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TYi'KS AND COSTUMES— GROUP OF ZEIBEK9.

THE

EARTH AND ITS INHABITANTS

ASIA

ELTSEE RECLirS.

EDITED BY

A. H. KEANE, B. A.,

MEMB OF COUNCIL, ANTHROP. INSTITUTE; COR. MEMB. ITALIAN ANTHROP SOP. ; PROFESSOR OF HINDUSTANI, UNIVER-
SITY COL. LONDON; AUTHOR OF "ASIA," LTC.

VOL. IV.

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS AND MAPS.

NEW YORK:

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,

1, 3, and r> BOND STREET.

1885.

{

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
SANTA BARBARA COLLEGE LIBRAR

CONTENTS.

VOL IV.

CHAP.

I. General Survey

II. Afghanistan

Afghan Highlands, p.
Inhabitants, p. 33.
Topography, p. 46.

PAGE

19. River Systems, p. 26. Climate, Flora and Fauna, p. 31.

III. Baluchistan . 58

Highlands, p. 60. River Systems, p. 63. Climate, Flora and Fauna, p. 65. Inhabi-
tants, p. 66.
Topography, p. "0.

IV.

Persia ' ''

Historic Retrospect, p. 75. Mountain Systems, p. 78. The Caspian Coastlands, p. 86.
The Western Highlands, p. 91. The Central Deserts, p. 93. Hydrogiaphic Systems,
p. 95. Climate, Flora, Fauna, p. 101. Inhabitants, p. 104. Topography, ?■ 117. Social
Condition, Administration, Prospects, p. 151.

V. Asiatic Tuhkey ... 1"-

Lazistan, Armenia, and Kurdistan, p. 163. Armenian Highlands, p. 165. Kurdistan High-
lands, p. 167. Lake Van, p. 168. Climate, Flcra, and Fauna, p. 169. Inhabitants:
Lazes, Armenians, Kurds, p. 171. The Kizil-Bashes, Yezidis. and Nestorians, p. 177.
Topography of Armenia and Kurdistan, p. 1 SO.

VI. Lower Kurdistan, Mesopotamia, Irak-Aram 192

Historic Retrospect, p. 193. North Mesopotamian Orographic System, p. 196. The
Tigris Basin, p. 199. The Euphrates Basin, p. 201. The Shat-el-Arab and Euphrates
Delta, p. 211. Climate, Fauna, and Flora of Mesopotamia, p. 213. Inhabitants— The
.Arabs and Kurds, p. 214. Topography of the Tigris Basin, p. 218. Topography of the
Euphrates Basin, p. 230.

VII. Asia Minor 241

General Survey, p. 242. Anatolian Mountain Systems, p. 'Jl ">. The Ami- Taurus and
Cilician Taurus, p. 247. Isaurian and Lycian Taurus, p. 250. West Anatolian I .oastlands
and Islands, p. 254. North Anatolian Ranges%p. 200. The Anatolian Water Systems:
The Yeshil-Irmak-, Kizil-Irmak, and Sakaria p. 262. Rivers Sowing to the iEgean, p. 266.
Lacustrine Basins and Rivers flowing to the Mediterranean, p. 273. Climate, Flora, and
Fauna, p. 278. Inhabitants: Yuruks and Turks, p. 283. The Anatolian Greeks, p. 290.
Topography, p. 294. Prospects of Anatolia, p. 343.

CONTENTS.

t II.UV PAGE

VIII. Cypeds . ... 844

Mountains and Kin is, p. 346. Climate, Flora, and Faun, p. 347. Inhabitants, p. 348.
Topography, p. 3 19.

IX. Syria, PaLESTINB, Sinai 354

Historic i I'- 354. Mountain Ranges: I.ihunon and Anti-I.ibannn, ]>. 356.

Hermon, Hills of Galilee, Mount Carmel, p. 859. Trans-Jordan Uplands, p. 862. Sinai
Highlands, p. 363. Rivers of Syria and Palestine, ]>. 3<i7. The Jordan and Dead Sea,
p. 3711. Climate. Flora, and Fauna, p. 374. Inhabitants of Syria and Palestine, p. 376.
The Ansarieh, Dru/es, and Maronites, p. 377. The Melkites and Jews, ]>• 380. Topo-
graphy of Syria, p. 3S2. Topography of Palestine, p. 409.

X. Arabia 430

Historic Retrospect, p. 430. General Survey, p. 433. Mountain Systems, p. 43.3. The
Hejaz and Assir Uplands, p. 487. The Yemen Highlands, p. 488. Hadramaut and South
Coast, p. 439. The Oman Highlands, p. 441. The Central Ranges and Hurras, p. 413.
The Northern steppes and Deserts, p. 446. The Southern Desert, p. 440. Climate oi
Arabia, p. ISO The Persian Gulf, p. 464. The Red Sea, p. 166. Flora of Arabia, p. 462.
Fauna, p. 464. Inhabitants: the ISodoums, 467- The Wahabites, p. 471.
Topography, p. 472.

Statistical TaHLBP

186

Index 497

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

MAPS PRINTED IN COLOURS.

1. Assyria and Chaldea .

2. Teheran and Demaveud

3. Asiatic Greece .

PAGE
1

129

290

4 . Palestine - Northern Section

5. Palestine— Southern Section

6. Peninsular of Sinai

Pins

352

:;.)2

PLATES.

Types and Costumes — Group of Zeibeks Frontispiece

Baalbek — Ruins of the Two Temples To face page

Kandahar ....

View taken from the Paiwar Pass

The Amir Sher Ali, Prince Abdallah Yan, and

Durani Chiefs .....
Kelat-i-Xadir — Argiiavan-Shah Gorge .
Types and Costumes — Group of Hazarehs
Hainadan and Mount Elvend — View taken

from the South-east .
Bridge of Dizful
A Balnch Mendicant
Fortress of Veramin
liamadan, Ruined Mosque of

century
Bandar-Abbas .

Types and Costumes Kurdish
Town and Citadel ol Van
The Euphrates at Birejik
Types and Costumes — Arabs of Bagdad .
General View of Sinope ....

the fjurteentl

Gentlemen

17
33

56
80
82

01
96

111

127

134
143
176
189
202
227
301

The Bosphorus — View taken opposite Arnaut-

Koi, near the Asiatic Side Zi 305
Turkish Batteries at the Black Sea entrance of

the Bosphorus 307

Cypresses in the Cemetery of Scutari . . 309
Brussa— General View . . . . .311

Gulf of Smyrna— General View of Kara-Tash

and Gioz-Te] e ...... 323

Smyrna — View taken from Mount Pagus . 32G

Bphesus— Ruins of the Aqueduct and Citadel . 329

Rhodes— Lindos Bay . . . .338

Mount Hermon — View taken from Rasheya . 359

Lake and City of Tiberias .... 372

Bruze Princess and Lady of the l.ibanon . 379

Aleppo -General View ..... 383

Ruins of Palmyra- The Colonnade . . • *05

Jerusalem — Omar a Mosque .... 417

Jaffa General View ..... 425

Aden — Steamer Point ..... 439

of VI. i *76

Mecca — Court of the Kaaba . . 17i»

LIST »)!•' LLI.l/STLATlOXS.

ILLUSTRATIONS IX TEXT.

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

FIG.

1. Ethnical Divisions of Hither Asia

2. Asiatic Origin of various cultivated

Plants

;. 1 ii usity <>f tin- Population of Hither Asia .
4. Central Point of the Old World
6. Centre of Gravity fur tin- Populations of
the Old World

6. Religions of Hither Asia ....

7. Marsha Pass. NORTB hi Kandahar

8. Itineraries of Afghanistan

9. The Eastern Hindu-Kush ....

10. Tin- Western Hindu-Kush

11. The Sefld-Eoh of East Afghanistan .

12. The Kabul River— View taken near

Cuzeroao, Shardbh Valley

13. Tin' Mamiin Basin

1 I. Tin; (iiimul Pass .....

15. Populations of Afghanistan

16. I larah Nur

17. Kabul ami Neighbourhood

18. Kclat i-tihil/.ai

19. Kandahar

20. Herat

21. Routes of the chief Explorers of Baluchi-

stan

22 Passes in North Baluchistan

23. East Mekran Seaboard ....

'21. Inhabitants of Baluchistan

25. Kalat and Neighbourhood

20. GBNBRAL View or Km. at . . . .

27. Kachi-Gandava I lasis ....

28. Routes of the Chief Explorers of Persia

since Marco Polo .....

29. Mountains ami I "asses of Vstrabad

30. DeMAVEND — Views taken i rom the

North-West .....

31. Savalan

32. Khuzistan Border Range ....

33. Lake Urmiah ......

34. Lakes Niris and Nargis . . . .

lunas of Persia .....

36. Ki anigH Cavalry. ....

37. Iiihaliitants of Persia . . . .

Is PkksIAN Tvi'ls IMI CosTl MLS XoliI.EMAN,

Debvish, and Mendicant
39 Nobli l'i ksiak Lady ....
lo. Vrzil ainj Neighbourhood ....

41. TOWKBOF Mkimamian ON THE ROUTS 1 Rom

1 I MOHAN i" Mi SHED ....

42. Meshed and Kelat-i-Nadir

43.

PAGE

44.

45.

46.

17.

48.

49.

50.

61.

52.

53.

64.

56.

67.

58.

59.

00.

61.

62.

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

70.

71.

72.

73.

74.

75.

76.

ioo

77.

102

78.

1 03

79.

105

80.

81.

106

82.

108

83.

113

84.

119

85.

121

Kason

Kusliaa ami Smin ■ "f tin A trek

Teheran .....
Teheban- View ihuv on the
Routs

Takht-i-Sulaiman ....
Hamadan and Mount Elvend
The Resonant Lion oi II \mahan
Ispahan and Environs

Isi'AII IN I'OIIDGE OVER THE ZeNOEII-IU II

Shiraz and Persepolis
Valerian at the Feet oe Sapor— Bas
relief op the Royal Tombs at Naksb

i-Ri sti m, m:ui Persepolis .
Ormiiz and Bandar-Abbas .
Bushir ......

Kermanshah .....

Shuster and Band-i-Kir

The Dam of Ahwaz ....

Range of the Plague in Kurdistan
Routes ami Telegraph-linos in Persia
Routes of the Chief Explorers of Armenii

Iiingiil-dagh

Lake Van Taowan Bay ami Motn

NlMRDD

Populations of Turkish Armenia

Catholic and Protestant .Missions amongst

the Nestorians and Chaldeans
Trehizond . . . . ■
Erzerum .....
Upper Mm nl Valley
Bayazid— The Mosque and the

Quarter

Confluence of the Two Euphrates
Lake Van ......

Town and Citadel op Van

Mounds in the Tigris Valley, South o

Seleucia .....
The Mardin Hills ....
Source of the Western Tigris .
CaRAVAN on the Ranks oe the Euphratei
Windings of the Middle Euphrates .
The Euphrates and Lake Nejef . . ■
Confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris

Boats ON THE Eri'HKATER .

Canals of Mesopotamia West of Bagdad
Mouths of the Shat-el-Arab
Diarbekir- Bridge over the Tigris
Mossul and Niniveh ....
Calash, and Confluence of Tigris and Great

Zal

Hakkari Kurd Tribes, Great Zah Valley
Kerkuk

Ruins

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIG.

87
88.
89.
90.

91.

92.

93.

91.

95.

9G.

97.

98.

99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.

111.
112.
113.

111.
115.
116.

117.
118.

119.
120.
121.

122
123.

124.

125.

126.
127.

128.

129.
130.
131.

132.
133.

134.
13.5.
136.

137.
138.
139.
140,

PAOE

i ia.

Bagdad

228

111.

Ailltab and Birejik .....

231

142.

Orfa

232

143.

Okfa — Mosque and Fountain of Abba-

144.

ham .......

233

145.

The Hound of Babil ....

236

146.

Babylon .......

237

147.

Old Cities of Chaldea ....

239

148.

Old Provinces of Asia Minor .

245

149.

The Bulgar-dagh .....

249

Mount Argseus

2.51

150.

The Chimasra of Lycia ....

253

151.

Nisyros .......

256

152.

Tmolus Valley. Plain of Sardis .

258

153.

Mytilene .......

259

154.

Delta of the Kizil-Irmak ....

263

155.

Lake of Sabanja .....

265

156.

Nicea and Ghemlik

267

157.

The Tnzla-Sn Valley . *.

268

158.

Smyrna Channel

269

159.

Palls of Pamduk-Kabeh, or Tambuk

272

160.

Plains of the Lower Meander .

274

161.

Lake of Egherdir ....

275

162.

Mouths of the Seihun and Jihun

277

163.

Villages of various Nationalities in the

164.

Dardanelles District . . ...

286

165.

Turkish Woman of Brussa .

288

166.

Inhabil ants of Anatolia . . . .

293

167.

Amabia — View taken from the South -

168.

East

296

'169.

Amasia .......

297

Samsun .......

298

170.

Sinope .......

300

171.

Erekli

302

172.

Remains of the Temple of Augustus

173.

and Rome at Ancyra ....

303

174.

Asiatic Suburbs of Constantinople .

306

175.

Street View, Scutari ....

307

176.

Environs of Scutari — Turkish Ladies

177.

Abroad .......

308

178.

Ismid .......

309

179.

Brussa .......

310

180.

Tomb of Mahomet II. in the Green

181.

Mosque at Brussa ....

312

182.

Syzieus and Artaki Peninsular

818

The Troad

314

183.

HlSSAKLIK (ILION) — VlEW TAKEN FROM

184.

THE MENDEREH .....

316

185.

Pergamus — Ruins of the Basilica .

317

186.

Pei gamus .......

318

187.

Phocea .......

320

188.

Sardes — Columns of the Temple of

189.

Cybele

321

190

Mount Sipylus. . . . . .

322

191.

Smyrna .......

824

Isthmus of Vurlah .....

325

192

Strait of Chios or Chesmeh

326

193

Chio — View taken after the Earth-

194.

quake of 1S81

32S

195

Kphrsus .......

330

196

Ephesus— Prison of St. Paul

331

197

strait of Tigani or Samoa

332

Vathy

333

198

PAGE

Miletus and Didyma .... 334

Budrun and Kos ..... 335

Port of Rhodes 337

Rhodes 338

Valley of the Xanthus . . . .339

Chief Itineraries of Lycia . . . 340

F.lmalu 341

Albistan and Marash .... 342
Railways opened and projected in Asia

Minor 344

Cyprus 346

Nicosia 349

Larnaka and Famagusta .... 350

Kerynia 351

Limassol and Akrotiri Peninsular . . 352

Passes of the Amauiis .... 355

Beirut Hills 357

The French Road 358

Jebel Safa 360

The Zerin Depression .... 361

Peninsular ok Sinai — Ain-el-Hudekah 363

Mount Serbal 364

Mount Sinai 365

Convent of Sinai 366

Lake Yamuneh and Xahr-Ibrahim . . 368

Gorge of the Xahr-el-Leitani . . . 369

Sources of the Jordan .... 370

Lake Huleh 371

Dead Sea 373

Landscape in the Sinai Peninsular —

View taken at Raphidim . . . 375

Inhabitants of Syria .... 378

Horns 384

The Ancient Tomb of Dana . . . 387

Antioehia and Suedieh .... 388

Latakieh 389

Ruad and Tostosa 390

Kalat-el-Hosan ..... 391

Madgar Castle 392

Tripoli 393

Beirut 395

Sidon . 397

Tyre 398

Damascus — View taken from the Chris-
tian Quarter 401

Damascus 402

, Jebel Hauran and Bosra .... 406

. Petra and the Arabah Depression . . 409

. Lake Tiberias 410

Jericho . . . • • • .411
. Nazareth and Mount Tabor . . .412

. Akka and Kaifa 413

. Nablus 416

. Remains of the Antonia Fortress,

Jerusalem 418

. Jerusalem 420

Roi K Ol Masada 422

. Masada 424

. Jaffa 425

.Tor -127

. Itineraries of the Chief Explorers of

Arabia ....... 432

. The Mascat Highlands . . . .441

Vlll

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

no.
l'Jil
200
201
202
203

Masandam Peninsular ....

Sandstone Bills nbar Mbbiiakbx .

View o* a Fclj in the Northern Num.

Bab-el-Mandeb

Cjuriah Island, Gulf of Alcabah
_"i i ill Banks in the Centra] Darin of the

Red Sea

205. Ttpes asu Costumes — Groi t <>i Arab

W..MKN 170

PAOR

no.

4 12

206.

1 li i rej oh .

I US

207.

Eoveit

149

■JON.

Mascot

167

209.

Aden

4. V.i

210.

Sana

211.

II"<It'iil:ih an

J Loheiyeh

461

212.

Mecca and J

eddah .

218.

Medina .

1AI.E

471
473
471
476
477
478
479
482

ASSYRIA AND CHALDEA

43°E.ofGr

s *-

1 J 000 OO'I

— ss

JWiMJIas

•

THE UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHY.

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

CHAPTER I.

GENERAL .SURVEY.

jHETHER the first Aryan hearths were kindled on the Bactrian
plains, in the valleys of the Hindu-Kush or of the Caucasus, or on
the steppes of Scythia, the attention of the European student is
still directed by the oldest historic records chiefly to Egypt and
Western Asia. Peering back in thought through the mist of ages,

we see the now luminous lands of the West wrapped still in darkness, while a
dazzling light is shed over the regions east of the Mediterranean — the Nile valley,
the Ionian shores and isles, the Syrian coast, the Mesopotamian plains, and Iranian
plateaux. The origin of our culture remains unrevealed, but in South- Western
Asia must be sought the first germs of the civilisation which has grown up from
age to age, until it has become the common patrimony of the peoples of Europe
and the New World. For is it not here that the Hellenic myths have placed the
first Olympian seats of the gods? And is it not here also that Jewish, Christian,
and Mussulman legend has planted the "tree of life," beneath whose shade the
first man and the universal mother awoke:' In Chaldea. amid the hills of the
Indian Caucasus, in the oases of Irania, has been sought the terrestrial paradise;
while the remains of the ark in which the Noachian family found refuge from the
overflowing waters are still fabled to lie stranded on the Armenian Masis (Ararat).
the Xizir of Kurdistan, the Persian Demavend, or some other lofty peak of Hither
99

2 SOUTII-WESTEEN ASIA.

Asia. Later on, the Christiana spreading westwards and the Mohammedans over-
running the east, multiplied endlessly the aumher of mountains " witnesses of
the Deluge." Such witnesses maybe found in the Pyrenees, in Roussillon, and
Andorra, even in Afghanistan, tin- Siah-Posh country, and the " Throne of
Solomon," overlooking the plains of the Indus.

At the dawn of history, properly so called, the firsl definite events arc referred
to the south-western lands of Asia and to Egypt, which, cast of the Nile, was
regarded by the ancients, and especially by Herodotus, as belonging to the Asiatic
world. Here the national groups began to be classified under the names of Sem,
Cham, and Japhet; perhaps also, according to many Orientalists, under those of
Sumer and Accad, a contrast which reappears later on in the opposition of Persian
and Mede, of Iran and Turan. The various peoples between the Central Asiatic
plateaux, the isles of the Mediterranean, and the African deserts, arc numbered
according to their races, usages, and industries, while on the Babylonian cylinders
and prisms are inscribed ethnological and geographical documents of the highesl
importance. One of the oldest myths relates the dispersion of the peoples at the
foot of the Tower of Babel; but despite the "confusion" of tongues, Chaldean
history begins to follow the career of each nation, recording its growth, wars, and
conquests.

The geographical form of Hither Asia —an expression comprising the whole of
the Asia of the ancients as far as the Indus — sufficiently accounts for the pre-
rogatives of this region as the cradle of early culture. Not only is it situated
near the geometric centre of the lands forming the ancient world, but it at the
same time oilers the easiest highways of communication between the three con-
tinents and the great marine basins. The >*ilc valley is separated only by a strip
of sand from those of the Syrian seaboard, while between the European and
Asiatic shores there flows an arm of the sea narrower than many a river. From
the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, Hither Asia presents two natural routes —
the Isthmus of Suez and the Mesopotamia^ plain, which is by far the more
important in the history of civilisation, and which communicates through several
openings with the Syrian seaports. The roads leading also from the Upper
Euphrates down to the Euxine may be said to connect the Indian Ocean at once
with the Mediterranean and with the lands facing the North Atlantic inlets, for
the main axis of the highlands forming the European water-parting between the
Alps and Balkans terminates on the Black Sea coast, while the Bessarabian low-
lands ea>t of the Carpathians lead, by easy transitions, to the northern slopes of
the continent.

A large portion of Hither Asia consists of elevated tablelands, some standing
even at a heighl of over 6,000 feet. But the seaboard is everywhere indented by
deep gulfs and marine inlets. The Indian Ocean penetrates far inland between
Mekran and < hnan, forming beyond the Strait of Ormuz the inland sea known as
the Persian Gulf. On the opposite side of Arabia the Bed Sea fills a surprisingly
regular depression in the crust of the earth, terminating on either side of the
Sinai peninsula in secondary basins, also noted for their remarkable symmetry.

GENERAL SURVEY. 3

The Mediterranean, flowing by Cyprus, describes a series of buys along the south
coast of Asia Minor, and by a thousand channels and ramifications carves the
side of the ^Egean into a second Greece, with its countless islands, peninsulas, and

headlands. Another basin, which may be described rather as a vast laki the Sea

of Marmora, or Propontis of the ancients — connects the Archipelago with the
Kuxine, which flows eastwards to the foot of the Caucasus and Armenian high-
lands. Lastly, the circle of marine waters round the Wes1 Asiatic seaboard is
completed by the closed basin of the Caspian. Account must also be taken of
lakes Urmiah, Van, and others, often large enough to present the aspect of oceanic
gulfs. Here and there old marine inlets have been replaced by extensive plains,
the most remarkable of which is the vast Mesopotamian valley, forming a con-
tinuation of the Persian Gulf towards Alexandretta Bay, and dividing the whole
of Mohammedan Asia into two distinct halves — Arabia, with the coast ranges of
Syria and Palestine on the south, the highlands of Asia Minor and the Iranian
plateaux on the north and east.

Thanks to this disposition of the surrounding waters and inland plains, Hither
Asia, centre of the Old World, is, at the same time, almost a peninsular region,
and thus easily became, during the course of history, a common point of union for
peoples of diverse origin and usages. Nowhere else have the rival races of the
globe had more civilised representatives, sharply contrasting one with the other,
than in this region. The North Asiatic hordes, now confused together under the
collective name of Uralo-Altaic races, had penetrated into the uplands far south of
the Oxus, assumed limit of Iran and Turan, and the struggle between these two
ethnical elements has here been continued throughout historic times. It is even
still maintained between the Persian and Turkoman, while the Mongol invasions
are recalled by the presence of many popidations, notably the Hazarehs and
Aimaks, south of the Hindu-Kush. Other ethnical elements belonging, if not to
the black race, at least to that of the Kushites, a Negroid stock allied to the
Ethiopian, were also diversely represented in these regions. Some trace of their
presence on the plateaux of Susiana may be detected in the processions of captives
figured on the bas-reliefs of Nineveh. Nimrod, the " mighty hunter before the
Lord," is the legendary ancestor of these mythical peoples.

The facility of communication between the two shores of the Eed Sea had also
at all times brought about a mingling of the Arab and African races. Neverthe-
less, the Negro element proper appears never to have had any relative importance
in the history of the "West Asiatic peoples. The preponderating influence, enjoyed
at first by the "Turanians" and Kushites, passed eventually to the Semites in the
south and to the Aryans in the north. The whole of Arabia, as far as the
Euphrates, is the domain of the former, while the latter prevail numerically on the
Iranian plateaux, the Armenain highlands, and certain parts of Asia Minor.

In the general historic movement Hither Asia preceded Europe ; but it was
precisely in this direction that civilisation progressed. The commercial and intel-
lectual axis of the Old World followed the direction from south-east to north-
vest. Hence the zone of greatest vitality in the history of nations stretches from

4 SOUTH- WESTERN ASIA.

India and Mesopotamia through [onia, the Mediterranean peninsula, and France,
to the British Isles. Before Europe formed part of the civilised world, commercial
intercourse naturally found its chief centre in the regions of the Asiatic seaboard.
The legend of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece commemorates the relations
formerly established between the Caucasian bighlandere and the Hellenic seafaring
populations. But history speaks mine clearly of the great marls that flourished on
the shores of Syria, and id' the services rendered to civilisation by the Phoenicians,
not only by exploring the coast of West Europe and conducting caravans across

Fig. 1. — Ethnical Divisions or Hither Asia.
Scale 1 : 45,000,000.

-*cr

Fcrsians. Afghans. Hindus. Kafir, Dardes. B:iluc
Qaltcha.

Kurik-. Greeks.

Aryans.

I :

tcm

Turks, Tatars. Turkomans. He2areh and others. Kirghiz. Georgians and others. Brahui.

Turanians.

Caucasians. Dravidrms

esa

Arabs and Bedouin- ad others. Egyptians. Nubiazu and others.

Semites.

, 1,200 Miles.

the natural lines of communication between the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean,
but still more by spreading abroad a knowledge of the phonetic alphabet derived
from the Egyptian hieroglyphics. Continually meeting with strangers speaking a
thousand different tongues, the Phoenicians must have been struck especially by
the great diversity of sounds which could he reproduced only by employing the
signs used by the Egyptians to express ideas as well as the sounds of the corre-
sponding words. Separating the most available symbols from the ideographic
sense, the Phoenicians applied them exclusively to the reproduction of sound, thus
emancipating the mind from the primitive symbolism, and imparting to written

GENERAL SURVEY. 5

characters a purely phonetic value. Their geographical discoveries, their distant
voyages round Europe and Africa, their inland travels up the great rivers and
across portages, their traffic hi metals, woven goods, pottery, manufactured w
of all sorts since discovered by archaeologists in so many lands, prepared the tribes
of the western forests for a higher culture by developing trade and mutual inter-
course among them. To the Phoenicians especially are we indebted for the work
of prehistoric transition, without which the European world could never have
entered on its historic career. To the civilised peoples of the future thev
bequeathed, in the alphabetical system of writing, the true germs of progress from
a chaos of hostile elements to a common humanity, and their work in this respect
is justly symbolised by the travels of the Tyrian Hercules, conqueror of the world.

Five or six centuries after the Phoenicians, the Hellenes dwelling on the coast
of Asia Minor also took a large share in the discovery of the western regions.
Their colonies were scattered along the Mediterranean shores as far as the Atlantic
seaboard. As traders they introduced methods of exchange unknown even to
the Phoenicians ; they developed a true coinage, whereas the dealers of Tyre and
Sidon were still confined to a cumbrous system of barter. But how many other
discoveries of a higher order than those associated with commercial pursuits are
due to those Asiatic Greeks, precursors of Europeans in nearly all branches of
human knowledge? Miletus, metropolis of so many colonics, was, twenty-five
centuries ago, the chief centre of geographical studies. Here Thales taught the
first principles of the subject, and here the earliest-known charts were planned by
Anaxiniander, Ilecataeus, and Aristagoras. The neighbouring town of Hali-
carnassus gave birth to Herodotus, "father of history and geography," the first
comparative ethnographist, a charming writer, artless in his style, but always a
shrewd observer, just and accurate in his conclusions, impartial enough to love the
" barbarians " themselves while still assigning the first place to the Greeks, and
especially to the Athenians. And how many other scarcely less illustrious names
are the proud boast of that glorious land towards which we turn to hail the dawn
of our intellectual life, and whence comes the distant echo of those Homeric songs
irradiating the first essays of our forefathers on the path of human progress ?

The name of Asia, or Asiadis, seems to have been originallv restricted to a
simple province of Lydia, and afterwards gradually extended, first to the whole of
the Anatolian peninsula, and then to all the continent, advancing, so to say, in the
footsteps of the early explorers. Slowly it dawned on the Greeks how small was
their Hellenic world east of the -Egean compared with the great Asiatic mainland.
Nevertheless the expression Asia Minor sums up accurately enough the historic
part played by the peninsula projecting between the Euxine and Cyprian waters;
for those nations that failed to cross the Caucasus in their westward march wore
thrown together at this extremity of the continent in a space confined on three
sides by the sea. Pressing one on the other, nations and tribes of diverse origin
were unable always to preserve their distinctive traits, and many became 90
mingled together that it is no longer possible to recognise with certainty their
ethnical elements. But in the vast laboratory of humanity nothing is ever lost

G SOUTII-WK.STKRN ASIA.

utterly, and the genius of the various constituent races is -till reflected in the
history of Asia Minor and in its influence on European culture. The northern
tribes, commonly grouped under the general name of " Turanians," and often

regarded as inferior to those classed as " Aryans," d >t appear to have played a

less important part in the common work of progress than their neighbours. From
them was acquired a knowledge of iron and the other metals," and to them also we

are doubtless indebted for most of our domestic animals. At any rate, ill the lands
occupied at the dawn of history by the Turanians, zoologists now seek the centre of
dispersion of those animals which have become the chief companions of man. In
the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates, at the foot of Ararat, on the slopes of the
Caucasus, or on the Iranian plateaux, were grouped together the wild precursors of

Fig. 2. — Asiatic Origin or vahious « dlttvatbd 1'lants.
Scale 1 : *2ft.ixio,nno.

%>/,

pom* grannie
daU

fil'UC

Ctjprtf
pistachio

•

[ • of Greenwich

i'am) Miles.

the domestic dog, of the ox, goat, sheep, pi<,'. perhaps also of the camel. Of the
two primitive equine species one is supposed to have represented the " Aryan," the
other the " Turanian " horse.

From Hither Asia also probably came most of the more useful cultivated plants,
such as the olive, the plum, almond, vine, and perhaps the peach ; flax, lucern, bean,
pea, and above all wheat, barley, and oats.+ If such be the case, may not the old
legend be right in placing the cradle of civilised man in the same regionP For
what can the condition of the human animal have been before he knew how to
cultivate the nourishing cereal symbolised by the Greeks under the form of the
goddess-daughter of Demeter, now black and of awful mien, reigning over the

• Rawlinson, " The Five Great Monarchies"; ICaspero, " Histoire Ancienne des Peuples de l'Orient."
t Alphonse de Candolle, "Geographic Hotanique Raisonnee."

GENERAL SURVEY. 7

shades of the dead, now fair and radiant, crowned with bluebells by the sparkling
stream P

The northern races also took a noteworthy share in the moral development of
the peoples occupying the vast Anatolian quadrilateral. Their genius is revealed
in the religions of the East, especially in the practice of magic analogous to the
Shainanistic rites of the Samoyedes and Tunguses. From them came also those
divinities which, as belonging to inferior peoples, were by the Greeks banished to
the lower regions. Such were the hundred-armed monsters, the deformed beings
who tear up the ores from the bowels of the earth and forge the metals in its
echoing caverns swayed by Vulcan, the lame god, butt of Olympian wit and
laughter. Like the Chaldeans, whose venerable astronomic system survives in the
signs of the zodiac and in our duodecimal divisions and week of seven days, the
Semitic or Semitised peoples of Asia Minor took also a twofold part in the develop-
ment of nations, influencing them both by their commercial intercourse and religious
ideas. In the Hellenic world the social groups assumed above all a civic character,
whereas in Phrygia and the neighbouring states they formed so many " congrega-
tions," in which the priest held sway in the name of the gods, and in which the
temple always occupied the centre of the city. Those subtle eastern cults, which
were associated especially with the worship of death, identified with life by the
resurrection ever springing from the sacrifice, were even threatening to prevail
over the joyous rites of Greece, when Christianity, traditionally attributed to a
Semitic source, but already penetrated by Iranian elements and anticipated by the
Alexandrian neo-Platonic philosophy, spread rapidly over the western world. In
this religious revolution, which laid the temples of the gods in ruins, it was,
perhaps, Asia Minor that took the largest share. It was Paul, a Cilician Jew, but
already a Greek in temperament, that became the most zealous apostle of the new
doctrine, preaching it no longer to the narrow circle of the children of Israel, but
to the vast multitude of the Gentiles. From the earliest time of his propaganda
the " Seven Churches of Asia " were the chief centres of proselytism, and when
the now established religion of Christ formulated its dogma in precise terms, it was
in the Anatolian city of Isica?a that were proclaimed the articles of faith still
repeated in every Christian community. Then came, some centuries later on, the
monotheism of the Arabian prophet, and it was in the Anatolian peninsula that
were fought the great battles which sealed the triumph of the Crescent over the
Cross in the Euxine basin.

And the lands which were the scene of all these great events have again lapsed
into the silence of death. These regions, legendary cradle of mankind and historic
source of our culture ; this hallowed spot, where, towards the dawn <>i history, the
poet reveals to us men and gods doing battle under the walls of Ilium ; these
renowned cities, Babylon and Nineveh, Ecbatana and Susa, Iiaalbek and Palmyra.
Antiochia and Damascus, which shine with such effulgence in the past, what arc
they now compared with the western lands formerly held by a few painted
barbarians, now crowded with vast multitudes, conquerors of the ancient solitudes?
Within a brief three thousand years what an amazing contrast ! Then the

SnrTH-WESTKKN ASIA.

Euphrates valley, succeeding to that of the Nile, tunned the centre of the western
world, while Europe was the region of Cimmerian darkness, an unknown wilderness.
Now the Focus of light lias moved westwards, and the Mast has become wrapped in
gloom.

In the Dumber of its inhabitants, known only approximately, Hither Asia has
fallen quite as low as in the relative importance of its culture. The region
stretching from the coast of ofakran to the Mgeaa Sea baa a superficial area equal

Fig. 3. — Density of the Population of IIitukk Asia

Scale 1 : 45,000,000.

[nhaHtante per Squ.'ir, Mile.

□

Otol.

lto5. 6 to 10. 10 to 20. 20 to 60. 50 to 100. lou ami upwards.

Each square represents a population of :?0,000 inhabitants.
— 1.200 Miles.

to about three-fourths of the European continent; but its population is probably
ten times smaller, and. so far from increasing, seems to be actually diminishing.
What are the causes of this decadence, whicb inspires so many eloquent pages to
the historian and moralist '? Are they to he sought exclusively in the intestine
wars and foreign invasions by which these lands have been so frequently
wasted !' lint since the time of Attila, how many exterminators have overrun
Europe in all directions! It must, however, he confessed that in Western Asia
the urea of cultivation was relatively less extensive, and far more exposed to

GENERAL SURVEY. 9

inroads than the European countries bordering on the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
Between Persia and Asia Minor the habitable zone formed merely a narrow
isthmus, like that connecting Egypt and Syria. Torn by incessant internal strife,
the peoples of Iran, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Asia Minor were also exposed to the
attacks of their southern and northern neighbours, the Arabs on the one hand,
the Uralo-Altaic nomads on the other. These enemies, being protected by the
wilderness, were unconquerable, and always ready to seize the favourable oppor-
tunity in order to fall upon the settled districts, massacre the inhabitants, or
carry them off into slavery. Several times during the historic period the
spontaneous cultures of Western Asia were in this way mown down like the grass
of the fields, and by none more frequently than by the ancestors of the Turk, who
now rules over all the land west of Iran. And how few of these peoples have
found within themselves sufficient elements of regeneration to recover their national
independence ! The masses have remained in a state of shameful thraldom,
consumed by vice as by a moral leprosy.

To explain the disappearance of the populations, an argument has also been
drawn from the assumed exhaustion of the soil, which formerly yielded abundant
crops of cereals. The lands on the plateaux and slopes which are not exposed to
periodical floodings, like the plains watered by the Tigris and Euphrates, are
certainly, in coiirse of time, deprived of their chemical elements, and thus gradually
become unproductive. The very works that were formerly most beneficial are now
often injurious. Ruined buildings redden the soil with the dust of their crumbling
brick walls, and the choked-up canals spread their sluggish waters over the plains.
The arable lands are thus on the one hand invaded by the desert, while on the other
fever and death are propagated by the ever-increasing marshy tracts.

But whatever weight be assigned to these causes of decay, another must be
sought in the gradual drying up of the land. Although everywhere surrounded by
marine waters, the climate of Hither Asia is as thoroughly continental as the heart
of the continent. Before meeting on the Iranian plateaux and Babylonian plains,
the prevailing northern and southern winds have been deprived of all their
moisture in their passage across thousands of miles of arid land. Hence the
equatorial and north-east polar currents, which meet in Western Asia, are amongst
the driest on the globe. Their track across Asia and Africa is indicated by the
great desert zones of the Gobi and Sahara, while Persia, and especially Arabia,
have their own sandy or stony wastes. These regions would be altogether
uninhabitable but for the slight quantity of moisture, partly, however, arrested by
the coast ranges, which is borne inland by the monsoons attracted from the sea bv
the rarefied atmosphere of the heated soil. Such is the dearth of running waters
that in the whole of Arabia there is not a single perennial stream ; while from
Karachi to Teheran, a distance of nearly a thousand miles in a straight line, the
traveller meets with no river more than two feet deep. The rainfall is insufficient
to support a rich spontaneous vegetation anywhere except along the southern shores
of the Caspian and Euxiue, where the northern winds traverse two marine basins
before reaching the coast, and here and there on the Mediterranean, where the rain-

lo soutii-\vi-:sti:i:n ASIA.

bearing clouds are deflected towards tin- seaboard. The whole of Hither Asia,
fifteen times larger than France, probably sends seawards a liquid maasbul Blightly
greater than that of the French rivers.

Although always less favoured in this respect than Western Europe, there are
many indications that in Former times Hither Asia was more abundantly watered
than at present. The descriptions of the old writers do not, on the whole, convey
an idea id' such a lack of flowing waters as now exists. Even the nomads, dwelling
iii the midst of rocks and sands on the skirt of the desert, could scarcely now
regard Canaan as "a land flowing with milk and honey." Many formerly fertile
regions also have 1 < *— t their forests, their aralile lands, even their grassy tracts and
brushwood. How could the greal marts of the Ionian seaboard have acquired such
importance if, behind the narrow zone of the coast region, there was not found a
reserve of vital force in the plateaux sufficiently watered to support a much larger
population than is now possible? And the cities of the wilderness — Palmyra and
Baalbek, wealthy enough to build sumptuous temples, whose ruins still excite the
wonder of the traveller — could scarcely have attained such splendour had they not
been surrounded by more extensive oases, sufficient to supply abundant provisions
to their inhabitants and the multitude of strangers visiting them. Modern explora-
tion has revealed in Asiatic Turkey, Persia, and Baluchistan vast spaces, formerly
thickly peopled, which have been changed to deserts. Cities have been partly-
swallowed up in the encroaching sands; navigable rivers have Keen reduced to
shallow streams, inaccessible to the smallest craft ; the site of ancient lakes is often
indicated only by swamps or saline efflorescences.

But notwithstanding the desiccation of the land, Hither Asia cannot fail to
recover much of its former importance. The position to which it owed its prepon-
derating share in the work of civilisation lost its value when the great highways
of trade were deflected westwards. But the direct lines are resuming all their
importance in international relations, and the main overland route from Europe to
India is tending more and more in the direction of the Euphrates valley and the
Iranian plateaux. Thus Western Asia again claims the advantages of its position
as the geographic centre of the ( >ld World. The exact centre of the irregular
figure formed by the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa is not far
removed from the plains when stood the famous cities of Persia and Assyria. It
lies at the south-west angle of the Caspian, so that the tower of Babel really stands
where the legend placed it, on the confines of three worlds. Eastwards Asia
stretches away to the ocean where " the sun rises ; " on the south the parched
Arabian peninsula announces the neighbourhood of Africa ; while on the north-
west Anatolia lies at the threshold of Europe. Through the Suez Canal, separating
it from Africa, Hither Asia has again become for maritime trade the centre of
gravity of the continental group; through the junction of the future railway
systems it will also, sooner or later, become the central emporium of the Old
World. According to the approximate estimates of the number of inhabitants of
the eastern hemisphere, the centre of population would at present coincide with
the south-western region of the Tibetan plateau — that is, with an almost unin-

BAALBEK-KUINS OK THE TWO TEMPLES.

GENERAL SURVEY.

habited land. But the rapid increase of Europeans is deflecting the point of
equilibrium more and more to the west, towards the passes of the Hindu-Kush,
which are historically so important as highways of communication between the two
halves of the Aryan world.

Doubtless the assimilation of Hither Asia to the West in respect of its trade,
industries, and general culture must prove a work of time and great difficulty.
Nor can the material civilisation introduced from Europe fail to be affected by the
genius of the East, in appearance so pliant, in reality so tenacious. The Asiatic
will never slavishly accept the lessons of the foreigner. He modifies all he touches,
and, to their cost, the Greeks and Romans already discovered what it meant to live

Fig. 4. — Centkal Point of the Old World.
Scale 1 : 200,000,000.

Central Point without the islands.

Central Point with the islands.
3.600 Miles

in the midst of those Oriental populations. Instead of playing the part of civilisers,
they were themselves subdued by the manners and religions of the lands where they
dwelt, and were fain to propagate them in the West. But at present, however
original be their national characteristics, the Asiatic Greeks, the Armenians, and
Syrians are being more and more attracted by the contemporary scientific movement.
And what neglected resources, what undeveloped treasures, do not these peoples still
possess! The reaction of civilising influences towards the East, which has already
assimilated Hungary, the Danubian Principalities, Greece, and Russia, and which
has already renewed the aspect of many Syrian or Greek cities in Western Asia
itself, must necessarily spread towards the Euphrates and Iranian tableland.

StU'TH-WKSTKIlN ASIA.

(bice before, (luring the Crusades, the conquest of the East was attempted by
the European nations. For nearly two hundred years — from the end of the tenth
to the cud of the twelfth century — an almost incessant moveinenl of warlike
migrations was directed from Kurope against Asia. < >n the battle-tield fell
hundreds of thousands, attracted mere by a love of conquest and plunder than
by proselytising zeal. Millions of warriors, of captives, or retainers perished in
the camp or on the march; yet alter two centuries of massacres and pestilence the
Crusader-- had to abandon the Kast without retaining a single citadel on the main-
land. Nevertheless, their efforts had the result id' delaying the fall id' the Byzan-
tine Empire, by carrying far beyond the Bosphorus the scene of the struggle

Fig. 5. — Centre of (jJuayity fob the Populations of the Old Would.
Scale 1 : 200,000,000.

Lonfettude of Gre

Centre of gravity of the populations
without the islands.

Centre of gravity of the papulations
with the islands.

, 3.W0 Idea.

between the two rival religions. The commercial populations of the Mediter-
ranean, whether Christian or Moslem, were also brought into closer contact, while
the Italian traders became familiar with till the highways of Hither Asia, gradually
acquiring more wealth by peaceful mean- than the Crusaders had obtained by the
sword. Certainly the political ascendency id' Europe could not have failed to
increase rapidly in the East even, despite the fall of Constantinople, had not the
circumnavigation of Africa, and especially the discovery of the New World,
attracted the spirit of enterprise to other fields, and transferred to the Iberian
peninsula the commercial pre-eminence hitherto enjoyed by Italy. The dis-
coveries of Columbus obliged Europe, so to say, to turn to the rightabout, thus

GENEEAL SURVEY. 13

giving to the Eastern peoples a respite of three hundred years in the hereditary
-tiuirgle which may be said to have begun in mythical times by the Argonautic
expedition and the Trojan war.

At present the pressure of the West is felt more strongly than ever, although
the religious fervour of the days of the Crusaders has been nearlv eliminated from
the " Eastern Question." If the Western nations eared now to recover Jerusalem,
the only difficulty would be, not the conquest, but the appointment of guardians
from amongst the rival Protestant, Catholic, or Greek claimants to the possession
of the Holv Sepulchre. The partition of the Mohammedan world has, in fact,
already begun, not only in European Turkey, but throughout the whole of Western
Asia. Not satisfied with the occupation of the Trans-Caucasian valleys of the Kur
and Rion, Russia has seized the most formidable strongholds in the Armenian
highlands, and now holds the passes enabling her to hurl her armies at pleasure
on Constantinople, Aleppo, or Bagdad. Beyond the Caspian they have also
occupied more than one position whence they might easily assail the vital strategic
points of Persia ; while the conquest of the Turkoman oases places them at the very
entrance of the highway to India through the Ileri-rud valley.

