira-Ibn-'Omar.
There likewise falls into the (Tigris) the (two) rivers
called Az-Zab. 4 The source of one of them is in a mountain
under longitude 71° 30', and latitude 38° 30'. It falls into
the Tigris on its eastern bank, under longitude 69° 30',
and latitude 35° 30'. The second Az-Zab has its source in
longitude 72° 5', and latitude 38° 5', and it falls into the
Tigris, on its eastern bank, under longitude 69° 40', and
latitude 35° 5'.
There also falls into the (Tigris) a river called Ath-
Tharthar. It flows out from the river Al-Hirmas, which
is the river of Naslbin; and passing on it cuts through
a mountain which lies across its course. Thenoe flowing
through the plain it passes Al-Hadr, and on through the
plain of Sinjar. Finally it falls into the Tigris, on the
western bank of the same, at a distance of two leagues
above the city of Takrit.
Now [below] t the Fortress of Hisn Kayfa, 5 there also
flows into the (Tigris) [the river called Sarbatf], but we
need not describe it; also (the river) Satidamad, but this
neither do we need to describe.
1 Nahr-adh-Dhfb, " the Wolf River," is evidently the
stream now called Arzan Su, on which lie the ruins of
• Conjectural reading, MS. Fafaa or Falfas.
f Conjectural emendations.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 263
the city of Arzan. This town must not be confounded
with Arzan-ar-Rum or Erzeroum. Yakut (III. 68),
who does not mention this Nahr-adh-Dhlb, calls
the river of Arzan the Wadl-as-Sarbat, and the
same name is given to it in a note to the text of
Istakhri (p. 76, note k) ; where Arzan is described
as a city without walls, but defended by a strong
castle. Yakut (I. 205) counts this town as of
Armenia, but says that in his day (thirteenth century
a.d.) it was already a ruin.
* In the MS. this name is written without diacritical
points on the third letter, which may therefore be
either / or *, Fafas or Fakas. Neither of these
names, however, occur in any of our authorities,
and I am inclined to believe that Fafan (as printed
in my text) is the true reading. The spring
called 'Ayn-Tall-Fafan is mentioned by Mukaddasi
(pp. 141, 145), who gives this river the name of
Razm. The town of Tall- Fafan lay between the
Tigris and this river, and was noted for its gardens,
its cheap food, and good markets. The houses were
built of sun-dried bricks. From the description of
Yakut (II. 552, 773, III. 845) it is evident that
the river of Fafan, which he names (following
Mukaddasi) the Wadi-ar-Razm, is the Buhtan Su
of our maps, often called the Eastern Tigris— of
which one tributary is the river from Bitlis. The
waters of the Razm (Yakut writes) so increase the
stream of the Tigris as to make it navigable for
boats below Fafan.
9 From the distance of five leagues above Jazlra-Ibn-
'Omar, the Basanfa is evidently identical with the
river called Ba'aynatha by Yakut (II. 552) and
Bakri (pp. 151, 168). The MS. of Ibn Serapion
is here rather uncertain, but Abu-1-Fida (p. 55) has
copied this paragraph verbatim, and in the Paris
edition of his text the word Basanfa is clearly
printed. This name apparently occurs in no other
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264 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
authority. The country of Mayafarikin, it will be
seen on the map, lies a very long way from this
river, which is that on which the modern town of
Mansuriyya stands (see Bitter, XL 120). Yakut
(I. 472) describes Ba'aynatha (in the thirteenth
century a.d.) as a village almost as large as a
town, lying at the junction of its river with the
Tigris. The gardens here were so extensive as to
recall those of Damascus.
4 The two Zabs have already been mentioned (Section I.
note 2). The Greater, or Upper, Zab, according to
Yakut (II. 552), flows down from the Adharbayjan
mountains, and joins the Tigris at Al-Hadltha ; while
the Lesser, or Lower, Zab, whose source is in the
country of Shahrazur, flows into the Tigris at As-
Sinn. Both these towns have disappeared from our
modern maps. The river Ath-Tharthar has already
been described (Section III. note 8).
5 The last paragraph of this section is corrupt in the
MS. Hisn Kay fa is the well-known fortress still
marked on our maps, and which was called Kiphas
and Cephe by the classical geographers. Mukaddasi
(p. 141) writes that it is a place full of excellent
things, with a strong castle and many churches. If
Nahr Sarbat be the true reading of the MS., this
according to Yakut (II. 552, III. 68) is the name
of the river which flows past Arzan, and which Ibn
Serapion has already mentioned under the name of
Wolf River (see above, Note 1.) This is said (by
Yakut) to flow down from a place in Armenia, which
the MSS. variously give as Ehuwit, Khunat, or
Khudit.
Satidamad (written in the MS. without diacritical
points) is evidently the river Satidama of Yakut
(II. 552, III. 7), which rises in the mountain of the
same name, which, according to Yakut, is a con-
tinuation of the Barimma range (see Section III.
note 8). From his description the Satidama, which
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 265
had many tributaries, may be identified with the
present Batman Su, one of whose affluents is the
river flowing down from Mayafarikin.
[SECTION VIIL]
Account of the Canals which are brought from the
(Tigris) and which flow back entirely into the
SAME.
From the western* side of the Tigris is taken a canal
called Al-Ishaki. 1 Its beginning is a short distance below
Takrlt, and it passes to the westward of the Tigris, having
on its banks both domains and cultivated lands. It flows
on by [Tirhan],t and then comes to the Palace of Al-
Mu'tasim, known as Kasr-al-Jass. Here it irrigates the
domains extending westward of the city of Surra-man-raa
(Samarra), which are specified as the First, the Second,
the Third, and so on up to the number Seven. Finally
the (canal) flows out into the Tigris opposite Al-Matira. 3
From the (Tigris) also, but from its eastern side, is
taken the canal called the Upper Al-Katul-al-Kisrawi 3 (of
the Chosroes). Its point of origin is a little way below
Dur-al-Harith. From here it flows on, skirting the Palace
of Al-Mutawakkil, which is known as Al-Ja'farl, and here
there is over it a stone bridge. From this place it passes
on to Al-Itakhiyya 4 and here there is over it a bridge called
Kantara Kisrawiyya (of the Chosroes). Thence it passes on
to Al-Muharamadiyya, and here there crosses it (the Bridge-
of-Boats called) Jisr Zawarlk. Thence it passes on to Ash-
Shadhurwan, and thence to Al-Mamuniyya, which is a large
village, next it reaches Al-Kanatlr. Now all these are fer-
tile villages, and domains lying contiguous each to the other.
Thence the (canal) passes on to a village called Sula (or
Salwa), 5 and next to Ba'akuba, and here it changes its
name to Tamarra. From this place it passes on to Bajisra,
* The MS. reads " eastern " in error,
t Conjectural emendation, MS. Tayran.
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266 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
and comes to the Bridge-of-Boate called Jisr-an-Nahrawan. 6
Here the canal is itself known as the Nahrawan. From
thence it flows by the Upper Ash-Shadhurwan, then on to
Jisr Buran, next, passing by 'Abarta, it comes to Tarzatlya,
and thence to the Lower Ash-Shadhurwan. Now these
are all beautiful villages and domains. From these the
canal passes on to Uskaf-Bani-1-Junayd, 7 which is a city
lying on both its banks, for the canal divides the same
into halves. Thence it passes on between villages that
lie contiguous each to the other, and domains which extend
down to where its waters finally flow out into the Tigris,
on the eastern bank of the same, a short distance below
Madharaya. 8
1 I have been unable to discover after whom the Ishaki
Canal takes its name. It is only mentioned in
Yakut's Dictionary once (IV. 844), incidentally ;
and among early authorities, Ya'kubi (p. 264) is
the only reference I can give. This author, when
describing Samarra, refers to the Nahr-al-IehakI,
which (he writes) irrigated the gardens and lands
on the western side of the Tigris opposite Samarra.
In the MS. of Ibn Serapion the canal is said to
"pass by Tiran," a place-name which is mentioned
by no other authority. For this I propose to read
Tirh&n, which was one of the districts near Samarra.
Ya'kubi (pp. 255 and 257) mentions At-Tirban as the
name of the plain on part of which Samarra was
built, and Ibn Eurdadbih (p. 94) includes it among
the districts belonging to Mosul. Written Tirhan,
the name is often mentioned in the Syrian Chronicle
of Thomas of Marga (see E. A. W. Budge, The Book
of Governors, II. 290).
Kasr-al- Jass, " the Gypsum Palace," is described by
Yakut (IV. 110) as situated above the Palace named
AMIaruni, which the Caliph Al-Wathik built at
Samarra (cf. Biladhuri, p. 297).
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DESCBIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 267
s The position of Al-Matlra is fixed by Ibn Serapion (see
below, Section IX.). Ya'kubi also refers to it, in
several passages, as the limit reached by the build-
ings of Samarra, down stream, on the eastern bank ;
Ya'kubi further (p. 259), confirming Ibn Serapion,
also states that it lay two leagues distant from
Samarra. According to Yakut (IY. 568) Matira took
its name from a certain Matar, son of Fazara of the
Shayban tribe, who was of the sect of the Eharijites.
The place (he says) was originally called Al-Mata-
riyya, after him; which name in course of time
became changed into Al-Matlra. .
8 The line of the great Katul-Nahrawan Canal still exists,
and has been surveyed (cf. papers by Captain F.
Jones, R.N., Records). This great canal, originally
dug by the Sassanian Kings, was brought into
working order by the Caliphs and served to irrigate
the lands on the eastern bank of the Tigris, from a
point more than a hundred miles north of Baghdad,
to a like distance down stream, to the south-east
of the capital. The greater number of the places
mentioned by Ibn Serapion as lying on the canal,
unfortunately, now no longer exist, and the numerous
ruins which stud its banks are apparently for the most
part nameless.
Dur, where the canal took its origin, still exists.
This name was common to many places in Al-'Irak.
Yakut (II. 615) mentions seven DOrs, and there
were two between Samarra and Takrlt. This Dur,
which Ibn Serapion surnames, of Al-Harith, Bila-
dhurl (p. 297) gives as Dur-al-'Arabaya.
The ruins of the Palace of Al-Mutawakkil (called
Al-Ja'fari from the name of that Caliph) still exist.
Biladhuri (p. 298) eays that a city, called Al-
Mutawakkiliyya, grew up round the palace, with
which were incorporated both the neighbouring
town of Dur (mentioned above) and the village of
Al-Mahuza.
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268 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
4 Al-Itakhiyya took its name from Itakh, the Turk, a
captain of the Body-guard of Al-Mu'tasim. Yakut
(IV. 430) states that the name of the place was
originally a monastery called Dayr Abi Sufra, being
called after one of the Kharijites, and that Al-
Mutawakkil at a still later period changed the
name a second time from Al-Itakhiyya to Al-
Muhammadiyya, in honour of his son Muhammad,
afterwards the Caliph Al-Muntasir. Possibly this
may be the Muharamadiyya, mentioned by Ibn
Serapion as coming next below Al-Itakhiyya.
Other authorities make no mention of either
Kantara Kisrawiyya, " the Bridge of the Chosroes " ;
or of Jisr Zawarik, " the Bridge-of-Boats."
The village of Al-Ajama, "the Thicket," is
mentioned above (Section I. note 4), but the name
apparently occurs in no other author ; the same
remark applies to the three villages of Ash-Shadhur-
wan, " the Weir," Al-Mamuniyya, and Al-Kanatir,
" the Bridges."
5 The name spelt Sula, in this passage of the MS., is
written Salwa a few lines below. Ibn Rusta (p. 90)
calls it Bab Salwa, and this is shortened in the
Tanbih (p. 53) to Basalwa. Ibn Khurdadbih (p. 175)
also gives the name as Salwa, but Abu-1-Fida (p. 55)
has §>ula, as in the first passage of Ibn Serapion.
Other authorities do not mention this town. Hence,
except that it lay on the Katul Canal, nothing is
known of it. It is not marked on the modern maps,
but its position is more or less fixed by the fact
that it stood four leagues below the junction of the
Abu-1-Jund Canal with the great Eatul (see below.
Section IX.).
Ba'akuba, according to Yakut (I. 472), is a large
village belonging to the Upper Nahrawan district,
and lies ten leagues distant from Baghdad. The
place still exists. Following the same authority
(I. 454), Bajisra is a small town also about ten
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 269
leagues distant from Baghdad, but rather more to
the eastward of the capital, on the Hulwan road.
It stood in a well-cultivated district, and was sur-
rounded by palm-trees.