Their English rivals for the political hegemony of Asia have on their part
strengthened their outposts by the occupation of Cyprus, which commands at once
the Anatolian and Syrian seaboards, close to the great bend of the Euphrates and
to the regions directly threatened by the Russians in Armenia. At the entrance
of the Red Sea, on the main route of steam navigation, they also hold the citadel
of Aden, while a few subventions distributed among the tribal chiefs render
them predominant over all the populations along the seaboard. In many inland
cities of Persia, Anatolia, and Irak Arabi, the British consuls are moreover far more
the masters than the provincial governors themselves. Amongst the Maronites
and Druses of the Syrian ranges the suzerainty of France has been often admitted,
often disputed, according to the oscillation of political rivalries. Jerusalem itself
has been placed, through the embassies, under the joint control of all the European
powers, each enjoying in its turn a preponderating voice according to the influences
prevailing for the moment in the Golden Horn.

The two religions that took their rise in Palestine are now represented in
Hither Asia only by a few relatively unimportant communities. The Jews are
nowhere numerous except in Jerusalem and some of the surrounding towns, while
the Christian congregations flourish chiefly in the shadow of the Holy Sepulchre
and some other venerated spots. Elsewhere they are almost exclusively confined
to the Lebanon, and to the Hellenic and Armenian districts of Asia Minor. Most
of the inhabitants of Asiatic Turkey, and nearly the whole of the population in
the other regions of Hither Asia, are followers of the Prophet. Arabia, where
stand the holy cities of Islam, and whence the faith was propagated over the
rest of the world, is still the true centre of Mohammedanism, and here dwell its
zealous apostles. But notwithstanding their religious fervour, a uniform creed
has tailed to give political cohesion to this section of the continent. The
Pan-Islamitic coalition, of which so much has recently been heard, can never be a

SOUTH -YVKSTERN ASIA.

source of anxiety to the European powers contending for supremacy in the Bast
The zealous Wahabite sect, which professes scrupulous observance of the Prophet's
teaching, is numerous only in the interior of Arabia, where it is shut oft from all
contacl with the miter world. On the other hand, most of Mohammedan Asia is
divided between the Turkish Sunnites and Persian Shiahs, who mutually detesl
each other, and who often regard the Giaour himself as Less impure than a
member of the rival sect. In many places religious indifference is universal, ami
must of the Bedouins have never known any god excepl their lance, with which
they fall at times even on the pilgrims returning from Mecca. Amongst the

Fig. G — Relioions op Hither Asia.
Scale 1 : 45,000,000.

sumii . - gbxitec u ■■- Dnuea Anaarieh. Greeka. Armenians Seatorianfl Marenitca

Mussulmans Chriitjani

other Religions.

W/idi. Parsis. Buddhists. Hindu Jews.

^__^_^_^_^^____— 1,200 Miles.

majority of the Turks themselves the faith has lost its active force, degenerating
into a dreary fatalism, forerunner of death. If conversions to Christianity arc
all but unknown, this resistance must be attributed not to their religious com ictions
SO much as to long political rivalry, to traditional hatred, and to the thousand
contrasts presented by different social usages and habits of thought.

But apart from this lack of political and moral cohesion, the geographical
condition of the land itself must always prevent its inhabitants from combining
successfully against the European powers. By vast deserts and waterless wastes
these Asiatic regions are divided into distinct sections, without any means of
intercommunication except by the high seas, which are controlled by the fleets of

GENERAL SURVEY. 15

the West. Even by its two chief rivers, the Euphrates and Tigris, "Western Asia
is, so to say, divided from the strategic standpoint into two parts, connected only
by a narrow mountainous isthmus between the head of the fluvial navigation and
Russian Caucasia. Politically, Pan-Islamism is far less formidable in the land of
its birth than in India, where fifty million Mohammedans are united by a common
worship and a common patriotic sentiment, or even in Africa, where unknown
multitudes are massed geographically together, and still animated by the fiery
spirit of proselytism.

CHAPTER II.

AFGHANISTAN.

Kafihistan, Kabul, Hi. hat, Kasdaiiak.

BROUGH the Easl Afghan uplands, limited northwards by the
snowy Eindu-Kush or Indian Caucasus, Either Asia reaches the
• iicai Pamir, or " roof of the world," which forms the orographic
centre "1' the continent, and the converging-point of the Anglo-
Indian, Chinese, and Russian Empires. Eere the plateau, above
which rise some of the highest peaks on the globe, c\ceed> in altitude the loftiest
Pyrenean crests; yet a little farther west lie the passes that have at all times been
the most frequented between the Turkestan depression and the Indus valley.
Hence the extreme military importance of Afghanistan, and the still greater pari
it lias played m the history of trade and migrations.

Although the early migratory movements of the Aryans across the mountains
are mentioned neither in tradition nor in legend, nevertheless the close resem-
blance, amounting almost to identity, in the religious rites and ceremonies, in
i lie languages and civilisations, of the peoples dwelling on tin1 hanks of the "seven
rivers" of Irania and the "seven rivers" of India, leave no douhl that the passes
between the two regions were well known and frequented from the remotest times.
The expeditions of Alexander, followed by the establishment of the Graoco-
Bactrian states, stretching probably into the heart of India, again connected the two
extremities of the Aryan world through these defiles "I' the Ilindu-Kush. Later
on the same passes were chosen by the liuddhist missionaries to bring India into
relation with the regions of North Asia and the far East. The colossal images
iinril ages ago ou the rocks at Bamian have been witnesses of many a warlike,
religious, or commercial expedition by which the course of human events has
been largely influenced. The same highways have been traversed bj Mongols,
Turks, and Persians; and now Russians and English, encamped on the Oxus or
behind the fortified lines of Peshawar, await, in the popular belief, the signal to
renew the secular struggle for empire.

At this point the plateau separating the Indus valley from the Turkestan
slope- scarcely exceeds 180 miles. Kabul, already thrice seized by the British,

AFGHANISTAN. 17

stands within some sixty miles from the highest pass leading to what may now be
called the Russian slope. English guns and Muscovite envoys have already
crossed this very pass of Bamian. Towards the north-west of Afghanistan the
mountain barrier disappears altogether between Merv and Herat, where no serious
obstacle stands in the way of military expeditions. In a few days a gang of
European " navvies " might now complete the carriage route leading from the
Caspian to Kandahar.*

Afghanistan may altogether be regarded as a land of transition. It is the
Roh or highland region mentioned by the old writers as comprised between Iran,
Turan, and Hind. Forming the eastern continuation of the Iranian plateau, it
separates one from the other the two centres of civilisation in the Indus and
Euphrates valleys, and its chief importance is consequently due to the routes
traversing it between these two regions. Its cities, standing either in fertile
valleys, in the midst of oases, or at the entrance of mountain gorges, are mentioned
in history mainly on account of their strategic value, and of the advantages they
afford to armies marching to the conquest or defence of distant territories. Hence
the expression " key of India," so often applied to Herat, to Kandahar, Ghazni, or
Kabul. " Since the remotest times," wrote Akbar's historiographer, Abu 1 Fazel,
in 1602, " Kabul and Kandahar are regarded as the gates of Hindustan ; one opens
the road from Iran, the other from Turan, and if these points be well guarded,
the vast empire of India is sheltered from foreign invasion."

Yet, notwithstanding the military expeditions that have so frequently tra-
versed the land, and despite the labours of numerous explorers, such as the two
Conollys, Lord, Forbes, Burnes, and others, Afghanistan cannot yet be called a
well-known region. Several routes carefully laid down by Government surveys
have long remained sealed documents, while the valuable charts accompanying
them have become mildewed in the portfolios of the India Office. The districts
lying at a distance from the strategic routes have remained unexplored, and most
of the travellers who have recently penetrated into the country have followed in
the wake of the military expeditions. The direct route from Kabul, through the
nezareh territory to Herat, has not yet been traversed by any European. Mac-
Gregor, who last attempted to penetrate in this direction from Persia, was dis-
owned by the pusillanimous British authorities, and compelled by the Amir to
retrace his steps. At the same time the isolated masses and ridges everywhere
intersecting the base of the plateau transform many districts into a labyrinth of
mountain gorges and valleys, rendered still more inaccessible by their savage
denizens. Apart from the various routes between Kabul, Kandahar, and certain
regions bordering on India, the surface of the country is only roughly sketched on
our maps from the itineraries of European explorers, and the points astronomically
determined by them, chiefly towards the Persian ami Indian frontiers.

Nor are there any accurate returns of the population, the only census ever
taken having been made by Nadir Shah for the purpose of determining the taxa-
tion and military conscription. On the basis of this rough calculation, the various

• l.issar, Rawlinson, Marvin, "The Russians at Iferv and Herat."
1.00

18 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

tribes are still estimated at so many hundred or bo many thousand families,

-■

8 1 'THi , * law

■ -

V A>'

notwithstanding all the wars, crossings, and migrations that have taken place ■

THE AFGHANISTAN HIGHLANDS.

during the last hundred and fifty yours. Present estimates range from three to
five millions and upwards for Afghanistan proper.

Afghan Highlands.

Disregarding the irregularities of its political frontier, Afghanistan may be
described as a plane inclining to the south-west from the north-east corner of
Kafiristan to the marshy depression into which are discharged the waters of the
llilmend. The upper borders of the plateau are enclosed by two lofty barriers ; on
the north the Hindu- Rush, with its western continuation, sometimes designated by
the classic name of the Parapomisus ; on the east the Sulaiman-dagh, with a
number of secondary chains. "Within these two frontier ranges the ridges and

Fig. S. — Itineraries of Afghanistan.
Scale 1 : 13,000,000.

[. afG

r ~]

. ._

Railways.

3,300 to 6,600 fi,600 to 13,200

Feet. Feet.

13.200 and
upwards.

300 Miles.

"Projected
Railways.

intermediate river valleys intersecting the plateau run in various directions, but
mainly follow the general tilt of the land from north-cast to south-west.

Of all the Afghan ranges, the loftiest and most regular is the Hindu- Koh, or,
"Mountain of the Hindus," better known as the Hindu-Kush, or " Hindu killer,"
probably in allusion to the mortality of the traders who risk their lives amidst its
snows in order to retail their wares to the '1'ajiks and Uzbcgs of Turkestan. To
the same range modern writers have applied the expression " Indian Caucasus,"
whereas by the Greeks it was called the " Caucasus " simply, regarding it as a
continuation of the Ponto-Caspian ranges.

20 80UTH-WBSTEEN ASIA.

Although forming a south-western continuation of the Karakorum range, the
Hindu-Kush i- separated from thai system by a profound gap to the north of the
Upper V;i-in valley. The gorge traversed by tin Mastuj, a tributary of the
Chitral, leads by easy stages across the pastures to the broad, grassy Baroghil Pass,
where the inhahitants of the upper Oxus graze their cattle. According to the
■• Mollah," or native explorer, who crossed this pari of the parting-line in 1874,
this pass is only 12,000 feet high ; and Biddulph tells us thai at this point the great
divide between the Indus and Oxus basins might easily be crossed in a wheeled
waggon. The highest summits occur farther south in a chain which run- from the
western extremity of the Karakorum in a south-west direction between the Mastuj

Fig. 9. — The Eastern Hindu-Kush.
Scale 1 : 1,250,000.

74- Lcfbr

■' < Mil. -.

and the rivers flowing to the 'Jilirit and the Indus. This lateral ridge, sometimes
known as the " Lahori Mountains," from a central pass of that name, rises at
certain points to elevations of 19,200, 19,700, and even 22,800 feet.

Towards the west and south-west the Hindu-Kush gradually increases in eleva-
tion, attaining an altitude of over 25,000 feet in the Tirich-mir, a rival of the
Karakorum giants. l>ut even here the range i- crossed by the practicable Nukaan
Pass at a height of 16,000 feet ; and farther west by two others, the Ehartaza and
Dora, of which the latter appears to he the easiest, with an estimated altitude of
16,000 feet. Beyond these peaks the water-parting between the streams flowing
south through Kafiristan and north to the Badakshan and Kunduz, has not yet been
visited by Europeans. But we know that the Kafirs of the southern slopes drive

THE AFGHANISTAN HIGHLANDS. 21

their herds to the northern pastures, bo that here also the main range presents no
impassable barriers. West of the Anjuman Pass, the better-known section, which
describes a crescent about 120 miles long, with its converse side facing north-west-
wards, is broken by some twenty gaps varying in height from 11,000 to 15,000
feet, and sometimes accessible even to caravans of camels. Amongst those
mentioned in history are the Kawak, immediately west of Anjuman, probably used
by Alexander, and crossed by the pilgrim H'wen-tsang on his return to China, as
well as by the English travellers, Wood and Lord, on their return to India; the
Thai, crossed by Tamerlane ; the Sbibr, east of Bamian, the most frequently men-
tioned in Sultan Baber's memoirs; the Kuchan, about the middle of the crescent,
probably the most frequented at present. The peak which rises above this pass
to an absolute height of nearly 20,000 feet, and which is more specially known
as the Hindu-Koh or Hindu-Rush, is visible both from Kunduz on the north and
from Kabul on the south. Xowhere else does the chain present a more imposing
aspect, being here completely encircled on the north by the valleys of the Surgh-ab
and Inder-ab, whose junction forms the Kunduz or Ak-Serai, and on the south by
those of the Ghorband and Panjir, both of which flow to the Kabul River. The
northern slope presents an almost perfectly regular outline, forming an inclined
rampart, black at the base, white at the summit, streaked by the horizontal snow-
line, varying with the seasons. Southwards the contrast is perhaps still more
striking between the rugged hills and the magnificent vegetation of the valleys,
including as many as fifty species of the tulip.

The vast triangular space comprised between the Hindu-Kush and the Lahori
chain is almost entirely occupied by mountain ranges falling gradually towards
the south-west. Although European explorers have failed to penetrate into much of
this territory, they have succeeded in measuring from a distance a large number of
peaks ranging from 14,000 to 16,000 feet in height. Some of the crests within 24
miles of the Kabul River still retain an elevation of 10,000 feet, while their spurs,
scored by erosive action, are continued southwards to the Setid-Koh, forming a suc-
cession of wild gorges and ravines between the Kabul plain and the Peshawar basin.
Some 60 miles south-west of the Anjuman Pass these rugged highlands are broken at
short intervals by three profound fissures, through which the three rivers Panjir,
Parwan, and Ghorband escape to the Kabul. Farther on the main range is con-
tinued by the Paghman chain, the first barrier which travellers have to cross on
the direct route between Kabul and the Bamian Pass. After reaching the Unah
or Honai Pass, about 5,000 feet high, this stony but far from difficult highway
dea ends into the Hilmend valley, beyond which it winds up the Hajikak and Irak
slopes. In 1839 and 1840 the English carried their held artillery without much
difficulty over the Irak Pass.

The preference given to the Unah Pass as the ordinary caravan route explains
the position of the Afghan capital in the narrow basin which it now occupies. As
a city of war and commerce, it was necessarily founded in the immediate vicinitj oJ
the main route followed by caravans and armies. When the main highway crossed
the Ghorband Pass, the capital stood at the outlet, of three valleys, converging

22 SOUTH-WESTERX ASIA.

towards the Daman-i-Koh plain, where all the paths are united from the eighteen
practicahle passes of the Hindu-Kush. Here doubtless also stood "Alexandria ad
Caucasom," the city buill by the Macedonian conqueror to guard the point where
the mutes diverge towards Bactriana. No better site could have been chosen, either

for its strategic and commercial importance, or for the fertile soil, abundant water,
and natural beauty of the surrounding district. Although standing at a mean
elevation of 6,000 feet above the sea, the plain, the largest in the whole of north-
east Afghanistan, lies in the same latitude as Cyprus, Crete, and Tangier. Hence
it enjoys a temperate climate, with a vegetation corresponding to that of Southern
Europe. Here the open spaces are shaded by the plantain ; the apricot and other
fruit-trees cluster round the villages ; the mulberry and vine clothe the lower
terraced slopes of the hills; grassy tracts, varied with tobacco and corn-fields,
and the vivid colours of the garden-plots contrast pleasantly with the brown or
yellowish hues of the rocky escarpments and the glittering peaks of the 1 1 indu- Kush
bounding the northern horizon.

East of the Daman-i-Koh, at the foot of the heights of Kohistan, and at no
great distance from the Panjir River, lies the little desert of lleig Rawan, or
" Moving Sands." Here the silicious particles blown about by the winds and
tailing into the rocky fissures of the ground produce a sound resembling the
distant beat of the drum, accompanied by an aerial music like that of the a-olian
harp. Hence the legends of armies swallowed up in the sands, whose martial
strains continue to echo beneath the surface.

West of the passes leading to Bactriana, the great divide, here about 120 miles
broad, consists of steep parallel chains running mainly east and west. These
highlands, held by the He/arch tribes of Mongol stock, are still almost an
unknown land, overshadowed, as it were, by the mighty Koh-i-Baba, which rises in
isolated majesty north of the Upper Hilinend valley, to an extreme height of
17,800 feet. Another peak in the centre of the system also attains an elevation of
over 16,000 feet, and there may be other snowy crests still farther west; for these
highlands, apparently the Parapomisus of the ancients, are known between the
sources of the Murgh-ab and the course of the Upper Heri-rud, by the local name
of Sefid-Koh, or " White Mountains." Ferrier, who traversed them in the middle
of July, expressly states that the elevated peaks are snow-clad throughout the
year. Northwards they arc flanked by another chain, also running east and west,
the Tirband-i-Turkestan, southern rampart of the Oxus plains.

But as it advances westwards the Sefid-Koh falls gradually to the Mazret-i-Baba
(Karrel-i-Baba) Bass, which is crossed by the Maimeneh route north-east of Herat,
and which is free from snow from the end of April to December.* Farther on
nothing remains except the low Barkhut ridge, falling to about 1,000 feet at the
I lit shmeh-sebz and Khombu Basses on the route between Herat and the Murgh-ab
plain.

The Upper Heri-rud valley is skirted southwards by the Siah-Koh, or "Black
Mountains," which also run from the Koh-i-Baba east and west parallel with the
* Grodekov, " Bulletin of the Paris Geographical Society," August, 1880.

THE AFGHANISTAN HIGHLANDS.

Sefid-Koh. South of Herat this range forms the continental water-parting, and is
crossed at an elevation of nearly 0,500 feet by the direct route between Herat and
the Hilmend basin. Its western continuation forms a junction with the Khoras-au
uplands at the pyramidal Siang-i-Tokhter, whilst on the south the territory of Giir —
that is. "highlands" — is scored by countless river valleys running mainly in a
south-westerly direction towards the desert. But about the centre of this almost
unknown rugged region rises the Chalap-dalan, which from its form and the
multitude of hot springs welling at its foot appears to be of volcanic origin, and
which is said by Ferrier to be "one of the highest on the globe." In the middle
of July he saw it still covered with snow, below which its grassy and wooded

Fig. 10.— The Western Hindu-Kvsh.
Scale 1 : 2,300,000.

■-;

^ \ ,•■•• .Zp ... JTchBriKaHA ,

70'Eo-fbr

00 Miles.

lower slopes occupied a vast space studded with villages and nomad encampment-.
This appears to be one of the richest mineral regions of Afghanistan, containing
unworked mines of gold, silver, copper, lead. iron, sulphur, coal, besides rubies and
emeralds.

Besides the western Sefid-Koh, another sy-teni bearing the same name and far
better known in the military history of Asia, occupies the north-eastern section of
Afghanistan south of the Kabul Biver valley. Under it- Afghan name of Spin-
ghur, also meaning " White Mountains," the main range runs east and west for a
distance of 120 miles at a nearly uniform elevation of considerably over l'.'.OOO
feet. The culminating peak, which has preserved its Sanskrit name of Sikaram.
attains a height of 15,500 feet, and this is flanked eastwards bv the Keraira,

24 SOTJTH-"WESTEBN ASIA.

almost rivalling it in altitude and majesty. Despite it* name, the Sefid-Koh is not
snow-clad throughout the year, nothing remaining from August to January but a
tr« white Btreaks, except perhaps in Borne of the gorges sheltered From sun and
wind. These imposing highlands, which everywhere abound in 1 1n- grandest
scenery, have been traversed in all directions by British officers and explorers, who
ascended si\ el' the highest summits in L879. The Sefid-Koh lies en the British
side of the " scientific frontier " recently laid down, hut subsequently abandoned to
the Afghan tribes. Hut the sites of future encampments and health results are
marked en the charts in the neighbourhood of the- passes, near the running waters
and weeded slopes.

At its western extremity the Setid-Koh projects northwards a number of spurs,
radiating like the ribs of a fan in the direction of the Hindu- Kush system, from
which they are separated only by the gorges of the Kabul River. Of these spurs
the Loftiest is the Karkacha ridge, terminating near the river in the Siah-Koh, or
'• Black Mountain," which is so called by contrast with the snowy peaks of the
main range. The Karkacha is crossed by the pass of like name (N.000 feet ), and
farther north by the less elevated Jagdalak J'ass, near Oandamak, names ever
memorable in the annals of Angle-Afghan warfare. The Lataband, llaft-Kotal,
Khurd-Kahul and other passes over the more westerly spurs are all alike equally
associated with the triumphs or disasters of the British arms during their three
invasions ef Afghanistan. The route skirting the southern foot of the Sefid-Koh
has also acquired great strategic importance, and during the last war the l'aiwar-
Ketal, south of Sikaram peak, and Shutar-gardan ("camel's neck ") at the south-
west corner of the Sefid-Koh, became familiar sounds.

At the eastern extremity of the main range the most famous pass is the
Khaibar, which, to avoid the gorges of the Kabul River, bends south and west of
Mount Tartara (6,850 feet ), and rejoins the river over against I.alpura, 40 miles
above the plain. The overhanging cliffs on either side are crowned with forts,
some in ruins, seme still standing ; and other monuments, such as topes and tombs,
attest the former presence of peaceful as well as warlike elements: fer the
Buddhist missionaries had frequented this route long before it was followed by
Mahmud the ( ihazne\ ide, Baber, Akbar, Nadir Shah, Ahmed Shah, and the British
generals. Here Akbar constructed a waggon-road; but Alexander and the first
conquerors of India appear to have passed north of the Kabul River through the
Yiisuf-zai territory.

The southern ramifications of the Sefid-Koh maybe regarded as collectively
forming the outer scarps of the Afghan tableland. Each of the successive terraces
is separated from the previous by a border chain Less elevated above its western
than above its eastern base. Hence in ascending from the banks of the Indus to
the grassy inner gfa ppes, the traveller passes through a series of steep slopes,
separated from each other by terraces of varying width. The chain usually known
as the western Sulaiman-dagh is the loftiest, if not in its isolated peaks, which
have net \et lieeti BUrveyed, at all events in the mean altitude of its crest. South
of the Shutar-gardan Pass, separating it from tie Sefid-Koh, it runs mainly iu the

THE AFGHANISTAN" HIGHLANDS.

■l->

direction of Baluchistan, where it forms the outer wall of the plateau west of the
Kachi-Gandava deserts. The western Sulaiman-dagh thus constitutes the parting-
line between the waters flowing east to the Indus, and west to the inland basins of
the tableland. It also forms a political frontier between the western tribes, who
recognise the Amir's authority and those to the east, who ~t ill enjoy a certain
independence, and pay the taxes only when they cross the border with their flocks.
On most maps another central Sulaiman chain is traced from Mount Sikaram
in the Sefid-Koh southwards beyond the Paiwar-Kotal ; but it doe- not appear to
form a continuously regular range, natives who have traversed the country speak-
ing only of a rugged plateau without any well-defined mountain system. Still
farther east the various ridges, exclusive of the detached groups projecting
towards the Indus, are all comprised under the general name of the Eastern
Sulaiman-dagh, or Mihtar Sulaiman. Although cut into numerous sections by the
Kuram, Tochi, Gomul, Zhob, and other streams rising in the western ranges, they

Fig. 11. — The Sefld-Kob of Ea.-t Afghanistan.
Scale 1 : 2,400,000.

60 ililes.

none the less constitute a remarkably uniform orographic system. Wooded slopes
are ran- on the scarps facing the Indus valley, which in the glare of the sun glow-
like a furnace, while the heat reflected by their white, red, or yellowish rocky walls
becomes at times quite intolerable.

The various lateral sand-tone or limestone chains run in nearly parallel lines
either north and south or north-east and south-west, and all -lope gently west-
wards, hut fall abruptly towards the Indus. South of the Gomul Pass there are
-even of these parallel ridges, and still farther south as many as twelve have been
reckoned near the Suri River. The higher western ranges visible above the others
from the Indus valley are sometimes by the Afghans called the Koh-i-Siah (Siah-
Koh), or "Black Mountains," while the lower part of the system is designated by the
name of Koh-i-Surkh (Surkh Koh), or " Red Mountain-." At interval- the rai
are pierced by darahs, or gorges, between whose vertical walls intermittent torrents
rush down during the rainy season. The Eastern Sulaiman-dagh culminates with

26 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

the Pirgul peak (11,800); lmt the most famous tri-< >n j > is the Takht-i-Sulaiman, or
" Throne of Solomon," whose twin peaks are visible from the plains. The northern
and most elevated (estimated at from 11,000 to 11,400 feet) is one of the many

spots where Noah's ark is supposed to haw rested, while a niche cut in the rock
represents the "throne" whence Solomon contemplated the \ast abyss of the
universe. Towards the southern extremity of the Sulaiman-dagh occurs the wooded
and well-watered liorai valley, which, thanks to its easy incline, seems destined
one dav to become the chief route from Multan to the Afghan plateau.

West of the border range the section of the plateau comprised between the
northern and eastern highlands is intersected by no ridges rising more than 'J, (too
or "J, olll) feet above the surrounding country. Except at their junctions, these
ridges run uniformly north-east and south-west, falling gradually towards their
southern extremity. The most important between the llilmend and Tarnak Rivers
i^ the Grul-Koh, or "Blue Mountain," so named from the flowers covering its
slopes. North of Ghazni the Sher-dahan Pass, leading to the Logar valley and
Kabul, still maintains an elevation of 9,000 feet, whereas the crests overlooking the
plain of Kandahar nowhere reach a height of li.oOO feet.

South of the Kandahar plain other chains connected with the main range of the
western Sulaiman-dagh rise to a considerable elevation, forming towards Baluchistan
a double barrier, which the English still hold as their most advanced outpost since
their withdrawal from Kandahar. The Khwaja Amran, or northern ridge, is
crossed by the famous Khojak Pass at an elevation of 7,600 feet. Although this
route has been usually followed by the British armies, the line of the future
railway to Kandahar has been traced through the far less elevated Gwaja Pass,
beyond which the hills merge in the Shorawak territory, west id' the farthest point
surveyed by the English officers. The ridge running south of the Khwaja Amran,
although higher, presents more practicable passes. Here the Takatu, with its twin
] icaks, attains an altitude of over 1 '2,000 feet. Met ween the two ranges stretches the
fertile Pashang basin, wrongly called the Pishin valley, a district of greal strategic
importance, traversed by the brackish Kakar Lora, the official frontier towards
Baluchistan.

Afgiiw IIivki: Svsii.vis.

All the Afghan rivers, except those rising in the Hindu-Rush and eastern
Sefld-Koh, How to closed basins, or else run dry in the sands before reaching their
natural seaward outlets. Nearly all the waters of the north-east highlands are
collected by the Kabul River, whose volume is probably equal to that of all the
other Afghan streams together. The Kophes, Kophen, or Kabul, whose valley has
been followed by all the conquerors id' India, rises at the foot of the Paghman
hills, and below the city whence it takes its modern name is joined by the more
copious Logar, led partly by the torrents flowing from the (ihazni hills, farther
down comes tin- l'anjir, formed by all the streams which the snows of the Ilindu-
Kush send to the Daman-i-Koh plain. Below this confluence the main stream

THE KABUL RIVER.

receives on both its banks smaller contributions from the Nangnahar uplands on
the south and the Lakhman or Lamghan district on the north. A few miles below
Jalalabad the Kabul is probably doubled in volume by the Kunar, which rises at the
Baroghil Pass, under the name of Mastuj, and takes the appellation of Chitral and
Kamah. As in Kashmir and the Himalayas, the torrents in this highland region
are crossed by frail bridges of the willow and twining plants ; but large rivers, such
as the Kunar and Swat, are traversed by means of inflated skins, as in the Panjab.

Pig. 12. — The Kabul River — View takes near Cizergao, Shardeh Valley.

The last important stream joining the Kabul is the Swat, with its tributary the
Panjkora, often called the Landi Sind, or " Little Indus," to distinguish it from
the Abu Sind, or " Great Indus." In the British province of Peshawar both
streams mingle their waters, and after irrigating the whole of the Peshawar plain,
the Kabul seems scarcely inferior in volume to the Indus at its confluence with
that river above Attock.

South of the Setid-Koh the Kuram is the only perennial stream flowing east to

28 SOUTH-WBSTBEN ASIA.

ih. Inilu-. All the rest, rising on the Sulaiman >l<>]ns, either run oul in the Bands
or are exhausted in irrigating the land before reaching their natural nutlet. Thus
the Gomul, with a basin, according to Walker, 13,000 square miles in extent, and
which sometimes spreads oul t<> a width of 1" miles on the plains, remains without
a drop of water during the dry season. In Afghan Turkestan, the rivers of the
Kliiilm. Balkh, Siripul, and Maimeneh districts also run oul before reaching the
( >xus. In the Bame way the Murgh-ab i> used up in the irrigation canals of the
Mcrv oasis : while the Heri-rud, or " river of Herat," rising between the Sefid and
Siah-Koh, after a longer course westwards to the Persian highlands, ultimately
disappears in the Turk. -tan sands onder the name of the Tejes (Tejend). Ferrier
was informed by the natives that before the end of the last century it- lower
course lay much farther to the right, in the direction of the Murgh-ab ; bul in any
it tails at present to reach the dried-up lacustrine depression which, according
to Lassar, stands at a lower level than the Caspian.

The only closed basin comprised entirely within Afghan territory is that of the
Ghazni, which has an area of about 7,0111) square miles. Rising on the southern
slope of the hills which send most of their drainage through the ''hint/, Logar, and
Kabul to the Indus, the Ghazni, after receiving numerous small tributaries, flows
beyond the Band-i-Sultan, or "Sultan's Dyke" raised by Mahmud the Ghaznevide,
tir-t south and then south-west, in the direction of the affluents of the Hilmend.
Bui during its progress across the arid plains of the Ghilzai nomads it generally
diminishes in volume, and at an elevation of 7,000 feet loses itself in the highland
lake Ab-Istada. This " sleeping water," as its name i- interpreted, has a depth of
less than 14 feet in the centre, and is so brackish that the freshwater fish of the
Ghazni perish on reaching the lake, which is said to have overflowed in 1878 into
the Hilmend basin.

The salient featun - ol Lake Ab-Istada are reproduced on a vaster scale by the
Ilamun basin, which, besides about halt .>! Afghanistan, embraces a considerable
portion of Persia and Baluchistan, with a total area ..! perhaps 200, ooo square miles.

The Hilmend, which is the main artery of this hydrographic system, has a
course nt over (ioo miles, and is the most copious Asiatic river between the Indus
and Tigris. By the Great Moghula it was regarded as the moat dug by nature's
hand round Kandahar, bulwark of their empire towards the west. Other streams,
some hundreds of miles in length, such as the Rud-i-Sabzawar (Harut-rud), the
l'aiah-rud and Kash-rud, drain to the Hamun depression, although during the dry
season their course is marked only by the tamarinds, mimosas, and dwarf palms
fringing their banks. At other times they form broad impetuous watercourses,
flooding the plains and stopping all caravan traffic for weeks together.

The Hilmend (Helniand), which rises 36 miles weal of Kabul, between the
P ighman and Koh-i-Baba, Hows first for a long way at an elevation of 11,500 feet
through a little-known highland region. Alter -kirting tin- grassy Zamindwar
Sills, it sweeps into the plain-, a broad majestic stream 3,000 feet wide at high-
water, and with a mean width of over 1 .0011 feet. Here it receive- during the
tl...>d- it- chief affluent, the Argand-ab, swollen by the Tarnak, Arghesan, and

THE SISTAN HAMUN. 29

Dora, whose converging1 waters near Kandahar give to that city such paramount
commercial and strategic importance. But at ordinary times these streams,
exhausted by irrigation works, send but feeble supplies to the Argand-ab, which,
15 miles from its confluence, is arrested by the " Dyke of Timur," a dam by which
all its waters are diverted and distributed over the plain. The Ililmend also sends
its overflow through a network of canals to the Germsil, or "Hot lands," a fertile
tract bordering its banks at a mean distance of about a mile. The remains of
former embankments attest the care with which its inhabitants, at one time far
more numerous than at present, regulated the discharge of the Ililmend, whose
very name, reproduced under the Greek form of Aryrnanthus, is said to mean
"embanked river."

The Sistax Depression.

The lower part of Sistan (Seistan), figured on most maps as a lake, or at least
a swamp, is, for the most part, simply a waterless plain. Far from presenting any
obstacle to intercommunication, it is more easily traversed even than the surround-
ing lands, which are intersected by irrigation canals, strewn with boulders, or
covered with dunes. Such an easily accessible region could never constitute any-
thing more than a conventional frontier, and Persia has now seized the must
fertile tracts east of the pretended lake. Here pass the most frequented routes,
along which the depression is recognised only by the freshness of the vegetation,
interrupted, however, at several points by white patches of saline efflorescence
and moving sands. But northwards stretches the Naizar, a sea of stunted reeds,
yellow in the dry season, but while tender affording pasture to the cattle of the
nomads.

South of this tract the limits of an old lacustrine basin are indicated here and
there by argillaceous banks, still washed by the overflowing waters during the Hoods.
In the midst of the basin rises a solitary bluff, the Koh-i-Kwaja, or Castle of
Ilustem, which Nadir Shah besieged in vain. But north of the marshy district
stand several other rocky heights, which, like the Koh-i-Kwaja, are of basaltic
formation.

South-east of the Sistan depression stretches the Zirreh (God-i-Zirreh), another
dried-up basin covered with a saline efflorescence. All the streams flowing from
Baluchistan in this direction are completely evaporated on emerging from the
hills, and recently < olonel MacGregor skirted the Zirreh for two days and a half
without finding a solitary pool of brackish water.*

In its wide-t extent the Sistan depression develops a crescent 240 miles long,
parallel with the course of the Lower Ililmend, and at an elevation variously
estimated at from 1, "2(10 to 1,">0II feet above the sea. Here is consequently the
lowest ascertained level in Afghanistan.

The present lakes, known to the Persians by the name of Hamun — that is,
" expanses " — are nothing but lateral expansions of the rivers that reach the low

* " Wanderings in Baluchistan," Is-

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

and level region of Si-tan. 'hi their map- reoenl travellera show us two such
basins, one to the wesl formed by the Harut-rud and Farah-rud, the other to the
cast, lid by tin' Kash-rud and Hilmend, both incessantly fluctuating with the
lower course of the streams contributing to their formation.

During the Hoods

Fig. 13.— Thi II ami. n Basin.
Scale 1 : 1,800,000.

30 Miles.

these streams send down much alluvial matter, which is deposited in the lowest
part-- of the depressions. But at other times the stream-, failing to reach the
lakrs. take advantage of the least apertures along their hank- to timid the plains.
The shifting of their course is further facilitated by the irrigation canals excavated

on both sides of their beds. Along the liiluieiid some of these canals, receiving

CLIMATE OF AFGHANISTAN. 31

most of the current, become each in its turn the main stream, and again disappear
between the dunes lining their banks. The local hydrography has thus for ages
never ceased to change, as attested by the descriptions of the oldest writers and
most recent explorers. The shif tings of the Hilmend, and consequent displacements
of the Hamun, take place within an area upwards of 90 miles in length, and at
least 50 miles wide.* In this area traces everywhere occur of the old beds of the
Hilmend. Before 1830 it flowed west, and then formed a " hamun " near the
Koh-i-Kwaja eminence. But after a great inundation it forsook this channel, and
turned northwards to an outlet (SO miles north-west of the previous basin. These
changes also necessitate modifications in the system of canalisation. Towns and
villages thus frequently become displaced and few other regions present so many
ruins, mostly however mere heaps of rubbish, without any remains of monumental
structures.

A solitary species of fish, by Goldsmid called a barbel, inhabits the Sistan
waters, which are frequented by such countless flocks of geese, ducks, and swans
that the sun becomes eclipsed when they rise on the wing. One of these flights
seen by Khanikov formed a compact square mass considerably over half a mile on
all four sides. The natives pretend that they can foretell the level of the next
floods by the height at which these birds build their nests above the water.

Climate — Flora — Fauna.

Afghanistan is, on the whole, a badly- watered regixm, and enjoys a rainfall far
inferior to that of Western Europe. The plateaux limited eastwards by the
Sulaiman-dagh are comprised with India in the range of the south-west trade-
winds. But the atmospheric currents which discharge such copious downpours
along the Malabar coast derive their moisture from the Indian Ocean, whereas
Baluchistan and Afghanistan are exposed rather to dry continental breezes blowing
from equatorial Africa along the north-west seaboard, and crossing in their course
only two arms of the sea, the Gulfs of Aden and Oman. The humidity acquired
by deflections to the Indian Ocean is reserved almost exclusively for the lofty
Koh-i-Baba, Hindu-Hush, and the two Sefid-Kohs in the north and east.

Thus, despite its proximity to the sea, the Afghan plateau comes within the zone
of continental climates, along the track of the winds blowing from the Upper Nile
and Arabia. Hence many of its solitudes present the same appearance as those of
Persia, which are also exposed to dry winds. Like all lands affected by a conti-
nental climate, Afghanistan is subject to great and sudden changes of temperature.
On the bare rocky or argillaceous elevated plateaux the transitions are very severe,
not only from season to season, but even from night to day. Tims snow falls occasion-
ally even at Kandahar ; and in the Herat district, of Ahmed Shah* s army as many as
18,000 men are said to have perished of cold in a single night. On the other hand,
although Ghazni stands at an altitude of 7,800 feet, its temperature is reported to
have reached 130° F. in the shade — a heat all the more intolerable that it had been

* Rawlinson.

B2 B0UTH-WE8TEEN ASIA.

preceded by a oool night. Hence to Ghazni, as to Aden, Ma-mi. Buahir, BMkaxpur
and other eastern cities, the well-known Baying has been applied: "Since thou

hast made this furnace, whal need, 0 Allah, hadst thou to make hell?" Still
more oppressive is the heat when the Bands of the desert arc raised and Bent
whirling before the wind over the Face of the land. Afghanistan is one of those
regions which arc most frequently exposed to these frightful sandstorms; while in
si-tan the wayfarer has been stilled by the fiery midday Ma-i, which here at times
resembles the African simoon.

The violent changes of temperature have also the effect of stimulating evapora-
tion, partly through the intense heat, partly through radiation into the rarefied

atmosphere. Thus is further diminished the scanty supply of water, which the
Afghan and Persian cultivators are obliged tn economise by the skilfully-constructed
khariz, karez, kanat, or underground aqueducts, made in imitation of the rivers
which flow in the galleries of the limestone rocks. In every badly- watered district
of Afghanistan villages and hamlets are met whose names recall these indis-
pensable works. Some, such as that of (ihazni, are from 20 to 2~> miles long, and
receive countless underground tributaries flowing from reservoirs at depths of 150
and even 300 feet and upwards. Vertical shafts sunk at certain interval- enable
the people to descend in order to clear out the canals and strengthen their walls.
The rubbish accumulated in heaps at these openings marks from u distance on the
slope- of the hills the course of the subterranean rivulets.

The dearth of water and the sudden transitions from cold to great heat, combined
with the elevation of the land, tend to impoverish the Afghan flora. Even com-
pared with the parched hills of the Panjab, many districts in the Sulaiman high-
lands and on the plateaux appear destitute of verdure. In some places nothing is
visible except the bare rock, with perhaps a little herbage in the hollows, fed by
the moisture oozing amid the scattered boulders. The hamlets are elsewhere sur-
rounded by a few dwarf palm-, olive, and fruit-trees, while the streams are fringed
witli the cypress, willow, and poplar. Throughout more than half of the country
vegetation is represented only by some green patches amid the white, gray, or
reddish waste of argillaceous clays and rocks. So great is the contrast between
the naked slopes and the oases at the foot of the hills that the marauding tribes
look on it as a sort of "providential" arrangement. "Others," they say, "have
the fertile lands, but we have the strength," that is, to plunder them.

But the lack of variety in the vegetation and the absence of a rich foliage are
at all events balanced by the excellent flavour and quality of most fruits and
cereals, such as the walnut, apricot, peach, plum, almond and several kinds of
corn. The pomegranates of Kandahar are pronounced by 1'errier to be the finest
in the world ; the wild vine of Kohistan yields a delicious grape to a height of over
6,000 feet on the slopes facing southwards; and the walnut, here a forest tree,
attains colossal proportions, especially in the Upper Kuram valley, where the trunk
sometimes exceed- fifteen or sixteen feet in urirth.

\ i getation is naturally most vigorous in the well-watered region of the north-
east. In the upland valleys of the llindu-Kush and Lahori, as well as on the

•<:

IXHAlilTANTS OF AFGHANISTAN. 33

Sefid-Koh slopes, the goat browses on the tender sprouts down to a height of
7,000 feet. The plantains growing on the terraces near the Paiwar Pass have a
circumference of over '■')'■'> feet. The oak is elsewhere followed higher up suc-
cessively by the deodar, yew, juniper and various species of conifers, one of which
flourishes on the Sefid-Koh at an altitude of 11,000 feet. Farther up nothing is
met except the stunted junipers and birch, which are succeeded by herbage and
the carex as far as the snow-line. In the Sulaiman-dagh the shrubs are of the
Ilimalavan species, whereas the herbaceous plants are allied to those of the west ;
but in other respects both the Himalayan and Afghan floras have much in common
with those of Europe. The date-palm grows only in Sistan, and the myrtle a little
farther north in the Anardereh district.

Nor is the Afghan fauna remarkable for many characteristic types. The
lower valleys near the Panjab are infested by the leopard, hyena, and jackal of the
plains, while the Hindu-Kush regions, like the Karakorum, Himalaya, and Trans-
Himalaya, have mainly a Tibetan fauna, including the chamois, various species of
wild goat, the black and brown bear, wolf, and fox. The wild boar has his lair
amid the rush-grown swamps of the Hamuli ; the rat-kangaroo, which hibernates
from September to April, is met in multitudes on all the stony wastes ; while the
gazelle and wild ass abound on the southern plains, as will as in the neighbouring
solitudes of Sistan and Khorassan. In the seventeenth century the rhinoceros
still survived in the forests above Peshawar, where it afforded sport to Akbar and
Jahanghir. Elphinstone and Raverty speak of lions still to be seen in the hot
valleys, although observed by no naturalist, and Blandford questions even the
presence of the lion. The dromedary and camel of Sistan are famous for their
strength, speed, and endurance ; and in some hilly districts, notably amongst the
Char-Aimaks, these animals, useless as beasts of burden, are reared solely for their
hair, used in the weaving of the tent canvas. The sheep of the Zamindwar and
Aimak districts yield perhaps the finest wool in Asia. But the Herat horse is
inferior to the Turkoman, while elsewhere almost the only equine species met with
is the zabu, an ungainly, short-legged animal used exclusively as a beast of burden.

Inhabitants of Afghanistan.

The name given by the people themselves to the region comprised between the
Indus and Persia is not Afghanistan but Pukhtun-Kwa, or "Land of the Pakh-
taua," or Afghans.* In India the Pakhtanah are collectively known as Rohilla, or
" highlanders," and more commonly as Pathans, obviously from the native name
Pukhtun. The term "Afghan" is perhaps derived from the Sanskrit Acvaka
( Assaka), that is, " horsemen," a title due to their mounted bands sweeping across
the plains of the Indus. According to a local tradition they claim a Jewish origin,
regarding Saul as their ancestor. But no serious importance can be attached to
such pretensions, common enough in a region where every other chief traces his

• Pukhtun, Puaktun, pi. Pakhlanah, Pas/ttana, according to the dialects, is the collective national name.
The language is Pukhtu or Pushtu.

101

34 SOUTH -YVKSTKIiN ASIA.

genealogy back to Alexander, and when' whole tribes boast of their descent from
tin- mythical Persian heroes Rust i ■ Jemshid, or from Mohammed, the prophel of

Allah. Doubtless amongst the Afghans, as well as amongst the Tajiks and other
Iranians, men are Frequently met distinguished by the eagle eye, aquiline nose,
thick lips, and bushy beard of the typical Semitic trader. But this is not very
surprising in a country lying on the main route of wars and invasions between
India and Hither Asia — a country where the races have been incessantly inter-
mingled through migrations, conquests, and tribal warfare. The earliest records
show us the Afghans as u group of highland clans on the west frontier of India ;
hut by gradually encroaching on the surrounding districts, eastwards as far as the
Granges basin, westwards to Sistan, these elans hecame united with divers other
peoples, imposing on them their own name and speech. Dorn and Lassen have
identified the Pukhu nation with the Paktiyces of Scylax, quoted by Herodotus,
a people who dwelt west of the Indus hasin towards the south-east of Persia. This
term is not mentioned by the historians of Alexander, although the national names
of many Afghan tribes have been recognised in the nomenclature of the Sanskrit
poems.

The Pukhtu language is a member of the Aryan family, and the Semitic words
found in its vocabulary are derived not from the Hebrew but from the Arabic,
since the conversion of the natives to Mohammedanism. The current alphabet is
also the Arabic, which is so ill-suited for the transcription of the sounds of an
Aryan language. In this family philologists have not yet determined the exact
position of Pukhtu, some deriving it from the Zend, others, with Trump, regarding
it rather as intermediate between the Persian and Indian branches, but approaching
nearer to the latter. Harsh and guttural, "as if the cold winds blowing from the
Hindu- Kush compelled the people to speak with half-closed lips," this language is
regarded as one of the least agreeable in the East — " a language of hell," according
to a saying groundlessly attributed to Mohammed. The national literature is not
so poor as had till recently been supposed. It comprises heroic poems and love
songs, some of which have be< n collected by Raverty, besides some theological,
legal, and even grammatical writings. The sciences are taught in Persian, and the
authors most highly appreciated are the poets of Iran. The Pakhtanah are
extremely fond of singing and music, and amongst them the Hindu traders always
find a ready sale lor their flutes.

Most of tie- Afghan tribes are noted for their robust frames and muscular
energy. The men are rigorous and well made, with long head, prominent cheek-
bones, large nose, very thick lower lip, bushy eyebrows, coarse hair, and beard
nearly always black. The fair or chestnut type is found almost exclusively amid
the Kafiristan highbinders, who are of a different stock. But the western trilx -
towards the Persian frontier have a lighter or more olive complexion than those in
the eastern uplands, whose dark brown colour resemblesthat of their Rajput neigh-
bours. Compared with the Persians the Afghans are rude, almost coarse, and
careless of outwardshow. But they are skilful artisans, hospitable, generous, and
even truthful, at least in peaceful times, when not inspired by the evil passions

INHABITANTS OF AFGHANISTAN. 85

stirred up by war — cruelty, revenge, stratagem, and love of pillage. "The man who
shuts his door to the stranger is no Afghan," says the national proverb. The
women are generally much respected, and manage the household with intelligence
and firmness. " Go to India for wealth, to Kashmir for pleasure, but to the
Afghans for a wife," says an Oriental proverb. Temperate and discreet, and ever
eager for enterprise, the Pukhtun readily sacrifices comfort for work ; but he does
not put up his freedom for a price, like the Persian and Hindu. While absolutely
resigned to inevitable misfortunes, he resists oppression energetically, except,
perhaps, at court, where prevail the capricious and cruel habits of despotic power.
Most English travellers complain of the extreme bad faith of the Afghans. But it
should be remembered that Europeans enter the land generally as conquerors, so
that their very presence is regarded as an insult. Hence it is not surprising that
in their weakness they have recourse to every sort of ruse and stratagem against the
hated invader. And when their hatred is once roused, they certainly yield to it
with passion and perseverance. " God shield you from the vengeance of the
elephant, cobra, and Afghan," is a saying current amongst the Mohammedan
Hindus.

The various tribes, all claiming some patriarchal forefather, form so many
separate little commonwealths, each again divided into clans and septs (zai or
khel), some of which consist of but a few families. All these groups have the
same organisation. The smallest clan, the most insignificant khel, has its chief,
usually chosen for his birth, while each tribal group is governed by a khan, mostly
appointed by the Amir of Afghanistan, but also at times chosen by the tribe. His
authority is not absolute, all weighty matters being decided by the jirga, or
assembly of headmen, which alone in its collective capacity can confer on the khan
the necessary sanction for his acts. In these gatherings of the elders the tribe
seldom fails to recognise the true sovereign power, for the old communal spirit still
survives. Ahmed Shah himself, conqueror of India and absolute master of millions
beyond the frontiers, in his own country was only the first chief amongst others his
equals by right. Nevertheless the balance of power oscillates greatly according to
the thousand vicissitudes of personal rivalries, feuds, and wars, by which the country
is continually harassed. Hence the occasional appointment of a dictator, entrusted
with supreme control during critical times, but who, the danger past, withdraws
to private life, laving aside all prerogatives over the other members of the tribe.
Frequently, also, temporary combinations are formed amongst several tribes, when
the united jirgas constitute themselves a national convention for carrying on war
or concluding peace. But whether swayed by amir, khan, or jirga, the Afghan
still fancies himself free. " "We are all equal," they are constantly assuring the
English traveller, and on his boasting his monarchical institutions, " we prefer our
dissensions," they reply. " Let our blood flow, if needs be, but we will have no
master." And if local feuds are frequent, the tribes at a distance from the large
cities escape, on the other hand, not only from a system of unlimited oppression,
but also from the general revolutions which decimate the inhabitants of some other
Asiatic lands subject to capricious autocrats.

86 SOUTHS E8TEEN ASIA.

Few 'it' the tribes have ever bad any slaves, for the Afghan considers it a crime
to •• sell men." Ee may kill, but will not degrade them.

The custom of hereditary vengeance --till survives, and certain tribes air always
at war, col for any definite interests, but for the "price id' blood." Recourse,
however, is often had to mediation; the jirga interferes, ami occasionally a khel i-
chosen tn arbitrate between two hostile groups, in which case tin1 guilty Bide
is asuall] sentenced to surrender one or more marriageable women to the family of
the offended tribe. This is one of tin- chief causes "I tin mixture <>| blood observed
amongst the various Afghan communities. Crossings air also occasioned by the
rites id' hospitality. Strange families are generously welcomed into the elan ; lands
are shared amongst them, and their chief is admitted to the tribal council, although
these guests may still continue to govern themselves by their own usages. Besides
such specially-favoured strangers, there are others, the "hamsoyeh," or "neigh-
bours," who are regarded as the "clients " of the tribe, and who, as a rule, are not
admitted tn the ownership of the land they cultivate. Hut in the course of one or
two generations even these generally become fused in the friendly tribe. On the
other band, the clans themselves may become broken into hostile faction- through
some private wrong or public difference. The postfix zui, or "sun," attached to
so many tribal names, does not necessarily imply real descent, and i- now often
merely a distinctive sign without any definite value. Thus during the boisterous
days preceding the last British invasion, the Kabuli people wire divided into
Cavagnari-zais, favourable to an English alliance, and Yakub-zais, who sided with
the amir Vakub against the foreigner. Common interests also frequently group
the tribes of one district against those of another, irrespective altogether of ethnical
affinities. Thus the Logari, or people of Logar, whether Ghilzais or Tajiks, will
combine against other Ghilzais and Tajiks of the Laghman territory.

The contradictory statements of travellers, caused by the complexity and
shift ings of the tribal names, prevent any strict classification of the khels according
to common descent. The official tables published by the Hnglish envoys and by
the Russian stall' have merely a remote resemblance to each other. Still a general
classification may be attempted, such as that published by Professor Ceane in a
recent issue of Xatinr* According to all writers, of the lot) different kinds the
dominating tribe is that of the Durani, of which the present reigning family is a
member, and which comprises perhaps a fifth of the whole population south of the
Hindu-Kush. At the beginning of the last century this tribe was called Avdali
(Abdali) : but Ahmed Shah having, on the death of Nadir Shah, assumed the title
of Durr-i-duran ("Pearl of the Age"), his people have since been known as
Durani. Their territory comprises most of South Afghanistan, all the middle
Silmend valley between the Ghilzai country and Si>tan, the plain of Kandahar,
Zamindawar, and tie- hills about Parah. In this tribe the pastors are very
numerous, and are all nomads, possessing at least two camping-grounds, the
Kishlak, or winter station of the plains, and the Ailak. or summer station on the
hills. Proud of their relationship with the royal family, the Durani — and especially
• "Afghan Ethnology," by A. H. Keftne, in Xature, Jan. 20, 1880.

THE GHILZAIS AND YILSUF-ZATS. 37

the Popalzai, Ahmed Shah's clan, and the Barakzai. that of the reigning amir
and of most of the Government functionaries — have shown themselves Less jealous
of their republican institutions than the other Afghan tribes.

North-east of Kandahar the upland valleys and plateaux limited eastwards by
the Sulaiman-dagh belong to the Ghilzais or Ghiljis, called also Mattai, who form
a group of about fifty clans, all claiming a Tatar origin. They are supposed to be
the Khilji or Khalaji of Arab writers, and to have migrated from the west about
the tenth century. They soon embraced the Moslem fuith, without, however,
abandoning certain practices of the ancient Christian worship which they are
traditionally said to have adopted at a still earlier period. Although keeping aloof
from the other tribes, they now speak the common Pukktu language, and differ in
no respect from the ordinary Afghan physical type and usages. Hence, whatever
their origin, they have now become entirely assimilated to the other Pakhtanah,
amongst whom they are generally distinguished by their noble bearing and regular
features. They were formerly the most powerful tribe in the country: but they
fell to the second position apparently through the exhaustion caused by the
foreign wTars carried on during the early part of the last century, when they con-
quered Persia and laid Ispahan in ruins. Amongst them the republican spirit has
been preserved much better than amongst the Durani. Every clan, almost every
family, is independently administered, seldom interfering in the affairs of the
neighbouring communities. Peace is also generally maintained between the clans,
except during times of general disturbance, such as that caused by the conscrip-
tions for the amir's armies. The Ghilzais are extremely hospitable, and maintain
in every clan a special functionary charged with the entertainment of strangers.
Their largest branch are the Sulaiman-khels, who comprise numerous nomad clans
in the Sulaiman hills. The southern shepherds are obliged periodically to follow
their flocks down to the neighbouring plain of Kandahar, and they thus become
reluctant tributaries to the Durani. Those of Kabul, mingling with the various
races attracted to the capital by trade, wars, and intrigues, have mostly lost their
national characteristics; but it was they who took the chief part in the destruction
of the British forces during the retreat through the Khaibar Pass in 1842.

The north-eastern tribes, occupying the Kabul River basin and surrounding
heights, are sometimes classed together as Bardurani, a collective name imposed on
them by Ahmed Shah, but never recognised by the clans themselves. Here the
largest group are the Yusuf-zais, or " Sons of Joseph," who are settled chiefly in
the northern valleys, but some of whom also occupy the hills about Peshawar.
According to Elphinstone, they number as many as 700,000 altogether, and Raverty
credits them with 100,000 " swordsmen." Like the Ghilzais, they are grouped in
a multiplicity of clans, but their national customs have been much modified by
their repeated incursions into the rich plains of India, by their habit of taking
service under foreign princes, and by their intercourse with the traders of all races
constantly passing through their territory. Intestine feuds are very frequent
amongst them, thanks, as they say, to the dying blessing of one of their saints:
" You will always be free, but never united." Like the old Jews, the Yusuf-zais,

88 SOUTH-'N 'KSTKliN \STA.

Mahomed-zais, Swati, and other neighbouring tribes redistribute their lands a1
intervals of ten, twenty, or thirty years, the occupiers changing domicile in order
to take possession of the Fresh lots assigned to them. Whoever objects to his
share or wrangles about its limits is expelled From the tribe, losing ;it once land,
wife, children, ;m<l civil rights. This custom, which recalls the old communal
system of tenure, does not prevent their fields from being well tilled, although in
many districts the introduction of Blave labour has caused a great decline of
agricultural and other industries. Various dan- reduced to captivity, as well as
the prisoners of war Eormerly brought hack from India, have been distributed
amongst the Tusuf-zai and Swati tribes, and these fakers, as they are called, arc
occasionally allowed in trade in the villages, or to ply some personal occupation,
for which they pay a tax to the owners besides the tribal impost.

The Swati, so named from the river valley where they occupj numerous large
villages, greatly resemble the Tusuf-zais, from whom they are, bowever, distin-
guished by sundry practices. Tims the dead are buried in the fallow lands about to
be reclaimed, and when the husbandman comes along with Ids plough, he cries out :
"Get up! get up ! here comes the plough!" Then if the bodies gel ploughed
up and the mangled remains strewn over the ground, it does not matter, because
•■ the dead have gone to holy Mecca." South of the Swati dwell the Momands on
the hanks of the Kahnl River, near the Afridi clans, who hold the eastern Setid-
Koh valleys, and who accept a subvention from the British Government to keep the

roads open between 1'eshawar and Kohat. West of them are the less warlike Shin wari,

on the trade route to Kabul, against whom the amir had to semi an expedition in
1883. Still farther west and south-west the parallel Sulaiman ranges and rolleye
are occupied by semi-independent (dans, whose allegiance oscillates between the
amir and the British raj, according to the vicissitudes id* wars and migrations.
Thus the Bangashes, formerly of the middle Kuram (Kurniah) valley, have moved
down towards Kohat, and ale now mostly under the jurisdiction of the English, to
whom tin v supply numerous mercenaries. Their old lands have been occupied by
the Shiah-Turi, who are also seeking the protection of the Indian Empire against
the fanaticism of their Sunnite neighbours.

Hut most of the tribes reject all political allegiance as soon as the foreign
troops have (putted their hills. Such are the Jaji of the Upper Kuram valley,
deadly enemies of the Turi and British alike, and unfortunately divided also
amongst themselves by hereditary feuds, or "exchanges," as they call them. The
quarrel begins nearly always between the father-in-law and son-in-law, and is
caused by the latter attempting to abduct the betrothed instead of paying the heavy
price set on her by her friend-. Then blood i- Bure to flow, for the father must
either kill the ravisher or fall at his hand-. Nor have the Mangals, Kho-ti, and
other turbulent neighbours of the Jaji much greater respect for human life.

The numerous Wa/iri-khel- have their camping-grounds on the outer terraces
of the Sulaiman-dagh south of the Bannu River. Although claiming political in-
dependence, they may he regarded as having 1 n definitely brought within the

British system, thanks to the yearly migration of large numbers to the plains of

THE AVAZIRI AND LOIIANI.

the Indus. Amongst them are the fierce and daring Mahsuds of the Shaktn valley,
who were, so to say, discovered during the late Afghan war. They fight with
short sword and buckler, and use the sling with great skill. But notwithstanding
their warlike spirit, the Waziri open their territory for the passage of caravans of
the Povindahs, or " Runners," belonging mainly to the great trading tribe of the
Lohani, but also including many Ghilzais, Kharoti, and Nasars. To protect them-
selves, however, from possible attack, the Povindahs are organised in bands of
hundreds and even thousands, strong enough to open the way with their swords
should the tax offered to the local chiefs not be deemed sufficient. In summer
these martial traders encamp on the Ghazni plateaux, descending in autumn
towards the Indus through the Gomul, Gwhalari, or some other mountain pass, and

Fig. 14. — The Gomul Pass.
Scale 1 : 1 .500.000.

L. of .Greenwich 69°50

70'50

30 Miles.

returning the following April. Some of the Lohani merchants trade regularly
between Bokhara and Central India, indemnifying themselves for their innumerable
risks and hardships by exorbitant charges for their waits. On crossing the Indus
they leave wives, children, and aged in the Derajat camping-grounds, with the
flocks and their arms, no longer needed in traversing British India. Little
bannerets and pikes planted on the mounds by the wayside recall the memory of
those that have perished en route. Their yearly exchanges with India alone are
estimated at about £1,500,000. About 12,000 traders, with their convoys of camels,
pass annually down the Gomul route, and many of the Povindahs now seek
employment on the public works in India.

40 SOUTH- WESTERN ASIA.

Towards the Raluch frontier various formerly independenl and turbulent clans
have recently been reduced or partly reconciled to the rule of the English, who
here maintain the " scientific frontier " between Kandahar and Kwatah (Quettah).
Thus the Pishins and Tari (Tarim) of the Ehojah-Amran range have become
vassals of the Indian Empire, and now derive their chief wealth from their dealings
with the British encampments. Many id' the inhabitants of these valleys, although
pure Afghans, call themselves Seids (SayadsY claiming descent from the Arabs,
and even from the Prophet. As horse-dealers they are known throughout India,
and in their district Hindustani is current. The neighbouring Kakars, notwith-
standing their evil repute for brigandage, are really amongst the most peaceful
nomads in Afghanistan. At the approach of warlike expeditions they move away
to other pastures, and give a hospitable reception to the Hindu, Povindah, and other
traders, through whom they thus maintain their intercourse with the outer world.
Their nomad Nasar neighbours, like the Banjari of India ami European gipsies,
have no fixed abodes, nor even any regular winter and summer <;nnping-grounds.

Although forming the majority of the inhabitants, the Afghans often escape
the notice of travellers, because they dwell mostly away from the towns on the
lands inherited from their forefathers. The people met by strangers in Kabul,
Ghazni, Kandahar, and Herat are chiefly the Tajiks, who are scattered throughout
th. whole of Afghanistan, except in the grazing distiirts. In most respects they
resemble the Tajiks of Central Asia, and like them are descended from the old
political masters of the land, variously intermingled with Turks, (Jzbegs, Arabs,
and other races. Both at Kabul and Bokhara they are known as Paraivan, that is,
Parai-zeban, " of Persian tongue," and the term " Sarte " is also applied to them in
common with other settled communities. In Afghanistan tiny represent the
industrial and commercial life of the nation, and in the towns they have kepi alive
a knowledge of letters, thereby preventing the Afghans from relapsing into utter
barbarism. In the wast some cultivate but few own the land, most of these
peasants being subject to Afghan masters. The Kohistani of the Daman-i-Koh and
valleys draining to the Panjhir may be regarded as forming a distinct class from
the Tajiks, whom however they resemble in their intelligence and industry, though
not in their peaceful habits.

Next to the Tajiks the chief civic elements are the Hindki and Kizil- Rashes.
The Ilimlki or Hindus are nearly all traders or money-lenders, and in their hands
is so.. n swallowed up the produce of Afghan labour and plunder. The Kizil-
Bashes, or " Red Heads," of Turkoman origin, came from Rersia during the time of
Nadir Shah, and have since kept aloof from the surrounding populations. Most of
those settled especially at Kabul are attached to the court and higher functionaries
as secretaries, inspectors, and employes of all sorts. Trained to servility towards
their masters, and to truculence towards the masses, they have acquired the vices of
their class, and are accused of insolence, ostentation, cruelty, and perfidy. The
Red Heads of the Herat district, being engaged in trade and industry, are exempt
from these charges.

The mountainous region north and east of Kohistan and west of the Swati

THE SIAH-POSH KAFIRS.

territory is inhabited by aborigines stigmatised aa Kafirs, that is" infidels," because
most of them have hitherto refused to embrace the Mohammedan faith, but more
commonly known as "Siah-Posh," that is, "Black Clad," from the black goat-
skins formerly worn by them. These Hindu-Kush tribes have succeeded in main-
taining their independence, thanks to the inaccessible nature of the land, which is
skirted west and south by the historic routes of Bactriana and Hindustan. The
whole of the ragged uplands comprised between the Hindu-Kush, the Kabul River,
and Indian frontier have a population of 500,000 ; but the Kafirs proper can

Fig. 15. — Populations of Afghanistan.
Scale 1 : 11,000,000.

mmm. mm

''Wili;],

re***' s*'r

^ ^«w€r*>aMsi

L. ofG

Aryans.

Durani. Ghilzai. Kakars and Waziri. Tribesof the Tin and Tajik and Kaiirs.
tribesofthe North-Bast Pufain. tribes of

South- 1 i-t Iranian Race.

Dardee. Hindus.

Baluches.

Afghans.

Turkomans.

E3 □

Hezarehs.

Mongols.
. 300 Miles.

scarcely number more than 150,000. But no modern explorers have hitherto
penetrated far into the heart of the country. "When Wood visited Badakshan in
1840 he met a few Kafirs, who invited him to visit their territory, which he would
find flowing with wine and honey. But he was unable to accept the invitation,
and a similar offer had again to be declined by Biddulph in 1N7S. Hence these
tribes are known only through the few of them that have been seen beyond their
own domain either as traders, shepherds, or slaves in Kabul. During the war of
1879 an excursion was made to the north of Jalalabad by Major Tanner, who

42 sol rii-\vi:sTi:i;\ ASIA.

penetrated with ;i small escorl into the Darah Nur district, and visited the
Chugani villages "I Ant and Shulut. 1 Jut lie brought buck little further informa-
tion regarding the Kafirs, whom Yule and Rawlinson suppose to he Aryan Hindus
driven avis ago into the highland region by them called Wamastan. According to
Trump, who has seen a lew id' them, the Siah-Poah differ in no respect from the
mu't hem Hindus, while other observers describe the Kafir as of all Asiatic types that
which approaches nearest to the European. Fair hair and blue eyes are common
enough, although blown or light chestnut hair and grej eyes predominate, while
the complexion is not darker than that of the average European. Seine bave
regarded them as perhaps descended from the Macedonians hit in the mountains
by Alexander ; but before their relations with the English they had never heard
of " Sikeiider," and most of them now call themselves the " brothers " of the English
conquerors of India. More than one writer has suggested the policy of taking
them as allies, raising a corps amongst their tribes, and building forts in their
country, thereby outflanking the Afghans, and thus definitely ensuring British
supremacy in Kabul. On the other hand, patriotic Russians bave suggested that

llu •• Black Clad" may just as likely he brothers of the Slavs as of the British,
and have already begun to regard them as the future outpost of Russia on the mad
to India.

['.at the Kafirs themselves possess no political unity, being split up into eighteen
hostile idans in a chronic state el' intertribal warfare, suspended only during the
harvest. They also come frequently into collision with their Mohammedan neigh-
bours, who seek to take them alive, a Kafir slave being generally regarded as
worth two of any other race. The Kafirs, on their part, give no quarter, for in
their eyes no glory IS Comparable to that of a slayer of men, and those only can aspire
to the dignity of bahadur or wrumnali who bave struck oil four heads with their
own hand. The woman whose husband has killed many Mussulmans decks her hair
with cowries, or wears a red ribbon round her neck. The unhappy wretches who
have had no chance of striking ell' a head or two are obliged to eat apart. Yet
disputes rarely arise amongst members of the same clan, and when they come to
blows the antagonists must strip for the fight, throw away their arms, and after the
scuffle make it up in the presence of all the village.

A frequent cause el' border warfare is the obligation of seeking a wife outside
the elan, the members of which are all regarded as brothers and sisters. While
the "infidels" are away wife-hunting, the Mohammedans penetrate into the
district in order to buy or take by force victims destined for the harems of the
chiefs, the Siah-Posh women being the "Circassians" of Afghanistan. A (dan
subject to the ruler of Chitral is obliged to send him a yearly tribute of honey and
butter, woven goods, costly vases, and cattle, besides a number of young women and
children of both sexes. In general these " brothers of the English " show very

Little respect fur their women, on whom falls all the household and field labour,
and who in many districts are yoked together with the oxen. In most of the tribes
polygamy is permitted, forbidden in others, and altogether there are few countries
where wars, slavery, religious influences, and interminglings have brought about a

THE SIAH-POSH KAFIRS. 43

greater variety of social usages. Amongst the Siah-Posh seen by Biddulph the
conjugal tie is very lax, whereas elsewhere the mere suspicion of infidelity on the
part of a young woman will set the whole village in uproar. The eulpits are com-
pelled, under pain of death, to acknowledge their guilt, their dwellings are burnt,
and they themselves banished for ever. The very road the}* have taken to escape
is held as polluted, and the elders of the community offer propitiatory sacrifices on
the banks of the first stream crossed by the fugitives. Amongst the tribes of the
interior property is as much respected as the family reputation. An object lost by
a Kafir will remain for years on the spot where it fell, and even the assassin will
scrupulously restore to their friends the property of his victims. Couriers also may
fearlessly traverse the land, provided their letters are carried on the point of a
wreathed stake.

The dialects current amongst the various gali or tribes differ so much one from
the other that the natives of remote districts are unable to converse together.
All, however, belong to the common Aryan stock, and seem more nearly related to
the Sanskrit than to any other branch. The native cults belong also to the group
of Yedie religions. Some of the local deities, such as Imbra (Indra), recall those
of the Hindu pantheon, while the sacrifices resemble the holocausts formerly
celebrated on the banks of the "Seven Rivers." Like the Hindus, the Kafirs offer
a vague worship to the Supreme Being, but their homage is addressed chiefly to
countless divinities represented by stocks and stones, animals, or rudely-carved
images, after the manner of the famous Vishnu at Jagganath. To these supplica-
tions are addressed for rain or hue weather, against sickness, famine, and war.
Certain practices seem to have been borrowed from the Guebres. Thus fire is
carefully kept alive and guarded from all impurities. The snake, in common with
so niany mythologies, is highly venerated, and regarded as the guardian of hidden
treasures. To kill him would be sure to bring down some disaster on the land ;
but, on the other hand, a stranger daring to violate one of their sanctuaries would
be instantly hurled from the nearest precipice.

The Siah-Posh recognise some of the neighbouring Mohammedan tribes as
their kinsmen. They are aware that their territory was formerly far more
extensive than at present, and that they have been gradually driven from the plains
towards the perennial snows, thereby losing not only much wealth but also their
civilisation, f or " our forefathers," say they, "could read and write like the
Hindu pundits." Amongst the surrounding Mussulmans many Kafir usages are
still observed, as, for instance, the use of benches instead of squatting Turkish or
Persian fashion on the ground, wine-drinking, and the vigesimal system of notation.
The women of these Moslem tribes also go abroad unveiled, and take part in all
outdoor occupations. Amongst these half-Afghanised peoples are the Safi, or
"Pure," and the Chugani of the Darah Nur ("Valley of Noah") and lower
Kunar River, who are often called Nimshah, that is, "Half and Half." They
intermarry both with the Afghans and Kafirs, and generally endeavour to keep on
good terms with all their neighbours. Through them the Chitrali carry <>n a
considerable export trade in fine cattle, bounds, and sheep, thereby acquiring much

SOrni-WKSTKRN ASIA.

wealth, which they spend in building large many-storied houses embellished with

eleganl w 1 carvings, and in surrounding their villages with high and strong

palisades.

Besides these pure Aryan "Black Clads," Afghanistan is also occupied by
numerous people of Mongol stock. Such arc the Elezareh ( HazarahJ, thai is, the
"Thousand," who hold the Koh-i-Baba and Siah-Koh valleys of the Upper
Hilmend and Heri-rud basins. Being thus in possession of mos< of the highlands
between Kabul and Herat, they compel armies and caravans i" make a great detour
southwards by Kandahar and I'aiah. In a straight line the distance from Kabul

Kg. 1G.— Dakah Nur.
Scale 1 : -."iO.OOO.

KTv

&&c/i* '' ■ G&mb*

JAlAlABAO

;c 15 "

-oe"«*iC^

J4 Miles.

t<> Herat is scarcely more than 360 miles, whereas t lie historic route followed at all
times by trade and war is longer by fully one-half. The Sezareh, doubtless bo
called from their countless segmentations, are unquestionably of Mongol origin, as
shown not only by the designation of Moghel applied to them by the Gthilzais, but
also by their Kalmuck features, small oblique eves, high cheek-bones, Hat face,
•-canty beard, as well as by their own traditions and the unanimous testimony of
Eastern writers. According to Akbar's historiographer, Abu '1 Fazil, they were
sent in the thirteenth century by Mangu-Khan south of the Hindu-Kush, though
it is difficult to understand how, without any apparent contact with the Persians, all

THE HEZABEHS AND AIMAES. 45

except a single tribe Lave exchanged their Tatar mother-tongue for a pure Iranian
dialect, affected only by a few Turki words borrowed from their Turkoman neigh-
bours. Rawlinson supposes that they were settled from the remotest times in the
country, where they were brought into close relations with the Persians at the time
when the civilising influences of Iran were most active. Numerous ruins of cities
spoken of by the natives certainly imply a far higher culture than that now existing
in this region.

Except those to the north of the western Scfid-Koh, scarcely any of the Hezareh
tribes are nomads, all dwelling in permanent villages of small thatched houses half
buried in the ground. But while taking to fixed abodes, they have preserved
many of their Mongol usages, such as horseracing, at which the}- are scarcely less
skilled than the Khalkas of the Gobi steppes. Although endowed with sufficient
poetic genius to make their amatory declarations generally in extemporised verse,
they are far inferior in culture to the Afghans and Tajiks, to whom their artless
and uncouth ways are a constant source of ridicule. Nevertheless, by these neigh-
bours they are also dreaded as sorcerers, capable by a single glance of burning up
the liver in the bodies of their enemies. In their exuberant hospitality they have
retained the old custom of accommodating the passing stranger with their women,
who in other respects enjoy a large share of freedom. They manage the household
and overlook field operations, and in time of war take part in the tribal councils,
even joining in the fray on horseback. No family matters are transacted without
the advice of the women, against whom the hand of man is never raised.

The national government is monarchical, the wealthiest tribe, which takes the
title of Ser Khane (" Head of the House "), being considered by all the others as
forming a privileged class. Each community obeys its own beg or sultan, who
administers justice, imposes the fines, condemns to prison, and even to death. These
kinglets are often at war among themselves ; at other times forming temporary
confederacies either to plunder a powerfid neighbour or resist the tax-gatherers
sent among them by the amir of Kabul. Thus the political map of the country
is incessantly shifting with the vicissitudes of war, the interest or caprice of rulers.
Towards the border lands the race has been considerably modified by crossings, and
amongst the Hezarehs many are now met with Afghan features, while, on the other
hand, some Gkilzais might be taken for Kalmuks. In recent times the Hezarehs
have begun to migrate in large numbers to India, where they obtain employment
on the public works. Thousands also have become enslaved to the surrounding
Afghan communities.

The Hezarehs arc all of the Shiah sect, whereas their Aimak neighbours and
kinsmen are zealous Sunnites. Of these Aimaks. that is. "Hordes," several,
especially in the Herat uplands, still speak Mongol dial* its, and the chief tribe
bears the strictly Mongol name of Kipchak. Their domain comprises the hilly
pasture lands of the Ghur district south of the Hezarehs, the highland valleys
encircling the Herat basin, and the northern slopes of the Parapomisus racing the
Turkestan lowlands. The Taimuri, one of the Char Aimak, or " Four Hordes,"
have also settled west of Herat in Persian territory Most of the Aimaks still

40 SOUTH-WESTERN .\s| \.

dwell iii the urdu, or tent >, which are grouped irregularly round some defensive
town- occupied by the chief and which are made either of grey fell or black skins.
The settled Tillages in their country are inhabited almost exclusively by Tajiks.
Brave as the Eezarehs, and like them ruled by despotic eh id's, the Aimaks are bvi n
more dreaded on account of their ferocity. Elphinstone tells us how alter the

tight they quad' the blood of the slain ; and according to Ferrier the girlfl <>!' some
tribes cannot wed until they have taken part with the men in some warlike expedition.
The Jemshidis, whose 5,000 families encamp under plaited reed tents in theuppei
Murgh-ab valley, are by some writers classed with the Aimaks, although their
regular features and Persian speech lease little doubt as to their Aryan descent.
But through incessant war and migrations, combined with camp life, they have
acquired the manners and character of their Turkoman neighbours, lake them

they are marauders, and lose no opportunity of falling on passing caravans. But

these raids arc not always successful, and since the beginning id' the present
century their numbers have been much reduced. In the neighbourhood of Herat
dwell their kinsmen, the nomad Persian Firiz-Kui, removed hither by Tamerlane
from the Firuz-Koh district at the southern foot id' Dcmavend.

To this motley assembly of races and peoples at present inhabiting Afghan
territory must be added a few- Jewish and Armenian money-lenders; some
Abyssinians, Kalmuks, Arabs, Lezzhians, and Kurds, slaves or adventurers fighting
under the amir's flag; many Turkoman, Baluch, and Brahui nomads encamped
on the frontiers, whence they make frequent raids into the interior. Thus all the
peoples of Western Asia are represented in a land where so few Europeans have
penetrated, except in the wake of the British invading hosts.

Topography.

In the south-eastern regions between the Hindu-Kush and Kabul River all the
Kafirs, Dards, Afghans and other highbinders dwell in small towns or villages,
usually situated in fertile alluvial valleys or on the slopes facing southwards and
sheltered from the icy northern blasts. As in the Alps, the Hindu-Kush towns
consist mostly of a number of hamlets relieved by no monuments except their
turreted forts and religious edifices, often surrounded by extensive ruins. The Swat
valley still contains one well-preserved structure of this sort, surmounted by an oval
cupola 90 feet high and encircled by a series of niches in ten stories. The Shankar-
dar, as this sanctuary is called, seems to recall the worship of Shankar, one ol the
Sanskrit names of Siva. Within their walled enclosures each of the fortified Swat
villages of Tarrnah and Chahil contains about 1,000 families. In another formerly
resided the venerable Akhund, who, though posessed of little political power, was
supposed in Northern India to be an all-powerful prophet, a standing menace to
British rule, capable at any moment id' hurling against it tens of thousands of
fanatical Wahabites. Tall and Kalkot, in the Upper I'anjkora valley, have each a

population of 1,500 families of Bushkars, a branch of the Dard nation. Lower
down the same river stands Miankalai, capital of the petty Afghan state of Jundul.

TOPOGRAPHY— KABUL. 47

In the Kuiiar River valley are the relatively important towns of Manful,
picturesquely situated at an elevation of 7,600 feet, at the junction of the Yasin
and Upper Oxus roads, and Chit ml or Chitlal, capital of the most powerful state on
the southern slope of the Hindu-Kush. Here resides the mihtar or badskah, who
rules over some 200,000 Dard and Kafir tribes, some exempt from imposts, others
compelled to supply slaves even of their own kindred. He is himself tributary to
tlic maharaja of Kashmir, to whom he sends a yearly convoy of horses, hounds, and
falcons. Further down are Axmar, Shigar, Serai, and Kunar, the last two governed
by Afghan chiefs. Kunar gives its name to the lower course of the Chitral River,
whose sands are here washed for gold.

The villages of Kafiristan are unknown even by name, while those of the upper
Panjir and Gborband valleys are insignificant hamlets. But within 12 miles of
the confluence of the streams, and at the foot of the Paghman range, stands Charikar,
probably occupying the site of Alexandria, which was here built by the Mace-
donian conqueror to guard the highland routes converging on the lowlands. The
neighbouring plain takes the name of Bagram, supposed to be a corruption of
Vigrama, that is, " chief town," a term long applied to the capital of the Daman-
i-Koh district. The town, also traditionally' known as Shehr-Yunan, or "Greek
city," was still standing at the time of the Mongol invasion, and amidst its ruins
Masson picked up about 60,000 Bactrian coins, rings, and other objects, nearly all
in copper. South of Charikar the crest of a wooded hill is crowned by the
picturesque town of Istalif, whose mild climate, sparkling streams, shady
plantations, orchards, and gardens render it the pleasantest place in the whole
of Afghanistan.

Kabul, present capital of the state, is the " oldest city of all," say the natives,
and according- to the local leg-end here fell the devil when he was cast out of
heaven. The inhabitants also proudly point to the " tomb of Cain," thus carrying
back to the beginning of the world the bloodstained annals of this turbulent
region. In any case the city was certainly in existence at the time of the
Macedonian expedition, and is mentioned by the old writers first under the name of
Ortospana, or "White Camp,"* and afterwards by that of Cabura (Ptolemy).
On the south-eastern road leading to India stand the remains of the Surkh-Minar
("Red Minaret), and of "Alexander's Pillar," structures betraying evidence of
Greek or Graoco- Bactrian style. At the end of the fifteenth century Baber, who
knew no spot comparable to the "paradise of Kabul," made it the capital of his
vast empire, and amid the gardens of the south-west is still seen the white marble
enclosure, carved with arabesques and covered with inscriptions, which was raised
to the memory of this emperor. Timur, son of Ahmed Shah, also chose Kabul as
his residence, and since then the city lias for over a century held its position as
capital of the kingdom. But apart from its official importance, it occupies a site
which could not fail to make it a great emporium <>i trade, tor it stands on the
historic route between India and Bactriana, in the midst of fertile plains offering
every resource to caravans after their toilsome journeys across the snowy Hindu-

*Ka\vlinson, m "Jour. Geographical Soc," 1843.

-< .1111 \S ESTEEN ASIA.

K 1 1 - 1 1 . Thanks to its altitude uf over 0,000 feci above tlic Bea, it enjoys as
temperate a olimate ib European cities Lying I*1 degrees Farther north, and its
fruits are famous throughout the Easl for their exquisite flavour.

Kabul covers a space of about 2 miles on the south bank of the river to
which it gives its name, and which in miles lower down is more than doubled
in volume by its junction with the Logar. West of the defiles ju-t above the city
then' stretches a rasl triangular basin of well-cultivated plains, shaded with
poplars and willows, and encircled by bare rocky hills. Eastwards a projection is
crowned with the military quarter of the Bala-Hissar, or "High Fortress,"
partially destroyed by the English in L880. Within the enclosure stand the
amir's palace and gardens, and the citj itself is intersected in all directions

Fig. 17-— Kami, ami NbiohboobhooD.
Scale 1 : 260,000.

I Woslrabad- j|»

63 'fS

6 Miles.

by walls, dividing it into distinct plots like the cells of a honeycomb. Hut
these inner lines have in many places been demolished, and the breaches are
connected by a whole labyrinth of narrow winding Lanes, the intricacies of which
were increased by the ruins of about 1,000 houses destroyed by the earthquake
of 1874. Many of the inhabitants have since then withdrawn to the suburbs,
which stretch north-west and north along both sides of the stream. In order to
overawe the city, the English in 18N0 occupied the heights of Shcrpur (Behmaru),
which rise on the north-east to an elevation of Still feet, and which .Shere Ali had
already chosen as the site of fresh foil itie.it ions. Shcrpur has the advantage over
Bala-Hissar of standing isolated in the midst of the plains, and of not being
commanded by any neighbouring hills. About 6 miles east of liala-IIissar are the

TOPOGRAPHY— GHAZNI. 49

ruins of an older city known by the name of Bagam or Bagrami, that is, " Capital,"
and Kabid itself seems to have formerly stood on the banks of the Logar.

On the route between Kabul and Peshawar the chief intermediate station is
Jalalabad, which stands at a height of scarcely 1,800 feet below the gorges by
which the Kabul River pierces the Siah-Koh range, and in the centre of the
Nangnahar basin sheltered on all sides from the winds. Hence the heat is often
oppressive at this threshold of the Iranian plateau ; but the fertile plain is in many
places shaded by leafy trees. In winter the population is greatly increased by the
shepherds returning from the surrounding pasture-lands. Beyond this point
the only place of any note is Latpura, at the Afghan entrance of the Khaibar Pase,
which is guarded at the other end by the British fortress of Jamrud.

South of the Sefid-Koh most of the " towns " on the eastern slopes of the
Sulaiman-dash are mere aggregates of mud huts surrounded by walls of the same
material. Such are Kuram, capital of the district of like name, and in the Tochi
valley the old but decayed Shehr or Shark, that is, " city " in a pre-eminent sense,
which still exports a remarkably strong and hardy breed of horses. Kaniguram
and Makin, farther north, are the chief centres of population in the "Waziri territory.

West of the Sulaiman-dagh no towns are met till we reach Ghazni, the chief
place on the military route between Kabul and Kandahar, and in the eleventh cen-
tury capital of an empire stretching from the plains of Delhi to the shores of the
Kuxine. Yet the residence of Mahmud, the "Ghaznevide" conqueror of India,
presents few of the advantages required by an imperial metropolis. Lying at an
elevation of 7,800 feet above the sea, in a region exposed to fierce gales, sultry in
summer, extremely cold in winter, Ghazni is also destitute of copious streams and
fertile plains. "I have often asked myself," says Sidtan Baber, "how the
princes who reigned over Hindustan and Khorassan came to fix the seat of their
government in such a wretched country." Hence it is not surprising that when
it ceased to be a royal residence Ghazni soon lost most of its popidation, although
still preserving its importance as a formidable stronghold between Kabul and Kan-
dahar. It stands at the foot of a long gypsum ridge, with here and there patches of
vegetation, and at its highest point crowned with a citadel, whose walls are flanked
with bastions and towers. Like that of Kabul, this citadel, which was stormed by
Lord Keane in the first Afghan war, takes also the name of Bala-Hissar. Although
never a very large place, the ruins of old Ghazni stretch for a considerable distance
to the north of the present city. Here doubtless stood Mahmud's " Heavenly
Spouse," the marble and granite mosque built by him to commemorate his
conquests. To this mosque belonged probably the two graceful minarets em-
bellished with Kutie inscriptions now lying on an artificial platform in the district.

Ghazni takes the title of "Second Medina" from the great number of
illustrious persons whose tombs it formerly contained. That of the Ghaznevide
i- >till seen in the old town, but it has no longer the sandalwood gates brought
hither by Mahniud from Somnath in Kattyawar, and by the British removed to
Delhi in 184','. Doubts, however, have been entertained as to the identity or
antiquity of these gates.
102

SOUTII-WKKTEKX ASIA.

Grhazni [a peopled by Hezarehs and Ghilzais; but Kelat-i-Ghilzai, thai Lb,
"Castle of the Ghilzais," the only other stronghold between Kabul and Kandahar,
is inhabited almost exclusively by members of t lii» tribe. It Is rather a fortress
than a town, its irregular lines, barracks and magazines crowning an isolated
eminence on the stonj plateau which separates the Argand-ab from the Tarnafc
valley. At its fool are scattered the villages of the peasantry, besides the palace,
bazaar, and other buildings, which mighl form the nucleus of a city. .Numerous
ruins are strewn over the cultivated and well-watered plain, while the heights are
crowned with the remains of tombs, forts, and signal towers, attesting the former

Fig. 18. — Kelat-i-Ghii./.ai.
Scale 1 : 45,000.

52'

u of (jreenwicn

66'50

66*5P

1,100 Yards.

strategic importance of Kelat-i-< ihilzai. During the late war it was the chief centre
of General Roberts's operations on his famous march from Kabul to Kandahar.