* At the Bridge- of- Boats called Jisr-an-Nahrawan stood
the town of Nahrawan, which Ibn Kusta (p. 163)
describes as occupying both banks of the canal, there
being markets and a mosque in both quarters of the
town, eastern and western. Round the mosques,
especially that in the eastern quarter, were rest-
houses (Khans) for travellers and pilgrims. Nahra-
wan town lay four leagues distant from Baghdad,
on the Hulwan road, and its site is marked in modern
times by the town called Sif wa.
Ash-Shadhurwan-al-A'la, " the Upper Weir," and
the Bridge-of-Boats at Jisr Buran, are neither of
them mentioned by other authorities. 'Abarta, how-
ever, still exists. Yakut (III. 604) describes it as
a town of Persian origin, where there was a great
market. Razatlya, or Yarzatlya (for the MS. is
indistinctly written), mentioned as below 'Abarta,
is possibly wrongly placed in the MS. of Ibn Sera-
pion, and should come above 'Abarta. None of the
other geographers mention this town, except Mas'udI in
the Tanbih (p. 53), who gives the name as Burzatiya,
and he places it below 'Abarta. A place called
Zateriyeh, however, is marked in Kiepert's map above
and west of 'Abarta, and Jones (p. 38) gives this name
as Resatiyeh. Ash-Shadhurwan-al-Asfal, "the Lower
Weir," is not marked on the maps or mentioned
by other authorities.
7 Uskaf of the BanM-Junayd has been identified with the
ruins marked Semak, or Sumakeh (Jones, p. 97).
Yakut (I. 252), who pronounces the name Iskaf,
says the Banu-1-Junayd were chiefs of this district
and celebrated for their hospitality. He adds that
there were two places of this name, Upper and Lower
Iskaf, both of the Nahrawan District, whose lands,
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270 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
in his day (thirteenth century a.d.), had completely
fallen out of cultivation, for the Nahrawan Canal
(Yakut adds) had gradually silted up, and the Saljuk
Sultans had been too much occupied in their disputes
to find time for dredging and mending the dykes ;
" further, their armies made a road-way of this same
canal, whereby the district and the canal have gone
to ruin."
8 Madharaya, where the Nahrawan ran out into the
Tigris, is placed by Ya'kubl (p. 321) immediately
to the south of Jabbul, and before you come to
Al-Mubarik, which last lay opposite Nahr Sabus,
He adds that Madharaya was in former times in-
habited by Persian nobles. Yakut (IY. 381) adds
that the village in his day was for the most part
in ruin, that it lay opposite Nahr Sabus, and was
of the Fam-as-Silh district.
[SECTION IX.]
From the Tigris also are taken the Three (lesser) Katuls.
The beginning of all three is at one place, namely some two
leagues below Surra-man-raa, at a point between Al-Matira
and Barkuwara. 1 The Upper Katiil of the (three) is called
Al-Yahudl. There is over it the bridge called Kantara
Wa8if. From this point it passes on for some length, till
(finally) it falls into the (great) Katul-al-KisrawI (of the
Ghosroes) below Al-Mamuniyya.
The second (Katul), which is called Al-Mamunf, and is
the middle one, passes along by villages and domains which
form a district of the Sawad, and (finally) falls into the
(aforesaid) Katul-al-KisrawI, below the village of Al-Kanatlr.
The third (Katiil), which is called that of Abu-l-Jund, 2
and is the lowest of the three, but the finest of them all,
and the best cultivated along both its banks, flows between
many villages and domains. From it branch channels
which irrigate the domains lying on the eastern bank of
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DBSCBIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 271
the Tigris, and in this way the most part of its waters flow
back into the Tigris. The main canal passes on to T*ffi r >
and here there is a Bridge-of-Boats over it. From thence
it passes on to the Katul-al-Kisrawi, (joining it) at a point
four leagues above SQla (or Salwa).
From the Tamarra is taken a canal called Al-Khalis. 8
It runs between villages and domains and many (minor)
canals are derived from it. It is a great waterway, and boats
can pass up and down. It falls ultimately into the Tigris
on its eastern bank, some two leagues below Ar-Rashidiyya.
From the Nahrawan also is taken a canal called the
Nahr Diyala. 4 Its point of origin is one mile below
Al-Jisr (the Bridge-of-Boats at Nahrawan). It flows by
villages and domains, and finally falls into the Tigris
three leagues below Baghdad.
Now from the Tigris, at various points below the city
of Wasit, are taken many canals which either fall into
the Swamp or else flow one into the other. Of these we
have already mentioned (the main-channel, which is) the
largest and finest (see Section I.). Among the rest is a
canal called Nahr Ban, which begins below Wasit at a
village known as Nahr Ban. Thence it passes by villages
and domains, and turning about it finally flows out into
the Swamp.
There is also taken from the Tigris a canal called the
Nahr Kuraysh. Its point of origin is at a village likewise
called Nahr Euraysh. It flows by villages and domains,
and finally falls into the Swamp to the west of [Wasit]. 5
There is also taken from the Tigris a canal called As-
Sib. 6 This is Sib-al-'Ukr, and the city of Al-'Ukr lies on
its banks. Its point of origin is two leagues below Nahr
Ban. It flows on through villages and domains, passing by
Al-Jawamid, and from it many (minor) canals are derived.
Finally, after turning about, it falls into the Swamp.
From the Tigris also is taken the canal called Burduda.
Its point of origin is at a village called Ash-Shadidiyya.
It is a fine canal, and it flows out into the Swamp.
Such, therefore, are the Canals which fall into the
j.a.A.8. 1895. 18
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273 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Tigris and which are derived from the same ; and we have
so detailed them unto thee that thou shouldst understand
the matter.
1 Barkuwara, where the three lesser Katuls branch from
the Tigris, lay close beside Al-Matlra (see Section
VIII. note 2). Barkuwara is mentioned by Ya'kubl,
where the name is spelt Balkuwara (p. 265 and
cf. note d, where other readings are given). The
variant Bazkuwar occurs in Yakut (I. 605), and
Jones (p. 47) gives Bez-guara as the name of a
place at this spot. Possibly, therefore, Bazkuwara
is the correct reading, for the difference in Arabic
between z and r lies in the addition of a diacritical
point.
The bridge called Kantara Wasif doubtless took
its name from Wasif, a celebrated captain of the
Turk Body-guard under Al-Mu'tasiro.
2 The third and lowest of the minor Katuls is apparently
the only one of which any trace is found on our
maps. According to Biladhurl (p. 297) it derived
its name of Abu-1-Jund, "Father, or Supplier, of
' the Soldiers," from the fact that the crops, raised
on the lands watered by it, served to supply the
rations of the troops. It was dug by Harun-ar-
Rashid, who built a palace here while superintending
its construction. In regard to the name Katul it
may be mentioned that Yakut (IY. 16) asserts that
the word etymologically signifies " a cut," and hence
it was applied to a trench dug or cut in the ground.
Taffir is apparently the place mentioned by Jones
(p. 47) under the name Tafra. Yakut (III. 539)
says that he had himself visited Taffir, which was a
waterless and pastureless plain, where wild animals
dwelt, lying between Ba'akuba and Dakuka, on the
road from Baghdad to Arbil. No habitations were
here to be met with, and Yakut adds that his guide,
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 273
when the caravan travelled by night over this plain,
"was wont to take his direction by the Pole-Star,
until, with the day, the plain had been crossed."
8 The point where the Nahr-al- Khalis left the Tamarra is
not specified. Ar-Rashidiyya, the place two leagues
above which the Khalis flowed out into the Tigris, is
not mentioned by any other geographer, but possibly
may be identified with the present Ehor Rashidiyya,
immediately to the north of the ruins called Bedran
(Al-Baradan). From this passage and what our
author adds further of the Nahr-al-Khalis when
describing the canals of Eastern Baghdad (see
Section X.) it is evident that the Khalis of the
tenth century a.d. is not identical with the canal
of that name marked in Kiepert's map, which last
flows at some distance to the north-west of Ba'akuba ;
hence a good deal higher up than the Khalis of
Ibn Serapion.
4 The Nahr Diyala of Ibn Serapion coincides generally
with the lower reach (south of Sifwa) of the present
stream of the same name. But from our texts it is
evident that the names Diyala, Tamarra, and Khalis
were applied at different epochs to different streams.
The account in Ibn Serapion (tenth century a.d.) does
not agree with what is given in Yakut (thirteenth
century a.d.), still less with the nomenclature of the
modern map. Yakut (I. 812 and II. 638) says that
the Tamarra is identical with the Khalis Canal, which
also is identical with the Diyala ; and he goes on to
describe, how the bed of the Tamarra was artificially
paved, for a length of seven leagues, in order to
prevent its waters cutting through the soil, and how
seven streams were taken from its lower course to
irrigate a like number of districts on the hither side
of Eastern Baghdad.
5 Although there is no blank space left in the MS., the
name of a place must have dropped out at this point,
and I have supplied " Wasit " in the text for want
of any better suggestion.
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274 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
The Nahr Ban has been discussed above (Section I.
note 11). Nahr Kuraysh is not mentioned by any-
other authority.
6 The Nahr-as-Slb is mentioned by Yakut (III. 209) as
a canal, of the district of Al- Basra, on which there
were many large villages. In two other passages
(III. 275 and 697) the same author speaks of 'Ukr,
which he pronounces 'Akr, surnamed As-Sadan, " of
the Veil." It was one of the villages of Ash-Shurta,
a district lying between Wasit and Al-Basra, and
was situated on the right (i.e. to the south-west) of
one travelling down the Tigris. Ibn Rusta (p. 95)
apparently refers to the same place under the name
of 'Ukr-as-Sayd ("of Fishing," or "Hunting"),
which he says was in his day (early tenth century
a.d.) occupied by the people called Az-Zutt, that is
the Indian Jhats, said to be identical with the
gypsies.
Al-Jawamid (the plural form of Jdmida) means
the "drained lands" or those artificially "dried,"
and reclaimed from the Swamps. Yakut (II. 10 and
IV. 217) describes Al-Jamida as a large village of
the Wasit district, that he had himself often visited.
The Burduda canal and the village of Ash -Shad I-
diyya are not to my knowledge mentioned by any
other geographer.
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275
REFERENCES TO SKETCH-PLAN OF BAGHDAD.
Eastern Baghdad, or
al-Mahdi.
1. Kasr-ath-Thurayya (Palace of the
Pleiades).
2. Bab Sufr-ad-Dawabb (Market for
Beasts of Burden and the Gate).
3. Gate called Bab 'Ammar.
4. Palace called Dar-al-Bannja.
5. Bab Mulfayyar-al-Kabir (the great
Pitched Gate).
6. Dar (or House of) Ibn-al-Khasib.
7. Road of Sa'd-ai-WasIf.
8. Al-'Allafln (the Hay-market).
9. Road and Grate of the Mukharrim
Quarter with the Bridge of Al-
•Abbas.
10. Bridge of Al-Ansar.
11. The three Tanks of Al-Ansar,
Haylana, and Daud.
12. Darb-at-Tawil (the Long Road).
13. Palace of Al-Mu'tasim.
14. Sufc-al- 4 Atsh(the Famine Market).
15. Road called Karm-al-'Arsh.
16. Dar (or House of the) Wazir Ibn-
al-Furat.
17. The Great Road.
18. The Road of ( Amr the Greek.
19. The Garden of Az-Zahir.
20. Gate called Bab Abraz.
21. Bab SuljL-ath-Thulatha (Tuesday
Market and Gate).
22. Kasr-al-Firdfis (the Palace of
Paradise).
23. Gate called Bab $ati 'a-Mushajin.
24. Gate called Bab-al-'Amma.
25. Palace called Kasr-al-Hasani.
26. Kasr-at-Taj (Palace of the Crown) .
27. Gate called Bab Khurasan, of the
Eastern Side.
28. Gate and Bridge of Al-Baradan.
29. Gate called Bab-ash-Shammasiyya.
30. Market called 8uwayfca Ja'far, and
Road of the Canal of Al-Mahdi.
31. Dar-ar-Rumiyyin (House of the
Greeks).
32. Market called Suwayfca Nasr-ibn-
Malik, and the Iron Gates.
33. Palace and Great Mosque of Ar-
Rusafa with the Garden of Hafs.
34. Road of the Gate of Khurasan.
Western Baghdad, or Citt of Al-
MaNSUB,.
35. Bridge called Kantara-al- 'Abbas.
36. Eantara-as-$iniyyat.
37. Kaniara Raba-al-Batri^ (Bridge,
and Mills of the Patrician).
38. Al- Kantara-al-' Atifca (the Old
Bridge), and the Kufa Gate.
39. Al-Kantara-al-Jadida (the New
Bridge), and the Basra Gate.
40. $asr-al-Khiild (the Palace of
Perpetuity), lying between the
Khurasan Gate of the Western
Side, and the Bridge-of-Boats
over the Tigris.
41. Gate, Bridge, and Road of Al-
Anbar.
42. Bab-al-?adid (the Iron Gate) and
Bridge.
43. Gate called Bab Harb, Bridge,
and Road.
44. Gate called Bab Katrabbul, and
Bridge of the Mill of Fmm
Ja'far ; in the Zubaydiyya
Fief.
45. House of Isbafc the Tahirid.
46. Gate called Bab Abu |Cubaysa.
47. Kantara Darb-al-Hijara (Bridge
of the Road of Al-Hijara).
48. Hospital and Kantara-al- Bima-
nstan (Bridge of the Hospital).
49. Gate called Bab-al-Mubawwal.
50. Suburb called Raba4 Humayd.
51. Market called Suwayka Abu-1-
Ward.
52. Pool caUed Birkat Zalzal.
53. Bab Ta^-al-Harrani (Gate of the
Arch of the Harranian).
54. Road of the Kabtaba's.
55. Bab-ash- Sham (the Syrian Gate).
56. Road to the (Upper) Bridge-of-
Boats.
57. Ad-Darrabat.
58. Mill of Abu-1-gasim.
59. Place of the Men of Wasi(.
60. Al-Khaffca.
61. Road of the Painter (Al-Musaw-
wir).
62. House of Ka'b.
63. Gate of the Karkh Quarter.
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276 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
64.
65.
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
76.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
Quarters of the Cloth-Merchants 83.
(Al-Bazzazin\ and of the
Cobblers (Al-Kharrazin) or of 84.
the Butchers (Al-Jazzfirin). 85.
Quarter of the Soap-makers. 86.
Dar-al-Jawz (The Nut House). 87.
Quadrangle of the Oil-merchant
(Murabba'at-az-Zayyat) 88.
Quarter of the Canal-diggers. 89.
Quarter of the Reed-weavers.
Road of the Pitch-workers. 90.
Place of the Sellers of Cooked-food.
Dawwara-al-Himar (Mound of 91.
the Ass).
The Fief of Dogs. 92.
Quadrangle of §alih.
As-Sawakin. m 93.
Mashra'at-al-As (the Myrtle Pas-
sage). 94.
Dar Battikh (the Melon House).
Road of Al-Kabsh (the Ram). 95.
Water- conduit called 'Abbarat-al-
Eukh, and Road of Dujayl. 96.
Murabba'at-al-Furs (Quadrangle
of the Persians). 97.
Dukkan-al-Ibna. 98.
Bridge of Abu-1-Jawn. 99 ,
Place of the Scribes for the
Orphans.
Quadrangle of Shabib.
Road ana Palace of Hani.
Garden of Al-Kass.
Road of the House of Ibn-Abu-
'Awn.
Quadrangle of Abu-1- 1 Abbas.
Bridge called Kantara-al-Yasi-
riyya.
Kantara-ar-Rfimiyya (the Bridge
of the Greek woman).
Itantara-az-Zayyatin (Bridge of
the Oil -merchants).
Kantara-al-Ushnan (the Alkali
Bridge).
^antara-asb-Shawk (the Thorn-
merchant's Bridge).
Kantara-ar-Ruman (the Pome-
granate Bridge).
Kan{ara-al-Maghid (the Bridge of
the Place that is dried up).
Kan$ara-al-Bustan (the Garden
Bridge).
Kantara-al-Ma'badl.
Eantara Bani Zurayk.
rCa?r 'Isa (Palace of 'laa).
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DESCBIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 277
[SECTION X.]
Canals of Eastern Baghdad.
Now the canals of the City of Peace (Baghdad), which
flow through the same, are those from which the (people)
who live near by to them take their drinking-water. We
begin with the canals that are on the eastern side of the
Tigris, which is called 'Askar-al-Mahd! (the Camp of Al-
Mahdi). 1
Of these is the canal called the Nahr Musa. Its place of
origin is from the canal called A 1- Nahr Bin, 3 at the back
of the Palace of Al-Mu'tadid, known as Kasr-ath-Thurayya
(the Palace of the Pleiades). Now the origin of the Nahr
Bin is from the Nahrawan (Canal), at a short distance
above the Bridge-of-Boats (at the town of Nahrawan).
Thence the Nahr Bin passes on, with running waters, and
from it branch many canals which irrigate the Sawad (or
plain near) Baghdad. This canal passes to the east of
the Palace of the Pleiades aforesaid, and on its banks are
Tillages and domains. It next irrigates part of the district
of Kalwadha, and finally fl6ws out into the Tigris a little
less than two leagues below Baghdad.
The Nahr Miisa, 3 as already mentioned, is derived from
the (Nahr Bin), and its place of origin also has been
described. Passing on the (Nahr Miisa) enters the Palace
of the Pleiades, and turning round and about it, passes
out again. Then it reaches a place called the Dividing
of the Waters, and there it divides into three streams.
The first stream (which is the Nahr Musa itself) passes
to Bab Suk-ad-Dawabb (the Gate of the Market for Beasts-
of-Burden), and thence goes across (the gate called) Bab
'Ammar. Here there is taken from it a canal which passes
to (the Palace known as) Dar-al-Banuja, and there it dis-
appears.
The Nahr Musa itself passes on after traversing the Bab
Suk-ad-Dawabb, and comes to the Bab Mukayyar-al-Eablr
(the great Pitched Gate). Here there is taken from it a
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278 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
canal which passes to the Dar (or House of) Ibn-al-Khasib,
which stands in the road called after Sa'd-al-Wasif. Next
it passes out to Al-'Allafin, and here there falls into it
the canal which Al-Mu'tadid dug* for the Lake. Thence
the canal passes by the road, which is behind the wine-
shops, towards Al-'Allafin, and which is known as the road
of the Bab-al-Mukharrim. Then the canal passes under
(the Bridge called) Kantara-al-'Abbas, which is at (the
Gate called) the Bab-al-Mukharrim, and flowing along the
road to (the quarter of) Al-Mukharrim, it disappears.
The Nahr Musa itself next goes on to (the Bridge called)
Kantara-al-Ansar ; and here there are taken from it three
canals. The first of these flows into the tank (Hawd) of
the Ansar ; the second into the tank of Haylana ; and the
third into the tank of Daud.
The Nahr Musa itself next passes on to the road (called)
Darb-at-TawIl, and the Palace of Al-Mu'tasim. Here there
is taken from it a canal which passes to (the Market of)
Suk-al-'Atsh. After flowing along the centre of the road
called Karm-al-'Arsh, it finally falls into the Dar (or
House of the) Wazir 'Ali-ibn-Muhamniad-ibn-al-Furat,
and there disappears.
The Nahr Musa itself flows on skirting the Palace of
Al-Mu'tasim, and passes out into the Great Road. Next
it comes to the road of 'Amr-ar-Rumi, and then enters (the
Garden called) Bustan-az-Zahir, which is irrigated by it;
lastly it falls into the Tigris a little way below this garden.
The Second Canal, 4 at the Dividing (of the Waters), flows
towards the (Gate called) Bab Abraz, and here it enters
Baghdad. This (canal) is called Nahr-al-Mu'alla. It flows
between the houses to the Bab Suk-ath-Thulatha (the gate
of the Tuesday Market). Next it enters the Palace of Al-
Mu'tadid, which is called Al-Firdus (Paradise), and after
passing through and about it, flows out into the Tigris near
this palace.
* For this next line of text Al-KhatTb has the following : " And some of
its (waters) pass to the Bab Sufe al Ohanam (the Gate of the Sheep-Market),
and thence to the Trench of Al 'Abbas."
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DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 279
The Third Canal, 5 at the Dividing (of the Waters), flows
to the Bab Katl'a Mushajin* (the Gate of the Fief of
Mushajln). Thence it passes to the (gate called) Bab-al-
'Amma ; and next enters (the palace) called Kasr-al-HasanI,
and, after passing round and about it, flows out into the
Tigris near the Palace of Al-Muktafi, known as gasr-at-Taj
(the Palace of the Crown).
From the Nahr Bin, above mentioned, is taken a canal
called the Nahr 'Ali. Its point of origin is at a short
distance above (the head of) the Nahr Musa. It passes
across the highway of Khurasan to the village of Al-Athla*;
aud flowing on irrigates the district of Nahr BQk and the
hamlet of Al-Ufrutar. Finally, it falls into a canal from
the Khalis (Canal). '
From the Nahr-al-Fadl (which will be described below)
is brought a canal called the Nahr-al-Ja'fariyya. It flows
by villages and domains and loses itself in the Sawad (or
Plain) of Baghdad, which lies to the north of the city.
From this Nahr-al-Ja'fariyya is brought a canal called
Nahr-as-Sur (the Canal of the Wall), for it flows along
the Wall of Baghdad. (As already said), its origin is
from the Nahr-al-Ja'fariyya, and it flows by the (gate
called the) Bab Khurasan, and that called Bab-al-Baradan.
Finally, it flows out into the Nahr [al-Fadl]t which itself
flows out into the Tigris near the (gate called) Bab-ash-
Shammasiyya.
From the Nahr -al- Khalis, which, as we have already
stated (see Section IX.), falls into the Tigris below the place
called Ar-Rashidiyya, there is brought the canal (already
mentioned) called Nahr-al-Fadl. It flows towards the (gate
called) Bab-ash-Shammasiyya, and in passing irrigates the
domains and villages that lie along its banks. It finally
flows out into the Tigris at the Bab-ash-Shammasiyya
(aforesaid). From this Canal of Ash-Shammasiyya, other-
wise called the Nahr-al-Fadl, is taken a canal called the
* The reading of this name is uncertain. Al-Khatib gives Mushajir.
t MS. reads Al-Khalis, in error.
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280 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Nahr-al-MahdI. Its point of origin is a little way above
the Gate (of Ash Shammasiyya) ; passing on it enters
Baghdad by the Bab-ash-Sharamasiyya, and flows to the
(market called) Suwayka Ja'far. Then, passing by the
road known as the Road of the Nahr-al-Mahdi, it reaches
the (bridge called) Rantara-al-Baradan, 7 whence it enters
the (House of the Greeks) Dar-ar-Riiraiyyin. Then it
passes out to (the market called the) Suwayka-Nasr-ibn-
Malik; and next, entering Ar-Rusafa, it comes to the
Great Mosque, and to (the garden called) Bustan Hafs,
where it (finally) falls into a tank which is in the interior
of the Palace of Ar-Rusafa.
From this canal (of Al-Mahdi) is taken a canal, the
origin of which is in the Market of Nasr (aforesaid) at
the Iron Gates (Al-Abwab-al-Hadid). It passes along the
centre of the road of the Gate of Khurasan, flowing on to
where it finally falls into the Nahr [as-Sur] * near the
Gate of Khurasan.
These, therefore, are the Canals (of Baghdad) on the
eastern side of the Tigris, and there now remain the
Canals of the western side; and these, if it please Allah,
I will explain to thee.
1 In this and the two following sections on the Canals
of Baghdad, the' notes supply brief references for
those places, only, which I have found mentioned
by other authorities. It is not, however, intended
to make them exhaustive. I hope to discuss the
whole subject of the topography of Ancient Baghdad
in a future paper ; and have therefore limited myself,
in this place, to what seemed absolutely necessary
for the elucidation of the text of Ibn Serapion.
These three Sections (X., XI., XII.) on the Canals
of Baghdad have been copied (and, as usual, without
any acknowledgment and with many omissions) by
Al-Khatib, in his HMory of Baghdad. This useful
* MS. reads NaUr-aUFv^l, ia error.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 281
compilation has never yet been printed, but good
MSS. of the work exist in the British Museum and
the Paris Library.
The great eastern quarter of Baghdad, that lay on
the Persian side of the Tigris, and which, during the
last four centuries of the Abbasid Caliphate, became
the main quarter of the capital, was originally only a
suburb of the city of Al-Mansur (see Section XI.
note 1), of the western side of the Tigris. The
eastern quarter, in the beginning, had been called
'Askar-al-Mahdi, "the Camp of Al-Mahdi," son
and successor of Al-Mansur, for Al-Mahdi had en-
camped here with his troops in a.h. 151 (768)
after returning from his expedition into Khurasan.
Al-Mahdi subsequently built a palace near this camp,
called Ar-Rusafa, "the Cause-way," also a Mosque,
and in after years, during his Caliphate, a city,
composed of houses built on the fiefs granted to
his followers, spread over the adjacent lands. Here
the later Caliphs built their palaces, and 'Askar-al-
Mahdi soon afterwards became the seat of govern-
ment, the western quarter tending more and more
to ruin.