Like so many Asiatic town-, Kandahar or Khand, a term identified by some
etymologists with an ancient "Alexandria," by others with a still more ancient
Hindu " Ghandara," has several times shifted its position. The city of Arachosia
(in Sanskrit Haraktcati) lay more to the south-east, where now stands the ruined
station of Olnn Robot, or 8hahr-i-Tohak, in the midst of the Argand-ab solitudes.
To this place succeeded "Old Kandahar," which has not yet completely disap-
peared. About 3 miles from the modern enclosure the hills are skirted by solid
ramparts, the remains of a Bala-IIissar, which was formerly one of the strongest

TOPOGK APH T— KANDAHAR.

places in Afghanistan, and which held out for eleven months against Nadir Shah.
Another Kandahar, founded by Nadir himself, enjoyed a brief existence of a few
years during the last century, and its well-preserved walls still stand at about 3
miles to the south of the present city, which was built by Ahmed Shah, founder of
the present dynasty. He chose it as the royal residence, and the finest edifice
within the walls is the domed mosque standing over his tomb, the resort of thousands

Fig. 19. — Kandahar.
Scale 1 : 100,000.

65°4i

3,300 Yarda.

of blue pigeons. No one better than the conqueror could appreciate the extreme
strategic importance of Kandahar, the " key of India." Lying on the semicircular
route between Kabul and Herat, commanding the outlet of the Argand-ab and
Tarnak valleys, as well as the defiles of the ranges separating India from the Hil-
mend basin, it has the further advantage of being surrounded by a fertile region,
which might supply abundant provisions to armies on the march. On the south and
south-west it is unassailable, being protected in this direction by vast desert tracts.

52 SOUTH- WESTERN ASIA.

The quadrilateral of Kandahar stands at a height of - 4 , -~» < > < » feel above the sea on
a plain sloping gently towards the south-east in the direction of the Tarnak River.
The irrigating waters which supply the city, and which convert the surrounding
district into a rast garden, are drawn from the Argand-ab, and skirt the loot of
the advanced spurs of the Gul-Koh, which is here pierced by the profound Balu-
Wali Pass. Eere was Eought the battle by which General Roberts raised the siege
of Kandahar in L880. The city walls, though flanked by over fifty towers, and
supported uorthwards by a citadel, are in a bad state of repair; but the interior
presents a favourable contrast with Kabul, its well-kept streets generally running
at right angles, while the whole -pace within the enclosure is divided by two main
avenues into four nearly equal quarters, approached from the north through the
citadel, and on the other sides by three gateways. At the junction of the avenues
stands the bazaar, surmounted by a fine cupola, and thronged with a busy crowd of
buyers and sellers. The eastern section of the avenues Leading to the Kabul gate i
occupied chiefly by cloth merchants, while that Leading west to the Herat gate is
alive with the incessant din of workers in copper and blacksmiths. The dyers,
potters, and fruit-vendors are grouped along the southern avenue terminating at the
Shikarpur gate, and the road to the citadel is lined with large warehouses well

stocked with English and Russian goods. The dealers in the bazaar belong to
every race in Western Asia ; but the great bulk of the inhabitants are members of
the Durani tribe.

Recently Kandahar lay within the "scientific frontier" of the Indian Empire;
but consequently upon a change of Government in England it was restored to the
amir in ISSvJ. Here was to have terminated the Shikarpur railway, first section of
the transcontinental line between India and Asia Minor. But although the works
have been temporarily suspended, the poll ion of the railway already completed from
the Indus to Sibi, at the foot of the Bolan I'a-s, is continued up to the plateau by
routes practicable for artillery, and the present military frontier station has been
fixed at Chatnan, within three days' march of Kandahar. From thi- encampment,
which is flanked by spin's of the Khoja-Amran, the British forces guard the
eastern extremity of the main military route traversing Afghanistan from the
south-east to north-west. Any further advance could scarcely stop short of Kuxltk-
i-Nakud, memorable for the defeat of General Burrows in 1880, or even of the
fortress of Ghirisk, which commands the passage of the Hilmend and the Zamin-
dawar valleys. The numerous ruined fortifications scattered about this spot attest
the great importance attributed at all times to this strategic point. It might
a No be found necessary to secure Farah, a stronghold standing at the south-west
angle of the northern highlands and of the great military highway near the fertile
plains of Si-tan. Then there i- Si-tan itself, whose chief stronghold, Lush, stands
on an eminence surrounded by valleys, impregnable to any but the heaviest modern
artillery. Nor could Sibzatear or Sebztcarbe neglected. This fortress, which holds
the Aimaks in check, and which ha- replaced the ancient [sfezar, i- the la-t
strategic point south of Herat, and prophets of ill-omen have already named if as
the probable site of futuro collision between the great rivals for empire in Central

TOPOGRAPHY— HERAT. 53

Asia. To the south-west the Tajik village of Anardereh stands near the Persian
frontier, at the foot of a hill rent throughout its entire length by a cleft nowhere
more than 20 inches wide, and caused, says the local legend, by a stroke of the
sword of Ali.

Herat, which from its strategic importance has been called the " Gate of
India," and from its vast agricultural and industrial resources the " Pearl of
Khorassan," is one of the oldest, and at times has been one of the most populous,
cities in the world. It is clearly identified with the Aria which was a large place
in the days of Alexander, and which, according to the Persian historians, was in
the twelfth century the " queen," and the " illustrious," containing 444,000
inhabited houses, 12,000 shops, 6,000 public baths and caravansaries. In the next
century it was captured after a six months' siege by Jenghiz-Khan, who butchered
its inhabitants to the number of 1,600,000, forty persons alone escaping the sword of
the ruthless Mongols. Such is the vital importance of its position, that it has been
fifty times attacked and levelled to the ground, each time again rising from its
ruins. Lying on the Perso- Afghan frontier, it has never ceased to be a subject
of contention between these conterminous states, and if, despite its geographical
dependence on Persia, it now belongs to the Amir of Kabul, its Persian-speaking
inhabitants have to thank England, which has twice interfered and compelled the
Shah either to raise the siege or surrender the prize. At present the political
equilibrium has changed. Pussia has become the most powerful neighbour of
Herat, and her engineers are surveying the ground with the view of making it
the future terminus of their Trans-Caspian railway system. Lessar has recently
shown that the Heri-rud forms the natural approach from the Turkestan depression
to the Iranian plateau, and this route, already traversed more than once by
Turkoman and Mongol, is henceforth open to the Russian.

Situated about 2,600 feet above sea level, Herat occupies the centre of an
extremely productive plain traversed east and west by the Heri-rud, and skirted on
both sides by hills, which diminish in height towards the west. Amidst the
clumps of conifers are here and there detected piles of ruins, tombs, and other
remains, recalling the prosperous days when Herat covered an area ten times
larger than at present, and when a dog " could bound from roof to roof all the way
from the citadel to the villages on the plain." The enclosure of the modern city,
forming a quadrilateral with its longest side running from east to west, is not BO
much a rampart in the strict sense of the word as a huge irregular mound, with a
mean height of 80 feet, and separated by a deep ditch from the plain. On the
north side stands the citadel of Ekhtiar-eddin, a solid structure commanded within
1,000 yards by an enormous eminence said to have been raised by Nadir-Shah. Like
Kandahar, Herat is divided into four quarters by two transverse streets, whose
point of intersection, till recently surmounted by a dome, has become the centre
of the bazaar. The local craftsmen have retained their reputation for the
manufacture of sword-blades, carpets and cotton goods ; but at present the bazaar
is chiefly stocked with English and Russian wares. The population, which varies
enormously with the political vicissitudes of the country, was reduced to 7,000

SOTJTH-WESTEEN ASIA.

in 1838, and when most of its Shiah inhabitants had quitted the city to escape
the persecution of its Afghan masters. A. considerable proportion of the citizens
represent ancient families who have fallen with the place itself from their former
greatness. Amongst them Ferrier me1 descendants of Jenghiz-Khan, Tamerlane,
and Nadir-Shah.

Mot of tlif palaces, caravansaries, mosques, and other public buildings form
picturesque ruins in the suburbs, where a Bolitary tower, a broken arch, or a
crumbling wall still covered with lovely enamelled porcelain blend their softened
tints here and therewith the foliage of the shady plantain. The district is noted
for its healthy climate and balmy atmosphere, due to the northern breezes which
prevail during the hot summer months. "Bring together the soil of Ispahan, the
aii- of Herat, and the waters of the Kharezm, and there man will live for ever,"

Fig. JO.— Herat.
Scale 1 : 1,300,0001

, 30 Miles.

says an Iranian proverb. Nor need Herat envy the waters of the Khare/m itself,
for those of the Heri-rud, " clear as a pearl," are amongst the purest in Asia; and,
thanks to the nine main channels and their countless ramifications fed by the
neighbouring river, Herat has become the " City of a hundred thousand tiardens."
Here are grown seventeen varieties of the \ ine, and many speciesof melons, apricots,
and other fruits, all renowned throughout Irania for their exquisite flavour. In
these gardens the public help themselves, ami pay the reckoning according to the
difference of their weight on entering and Leaving. Beyond the watered tracts the
plains yield the in/; or assabetida of the Afghans, abhorrent to the Kuropean sense
of smell, but which supplies a dainty dish to the Iranians.

Above Herat are a few groups of houses that may still be called towns. Such
is Kurukh, capital of the Jemshidi territory, on the route to Maimeneh, noted for
its hot springs, of which as many as eighteen bubble up within the town-walls.

TOPOGRAPHY— GHURIAN. 55

In the Heri-rud valley west of Herat the ruined cities of Ghurian and Kusan
owe all their importance to their position near the political frontier of Persia.
According to Kanikov, Ghurian was in 1820 a larger place than Herat itself. Now
it is little more than a picturesque fort, surrounded by hovels in the midst of a
splendid district, where the neglected banks of the Heri-rud are fringed in many
places by groves and even forests of large trees. Here the hare, partridge,
pheasant, and grouse are met in vast multitudes, while larger animals, such as the
deer, wild boar, and wild ass, frequent the surrounding thickets. Thus has nature
again taken possession of this formerly populous and highly cultivated region of
Afghan Khorassan. The same desolation has fallen on the hilly districts of the
Hezarehs and Aimaks, which abound in the ruins of ancient cities, but where
nothing is now seen except miserable hamlets. Zenii, or G/iur, capital of the
country, has almost ceased to exist. Here Ferrier tells us he met a few Guebres,
a statement which has been questioned by most subsequent writers.

Trade — Industries — Administration.

Owing to its sparse population, the conflicts of hostile tribes and races, the
absence of large towns, roads and bridges, Afghanistan holds a low place even
amongst Asiatic countries as an agricultural and industrial region. Certain
valleys and a few oases on the plains are doubtless carefully cultivated, while the
system of underground channels, dams, and irrigating rills bears evidence to the
labour sustained for centuries by whole communities. In the agricultural districts
also, where the land is parcelled out amongst small holders, independent of factors
or middlemen, the soil is remarkably productive, and has frequently met the
demands of invading hosts without being completely exhausted. But in ordinary
times wheat, the staple national food, and the other products of the land, suffice
only for the local demand, leaving little for export except some dried fruits, corn,
and medicinal gums. Yet the temperate plateaux and cool upland valleys ought
to yield abundant supplies to the Hindu populations, with whom scarcely any
traffic is maintained. Nor do the industries of the Tajiks in Kabul and the other
Afghan cities contribute much towards the export trade. Hence the Povindahs
import from India and elsewhere far more than they are able to offer in exchange
for the wares purchased by them from the English, Russians, Pokhariots, and
Hindus. The Anglo-Indian Government, while withdrawing from Kabul and
Kandahar, has at the same time suspended the works which were intended to
connect those cities with the peninsular railway system, the two main lines towards
the plateau terminating at present at the eastern entrance of the Khaibar and
Bolan passes. Bridges, viaducts, cuttings, embankments, tunnels, everything was
suddenly and senselessly abandoned after upwards of i'-VJi 1,1100 had been
expended on these indispensable works. But while the British lines have thus
been interrupted by a Liberal Government, those of the Russians arc steadily
advancing in the opposite direction, from the Caspian, through the Turkoman oases,
towards the Afghan frontier. And thus arises the question, which of the two

50 BOUTH-WESTBEN ASIA.

great powers, compelled by the very force of events to contend for supremacy
in Central Asia, will be the firsl to secure by the locomotive the commercial pos-
session nf Afghanistan. The advantage must certainly lie with those who shall
take the Lead in placing the inhabitants of the plateau in easy communication

with the rest of the world.

Afghanistan is not likely long to maintain any real political independence, to

preserve which its inhabitants should possess a eonin patriotic sentiment and

confidence in their destinies. Hut Afghan, Eezareh, Tajik, Cizil-bash, Kafir are
all so many antagonistic elements, while the many tribes of the ruling race itself
lack all political cohesion. Most former wars possessed little more than a special
interest for the different clans, whose chiefs were struggling from time to time for
the foremost rank. The Qhilzais, Kafirs, Waziris, Susuf-zais, Lohani, do not
regard themselves as the subjects of the amir orof his great liarak/.ai chiefs. They
supply provisions, guides, and convoys to the stranger without feeling that they
thereby incur the charge of treason ; their only fatherland is the tract held by their
respective clans. And as regards the central Government itself, all the inhabitants
of the country have for the last half-century grown up under the idea that the real
sovereignty lies ultimately with the English or the Russians. European travellers
in the country are incessantly besieged with questions touching the rivalry of the
two great conquering powers and the probable issue of the pending conflict.
Such also is the universal topic of discussion in the bazaars, where the news-
messengers play the same part as the political press elsewhere.

The Afghans themselves seem generally inclined to believe in the future
supremacy of Russia. " However disagreeable the confession, there can be no doubt,"
says Mactircgor, "that in their eyes the prestige lies with the Russians, whom
they regard as the next conquerors of India." Doubtless they have not yet
obtained a footing in Afghanistan, but all their expeditions in Central Asia
invariably end in conquest, which is never followed by retreat. The English, on
their part, have thrice invaded Afghanistan, but at what a price p and with what
results:-' In t84'J, after three years' occupation, the Anglo-Indian garrisons,
some l:>,()0() strong, perished almost to a man in their attempt to withdraw from
Kabul. Three persons alone escaped from the greatest disaster ever suffered by
the British army. In the last war also the serious defeat of Kushk-i-Xakud had
to be repaired ; and although on this occasion ihey quitted the country of their
own accord, the popular report, rapidly spread from tribe to tribe, represented
them as fugitives. Their attitude fully justifies the Baying attributed to
Ahmed Shah in speaking of his Afghan kingdom, "Beware of my bee-hives;
the bees aiv there, but not the honey." To avoid diplomatic difficulties, and
tor other motives of "high state policy," the British Government not only
sacrifices blood, treasure, and prestige by withdrawing when it might easily remain,
but seldom even allows its own subjects to explore the country in times of peace.
Even in the far west, on the route between Fa rah and Herat, caravansaries are met
at intervals, formerly erected by the English, but which they dare nut now make
use of. In L840 their advanced posts stood to the north of the Bamian Pass,

b
a

a
S=

fc"

(8
<

a
a

a
y_
2

GOVERNMENT OF AFGHANISTAN. 57

whence the Russian van might now he visihle, and their guns obstruct the bed of
the torrents flowing down to the Oxus. Unless wiser counsels are adopted, the
Afghan view of the situation cannot fail to be realised.

The present amir, former guest of the Russians, now a British pensioner,
represents in his person the political state of the land for which the two rival
powers are contending. His kingdom is far more extensive than seems consistent
with his real weakness, for its limits have been arbitrarily laid down by the two
protecting states. North of the Hindu-Kush, Koh-i-Baba, and Siah-Koh, the high-
lands and plains stretching to the Oxus belong geographically rather to Russian
Turkestan than to Afghanistan proper, to which they are politically attached. On
the southern frontier also many tribes pay the taxes only on compulsion, while the
three rival cities of Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat themselves form part of one state
only in virtue of an "Asiatic equilibrium" temporarily guaranteed by the two
paramount powers in Central Asia.

Like other Eastern sovereigns, the amir is in theory an autocrat ; but practi-
cally his power is limited not only by the Shariat, or " way of the faithful," that
is, by the religious and civil traditions of Islam, but also even more decidedly by
the privileges of the sirdars and republican tribes. At once absolute master of the
Tajiks, head of the Durani, and suzerain of the other tribes, he commands, advises,
or solicits according to the respective attitudes of these sections of the community.
Certain offices are hereditary in many families, and these could be interfered with
only at the risk of a general insurrection. A large number of clans receive
neither his magistrates nor his tax-gatherers, but administer their own affairs, tax
themselves, and send to the amir the amount of tribute settled by custom. Thus
limited, the royal power is transmitted if not from father to son in the order of
primogeniture, at least in the same family. Formerly the sovereign was elected
by the sirdars or great chiefs ; now the English Government exercises the right
of nomination as well as that of control by the presence of an official resident at
the Court of Kabid. But for motives of prudence this dangerous office is entrusted
to a native.

When he ruled over the Peshawar district and all the eastern Haman-i-Koh
between the Indus and the Sulaiman-dagh, the amir was a wealthy potentate,
with a revenue exceeding £2,000,000. In those days the plains supplied him
with money, the plateau with men. But now that all his resources are derived
from the latter, his yearly income has fallen to little more than £600,000. Hence
the Court lias been compelled to economise, more especially since the ordinary
revenue has been absorbed almost entirely by the army. Although most of the
troops are raised amongst tribes bound to military service in lieu of tribute, and
although provisions are mostly supplied gratuitously in the garrison towns, large
sums are still spent, especially in the purchase of war materials. In 1870, at the
time of the rupture with England, the amir had in his arsenals 379 guns and
50,000 rifles procured in English workshops or manufactured in the country. The
troops are drilled in English, chiefly by deserters from the British army.

The various provinces are administered by a Lankim and commanded by a

58 SOTTII-WKSTKItN ASIA.

military sirdar. But both functions are Frequently exercised by the same

official, especially if he be a member of the Durani tribe. In the i tad districts

his principal duty is t<> collect the taxes and settle disputes, the Ka/i. who accom-
panies him, delivering judgments and fixing the fines.

The Afghan provinces proper, determined mainly by the relief of the land, arc
comprised in tin' subjoined table: —

I. Kabul —

Kabul, Dpper Kabul, and Logai River valleys, 1> mi m-i-Koh.
Qhorband, Upper Ghorband, and Panjir valleys
Laghman, Kabul riverain tracts between the capital ami Jalalabad.
Safi and Tugao, Ilinilu-Kiish valleys between tin- Ilaman-i-Koh anil Kafiristan.
Jalalabad, Lower Kabul River valley.
Qhazni, Qhazni River basin, and surrounding hills.
II. Kandahar —

Kandahar, eastern Durani territory.
Kelat-i-Ghilzai, Tarnak valley, ilul-Koh.
Ghirisk.

Karah, Farah-ruil basin.
III. SlSTAN —

Lash, Bhakansnr.

IV. IIkkat —

Herat, Middle Heri-rud basin,
km ukh, Upper Ileri-i ml basin, ( Ibeh.
Ghurian, Lower 1 [eri-rud.
Sibzawar, Ardrashkan basin.
Shahbaud, Aimak territory.
V. Hkzakf.h Tkiuiitouy.

VI. K.ll IU1STAJJ —

M istuj, Kaskar or CbitraL Kunar, Buahkar.
Panjkora (Jundul), Dir, Bajaur.
Note.— Attached to Afghanistan are also the khanates of Turkestan south of the Oxus, although

geographically comprised within the region of which the Russian citj of Tashkeml lias I me tin

political centre. These are the stales of Wakhan, liadakshan, Kuinluz. Balkh, Andkhoi, Shihirkan,
Ak-Cha, Saripul, Medmeneh, Gurzivan, Darzab, for which see Vol. VI.

CHAPTER III.

BALUCHISTAN.

HE land of the Baluches has scarcely retained a shadow of political
independence, and is now practically a province of the Indian
Empire. Kachi-Gandava, its most fertile and relatively most
populous division, belongs geographically to the region of the
plains, and here the English have long maintained military canton-
ments. Kwatah (Quetta) also, the chief stronghold on the plateau, is held by a
British garrison, commanding on one hand the Afghan city of Kandahar, on the
other the Baluch capital of Kalat. In Kalat itself the advice of the English resi-
dent, representing the Indian viceroy, is always followed by the sovereign.
Along the coast the small seaports, peopled mainly by sailors and traders, subject
to the direct jurisdiction of England, are veritable Hindu colonies ; while the
telegraph stations on the same seaboard are guarded by troops in the pay of the
Calcutta Government.

Several English officers, notably Colonel MacGregor, have been sent to survey
the roadsteads along the coast and the strategic routes leading inland to the
Afghan plateaux. Nevertheless, much of the land still remains to be explored,
consisting, however, chiefly of bleak highlands, sandy wastes, rocky or saline
argillaceous tracts. Thus the region, mostly a wilderness, covering a space of
about 30,000 square miles, and stretching from the Hilmend southwards to the
Waxhati or Koh-i-Sabz and Sianch-Koh ranges, is regarded as a worthless and
ownerless land. While Hughes assigns it to the Afghan amir as heing naturally
included in the Hamuli basin, on most maps it is represented as belonging to the
Khan of Kalat. The official map prepared in 187"2 by (ioldsmid on the banks of
the Hilmend marks the common frontier of Persia, Afghanistan, and Baluchistan
at the Koh-Malak-i-Siah, or " Mountain of the Black King," west of the Hamun,
and from this point the Baluch border is traced directly to the great bend of the
Hilmend below Rudbar. This would give an area of over 100,000 square miles to
Baluchistan; yet, according to the most liberal estimates, this vast region has
scarcely the population of a second-rate town. Even including the province of

SOI CH-WESTEEN Asia.

Kachi-Gandava, which belongs ethnically and geographically to India, the whole
state contains liss than oOU.UUO inhabitants.

Tin: Bali i histan Uighi inds.

The khanate attains its greatest altitude towards the south-east frontier of
Afghanistan, where il probably culminates in the double-crested Takatu, north of
Ku.iiah, and where other peaks in the Chihil-Tan range appear to rise nearly as
high. A leu points in the Coh-i-Muran, or "Snake Mountains," which lie more

to the south between Mustang and Kalat, are also said by Cook to rival the Takatu,

Fig. 21. — Bonus di" Tin Mini Explores* oi Baltjohistan.

Scale 1 : :i,000,000.

I: Ml ■ : < I ■ i i i i a. t. ,1

I'rnjwtr<l.
MO Miles.

all these, as well as the Kalipal peak north of the projected line of railway,
attaining an elevation of 12,000 feel or thereabouts. All the Brahui ranges,
which form the eastern scarp of the plateau above the Kachi-Gandava plain, run
in remarkably regular parallel lines in the direction from north-north-east to
Miuth-south-west. Carved into terraces of unequal size, shaped like pyramids, or
bristling with sharp peaks, these rugged limestone hills are mostly destitute of
vegetation, a lew juniper forests alone blending their pah' green witli the blue and
ro8j tints of the rocks bathed in the lighl of the sun. According to the hours of
the day with their shifting lights and shades, the hills appear on the horizon like a
scarcely visible pink or violet veil, a transparent luminous vapour, or glowing

THE BALUCHISTAN HIGHLANDS. 61

cones of molten red lava. Between the parallel chains, the basins formerly filled
with lacustrine waters have all been emptied by their mountain emissaries. Yet
some of these sequestered dells, with their grassy swards and clumps of trees,
remotely resemble fresh Alpine valleys : while others are like fragments of the
desert enclosed in an amphitheatre of hills. Such is the Pasht-i-Bedaulat, or
"Desolate Plain," separated from Kwatah by the Madar or " Dead Man range,"
which is traversed by the main route from India through the Bolan Pass. This
dismal waste is exposed in winter to tremendous snowstorms, in summer to the
still more dreaded whirlwinds, driving the hot sand in eddies across the plain, and
often swallowing up the belated wayfarer.

Like most limestone systems, the parallel Brahui chains are broken at intervals
bv deep transverse fissures, through which the perennial or intermittent torrents
rush from terrace to terrace, down to the plains. Many of these gorges present
a series of zigzag lines, disposed at sharp angles with almost geometrical symmetry.
Till recently they formed the only route from the plain to the plateau, although
practicable onlv in the dry season, or when the water was low enough to leave a
footing on either side. As many as eleven roads of this sort, some not yet explored
by Europeans, connect the Kalat uplands with Kachi-Gandava. Of these the easiest
is that of Milon or Mula, which rises gradually from the Gandava oasis to the
Jalawan tableland. But, owing to the great length, it has at all times been less
frequented than the famous Bolan Pass, which runs from the northern extremity of
Kachi-Gandava up to the Dasht-i-Bedaulat, and which the British engineers have
converted into a fine carriage road, accessible to artillery. But the Bolan itself has
now been abandoned by most travellers, who generally proceed by the new line of
railway from Shikarpur to Sibi, at the foot of the hill, and thence follow the Harnai
valley to Kwatah.

The loftiest section of the Brahui highlands is occupied by Kalat, capital of the
khanate. As shown bv the course of the streams radiating in all directions from
this water-parting, the traveller must descend from the plateau of Kalat, whatever
route he may take. Kalat stands at an altitude of 6,800 feet, which is rivalled by
but few crests in the highlands stretching south of the Brahui hills. The parallel
chains, which begin beyond the Mula Pass, and run nearly due north and south,
form a well-marked natural limit between the Baluch uplands and the plains of
Sind, thanks, however, to their arid character rather than to their absolute elevation.
These Khirtar or Hala Mountains in fact scarcely rise more than a few hundred
feet above the plateau stretching westwards. One peak alone appears to exceed
7,000 feet above the sea. while most of the crests attain an altitude of little more
than 5,000 or 6,000 feet.

West of the Khirtar range the Baluch plateau falls gradually towards the
Arabian Sea. Here a spur from the Kalat highlands projecting southwards forms
the water-parting between the Meshkid basin and the region draining southwards to
the sea. This southern plateau is broken into three main sections of parallel chains
running chiefly east and west and increasing in altitude landwards. Thus we
ascend from the southernmost section, which is scarcely 200 feet above the sea, to

SoKTlI-YVKsTKUX ASIA.

a central terrace 2,000 feet high, and thence to a third attaining an elevation
df 1,000 feet. Most of the intervening ranges arc pierced by ravines or broad
openings, so that the whole country is intersected in all directions by natural

routes accessible to caraxans.

Parallel with the inland ranges runs the Baluch seaboard, better known
by the name of Mekran, which has been cut by the action of the waves into
numerous steep headlands from ■'{<>() to loo feet high, following in uniform
succession and separated from each other by sandy bays with regularly curved
beaches. Thus the peninsulas of Grwadar and Omara projecting seawards between

Fig. 22.— Passes in N'okth Baluchistan.
Scale 1 : 900,000.

■' ,"S.r

''..

-•*' "•VrF*^--s,-a-n^*^ez'^~

■ t A

C. . af Greenwich

.Ki.-. _i«i_

Railways Completed.

Projected.

. :." Mil.-.

semicircular inlets of smooth water present an analogous appearance to the
promontory of Gicns and other headlands, connected only by a few sandy strips with
the mainland. But the whole coast of Mekran seems to have been considerably
upheaved since the formation of these promontories, for they stand at present
at a much higher level than the intermediate strands.

Notwithstanding its numerous inlets, the Baluch seaboard nowhere offers any
convenient havens for large vessels. The water shoals everywhere so gradually
that men-of-war are unable to approach nearer than 2 or '■$ miles of the coast,
where no landing could be attempted during the prevalence of the south-west

THE BALUCHISTAN COAST.

monsoon, from March to September. But when depths of 140 or 150 feet are
reached, the plummet often sinks abruptly 400 or 500 fathoms into the abyss
of the Indian Ocean.

Like the islands of Ramri and Cheduba in British Burma, the Mekran ooasl
presents abundant traces of igneous action, betrayed by numerous thermal waters
and as many as eighteen mud volcanoes, forming in many places prominent features
in the landscape. In the province of Las, bordering on India, seven of these
cones, running close to the shore, are regarded by the Hindus as so many fragments
of the goddess Durga, and from the bubbling mud of these volcanoes the devout
pilgrims cast their horoscopes. Near the Por or Puri River, west of the port of

Fig. 23. — Bast Mekran Searoakd.
Scale 1 : 1,150,000.

E of Gr 6i"50-

62'

o to 32 Eeet.

32 to 320 Feet.

320 Feet and
upwards.

^30 Miles.

Somniani, another rises in the middle of the plain to the height of 400 feet,
terminating with a crater 4G0 feet in circumference. This is the Raj Ram
Chander, or Chander Kups, which, like all the others, ejects mud and salt water.

River Systems.

Baluchistan is one of the most arid regions in Asia, notwithstanding its
exposure to the south-west monsoons, which discharge much of their moisture
especially at the north-east corner of the plateau, where the land attains its
greatest elevation. Here there is a considerable rain during the summer mouths,

64 snl'TII-WKSTFJIN ASIA.

when some of the closed basins, as well as the valleys confined between the parallel
ranges, are occasionally converted into temporary lakes. Put the trade-winds
reaching the Mekran Beahoard have already lost much of their moisture in then
passage across the Smith Arabian deserts. Eence the Eindu peasantry in the
Baluoh oasis have been obliged, like those of the other pari of Irania, to construct
karezes, or underground conduits in some of tlic most fertile valleys. Hut
the Baluch natives, being unable to keep these channels in repair, depend Eor
their supplies altogether on the water- of the nudi, or intermittent .streams. Yet
from its general appearance the land seems to have formerly been much more
copiously irrigated. Traces of inundations, and even of permanent flooded basins,
are visible in valleys which are uow completely destitute of water, and wells
sunk near the shore prove that there is still a large supply below the surface.

The Baluch rivers falling into the Arabian Sea flow mostly in narrow beds
direct to the coast, and even in the rainy districts send down but little water.
The Dasht, or " River of the Plain," which reaches the sea close to the Persian
frontier, has a larger volume than the other coast streams, because in its upper
course it follows one of the depressions between the parallel coast ranges, thus
developing a basin of considerable extent. Yet for half the year it fails to reach
the sea, and at this period the bar at its mouth remains exposed. The most
copious river in Baluchistan is the Meshkid, most of whose headstreams rise in
the Persian district of Sarhad, and flow first south-east in the direction of the
Arabian Sea. But on entering Baluchistan they converge in a common channel
south of the Sianeh-Koh, and thence flow east to the Rakshan, which drains
the Panjgur district. The united stream then trends northwards through the
gorges separating the Sianeh-Koh from the Koh-i-Sabz, beyond which it takes a
north-westerly course to the closed basin, where it runs out in the swamps and
sands, lint this basin never sends its overflow farther north to the great depression
of Sistan, as still represented on many modern maps. The Hamun, or marsh, to
which the Meshkid sends its waters in the rainy season, occupies the central
position of the Charan desert between the 28° and 29° north latitude, and from
Maciircgor's recent exploration it appears thai this Eamun is completely cut ell
from that of Sistan by a lofty range of hills. During the floods it forms an
extensive freshwater basin, but, at other times it becomes a shallow reservoir
of saline or brackish water. Parts of the surrounding plain are naturally fertile,
although little cultivated, but the surface is elsewhere covered with a saline
ctHorescence several inches thick, which yields an abundant supply of salt to the
surrounding districts. West of the Hamun-el- Mashkid the natives report the
existence of the Kindi or Talah, another swamp, which receives tic- northern
drainage of the basin. In north-cast Baluchistan also the Lora, or river of
Sharawak, flows to a third hamun in the middle of the desert.

According to MacGrregor the Kharan desert is much more accessible than
many of the sandy wastes in Persia, Arabia, and Africa. It is well known to
the caravans, which can always fly after a day's march at least on a well of
brackish water and a little fodder for the camels. But there are certain districts

CLIMATE OF BALUCHISTAN. 65

carefully avoided by travellers, who would inevitably perish if overtaken by the
terrible " simoon," a hot pestilential wind before which the dunes drive like ocean
billows. At times also the air, although perfectly still, is filled with suffocating
clouds of dust, a phenomenon attributed by the natives to the action of the solar
rays on the fine particles of sand. Towards the east Pottinger traversed for five
days a region of dunes with a mean height of 15 to 20 feet, all moving west
and east, under the influence of the prevailing winds, and consisting of a fine
reddish dust. Camels coming from the Meshkid across the sea of sands glide on
their knees gently down the slopes facing eastwards. North of the Meshkid
Hamun, MacGregor saw a large number of dunes of a different character, all
moving north and south, some rising 60 feet above the plain and developing
perfectly regular crescents, capacious enough to embrace a whole regiment between
their two horns. Towards the Afghan frontier the sands take mainly a north-
easterly direction, so that the various forms and disposition of these dunes, like
those of the Thar desert in India, may perhaps be to some extent caused by the
various oscillations of the ground.

Owing to the relief of the land, tne climate of Baluchistan presents within a
relatively limited extent the most surprising contrasts. In the argillaceous and
rocky basins of the coast streifms, as well as on the Kachi-Gandava plain at the
foot of the Brahui Hills, many districts are popularly compared to the lower
regions ; while on the bleak plateaux, at elevations of 6,000 feet and upwards, the
traveller is exposed to keen northern blasts, and often runs the risk of being
swallowed up in the winter snows. A similar contrast is naturally presented by
the vegetation, which, however, is everywhere characterised by the almost total
absence of forest growths. The slopes are sometimes clothed with various species
of the juniper, and with the happuer (zizipkus jiijuba), which yields a useful
building-timber. In the valleys the hamlets are surrounded by a few mulberries,
tamarinds, or plantains, while the brooks are fringed with willows. Most of the
fruit-trees indigenous to West Asia, such as the peach, apricot, pear, apple, plum,
pomegranate, almond, walnut, fig, and vine, besides the mango and date, flourish in
the more favoured districts. In the hot lands the most common plant is the pish
(chamarops ritchiana), a species of dwarf palm, whose trailing roots spread out 15
or 16 feet along the ground. To the Baluch it is as serviceable as is the bamboo to
the Hindu, supplying him with food, and materials for cordage, tinder, sandals, and
excellent matting.

At corresponding altitudes the Baluch fauna, which was little known before the
exploration of St. John, differs in no respect from those of the Afghan plateaux,
of the Hilmend depression and plains of India. But the lion, now so rare even in
India, has disappeared altogether, while the leopard is very common. The hyena,
wolf, wild boar, and a species of black bear that lives on roots, are also met.
Gazelles frequent the skirt of the desert, and herds of wild asses are able to pass
the whole day in solitudes entirely destitute of water and vegetation. Peculiar to
Baluchistan are the nectarinia, a beautiful bird resplendent in all the colours of the
rainbow, and the urosmastix lizard, which at a distance looks like a rabbit, and to
103

60 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

which the Persians \ii\r the name of " goat-sucker," believing thai he bleats like a
kid in order to attract and milk the she-goat. The Bffekran coasl teems with fish,
ami St. John derives this name from the Arabic Mohi-Khoran, that is, " Fish-
rs." Tin' inhabitants of this seaboard certainly deserve this title of khthyophagi
already given to them by the Greeks of Alexander's expedition.

I Ml m; I I \\ is. — BALUCHES — BB uii Is.

The Baluches, whose name is applied to the khanate of Kalat as will as to the
whole "f south-east Persia, are not the dominant people of the country. The race,
in fact, seems to he must numerously represented beyond the khanat« — in Persia, in
the Indian province of Sind, and in Rajastan, to which the Baluches emigrate in
large numbers from their ble;ik and barren highlands. They are usually grouped
with the Aryan -.tuck, and are regarded as closely related to the Persians, being
descended from tin natives converted to Islam at the time of the Abassidcs. Some,
however, do not appear to belong to this stock, and, to judge from their features,
the tribes on the Afghan frontier have much Mongol blood, being often indis-
tinguishable from the Kirghiz nomads Unanimous tradition traces other Baluches,
as well as some Brahuis, to Syria and Arabia, from which they are supposed to
have migrated either about the time of the Prophet or much later. Several Arab
tribes of the Damascus and Aleppo districts are said to hear the same name as
some of the Baluch clans in Mekran and Kachi-Gandava, whom they also greatly
resemble in appearance. Except on the plateaux, nearly all are of a deep brown
complexion, with high brows, long face, piercing glance, abundant hair and beard.
Put notwithstanding these and other traits, including a decided taste for brigandage,
which they have in common with the Bedouin, all speak a language akin to modern
Persian, but the pronunciation of which differs greatly from that of the polished
Iranians. Religious expressions are borrowed from the Arabic, and those of trade
and the industries from the Hindu dialects.

With the exception of a few hostile Shiah tribes on the Persian frontier, all the
Baluches are Mohammedans of the Suuni sect. Like the Afghans, thev are divided
into a large number of khels, which occasionally change both name and residence.
Hence the tribal nomenclature differs with almost every writer, although the great
natural divisions correspond mainly with the geographical areas. The Baluches
of the uplands are collectively known as Xharui, and those of the Kachi-Gandava
lowlands a- Binds, and Maghsi or Moghasi. The latter, however, have become so
intermingled with foreign element, that they may be regarded as forming a distinct
ethnical group, now speaking Tatki, a Sind dialect current amongst the Jat
peasantry. Much diversity also prevails in their dwellings, some tribes living in
ghedans, or black fell tents, others in huts, and even in a kind of mud forts.

In several parts of the plateau many tribes form an intermediate link between
the Baluch and Brahui races, the latter of whom are found in the purest state in
the central provinces of Sarawan and Jhalawan. According to Masson, these
Mrahuis penetrated from the west, as apparently indicated by their name of

INHABITANTS OF BALUCHISTAN. 67

Barohi-i, which has been interpreted, " Arrivals from the West." Yet their central
position on the plateau would seem to imply that they are the true aborigines, or
at least the oldest inhabitants of this section of the Iranian tableland. They are
probably the descendants of the Gedrosians met here by Alexander, and their
national speech, although affected by numerous Persian and some Pushtu and
Hindu elements, would seem to be fundamentally connected rather with the
Dravidian family of the Dekkan, and more particularly with the Gond group of
the Central Indian highlands. Judging from their language, which, however,
possesses no written monument, the Brahuis would therefore appear to be a
detached fragment of the old Dravidian people who, before the arrival of the
Aryans, occupied the whole of India and a portion of Irania, and who, by some
ethnologists, have been affiliated to the Uralo- Altaic stock. Broken into separate
groups by the intruding Aryans, they may have thus remained for ages isolated
from each other in the Baluch and Vindhyan highlands.

This assumption of the philologists is to some extent justified by the physical
appearance of the Brahuis, who differ greatly from the Persians and Arabs, and
whose features are much flatter and rounder than those of the Baluches, with more
thick-set frames, larger bones, and shorter figures. They are also of much darker
colour, and amongst them persons of fair complexion are never found, as amongst
the Baluches. While no less hospitable than the other inhabitants of the plateau,
they are more truthful, less cruel, revengeful, and avaricious. At the same time
they are very industrious, and seldom interrupt their ordinary pursuits to engage
in tribal warfare, readily allowing themselves to be persuaded by their women to
peacefully settle their differences. The women themselves are much respected,
and the death of one of them in a local feud would be regarded by both sides as a
public calamity. Some freedom is also allowed to the youth of both sexes in the
choice of their partners for life, and in this matter a simple promise on the part of
either family interested is regarded as permanently binding. Even should the
young man die before the marriage, his place is immediately taken by a younger
brother. In the Brahui country chedas or mounds are erected over the graves of
the dead by the wayside, and chaps, or rings of stones, commemorate the marriages
and other important events among the nomad tribes.

As in Afghanistan and Turkestan, the great majority of the inhabitants of the
towns and villages are Tajiks, here commonly known as Dehvars or Dekhans, that
is, "Peasants." They speak Persian, and in physique differ in no respect from
their kindred elsewhere. They are a peaceful, industrious people, who have had
much to endure from the conquering races, and who ask for nothing except to be
allowed tranquilly to pursue their industrial and agricultural occupations. The
Tajiks have maintained the purity of their blood in most provinces, alliances with
the women of the intruding tribes being interdicted by custom. Near the coast.
and especially in the province of Las, bordering on Sind, the industries and culti-
vation of the land are chiefly in the hands of the Numri or Lumri, akin to the Jats
of Hindustan. Like the Baluches, the Numri arc divided into a great number of
khels, caused by differences of pursuits and locality, but all evidently belonging to

SOUTH-WESTEBN ASIA.

the same ethnical stork, and speaking dialects of the Bame Jatfci language. Thej
hold an intermediate position between the Iranians and Hindus, betraying even in
their religious observances some remarkable transitions between the two races.
Thus by -oiim' tribes Mohammed is vein-rated as the tenth incarnation of Vishnu,
while others combine Brahmanieal rites with the precepts of the Koran. In the

Fig. 24. — Inhabitants op Balui histan.

Scale 1 : 7,800,000.

Aryans.

Dehvarsand Baluches. Afghans. Mekrani. Hindus. Kurds. Tariand Eakars. Brabui.
Tajik*. Jats. I'ishin.
18 Miles.

large towns a considerable portion of the inhabitants also belong to the Hindu race
properly so called, and nearly the whole trade of the country is in the hands of the
Baniahs from Gujarat and Bombay, or of the Multani, Shikarpuri, and Marwari
merchants from Sind and Rajputana.

Other ethnical elements in Baluchistan are the Kakar and Tari Afghan tribes
on the north-east frontier, some Arab communities on the Mekran coast, a few

INHABITANTS OF BALUCHISTAN.

Kurdish adventurers from West Irania, and some Negro or Mulatto slaves imported
from Mascat. Here are also the Luri nomads, who speak a peculiar language, and
who differ in no respect from the gipsies of the Danube in Europe. They roam
about as strolling minstrels with their dancing bears and monkeys, and every tribe
has its "king," besides its fortune-tellers, who know all the secrets of the magic
art, and predict the future by chiromancy, by the combination of numerals, and

Fig. 2.5. — Kalat and Neighborhood.
Scale 1 : 940,000.

:.".<

66° 50

E . of Greenwich

6 Miles.

the disposition of the figures formed by the sand on vibrating plates. By means
of these practices the Luri are said to frequently insinuate themselves into the
household in order to rob or kidnap the children ; for these Baluch nomads,
like their European brethren, are popularly accused of all manner of crimes and
malignant influences.

The English, who are the paramount race, are represented by a mere handful of

SOUTH-YVKSTKIiX ASIA.

officials and others in the territory of their vassal, (he Chan of Kalat. Bui their
subjects of other races, especially Hindus, are numerous in all the trading centres.

Topograph's — Administration.

Several of the Baluch provinces arc inhabited exclusively by nomads, and in
these districts the so-called " towns " are mere groups of tents. Towns and villages

Fig. 26.— Up.nk.rai, View ok Km.at.

with fixed resiliences are found only in the eastern and southern divisions. The
Afghan frontier is guarded by Kwatah (Quefta, Kot, Shal, Shal-kot), the chief
British stronghold, which lies on the route leading from Shikarpur to Kandahar,
and which i> garrisoned by a detachment from the Anglo-Indian army. Jt stands
in a basin, whicb belonged formerly to Afghanistan, and which is at present
scarcely L8 miles from the stream forming the official frontier of Baluchistan.
Here converge the two routes from India, through the Bolan and (,'hapar Passes, as

TOPOGKAPHY OF BALUCHISTAN. 71

well as those running north from the capital of the khanate, and over the Khojak
Pass south from Kandahar. Some old towers still standing here and there at the
entrance of the gorges attest the importance attached at all times to this strategic
position on the threshold of Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and India. Under the
shelter of the Kot or Kuatith, t\vdt is, "Citadel," a considerable town of about 1,000
houses has sprung up, inhabited chiefly by Afghans, Erahuis, and Hindus. Lying
5,600 feet above the sea level, in the midst of extensive grassy plains, and enjoj'ing
a temperate climate, corresponding to that of Western Europe, Kwatah offers special
advantages as a British health resort and military cantonment. Mustang, the chief
station on the road to Kalat, to these advantages adds that of a very fertile and
well- watered district, yielding excellent grapes and other produce in abundance.