The Nahr Bin, Yakut writes (IY. 836), is also called
the Nahr Bll, and its waters irrigate the lands of
the district called Nahr Buk. This last, it is to
be remarked, was not the name of a canal (in spite
of the word Nahr having that signification), but of
a district. The land near Baghdad on the eastern
side of the Tigris, was divided into two sections;
up-stream and to the north with the river on the
west, was the Nahr Buk District; while down-
stream and south-east lay the District of Kalwadha,
with the town of the same name on the Tigris bank.
This account of the Nahr Musa and its branches is
repeated by Yakut (IY. 846) in a very much
abridged form. The Palace of the Pleiades stood
two miles distant from the palace on the Tigris bank.
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282 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
called J£asr-al-Hasani. Yakut describes (I. 924) an
underground, vaulted passage-way, which the Caliph
had built for connecting the two palaces, and along
which his women could pass from one to the other
without appearing in the streets.
Of the places lying on the Nahr Musa and its
branches, the following are mentioned by other
writers. The Palace of Al-Banuja (on the first
branch canal), Al-£hatlb (f. 89) states, belonged to
a daughter of Al-Mahdi. Her name is also written
Ban Oka, "Little Banu" or Lady, and under this
form occurs in Ibn Kutayba (p. 193), who says
that she died young. The second branch canal
passed to the Palace of Ibn-al-Khasib, who was
Wazlr of the Caliph Al-Muntasir (cf. Fakhri,
p. 285). The quarter of Al-Mukharrim, according
to Biladhuri (p. 295), was so called from a man of
this name who had settled here in the early days
of Islam, before Baghdad was founded. Yakut
(IV. 441) describes this quarter as situated between
the Rusafa and Nahr-al-Mu'alla quarters. In after
times the Buwayhid princes built their palaces here,
as also some of the Saljiik Sultans ; but all this was
subsequent to the date of Ibn Serapion.
In regard to the three Tanks, Yakut states
(II. 362) that the Hawd Daud was called either
after Daud, son of the Caliph Al-Mahdi, or after
one of his freedmen. It lay adjacent, he says, to
the market called Siik-al-'Ateh (see next paragraph).
The Hawd Haylana was called after one of the wives
of either Al-Mansur or of Harun-ar-Raahid, who
bore this name, and caused this tank to be dug.
Of the Tank of the Ansar, "the Auxiliaries," no
details are given.
The Palace of Al-Mu'tasim, on the Nahr Musa, is
mentioned by Ya'kiibl (p. 255) as having been the
residence of that Caliph between the years a.h. 218-
221, and immediately prior to his removal, with
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 283
his Turk body-guard, upstream to Samarra (see
Section I. note 3). The Suk-al-'Atsh, " the Famine
Market," is described by Yakut (III. 194) as lying
between the Rusafa and the Nahr-al-Mu'alla quarters.
It was built for the Caliph Al-Mahdi by a certain
Sa'Id-al-Khursi, Chief of the Police, and merchants
from the Karkh quarter (see Section XI. note 1) were
brought over and settled here. It was at first
proposed to call it Suk-ar-Rayy, "the Market of
Satiety," but the word 'Atsh, "Famine," took its
place and persisted.
'Ali-Ibn-al-Furat, whose palace stood near this,
was three times Wazlr to the Caliph al-Muktadir
(cf. Fakhri, p. 311). 'Amr-ar-Rumi, "the Greek,"
is probably the individual mentioned by Biladhurl
(p. 323), as having been Freedman of the Caliph Al-
Hadl, who named 'Amr governor of Kazwin in Persia.
The Garden of Az-Zahir is referred to incidentally
by Yakut (III. 195, IV. 441). It lay on the Tigris
bank near where the Mosque called the Jami'-as-
Sultan afterwards stood, and apparently was to the
south of Ar- Rusafa.
4 The second canal at the " Divide " was called after
Al-Mu'alla, Freedman of Al-Mahdi, and a great
General under Harun-ar-Rashid. Yakut (IY. 845)
says that this man held more governments than had
ever been granted to any other individual — having
been Governor of Al- Basra, Fars, Al-Ahwaz, Al-
Yamama, and Al-Bahrayn. The Nahr-al-Mu'alla
gave its name to the great quarter of Baghdad in
which the Palaces of the latter Caliphs stood.
The gate called the Bab Abraz and the Tuesday-
Market are both mentioned by Yakut (I. 774, III.
193), who gives the name of this gate under the form
Biyabraz. Al-Firdus "The Palace of Paradise," is
also referred to incidentally by the same author
(IY. 845) ; and it took its water from the Mu'alla
Canal.
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284 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
5 The third canal at the " Divide " appears to have had
no special designation. The Palace called Al- Hasan!
received its name from Al- Hasan Ibn Sahl, whose
daughter Buran was married to Al-Mamun (see
Section I. note 9), Al-Hasan being, at that time,
Wazir. Yakut (I. 805) relates that the Kasr-al-
Hasani was the same Palace which under Ar-Rashid
had been called the Kasr Mamuni, having been built
by Ja'far, the Barmecide, for presentation to Al-
Mamun, the heir-apparent. Kasr-at-Taj, " the Palace
of the Grown," was built on land adjacent to the
Hasani Palace. It was begun by Al-Mu'tadid,
according to Yakut (I. 808), but the Caliph left it
half finished to build the Palace of the Pleiades
(see note 3, above), and the Taj was only completed
under his son, the Caliph Al-Muktafi.
• Al-Athla is mentioned by Yakut (I. 118) as lying one
league distant from Baghdad. Al-Ufrutar is not
given elsewhere ; neither is there any mention made
in Yakut of the various canals which branch from
the Khali? going towards the Shammasiyya quarter.
This quarter has been already noticed (Section I.
note 6). Yakut (III. 317) describes it as lying
adjacent to "the Oreek House" called Dar-ar-Rum,
and above Ar-Rusafa, in the upper part of Eastern
Baghdad. Here, at a later date than Ibn Serapion,
the Buwayhid prince, Mu'izz-ad-Dawla, built his
great palace.
7 The bridge called Kantara-al-Baradan, after the village
lying to the north of Baghdad (see Section I. note 6),
gave its name to a quarter and a gate of the eastern
city. Yakut (IV. 187) notes that the bridge was built
by a certain As-Sari-ibn-al-Hutam. The Dar-ar-
Rumiy yln, " the House of the Greeks," is the Dar-ar-
Rum mentioned in the previous note, but this and
the other places in or near Ar-Rusafa are not further
specified by Yakut. The Little Market (Suwayka) of
Nasr, Yakut (III. 201) says, was called after a certain
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 285
Nasr-ibn-Malik, of the Khuza'a tribe. Al-Mahdi
granted him the land here in fief; and he was father
of the celebrated Ahmad- az-Zahid, "the Ascetic,"
who suffered persecution under the Caliph Al- Wathik.
[SECTION XL]
Canals of Western Baghdad. 1
Of these is the canal called As-Sarat. 8 Its origin is from
the Nahr 'Isa, at a short distance above the village of Great
Al-Muhawwal. Thence the canal passes, watering the
domains and gardens of Bad Gray a, and many (minor) canals
branch from it. Entering Baghdad, it passes the bridge
called Kan tara-al- 'Abbas, then goes on to the Kantara-as-
Siniyyat, next it passes to the Kantara Raha-al-Batrlk (the
Bridge of the Patrician's Mill), which same is the Bridge
of Az-Zabd; then it comes to the Kantara-al-'Atlka (the
Old Bridge), next to the New Bridge (IJantara-al-Jadida),
then, finally, the (Sarat Canal) flows out into the Tigris
a little way below (the Palace called) Al-Ehuld.
From the Sarat is taken a canal called the Trench
(Khandak) of T5hir. 3 It starts from the Canal of the
Sarat, one league below the head of the same (that is
where the Sarat itself branches from the Nahr 'Isa). Flow-
ing on (the Khandak) waters various domains, and, turning,
passes round Baghdad in the part adjacent to (the quarter
of) Al-Harbiyya. It first goes by the (gate called) Bab-al-
Anbar, and there is here a bridge (j£antara) over it. Then
it passes Bab-al-Hadld (the Iron Gate), where also there
is a bridge. Next it comes to the Bab Harb, where there
is also a bridge, and then to the Bab Katrabbul, and here
there is the Rantara Raha-TJmm-Ja'far (the Bridge of the
Mill of Umm-Ja'far). Next passing through the midst
of the Fief of Umm-Ja'far, the (Trench) flows out into
the Tigris a little way above the House (Dar) of Ishak-ibn-
Ibrahim the lahirid.
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286 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
From the Khandak (or Trench) is taken a canal called
the Little Sarat. This canal takes its way, cutting across
the Gardens, and after passing by part of Baduraya, flows
out finally into the Great Sarat at a point a little way
below the Patrician's Mill.
From the Nahr 'lea is taken a canal called Karkhaya. 4
It passes through the midst of the district of Baduraya,
and there branch from it (many minor) canals which
ramify throughout Baduraya, being called and named
variously. Along both its banks are villages, domains,
and gardens, which extend until it enters Baghdad at
the (gate called) Bab Abu-Kubaysa. After this it passes
to the Kantara-al-Yahud (the Bridge of the Jew), and
then on to the (bridge called) Kantara Darb-al-Hijara.
Next it passes to the Kantara-al-Blmaristan (the Bridge
of the Hospital), and the (gate called) Bab Muhawwal,
and here there branch from it all the canals of (the
quarter of) Al-Karkh.
Now the first of these canals has its point of origin
immediately after the Karkhaya has passed the Bridge
of the Bimaristan, and it is called Nahr Razln. Passing
along it is taken into the (Suburb called) Rabad Humayd,
and, after going round and about therein, it passes out
to (the Market called) Suwayka Abu-1-Ward. Thence it
passes to the (Pool called) Birkat Zalzal, through which
it flows, and next comes to (the gate called the) Bab
Tak-al-Harrani, and finally falls into the Great Sarat
immediately below the New Bridge. In this (latter) part
the (Razin) Canal is known as the Nahr Abu-'Attab.
Now when the Nahr Razln comes to the gate of the
Market of Abu- 1- Ward, there is taken from it a canal
which passes by a Kuraj (or Conduit), which carries (its
waters across) the Old Bridge (Al-Kantara-al-'Atika, over
the Great Sarat). Flowing on from here, it goes along
the road of the Kufa Gate, where (a canal) branches off
from it which enters part of the remains of the (original)
City of Al-Mansur, and here its waters fail. From the
Gate of Kufa, the main canal, after flowing along the
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 287
Road of the Kahtaba's, comes to the Bab-ash-Sham
(the Syrian Gate), whence, passing by the Road of the
Jisr (or Bridge-of-Boats), it skirts the Zubaydiyya (Fief),
and finally disappears there.
(To return to) the Canal of Earkhaya. After passing
Al-Blmaristan (the Hospital), it comes to the place called
Ad-Darrabat, 5 and here takes the name of Al-'Amiid. This
is the stream from which branch the canals of the Inner
(quarter of) Al-Earkh. The main canal next passes to a
building adjacent, whioh is called the Mill of Abu-1-Easim,
and thence to a place (inhabited by) the men of Wasit.
From thence it passes to a place called Al-Khafka,* and
there is now taken from it the (canal called) Nahr-al-
Bazzazin (of the Cloth-merchants) ; here it turns about
and comes out in the road of Al-Musawwir (the Painter).
Thence it passes to the (house called) Dar Ka'b, and flows on
to the Gate of Al-Earkh. Here it enters (the quarter of
the Cloth-merchants, called) Al-Bazzazin, thence passing
to that (of the Cobblers, called) Al-Eharrazin.f Here it
enters the quarter of the Soap-makers, and then finally
flows out into the Tigris under the Dar-al-Jawz (the House
of the Nut).
(Now to return to) the main canal, this passes on from
Al-Khafka, to where it skirts the Murabba'a-az-Zayyat
(the Quadrangle of the Oil-merchant), and here there
branches from it a canal called the Nahr-ad-Dajaj (the
Fowl's Canal). 6 This last, turning off, extends to (the
quarter of) the Canal - diggers, and thence passes to
(the quarter of) the Reed-wearers, and the road of the
Pitch-workers ; and finally it falls out into the Tigris
at the place of the Sellers of Cooked-food. (Returning to
the main canal), this passes on from the Quadrangle
of the Oil-merchant to Dawwara-al-Himar (the Mound of
the Ass), and there turns off from it at this point a canal
called Nahr-al-Eilab (the Dogs' Canal), which goes along the
* Reading of MS. doubtful.
t In the MS. this name may be read Al-Jaicirln, " the Batchers."
j.b.a.s. 1895. 19
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288 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
road of the Fief of the Dogs, and flowing on finally falls into
the Nahr 'lea at (the bridge called) JCantara-ash-Shawk. But
the main canal passes on from the Dawwara-al-Himar to
a place known as the Quadrangle of Salih, and here there
turns from it a canal called (after the Cooks who sell Fried-
meats) Nahr-al-Jtallayin, which passing on extends to (the
place called) As-Sawakln, and thence to the Reed-weavers'
quarter, where it flows out into the Nahr-ad-Dajaj (before
described), and from this point the two form one canal.