Kalat, that is, the " Castle," has become the largest place in Baluchistan since
its selection as the seat of government. Its position at the highest point of the
plateau enables it to command all the routes to India, to the coast, to Afghanistan,
and Persia. But Kalat lies at the extremity of a rocky mountain range, where it
is exposed to the full fury of the northern gales. Here the ground remains covered
with snow for two months in the year, and corn ripens later than in the British
Isles, although standing 25 degrees nearer to the equator. The surrounding
gardens arc watered by a copious stream of pure water, which rises near the royal
necropolis on a plain draining north-westwards to the Lora River of Pishin. In
the neighbourhood are the shapeless ruins of three other considerable towTns, which
bear witness to the great importance attached from the remotest times to this region
of the plateau.

South-east of Kalat begins another river valley, whose waters drain through the
Mula gorge towards the Indus, but are not copious enough to reach that stream.
In the neighbourhood of some ruins near the head of the valley the face of the rock
bears an inscription in Greek. The modern town of Zehr or Zehri, encircled by
mud enclosures, and built, like Kalat, of half-baked bricks, gives its name to one of the
side valleys of the Mula and to the Brahui tribe inhabiting it. This is the chief
place met by travellers on the route to India. At the issue of the gorge, where
the waters of the torrent are distributed in irrigating rills over the surrounding
gardens, lies Gandava, which has acquired some importance both as the capital of
the province of Kaehi-Gandava, as a British military cantonment, and as the
winter residence of the khan. Formerly the most populous place en the plain was
Bay)), or " the Garden," which lies north-east of Gandava in an oasis of palms on
the western verge of the desert. Bagh enjoyed a monopoly of the sulphur mines
situated in the neighbouring hills not far from the town of C/wram. North of the
plain are Dadur and Sibi, the present terminal stations of the railway from the
Indus to the Afghan plateau.

Through this railway Kalat and the whole of Baluchistan already enjoy direct
communication with the coast at Karachi. The shorter route from Kalat to
Sonmiani has been abandoned owing to the great scarcity of water along the road.
Throughout the whole descent of about Mod miles there are only six springs copious
enough to supply the caravans without being exhausted. Khosaar, one of these

snrril-WKSTKKN ASIA.

stations, with a small British garrison commanding flu Mula Pass, lies at an alti-
tude of I.ihii) (Vet, in the midst of gardens and palm-groves. l'>ut the antimony
and lead mines near Sekran, farther to the west, are no longer worked. Vast ruins,
heaps of rubbish, and the remains of towers known as ghar-baatas, or " palaces of

the Infidel," show that the district must have been formerly much better watered,
as it certainly was far more densely peopled than at present. One of these ruined

Fig. 27.— K \i hi-Uaniuva Oasis.
Scale 1 : 440,000.

12 Miles.

cities, to the north-west of Bela, still preserves its ancient name of Shehr-i-Rogon.
It crowns the summit of a conglomerate cliff, at whose foot flows an affluent of the
I'mali, the Arabis of the Greek navigators.

Sonmiani, the seaport of the province of Las, and at one time of the whole of
East Baluchistan, has been completely eclipsed by Karachi, which enjoys the
decided advantage of lying nearer to the Indus delta. Possessing no artificial

TOrOGRAPHY OF BALUCHISTAN. 73

shelter, the harbour of Sonmiani, with a depth of about 16 feet, is exposed to the
full fury of the south-west monsoon. It is also badly supplied with water from
wells, which, although sunk in the sands above the level of the tide, soon become
brackish. This part of the khanate is connected with India both commercially
and by the origin and religion of a large number of its inhabitants. On a
mountain near the river Aghor or Hinghol, in the west of the province, stands the
famous temple of Hinglaj, still frequented by thousands of Hindu pilgrims. Here
animals are sacrificed to the goddess Kali, and the devotees never fail to visit the
islet of Ashtola, or Satadip, between the ports of Ormara and Pasni, whose rugged
crest is crowned by a highly-venerated sanctuary. Ashtola was the " Enchanted
Island " of Nearchus.

The seaports of Sonmiani, with its two harbours, and Pasni, with its telegraph
station, are mere groups of huts built of matting suspended on poles. But Gwadar,
capital of Baluch Mekran, is regarded by the neighbouring half-savage tribes as
quite a magnificent city, famous far and wide for its sumptuous edifices. It
occupies a picturesque position on the strip of sand connecting a rocky islet with
the fantastic Mehdi Hills, where its mat houses are grouped round a square fort of
somewhat imposing appearance. The chief industry of Gwadar is fishing, in which
hundreds of small craft are employed, besides some thirty larger vessels engaged in
the export trade to Mascat, Karachi, Bombay, and Malabar. The British mail-
steamers touch twice a month at this place, which thus enjoys direct communica-
tion with the civilised world. Its chief imports are cotton and other woven goods,
timber, rice, sugar, taken in exchange for wool, raw cotton, butter, dates from the
interior, besides large quantities of salt fish and sharks' fins for the Chinese market.
On the flank of the hill overlooking Gwadar are the remains of a vast reservoir
constructed by the Portuguese.

Kej is often mentioned as the chief town of Baluch Mekran ; but no such
place exists, Kej really consisting of a group of oases, each with its separate village.
Such "towns," as Tamp, Main/, Nigor, Sami, Daaht, Parom, and Panjur, are also
mere collections of hamlets scattered over the oases. The gardens of Panjur,
watered by underground galleries (karez) attributed to supernatural agency, yield
as many as seventeen varieties of dates.

The khan belongs to the Kambarani branch of the Brahuis, who claim Arab
descent, and refuse to intermarry with the other tribes. Residing alternately ;il
Kalat and Gandava, the khan enjoys a nominal authority over a vast territory ;
but he is really one of the least powerful of all the vassals of the Indian Empire,
and he is so poor that his chief source of revenue is the pension granted him by his
protectors. According to the treaty of 1841 he binds himself to be always guided
by the counsels of the British Resident at his court, to allow English garrisons in
every suitable town in Baluchistan, to lend his assistance whenever called upon,
and lastly to accept the annual subsidy, which constitutes him a simple functionary
of the paramount State. Since then diplomatic relations have been disturbed, but
on the other hand good services have been rewarded, and the subsidy advanced
from £5,000 to £10,000. The alliance with England lias also helped to consolidate

SnlTII-WKSTKRN ASIA.

the authority of the khan over the Feudal chiefs, whose claims to independent
riglits arc completely ignored by the British Government, The khan alone is

recognised, made responsible for the general tranquillity, and when necessary
assisted in his efforts to reduce unruly tribes and restless chiefs, Next to the
khan the foremost state dignitaries are always the two great ISrahui sardars of
Jhalawan and Sarawan. The hereditary vizier belongs to the Dehvar or Tajik
section of the community, which, by (he regular payment of the taxes, contributes
almost exclusively to the support of the State. In Mekran most of the local tribes
are practically independent of the central power, and the 1'ort of (iwadar, pledged

to the Sultan of Mascat, is governed by one of his officers. The khan disposes of

an armed force of about !{,000 men, while the yearh revenue scarceh amounts to
£ in, 000.

Excluding the deserl wastes and the districts claimed by Persia, the political
divisions of Baluchistan proper are as under: —

Chief Districts.

Sarawan, Nushki, Kharan, Muahki.
Khozdar, Sohrab, Wadd, Eolwah,

Mekran, Dasht, Kej, Paujur.

1 KH Hires.

Chief Towns

Shal .

Kwatah

Kalat .

Kalat

Kachi-Gandava .

Qandava

Sarawan

Jhalawan .

Ehozdar

Las

Bela

Mekran

(iwadar

CHAPTER IV.

PERSIA.

IHE term Persia, or Farsistan, is at present locally applied only to a
small province in the kingdom. The natives still call their country
by the old name of Iran, which, however, is also used geographically
to designate the whole region of plateaux comprised between the
Euphrates and Indus basins. From the historic standpoint, Iran
has even a wider application in contrast with the term Turan, in this sense
embracing all the cultured peoples of more or less pure Iranian blood scattered
over the plateau and the Turkestan lowlands, where they form the fixed agricul-
tural and industrial element in the midst of the half-savage nomad intruders from
the north. In the historic evolution of Hither Asia, Iran thus represents the
t radii inns of labour and intellectual culture; it recalls a long succession of
powerful nations engaged from age to age in an incessant struggle with countless
barbarous hordes. Conscious and proud of their antiquity as a polished race, the
Persians look scornfully on the surrounding populations, less cultured or more
recently reclaimed from barbarism than themselves. Whatever progress even the
Western peoples may have made in science, art, and the industries, they none the
less consider themselves as vastly superior in hereditary uobility to these later
arrivals on the scene. It must in any case be allowed that Iran has played no
slight part in the common work of humanity. In order to trace their languages to
their source, the peoples of Aryan speech turn necessarily to the plateau where
flourished the Zend and other Persian tongues, at all times the pre-eminently
cultured idioms for the surrounding populations. Even in our days Afghans and
Baluches alike affect the Persian speech when desirous of courting the esteem of
their audience. Even in India Persian letters Long struggled for the supremacy
with Sanskrit and neo-Sanskritic tongues ; and Hindustani, so widely diffused
throughout the peninsula, is still overcharged witli Persian elements introduced by
the Iranian conquerors.

In the religious evolution of the Wot Asiatic and European peoples, a para-
mount influence was also exercised by the land of Zoroaster. In the sacred
writings of the ancient Persians the conflict between the two principles i> gel forth

76 SOUTH-\\t:stki;\ Asia.

with the creates! Fulness, and from them the later beliefs have borrowed their
degrading teachings on the everlasting straggle between "good" and "evil,"
surrounded by their respective hosts of angels and demons. During the first
developments of Christianity the action of Persia is betrayed in the rise of
numerous Gnostic sects, the indelible trace of whose theories still tinges the
doctrines of modern Christendom. The cull known specially by the name of
" Persian " has ii"W scarcely any adherents in the country itself, and flourishing
communities of " Parsis" survive only in India. 15ut while embracing Islam, tin-
Iranians imparted a fresh Eorm to the conquering religion. Tiny became Shiahs,
thus breaking the unity of Mohammedanism, which elsewhere, in Turkey, Arabia,
Afghanistan, India, Turkestan, is almost exclusively Sunnite. Since the birth of
the Shiah sect, the movement of religious life has continued in Persia, and con-
temporary European pantheism is associated more closely than is generally
supposed with the Asiatic ideas of the universal godhead, which have nowhere
found more fervent interpreters than among the Persian poets. Every philosophic
concept, every fresh dogma, linds in Persia eloquent champions or zealous apostles.
Iran has thus ever been one of the chief centres of inspiration for the religious
world.

Vet a land which has played such a prominent pari in the history of Asia ami
the West represents numerically but a small fraction of humanity. liven including
Turks, Kurds, lialuchos, and Arabs, the whole population of Iran cannot exceed
ten millions. The estimates usually made by travellers and the best-informed
Local functionaries range from seven to eight millions; that is, five times less than
Prance absolutely, and fifteen times less relatively to the respective areas of the
two countries. Although various writers speak of fifty millions in the empire "I
Darius, Iran seems nut even in the most flourishing times to have been very densely
peopled. .Much of the country is a complete desert, where the sands, hard marl, and
saline tracts, although formerly less extensive than at present, encroached in one
direction on the arable lands, which were on the other hemmed in by the rocky
scarps of the highlands. It was from the conquered peoples of the surrounding
plains that the Persian monarchs mainly drew those prodigious armies id' several
hundred thousand men with which they Overran Seythia. Egypt, Asia Minor,
Thrace, and Northern Hellas. Bui however weak they may have been in point of
numbers, the ancient Persians still enjoyed all the advantages ensured to them by
the geographical position of the land.

Historically the Iranian plateau forms a region of transition for the various
races moving westwards. Sere the Asiatic continent is, by the Caspian Sea and
Persian Gulf, limited north and south to a space scarcely 400 miles wide. This
narrow isthmus is further reduced by the low-lying and unhealthy coast-lands and
almost inaccessible highlands to a tract not more than .'500 miles wide really
available for the movements of migrating peoples between the two great sections
of the continent. The unknown Scythian steppes north of the Syrcanian Sea
served only as camping-grounds lor barbarous nomads cut off from all intercourse
with civilised peoples. Hence history properly so called could find a tilting scene

IRAN AXD TUEAN. 77

nowhere beyond the narrow plateau comprised between the Elburz and Susiana
Mountains. Here was the natural meeting-place of peoples of diverse speech,
cultures, and religions ; here consequently were developed the new ideas inspired by
the contact and intermingling of these conflicting elements. Throughout the
historic period peoples of " Turanian " origin have at all times found themselves in
juxtaposition with the Aryan races on the Iranian plateau. These two great
Central Asiatic stocks were here represented formerly by the Medea and Persians,
who in modern times have been respectively succeeded by the Turki and Farsi
ethnical groups. Thus have been perpetuated in this region open warfare,
internecine strife, provincial and local rivalries, and this very incessant conflict has
doubtless largely contributed to the Iranian doctrine of the eternal struggle between
the two principles of good and evil. But all these hostile elements, while
bequeathing to each successive generation an inheritance of endless discord, have
at least intermingled their blood and genius, as is well attested by their history,
religions, and literature. In this Iranian laboratory the migrating tribes thus
became rapidly modified, and issued forth endowed with a new intellectual life,
some descending the Euphrates valley to Syria and Egypt, some through Asia
Minor and across the intervening waters to Southern Europe, or else through the
various " gates " of the Caucasus into the northern plains of Sarmatia. Persia in
this way became the great centre of dispersion along the three main historic high-
w ya diverging towards North Africa, South Europe, and the regions draining to
the Baltic and German Ocean.

Formerly almost unassailable in the centre of. the vast continental political
systems, Persia has long ceased to enjoy the advantages of this geographical
position. The Arabian Sea, which had hitherto guarded the approaches from the
south, now on the contrary invites foreign aggression. On the north the Caspian
waters, no longer stretching away to unknown solitudes, are girdled round by
military highways and chains of Slavonic settlements, while the ports and routes of
the opposite shores are connected by regular lines of steamers. Thus Persia, which
2,000 years ago enjoyed perfect immunity from attack on her northern and southern
flanks, is now exposed in these directions to the encroachments of the two great
Asiatic powers whose capitals are seated on the Thames and Neva. Between these
rivals for supremacy, the political independence of Iran has become little more than
nominal. The Russians, who had temporarily seized the west Caspian seaboard so
early as 1725, have since 1828 wrested from Persia all her Trans-Caucasian
provinces, and by a recent treaty the hitherto undetermined frontier towards
Turkestan has been modified to their advantage. The island of Ashuradeh.
held by them at the south-east corner of the ( laspian, is an advanced military post
whence the Cossacks might iD a few days present themselves before the residence of
the Shah.

And if the Caspian has become a Russian, the Persian Gulf has become an
"English" lake, where the practical supremacy of the British consuls is never
challenged. The headland of Jask, at the entrance of the Cult, is even already
occupied by a Sepoy garrison, while a simple naval demonstration would suffice at

SolTIl-WKSTEKX ASIA.

once to deprive the Persian Government of all its maritime customs. In recent
years the " King of kings " has been fain, at 1 1 1« ■ pleasure of England, to renounce
hi- designs on Eerat, and to allow a " rectification " of his frontiers in sistan. In
the interior British and Russian officers are alike received as masters. Thej are
permitted quietly to rnirvey the land, prepare charts, collect for strategic purposes all
needful information, which is kept mostly sealed up in the military ai-elmes id' the
tun empires. Although Persia has been frequently visited since the days of
Marco Polo, and although the travels of .lonas Eanway, Thevenot, and Chardin

Fig. 2S. — Routes of nit Cum i ExPLORBBS 01 I'fuma B1NC1 Makco I
Scale 1 : 18,000,000.

L • of . -

3C0 Miles.

during the last century may still be read with interest, still by far the most
important cartographic documents are those drawn up by the English and Russian
surveyors at the request of their respective Governments. The Turco- Persian
frontier in Kurdistan has been determined exclusively in accordance witli tic
surveys of the two generals Williams and Chirikov.

"Without precise natural limits toward the east, where the plateau and mountain
ranges merge imperceptibly in those of Afghanistan and Baluchistan, Persia pre-
sents on its three other sides well-defined geographical frontiers. Here the plati au
is everywhere enclosed by barriers of lofty ranges, separating it on the north from

NORTH PERSIAN HIGHLANDS. 79

the Caspian and Turkestan depressions, westwards from the Mesopotamian plains,
elsewhere from the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman. "Within these outer ramparts
the surface is largely covered with extensive sandy, argillaceous, or saline waters
depressed towards the centre. Hence the population has been concentrated chiefly
on the outskirts, in the north, west, and south-west, in the valleys supplying
sufficient water for irrigating purposes. The inhabitants thus nowhere present
a compact mass, but are distributed in two distinct columns converging between the
Caspian and Upper Tigris valley in the province of Aderbeijan.

The North-Eastern Highlands.

Notwithstanding the intermediate flooded cavity of the Caspian, the north-
eastern scarp towards Turkestan really forms the regular continuation of the
Caucasus. The existence of a connecting axis between the two systems is clearly
indicated by the Apsheron peninsula, by the submarine banks and islets terminating
at the Krasnovodsk headland, lastly by the two ridges of the Great and Little
Balkan, running directly to the "Turkoman Caucasus," which under the diyers
names of the Kuran-dagh, Kopet-dagh, Gulistan Hills, and Kara-dagh, stretch
south-eastwards to the Heri-rud valley. Beyond this point the mountains, which
take first an easterly then a north-easterly direction, belong to the Parapomisus
system. Thanks to the explorations of the Russian surve}-ors commissioned to lay
down the new frontier, the whole of this region of the Turkoman Caucasus has
begun to be better known in its topographical details. The large chart of the
lower Atrek region published some years ago is now being extended on the same
scale to the Turkoman Daman-i-Koh (" Skirt of the Hills ") as far as Sarakhs and
Merv.

By the boundary treaty of 1882 some fertile valleys draining to the Atrek, with
extensive grazing-lands and magnificent oak forests, have been restored to Persia.
But in return for this concession the Shah surrenders to Russia his claims to
the suzerainty of Merv, the " Key of India," as well as some of the Kopet-dagh
valleys west of Askhabad, and south of Geok-tepe. Here the Russians have
absorbed the whole of the southern declivity as far as the water-parting, and have
thus acquired complete control over the streams irrigating the oases of their new
Turkoman subjects.

Special importance is imparted to this border range by the presence of springs
and running waters, which evaporate in the sandy plain at a short distance from the
hills. The Persian inhabitants of the uplands are the natural owners of these
streams, which they utilise in the irrigation of their fields. But in this dry and
sultry climate the water seldom suffices for the wants of all the riverain populations,
so that those dwelling along the upper and lower course of the rivers necessarily
become hostile to each other. During the flourishing periods of the Persian
monarchy the whole of the Atok, or Daman-i-Koh — that is. the fertile zone at th<
northern foot of the hills — was held by the Iranian-, who drove the Turkomans
into the desert, and guarded the arable lands from their attacks by a chain of

80 SOUTH-WKSTKKN ASIA.

vailed towns and Btrongholds. But whenever these formidable nomads succeeded in
breaking through, they avenged themselves bj the capture or slaughter of those
wlio had deprived them of the fertilising waters and of all the arable or grassy
tracts. Before the advent of the Russians the border-lands knew no respite from
the Turkoman marauders, while traditional hatred was intensified by differences of
race, religion, and customs, and kept alive by the unequal distribution of the waters.
Now the frontier-line between these antagonistic elements lias been laid down by
Russia, which has assigned some of the rivers to the Turkomans, and forbidden the
Persians to enlarge their cultivated riverain lands, or increase the number of their
irrigating canals. But seasons of drought cannot be prevented, and then the
old animosities may easily be re\ ived in a region where the very conditions of exist-
ence seem to constitute an obstacle to the perfect harmony of the conterminous
populations.

In its eastern section the border chain, whose upper slopes are covered with
juniper, maintains a tolerably uniform elevation, ranging from K,000 to 10,0(10 feet.
Projecting towards the plain are several lofty spurs, the most remarkable of which
is the famous Kelut-i-Nadir, or " Nadir's Fort," so named from Nadir Shah, who
had made it one of his chief strongholds. It consists of a limestone rock running
about 20 miles east and west, with a mean breadth of (> miles, and rising 1,000 or
1,200 feet sheer from the plain. A torrent rising in the southern highlands
penetrates through a fissure into the interior, where il is distributed in irrigating
canals over the fertile plots tilling the cavities of the plateau. In ordinary seasons
enough water remains to return to the bed of the stream and escape to the plains
through a gorge traversing the rocky mass from south to north. The atmosphere
of the district is at times rendered very insalubrious by the marshy soil at its outlet.
The two gates traversed by the stream, as well as three other breaches opened in
the surrounding ramparts, are all carefully fortified, and the culminating-point
towards the west is crowned by a dilapidated citadel, amid whose ruins a small
village has sprung up. From the old fortified palace of Nadir an extensive view is
commanded of the grey Turkoman plains, while southwards the horizon is bounded
by the long chain of the Kara-dagh, or "Black Mountains," which are continued
westwards by the Hazar Mas j id, or "Thousand Mosques." The highest peak,
which gives its name to this range, is broken into a multitude of pointed eminences,
compared by the fervid imagination of the pilgrims from Meshed to gigantic
minarets.

North-west of Kelat-i-Nadir the main range throws off other elevated spurs,
enclosing the rich and productive basin of Dereghez, or the "Tamarind Valley,"
whose exuberant vegetation rivals that of the Caspian seaboard in the provinces of
Ghilan and Mazanderan. Askhabad, standing at the foot of these advanced hills,
forms the present terminus of the railway constructed by the Russians during the
late Turkoman war, which is doubtless destined in the near future to be continued
round the foot of the hills to Afghanistan. The Russian engineers have also
projected a line through one of the Dereghez valleys, and across the main range
south-eastwards to Meshed. A short distance beyond the Garm-ab Pass, both

KKLAT I NADIR- ARGHAYANSHAH GORGE.

THE KIKUIAS.SAX HIGHLANDS. 81

slopes the of water-parting are included within the new Russian frontier, which
here descends into the valley of the Samhar, across its tributary, the Chambir, and
along the parting-line between the Samhar and Atrek basins, to the confluence
of these rivers. In this region the hills fall gradually towards the Caspian, so
that the Iranian plateau is easily leached by travellers following the numerous
valleys between the divergent mountain ranges.

The Atrek, chief affluent of the Caspian on its Asiatic side, gives its name
to the whole basin comprised between the Kopet-dagh and Iranian tableland. The
main stream, which has a total length of not less than 300 miles, reaches an
elevated plain near Kuehan (4,500 feet), which forms the water-parting between the
Caspian and Heri-rud declivities. Here we have a striking illustration of the fact
that the dividing lines of water systems do not always coincide with the crests
of main ranges. In this region of North Persia the horizon is everywhere limited
by lofty chains, while the drainage westwards to the Caspian and eastwards to the
Herat River is determined by scarcely perceptible differences of level on the surface
of the land. As in so many other cases, the perennial head-stream, although not
the largest, is regarded by the natives as the true source of the Upper Atrek.
This spring, known by the name of the Kara Kazan, or " Black Cauldron," forms
a basin about 150 feet broad, in which the slightly thermal waters well up through
a thousand vertical channels and remain in a constant state of agitation.

The hills south of the Atrek valley, although falling to a lower mean altitude,
are dominated by several peaks higher than any of the summits in the Kopet-dagh
system. Thus one of the crests visible to the west of Meshed appears to attain an
elevation of over 11,000 feet ; the Shah-Jehan, near the water-parting between the
Atrek and Kashef-rud, is said to be about the same height, while the Ala-dagh and
Kurkud, south-west and west of Bujnurd, rise to 12,500 and 12.700 feet respectively.
All these north-eastern chains run mainly parallel to the Kopet-dagh, that is,
north-west and south-east; but they present a less uniform aspect, and are broken
by a greater number of fissures than the border range. Yet they are less accessible
to travellers, owing to a greater lack of water, and consequent scanty vegetation.
The rains brought by the polar and equatorial winds being both alike intercepted by
the border chains, but little moisture remains for the uplands lying within the
outer barriers of the Iranian plateau.

The north-eastern highlands vary greatly in breadth, those lying between the
Astrabad and Shah-rud plains in the west being scarcely 25 miles wide, while in the
east the orographic system broadens out in a vast semicircle sweeping round
between the great desert and Afghanistan. Here as many as twelve lateral ranges,
nearly all following the normal south-easterly direction of the Persian Mountains,
are crossed by the route from Meshed to Sistan over passes varying from .'!,UU0
to upwards of 6,000 feet in height above the sea. On the other hand, the inter-
mediate depressions between the parallel ridges are often mere sandy wastes,
rendering the approach from Afghanistan equally difficult whether the route follows
the valleys or the crests of the hills.

The mountains whose wooded slopes skirt the southern shores of the Caspian
104

82 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

are commonly called the Elburz range, although this term belongs properly to an
isolated mass rising to the north-west of Teheran. This is the ancient Alborj, the
•• tir-t mountain whence sprang all others," the centre of the seven "symmetrical
divisions of the earth, corresponding to the seven heavens of the planets and the
seven circles of hell, the glittering peak that pierces the sky, the source of streama
and cradle of mortals."

All those uplands between the Caspian and the plateau consist, not of a single
range, but of several distinct masses connected together by secondary ridges. The
Shah-Kuh (" King's Mount "), the tir.st of these masses to the east, is one of the
highest of the system. Its rugged crest, contrasting with the rounded or Hat
summits of the other Elburz mountains, rises immediately to the west of the grassy
heights separating the plains of Astrabad from those of Shah-rud. It is traversed
by one of the must frequented historic routes between Iran and Turan, which
eriisses the Ohalchanlyan Pass at an elevation iif 8,700 feet, almve which the highest
peaks attain an absolute altitude of 13,500 feet. The northern cavities remain
throughout the year rilled with masses of snow, and the village of Shahkuh-Bala,
Lying probably at an elevation of 8,000 feet, is supposed to be the highest group of
habitations in Persia. Deposits of coal and salt are found in the limestone and
sandstone rocks of the Shah-Kuh and neighbouring hills.

More frequented than the Chalchanlyan is the Shamsherbur or "Sword-hewn"
Pass, which skirts the west side of the Shah-Kuh, thereby shortening by one day
the journey from Teheran to the province of Astrabad. It takes its name from
tin popular belief that it was hewn out of the mountain by the sword of Ali ; and
few other passes look more like the work of man. At the culminating-point it is
flanked lor a space of 450 feet by two pillar-shaped rocks, whose polished walls,
standing about 20 feet apart and from 20 to 30 feet high, are completely detached
from the side of the mountain. Although Napier may be wrong in identifying it
with the "Caspian Gates" of the Greek writers, this natural gallery i- certainly
one of the oldest routes of Media, and the saered character of the whole district is
attested by various still-remembered loeal legends. .Near the village of Astana, at
the junction of several mutes south-west of the pass, a rock bearing the impress of
a human foot was formerly attributed to the gods, but is now regarded by devout
Shiahs as a mark of Ali's presence. The spot, however, is carefully guarded from
the prying eyes of sceptics, more numerous in Persia than elsewhere in the
Mohammedan world. In the \ Icinity is the Cheshmeh-i-Ali. or " Fountain of Ali,"
probably the most copious spring in the whole of Persia, with a flow, according to
.Napier, of about 7 '■"> cubic feet per second. Round about Astana this perennial
stream has created a smiling oasis in the midst of the desolate yellowish rocky
scenery so characteristic of the southern slopes of the Elburz highlands. To it-
waters are attributed mysterious virtues, which, while purifying the soul, act also
efficaciously especially in the treatment of cutaneous affections.

Beyond the Shamsherbur Pass, the main range is regularly continued under the
special names of Hazarjar and Savad-Kuh towards the south-west, everywhere
presenting to the Caspian steep richly-wooded slopes, but falling down to the

Q
SB
<

;.•- .- ,-,.)-. h S

THE ELBURZ RANGE.

tableland through a series of rocky or grassy terraces, destitute of timber, excepf in
a few depressions watered by perennial springs. The Tilar or Talar, the most
copious river in this part of Mazandcran, receives its first affluents not from the
northern but from the southern slopes, rising on the Khing plateau at an altitude
of 9,500 feet, and after collecting a large number of head-streams, forcing its way
through a gorge in the Elburz range northwards to the Caspian. This defile is
flanked on the east side by the Nezwar, a lofty peak rising to a height of 13,200
feet, and almost completely surrounded by affluents of the Talar. The approach to
the pass near the village of Firuz-Kuh was formerly defended by some forts now
in ruins, and attributed, like so many other structures in the East, to the Macedonian

Fig. 29. — Mountains and Passes of Astrabad.
Scale 1 : 1,600,000.

L » OT ureenvyicri

0 to 16 Feet.

16 to 32 Feet.

32 Feet and upwards.
80 Miles.

conqueror. This section of the Elburz is separated from the arid plains of the
interior by the Samnun, a parallel but far less elevated range, consisting to a
large extent of conglomerates and rolled detritus. From this range a spur now
known as the Sirdara chain projects far into the plain across the main highway,
and is surmounted by a pass probably identical with the " Caspian Gates" of the
ancients. The ruins of numerous fortifications attest the great importance at all
times attached to this defile, which avoids a long round through the saline wastes
of the south or over the rugged northern highlands.

The Demavend volcano, eulminating-point of the Elburz, above which it towers
to an absolute height of over 18,000 feet, does not belong geologically to the
same orographic system. It consists exclusively of eruptive rocks and ashes,

84 ^'I'TII-WESTERN ASIA.

whereas all the surrounding hills are sedimentary formations, whose limestone and
Bandstone strata have not been at all disturbed by the appearance of the higher
cone. Past of the volcano, however, an enormous erevasse serves roughly to
indicate the line of separation between the igneous matter ejected from the crater
and the sedimentary layers, which at several points crop out above the volcanic
scoriae and lavas. The central cone is inclined a little towards the west, as if its
eastern base had been tilted up, while the peak is encircled by the semicircular

remains of an older crater, like another Soinnia attached to a higher Vesu\ ins. The
altitude of this giant of the Elburz and loftiest cone in Persia has been diversely
estimated by Kotshy, the first who after Aucher Ploy reached the crater, at from
1:5,000 to 1">,.j00 feet, by Thomson, Lenini, and others at upwards of 'JO, 000, and
lastly at 18,700 feet by [vashintzov, who took accurate trigonometrical surveys of
the mountain. It is visible even by moonlight from Teheran, and from the fool of
the Kashan hills beyond the desert. Although there appeal' to have been no
eruptions during the historic period, columns of smoke frequently ascend from the
fissures, and especially from the l)ud-i-Kuh, or "Smoky Peak " on the south side.
The copious thermal springs which well up round about the cone appear to be
formed by the melting snows oozing out through the surrounding igneous deposits,
and emitting sulphurous odours injurious to vegetation, but credited by the natives
with healing properties. Copious ferruginous and other mineral waters also flow
from the slope of Demavend, which seems to have been still active when the old
lakes of the Iranian plateau had already been tilled with alluvia.

According to the local Legends, Demavend, or Divband, that is, "Dwelling of
the Divs or Genii," has been the scene of all the events veiled under the form of
myths. Here, say the Persian Mohammedans. Noah's ark was stranded; hero
dwelt .lemshid and liustem, heroes of the national epics ; here was kindled the bon-
fire of Feridun, vanquisher of the giant Zohak ; here the monster himself is
entombed, and the smoke of the mountain is the breath of his nostrils; here also
is chained down the Persian Prometheus, Yasid ben Jigad, whose liver is eternally
devoured by a gigantic bird. The caverns of the volcanoes are full of treasures
guarded by snakes, which, however, do not prevent the natives from utilising the
sulphur deposited in the crater and Burrounding cavities. Many engaged in this
industry perish in the sudden storms, which raise dense clouds of snow and ashes
mingled with suffocating sulphurous exhalations. From the crater, which is
filled with ice, the eye in clear weather sweeps over a vast horizon 50,000 miles in
extent, embracing the blue waters of the Caspian, the surrounding highlands, and
the Iranian tableland studded with the dim outlines of towns and green oases.

North-wot of Demavend the Elburz takes a north-westerly trend parallel with
the Caspian, but gradually drawing nearer to the coast. Here the Tochal rises to
an absolute height of 1:5,000 feet above the plain of Teheran, while several passes
stand at an elevation of over 8,000 feet. < >ne of the peaks north-west of Teheran,
although not the highest, is specially designated by the name of Elburz, and
another, forming the culminating-point of the north Persian Alps, is one of those
"thrones of Solomon " (Takht-i-Sulaiman) which are found in every Moham-

MOUNT DEMAVEXD. 85

raedan land. It seems to attain an altitude of over 14,600 feet, and still sparkles

a
o
25

in the July sun with the glint of its winter snows. But there are no traces of old

86 SOTJTH-WESTEEN ASIA.

or recent glaciers, aor is there apparently any evidence "f a glacial period in

Persia, which nevertheless retains so many indications of a remote epoch of snows
and aliimdant rains. A little to the south-east of the Takht-i-Sulaiman stands the
frowning Alamut, or " Eagle's Eyrie," chief stronghold of the '-old .Man of the
Mountain," the theocratic king of the " Assassins," that is, of fanatics maddened
by " hashish." Alter a Long siege this place was captured by the Mongols in
1270, ami with it fell (he hundred other castles of the sect. But the religion of these
so-called [smaili still survives, and the direct descendant of the "Old Man of the
Mountain" is a peaceful citizen of Bombay, depending for his support on the
voluntary contributions of his followers.

Beyond the Takht-i-Sulaiman the main range is continued at a lower elevation
by the grassy Saman hills, which are pierced by the copious Setid-rud, or " White
River," flowing from the Kurdistan highlands to the Caspian. West of the Ileri-
rud, this is the only stream that makes its way through the northern scarp of the
plateau — a geographical phenomenon no less remarkable than that id' the local
climate. All travellers speak of the terrible northern wind which in summer
penetrates from the Caspian through the Setid-rud gorge to the tableland, continu-
ally increasing in violence until it acquires the force of a hurricane at the
entrance of the gorge, where the river is crossed by the Menjhil bridge. Such is
its intensity at this point, thai the very animals refuse to cross the bridge for fear
of being swept into the torrent beneath. The gale itself admits of a very obvious
explanation. During the hot summer days the valleys sheltered from the north
wind by the Elburz range become intensely hot, their rarefied atmosphere thus
attracting the denser Caspian currents, which rush up the Sefid-Koh defile to the
plateau. In winter, on the contrary, the colder winds of the uplands are drawn
through the same opening down to the lower temperature of the Caspian.

The Elburz orographic system is usually supposed to terminate at the Sefid-
Koh, beyond which the highlands sweeping round the Hay id' Enzeli to the Russo-
Persian frontier form a continuation of the Talish uplands, whose first eminences
rise above the Mugan steppe in Trans-Caucasia. Here the crests of the hills
approach to within 12 miles of the coast, and at many points they present the
aspect of steep escarpments above the Caspian waters. Nevertheless the Ader-
beijan plateau may be reached through several openings, and the chain is crossed
at an elevation of < >,<>00 feet by two roads running respectively from the Russian
station of Astara, and the small seaport of Kerganrud. Between these two sides of
the Talish range the contrast is very abrupt ; on the one hand steep declivities
clothed with forest trees down to the water's edge, on the other the gently
undulating slope of a plateau almost destitute of vegetation.

Tin-. Caspian Si lboard vm> North- Western Uplands.

The narrow strip of coast-lands between the hills and the Caspian forming the
two prov inces of Ghilan and Ma/anderan differs so much in appearance, soil, climate.
and products from the rest of Persia that it should be considered rather as a

MAZANDERAN AND GIILLAN. 87

geographical dependence of Caucasia than a portion of Iran, to which it is
politically attached. So great is the contrast between the southern plateau and
the fertile valleys north of the Elburz Mountains, that in this sharp opposition
many writers have sought one of the chief sources of the dualism lying at the root
of the old Persian religion. But if in the abundance of its running waters, its
vigorous and.gorgeous vegetation and productive soil, Mazanderan represents an
earthly Eden compared with the dreary southern wastes, it is also constituted a
land of evil by the wild beasts infesting its forests, the clouds of mosquitoes
darkening the heavens, and especially the pestilential atmosphere of its marshy
tracts. Hence this lovely region was in the popular fancy the home of baneful
spirits ; and " If you wish to die," says a local proverb, " go to Ghilan." Mazan-
deran also came to be regarded as a maleficent land in contrast with the
encircling uplands, because these were the abode of the "heroes" and mythical
conquerors of Persian poetry, whereas the unprotected coastlands were occupied by
tributary and enslaved populations. A low-lying strip of territory stretching some
350 miles round the shores of the Caspian, with a mean breadth of scarcely 10 or
12 miles, was necessarily at the mercy of the surrounding highlanders, who swept
down suddenly from the hills and easily carried off the accumulating wealth of the
rich trading-places lying at their feet.

For its exuberant vegetation Mazanderan is mainly indebted to the moisture-
bearing northern winds blowing inland from the Caspian. According to the
approximate estimates of recent observers, the rainfall on the northern slopes of
the Elburz is about five times heavier than on those facing southwards. The
vapour-charged clouds rising from the sea are generally arrested by the crests of
the encircling ranges, and the water here discharged returns in numerous torrents
and streams to the Caspian. Owing to this unequal distribution of the rainfall, the
most marked contrast is presented by the northern and southern declivities of the
Persian Alps. The latter rise in regular terraces above the plateau, while the
former are everywhere furrowed by deep gorges, whose detritus has been distri-
buted in the form of alluvia and gravel over the intervening narrow belt of
low-lying coastlands. Every advanced spur is continued seawards by parallel lines
of headlands, each marking the entrance of some river valley, with its side
branches and a complete network of torrents, streams, and irrigating canals.
Hence, although lying north of the thirty-sixth parallel, the Mazanderan seaboard
is characterised by a semi-tropical vegetation, fully as rich as that of Southern
Europe. The steppes and deserts stretching north of the Caspian are succeeded
southwards by a rich Italian landscape, where flourish the almond, fig, pomegranate,
orange, and citron. The hills are clothed with box and cypress groves, while the
higher grounds are covered to an altitude of over (JJHKI feet with forests of beech,
ash, oak, and other European trees. The low-lying cultivated tracts are also
extremely fertile, and in the language of Straho, "The grain here falling from the
ear suffices to raise a fresh crop, the trees serve a- hives lor the bees, and distil
honey from their leaves."

Mazanderan thus continues to be the garden of Persia, supplying the neigh-

88 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

homing capital with rice, wheat, fruits, raw silk, with Fuel from its forests, and fish
from the < laspian. Hence the jealous can' with which the Persian sovereigns have
guarded this rich province from the raid- of the Turkoman marauders holding the
Atrek and Gurgen valleys south-east of the Caspian. Easily defended on its
western flank, where the spurs of the mountains advance (dose to the sea, the
Ma/anderan plain broadens out on the opposite side towards the valley of the
Gurgen, thai is, the ■■ Wolf River," which gave its name to the Ilyrcania of the
ancients.* Hence this approach had to he protected hy towers and ramparts
running from the foot of the hills to the coast. It was this barrier thai arrested
the advance of the mythical Yajuj and Majuj tribes, that is, the "(jog and
Magog " of the mediaeval Arab writers. Bui in historic times it has more than
once Keen hrokeii through, and the present population of Mazanderan includes a
laree number of agriculturists descended from Turkoman nomads.

Although within 20 miles of the shore the Caspian reveals depths id' -'500 to
100 fathoms, the Bfazanderan coast is completely destitute of good harbours. The
alluvia washed down by the mountain torrents is distributed along the seaboard,
which here almost everywhere develops straight lines or slight curves. The only
important seaward projection is formed by the deposits of the Sefid-rud, which
advance at least 1 ■') miles beyond the. normal coast-line. Thus is formed the
extensive inlet which receives the western branch of the delta, and which is
known as the Murd-ab, or "Dead Water." Although 160 square miles in extent,
it is so shallow that it is navigable only in a few narrow channels, while the bar at
I'.n/eli is inaccessible to vessels drawing more than 2 feet. The swampy reed-
grown tracts Btretching far beyond the limits of the lagoon give their name to the
province of Ghilan, that is, " the Marshes." Owing to the annual floodings of the
Sefid-rud, it- banks have been considerably raised, and according to a local tradi-
tion the town of Langherud, now Lying some miles inland, was still a seaport on
the Caspian so recently as the middle of the last century. Anchors are even said
to have been dug up in the neighbourhood.

Corresponding with the Murd-ab in the west is Astrabad Hay at the south-east
corner of the Caspian, which, however, is much deeper, and accessible in fine
weather through several channels to vessels drawing from 12 to 14 feet. It
i- separated from the open sea by a tongue of land, which gradually narrows east-
wards, where it terminates in three islets, of which the largest, Ashuradeh, has
been chosen by the Russians as a naval station. Nearly the whole of the
-m rounding coast is covered with thickets well stocked with game. Astrabad Bay
presents on the whole the appearance rather of a flooded district than of a natural
inlet of the -ea, a view that is confirmed by analogous eases of submersion at several
points along the Caspian seaboard, and especially at liaku and Gumish-tepe, close
to Ashuradeh. On the other hand evidenl traces of upheaval, or at Least of a former
higher level, can be detected along the coast, dating, perhaps, from the time when

• Tli and ij'inj I wolf m identical in old Aryan, and are explained by the Latin gurges.

Fur tin- interchange of h and g compare Latin homo with Gothic auma = man, ;is in the English bridegroom. —

. OR.

MOUNT SAVALAN.

the Caspian was still connected with the Euxinc. High above the present sea level
the old beach is fringed in some places by the stems of trees half buried in the
soil, all belonging to the same species still nourishing on the neighbouring
uplands. The fossil shells are also identical with those now inhabiting the
surrounding waters, although no trace can be discovered of the cardiaceae at present
so common in the Caspian.

West of the Talish hills stands the almost isolated Savalan volcano, whose
highest cone, attaining an elevation of over 14,000 feet, is almost constantly
covered with snow. Although abundant hot springs well up at its base, no trace
of a crater has been discovered, nor does it appear to have been the scene of igneous
disturbances during historic times. It is completely detached from the surrounding

Fig. 31.— Sat alan.
Scale 1 : 180,000.

47'

15 Miles

mountains on all sides except the west, where it is connected by a chain of hills
with the Kara-dagh ("Black Mountains"), whose crests develop a semicircle
south of the gorges of the Aras River, and terminate in Armenia at Ararat. The
Kara-dagh thus forms the north-west border-range of the Iranian plateau. But it
cannot be regarded as a natural limit, for the North Persian, South Trans-( 'aueasian,
and Turkish Armenian highlands constitute collectively a single orographic
system, connecting the Iranian with the Anatolian ranges. This is the upland
region to which Carl Hitter has applied the general designation of " Medic
Isthmus,'" a region of rugged plateaux, whose Lowest depression, flooded by Lake
Urmiali, still maintains an elevation of 4,400 feet above sea level.

In north-west Persia the culminating-point is Mount Sehend (11,800 feet),

90 SOUTH-WESTERN Asia.

which at its base has a circumference of 90 miles, and which plunges its mots deep
into the basin of Lake Urmiah. < lonsisting chiefly of trachytes, limestones, sehists,
aandfitones, and conglomerates, Sehend abounds with mineral waters of all kinds,
hot and cold, acidulated, ferruginous, sulphurous, while the saline streams flowing

from the west -lope to Lake Urmiah tend to increase the quantity of salt contained
in the waters of that basin. A deep cavern in the mountain emits carbonic acid in
such abundance that animals penetrating into this fissure perish inevitably. The
entrance is encumbered with heaps of bones, and according to the local tradition it
takes the name of [skanderiah, or " Alexander's Grotto," because the Macedonian
conqueror concealed his treasures in its poisonous atmosphere. < m the east side
the rocks contain rich copper and argentiferous Lead ores.

South of Savalan the triangular region comprised between Elburz and the west
Persian border-chains is occupied by various mountain masses and ridges forming
a transition between the two orographic Bystems. Of these the most imposing is
the famous Kaflan-Kuh, at once a climatic and historical frontier, which runs
marly parallel with the Elburz, joining it at its south-east extremity, while on the
other three sides completely limited by the long bend described by the Kizil-Uzen
before effecting a junction with the Shah-rud above the Menjhil Gorge. North of
this parting-line the climate is moist and the grassy steppe well watered by
perennial streams; south of it the air is much drier, the land more arid. On one
side the population is chiefly of Turki, on the other of Iranian, stock. Hence, not-
withstanding its modi-rate elevation compared with the Elburz, Kurdish, and
Armenian highlands, the Kaflan-Kuh is regarded as forming pari of the continental
diaphragm, and in any case it really belongs to the orographic system which forms
the water-parting between the Caspian and the Persian desert. It consists of marls
partly disturbed, and even changed to a sort of porcelain, l>y volcanic eruptions of
porphyry. The lofty Khamseh ridge, which stretches southwards between the
Elburz and the Shah-rud valley, abounds in minerals, and one of the spurs crossed
by the road from Sultanieh to Kas\in forms a solid mass of ferruginous ores with a
very high percentage of metal.

The Kurdistan mountains, some of whose peaks are nearly as high as the
Sehend, are connected with the Tendurek cone over against Ararat, and like it are
partly of volcanic origin. Tn this upland district a crater has been opened whence
the lavas have flowed in a broad stream over the sands and gravels of the valley of
the Selmas, a north- weal affluent of Lake Urmiah. Here the river flows at some
points between basaltic cliffs over 300 feel high. The upper crests seem, like the
Sehend, to consist mostly of trachitic porphyries. All these west Persian highlands
run with surprising uniformity aorth-wesi and south-east, with a somewhat more
southerly trend than the Great Caucasus and North Khorassan ranges. .Most of the
chains consist of tertiary limestones and chalks, whereas the spurs advancing
towards the Tigris arc mainly more recent nummulitic and sandstone formations.
The Wes1 Persian frontier highlands are sometimes collectively known as the
Zagros Mountains, although this Greek appellation applies properly only to the
range skirting the Mesopotamia!) plains and separated by the Kerkha river-valley

E"
m
-i
u

=
E-i
D
O

a
g

a
E

TILE WEST PERSIAN HIGHLANDS.

from the more easterly Luristan and Ehuzistan systems. They are fiasored at

intervals by broad tengs, or gorges, occurring not in the lower chalk and numinu-
litic ranges, but in the more elevated sections, so that they are evidently due rather
to fractures in the crust of the earth than to slow erosive action. From the large
number of these defiles, through which the routes ascend in a succession of terraces

Fig. 32. — Khczistan Border Bangs.
Scale 1 : 1,600,000.

>^x "V

m£

LofGr

51*30

12 Miles.

from the Mesopotamian plains to the Iranian plateau, the whole region takes the
name of Tengsir, or " Land of Gorges."

The Western Highlands and Great Deserts.

The general elevation of the West Persian highlands, as determined by the
English surveyors appointed to lay down the Turko-Persian frontier-line, was
found to be greater than had hitherto been supposed. Amongst the most
conspicuous peaks is the famous Klvend, the Revand of Iranian mythology, a mass
of quartz and granite rising to a heighl of 11,000 feet south of Hamadan. which
city itself stands some 6,000 feet above sea level. El vend is covered with snow for
eight months in the year. Mount Alijuk also, south of Ispahan, is said to have an

02 SOUTII-\Vi:sTKl;\ ASI \

elevation of 14,000 foot, but all theae highlands appear to culminate in the Kuh-
Dinar, which runs north of Shiraz parallel with the Persian Gulf, and which from
the sea near Bushir is risible for a distance of over 120 miles, towering above the
intervening ranges, themselves exceeding 9,000 or 10,000 loot. According to
Saint John some of its peaks arc at least 3,000 feel higher than had boon supposed,
and the Kuh-i-Dena, the colossus of these highlands, is believed considerably to
exceed 17,000 Eeet, being thus second to Demavend alone in the whole of Either
Asia west of the Eindu-Kush. But some of the lower ranees of the Tensrsir
region are even of more difficult access than the giants of the plateau. At certain
points they present vertical walls 1,000 or 1,600 feet high, thus forming the so-
called rfi'z, or natural strongholds, which can be reduced only by hunger.
Ye/dijerd, the last of Persia's native sum reigns, hold out for some time in one of
those rooky citadels against the Arabs.

The violent disturbances by which the northern ranges were deflected parallel
with the Persian Gulf, and with its former northern extension now filled by the
alluvia of the Tigris and Euphrates, have also given to the Laristan system a
direction mainly parallel with the Strait of Orinuz. Hero the Jebel-Hukun, north-
east of Bandar Abbas, attains an altitude of 10,700 feet. But while the coast
ranges generally run oast and west, the neighbouring island of Kishm is disposed
in the direction from south-west to north-east. The other islands on the east side
of the Persian Gulf are more Fragments of coast ranges partly submerged, and
following the normal direction of the Persian orographic system from north-west to
south-cast.

For a distance of 1,100 miles from the banks of the Kizil-Uzen in Azerbeijan
to the Bampushi uplands in Baluchistan, this direction is mainly followed by a
chain of mountains, which in some places assume quite an Alpine character. The
Garghish and Darbish, south-west and south-east of Kashan, are both over 11,500
feet high; while the snowy Shir-Kuh, south of Yezd, exceeds this elevation by
nearly 2,000 loot. According to Saint-John, various summits in the Jamal-Baris,
or "Cold Mountains," as well as the basalt Kuh-i-Hazar, south and south-west of
Kirman, all rise to heights of 13,500 foot and upwards, while the Kuh-i-Bergon the
Baluch frontier still maintains an altitude of 8,000 feet. In this little-known
south-east corner of Persia names such as Sotid-Kuh (" White Mountains "\ Sarhad
("Cold Betrion "), Kuhistan ("The Highlands"), all imply the presence of
ranges of considerable elevation. Bore also the volcanic cones of Nau-hadur and
liasman, besides some other le-s elevated volcanoes in Xarmashir, stand close to the
edge of a former marine basin now tilled with the sands of the desert. And it is
noteworthy that the prolongation of the main Iranian axis through the Sehend
would terminate in the extreme north-west in the corresponding igneous mass of
Ararat. Along the south coast, both in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea, traces
of oscillation have been discovered which are also probably associated with Plutonic
phenomena. In Persian and Baluch Mekran numerous eminences occur which
are found to be the craters of now extinct mud volcanoes.

The small isolated groups rising in the midst of the sands and clays of the

THE PERSIAN DESERTS. 93

desert on the plateau also follow the general direction of the Persian mountain
system, although the trap and trachitic Siah-Kuh ("Black Mountain "\ some 90
miles from Teheran, runs exceptionally rather east and west. Like Elburz,
although to a less extent, the Siah-Kuh, which scarcely exceeds 5,000 feet,
presents a remarkable contrast between its northern and southern declivities. The
latter are bare and parched, while the former are overgrown with brushwood,
which in the eyes of the surrounding nomads seem like magnificent forests.

The vast triangular region enclosed by the border ranges is little more than a
sand's-, argillaceous, stony, or saline desert studded here and there with a few oases.
" In order to form a correct idea of the more populous parts of Khorassan, we should
fancy," remarks MacGregor, " a small green circle round every village indicated on
the map, and shade all the rest in brown." These waste spaces, encircled on all
sides by mountains, were certainly a marine basin at the time when the volcanoes
rising above the northern edge of the plain were still active. The regular strata
observed by Filippi on the banks of the Ahvar south-east of Sultanieh show that
the basin was not completely filled in till comparatively recent times. Here the
layers of sand, pebbles, and clay clothed with vegetable humus rest on heaps of
debris containing potter}', incised bones, fragments of charcoal, and other remains
of human industry. These deposits may be traced for a distance of over 40 miles,
a sufficient proof that there can here be no question of recent disturbance and
redistribution of the soil. Hence the present surface of this Iranian depression
has been formed since the surrounding slopes were inhabited by man, whose
pottery has been swept by the running waters down to the plain. These remains,
carried down probably during a cold epoch, corresponding to the Alpine glacial
period, contributed to completely fill up the Persian Mediterranean. Throughout
the whole of the Iranian plateau, as well as in Afghanistan and Baluchistan, vast
quantities of sand and argillaceous dust have been gradually accumulated by the
weathering of the surrounding uplands, combined with the action of rain and
running waters distributing the detritus over large spaces and filling up all the
depressions on the plains. But although resembling in appearance the " yellow
earth " of China, this detritus is now unsuitable for cultivation owing to the
absence of irrigating streams. The inland sea itself could never have been dried
up but for the excessive evaporation. With a more copious rainfall it might
have been permanently maintained, while slowly raising its bed by the sedimen-
tary deposits from the encircling hills, through which it must have ultimately
found some outlet seawards.

In the south-eastern deserts the prevailing element is sand, disposed by the
winds in ever-shifting dunes, by which caravan routes are effaced, arable tracts
continually encroached upon, the very villages and towns themselves threatened
with destruction. Some places have even already been invaded, and their inhabi-
tants compelled to migrate to new homes. Elsewhere the sands themselves have
been swept away, leaving nothing but the hard rocky surface, or perhaps extensive
gravel tracts, like the beds of dried-up torrents. Thus within a Bingle day the
caravans will often traverse districts of very different aspect — strips of clay and

HI SOUTH-WKSIl'.HN ASIA.

sand alternating with gravel and stony wastes. A wilderness to the north-west of
si-tan has been well named the Dash-i-Na-ummed, or " Plain of Despond," and
easl of it, mi the Afghan frontier, Btanda the Famous Reig Hawaii, an isolated
bluff, DOted for the music of the surrounding sands, which at times is heard a

mile off.

Bui the must formidable desert in Persia is the Lul or Loth, as it is railed by
the people of Khorassan, a name associated by some with the Lot of Eoly Writ,

but by others more correctly explained to mean any wilderness or waterless tract.
The ground of this dreary waste is almost everywhere formed by a compact layer
of coarse sand bound together with salt, and covered with a lighter sand, which [s
blown about by every wind. Lying between the Kirinan and South Khorassan
highlands, the Lut is completely uninhabited, and possesses so few wells that
caravans in its narrowest part have to provide themselves with sufficient water to
last three days and lour nights, The Gobi and Kizil-Kum themselves are
fertile regions compared with this " Persian Sahara," which in the tenth century
Istakhri already described as the most dismal solitude in all the lands subject to
Islam. Seen from some of the surrounding heights it presents the appearance of
a pah' red mass of incandescent metal stretching away beyond the hori/ou,
the fierce glare of its cloudless skies nowhere relieved by a flitting shadow from
dawn to sunset. Yet it is at Least in one respect somewhat less desolating than
many of the Turkestan steppes. The outline of its horizon nowhere presents
the form of a perfect circle, the monotonous prospect being here and there broken
by bluish or violet hills, floating like light clouds in the liquid atmosphere, and
serving as landmarks to the wayfarer.

The deeper parts of the Persian basins are generally occupied by saline marshes,
known in the north as kevirs, in the south as kefihs or hufulis. Of these the
most extensive is that stretching across the sandy desert, north of the Tebbes
Mountains. Another, extending from the Kuh-i-Siah range towards Kashan, is
said to have a circumference of 15 miles, while its real size is perhaps doubled K\
the mirage. Other large kevirs, the remains of dried-up lakes, are scattered over
the valleys of Kirman, which, like the mountain ranges, have a normal direction
from north-west to south-cast. Most of these basins present a very irregular
surface, being broken at various points by small hollows, presenting considerable
difficulty to camel traffic. But round the edge of the true kevirs quagmires are
of rare occurrence. In winter the moist earth is black and uneven, as if turned
up by the plough, but in summer it is covered with a saline film, beneath which
the treacherous soil remains soft and swampy for a long time. At its lowest point
the kevir north of Yezd stands probably at a height of 2,000 feet above sea level;
but towards the south-east it falls gradually lower and lower, sinking at Dihi-Seif,
north-east of Kirman, to 1,250 feet, and at its lowest point, according to Khanikov,
its absolute elevation scarcely exceeds 400 or 500 feet.

THE KABTJN KIVKIi. 95

Hydrography and Climate of Persia.

It is difficult to form even an approximate estimate of the seaward drainage to
the Caspian, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea compared with the extent of these
inland basins. The respective. areas have even been modified during past geolo-
gical epochs. Eivers formerly copious enough to reach the coast are now lost in
some inland swamp, while a number of now landlocked lakes at one time dis-
charged their overflow to the surrounding marine basins. Similar changes are
.still going on from season to season, and most of the streams reaching the sea
during the floods are absorbed in the sands at low water. But even including
these intermittent tributaries in the outward drainage system, its whole area cannot
be estimated at more than one-third, leaving to that of the closed basins about two-
thirds of the West Iranian plateau.*

The short streams flowing from the Elburz range to the Caspian can alone
compare in size with those of Western Europe. The Atrek and Gurgen reach the
coast through a sluggish and shallow current, while the Sefid-rud, although more
copious, i- quite unsuited for navigation. The Jerrahi, Hindiyan (Zohreh),
Shems-i-Arab, and other affluents of the Persian Gulf are mere wadies fordable
throughout the year, and in summer separated by a strip of sand from the sea.
Nevertheless Persia possesses one really navigable river in the Karun or Kuran,
which is formed by the united torrents of Northern Susiana and Southern Luristan.
Little, however, of this stream goes directly to the Persian Gulf, from which it La
mainly diverted by an artificial canal to the Shat-el-Arab. It has thus become a
mere tributary of the great Mesopotamian artery, like the Diyala and Kerkha,
which join the Tigris higher up. Still the Karun should be the natural highway
for merchandise forwarded by the Persian Gulf to the plateau, for it is nearly four
feet deep throughout the year, and accessible to steamers for a distance of 150
miles from its mouth. The only obstacle to its navigation is a ledge of rocks near
the old fortress of Ahwaz, where the valley is contracted by fantastic sandstone
hills some 300 feet high, which at a distance look like structures raised by the
hand of man. Here the river enters a gorge, in which it descends through a
series of rapids between the projecting rocks all disposed parallel with the main
axis of the Persian orographic system. Estcmut ascended the Karun to this point
in a steamer in 1836, and six rears afterwards the obstacle was surmounted by
Selby, who penetrated within a mile and a half of Shuster. Still greater facilities
for navigation are afforded by the Ab-i-GargaT canal, which runs west of the main
stream between Sinister and the confluence of the Dizful. For two months in the
year the Dizful itself is accessible to small craft as far as the town of like name,
so that a whole network of water highways might be developed in this region,

* Persian ar> a- of drainage according to Sainl John: — Square Miles.

To the Indian Ocean 130,000

Caspian 100.000

„ Hamun Basin 4H.000

., Lake Urmiah J11.OOO

Kivers and other depressions 320,000

96 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

especially il' the Ahwaz rapids were avoided by constructing an already projected
canal Less than two miles in length. According toM. Dieulafoy, Shuster might be
reached by steamers ol 600 tons burden and 120 horse-power merely by restoring
the dam and locks at Ahwaz.

The Btreams flowing to the inland basins are relatively even far It--- copious
than (hose draining seawards. This is evident from the state of the innumerable
depressions on the plateau whose moisture is evaporated in the dry season, or else
losl in the mud of the saline marshes. A watercourse descending from the Khuz
Mountains to the south of the Lut. desert traverses the whole length of the
solitudes, but within the memory of man it lias never been flooded. Even in rainy
years the water never rises above the arable tracts, although its hed is deeply
excavated by the long and constant action of an old current.

At present the rainfall, everywhere very light except on the northern slopes ol
the Kllmrz, scarcely exceeds a yearly average of 10 inches, [ailing in Central Persia
and on the Baluch frontier to about 5 inches. This scarcity of moisture is due, as
in the regions lying farther east, to the atmospheric currents, which are mainly
continental. The two great marine basins of the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean
lie respectively on the south-east and west, whereas the prevailing winds come
either from the south-west across the African and Arabian sands, or else from the
north-east across the Asiatic mainland from the polar regions to the Turkestan
steppes. This last is the dreaded wind of "a hundred and twenty days," which
blows, especially in Sistan, with such violence that the trees are unable to take root
in the ground. To this breezy region has been attributed the invention of the
windmill.

The atmosphere of the plateau is thus extremely dry, the relative proportion of
humidity ranging in the cultivated parts of Kirman from 16 to 20 per cent., and
falling in the desert of Lut to 11 "J per cent., the lowest that has yet been recorded
mi the surface of the globe. Even in West Persia the air is so dry in summer and
autumn that metal objects exposed on the terraces at night retain their lustre
for months together. To this deficiency of moisture must be attributed the
extreme variation of temperature between day and night. In the month of July
the glass has risen from 56 F. before sunrise to 133 in the sun at eight o'clock
in the morning. At times the air becomes darkened by " dry fogs," during which
neither dust nor dew is precipitated. Little dust whirlwinds are of daily occurrence.
They spring up between nine and eleven o'clock in the morning, according to
the heat of the sun, and gradually increase in number and volume till two o'clock
in the afternoon. Sometimes also dense clouds of sand are formed, bounding
the horizon like a solid wall. The summer heat [soften as intense as in the African
Sahara, and near Meslied stores of stcarine and sulphate of soda have been liquefied,
implying a temperature of 131° F. To the sultry region of the Lut desert,
Khaiiikov attributes the southern deflection of the isothermal lines throughout
Northern Persia; and to the same source of heat may perhaps be due the almost
tropical character of the vegetation in Mazanderan compared with that of the other
Caspian coast-lands. The pestilential dry wind, known as the badeli simun, which

LAKE URMIAH. 97

occasionally blows from the desert to the coast about Bandar-Abbas, Lb much
dreaded by travellers, who report that its victims turn rapidly blue, and soon
perish.

To supply the want of a sufficient rainfall, the peasantry have developed
a system of underground kanats or kanots (irrigating canals), which, like those of
Afghanistan, are excavated with unerring instinct and maintained with jealous
care. But even with this resource, cultivation is scarcely possible beyond the
upland valleys, for there are no summer rains, moisture falling as a rule only
in winter and spring. Hence in summer no water can be had except in the Alpine
regions, where the deep springs are fed by the melting snows. Lower down the
soil is completely dried up by the twofold action of the solar heat and kanat
drainage. Except in the higher valleys, how little this dreary, parched-up land
corresponds with the ideal descriptions of the national poets, Hafiz and Sadi !
Long journeys must be made across the plateau and down to the intervening
depressions before we meet with those spicy groves, rosy bowers, and purling
brooks echoing with the song of the nightingale, which on the whole are rather
the dream of the poet seeking in fancy what nature denied him. The famous
Band-Emir, described in eastern and western poetry as a noble stream flowing
beneath the cool shade of a rich vegetation, is merely a canal diverted by a dam
from the little river which waters the plain of Persepolis. So precious is water
in this arid region that an ordinary reservoir becomes a limpid lake encircled by
picturesque cliffs and umbrageous slopes.

The only lake really deserving the name is the Dariacha ("Little Sea "), better
known as the Lake of Urmiah, Maragha, or Armenistan, at the west foot of the
Sehend, in the extreme north-west, and already within the region of the Armenian
uplands. Here a delightful and ever-varying prospect is presented by the islands
and headlands and surrounding hills, plunging their roots deep into the water, by
the wooded shores and distant view of snowy Ararat. Yet, compared with the
Alpine lakes of Central Europe, Urmiah is a mere lagoon, nowhere exceeding 4-3
feet, and with an average depth of probably not more than 15 or 16 feet. Hence,
although covering an area of about 1,600 square miles, its volume is six or eight
times inferior to that of Geneva, which is relatively so much smaller in size. Off
the town of Urmiah the basin falls from the west to the east shore through a
succession of five perfectly regular plateaux, while at other points the marshy banks
stretch far inland through saline flats, scarcely rising a few inches above the
surface. Towards the south is a group of about fifty islets, of which three are large
enough to be cultivated or laid out in pastures. The water is more saline and
richer in iodine than that of the Dead Sea itself. Swimmers cannot dive in it, and
their bodies become immediately covered with a coating of salt, which sparkles in
the sun like diamond-dust. "When the wind blows, large sheet- of saline foam are
developed on the surface, and along the shore salt has been deposited in slabs
several inches thick, and extending in some places for a distance of three or four
miles. "Wherever the shore is easily accessible, the natives have established
salines like those of the Mediterranean, although they prefer in general the
105

SOUTBVWESTEEN ASIA.

mineral sail of the neighbouring hills, which is much purer and more easily
worked. No fishes or molluscs live in the lake, which, however, teems with a
particular species of small Crustacea, distinguished by a thin tail, and servingaafood

to the Hocks of swans and other birds frequenting the lake. Here are also some
species of insects not found elsewhere, and a special saline Hera developed on the
surrounding mud renders the shore almost everywhere unapproachable. These

Fig. 33. — Lakk Uiimiah.
Scale 1 : 1,600,0(10.

E.. ofGr

30 Miles.

blackish or dark-green tracts, sometimes shining with a metallic lustre, stretch
a long way below the surface of the water, and contain magnesia and iron, beside
a large proportion of organic remains. The oily residue of this decomposed matter
imparts such consistency to the liquid surface that even under the action of high
winds it fails to rise into rolling waves, hut breaks sluggishly against the beach.

Near the Selmas valley, on the north-west side of the lake, and near the village
of Uihkergau in the south-east, are the famous " marble springs," whose deposits

LAKE UEMIAH. 99

have supplied materials for some of the finest buildings in Persia and Western
Asia. This " marble of Tabriz " is generally of a yellowish, pink, or milk-white
colour, and sparkles like quartz. It often forms concretions like stalactites, and
its veins of oxides impart to it the most delicate tints. It was probably deposited
at a time when the springs had a much higher temperature than the present, which
scarcely exceeds 65° F. The precipitates now consist of very thin snow-white
layers, in other respects exactly resembling the marble of the neighbourhood.

The level of Lake Urniiah has frequently changed. According to the local
tradition it was formerly much higher than at present, while on the other hand
there was a time when it had shrunk to considerably lower dimensions. These
oscillations are attributed by the natives to a prodigious monster who dwells at the
bottom, and passes his time in alternately drinking and disgorging the waters of
Urniiah. Its former higher level is in any case shown by the old water-marks on
the rocks high up above the present surface, and by the headlands, such as that of
Shah-i-Kuh towards the north-west in the direction of Tabriz, which at one time
were islands in the middle of the lake.

At present the lacustrine level is sinking, a circumstance explained by the
spread of cultivation, which necessarily absorbs a larger quantity of water for
irrigating purposes. The whole basin, as far as the sources of its farthest affluents,
exceeds 20,000 square miles, and the rainfall within this area, even estimating it at
no more than 10 inches yearly, represents a total mass of at least 350 million cubic
feet, or about half of the whole volume collected in the lake itself. According to
the extent of the outflow, as regulated by the requirements of the surrounding
cultivated lands, the contours of the lake must change all the more rapidly that the
water is spread in shallow masses over a wider area. The area of Lago Maggiore,
notwithstanding its great depth, changes as much as 16 square miles between the
dry and wet seasons. Some idea may thus be formed of the great alterations
presented by the surface of Lake Urmiah, a large portion of which is little better
than a flooded swamp. Such a basin evidently affords little scope for navigation,
and the transport of merchandise and passengers is usually effected by means of
rafts. In 1838 an uncle of the Shah had himself appointed grand admiral of the
lake, and to secure a monopoly of its navigation forthwith caused all the craft
belonging to private persons to be seized and destroyed.

Of the numerous feeders of the lake the most important is the Jaghatu, which
comes from the south, and one branch of which, the Saruk, receives a portion of its
supplies from a large well on a limestone eminence known as the Takht-i-Sulaiman,
or "Throne of Solomon." The hill itself, which is of oval shape and about 150
feet high, has evidently been gradually formed by the water, which precipitates
layers of travatine at the orifice. Other petrifications caused by the irrigating rills
derived from the main stream have sprung up here and there round about the
Throne of Solomon. One of these has the form of a dragon, and is traditionally
supposed to have been a monster changed into stone by the son of David. Mineral
and thermal springs, acidulated, sulphurous, and calcareous, bubble up on all sides
round about these eminences.

100

SOUTH-WESTEBN ASIA.

In Southern Persia the only body of water which maybe regarded ae a lake,
it qoI Eor the depth at least for the extent of its flooded basin, is Lake Niris or
Bakhtegan, which receives the discharge of the Band-Emir Canal. It stretches
south-east of the ancienl Persepolis, between two ranges of parallel hills, for a
distance of aboul 60 miles, broken into several secondary basins by islands and
headlands, all ramifying in tortuous channels among the side valleys, and uniting
through two straits in a second reservoir, the Tasht or Nargis Lying at the other
Bide of the northern hills. The whole group is continued in the direction of
IVrsepolis northwards to the plain of Merv. Its waters arc saline like those of the
Deriah-i-Xemek, a smaller basin lying parallel to it in the valley of Shiraz, and
blocks of silt, like the floesof the polar seas, maybe occasional!; seen floating on its

Pig. 34. — Lakes Niria and Naeois.

Scale 1 : 1,400,000.

'■■■■'.

*>*jh -

E.of GrSV

30 Miles.

surface towards the end of summer. The surrounding limestone hills mirrored in
its blue water, the ruins crowning the cliffs along the shore, the tamarinds and
willows of the riverain valleys, the Mocks of flamingoes and other aquatic birds
giving animation to the scene, imparl a great charm to the landscape of Niris,
which, however, is in reality nothing more than an ana of permanent inundation.
For hundreds of yards from the shore it is scarcely more than 2 feet deep, and
the mud when disturbed emits ;i suffocating odour. It is noteworthy that no
mention is made by the old writers of this lake, which nevertheless lies in one of
the most famous and commerical regions of the ancient world. It is first alluded
to by Urn Haukal in the tenth century, and from that time forth it is spoken of
bv all geographers. It is probable that formerly, when the district was covered

FLORA AND FAUNA OF PERSIA. 101

with cities and land under cultivation, the water flowing from the mountain gorges
was used up to the last drop, so that none was left to settle in lagoons on the now
flooded plains.

Flora and Fauna.

As a land of transition between Eastern Asia and the western world, Persia
naturally partakes of the flora and fauna belonging to the surrounding lands.
Hence according to the altitude, dryness, and special climatic conditions of its
various provinces, it exhibits the plants and animals characteristic of Turkestan,
Caucasia, Afghanistan, or Arabia. Persia is thus everywhere a region of contrasts,
where the forests of Ghilan and Mazanderan, with their leafy foliage, creeping
plants, and flowery glades are suddenly succeeded by the saline plateaux producing
nothing but a little grey brushwood. Even the fertile regions themselves offer the
greatest differences in the aspect of their vegetation, for all these productive lands
are exclusively highland countries, where the various vegetable zones overlap each
other, or follow in quick succession, according to the relief and latitude. All the
higher summits are like so many islands inhabited by polar species, while the
great diversity of altitude strews the land with isolated floras, rendering any broad
generalizations extremely hazardous. In the north wheat is cultivated to a height
of 9,000 feet on the slopes of the hills, and the flats in the neighbourhood of Lake
Urmiah are occupied by rice grounds at an elevation of over 4,000 feet above the
sea. In this part of Azerbeijan the fig grows only in sheltered spots, whereas the
vine flourishes on the slopes of Elvend up to 7,500 feet. On the other hand, the
magnolia and camellia, which resist the damp climate of the British Isles, are not
found in Persia under the corresponding latitudes. The palm is cultivated only in
the lower valleys of the border ranges, and in the south-east of the plateau as far
north as Tebbes. But it is again met on the shores of the Caspian, and, according
to a local tradition, the Mazanderan coast-lands were within comparatively recent
times overgrown with palms, which have since yielded to other vegetable species.
Excluding the Caspian seaboard as belonging to a distinct vegetable region, the
Persian flora is on the whole much poorer than that of Trans-Caucasia and West
Europe, and the local saying that " In Fars you cannot take a single step without
crushing a flower," must be regarded as a poetical exaggeration.

So little does the Persian fauna differ from that of the conterminous lands,
that it might almost be supposed to have migrated in modern times to the plateau.
The real explanation lies doubtless in the more recent drying up of the land.
From the frontier upland regions, which were first upheaved, the various species
gradually spread towards the centre, according as the waters subsided. The West
Iranian mountains, plateaux, and solitudes, like those of Afghanistan, have their
herds of wild asses and gazelles, their leopards, wild boars, bears, wolves, and foxes.
In the same way Iranian Baluchistan corresponds to that of Kelat, while the A\ est
Persian frontier bason its outer slopes the fauna of Mesopotamia, that of Kurdistan
in its valleys, and that of the plateaux on its rocky heights and in its kevirs.
Lastly, the well-watered regions of the north-west, the Azerbeijan plains and

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
SANTA BARBARA COLLEGE LIBRARY

102

SOUTII-WESTKKX ASIA.

especially the northern slopes of the Elburz, belong to the animal as well as to
the vegetable zones of Armenia and Trans-Caucasia. The summits oi Isolated
mountains, such as Sehend and Savalan, have not only a Caucasian flora, but also
several animal species, notably various kinds of butterflies, which do nol elsewhere
occur south ot the Aras.

According to a local tradition, which may, perhaps, reel una foundation of truth,
the Mazanderan forests were formerly peopled by elephants, which were exter-

Fig. 85.— F.unas or 1'ehsia.
Scale 1 : 18,000,000.

Azei 1 1

iTEB

Persian

Plateau.

ii \\ li '1 Am i of the Persian Persian GuU md

Area. Border Range. Mesopotamia. Baluch Area.

, 300 Miles.

minated by the national hero, Rustem. In its climate, flora and fauna, as well
as in many popular customs, this low-lying valley resembles the Indus valley.
The wild ox, hunted by the Assyrian kings in the Kurdistan highlands, has dis-
appeared ; but the maneless lion, a less powerful animal than his African congener,
has held his ground in the valleys of the border ranges between the Iranian plateau
and the Tigris plains. He is also frequently met west of the Shiraz Mountains
in the oak forests, where he preys on the wild boar. The tiger also infests the

FAUNA OF PERSIA. 103

forests of Mazanderan. The chamois is very common on the highlands, where

• --•■„* '

ill ^^

he ranges from an altitude of 1,500 feet on the Bushir hills to 13,000 feet on
Elburz. The rat, said to have originated in Persia, has disappeared from the

104 SOUTH -WHSTKKN ASIA.

plateau, and is now found only on the Caspian seaboard, where it lias been
reimported by the shipping. Altogether the Persian Fauna is poor in the number
.it species, although the reptiles, especially lizards of quite an African type,
are represented by a great many varieties. Owing to the intermittent character
of the surface streams, tish are found chiefly in the underground canals, where
they have adapted themselves to the dark .surroundings by the gradual loss of
sight. Snails and other land molluscs arc nowhere to be found, doubtless owing to
the general aridity of the land.

Amongst domestic animals there is at least one fine breed of horses. In
the towns bordering on Turkestan those of Arab origin have acquired a surprising
resemblance to the English raeehorse, combined with unrivalled powers of endurance.
The Kurd breed, smaller than that of Khorassan, is more elegant and not less
fiery. In many parts of Fars it is customary to give the horses little pigs for
companions, and the closest friendship springs up between these two animals.
The eamels of Khorassan and Sistan are highly esteemed, the finer specimens
carrying loads of 625 pounds weight, while the ordinary camel-load varies from
125 to 190 pounds. The sheep, like those of the steppe regions, are of the
fat-tailed species. Tn some districts they acquire an extraordinary development,
ami yield a wool of the finest quality. Of dogs there is one very ugly species,
noted, however, for his remarkable watchfulness and sagacity. The Persians have
also a very handsome breed of greyhounds, swifter than the European varieties,
and several species of falcons are still trained for the chase.

IxiIAHIT V\ is o| I'kksia.

Like the flora and fauna, peoples of different origin have become intermingled
in the Iranian lands, some of whom still preserve their national characteristics,
while others have blended in a new type. The chief ethnical elements are the
Iranians, properly so called, the Turco-Tatars, the Kurds, and Arabs.

The bulk of the population is concentrated in the southern region, between
Kirman and Kermanshah, where one of the provinces even bears the name
of Fars or Farsistan ; that is, " Land of the Farsi " or Persians. Hut for the
whole race the collective name is [rani. Amongst the peoples of the earth the
Persians are, on the whole, one of those that approach nearest to the type of beauty
as understood by Europeans. Of symmetrical figure, graceful and pliant, with
broad chest and noble carriage, they have, for the most part, regular oval features
enframed in a setting of black curly hair. Put baldness is very common, caused
doubtless by the habit of wearing high head-dresses of hair or wool. The eyes,
mostly brown, except in Ears, are large, with perfectly round eyebrows, long
curved lashes, slightly aquiline nose, well-shaped mouth, dense wavy and silky beard.
The children, especially grouped together in the schoolroom, present a charming
sight, with their black curly heads, large brown eyes, and animated expression.

The form of the skull occupies an intermediate position between those of the
Semites and Afghans. But if we take as typical Persians the Guebres of Yezd,

INHABITANTS OF PERSIA.

105

five crania of whom have been studied by Baer, the Iranian head would appear
to be distinguished by considerable brain capacity. "While very dolichocephalic,
with index Xo. 70, it is lower than the Semitic but higher than the Turanian, and
flattened on the upper surface. In the Darabgherd relief, which represents the
triumph of Sapor over Valerian, in the year 260 of the new era, both Persians and

Fig. 37. —Inhabitants of Persia.
Scale 1 : 10.000.noo

Sebze va r~^

^StirdT^n^O"-' «■

-=3^:

—^-— i , i

"-=ri ' . ' . ' . ' i '

■ i i i i i .

'i'i'iJ !,-

'iVl'l'l
LI I 111

pamdour1

I II I '.
I ll II

I ' I I I ' I ■>

Aryans.

&*si iLsa

Ghilani. Tajik and Talish Afghans. Baluches. Ali Allahi.

vJM mbil

Kurds. Nestorians and Armenians.
Chaldeans.

Turks and TurkmenianB

Mongols.

Anns.

12 Miles.

Romans are figured bareheaded, and in the case of the former all these character-
istics are plainly marked. Hands and feet are small and flexible, and although the
average height scarcely exceeds 5 feet, the troops are capable of making long
forced marches without apparent fatigue. Formerly tatooing was generally
practised by the women, who embellished the chin, neck, chest, and stomach with

106 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

Fig. ".s. .-Persian- Tyies and Costumes — Nohleman, Dervish, and Mendicant.

various artistic designs. But the practice survives now chiefly amongst the
peasantry of Kirman and Persian Baluchistan. In some districts the depraved

THE PEESIANS. 107

taste of earth-eating still prevails, as does also the hahit of blood-letting at every
new moon, whence the cadaverous look of the inhabitants, which has earned for
certain localities the reputation of being insalubrious.

The Persian type seems to have been best preserved in the eastern and central
regions and upland valleys, which have been less exposed to invasion than the
fertile western districts and oases. Thus the Kahrud highlanders between Kashan
and Ispahan still betray the haughty expression of the contemporaries of Cyrus,
and speak a dialect supposed to be closely related to the old Pehlvi. This language,
which was current in Iran before the Arab conquest, appears to have held its
ground in some other remote districts, while the race has been almost everywhere
modified by mixture, especially with Chaldean, Kurd, Semite, and Turki elements.
Under the successors of Alexander, and during the sway of the Arsacides, the
people were exposed to Greek or Hellenised influences, and later on, under the Arab
rule, Semitic blood penetrated to the lowest layers of the Iranian populations. For
thousands of years pure or mixed Negroes, Abyssinians, and Somali have entered
Persia either as slaves or traders, and certain districts of Susiana were perhaps at
one time occupied by peoples of dark or negroid complexion and origin. The
Turkomans and other Tatar tribes have also had a considerable share in the gradual
modification of the old Iranian stock, which has been further improved by the
thousands of Georgian and Circassian female slaves introduced during the three
hundred years preceding the conquest of Georgia by the Russians at the beginning
of the present century. On the other hand, the Persians themselves have spread
far beyond the limits of their original home. Under the name of Tats and Talishes
they are found to the number of about 1'20,000 in Trans-Caucasia, while they
constitute the basis of the sedentary population in Khorassan, Afghanistan, and
Trans-Oxiana, where they are variously known as Sarts, Tajiks, and Parsivans.

The Persians are not only physically but also intellectually one of the foremost
races of mankind. Their quick wit, shrewdness, poetic fancy, and excellent
memory excite the admiration of Europeans, while to these very qualities must
perhaps be attributed a certain lack of perseverance and application. Readily
grasping a subject, they seem careless of prosecuting it further. Heirs of an
ancient culture, and fully conscious of their intellectual superiority over the
surrounding races, the modern Iranians unfortunately yield to them in prowess.
Hence in the local wars and revolutions the initiative has constantly been taken by
Arabs, Kurds, Turks, Turkomans, Afghans, or Baluches, and the state itself is
ruled by a sovereign of foreign origin, successor of other conquering dynasties.
Deprived of that freedom by which alone the national culture and vitality might
be revived, the Iranians are fain to live in the past, sedulously cherishing the old
traditions of urbanity and refinement, no less rigid observers of ceremony than the
Chinese themselves. Even in remote rural villages the stranger is almost invari-
ably welcomed with courtesy, and in no other country is " the art of rising and
sitting down " more punctiliously observed. Trained to jealously watch over his
own emotions and their muscular expression, the adult Persian presents a striking
contrast to the children of his race, who are usually full of animation and buoyant

108

SOUTH-WESTEEN Asia.

Pie. 39. — N'oi'.le Persian Lady.

spirits. Fond of speaking and giving free bridle to his natural eloquence, he still
maintains an impassive air in mixed company, carefully discriminating the various
social ranks, and assuming the suitable or conventional attitudes towards each
without effort or affectation. In conversation lie aptly quotes the national proverbs
and poets in support of his views, leading up, with great apparent ease, to the
subject he wishes to broach, and unerringly adapting Ins language to his audience.
This characteristic is expressed in the local saying, "Birds of a feather should
mate together — dove with dove, liawk with hawk."' How dill'erent this modern
Parsi, by long thraldom become an adept in duplicity, from the free Persian of
antiquity, of whom Herodotus tells us that he held falsehood to be the greatest of
infamies. Frankness would place the peasant entirely in the hands of his

oppressors; hence from generation
to generation he has learnt to avoid
ruin by wile. Hence those who em-
ploy their talents not only in self-
defence but in pushing their way in
the -world, often become dangerous
by their tact and spirit of intrigue,
ever at the service of cupidity. One
of the ordinary national types is that
of the fuzul, who shrinks from no
baseness in order to "eat." These
are the first to thrust themselves on
Europeans as servants, stewards,
couriers, or simple advisers, and to
them is largely due the unfavourable
judgment so often pronounced
against the whole nation. At the
same time, within the race itself
there frequently occur the greatest
contrasts, as between the brave and
energetic Talish and the craven
Kashani ; between the shrewd Shi-
razi, whose eyes beam with intel-
ligence, and the dull Mazanderani
peasant, the yabu or " pack-horse," as he is called, of Irania.

About the dawn of history the plateau was occupied in the south by Aryans, in
the north by "Turanian" Medes of distind speech, but ruled by an Aryan caste.
The country is still divided between two races, descended, with more or less
intermixture, from the old stocks, still probably on the whole maintaining their
original ethnical distribution. The conquering race is represented by the Turks
and Turkomans, ranking in numerical importance next to the Iranians, but, like the
Manchus in China, subject to their intellectual influence. Hence, although the
* " Kund hamjins ba hamjins parwaz — kabutar ba kabutar, baz bi biz."

THE IRANIAN TURKI TRIBES. 109

Turks are the official administrators and almost exclusive military element, the
Persians monopolise the industries, control all business relations, constitute, in a
word, the civilised section of the nation. Compared physically with the Iranians,
the Turco-Tatars have a rounder head, less oval face, less expressive features,
smaller eyes, more massive jaws. In general they are also taller and more
muscular, heavier and more awkward in their movements. They are at the same
time less wily, and thus often allow the property of the plundered Persian to
revert to its rightful owners. But while despising the old rulers of the land,
they are always ready to make common cause with them against their Osmanli
kinsmen; for they are far more alienated by sectarian hatred from the Anatolian
Turk than by racial difference from their Persian fellow-subjects of the common
Shiah faith. Their speech differs somewhat from that of the Osmanli, and is much
more harshly pronounced, although the Anatolian and Iranian Turks are still
mutually intelligible. The latter also understand and even speak Persian, which,
since the middle of the present century, has again become the Court language.

Of all the Iranian Turki tribes the first rank is now taken by the Kajars, of
whom the reigning dynasty is a branch. But the Afshars, whom they have
succeeded, and from whom Nadir-Shah was sprung, are still by far the most
numerous. At the beginning of this century their various clans comprised
altogether as many as 88,000 families; and of other Turki tribes probably the most
powerful at present are the Kara-geuzly of Ilamadan, and the Shah-seven of
Ardelil. The latter enjoy the privilege of supplying the Shah with his hundred
" gholams " or bodyguard. The Turki element is naturally most numerous in the
northern and north-western provinces, conterminous with the land of their origin.
In Azerbeijan it comprises nearly the whole of the rural population, and numerous
Tatar communities are also found in the central provinces. The Kashkai horde,
dating from the time of Jenghiz-Khan, have penetrated to the neighbourhood of
Shiraz, Forg, and Tarun in the south-west, where they are said to be numerous
enough to supply an army of 30,000 horsemen.

In the east Iranian uplands the Tatar element is represented by those Turko-
man tribes that have maintained an incessant warfare against the settled peoples
of the plateau since the remotest historic times. Before the recent reduction of
the Tekkes by Eussia, Persians and Turkomans were continually struggling for
the pastures of the border ranges, and especially for the upper course of the
streams feeding the irrigation canals. In these contests the former were generally
worsted, and gradually acquired such a dread of the nomads that in recent times
they had almost ceased to resist them openly. The usual resource of the peasantry
were the towers of refuge, thousands of which had been erected all over the frontier
districts. The marauders might have even permanently occupied the uplands hut
for their nomad tastes attracting them continually to the open plains fringing the
desert. Nevertheless some of their tribes remained here and there in possession
of the conquered lands, where they either continued their wandering lives, shifting
their camping-grounds with the seasons, or else established agricultural village
communities. In Mazanderan, on the northern slopes of Elburz. in the riverain

110 80UTH-WE8TEEN Asia.

districts south of the Atrek and in Khorassan as Ear as the limits of the desert,
numerous hamlets and encampments arc met Mill occupied by the Turkoman

descendants of the for r steppe nomads. At present the same movement continues,

l>nt under a more pacific form, for the Khivan and Bokhara dave-markete are
now closed, frontier warfare lias ceased; the towers of refuge, replaced by Russian
Outposts, are crumbling to ruins.

The Kurdish populations of the western and north-western highlands are
ethnically distinct from the Turkomans, whom they resemble in their warlike
spirit and habits. Occupying in Persia, Russian Trans-Caucasia, and Turkish
Armenia most of the frontier uplands, they are politically broken into detached
sections, the most numerous and united of which are found in Turkish territory.
Here is the rallying-poin( of the whole race, those tribes only excepted which have
been forcibly transplanted by the Iranian Government to the Persian Gulf, to the
Kopet-dagh border ranges, and even to Mckran, in the midst of the Baluches on
the south-east frontier. To the same ethnical group belong the Luri, who give
their name to the province of Luristan, comprising the valleys of the Upper Kerkha
basin. In speech they differ little from the Kurds, with whom, however, fchey
would deem it an insult to be confounded, and to whom they apply the collective
name of Lek. The chief Luri tribe, in some respects the most important in all
Persia, are the Peili of the Upper Karun basin above Sinister and Dizful, where,
according to Mourier, they comprise 100,000 tents under a thoroughly feudal
system of government.