(Returning to) the Quadrangle of Salih, the main canal
passes on to a place where it becomes the Nahr Tabak,
and then finally it falls into the Nahr 'Isa at a place
known as Mashra'at-al-As (the Myrtle-passage), which
is over against the Melon-house (Dar Battlkh).
Such, therefore, are the Canals of (the quarter of) Al-
Karkh ; and there remain over the canals of the Harbiyya
(quarter), and these, if it please Allah, may He be exalted !
I will also detail unto thee.
1 In order to understand the following description, a few
lines must be devoted to a summary account of the
topography of ancient Baghdad. The original city,
as founded by the Caliph Al-Mansur, was circular,
being surrounded by a double wall and ditch, with
four equidistant gates. From gate to gate measured
an Arab mile (about one English mile and a quarter),
and the circumference being thus four Arab miles,
the diameter of the town was rather over one mile.
This circular city stood on the western side of the
Tigris, immediately above the point where the Sarat
Canal, coming from the Nahr 'Isa, joined the Tigris,
and the Sarat flowed round the southern side of the
city. The four gates were: first, the Basra Gate,
opening S.E. and down-stream, overlooking the Sarat
where it was crossed by the New Bridge ; second,
the Kufa Gate, opening S.W., and at a short distance
above the Sarat, across which, by the Old Bridge,
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 289
lay the great Eufa high road; third, the Syrian
Gate, opening N.W. on the Harbiyya quarter ; and
fourth, the Khurasan Gate, opening N.E., overlooking
the Tigris and the great Bridge-of-Boats which crossed
the river. In after times the name of this fourth
gate, the Bab Khurasan, was transferred to the gate
of the city on the eastern bank, through which
passed the great high road to Persia (see Section X.).
Such was the city founded and finished by Al-
Mansur in about a.h. 146 (763), but which, becoming
the capital of the Abbasids, very quickly outgrew
its earlier limits. Already under Al-Mansur the
markets were removed from his circular (and walled)
city, to a suburb built on the southern side of the
Sarat Canal. This market-suburb faced the Basra
Gate, and was given the name of Al-Karkh. Ya'kubi
says (p. 246) that it extended two leagues in length
by one league across. From Al-Karkh northward,
and westward — past the Kufa Gate and along the
Sarat, towards Al-Muhawwal, a village three miles
from Baghdad — the Caliph divided the ground into
fiefs for his nobles, and the lands were soon covered
with buildings which extended to beyond the suburb
of the Anbar Gate. Lastly, on the northern side
of the original city, up-stream, and beyond the
Syrian Gate, lay the Harb quarter, which was
bounded to the north by the line of Tahir's Trench.
In the century and a half which had elapsed,
counting from the date of the foundation of the
city down to the epoch at which Ibn Serapion
wrote, Baghdad had undergone many changes. It
had never recovered the destructive effects of the
great siege, when Al-Amln had defended himself,
to the death, against the troops of his brother
Al-Maraun; and again it had suffered semi-depopu-
lation by the removal of the seat of Government to
Samarra (see Section I. note 3). The original round-
city of Al-Mansur had long ago been absorbed into the
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290 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
great capital, which covered ground measuring about
five miles across in every direction, and the circular
walls must, at an early date, have been levelled.
The four gates, however, had remained and had
given their names to the first suburbs, which, in
time, had been absorbed into the Western town and
become one half of the great City of Peace (Dar-as-
Salam), the Baghdad of the Caliphs.
* The Sarat Canal dates back to Sassanian times. It
is a prominent feature in the history of the Muslim
conquest (cf. Biladhuri, p. 246), and the name was
apparently transferred in later times to the other
Sarat, mentioned above (Section VI. note 6). Kan-
tara-as-Siniyyat may mean "the Porcelain Bridge"
(Sin being the Arab name for China). Possibly,
however, the word is of Aramaic origin, signifying
" of the Date-palms," for As-Sin, with this sense, is
a name common to many places in Babylonia (ef m
Z.D.M.G. XXXIX. p. 9, note 4). Yakut (III. 378)
in the place of As-Slniyyat, gives As-Sablbat, pro-
bably a clerical error, for the MSS. of Al-Khatib
confirm Ibn Serapion.
The Patrician's Mills are described by Ya'kubl
(p. 243) and Yakut (II. 759). The name of the
bridge near these is written by Al-Khatib (f. 104)
Az-Zabd, and Zabad is given in Yakut (II. 914) aa
the name of a place in Western Baghdad "mentioned
in the Histories." Al-Mansur granted these mills
in fief to Al-'Abbas, his brother, and after him,
doubtless the neighbouring Bridge of AI- 'Abbas was
called. The Old Bridge, opposite the Kufa Gate,
Ya'kubl (p. 244) states, was one of the first to be
built by Al-Mansur; the New Bridge, opposite the
Basra Gate, Biladhuri (p. 295) ascribes to Al-Mahdi.
The famous Kasr-al-Khuld, "the Palaoe of Per-
petuity," on the Tigris bank, Yakut (II. 459) states,
was built by Al-Mansur. It was the favourite
residence of Harun-ar-Rashld^ and apparently fell
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 291
to ruin after the great siege of Baghdad, during
the civil war following the death of that Caliph ;
for Harun-ar-Rashid's son, Al-Amin, had, at the last,
entrenched himself with his troops in this palace.
It lay immediately below the great Bridge-of-Boate
crossing the Tigris to the eastern quarter. On the
site of the palace the Bu way hid prince 'Adud-ad-
Dawla, in a.h. 368 (978), built his famous Hospital
(Bimaristan).
s The Trench of Tahir took its name from the founder
of the Tahirid Dynasty of Khurasan, who had been
the General of the troops of Al-Mamun during the
civil war. He crushed the power of Al-Amin, and
was responsible for his death. The Harbiyya quarter
was named after Harb-ibn-'Abd-Allah of Balkh,
who, Yakut (II. 234) states, was a favourite of
Al-Mansur. By the thirteenth century a.d. the
Harbiyya had come to be a separate walled-suburb,
with its own markets, lying two miles distant from
old Baghdad. Ibn Hawkal (p. 164) describes the
Harbiyya as lying opposite, on the western bank
of the Tigris, to the Shammasiyya on the eastern
side. Ishak, son of Ibrahim the Tahirid, near
whose Dar (or palace) the Trench flowed out into
the Tigris, is, I presume, the member of that
family who, according to Mas'ud! (VII. 381), was
Governor of Baghdad under Al-Mutawakkil, while
that Caliph was living at Samarra. Yakut (III. 378)
is certainly in error in stating that the Trench of
Tahir flowed out into the Tigris, "in front of the
Gate of Al-Basra." He must here have confounded
it with the Sarat
Umm Ja'far (the Mother of Ja'far) was the
surname of the famous Zubayda, cousin and chief
wife of Harun-ar-Rashid, and mother of Al-Amin
(see Section V. note 3). The Zubaydiyya Fief
(mentioned below) is referred to by Yakut (II. 917,
IV. 141).
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292 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
4 From Al-Muhawwal to the first bridge (the Yasiriyya)
on the 'lea Canal, measured one mile, and as the
Karkhaya is said to have branched off "a short
distance" below Al-Muhawwal, I presume its head
to have been above the Yasiriyya. Yakut (IV. 252)
quotes the present account of the Karkhaya, but
adds that by the thirteenth century a.d. all trace
of this canal had disappeared. Of the places here
mentioned most do not occur again in Yakut. The
Hospital (Blmaristan) is not to be confounded with
that built by 'Adud-ad-Dawla (see note 2). Ya'kubi
(p. 244) describes the gate called Bab Muhawwal as
leading out to the suburb of Humayd, which Yakut
(II. 750) says was called after one of the nobles of
Al-Mansur — Humayd, the son of Al-Kahtaba, who
gave his name to a road mentioned below (see Sec-
tion XII. note 3). The Suwayka, " little Suk" or
Market of Abu-1-Ward, Yakut (III. 201) describes
as having been built by a certain judge, in the
reign of Al-Mahdi. The same authority (I. 592)
states that Zalzal, who dug the Pool called after him,
was the great lute-player, brother-in-law of the
celebrated musician Ibrahim of Mosul, whose music
was the delight of Harun-ar-Rashld and his court.
The gateway called the Arch (Tak) of the Harranian
was built by a certain Ibrahim, whom Yakut (III.
489) calls a freedman of Al-Mansur.
9 The two places called Ad-Darrabat — which may mean
"the female musicians" — and Al-Khafka are men-
tioned by Al-Ehatib (f. 104), who quotes this passage.
Khafka, which means "a short sleep, a nap," is
curious as a place-name. Al-'Amud signifies the
" main-stream " of a river or canal.
6 Nahr-ad-Dajaj, "the Fowls' Canal," is mentioned by
Ya'kubi (p. 250) and Yakut (IV. 838). The
Poulterers had their market here. The Nahr-al-
Kilab, "the Dogs' Canal," took its name from the
Dogs' IHef, adjacent thereto, which Al-Kbatib mentions
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 293
(f. 83) as having been so called by Al-Mansur (and for
want of a better designation) by reason of the number
of these animals which had congregated there. The
Nahr-al-Kallayin, named from the cooks who fried
fish and lived on this canal, is mentioned by Yakut
(IV. 843). He adds that a village called Warthal
stood on this spot before the building of Baghdad.
He also describes (IV. 841) the Nahr T&bak, stating
(III. 486) that it derived its name from the great
44 tiles" (idbak) made here, with which it was
customary to pave the houses in Baghdad. Yakut
adds that this canal was originally called the Nahr
Babak, having been dug by Babak or Papak, the
Sassanian. It apparently flowed out into the Nahr 'Isa
near the palace called the Kasr 'Isa. Ya'kubi, on the
other hand (p. 250), says that this canal took its name
from a certain man called Tabak-ibn-Samyah. The
Dar-al-Battikh, " the Melon House/' is mentioned by
Yakut (IL 517), but he gives no details.
[SECTION XII.]
Canals of the Harbiyya. 1
Of these is a Canal, which is brought from the Dujayl
and is called the Nahr Batatiya.' Its point of origin is
six leagues below the head of the Dujayl. It passes thence,
watering many domains and villages, and goes by the midst
of (the district of) Maskin, whence it flows out through the
domains, and here is lost
But there is brought from the Batatiya, from a point
a little below the Bridge- of -Boats of Batatiya, a canal
which flows on towards Baghdad, into which it passes, by
the conduit of the KG raj at the Bridge of the Gate of Al«
Anhar. It enters Baghdad at this point, passing along
the road of the Bab-al-Anbar, and, traversing the road of
Al-Kabsh, there disappears.
Now from the Nahr Batatiya aforesaid is brought
another canal, its origin being at a point lower down than
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294 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
that of the first canal. It flows towards Baghdad, and
passes (into the city) by a conduit called 'Abbarat-al-Kukb,
which crosses (the Trench of Tahir) between the (gates of
the) Bab Harb and the Bab-al-Hadid. Passing this, it
enters Baghdad, running down the road of Dujayl to (the
Quadrangle of the Persians) Murabba'at-al-Furs. Here
there is taken from it a canal called Nahr Dukkan-al-
Ibna (of the Shops of the Persian-Arab nobles); which
flowing off disappears.
The main canal passes on from the Quadrangle of the
Persians to the Bridge of Abu-1- Jawn.* Here there is taken
from it a canal to the place of the Scribes for the Orphans,
and thence to the (Quadrangle called) Murabba'a Shabib,
and there it falls out into the canal of the road (near the
Syrian Gate), as we shall describe below.
The main canal passes on from the bridge of Abu-1-Jawn
to the road of the (palace called) Kasr Hani, thence it passes
to the (garden called) Bustan-al-Kass, and finally it flows
out into the canal which passes down the road of the
Kahtaba's.
From the Nahr Batatiya is brought a canal, whose origin
is from the (channel called) Kanat-al-Kukh ; and it flows to
Baghdad. It passes by the Conduit, which is a Kuraj, over
the bridge of the Bab Harb, and there enters BaghdSd.
Flowing down the middle of the road of the Bab Harb,
it comes to the road of (the house called) Bar Ibn Abu-
'Awn, 4 and next to the Quadrangle of Abu-l-'Abbas.
Thence it passes to the Quadrangle of Shabib, where there
falls into it the canal (of the Scribes for the Orphans), as
we have already mentioned; and from this point it passes
to the Bab-ash-Shftm (the Gate of Syria).