The national type anil usages have also been well preserved by the Pakhtyari,
that is, the " Fortunate" or "Brave," who occupy parts of Luristan and Susiana,
and who are by some writers regarded as genuine Kurds, although now speaking
Persian dialects. According to Duhousset, commander of a Pakhtyari regiment,
they are the most brachycephalous of all Iranian races. Thickset, robust, and
muscular like the Kurds, they are distinguished by their brown complexion, black
wavy hair, thick eyebrows, large aquiline nose, sepjare chin, prominent cheek-bones,
bearing altogether a marked resemblance to the figures represented on the coins of
the Sassanides. They camp in summer on the pastures assigned to them by usage
or usurped by force, and in winter occupy small villages on the plain or lower
slopes of the hills. Their two great divisions — Haft Leng, or "Seven Feet," and
Chatar Leng:, or " Four Feet." — are divided into numerous tirhas or clans, family
groups governed by patriarchal chiefs with the assistance of a council of elders.
Some of the clans are regarded as specially ennobled, either through the genealogy
of their chiefs or by their wealth and heroic deeds. Others, occupying a position
of vassalage or subjection to the more powerful tribes, are traditionally supposed
to be of inferior Turki or Persian origin. Till recently the Pakhtyari were
much dreaded as brigands and plunderers of caravans. Hence travellers from
Shiraz or Ispahan to the Lower Euphrates basin carefully avoid their territory,
although .Mackenzie, who lately ventured amongst them, was well received and
provided for.*

• "Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society," Miirch, 1883.

A BALl'CH MENDICANT.

THE IRANIAN ARABS AND ARMENIANS. Ill

The Arab and Baluch tribes are found concentrated chiefly in the districts
bordering respectively on their native lands. Thus the Arab tribes, who claim to
have originally migrated from Nejd, have their camping-grounds in the south-
west, and especially in the part of the Karun plain which from them has received
the name of Arabistan. So also the Persian Baluches dwell in the south-eastern
province, which at one time formed part of Baluchistan, and which still retains that
name. Floyer describes them as in general taller and more robust than those of
the Khanate of Kelat, and many of their clans claim membership with the family
of the Rinds, or " Brave," dwelling on the Indian frontiers. In some districts
they are no less dreaded than were the Turkomans recently in Khorassan. Mounted
on their swift camels, which cover as many as 90 miles a day, they have at
times penetrated to the neighbourhood of Kirman and Yezd ; but, unlike the
Turkomans, these marauders never kill their victims.

Amongst the nomad tribes, estimated at a fourth, ana even a third, of the whole
population of the plateau, there are many who claim Arab descent, although now
completely assimilated in speech and appearance to the Iranians. Such are the
" Arabs " of the Yeramin district to the south-east of Teheran, who speak the local
Persian dialect, and who cannot be distinguished physically from their neighbours.

All the nomads, of whatever race, are comprised under the collective name of
Iliats, or " families." Their numbers increase and diminish with the political
vicissitudes of the country, and when a province suffers from the rapacity of its
governor, or from any other cause, the Shehr-nishin, or " town Iliats," abandon
their settlements, and resume their wandering life as Sahara-nishin, or " desert
Iliats." But the Kauli, Luli or Karachi, as the Gipsies of Persia are variously
called, undergo no change. Adapting themselves to all religions without believing
in any, they closely resemble their European congeners in their tastes and pursuits.
Forgers, tinkers, fortune-tellers, tramps, horse-dealers, robbers, or state couriers
they comprise altogether some 15,000 families, encamped here and there on the
outskirts of the large towns. With them may be grouped the Luti, strolling
minstrels, conjurers, owners of dancing-bears, and the like, although the term is
commonly applied to any tribes associated together for the purpose of robbing or
raiding.

The Armenians, formerly very numerous, are now represented m Persia only
by a few small communities. Most of those at one time settled in the northern
districts of Azerbeijan, to the number of some 40,000 or 50,000, withdrew in 1 828
to Russian Armenia, where half of them perished of cold and hunger. Nol
more than 2,500 families remained in Azerbeijan, and beyond this province
the chief Armenian settlement is that of Ispahan, whither 12,000 families were
removed under great hardships by Shah Abbas in 1605. Here they flourished
for a time, but were afterwards reduced to the greatest straits by the rapacity of
the local governors. Of late years the Armenians in Persia are regarded almost as
Russian subjects, and thus enjoy the special protection of the powerful Muscovite
ambassador at the Court of Teheran. Many are nevertheless still driven by
poverty to seek their fortunes in Trans-Caucasia, India, Constantinople, and even in

112 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

China and .lava. The Armenian patriarch of Ispahan, when questioned by

Polak, estimated his scattered flock at about ,'o,()i)i) altogether.

Still Less numerous are the Persian .Jews, who are greatly despised, and confined
in the towns to a ghetto or separate quarter, as was formerly the ease in Europe.
Like their European brethren they offer two distinct types, one with handsome
regular features, black eyes, and high brow, the other with broad faces, large
nose, and crisp hair. All speak a Persian dialect with a peculiar accent and mixed
with archaic expressions. As in Europe, they show a love of finery even in their
pursuits, being generally embroiderers, silk-weavers, or jewellers. Bui amongst
them are also found the best physicians and nearly all the musicians of Persia.

The European colony consists of a lew adventurers and traders, besides the'
suites of the envoys, and such specialists as teachers, physicians, artisans, or military
men employed by the Government. All look on themselves as visitors, and by the
natives are shunned as strangers. Hence few settle in the country, although many
Polish deserters from the Russian army have become Mussulmans, and are now
classed as Iranians.

The old Zoroastrian religion is now practised by a mere handful of Persians,
and in a very different form from that which must have prevailed when the
doctrines of the Zend-Avesta were firs! promulgated. The Zardushti, or Parsis,
have their chief communities beyond Persia, in Bombay and the neighbouring
towns. In Persia itself they form a compact body only in the district of Yezd, or
Yezdan, that is, " City of Light," and even there they number little over 8,000.
Yet down to the tenth century every village had its temple, its priests, and sacred
writings. Put since that time the "altars of fire " erected on the crests of the hills
have all been destroyed, except that of Taft, near Yezd. The Guebres, however,
still enjoy the privilege of burying their dead according to the old rites, and some
isolated eminence near all their communities is crowned by a dakhmeh, or " Tower
of Silence," where the bodies are exposed to the fowls of the air. The Guebres
would have long ago been exterminated as detested idolaters but for a letter of the
Caliph Ali promising them his protection. Put this document does not exempt
them from the special tax extorted from the " infidel," and their numbers have
till recently been constantly reduced by the practice of kidnapping their female
children and bringing them up in the Mohammedan faith. Even now the wealthy
Guebre merchants are permitted to ride only on asses, and compelled to dismount
whenever they meet a Mussulman. They are also obliged to wear some special
marks or colours, by which the populace may be able to conveniently abuse them
without the risk of attacking the " true believers." Nevertheless, the condition of
the fire-worshippers has been greatly improved since the middle of the present
century, thanks mainly to the national spirit of the Indian Parsis, who help their
Iranian co-religionists with money, and have on several occasions induced the
British Government to interfere on their behalf. Some few influential Persians
have be<mn to show sympathy for a community which has remained faithful
for so many ages to the old traditions of the land. Amongst the more recent
sects some have also endeavoured to bring about a revival of the Zoroastrian cult-

THE GUEBRES.

113

which in the " Shah-nameh," the great national epic of Firdusi, seems even to be
celebrated in terms of scarcely disguised' irony towards the Moslem innovation.
" Our fathers also worshipped God," he sings. " The Arabs turn in prayer towards
a stone ; they turned towards the bright -coloured fire." The old religion is still

Fig. 40. — Yezd and Neighbourhood.
Scale 1 : 1,800,000.

SyM ■

Ardakan

'-WaVbout

Ashkizar

. of (jreernyicK 54'

30 Miles.

recalled by many civil ceremonies still practised by the modern Persians. Thus in
Khorassan strangers are met by a deputation of villagers bearing, winter and
summer, a brazier full of burning embers; and the great national feast i> ^till
that of the Nau-roz ("New Year") kept on March 20th, in honour of the new
spring sun.
106

Ill SOUTII-WF.STKRN ASIA.

The Guebres of Yezd and Barman take a leading part in the trade with India,
and in all their dealings are Eavourahly distinguished from i Ik- Persians by their
honesty and truthfulness. Most of them, however, arc very superstitious, allowing
themselves to be blindly led by their mobeda, or priests, who repeat in Pehlvi
prayers and formulas unintelligible even to themselves. Religion ha- degenerated
to an intricate ceremonial, the attention of the ministers being exclusively occupied
with outward forms, attitude, arrangement of the saered homa, and of the vessels
containing the juice of this divine plant (sarcostema viminalis\ incense vases,
mortars for pounding the ingredients of the traditional sweetmeats, and the like.
The old dualistic faith itself has been gradually transformed to a monotheism,
differing from that of the surrounding Mussulmans only in its outward form. In
order to stand well with their neighbours the fire-worshippers now pretend that
/erdusht (Zoroaster), author of their sacred writings, is the same person that Jews,
Christians, and Mohammedans recognise under the name of Abraham. A kind of
schism has lately sprung up between the Persian and Indian l'arsis, which, however,
is due not to any question of dogma, but to some purely material points. Owing
to their long separation, the two groups no longer keep the same calendar, and
pronounce differently certain formulas of the common ritual. But in other respects
their social usages remain much the same. Both expose their dead to the birds
of the air, and amongst both communities unions with closely-related kindred
continue to be contracted without any apparent deterioration of the race.

Nine-tenths of the inhabitants of Persia belong officially to the Shiah sect, a
form of Mohammedanism which the nation may he said to have adopted in a spirit
of patriotic reaction against the Arab and Turki Sunnites. While imposing their
religion on the people, the conquering Arabs, or " eaters of lizards," as they are
contemptuously called, failed to conciliate the friendship of the vanquished.
Hall a century had scarcely elapsed since the overthrow of the Sassanides dynasty
before the political reaction began to be felt. The Persians showed greater
zeal than the Arabs themselves for the maintenance of the Caliphate in Mo-
hammed's family, a feeling due to the fact that his nephew and son-in-law,
Ali, had married his son Hussein to the daughter of the Persian king Yezijerd,
last of the Sassanides. Thus was united in the family of Ali the blood of the
Prophet with that of the hereditary Persian sovereigns. But by the massacre
of the unfortunate caliph in the mosque of Kuf a, and of his sons Eussein and

Hassan at Keilula, both lines were simultaneously ext inguished. Great Was the
grief of the Persian Mohammedans at this deplorable event, a grief much intensi-
fied by the atrocious details of the sanguinary drama. These details soon passed
into legend, and became a source of strife between the two empires, two hostile
forces perpetuating the everlasting struggle between the two principles of the
old Mazdean dualism. Ali was placed on the same level as Mohammed by his
partisans, who made him the wall, or lieutenant, of Allah himself. In the eyes of
many Shiah sectaries Ali is the true successor of Ormuzd, while the Ali-Allahi
I Nosairi or Naseri), who include not only Iranians, but also some Turks, and
perhaps even some fragments of Jewish tribes and Xestorians, draw no distinction

THE SHIAH SECT. 115

between Allah and Ali, the last and most perfect of his thousand earthly incarna-
tions. There are also some sects devoted to the special worship of the twelve
imams, the descendants of the venerated caliph. On the other hand, Omar is
regarded as a sort of Satan, to be cursed by all true believers. Every year a
special day is set apart to celebrate the death of Omar, and pilgrims flock in
thousands to the supposed shrine of his murderer at Kashan.

The Shiah sect gradually embraced the whole population of Persia, although it
did not become the State religion till the beginning of the sixteenth century, at the
succession of the Sefvide dynasty. It is still spreading, both in Afghanistan and
amongst the Trans- Caucasian Tatars, and gives proof of its vitality by the develop-
ment of a national literature, which has grown up independently of priestly
influence. Formerly Ali and his sons were commemorated only by prayer, lamen-
tations, funeral processions, accompanied by those voluntary tortures which render the
Shiah ceremonies such a harrowing spectacle to onlookers. The persons of the drama
— Ali, Hussein, Hassan, the women and children massacred at Kerbela — figured in
these representations merely as dumb witnesses of the tragedy. But they have
now become actors, and the tazieh, like the mediaeval " mysteries," are now real
dramatic pieces, into which the authors, for the most part unknown, have intro-
duced monologues, dialogues, unforeseen incidents, departing even from the legend
in order to enhance the interest of the situation. Theatrical companies, mostly
natives of Ispahan, who of all Persians are credited with the finest voices and
purest accent, have been formed to give representations in all the large towns.
Other scenes, besides the Kerbela tragedy, have even been exhibited, and thus is
slowly being developed a national drama. The families of the Seyeds, all claiming
descent from the prophet, who form at least a fiftieth part of the whole Persian
population, take a special part in the management of the tazieh.

Besides these political dissensions, many doctrinal and ceremonial differences
have gradually widened the schism between the two great divisions of Islam. In
Persia the old caste of the magi has undergone a slow reformation ; the sacerdotal
hierarchy has assumed a much more definite form than amongst the Sunnites, and
the Koran, elsewhere freely interpreted by the faithful, is in Persia read and
commented on only by the Mollahs. Images, held in horror by the Sunnites, give
no offence to a Shiah, and a picture of the prophet Ali may be seen in almost every
house in the country. Hence in some respects the Shiah sect indicates a return to
the pre-Mohammedan religions, and the charge brought against it by the Sunnites
of still clinging to the Zoroastrian cult would seem to be not altogether groundless.

On the other hand, most Persians secretly entertain sentiments very different
from those of the official religion. The metaphysical speculations, to which all are
prone, have brought about a great variety of beliefs, and the same individual will
often pass successively from om- system to another. Conflicting opinions are thus
mutually neutralised, and great religious movements become almost impossible.
Although the clergy reserve to themselves the right of interpreting the sacred
writings, every Persian fancies himself a theologian, and fearlessly approaches the
most abstract subjects, even at the risk of heresy. All, however, are held to be

116 SOUTH- WESTERN ASIA

justified in concealing their inmost convictions, and outwardly professing a faith
they inwardly reject. The writings of the sectaries, like those of so many mediaeval
philosophers, have two perfectly distinct meanings, the official or orthodox, and the

hidden or mystic, the kej of which is held by the disciples, and discussed in tile

secret conventicles. In refined circles the most prevalent doctrine is that of the
Sufis, who disregard the Mussulman practices, and whose high-priest is Shemseddin,

better known by the name of Mali*. This delightful poet, who flourished in the
fourteenth century, proclaimed in exquisite rerse the superiority of human morals
to all mystic formulas and to all hope ol reward, By constantly repeating these

verses and the words of their own great writers, the Sufis give expression to their
religious independence, which for some is the merest scepticism and for others is
allied to metaphysical speculations. _Most of the Sulis would be classed in Europe
with the pantheists, believing as they do in the intimate union id' all things with
God, consequently recognising their own divinity, and regarding themselves as the
centre of all things. Certain cynical Mollahs suggest that Sufi doctors recommend
the intoxication of hashish or opium, because in the attendant visions all objects
become coinmi tilled or transformed, all outlines fade away, and the dreamer is again
merged in the primeval wave of universal divinity. The Persians are mostly only
too prone to seek this ecstatic state in the intoxicating effects of narcotics or
alcoholic drinks, eagerly degrading themselves in their desire to contemplate the
universal godhead in their own hallucinations.

But during the present century society has been most deeply moved by the sect
of the Bahists, who have not limited their action to religious proselytism, but by
invading the field of politics have been the cause of sanguinary civil strife. To
their theological view's, in which a great part was played by the theory of numbers
and points regarded, as divine manifestations, the disciples of Mirza Ali Moham-
med, better known by the name of Bab, or " Gate," superadded the ideal of a new
social svstem realised in their own communities. They recognised no method of
government beyond benevolence, mutual affection, courtesy, even in serious cases
tolerating no remedy except the appeal to an umpire. In the education of children
the rod was laid aside, and even during study hours no cheek was put on their
play, laughter, or on " anything conducive to their happiness." Bab condemns
polygamy, divorce, the veil; he advises the faithful to be solicitous for the welfare
of their women, to consult their pleasure and tastes, and refuse them no finery
becoming their personal appearance. Hence the women eagerly adopted Babism,
and amongst its apostles no one has left a greater name for devotion, zeal, and
eloquence than the fair Zerrin Taj, or "Golden Crown," surnamed also Gurret-ul-
Ain, or "Consolation of the Eyes." By several European writers the Babi have
been wrongly classed with the Communist sects. |',ut although Bab did not recom-
mend a community of g Is, he exhorted the wealthy to regard themselves as trustees

for the substance of the poor, and to share their superabundance with the needy.

When his doctrines were first formulated, neither he nor his followers had any
thought of acquiring civil power. But they were driven to revolt by the
persecutions of the priests, alarmed for the stability of their status. After the

TOPOGRAPHY— MESHED. 117

sanguinary struggles of 1848 all the Babi of Mazanderan were put to the sword,
the city of Zenjan delivered up to fire and massacre, and Bab himself put to death.
Some of those who had escaped having attempted to revenge themselves on the
person of the Shah, an order was issued for the extermination of all still professing
the doctrines of All Mohammed. The captives were then distributed amongst
the State officials, who vied with each other in giving proof of their loyalty by the
refinement of the tortures inflicted on their wretched victims. Some were hacked
to pieces with knives, some slowly flayed or dissected piecemeal, some bound baud
and foot with iron fetters and scourged to death. Women and children moved
about amid the executioners, stuck all over with burning torches, and so consumed
Above the silence of the awe-stricken multitude nothing was heard but the shouts
of the torturers and the song, growing fainter and fainter, of the tortured, " Verily
we came from God, and unto Him we return."

Nevertheless these butcheries do not appear to have entirely suppressed liabism,
which is commonly believed to be more flourishing than ever, and all the more
formidable that its operations are now conducted in secret. In Persia it lias no
recognised heads, although amongst its followers arc some of the high-priests of
the State religion, who correspond freely with Bab's successor, now resident in
Asiatic Turkey. But whatever real power he may possess, it is none the less
certain that Persia is now passing through a critical period of her social life.
Many inward changes indicating a fresh development of the national genius seem
to be imminent at the very moment that the ever-increasing pressure from without
threatens to deprive her of the last semblance of political autonomy.

Topography.

In proportion to the whole population, the urban element is far more
considerable in Iran than in Cis-gangetic India. The relative area covered by the
larp;e towns is also, as a rule, much greater than in Europe. The houses are low
and surrounded by courts and other structures, while the palaces of the nobles
occupy extensive quarters, where the stranger may easily lose his way in a
labyrinth of courts and passages. Yet these buildings seldom last long, every
fresh proprietor allowing his predecessor's residence to fall in ruins, either through
love of change or perhaps to avoid the misfortunes by which he may have been
overtaken. Fresh edifices are thus raised by the side of the old palaces, and the
city continues to grow in size if not in population. Hence the crumbling ruins,
often covering large spaces, have been wrongly appealed to by many travellers as a
proof that the country was formerly much more densely peopled than at present.

Few cities occupy a less advantageous position than Mexhcd, present capital of
Khorassan, and the largest place in north-east Persia. To the tomb of the imam
Reza, one of Ali's disciples, it is mainly indebted for its present importance, Meshed
the " holy " having been a mere village before the remains of that " saint " began
to attract pilgrims in thousands to his shrine. Lying 3,100 feet above the level of
the sea, in a dry and very moderately fertile plain some six miles south of the

118 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

Kashaf-rud, a western tributary of the Herat River, it enjoys easy communication
only with the Upper Atrek basin, running north-west between the parallel Kopet-
dagb and Ala-dagh ranges. To reach any other pari of EOiorassan lofty mountains
must 1»' crossed, on the west towards Nishapur and Damghan, on the south and
south-east towards Turbat-Haidiri, Turbat-Sheikh-i-Jami, and Herat, on the north-
east ami nortb towards Sarakhs and Kelat-i-Nadir, Bui the highways followed by
the pilgrims have become trade routes; the hundred thousand faithful who yearly
visit the imam's shrine have brought commerce in their wake, and Meshed has
succeeded Herat as the commercial metropolis of Khorassan. Under Nadir-Shah
it was for a short time capital of the whole empire.

The only interesting monument in the holy city Is the mosque, whose golden
cupola rises above Reza's tomb nearly in the geometrical centre of the place. Xo
European has hitherto succeeded in penetrating undisguised into this building, which
in the eyes of the faithful would be polluted by his presence. The precincts,
however, serve as a place of refuge for criminals, and this convenient sanctuary
contributed not a little to the enlargement of the city. All pilgrims visiting the
shrine receive twice a day for a week a plate of pilaw at the expense of the imam's
establishment, thai is, of the five hundred priests who live on the contributions and
endowments of the mosque. The library attached to it contains marly three
thousand works, including some of great value. The Ivhiaban. or central avenue,
running for about two miles east and west between the Herat and Kuchan gates, 18
divided by the mosque into two sections, planted with shady trees, lined by
numerous shops, and watered by a running stream, which, however, Is little better
than an open sewer. "Within the ramparts are vast spaces occupied by cemeteries,
whither are brought from distances of 300 miles the bodies of devoul Mussulmans
anxious to ascend into heawen in company with the imam Reza. Some gardens
are also comprised within the enclosures, beyond which are other cultivated grounds,
not, however, sufficient for the support of the inhabitants, who depend for their
supplies mainly on the caravans. In exchange these take carpets, arms, metal work,
and vases of "black stone." a species of steatite yielded by the neighbouring
quarries. Amongst the inhabitants of Meshed are a few hundred Jews, who were
compelled in lS'S-3 to purchase their lives byconversion to Islam, hut who are
merely nominal Mohammedans, -till cherishing the old faith in scent.

The plain stretching north-west of Meshed and draining to the Heri-rud is
dotted over with Kurdish villages, fortified against the attacks of the Turkoman
marauders, in this region, which is one of the granaries of Persia, and noted for
it- excellent breed of camels, are also situated the towns of Ktiximnlmil and Radkan,
the latter near the marshes about the sources of the Eashaf-rud North of
Ka-iiuahad stand the ruins of the famous city of Tus, where Harun-ar-liashid died,
and where, in Mil), was horn the poet Firdusi, author of the " Shah-nameh." The
little shrine which till the beginning of the present century still marked the site
of hi- tomb has since disappeared.

The town- lying on the northern -lope of the mountains north of Meshed have
hitherto been prevented from flourishing by the incessant border warfare with the

TOPOGRAPHY— MESHED. 119

Fig. 41. — Tower of Meimaxdan on the Roite from Damohan to Meshed.

Turkoman raiders. But since the pacification oi this region bv the reduction of the
Tekkes, Mohammedabad, Lutfabad, and other places on the fertile slopes of the

120 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

Dereghez (" Tamarind Valley"), cannot fail to become important centres of trade
between Persia and the Caspian basin. But bow many ruined cities are shown over
these productive regions, formerly cultivated by the industrious inhabitants of
tfargiana! From the spurs of the mountains projecting into the Tejen valley, the
horizon appears in many places Fringed with the countless remains "1* (rails and
ramparts quivering in the mirage. Here and there whole towns with their stn
squares, and citadels, have remained in almost a- perfect >( state of preservation as
when they were first abandoned. But their only denizens arc now the prowling
leopard and jackal. One of these phantom cities is Khivabad, peopled by Nadir-
Shah with captives from Khiva and Bokhara, but where uo native would now
dare to take up his abode. The Turkomans who cultivate the surrounding lands,
all dwell in the plain of the Tejen, some Id or Is miles farther north. Khu-ru-
tepe, or the •• Hill of Khosroes," a much more ancient place, Lying to tin- east of
Lutfabad, is shunned in the same way, notwithstanding the efforts of the Khan of
Pereghcz to found a Turkoman settlement within its enclosures. Some of these
places have had to he abandoned owing to the shifting of the rivers. Such was
Abiverd, which still figures on most maps, although it has been Long replaced by
Kahk, towards which now flows the copious river Lain-su. Various ruins desig-
nated by flic name of Kailich, Kalisa, or Kalisi, a term wrongly identified with
or "church," are commonly supposed to attest the existence of ancient
Nestorian communities in this region. But this word would appear in most i
to be simply the Persian Kalasa, a well, and especially the watering-places main-
tained at intervals in the desert, for the Use of caravans and pilgrims to Mecca.*

A ruined tower near Mohammeddbad, present capital of the Pereghcz district,
marks the site of the tent where vvas born the famous Turkoman conqueror, Nadir-
Shah. He gives his name to Keht-i-Nadir, or "The Castle of Nadir," which
stands on the almost impregnable plateau commanding (he Tejen valley, between
Mohammedabad and Sarakha. Kelat is the chief military station of the district,
and here the Persian Government maintains a Btrong garrison. But the most
jealously defended strategic point on the north-east frontier is the town of Sarakhs,
which stands on the Heri-rud (Tejen) at its entrance to the Turkoman territory.
Even more than Merv. Sarakhs may be regarded as the gate of India ; for from

this point access might be most easily obtained to the Herat valley between Persia
and Afghanistan. Hence, according to MacGregor, Sarakhs must one day become
the bulwark of British India or the point of attack for Russia. Its present
population consists of Persian troops, Jewish traders, and a few Turkoman resident-.
The surrounding district is little cultivated, although it might easily be converted
into a vast cornfield by means of irrigating canals from the Tejen, and by the water
which is found everywhere by sinking wells to a depth of 18 or '20 feet.

South of Meshed the onlytown in the Henri-rud basin is Turbat-Sheikh-i-Jami,

which lies on the Jam. near the Afghan frontier. Tunik/i and Sherifabad, situated

farther west, derive some importance from their position at the junction of the

pilgrim routes converging from the west, south, and east, on Meshed. In this

• A. II. Krane, in Nature, for Feb. 15, 1883.

TOPOGRAPHY— NISHAPUR.

121

district are the salt hills of Kafir-Kalah, whence the surrounding region derives its
supplies. Xorth-west of the Sherifabad Pass, that of Dahrud connects the Meshed
with the Nishapur valley. Owing to the snows the ascent is difficult, and some-
times blocked altogether in winter. But from these uplands, which attain an
elevation of probably 10,000 feet, the road leads south-westwards down to one of
the most fertile and picturesque regions in the whole of Persia. Here the villages

Fig. 42. — Meshed and Kelat-i-Xadir.
Scale 1 : 1.200,000.

59'

L. of brcenwich

30 Miles.

disappear beneath the dense foliage of the fruit-trees, every valley has its splashing
streams, waterfalls flash between the fissures of the rocks, the path winds amid
flowery meads. Accustomed to the shifting dunes, sandy or saline wastes, and
swamps of the Kevir, the traveller asks in amazement whether this ran still be the
same region of East Persia, elsewhere so arid ami destitute of vegetation. Nishapur,
the Nisaya or Nisoa blessed by Ormuzd, the birthplace of the Dionysos of Greek
legend, one of the Iranian "paradises," and present capital of this district.

122 SOUTH-WESTEBN ASIA.

certainly offers Ear greater advantages than Meshed as the metropolis of Eaa1 Iran.
By Ilm Hankal it is mentioned with Eerat, Merv, and Balkh, as one of the four

capitals of Kliorassan ; ami Yakut, who had traversed the whole Mohammedan
world, could find no place worthy to be compared with it. Before the Mongol
invasion it was described1 as the most flourishing and populous city in the world,
and its destruction was spoken of as the greatest calamity that had ever befallen
[slam. At presenl Nishapur is still a lifeless place, notwithstanding the fertility
of the surrounding plains, which yield excellent fruits, cereals, cotton, and other
produce. The Binalud hills, separating it From Meshed, abound in gold, silver,

copper, tin, lead, and iron ores, besides saltpetre, marliles, and several varieties of
choice malachite and turquoises.

Sebzetoar occupies a narrow valley between two salt deserts west of Niahapur
mi the Teheran route. It is separated by a lofty range from the flourishing town
of Sii/fan/ili/n/, which lies in a well-watered and productive district surrounded by
extensive pasture-lands said to be occupied by some 8,000 Nomad Baluch families.
Another commercial centre in this region is Turbat-i-Hardari (Turbat-IwkhanX
which lies in a secluded mountain valley 4,500 feet above the sea, on the route
between Meshed and Kirman. South-east of it is the town of Khaf, near the
Afghan frontier, which derives some importance from its position as capital of the
Taimuri Aimaks. Of the few noteworthy places in the arid and less populous
region of Southern Kliorassan, the most frequented by the caravans are Bcy'istan,
lying to the south of Sultanabad, Kakh, famous for its embroidered silk fabrics, and
Tun, former capital of the district of Tun and Tebbes. Tun, traditionally said at
one time to have possessed "two thousand mosques and two thousand tanks," has
been succeeded as the administrative centre by Tebbes, which is situated much farther
west, almost in the midst of the wilderness, at one of the lowest points of the
plateau. Although without industries and inhabited by a wretched fanatical
population, Tebbes is important as the last station on the western verge of the hilly
Chorassan region for caravans crossing the great desert in the direction of Yezd
and Ispahan. Here the traveller finds at least pure water and a grateful shade,
while theneighbouringdistriet yields dates, tobacco, opium, and assafcetida for export.

Kain, ancient capital of Kain or Kuhistan, a region stretching from Tun east-
wards to Afghanistan, lies on the confines of the wilderness, which in this direction
reaches to l'arah beyond the frontier. Kain, whose ramparts and 8,000 houses are
mostly in ruins, has been succeeded by the present capital, Birjand (Mihty'anj, one
of the busiest places in East Persia. But the so-called " Birjand" carpets, famous
throughout West Irania, are woven almost exclusively in the village of Daraksh,
■"iii miles to the north-east, by artisans originally from Herat. Nih, in the neigh-
bourhood "t Sistan, is noted for its copious hoi springs, which, like fresh water, are
drawn off to the underground galleries for irrigation purposes. lint the neigh-
bouring lead and copper mines, once extensively worked, arc now abandoned. That
this region was formerly far more civilised and prosperous than at present is also
evident from the ruins scattered over Sistan, the ancients • Sejestan, along the routes from
Nih to the Hilmend. This birthplace of the legendary Rustem was mainly the scene

TOPOGRAPHY-KUCHAN— SHIEWAN. 123

of the heroic history of Iran, and even since those remote epochs the Sistani have
more than once influenced the destinies of Persia Nasirabad, the present capital,
lies nearly midway between the Hamun depression and the Hilmend. It had been
preceded by Sakuha, whose citadel still crowns one of the three eminences whence
this place takes the name of the " Three Hills." Here the fertile frontier district,
watered by canals from the Hilmend, is defended by Kalah-nau (" New Castle"),
one of the best-constructed and picturesque strongholds in Persia.

The north-west corner of Khorassan, comprising the valley of the Atrek,
belongs to the Caspian basin. Near the low water-parting between the Atrek and
Kashaf-rud lies the city of Kabushan, or Kuehan, at an elevation of 4,200 feet
above sea level. Thanks to this position, it enjoys a mild climate, in which the
grape ripens ; but the district is exposed to violent earthquakes, by which Kuehan
has been frequently laid in ruins. Nevertheless it is still a flourishing place,
doing a large traffic in horses, wool, and agricultural produce. Owing to its
position near the water-parting, it is also an important strategical place, where the
Government maintains a garrison and permanent encampment. Two miles to the
north-east is shown the hill where Nadir-Shah was killed while besieging the
revolted city.

Farther down the Atrek valley follow the picturesque towns of Shirwan and
Bujntml, the latter lying on a southern affluent of the main stream, and noted for
its delicate silk fabrics. West of this place there are no important towns either in
the Atrek basin or in the Upper Gurgen valley, which are inhabited only by
nomad populations. But the south-east corner of the Caspian, a position of great
natural and historical importance, is occupied by Astrabad, at the converging-
point of all the main routes between Iran and Turan. Astrabad also enjoys the
local advantages derived from its fertile and well-watered surroundings, and its
proximity to one of the least dangerous seaports of the Caspian. In this district
the chief ethnical element is the Kajar Turkoman tribe, of which the present
royal family of Persia is a member. The old palace of the khans in the centre of
the town still serves as the residence of the provincial authorities ; but Astrabad
itself is a mere aggregate of hovels encircled by crumbling walls and infested l>y
packs of jackals and half-savage dogs. Its industries are restricted to felt, carpets,
and soap made of sesame oil ; but the neighbouring districts, watered by the
Kara-su and the Gurgen, yield abundant crops, pomegranates, and other fruits of
prime quality. The outport for this produce is Kenar-Gaz( Bandar- Ga%, or simply
Gaz), which lies some 2-1 miles west of Astrabad and south-east of the Russian
island of Aaburadeh. From this place the Armenian traders export considerable
quantities of cotton and boxwood from the neighbouring hills.

Besides its defensive works, the plain of* Astrabad is studded with numerous
sepulchral mounds and other structures, the most remarkable of which are those of
Gutnish- tepe, or the " Silver Hill," near the mouth of the Gurgen. Gumish-tepe,
so-named from the silver coins often picked up among its debris, is regarded by
the local population as the work of Alexander. In any case ii forms a link in a
series of important military works, being connected with the Karasuli mound by

124

SOUTH- WESTEBN ASIA.

the Kizil-Alan. or "Red Wall," which is continued aa Ear as Bujnurd by a triple
line of ramparts, indicated bj a series of eminences along the water-parting between
the Ghirgen and A trek. These earthworks, which during the Middle Ages Berved
as tin Persian line of defence againsl the formidable Yajuj and Majuj hordes,
have a total length of over 300 miles. They run by the old city of Gurgen,
terminating towards the < laspian in a number of causeway - carried over the inter-
vening marshes. Here the village of Gumish-tepe is one of the few permanent
encampments of the Yomud Turkomans, who own about a hundred smacks, and

Pig. 18. — Ki >m\ and Source of the Atuek.
Scale 1 : 1.800,000.

"4j£a-.;.coi. i.p.

■ -'

Askhabad

>- %TiAOrtaojars

» \

Sar

■

Kaf ir K«iah~ "2

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J 1 -~*hn ^

•

/'/sin of £jouvsi'n , *-— -.--^336 • ZE*^

'■"••-. " -

L « of b"**'

30 Miles.

capture enormous quantities of fish at the mouth of the Ghirgen. From these they
prepare the caviare which is exported to Russia by the local Armenian dealers.

West of Astrabad the Mazanderan seaboard contains no towns or structures oi
any size until we reach the famous palaces of Ashref, erected by Shah-Abbas on
the slopes of a headland commanding an extensive view of Astrabad Bay and the
Caspian. These edifices, built in separate blocks within a common enclosure, are
in a ruinous state, having suffered much From the followers of the rebel Cossack
Stephen Razin, from fires, and the ravages of time. Very few of the apartments

TOPOGRAPHY— BARFRUSH— RE.SIIT. 125

are still inhabitable ; but the surrounding gardens and thiekets are unrivalled in
Persia for the wealth and variety of their vegetation. Sari, which lies farther
west in the district watered by the Tejcn, is also a decayed place, whose population
has fallen from over ^0,000 at the beginning of the century to little more than
7,000. Sari is a very old place, which D'Anville and Rennell have endeavoured to
identify with the ancient Zadra-Karta, the largest city in llyrcania, where the
army of Alexander stopped to sacrifice to the gods. Feridun, the legendary hero
of Persia, is supposed to lie buried under a mosque which stands on the site of a
temple of fire, while a ruined tower in the vicinity is said to have formed part of
the tomb of his two sons. Like Ashref, Sari is surrounded by a vast garden, and
the neighbouring plains covered with mulberry, cotton, rice, and sugar plantations.
Its outport on the Caspian is Farah-abad, at the mouth of the Tejen, whose
inhabitants are chiefly occupied with fishing and the preparation of caviare. In
the time of Pietro della Valle (1618), Farah-abad (Ferhabad), which Shah-Abbas
had recently founded, was the chief city in Mazanderan, with several streets a
league in length, and a superficial area equal to, if not greater than, that of Pome
or Constantinople.

Barf rush (Bar/crush or Bar-fiirnt/i) is a much more modern place than the
neighbouring Sari. Three centuries ago it was a mere village ; but thanks to its
healthy position and greater facilities of communication with Teheran over the
Elburz Passes, it has gradually become the most important city of Persia on the
Caspian seaboard. Its bazaar is one of the best stocked in the East, and its seaport
of Meahed-i-Ser, at the mouth of the river Balul, is the busiest place along the
whole coast, notwithstanding its difficult approaches. The staple export is raw
cotton shipped by the Armenian traders in exchange for Russian wares. Ali-abad,
lying south-east of Barfrush, is the agricultural centre of the surrounding sugar,
cotton, and rice-growing districts. South-west of the same place is the small town
of Sheikh-Tabrisi, memorable for the massacre of its Babi defenders, not one of
whom survived.

Like Sari, Amul or Amol is an historic place, which in the time of Yacut ranked
as the first city in Tabaristan, as Mazanderan was then called. And, although it
has lost its famous carpet and cotton industries, Amul still remains the great
mart for the agricultural produce of the whole region between Elburz and the
Caspian. Here terminates the carriage road that has been constructed from the
capital through the Lar valley, east of Demavend, down to the Mazanderan
plains. From this point to the Sefid-rud Delta, a distance of some 150 miles, the
strip of open country between the hills and the coast is too narrow for the develop-
ment of any large centres of population. Towards its western extremity are the
copious sulphur-springs known as Ab-i-Gcrm, or " Hot Waters," and farther on
large quantities of hard asphalte are collected and worked into jewellery.

In the districts of Ghilan, east of the Sefid-rud, the chief places are Lengherud
and Lahijan. Resht, the largest city in this province, lies west of the river in an
unhealthy swampy district crossed by the main route from the plateaux to the
"Dead "Water," or Gulf of Enseli. From this seaport Pesht receives large

128 SOUTII-YVKSTKRN ASIA.

quantities of caviare, reed mats, and ornamental birds' feathers, and through the
same place it exports raw silks, cocoons, carpets, and other local produce. The
trade of Resht is chiefly in the hands of Russian Armenians and dews,
although Hindu Baniahs,and even Povindaha from Afghanistan, have been met in
its streets, together with European merchants. In the neighbouring lagoon of the
Murd-ab, or " Dead Water," over two million perch (lucioperca) have been taken
in a year, and us many as dOH.IIIIO carp (rypritUM cephalitis} W a single day. Knzeli,
one of the worst anchorages in the Caspian, lies aboul 18 miles north-west of
Resht, facing the bar over which the sea communicates with the shallow lagoon.
The difficulties of transport across this lagoon and the dangerous roadstead are the
great obstacles to the de\elopment of the local trade, which would be increased
fourfold by the const ruction of a navigable canal connecting Resht with a good
artificial seaport. But the commercial question is affected by political considera-
tions, for the Persian Government naturally fears to excite the cupidity of Russia
by fully developing the natural resources of the Caspian seaboard. Nevertheless,
the time cannot be very remote when effect must be v.i\en to some of the
numerous projects for connecting Resht with Teheran by a railway running from
the Ghilan coast, through the Sefid-rud valley, up to the Iranian plateau. As
soon as the Russian lines are connected with those of Trans-Caucasia, a further
continuation of the system in the direction of Persia will become a primary
necessity of international traffic.

At present the route from the coast to the interior does not follow the natural
opening of the Sefid-rud valley, but ascends in abrupt inclines to the heights
Hanking its western edge. Here the town of Rudbar, or Rudbar of the Olives, a- it
is often called, covers a space of at least 3 miles in a plain thickly planted with
fruit-trees, and especially with olives. The latter, which flourish in no other pari
of Persia, are employed chiefly in the manufacture of soap. Higher up the bridge
of Menjhil, just below the confluence of the Shah-rud and Kizil-uzen, which unite
to form the Sefid-rud, is taken as the limit of the two provinces of Ghilan and
Irak-Ajemi. The southern approach of the routes, descending beyond the hills down
to the Ashabad plains, is guarded by Shunt'/, whose position thus secures to it some
strategic and commercial importance. Some 1 miles to the north is Bostani, which,
like Shahrud, is surrounded by forests of apricot, fig, mulberry, and apple trees. •
(hi the neighbouring upland pastures are bred some of the finest horses in Persia,
Damgkan, lying to the south-west of Shahrud, and like that place one of the chief
stations between Meshed and Teheran, was formerly a very large city, whose ruins
still cover a vast space. But among them no traces have yet been discovered of
ancient monuments, although Damghan (Damaghan) is usually identified with the
old Parthian capital, to which the Greek- had given the title of Hecatonpylos, or
the "City of the Hundred Gates." In any case Damghan shares with Shahrud
the advantage of standing at the converging-point of numerous routes from the
Elburz highlands and Iranian plateau. And if no ancient buildings are here found,
tradition at least speaks of a "Silver City," said to have flourished in the neigh-
bourhood. The prosperity of Damghan was due chiefly to the irrigating waters,

HTiVT

ftesSity

mm *
dmWw

' ' l_LL__ L

TOPOGRAPHY— TEHERAN. 127

derived through underground galleries from the Elburz range, and Yacut describes
as one of the finest monuments he had ever seen the reservoir supplying Damghan,
the one hundred and twenty villages and tobacco-fields of the surrounding district.

Semnan, which lies also on the Teheran route, although strategically less impor-
tant than the " City of the Hundred Gates," is equally populous, while its mosques,
caravanserais, public baths, and other buildings are in a better state of repair.
From this point to Teheran there is no other large town on the main highway, the
vital importance of which is attested by numerous forts, artificial mounds, and
other defensive works scattered along the route. In the popular belief, all the
topes in this region are the remains of towers formerly raised by the fire- worshippers,
hence still known as Ghebr-abad, or " Dwellings of the Ghebrs." Most of them
have been used as entrenched camps, and the bonfires kindled on their summits
often served to flash the tidings of warlike movements across the salt desert.

Of the ancient Verumin, whose name survives in that of the surrounding
district, nothing now remains except a ruined fortress, a few country residences,
and a fine mosque dating from the fourteenth century. Yet Veramin preceded
Teheran as capital of Persia, and the neighbouring village of Aitcan-i-Knif still
guards the western approach to the pass, which by most historians has been
identified as the famous " Caspian Gate."

Teheran, the present capital of the Shah's dominions, although situated on the
verge of the desert, does not occupy such an inconvenient geographical position as
is generally supposed. It lies nearly in the centre of the great crescent formed by
the Elburz range south of the Caspian, and it thus commands both the eastern
and western provinces. It also communicates by easy passes over the Elburz
range north-eastwards with Mazanderan and Astrabad, north-westwards with
Ghilan, and over the older capitals, Shiraz and Ispahan, it possesses the further
advantage of presenting a strategical front to Russia, that is, the power from whom
Persia has most to fear. Lastly, standing at an altitude of 3,860 feet above the
sea, it enjoys a relatively temperate climate with the convenience of cool, healthy
retreats during summer on the southern slopes of the neighbouring Elburz Mountains.

Teheran, or rather Tihran, the " Pure," is a modern city, heir to the Rhai of
the Arabs, which had itself succeeded the older capital, Raghes. The walls of
Rhai, with a circumference of over 21 miles, are still visible in the plain stretching
to the south of Teheran. Rut with the exception of two towers, nothing now
remains within the enclosure, which has been converted into a cultivated tract,
where the plough occasionally turns up a few gold and silver coins. Repeatedly
captured and destroyed, Rhai never recovered from its overthrow by the Mongo-
lians in the thirteenth century, when its surviving inhabitants weir transferred to
Teheran, which at that time was regarded as a northern dependence of the capital.
But the religious sanctuary, as so often happens, continued to be maintained in the
fallen city, which was traditionally said to be the birthplace of Zoroaster. An old
suburb of Rhai, containing the tomb of the martyr Shah Abdul Azim. has become
a small town of that name, witli bazaars, baths, and shady avenues converging on
the mosque containing the imam's shrine.