These, therefore, which we have discussed, are the Canals
of (Baghdad), the City of Peace. Now the canals which
are in (the quarter called) Al-Harbiyya are (the kind of
water-courses called) Kanat, and they run underground,
but (their courses outside the city) where they begin are
(canals and) uncovered, as, please Allah, may He be exalted!
thou hast understood.
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DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 295
1 The water of the Harbiyya Canals had to cross the
Xhandak, or Trench of Tahir, in order to reach
the Harbiyya quarter, and the conduits generally
passed over by the bridges crossing the trench in
front of the several gates. A water-conduit, cross*
ing at right angles a lower canal, appears, in
Baghdad, to have been called either Kuraj or
'Abbara. Kuraj is the name which Yakut (IV.
198) gives to one of the canals of the Western
quarter, which was brought down from the Katul,
and which, whenever it broke its banks, laid
the whole of that part of Baghdad under water.
M. de Goeje says (Hittoire des Carmathes, 2nd
edition, note 3 to p. 13), that Kuraj is the Arab
form of the Persian Kura "a canal." The word
'Abb&ra, which lbn Serapion also uses, does not
occur in this sense in our Arabic dictionaries ; but
it is evident from the present and the following
passages that 4 Abb&ra means "a small aqueduct or
water-conduit crossing a canaL" In many cases
the word Kuraj of lbn Serapion's MS. is replaced
in the corresponding passage of Al-Khatib by the
word 'Abb&ra — which is a noun formed from the
verb 'abara, "to cross over,' 1 following the gram-
matical form of such words as Kalldsa, "a lime-
kiln," and KayyQra, "a bitumen-pit," (cf. W.
Wright's Grammar, 2nd edition, I. 199).
* The paragraph on the Batatiya Canal is given, in a
mutilated form, by Yakut (IV. 835), who quotes
it at second-hand from Al-Khatib. Shari'-al-Kabsh,
"the Road of the Ram," is mentioned by Yakut
(IV. 233), who speaks of Al-Kabsh-wa-1-Asad, "the
Ram and the Lion," as a quarter of Western
Baghdad, in his day long gone to ruin. It was
the limit, according to Al-Khatib (f. 67), of the
houses of Baghdad on the west. Murabba'at-al-
Furs, "the Quadrangle of the Persians," Yakut
states (IV. 485) was a fief granted by Al-Mansur
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296 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
to certain men of that nation. The reading Nahr
Dukkan-aLIbnd is from the Paris MSS. of Al-Khatib.
The word Dukkan is used by so early an authority
as Biladhuri (p. 281) in the usual sense of a
"balcony," or "shop"; while Ibnd is the term
applied by the Arabs to the nobles of Persian race
who ruled in Arabia (see Mas'udi, IV. 188).
8 The Bridge of Abu-1-Jawn is mentioned incidentally
by Yakut (III. 277). The Quadrangle of Shabib
the same authority states (III. 489) was named
after a certain Shablb-ibn-Rah ; Biladhuri (p. 296),
however, gives him as Ibn Waj. The Garden of
Al-Kass is mentioned by both Biladhuri (p. 296)
and Ya'kubi (p. 247) as being named after a certain
freedman of the Caliph Al-Mansur. The road
which was called after the family of the Kahtaba,
since their houses and fiefs bordered it, is referred
to by Ya'kubi (p. 246), who speaks also of the
Suburb called after Al-Hasan Ibn Kah(aba (see
Section XL note 4).
4 The House of Ibn Abu- 'Awn took its name from the
son of Abu-'Awn, who, according to Yakut (II. 750),
was a freedman of Al-Mansur, and at one time
Governor of Egypt. He was a native of Jurjan,
near the Caspiaq Sea, and was called 'Abd-al-Malik
ibn Zayd or Yazid, according to Ya'kubi (p. 249).
The Quadrangle of Abu-l-'Abbas is given in Yakut
(IY. 485), and is ascribed to a certain Abu-l-'Abbas-
al-Fadl-ibn-Sulayman of Tus, who was one of the
nobles of Al-Mansur.
[SECTION XIII.]
And now as regards the canals Al-Basra, and the
description of Al-Batiha 1 (the Swamp), and (the estuary
of the Tigris called) the Dijla-al-'Awra; verily all these
I will describe unto thee, and grace comes from Allah!
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 297
Description op Al-Batiha 1 (thb Swamp).
Now the beginning of the Swamp is at Al-Katr. This
place is a strait of water growing with reeds. Next to
this comes what is called a Hawr; and Hawr is the name
for a great sheet of (clear) water wherein no reeds grow. 2
The name of this first Hawr is Bahassa.* Following this
comes a strait full of reeds, and then the second Hawr,
which has the name of Bakamsa. Next comes another
strait growing with reeds, and then the third Hawr, the
name of which is Basrayatha. Then another strait with
reeds, and next the fourth Hawr, the name of which is
Al-Muhammadiyya, on which is the (tower called) Minara
Hassan. This last is the largest of all the Hawrs.
Finally there is a last strait with reeds, which extends
down to (the channel called) the Nahr Abu-1-Asad. 8 This
stream passes by Al-Hala and the village of Al-Kawanin,
and it finally falls out into the (Blind Tigris or) Dijla-
al-'Awra.
1 The great Swamps formed by the Euphrates and the
Tigris are called, in Arabic, Al-Batiha or, in the
plural, Al-Batayih. Biladhurl (p. 292) dates the
origin of the Swamps as far back as the reign of
the Persian king Kubadh I., towards the end of
the fifth century a.d., when the dykes on the
Tigris, having been for many years neglected, the
waters poured through a breach below Kaskar and
flooded the low-lying lands. During the reign of
Anushirwan the Just, son and successor of Kubadh,
the dykes were partially repaired and the lands
brought back under cultivation; but under King
Khusraw Farwiz, the contemporary of Muhammad,
and about the year seven or eight after the Flight
(a.d. 629), both the Tigris and the Euphrates rose
in such flood as had never before been seen, burst
their dykes in various places, and laid all the
* Beading uncertain.
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298 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
surrounding country under water. According to the
account in Biludhurl, King Parwiz himself super-
intended the repair of the dykes, sparing (he writes)
neither men's lives nor money, "crucifying forty
dyke-men, at a certain breach, in one day, and yet
was unable to master the water." The Swamps,
thus formed, became permanent, for, during the
succeeding years, when the Muslims were over-
running Mesopotamia and destroying the Persian
monarchy, the dykes naturally were left uncared
for. " Then breaches came in all the embankments,
and none attended, for the Dikhans (the Persian
landlords) were powerless to renew the great dykes,
and so the Swamps lengthened and widened."
Ibn Rusta (p. 94) describes the Swamps in his
day as occupying a space measuring thirty leagues
(about 100 miles) across in every direction. They
were covered with reeds, and their waters abounded
with fish, which were caught, salted, and exported.
In another passage (p. 185) the same author describes
how the Tigris below Al-Katr divides into three
branches, through which its waters flowed into the
Swamps. These waterways were too shallow to float
the river-boats, and the cargoes from them were
therefore transferred to skiffs, which were able to
navigate the channels through the swamps, and pass
out into the open spaces of clear water, the name
of which Ibn Rusta writes "Hawl" (p. 185). He
continues: — "Now, in among these channels, dry
places have been made on platforms formed of
reeds, and huts have been built, where shelter may
be had from the gnats. In each of these huts five
men are stationed as guards."
* The names given for the four Hawrs (in Ibn Rusta
written Hawt), or sheets of open water, in the
Swamps, are not, to my knowledge, mentioned by
any other geographer. The first Hawr, called Bah-
assa, is written in the MS. without diacritical points,
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 299
and the first letter (which I have pointed to read B)
may just as likely be read T, Th, N, or Y. Bakamsa
and Basrayatha are written clearly, with points.
Al-Muhammadiyya, a name common to many towns,
does not occur in other authorities as the name of
a place in the Swamps. Hassan, the Nabathraan,
whose tower, or minaret, existed at this place, is
referred to by Biladhurl (p. 293) and Kudama
(p. 240) as having been employed by the Governor,
Al-Hajjaj, to drain and reclaim lands in the Swamps,
during the days of the Omayyad Caliphs.
The main channel leading out from the Swamps was the
canal called the Nahr of Abu-1-Asad, who is stated
by Biladhurl (p. 293) to have been a Freedman of the
Caliph Al-Mansur. He was at one time in command
of troops at Al-Basra, and either dug or widened
this canal, so as to allow boats to pass along it;
for more probably the canal already existed from
Persian times, as Yakut remarks (IY. 830).
[SECTION XIV.]
Description of the Dijla-al-'Awra.
Now, where the (water) flows out from the Nahr Abu-1-
Asad, the Dijla-al-'Awra (the Blind Tigris) l lies in front,
going crosswise. The road to Al-Basra is that on the
light hand where the (water) flows out ; while to the left
is the road leading to 'AbdasI and Al-Madhar. 2 And in
this last direction there is no exit or river-mouth, for on
the contrary (the water flowing up it) this is the limit
reached by the ebb and' flow of the tides. When the (water)
comes out from (the channel called) the Nahr Abu-1-Asad,
and turning leaves the same, the (main-stream) passes near
the following places, namely 8 : Ad-Daskara, Al-Maftah, 'Ab-
badan, and Sulaymanan; and finally it flows out into the
sea below 'Abbadan. We will later on detail to thee the
positions of these villages and cities on the two banks of
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300 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
the Blind Tigris, at the time when we describe the Roads
and Ways ; if it please Allah, be He exalted !
1 I have translated Dijla-al-'Awra by "Blind Tigris/'
for the word 'Awr&, which means in Arabic "blind
of one eye/' is applied, as an epithet, to rivers
that have become silted up. In the same sense a
road is said to be "blind," along which there is
no sign of the way. The corresponding verb, which
is used by Ibn Rusta for the "silting up" of the
Tigris, has in the dictionaries (cf. those of Lane
and Dozy, 8. v.) the meaning "to become blind,"
and also " to become halt or maimed."
The Blind Tigris, called in Persian Bahmanshir
(Tanbih, p. 52 ; and Yakut, I. 770), also known as the
Fayd or " Estuary " of Al- Basra, corresponds exactly
(as described by Ibn Serapion) with the present
Shatt-al-'Arab, extending from modern Eorna down-
wards as far as 'Abbadan, for in the tenth century
a.d. the Persian Gulf came up north to this line.
The distances between the Basra Canals (given in
the next Section) tend to the conclusion that the
Nahr Abu-l-Asad was identical with the last reach
of the present Euphrates, before its confluence with
the Tigris at Eorna; while the present Tigris, or
rather the last six leagues of its course above
Eorna, is the channel referred to in this and the
next Section as the Nahr-al-Madhar, which is said
to have been dammed up towards 'Abdasi and
Al-Madhar. The exact position of these two cities
is uncertain ; i>ut they must have been situated on
or near what is at present the course of the Tigris
immediately above Eorna. According to Ibn Rusta
(confirmed by Yakut, I. 669, line 15), in Sassanian
times, and before the bursting of the dykes which
led to the formation of the Swamps (see note 1 to
Section XIII.), the Tigris of those days followed
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 301
the same eastern channel which it does at the
present time. The account in Ibn Rusta (p. 94)
appears to me of sufficient importance to be worth
translating : " Now, as to the Blind Tigris, verily
before, the days of Islam it used to go straight up
from Al-Madhar, where at the present day the
channel is stopped ; for passing up thence by 'Ab-
dasl, which is of the districts of Dasti-Maysan, the
channel came out (from the present Tigris bed) at
Al-Ehayzuraniyya, above Fam-as-Silh, in the district
of Wasit. From thence you pass up to Al-Madain.
Now sea-going ships used, of old, to sail in from
the land of India, coming up the Tigris of Al-Basra,
and thence could attain to Al-Madain, for they
would sail up (from the Estuary of Al-Basra) and
come out above Fam-as-Silh, passing into the Tigris
of (the part below where in later times was) Baghdad,
whence they came to Al-Madain. But after those
(ancient) days the river burst its banks, flowing out
over the land in front (and south) of the place where
Wasit afterwards stood, and here its waters formed
the Swamps, as these are known at the present
time Now of old there used to be Swamps
at a place called Jukha, lying between Al-Madhar
and 'AbdasI, where the waters of the Tigris had
collected in the days prior to the shifting of the
river-bed into the present (western) course down
by Wasit. But when this change of course took
place and the water of the Tigris ceased to flow
down its old channel, this place became a desert and
arid, so that he who now passes through (Jukha)
in the summer time suffers from the full force of
the Simun wind." Al-Ehayzuraniyya, above Fam-
as-Silh, where the ships are said to have passed into
the reaches of the Tigris, above where the Swamps
afterwards formed, is doubtless the same place which
Ya'kubl names (p. 322) Kanatir-al-Ehayzuran, " the
Bridges, or Arches of Ehayzuran," and which he
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302 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
places on the eastern bank of the river, between
Al-Mubarik (opposite Nahr Sabus) and Fam-as-Silh.
* 'Abdasi, according to Yakut (III. 603), was the Arabi-
cized name of the Persian Afdasahi, which was one
of the hamlets of Kaskar, and the name passed to
the Arab township which came to occupy the older
site.
Al-Madhar was a city of much importance at the
date of the Arab conquest, being the capital of the
province of Maysan. As already noted, it must have
stood on or near the ancient, eastern, course of the
Tigris, which was more or less identical with the
modern course of the river. In Biladhurl (p. 342),
the city is described as not far from Dasti-Maysan.
Although no trace of its ruins can be found on the
modern maps, Yakut (IY. 468), in the thirteenth
century a.d., writes as though Al-Madhar still
existed, and states that it lay four days' journey
from Al-Basra, being situated between Al-Basra and
Wasit. It was celebrated for its beautiful mosque
and venerated for the tomb of 'Abd- Allah, one of
the sons of the Caliph 'All.
8 Of the other towns mentioned in this section, 'Abbadan
is the only one of which the exact position is known.
It exists at the present day, but lies more than
twenty miles inland from the present sea-coast. In
the tenth century, Mukaddasi (p. 118) describes
'Abbadan as a city on the sea-coast, standing on
the island formed by the estuaries of the Tigris and
the Dujayl (or Karun river). He adds : " There
is no land opposite to 'Abbadan, only the open
sea." It was counted as twelve leagues march from
Al-Basra.
To judge from the native map in the Paris MS.,
Sulaymanan lay on the Persian side of this island.
Ibn Hawkal (p. 173) describes the town as lying
"over against (or opposite) 'Abbadan," and Bill*
dhurl (p. 364) states that it took its name from a
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DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 303
certain Sulayman ibn Jabir, surnaraed " the Ascetic."
Ad-Daskara, meaning " the flat-land," Yakut writes
(II. 575), is a name common to many places, but the
position of this particular As-Daskara is not given.
Al-Maftah is mentioned by Ibn Hawkal (p. 171) as
situated near the western frontier of the Xhuzistan
Province, on the line between Bayan and Al-Madhar.
Yakut (IV. 586) refers to it as a village lying
between A 1- Basra and Wasit, belonging to the pro-
vince of Al-Basra. The native map in the Paris MS.
places Al-Maftah opposite the exit of the Nahr
Ma'kil, and it must have stood near the great estuary,
for in the Tanbih (p. 52) the Blind Tigris is given
the name of the " Tigris of Al-Maftah."
[SECTION XV.]
Description of the Canals of Al-Basra. 1
Now Al-Basra lies near (the estuary called) the Fayd
of (Al-Basra), and into this estuary its canals empty them-
selves. Further, the ebb and flow of the tide comes up to
the utmost limit of these canals, and flows back therefrom.
The first canal which branches from the (estuary), after
you come out from the Nahr Abu-1-Asad, is that which lies
on the right hand, and it extends as far as Al-Basra. 2
It is called the Nahr-al-Marah, and its beginning is two
leagues from the exit of the Nahr Abu-1-Asad.
The second canal is that called the Nahr-ad-Dayr ; and
it begins three leagues from the Nahr-al-Marah.
The third canal is the one called Bithk Shirln; and it
begins six leagues below the Canal of Ad-Dayr.
The fourth canal is that called the Nahr Ma'kil, 8 and
between it and the Bithk Shirln is a distance of two leagues.
The fifth canal is that called the Nahr-al-Ubulla ; and
Al-TTbulla is at its head. Between this and the Nahr
Ma'kil * is a distance of four leagues.
* MS. reads Nahr-al-Ubulla, in error.
j.u.A.s. 1S95. 20
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304 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
The sixth canal 4 is called Al-Yahudi; and between it and
Al-Ubulla is four leagues.
The seventh canal is that called the Nahr Abu-1-Khasib,
and it lies a league below the canal of Al-Yahudi.
The eighth canal is that called the Nahr-al-Amir ; and
it flows at a league below the Nahr Abu-1-Khasib.
The ninth canal is called the Nahr-al-Kandil, and it is
two leagues below the Nahr-al-Amir.
These nine canals all flow out into (the estuary called)
the Fayd of Al-Basra. They are each some four leagues in
the length, but some are more, some less. Now this estuary
has its mouth by the Dijla-al-'Awra (the Blind Tigris) at
'Abbadan, at the time of the ebb, and it forms a consider-
able body of water. The town of 'Abbadan lies on the
sea-shore, and the sea comes close up to it. And in regard
to all these nine canals, there is none but from it have
been taken numerous smaller canals, which water the
adjacent domains.
These, therefore, are the celebrated and mighty canals of
Al-Basra, which flow out by the western bank of the Dijla-
al-'Awra, and there remain to mention those of the eastern
side, which next I will describe to thee, if it please Allah,
be He exalted 1
1 Al-Basra, the great commercial port of Baghdad and
Mesopotamia, lay on the Arabian side of the Estuary
of Al-Basra, in other words the Blind Tigris, and
was about twelve miles, as the crow flies, from its
bank. Two great canals — the Nahr Ma'kil on the
north-east, and the Nahr-al-Ubulla on the south-
east — brought the ships up from the estuary to the
quays of the town, which stood at the junction of
these two canals. Mukaddasi (p. 117) describes
Al-Basra as having its greatest length along this
junction-canal, with houses extending back to the
desert border behind, where a single gate opened to
the plain. In its width, from the canal bank to
this gate, the city measured three miles across. The
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 305
modern village of Zubayr now occupies the site of
old Basra, for the present town named Basra stands
on the estuary of the Shatt-ai-'Arab, and is probably
identical in situation with the ancient Al-Ubulla.
Of the nine canals lying on the western or Arabian)
side of the Tigris estuary, the highest up, called!
generally the Nahr-al-Marah or " the Woman's
Canal/ 9 appears to be identical with a Nahr Murra, I
which, according to Biladhuri (p. 360), was dug by J
a certain Murra, the Freedman of one of the sonsj
of the Caliph Abu Bakr. In explanation of the/
name Al-Marah, another tradition; given by Yakut
(IV. 844) states that the "woman" after whom the
oanal was named was a certain Persian princess
with whom Khalid, General of the Muslim army,
made a treaty of peace. The Nahr-ad-Dayr took
its name from a Dayr or " Cloister " which stood at
the mouth of this canal ; and a village of that name
still exists at the spot indicated. According to
Yakut (II. 660, IV. 839), a monastery called Dayr-
ad-Dihdar had stood here from the days before
Islam. Many monks lived in it, and the place was
held in high honour by the Christians. The town
was noted for the excellent porcelain dishes, which
were manufactured here, and exported for sale to
Al-Basra. According to Biladhuri (p. 367), the
Nahr Bithk Shirin takes its name from Shirin, the
beautiful wife of King Ehusraw Parwlz. Bithk
means a " cutting " in the dyke, through which
water flows.
The fourth canal, the Nahr Ma'kil, is, as before stated, :
the chief waterway from the north by which ships
reached Al-Basra. It was called after Ma'kil-ibn-
Yasar, a companion of the Prophet, who dug this
canal during the reign of 'Omar (Yakut, IV. 845).
The Persian pilgrim, Nasir-i-Khusraw (p. 85), who
visited. Al-Basra in a.h. 443 (1051), describes the
Nahr Ma'kil and the Nahr-al-TJbulla as being each
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306 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAIX
four leagues in length. Between the two lay a
tract of land forming a great island, oblong in
shape, for the ends were each but a league across.
One short side of the oblong lay on the Tigris
Estuary going from Al-Ubulla up to the mouth of
the Ma'kil Canal, and the parallel short side was
the waterway, joining the ends of the two canals
already named, and on the desert-side of which stood
the city of Al-Basra. These measurements of Nasir-
i-Khusraw agree very exactly with what is found on
the modern maps, for a place called Ma'kil still
exists about one league north of Al-Ubulla (which
is the modern town of Basra), on the Shatt-
al-'Arab. The distance separating these two canals,
given at "four leagues" by Ibn Serapion, is there-
fore probably an overstatement, and we should read
" one league, " as reported in the diary of the
Persian pilgrim. Al-Ubulla took its name from an
ancient town which the Greeks called Apo logos. It
stood at the end of the Nahr-al-Ubulla, the water-
way by which ships left Al-Basra when setting sail
for the Indian seas. Al-Ubulla, lying at the mouth
of this canal on its northern bank, had the great
Estuary of the Tigris to the eastward. Facing
Al-Ubulla, on the southern bank of the canal mouth,
was the hamlet called Shikk 'Oth man, Shikk meaning
"a cutting," or "breach in a dyke." Opposite
Al-Ubulla, across the great Estuary of the Tigris,
here about a league wide, lay the town of 'Askar
Abu-Ja'far, whence, according to Mukaddasi (pp. 118
and 135), the caravans set out for Al-Ahwaz.
4 Of the four remaining canals on the western side, the
Nahr-al-Yahudi, the " Jew's Canal," appears to have
left no trace of its name on the modern maps, and
I can find no notice of the origin of the name.
The Nahr Abu-1-Khasib is stated by Biladhuri
(p. 362) to have taken its name from. Abu-1-KhasIb
ilarzuk, a freedman of the Caliph Al-Mansur, who
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 307
granted him the lands here in fief. The name isj
still found on the present map. The Nahr-al-Amlr,
according to Biladhurl (p. 362), was called originally ■
the Nahr Amlr-al-Muminin, " the Canal of the Com-'
mander of the Faithful," to wit the Caliph A1-,
Mansur, who caused it to he dug, and granted its,'
lands in fief to his son Ja'far. The last canal is
the Nahr-al-Kandil, which Yakut (IV. 843) pro-
nounces Kindal, and Abu-1-Fida (p. 57) Kundul.
The origin of the name appears to be unknown.
It is worth noting that Abu-1-Fida (pp. 56 and 57)
has copied this Section XV. of Ibn Serapion, almost
verbatim, into his Geography.
[SECTION XVI.]
Canals to the west op the Basra Estuary.
Of these, on coming forth from the Nahr Abu-1-Asad,
the first is a canal called the Nahr-al-Madhar.* From it
are taken many minor canals, but at the end of the canal
is a dam. Its length is six leagues. 1
The second canal is that called the Nahr-ar-Rayyan ; and
it is situated thirteen leagues from [Al-Madhar].t From
it are taken many minor canals, and it was originally one
of the highways to Al-Ahwaz, but it is now dammed. Its
length is six leagues.
The third canal is that called the Nahr Bayan, 2 and this
at the present time is the highway to Al-Ahwaz. From
the head of this canal you pass to Hisn Mahdl, 3 and thence
to Fam Dahastan, which is on the (Estuary from the) sea.
Thence to Suk Bahr, 4 from which you pass along in the
Nahr-as-Sidra, and from whence (you descend) to the sea.
From Suk Bahr to (the canal called) Al-Masrukan is the
river of Al-Ahwaz, which is but a little way, going across,
and thence you travel to the cities of Al-Ahwaz. 5
* MS. Al- Miliar, in error.
t The MS. reads Al-Mubarik, probably a mistake.
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308 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
Now the canal of Al-Masrukan we will describe later on/
if it please Allah Almighty.
1 The channel leading up to Al-Madhar has been already
discussed (see Notes 1 and 2 to Section XIV.). The
second canal, the Nahr-ar-Rayyan, appears to have
started from a place marked Riyan on Eiepert's map.
Ar-Rayyan is mentioned by Ibn Ehurdadbih (p. 12)
as one of the three districts of Easkar. Other canals
of this name occur in the works of Biladhurl and
Yakut, but not this Nahr-ar-Rayyan. For "Al-
Mubarik" in the MS. I have substituted "Al-
Madhar," for the distance given agrees. However,
Yakut (IV. 408) mentions Al-Mubarik as one of
the canals of Al- Basra, which was dug by Ehalid-
al-Easri, governor of the Two 'Iraks under the
Omayyad Caliph Hishara ; but the position of the
canal is not given by Yakut
I 2 The Nahr Bay an, called after the town of that name —
which, according to Istakhri (p. 95) and Yakut
(I. 773 J, stood on the eastern side of the Tigris
Estuary, five leagues below Al-U bulla — raises a
question of some interest. A reference to the map
shows that the Bayan Canal occupies the position of
the Haffar Channel, by which, at the present day,
the waters of the Karun River are for the most part
discharged into the Shatt-al-'Arab. The modern
Mohammerah, which stands at the western end of
this channel, must very nearly be identical in site
with the older town of Bayan. A passage in Mu-
kaddasi, who wrote about three-quarters of a century
later than Ibn Serapion, assigns the digging of this
important channel to his contemporary, the Buwayhid
Prince 'Adud-ad-Dawla, who reigned from a.h. 338
to 372 (949-982). The canal, however, must have
existed before his time, and even before the date of
* See next section.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 309
Ibn Serapion, for it is referred to by Kudama (p. 194),
who wrote in a.h. 266 (880), under the name of the
Nahr-al-Jadid, "the New Canal." Doubtless under*
the orders of 'Adud-ad-Dawla it was sufficiently
widened to permit the passage of sea-going ships;
and this is what* is referred to in the following
passage, which I translate from Mukaddasi (p. 419) :
" From Hisn Mahdi to the beginning of the 'Adudi
Canal is a day's journey, and thence you reach the
Tigris. Tou may also ride from Hisn Mahdi to
Bayan in one day's march, across a Sabkha (or Salt-
Marsh) . Now the River Dujayl of Al-Ahwaz, and
the Tigris, each of them forms a broad estuary
(Fayd) which opens out to the China Sea (or Persian
Gulf), and between these two estuaries lies the Salt-
Marah above-mentioned. In former times people,
travelling by boat, were forced to go down by the
Estuary of the Dujayl out to the sea, and then
turning round sail back again and enter the Tigris
Estuary, and thus from the sea reach Al-Ubulla.
But in doing this they encountered both danger and
fatigue, and hence it was that 'Adud-ad-Dawla
opened the Great Canal which leads from the upper
part of the Dujayl Estuary to the Tigris Estuary.
This canal is four leagues long, and the waterway
from Al-Ahwaz to Al-Ubulla is at the present time
along the same."
* Hisn Mahdi, "Mahdi's Fortress," lay at the head of
the ancient estuary of the Dujayl or River of Al-
Ahwaz, which is the modern Karun. Ibn Hawkal
(p. 172) writes: "The rivers of Ehuzistan, which
flow down from Al-Ahwaz, from Ad-Dawrak, from
Tustar, and from other quarters adjacent to these,
all come together at Hisn Mahdi and form an estuary,
where the waters are so abundant and copious as to
be near a league across, and thence they flow down to
the sea." Hisn Mahdi apparently corresponds with
the site of no modern town. It lay one day's march
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310 DESCRIPTION OP MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
above the place where the Bayan Channel flowed
off to the Tigris Estuary. According to Kudama's
distances (p. 194), this fortress was twenty leagues
distant from Al-Ahwaz ; but I have no authority
for determining whether Hisn Mahdi lay on the
western or on the eastern* bank of the estuary of
the Dujayl, and I have only marked it on the
western side because it is more generally mentioned
in connection with the towns of Ai- c Irak.
Fam Dahast&u is apparently mentioned by no other
Arab geographer, and it may be a false reading of
the MS. If, however, the reading Dahastan be
correct, it would possibly be the name of the canal,
whose head (Fam) was below Al-Ahwaz, and which,
after serving to carry off some of the waters of the
Dujayl for irrigation purposes, finally ran out into
the Persian Gulf. Yakut (I. 411) quotes the account
of a geographer called Ibn-al-Muhalhal, who died in
a.h. 330 (942), and this author mentions a Wadi
(river or canal) as branching from the Dujayl below
Al-Ahwaz, and flowing down past Al-Basiyan, a
town that lay half-way between Ad-Dawrak and
Hisn Mahdi.
4 Suk Bahr is given by Yakut (III. 193) as the name of
a place in the province of Al-Ahwaz, where certain
Custom-houses had stood, previous to the date when
the Wazir 'Ali-ibn-al-Jarrah was in office for the
first time. This 'AH, who died in a.h. 334 (946)
was several times Wazir under the Caliph al-Muk-
tadir. He was celebrated for his righteousness and
piety, and had abolished these barriers as unlawful.
The position of the place is not indicated by Yakut,
but it probably lay on the River Dujayl. The word
Bahr> in this and the following paragraphs of the
text, doubtless refers to the great Estuary of the
Dujayl and not the actual open sea, for Bahr in
Arabic, though signifying literally "the sea," is
also used for any great river, or estuary.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 311
The Nahr-as-Sidra, " The River of the Lotus," is
apparently the name given to that part of the
Dujayl which lies immediately below Al-Ahwaz.
5 Siik-al- Ahwaz, " The Market of the Huz " (for Ahwaz
is the Arabic plural of this latter name, which, with
kh 9 the stronger aspirate, is preserved in the name
of the province), is the capital of Khuzistan, the
Land of the Khuz or Huz. The town still exists.
Mukaddasi (p. 411) describes it as lying for the
most part on the eastern bank of the Dujayl, in
which quarter the Markets and the Great Mosque
were found. This eastern quarter was connected by
a long bridge — built of brick arches, called the
Kantara Hinduwan — with an island in the river
Dujayl, which was also covered with the houses of
the city. On the further, or western side of this
island, lay the mainstream of the Dujayl, whose
waters, at a distance of a bow-shot below the city,
poured over a great Shadhurwan, or weir, built of
rocks, which served to dam back the stream for
irrigation purposes. The remains of this weir still
exist, crossing the Karun river.
[SECTION XVII.]*
Description op the River Dujayl op Al-Ahwaz. 1
Its source is in the mountains of the country of Isfahan,
and passing by the cities of Al-Ahwaz, it flows out into
the Eastern Sea (or Persian Gulf). Into the (Dujayl)
flows the River of Junday Sabur, across which is the
Roman Bridge. (Its source is also in) the neighbourhood
of Isfahan, and it flows into the Dujayl of Al-Ahwaz.
From the Dujayl of Al-Ahwaz is brought a canal called
Al-Masrukan.* Its point of origin is above (the weir
♦ This is the paragraph referred to in the last line of Section XVI. It is
eopied from folio 47*. of the MS.
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312 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
called) Ash-Shadhurwan, and it flow* out into the Eastern
Sea (or Persian Gulf).
1 The Dujayl of Al-Ahwaz is, as already noted, the
modern Earun. The River of Junday Sabur is
what is now known as the Ab-i-Diz. The bridge
called by Ibn Serapion Kantara-ar-Riim (of the
Romans or Greeks), Ibn Rusta (p. 90) calls
Kantara-ar-Rudh, " the Bridge of the River/'
and in Ibn Khurdadbih (p. 176} it is given as
Kantara-az-Zab. This is, doubtless, the great bridge
at Dizful.
s The canal called Al-Masrukin (or Al-Mashrukan, as
Ibn Hawkal and most other authorities spell the
name) is the artificial channel, apparently that now
known as the Ab-i-Gerger, which was led off to
the eastward from the Dujayl, through a cutting
in the rocks, above the great Weir at Shustar or
Tustar. Ibn Khurdadbih (p. 176), following our
author, says that the waters of the Masrukan flowed
out "into the sea/' but the tidal Estuary of the
Dujayl is, doubtless, to be understood, here as else-
where, under the word Bahr (sea), the term used.
The course of the various streams of Ehuzistan in
the tenth century a.d. will be best understood by
the following passage, which is translated from Ibn
Hawkal (p. 172) : premising that the town of
'Askar Mukram probably occupied the site of the
modern Band-i-Eir, and that the River of Tustar,
otherwise the Dujayl, flowed in those days by a more
westerly course than it does at the present time,
Ibn Hawkal writes : " The largest of the rivers
of Ehuzistan is that of Tustar, and this is the river
across which, at the gate of Tustar, Eing Sabur
built a Shadhurwan (or weir), in order to raise
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 313
the water to the level of the city-lands, for Tustar
lies on an elevation, very similar to the heights
adjacent in the country near by. Then this river
flows on, passing at the further side of 'Askar
Mukram, and thence goes down to Al-Ahwaz,
where it comes, by the Nahr-as-Sidra, to Hisn
Mahdi, and thence it flows down to the sea. The
Nahr-al-Mashrukan runs from the neighbourhood of
Tustar till it reaches 'Askar Mukram, which town
it divides into two halves. Further on it attains
Al-Ahwaz, but its end is here, and it does not pass
beyond the capital. When the stream has come
to 'Askar Mukram it is crossed by a great bridge
of about twenty boats, and in these parts large
boats can navigate its waters. And I myself (Ibn
Hawkal) have travelled by it from 'Askar Mukram
to Al-Ahwaz, a distance of ten leagues. For the
first six leagues we voyaged by boat, but afterwards
we got out and rode along the course of the stream,
for the remainder of the way from this point to
Al-Ahwaz was a dry road in the river-bed. The
reason of this was that, being then at the end of
the month, the moon was waning, and the flood-
water in this canal is dependent on the ebb and
flow of the tide, and the tide reaches both its lowest
ebb and its highest flow in connection with the
waxing of the moon/'
[SECTION XVIII.]
These, therefore, are the great and celebrated canals of
(the district of) Al-Basra; and having now accomplished
the detail of the same, it will behove thee to work out the
streams which fall into the rivers of the Greek country,
and those of the city of Malatya, in order that thou mayest
thus know all the affluents that flow into these two noble
and mighty rivers (the Euphrates and Tigris), and that
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314 DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD.
none of them remain oyer to thee unexamined, if it please
Allah Almighty.*
Of these, then, is the Nahr Arsanas. Into this flows
a stream called the Nahr-adh-Dhib (the Wolf River). Its
source is in a mountain in the neighbourhood of Kallkala.
It turns and passes by many fortresses, and falls into the
Arsanas a short distance above Shamshat.
There also falls into the Arsanas a river called Nahr-as-
Salkit. It flows forth from the mountains called Jabal
MarOr (or Mazur), and passing by many fortresses it falls
into the Arsanas, one mile below the city of Shamshat, near
a mountain that is over the city, and which closes it in.
Another of these is the Nahr Abrik. Into this river there
falls a stream called the Nahr Zamra. It flows out of the
mountains of Jabal Marur a little way above where the Nahr
Lukiya takes its rise ; and it falls into the Nahr Abrik a
little way below the Castle (Al-Kal'a).
Another of these is the Nahr Jarjarlya. Into this there
flows a stream called the Nahr Ghawth; its source is in
the mountains of the Abrik country, and it falls into the
Nahr Jarjarlya in the midst of a meadow in that country.
The Nahr Kubakib also has affluents; for there flows
into it a stream called the Nahr Karakls. This rises in the
provinces of the Greek country, and flows near to the gate
of Zibatra, and at length falls into the Kubakib.
There also flows into (the River Kubakib) a stream
called the Nahr-az-Zarnuk. Its source is in a mountain
lying between Malatya and Hisn Mansiir. It flows into
the Kubakib below the mouth of the Nahr Karakls.
From the Nahr-az-Zarnuk is taken a canal called the
Nahr Malatya. Passing on it irrigates the domains of
Malatya, and falls into the Kubakib at a point below the
mouth of the Nahr-az-Zarnuk.
From this Nahr Malatya is taken a canal, from which
come the water-channels of the Nahr Malatya. These
irrigate the gardens that lie along the same, and after
* What follows is almost a repetition of Section IV., and such points as offer
any novelty have already been discussed in the Notes to that Section.
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DESCRIPTION OF MESOPOTAMIA AND BAGHDAD. 315
passing through the suburb of Malatya, they ramify
throughout the city. Then, after leaving the city, they
flow out into the river Kubakib, near to, but below, the
Bridge of Kubakib.
So, therefore — through the aid and power of Allah — this
description of the rivers of Al-'Irak, to wit, the Tigris and
the Euphrates, with the streams that flow into them and
the canals that are derived from them, is now concluded.
Contents: Section L, The Tigris, p. 33. — Section II. , The
Euphrates, p. 46. — Section III., Affluents of the Euphrates,
p. 53. — Section IV., Streams flowing into these Affluents,
p. 62. — Section V., Canals between the Euphrates and Tigris,
p. 68. — Section VI., Canals of the Lower Euphrates, p. 255. —
Section VII., Affluents of the Tigris, p. 261.— Section VIII.,
Canals of the Tigris, p. 265. — Section IX., The same continued,
p. 270.— Section X., Canals of Eastern Baghdad, p. 277. —
Section XI., Canals of Western Baghdad, p. 285. — Section
XII., Canals of the Harbiyya Quarter, p. 293. — Section
XIII., The Great Swamp, p. 296.— Section XIV., The Blind
Tigris, p. 299. — Section XV., Canals of Al-Basra, p. 303. —
Section XVI., Canals to the West of Al-Basra, p. 307. —
Section XVII., The River Duj ay 1, p. 311.— Section XVIII.,
Affluents of the Euphrates, p. 313.
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