12*

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

The present fortifications oi Teheran, modelled <>n those of Paris, but built of a
lr>-- durable mail rial, already show numerous signs of decay, and although capable
of resisting a local insurrection, thei could "Hit do serious obstacle in modern
artillery. A second enclosure has recently been planned and partly constructed,
which La intended to include all the suburbs, thus doubling the official extenl of the
city, although the space contained within the old walls i- still far from being lmilt

Fig. II. Tehekan.
Scale 1 : 226,000.

L . of b<

. 6 Miles.

over. The approach u> Teheran presents no domes, towers, or other striking
objects, but the gates with their fine pointed archways, columns, ami elegant
• aamelled porcelain decorations, show that amid the general decadence the Persian
race has at least preserved its artistic taste and originality. Within the walls two
distinct influences are everywhere apparent: the old conservative spirit, and the
mania for imitating everything European. The grand bazaar resembles those of
other Eastern cities, while the neighbourhood of the palace is already laid out with

TEHERAN AND QEMAVE.ND

TEHERAN.

129

shops and houses in the western taste. Elsewhere the whole place is mainly a
labyrinth of narrow, crooked streets, obstructed by heaps of rubbish, full of deep
ruts and pitfalls, cleansed only by dogs and jackals. Still the aristocratic quarters
have their boulevard planted with trees, lighted by gas, and enlivened by elegant
equipages. The neighbourhood, especially towards the north, is well irrigated by
underground channels from the hills, and covered with cultivated fields and

Fi#. 45. — Teheran — View taken on the Kasoxi Koute.

gardens. In summer the wealthy classes migrate in this direction towards the
northern heights, which are covered with villages and country seats, known by the
collective name of Skemiran or Shimran. Here the Court retires to the royal palace
of Niaveran, and removes later on to the banks of the Lai at the foot of Deinaveud,
some 6,000 feet above sea level. In this pleasant retreat both English and Russian
embassies have a summer village, where the authority of the Queen and Czar
is alone recognised. The inhabitants of Gulhak, the British village, being exempt
107

130 snrTH-WKSTKKN ASIA.

from taxation, are in a very prosperous state, and here is a little colony of Guebres
largely employed as gardeners.

Teheran is now connected by a fine carriage-road, 90 miles long, with Kasvin,
which was Itself at one time a capital city, and which has again acquired some
importance from the revival of trade between Persia and Caucasia. One of the

chief stations on the same north-western route is Sultatlieh, which preceded Ispahan

as metropolis of the State, but which is now little more than a heap of ruins.
Beyond it, in the same direction, lies Zenjan, the last town in Irak- Ajemi where

Persian is still spoken. It is replaced on the northern side of the Katlan-kuh
range by Turki, which is the current speech of Mianeh,B wretched place On a head-
stream of the Sefid-rud, dreaded by all travellers and infested by the tiri/as PerstCU,
a venomous insect whose bite, harmless to the natives, has occasionally proved
fatal to strangers. Here died the illustrious French traveller Thevenot, in the
year l<il>7. A little to the north-west lies the large village of Turkmanchdi,
celebrated for the treaty of L828, by which Persia ceded to Russia the districts of

Erivan and Nakhichevan, as well as the absolute possession of the Caspian Sea.

Tabriz ( Tebris, Tauris), capital of Azerbaijan, and till recently the most
populous city in Persia, is the ancient Kandsag of the Armenians, which was
founded at the end of the fourth century of the new era. It lies in the basin of
Lake Urmiab, in the middle of a plain dominated southwards by the lofty Schend
volcano. The city is surrounded by thousands of well-watered gardens; and
although the enclosures are scarcely 11 miles in circumference, it was described in
1675 by Ohardin as one of the gnat cities of the world, with 300 caravanserais,
230 mosques, a bazaar containing 15,000 stalls, and a total population of 550,000.
Put since then it has been wasted, not only by fire and the sword, but also by live
disastrous earthquakes, by which 70,000 persons are said to have perished in L727
and 40,000 in 1780. To these causes is due the scarcity of tine monuments,
notwithstanding the antiquity of Tabriz, the wealth of its merchants, the power
and influence of its former riders, the great beauty of the marbles, porphyries,
lavas, and other materials available for building purposes. The citadel, a massive
quadrangle <so feet high, is the most imposing structure, since the almost total
destruction in 17*0 of the famous " Blue Mosque," a marvel of Pastern architecture
and decorative art, of which nothing now remains except a few broken shafts and
the fragments id' a gateway.

The commercial importance of Tabriz, combined with its vicinity to the Russian
frontier, has caused it to be chosen as the residence of the heir to the throne.
Lying al the north-west corner of the empire, near the Russian and Turkish frontiers,
it has naturally become a great international entrepot, where Armenian and even
European traders have settled in considerable numbers. The foreign exchanges
were estimated by Frazer at about fl, 000,000 in ls:;-_>, and the vast bazaar is always
well stocked with English, Russian, and other European wares. Although very
cold in winter, the surrounding district yields all the produce id' the temperate zone,
including almonds, apricots, and other fruits of prime quality. The baths of Laid,
near the flourishing village of Sirdar ltd, are much frequented by the inhabitants,

UliMIAH — MARAGHA.

131

who also resort in summer to the shady villages and mineral waters of the Sehend
slopes.

Ahar, lying in the Araxis valley to the north-east of Tabriz, is noted chiefly
for its rich iron mines, while equally productive copper mines are found in the
neighbourhood of ArdMl, which is situated in the same basin close to the Russian
frontier. North of this place, on the route to Caucasia, lies the ancient city of
Maraud, where the tomb of Noah's wife is shown by Christians and Mohammedans
alike. West of it lies the fortified town of Khoi, close to the Turkish frontier,
noted especially for its mulberries. On the main route running from Khoi north-
westwards to Erzerum and Trebizond, the only noteworthy place within the Persian

Fig. 46.— Takht-i-Svlaiman.
Scale 1 : 18,000.

J* "^

~ZW

r1 ■ B li -

t , of Greenwich 47! 14 '30"

*• .

"'I

'■'-'

A7\ 15'

1,100 Yards.

frontier is Jfakit, which stands at the foot of a hill pierced by a yawning cavern
over 600 feet broad.

Another grotto, traditionally said to have been occupied by Zoroaster, is found
near the city of TJrmiah (TJrmij), which lies in a highly-cultivated and thickly-
peopled plain sloping down to the great lake of like name. From the station of
Seir, founded by the American missionaries in L831, a delightful view is commanded
of this wooded plain with its "three hundred villages," inhabited chiefly by
Nestorian Chaldeans, amongst whom Protestantism lias made considerable progress
in recent years. All these frontier towns carry on a large contraband trade across
the borders with the adjacent Russian and Turkish provinces.

Maragha, which is pleasantly situated on the southern slopes of Sehend, was
famous in mediaeval times for its scientific establishments. Here lived during the
second half of the thirteenth century the famous astronomer Nassir-Eddin, for
whom the Mongol khan Ilulagu built an observatory, which soon attracted students

132

SOUTU-WESTKHX ASIA.

from all quarters. South-west of this point formerly stooda flourishing city, whose
ruins still encircle the lakelel of Takht-i-Sulaiman. Here are the remains of a
great fire-temple, which, with the neighbouring buildings, have been identified by
Rawlinson with the ruins of the Median capital Ecbatana. A modern legend has
convert i'd this place into the "Throne of Solomon," and in the north-east another
hill is known as the Tn/;/i/-i-BaBchia, where the Queen of Saba is supposed to have

Pig. 4". — IIaMADAN AM) MlUNT El.VKM).

Scale 1 : 513,000.

O(\en6ove

L . of breerivvicn

48'30

- 12 Miles.

reigned. Tn this district are some cuneiform inscriptions, and an "inscribed
stone" invoked by the Kurds as a sort of living magician.

Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana or Agbatana, and the Hagmatana of the
cuneiform inscriptions, appears at the very dawn of history as already a great city.

A> the capital of an empire it was favourably situated at a time when the centre of
gravity of [rania was moving westwards. Lying about midway between the
Caspian and Persian Gulf, on the very border of the Median and Persian frontiers,
it commanded the water-parting of the two basins, and all the passes leading over
the border range into Mesopotamia and Babylonia. But of the ancient Ecbatana
nothing now remains except heaps of ruins, amid which archaeologists seek in vain

HAMADAN.

133

for the site of the famous citadel where the Median sovereigns deposited their
treasures, and where Alexander accumulated such prodigious quantities of plunder.
Nevertheless the past greatness of Ecbataua is still recalled by the Takht-Ardeshir,
or "Throne of Artaxerxes," a terraced eminence near the hill which was formerly
crowned by the central fortifications. Not far from the city are seen the remains
of a lion carved out of a resonant block, and by the inhabitants regarded as a super-
natural guardian of the city against cold and famine. A comparatively modern
cupola is also held in great honour by the local Jews, who believe it to be the shrine
of Esther and Mordecai. The Jewish community at Hamadan is the largest in
Persia, comprising as many as one thousand families, but living in great misery.

Fig. 48. — The Resonant Lion of Hamadan.

" Beaten, despised, and oppressed, cursed even by slaves and children, they yet
manage to exist, earning their living as musicians, dancers, singers, jewellers, silver
and gold smiths, midwives, makers and sellers of wines and spirits. "When
anything very filthy is to be done a Jew is sent for."* The celebrated Bokhariot
physician Avicenna (Ibn Sina) lies buried in Hamadan. An abundance of good
water is obtained from the springs and wells sunk to depths of over 300 feet at the
foot of Elvend. But the proximity of this snowy peak, combined with the great
altitude of the place (5,000 feet above sea level), and its northern aspect, render its
climate excessively cold in winter. In summer, however, it is one of the most
• Dr. C. J. Wills, "The Land of the Lion and Sun," page 74.

134 SOUTH-WESTKRN ASIA.

agreeable residences in Persia, and the neighbouring vineyards yield an excellent
red wine like Bordeaux, and ;i white compared by Bellew with Moselle. Except
leather-dressing, harness-making, carpet-weaving and dyeing, there are im local
industries, bul a considerable trade is carried on with Mesopotamia, and the bazaars
are well supplied with wares of all kinds. Bamadan may be regarded as the
capital nt' the western Turkomans, whose camping-grounds are dotted over the
surrounding plains and valleys.

Bast "I these pasture-lands, and on the very skirt of the desert, stands the holy
city of h'niii (/vow), whose gilded dome surmounts the shrine of Fatima, sister of
the imam Reza. Hither the Persian women Hock in thousands to obtain fecundity,
domestic happiness, and beauty. Round about the central shrine are scattered
" four hundred and forty-four " tombs of lesser saints, beyond which stretches a
vast necropolis, occupied by the faithful who have had the happiness to die or be
transported alter death to the holy city. Next to Meshed, Kttin ranks as the most
venerated place of pilgrimage in Persia, although its reputation seems to have
somewhat waned since the time of Churdin. Its trade and industries have also
fallen off, and it is now little more than a vast ruin, resembling a city of the dead
rather than the abode of the li\iii!_r.

Kashan, on the contrary, which occupies a central position in Irak-Ajemi, on
the great highway between Teheran and Ispahan, is a very flourishing place,
supplied with good water from the neighbouring hills, and surrounded by productive
gardens, orchards, and cultivated tracts. But Kashan is chieriv famous as an

industrial centre, litre has 1 n preserved the art of decorating mural surfaces

with painted mosaics, and here are produced the finest velvets and brocades in
Persia, besides porcelain, jewellery, cloth of gold and .silver, and other costly wares.
From its position Kashan promises to become the centre of the future railway
system of Persia. It already possesses the finest highways, next to those of Teheran,
.■mil -nine ol the sumptuous caravanserais along these routes are maintained with
the same care as in the days of their founder, Shah Abbas. From the same period
dates the I!and-i-Kuh-rud, or " Dyke of the Mountain Torrent," one of the grandest
works of general utility in Persia.

The caravan road running from Ilamadan directly to Ispahan along the eastern
foot of the bolder ranges is much less frequented than the main route from
Teheran through Kashan to Ispahan. Till recently it was infested by the Bakli-
tyari marauders, who were kept in awe by the stronghold of Suttanabad, itself a
mere collection of wretched hovels, but the centre of one of the great carpet-
weaving districts of Persia. The neighbouring hills yield an abundant supply
of manna (geizingebin), a sweet substance secreted by a worm which lives on the
foliage of a species of tamarind. ( hi the route running from Sultanabad south-east-
wards to Ispahan follow the towns of Khun/tin, surrounded by vast ruins ; Qulpaigan,
still supplied with water by a kanot excavated under Earun-ar-Rashid ; Khonsar,
straggling for a space of 'i miles along both sides of the road ; Tihran and Nejefabad,
with their cotton and tobacco plantations, beyond which a magnificent avenue of
plane-trees leads to the historic city of Ispahan.

ISPAHAN.

13S

But Ispahan (Isfahan, Isfahan.) is no longer "Half of the World," as it was
formerly styled, in allusion to its superb edifices, teeming industries, and lovely
surroundings. Most of the space within the enclosures, some 22 miles in circum-
ference, is uninhabited, and the fox and jackal have their dens amid the ruins of
its finest palaces, mosques, and bazaars. Yet Ispahan recovered from the blow
inflicted on it by Tamerlane, who raised a pyramid of 70,000 heads of its slaughtered
citizens, and in the seventeenth century it again became one of the great cities of
the world during the reign of Shah Abbas. At that time it contained over 32,000
houses, with a population variously estimated from 600,000 to 1,100,000, including
the suburbs. In this entrepot of the Central Asiatic trade the great houses of
England and Holland had their agents, and the Armenians possessed rich factories
in the suburb of Julia, so named from the ruined city on the banks of the Arras.

Fig. 49. — Ispahan and Environs.
Scale 1 : 1,100,000.

L . of tareenwicn

30 Miles.

The local industries were unrivalled throughout Irania, and the taste and skill of
the native artists are still attested by the buildings dating from that period. But
Ispahan was completely ruined by the subsequent disasters attending its siege and
capture by the Afghans, the protracted civil wars of the eighteenth century, and
the displacement of the capital on the accession of the Kajar dynasty. Yet
although the slow work of revival lias been frequently interrupted by famine, its
bazaars are again beginning to show signs of renewed trade, while its numerous
looms continue to produce cottons, silks, and carpets in large quantities. Nor has
its wealthy corporation of painters greatly degenerated since the time when
thousands of artists were employed in decorating the palaces of Shah Abbas, lint
it must be confessed that the modern art of Ispahan is less pure, less elegant and
noble than that of the Seljuk and Mongol epochs from the eleventh to the thirteenth

18G

SOU*] ii-\vi-:sti:i:\ asia.

century. Mosf of the pleaBure-grounda have been changed to plantations or

kitchen-gardens, and the run-

uin^r waters, formerly distri-
buted in Fountains and other
ornamental works, arc now
confined to irrigating canals
in the midst of vegetable and
tobacco Holds. Hut the superb
avenue, nearly '■'• miles long,
leading to the Xeiideh-rud, or

"River of Life," and crossing

il with a noble bridge of thirty-
four arches surmounted by an
open gallery, still survives as .
the chief glory of Ispahan.
This bridge connects the city
with tlie suburb of Julfa,
which is still inhabited by the
descendants of the Armenians
whe migrated hither early in
the seventeenth century. In
this metropolis el' t he orthodox

Armenians of Persia, India, and

the extreme Last, they number
not more than six hundred
families ; but in the Feridun
valley, to the north-west, seve-
ral villages arc exclusively
occupied by Armenians. Some
of these communities, origin-
ally from Georgia, have em-
braced the Mohammedan reli-
gion, but continue to speak the
Georgian language. Ispahan
is also the chief centre of the
Jewish nationality in Persia.
Here the Jews are more nume-
rous than in any other city
except Ilamadan, and in the
bazaar hundreds of stalls be-
long to them.

The district of Ispahan is
one of the best watered and mest productive on the Iranian plateau. Standing at
an elevation of 1,7-Od feet.it enjoys a temperate climate suitable for the cultivation

SHIRAZ. 137

of sub-tropical plants, and here are successfully grown tobacco, opium, cotton,
wine, vegetables of all sorts, and especially melons, said to be the best in Persia.
Amid the cultivated grounds are scattered numerous ruins, hamlets, shrines, and
picturesque pigeon-towers circular in form, from 20 to 27 feet high and sometimes
GO feet in diameter. Dr. Wills tells us that he has counted cells for seven thousand
one hundred pairs in a single tower, but that most of those near Ispahan are now
in ruins. Amongst the mosques of the neighbourhood the most remarkable is
that of Kuladiui, noted for its two " shaking minarets," whose vibrators- motion
is attributed by the natives to the virtue of a saint buried under the intervening
dome. But it is really caused by the wooden frame to which are attached the
lightly-constructed towers, which are thus made to turn easily on an inner axis.
A similar phenomenon is observed in a mosque at Bostam.*

Although smaller than Ispahan, Shiraz is the capital of Farsistan, that is, of
Persia in a pre-eminent sense, and its inhabitants are almost exclusively of Iranian
stock. Shiraz is, moreover, the heir to the imperial capitals which succeeded each
other in this region, and one of which was the world-famed Persepolis. Renowned
for their wit, intelligence, and purity of speech, the Shirazi regard themselves
as the representatives of the national culture, and impatiently submit to the
sway of the Turkoman Kajar dynasty. Bab Ali-Mohammed, whose vaticinations
endangered that dynasty, was a native of Shiraz, and in this place were gathered
his first followers. In order to curb the unruly spirit of the people of Pars, the
Persian Government garrisons their towns with Turki troops, national animosity
thus helping to keep them in subjection.

If less shady, the vegetation of Shiraz presents a more southern aspect than
that of Ispahan. Descending to the plain by the Persepolis route, or from the
IK nth-east, the traveller is suddenly arrested by the sight of the city with its
avenues of cypresses, pleasant gardens, and glittering domes, enclosed by a back-
ground of snowy mountains. Although still at an altitude of 4,000 feet, Shiraz,
compared with those of the plateau, is already a southern city, and for the Iranians
here begins the region of "hot lands." The transition from one zone to the other
is indicated by the palm-trees dotted over the plain. "While Ispahan lies on the
eastern slope of the border ranges, Shiraz is situated in the Ca?lo-Persis, or
" Hollow Persia," of the ancients, that is, in one of the intermediate depressions
between two parallel chains of the system, and its waters flow to a small basin with
no seaward outlet. Towards the Persian Gulf it is completely defended by the
regularly-disposed crests of the Tengsir, which might be easily held by a few
regiments of resolute troops. But however favoured in many respects, Shiraz
has many disadvantages, amongst which the most serious are a malarious climate
in summer and frequent earthquakes of a violent character. In that of 1855 half
the houses were overthrown, and ten thousand persons buried beneath their ruins.

Shiraz is at present little more than a large village, with a circuit of less than
4 miles, and no conspicuous buildings except its mosques. Its industries are
restricted to jewellery, chiefly carried on by the Jews, exquisite marqueterie work

* J. Dieulafoy, " Tour du Monde," 1883.

188

SOUTH-WESTEltN' ASIA.

in wood and ivory, rosewater of prime quality, and some trade. The local wine is
bad, and even the nectar bo lauded by the native poets, which comee from a dis-
trict 30 miles oft, is a heady perfumed drink at tirst disagreeable to the European
palate. A small export trade is supported by the tobacco and other produce of
the district ; bul as a station tor goods in transit Shiraz occupies an exceptional
position at the converging-point of the routes from the Persian Gulf. Unfortu-

Fig. 51.— Shiraz and Peksei'OUS.
Scale 1 : T.-m.iKH).

52-30

IS Mile*.

nately all these routes are difficult and in bad repair, so thai traders show a
preference for other roads, such as those of Kermanshah and Tabriz.

I If the three most famous Persian poets, Hafiz, Sadi, and Pirdusi, the first two
were natives of Shiraz, through which no Persian passes without visiting their
tombs. On the marble slab which for five hundred years has covered the remains
of Hafiz are inscribed two of his odes in gold letters. Near it was buried Rich, the
famous explorer of Kurdistan. The monument of Sadi, author of the " Gulistan,"
lies farther off, near the village of Sadiyeh, so named from this delightful poet,

PERSEPOLIS. 139

than whom " no nightingale ever warbled sweeter notes in the garden of know-
ledge." Near the tomb is a yawning chasm of artificial origin over 670 feet deep.

The learned are unanimous in fixing the site of the ancient Persepolis and
Istahhr, which lies on the Ispahan route some .'50 miles north-east of Shiraz. Here
begins a chain of grey marble hills, which is continued south-eastwards along the
now marshy Merv-Dasht plain, through which the Band-Emir winds its way to
Lake Neris. A dam surmounted by a bridge of thirteen arches retains the waters
of this river, deflecting them to the innumerable channels of the plain, above
which rise the three isolated rocks of Istakhr. Here stood the famous city of
Persepolis, where is still to be seen the finest ruin in Persia, a group of walls and
columns locally known as the " Throne of Jemshid." From the cuneiform
inscriptions engraved on the walls it appears that of the six palaces the largest
was that of Xerxes, " king of kings, son of King Darius, the Aehemenide." But
to judge from the unfinished state of the carvings and inscriptions, the builder
woidd seem to have left his work incomplete. According to tradition it was
destroyed by fire, no traces of which, however, can be detected on the marble
surface, smoother and clearer, said Herbert in the seventeenth century, than any
steel mirror. The faces of the winged bulls and all representations of the human
figure have been effaced by Mohammedan iconoclasts, and although walls have
also been overthrown and columns broken by the hand of time, the building still
presents an imposing appearance. The square terrace on which it stands is still
approached by a double flight of black marble steps, but of the seventy-two
original shafts twelve only now survive with their capitals. Some of the sculp-
tures and many details suggest Egyptian influences; but the graceful elegance of
the whole attests the close relationship which at that time existed between
Persian and Greek art. The architects of the palace of Xerxes had certainly seen
the Hellenic temples of Ionia and the monuments of Lydia. At the foot of the
neighbouring Naksh-i-Puistem hill are several bas-reliefs representing various
events of the Sassanides dynasty. Of these the most remarkable is that of King
Sapor generously extending his hand to the vanquished Emperor Valerian.

According to most archa'ologists the tomb of Cyrus lies near the village of
Meshed-i-Murghab, some 3G miles north-east of Persepolis. On this spot a large
city certainly stood in the time of that monarch, whose image is carved on a pillar
with the legend, "I Cyrus, king, the Achemenidc ! " A tomb, said by the natives
to be that of Solomon's mother, and now bearing an Arabic inscription, is supposed
by most travellers to be the monument of Cyrus, although it is still doubtful
whether the plain of Meshed-i-Murghab be the ancient Pasargades, with which
most archaeologists have till recently identified it ; for the inscription places this
holy city much farther east in the province of Kirman, and not in an open plain
but on the top of a hill.

Jjarab (Darabjerd), lying 120 miles south-east of Shiraz, near the source of a
stream flowing intermittently to the Persian Gulf, has also been identified with
Pasargades, although no remains associated with the name of Cyrus have been
found there. Nevertheless it is a very old place, and Firdusi makes it the scene

1 in

SulTII-WKSTKUN ASIA.

. >i many events in hifl mythical epic poem. Its name b said to mean " Enclosure
of Dareb or Darius," and a neighbouring rock is embellished with a bas-relief of
Valerian al the feel of Sapor, a subjecl which is met in so many other parts of
Persia. Another ancient monument in the vicinity of Darab is an underground
rock-temple with smooth walls unadorned by any carvings or statues. North of
Darab lies the town of Niris, which gives its name to the largest lake in Far-
Bistan, and which was recently one of the chief centres of the liabist sect.

In Northern Farsistan, that is, on the plateau hcyond the hilly district, the
only Large towns are Ababdeh, midway between Shiraz and Ispahan, and Kumkhvh,
60 miles nearer to the latter place. Ababdeh is noted for wood-carvings, boxes,
desks, chessmen, and the like, which compete even in North Persia with similar

Fig, 62. — Valerian at the Feet of Sapor— ISas-uki.ief of the Hoval Tombs at Nakmi-i-Uustem,

NEAK PeR.SEPOI.18.

objects imported from Europe. North-west of Ababdeh an isolated crag 19
crowned with the almost inaccessible stronghold of Yezdikhast, which can be
approached only by an old drawbridge. In the hilly region skirting the desert
between Kashan and Yezd the most important places are Xnin, a chief centre of
the pottery industry, Kupa, one of the most flourishing towns on the plateau,
Agda, Ardakan, and Maibut.

l'<z</, which communicates with the rest of Persia only by caravan routes
across the rocky or sandy plateaux, is a city of the desert, whose oasis, planted
chiefly with mulberries, is everywhere surrounded by the wilderness. At some
points the moving sands reach the very gates of the city, threatening to swallow
up whole quarters, just as they have already destroyed the first city of Yezd,

YEZD— KIRMAN. 141

called also Ask izar, whose ruins are still visible on the route to Kashan, 10 miles to
the north-west. But notwithstanding its isolated position on the plateau near the
geometrical centre of Persia, Yezd is still a flourishing place, with numerous silk-
weaving, spinning, dyeing, and other industries. The cocoons supplied by the
surrounding oasis are insufficient for the local factories, and raw silk has to be
imported from Ghilan, Khorassan, and even Herat. A large export trade is
carried on beyond the frontiers with Mecca and other Arab cities, through Ma scat,
and even indirectly with China, to which a yearly increasing quantity of opium is
forwarded. This trade is almost entirely in the hands of a Guebre community, one
of whose wealthy merchants owns as many as one thousand camels. The local
population consists largely of Seyids, who claim descent from the prophet, and
Yezd has been called the " City of Worship," a title which the inhabitants
endeavour to justify by their extreme intolerance towards their Parai brethren.

Along the south-eastern caravan route no towns or even villages occur till we
reach Bahramabad, which is distant 120 miles from Yezd, and which owes its
prosperity to its position in a fertile district at the junction of several highways.
Opium and cotton are cultivated in the neighbom-hood, and farther north some rich
lead mines are worked near Baghabad on the northern slope of the Nugat hills.

Kirman, or Kerman, capital of one of the great provinces of Persia, has
preserved the name of the Carmanes or Germanes mentioned by the old writers ;
but, like Yezd, it has shifted its position. The remains of a vast city stretch away
to the south ; other ruins are visible towards the west, while on the north side the
suburb occupied by the Guebres was almost entirely destroyed at the end of the last
century. The present Kirman fills an irregular square enclosure about 1,200 yards
on all sides at the western foot of an eminence crowned by a ruined citadel.
Standing at an elevation of over 6,500 feet, its climate is thoroughly continental — very
cold in winter, oppressively hot in summer. The 12,000 Guebre families formerly
settled in the district have been reduced by persecution and compulsory conversions
to a small community of scarcely 1,500 souls. Kirman has also lost the reputation
which it enjoyed in the time of Marco Polo for the manufacture of arms ; but it
still continues to produce fine embroidery work and carpets, besides shawls, inferior
in softness to those of Kashmir, but fully equal to them in delicacy of texture and
design. In their preparation use is made of kark, or the down of goats, and this
kark is exported to Amritsar, where it is mixed with the pashm of Tibet in
manufacturing the fabrics for which that place is famous.

Kirman is the last station in the south-east to which the European postal
system extends. Beyond this point the venturesome traveller, passing from oasis
to oasis, is excluded from all communication with the civilised world until he
reaches the Baluchistan coast. The population itself consists almost exclusively of
Baluch nomads, whose "towns" are merely places of refuge against marauders.
Yet there is no lack of fertile tracts in the valleys, which Marco Polo found covered
with towns, villages, and pleasure-houses. Some of the slopes even still present
the spectacle, now rare in Persia, of extensive woodlands, and towards the south-
east occur some really picturesque spots, such as the district surrounding the fine

142 SOl'Tll-WKSTKUN ASIA.

mosque of Milium (Mahun), and thai of Rat/in (Rayum\& large village lying in
the midst of vineyards and walnut-groves.

The largest place in east Eirman is Bam, which, like - any other Persian

towns, lias shifted its site in recent times. It lies within the Germsir or "hot
zone," the oranges, citrons, and palms of the surrounding oasis imparting to it a

southern aspect. But thedesert a l resumes its sway, and from the station of JRigan

to Bampur, for a distance <>t' ahoul P20 miles, many ruins but no inhabited houses
arc met. Bampur itself, although the capital of Persian Baluchistan, is a mere
group of about a hundred thatched huts crowded together a1 the foot of an artificial
eminence crowned by a crumbling citadel. Eere are neither baths, school, nor
mosque, scarcely even any cultivated lands, although the surrounding plain is very
fertile and well watered by the river Bampur.

Bampur is still distant ISO miles from the station of Menhkiil, through which
runs the official frontier between Persia and the territory of the Khan of Kalat.
But in the whole of this extensive region there are no towns, or even hamlets,
beyond a few camping-grounds and forts, and even of these many are in ruins.
Jalk, the " Desolate," which figures on the maps as the capital of a vast district, is
merely a group of fortleta surrounded by cultivated ground and date-groves. On
the western portion of the Mekran coast, politically included in Persia, the open
ports of Khobar (Chaobar) and Jask have acquired sonic importance as stations of
the telegraph system connecting London with Calcutta through Caucasia and
Persia.

Topograph? of South-west [rania.

At the headland of Ras-el-Euh, 30 miles west of Jask, the coast-line trends
northwards parallel with the Arabian peninsula of Cape Masandam, with which it
forms the straits id' Ormuz, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Sea of Oman.
Eere is situated the once famous port of Qambrun, or Kotnron, since the time of
Shah Abbas known as Bandar- Abbas, where was formerly concentrated the whole
foreign trade of Persia. Put its relative importance has been much diminished,
partly by the difficulty of the routes leading over the intervening highlands to
Shiraz, partly by the excessive heat and unhealthy climate of the seaboard, but
especially by the displacement of the capital northwards. Shiraz now communi-
cates with the rest of the world through Bushir; Ispahan and Eamadan transact
their business chiefly overland with Bagdad, and the whole of northern Persia
effects its exchanges with Europe through Tabriz or Enzeli. Thus the trade of
Bandar-Abhas is now restricted mainly to Yezd and Kirman. Its so-called port is
merely an open roadstead partly sheltered by the islands of Cishm, Larek, and
Ormuz, and affording anchorage in 7 fathoms of water within a mile and a half of
the coast. It is regularly visited by steamers, which take in cargoes of opium,
dates, fish, the silks of Fezd, and carpets from Kirman. During the sultry summer
heats, all who are not compelled to remain in the town retire to the neighbouring
village of Suru, or to the large oasi- of Mimib, some 50 miles farther east, noted

OEMUZ.

143

for its excellent dates, mangoes, pomegranates, almonds, oranges, and other fruits.
Minab and the surrounding district of Maghistan do a considerable export trade in
dates, cotton, and henneh through Bandar- Abbas, whose exchanges amounted in
1877 to a total value of £ 314,000.

In the time of Marco Polo the city of Hortnos, or Ormuz, then situated on the
mainland, was the centre of a vast trade with every part of the East, receiving,
especially from India, rich cargoes of spices, precious stones, pearls, ivory, silks, and
cloth of gold. The site of the old city, still partly covered with ruins, has been

Fig. 53. — Ormuz and Bandar-Abbas.

Scale 1 : 500.000.

Sands exposed at
low- water.

0to32
Feet.

32 to 64
Feet.

64 to 160
Feet.

160 Feet and
upwards.

12 Miles.

discovered on the banks of the Minab some 6 miles south-west of the fort now
standing in the centre of the oasis. After its destruction by the Mongols, Ormuz
was rebuilt on a little island of almost circular form within 4 miles of the coast.
It was captured by Albuquerque at the beginning of the sixteenth century, and
soon became a great mart for the trade of the Portuguese with the East. The city
stood on the side of the island facing the mainland, where is still found a little
village with a Portuguese fortress in a good state of repair. Palaces and churches
were scattered over the island, whose highest summit (650 feet) was crowned by

1 11 sn IT 1 1 AY KSTKKN ASIA.

the chapel of Nostra Senhora de la Penha. Now the place ezporte Dothing hut
.Mime Balt-fiah, ochre, and suit, collected after the rains from the salt-hills of the

interior.

The large island of Kishm, or Tawilah, which stretches west of ()nnuz parallel
with the Persian coast, seems to have at one time Formed part of the mainland,
from which it is separated only by a navigable channel from 2 to 6 miles wide, 60

long, and nowhere less than 20 feet deep. There is good anchorage at Left, in the
middle of the channel ; but notwithstanding its excellent position between two seas,
and (dose to Arabia and Persia, this rocky and arid island exports nothing except
some fruits, salt, and sulphur. At its western extremity the English founded the
military station of Btaiduh [BaSSddoreX to command the entrance of the Persian
Gulf; but the place had to be abandoned owing to the want of water and the
intolerable summer heats. During this season mosl of the natives themselves seek
a refuge amid the groves of Minah, and the sulphur and salt mines are worked by
the Arabs only for five months in the year.

Efenjam, which is separated by a channel 1 J mile wide from the southern point
of Kishnu, had also been designated as a future station of the British navy ; hut
the project had to he given up for the same reasons that led to the abandonment of
Kishm. Vet this island was at one time densely peopled. Thousands of stone
houses, besides numerous cisterns faced with an indestructible cement, are scattered
over the depressions, while the remains of cultivated terrace-lands are still visible
on the slopes. At the northern extremity stand the ruins of a large city with two
mosques. But at present the population is reduced to two hundred Arab families,
originally from Sharjah on the llman coast, now occupied chiefly with the pearl
fishery off the south side. In the interior the rocks consist largely of salt, streaked
in yellow, red, and green by the presence of foreign element--.

Linjah. the first station for steamers entering the Persian Gulf, is a straggling
\ illuge 2 or 3 miles long, commanded on the north by a hill 4,000 feet high. The
anchorage is better than at Bandar- Abbas, and the port owns about one hundred
ami fifty craft, some of which are engaged in the pearl fishery. West of Linjah
the village of Charak marks the site of Sir/if', a large and flourishing place in the
ninth century. Put it lost all its trade after its capture by the Arab chief of Kais,
a small island 20 miles to the south-west, which gradually became the centre of the
trade and shipping of the Persian Gulf. The ruins of a large Arab city are still
visible on the north side of Kais, where the English founded a now abandoned
military station in the present century. Beyond Charak the small harbours of
Bandar-Nakhl, Bandar-Biaaitin, and Bandar-Kongun, are visited only by Arab
fishing-smacks.

The south-western seaboard of Persia is known only through the reports of
travellers who have traversed one or other of the routes between Shiraz and
Bandar-Abbas. The northern route, crossing at considerable elevations the crests
of the transverse ridges, passes through Darab, Forg, and Turin/, while the southern
runs through Jarun (Yarun) to Lar, ancient capital of Parisian. This State
stretched formerly along the whole of the coast region, from the Bahrein Islands in

BUSHIR— SHAFUB. 145

the Persian Gulf to the islet of Diu on the west coast of India. In the sixteenth
century the silver coins of Lar, shaped like a date-stone, were the chief currency
throughout Persia. But after seizing the maritime routes, Shah Abbas overthrew
the kingdom of Laristan, whose capital has even ceased to be a provincial chief
town. Nevertheless it still maintains a considerable local trade, and claims to
produce the finest camels aid dates in Persia. It contains no monuments of its
past greatness ; but Firuzabad, a group of villages lying midway between Shiraz
and the coast, abounds in rock carvings representing battle scenes, and a neigh-
bouring headland is crowned by a ruined temple dating from pre-Mohammedan
times.

Bushir, or Bandar- Bushir, the present terminus on the Persian Gulf of the most
frequented highway on the Iranian plateau, dates only from the time of Nadir Shah,
who founded a naval station on this site, the nearest on the coast to Shiraz. liushir,
that is, Abu-Shahr, or " Father of Cities," had been preceded by Rishehr, another
commercial centre, whose position is still marked by a ruined Portuguese fort.
But nearly the whole of the maritime trade of Persia is now concentrated at Bushir,
which nevertheless offers none of the conditions indispensable to a good harbour.
It lies at the northern extremity of a long island, now connected with the main-
land, north of which stretches a semicircular bay obstructed by islets and sand-
banks, and scarcely 4 feet deep at low water. Large vessels anchor 5 or 6 miles
off the port, while smaller craft are able to round the headland and penetrate east
of the city to a basin over 20 feet deep in some places. The exports consist of
wine, tobacco, and especially opium for the Chinese market, taken in exchange for
sugar from Batavia and European wares of all sorts. The total value of the
exchanges was estimated in 1880 at about £720,000, yielding a revenue of £"24,000.

On the route connecting Bushir and Barasjan with Shiraz the chief station is
Kaserun, which stands at an altitude of 2,!'.">0 feet, in one of the intervening
valleys between the parallel Tengsir ranges. Here begins Irania proper, both as
regards climate and population, the lower coast region of Dashtistan being con-
sidered by the Persians as already forming part of Arabia. Kazerun, formerly
a flourishing place, is now a mere village surrounded by ruins, and noted only for
its tobacco and horses. Some 18 miles farther north lie the extensive ruins of
Shapur or Sapor, former residence of the Sassanides. The surrounding district is
described by Ouseley as one of the " paradises of Asia," and nowhere else in
Persia are there found so many rock carvings. On the eminence crowned by the
acropolis, and on the face of the rocks encircling the valley, the great deeds of
Sapor, his hunting-parties, victories, and solemn audiences, are described in a
whole series of rich bas-reliefs, which acquire additional interest from the types
and costumes of Romans, Arabs, Persians, and Hindus, all faithfully reproduced
in these monumental records.

Other ancient remains, sculptured rocks, fire-altars, citadels, are scattered
over the Tengsir district in the south-east towards Firuzabad, and in the north-
east towards Ram Jlormuz and Babaltan (Hebe/iait). In some localities the strong-
holds suggest a social state analogous to the mediaeval feudalism of the "West.
108

l 16

SOUTH-WESTERN ISIA.

Every rocky eminence is ^ i ill crowned with the ruins of these crumbling castles,
which axe mostly associated in the local legends with the memory of the goddess
Anahid.

In the northern region watered by the head-streams of the Little Zal> and
Diyalah, and included in the relatively unimportanl province of Axdilan, the only

noteworthy places arc the picturesque town of llnmi. perched "ii a wooded height

between two cultivated glens, and the modern city of Snum [SihnahX residence

id' a governor of the Iranian Surds, and surrounded by numerous Ne.storiail

Fig. J4.— Bi'sinu.
Scale 1 : 400.000.

Quicksands. 0 to 16 Feet. 16 to 32 !■'< 1 1 32 to 80 Feet

90 St el and
upwards.

. 0 Miles.

(Chaldean) communities and nomad Ali-Allalii tribes. Here the Mohammedan
population of the slopes draining to the Mesopotamian basin is exclusively Sunnite,
the border chain forming a distinct parting-line between the two religious sects of
Persia and Turkey.

Kongaver (Ghenjater\ one of the first stations on the historic route from
Ecbatana through the valley of the Eerkha ( h'erkhara or Kara-Su) down to
Babylonia, lies in a Fertile and well-watered plain at the foot of an eminence
bearing a marked resemblance to the Acropolis of Athens. Here also stood

N EI I A VEND— BEHISTUN.

147

a fortified citadel, which was originally a temple dedicated to Anahid, the Persian
Artemis, but now a crumbling mass of picturesque ruins. In the middle of
the plain stands an isolated mound, possibly of artificial origin, which is also
covered with ancient remains, supposed to be those of a temple of the sun. Below
Kongaver, the waters flowing from Mount Elvend effect a junction with the
Gamas-ab, in whose upper valley lies Nehavend, the "City of Noah," famous
in the annals of Islam for the " victory of victories " here gained by the Caliph
Omar over Yezdijerd, last of the Sassanides. Below the confluence the main
stream enters a gloomv defile, at the northern extremity of which stands the hill
and village of Bittufun, which have become famous in the history of Eastern
archaeology. No monument has been more useful than the rock, inscriptions

Fig. 55.— Kermanshah.
Scale 1 : 800,000.

or breenwien

4?'30'

48"

12 Miles.

discovered at this spot, which have contributed so much to the decipherment of the
Persian and Assyrian cuneiform writings. Thanks to the labours of Grotefend,
Rawlinson, and Burnouf, a revolution in the study of ancient history has been
effected at Bisutun, analogous to that which followed the discovery of Sanskrit and
Zend in the last century.

The rock of Bisutun, or Behistun, the ancient Baghiaian, rises to a vertical
height of 1,500 feet above the surrounding pastures. At its foot springs a copious
sparkling stream, above which the surface is covered with bas-reliefs almost
effaced, not so much by time as by the monarchs who caused their triumphs to be
successively carved over the previous sculptures. •Other figures still higher
up are accompanied by some inscriptions now almost illegible. But the famous
table, which has been studied with so much care, still exists almost intact. For a.

148 SOUTH-WESTEEN ASIA.

space of about L50 Eeel horizontally l>y 100 in height the surface has been
smoothed and polished, and here King Darius, son of Hystaepes, has caused
some thousand 1 i 1 1 « — to be inscribed, relating in Persian, Median, and Assyrian
his rictorj over Babylon and the vows made by him on his return. At the foot of
the rucks are visible the remains of a terrace bj which visitors were enabled
to approach the monument ; but no trace can now be seen of the sculptures
mentioned by Ctesias, and by him attributed to Semiramis.

The same escarpments which bear the Bisutun inscriptions are continued
westwards, and north-east of Kennanshah take the name of Tak-i-Bostan, or" Roof
of the Gardens," a name recalling the hanging gardens that have been attributed
to a legendary princess. Immediately above the plain two chambers have been
hewn out of the rock, and these dale from tbe Sassanido epoch, as is evident from
the style of the sculptures, and the Pehlvi inscriptions deciphered bj Silvester de
Sacy. The hunting-scenes on the walls are executed with a vigour and purity of
style unapproached by any similar works of ancient Persia. They are obviously
due to the Greek artists living at the Court of tbe Sassanides,

Kermamhah, which lies in a fertile plain a few miles from Tak-i-Bostan, was a
very small place at the end of the last century, lint since then it has Income one
of tbe first cities in Persia, as capital of the Kurdistan province, which has been
raised almost to a State within the State by Ali-Mirza, son of the Shah Fat'h-Ali.
At that time officers from every European nation, and amongst them the
illustrious Rawlinson, lather of modern Persian geography and history, resided
at Kennanshah, where they founded arsenals and factories of small-arms. Artisans
wen- also attracted from Persia, Turkey, and Armenia; hut since those flourisbing
times the lily has again diminished in population and prosperity. In the vicinity
is the camping-ground of tbe Suamani, which tribe supplies most of the dancing-
girls in 1'ersia.

Farther on, the great historical route between [rania and Mesopotamia leaves
the Kerkha on the south, and runs direct to Kirind, rally ing-point of several
Kurdish tribes. Beyond this place the road traverses a hilly district, gradually

ascending to the crest of the Zagros chain, tbe natural parting-line between
the Iranian plateau and the Mesopotamian plains. Throughout its lower course
from Kennanshah to the Euphrates the Kerkha (lows by no large town, and
in the whole basin the only place of any consequence is Khorramabad, which
occupies a romantic position on the torrent of like name. Above it rises an
isolated rocky eminence, which is encircled by a double rampart, and crowned by
a hue palace, gardens, and extensive reservoir.

W.st of this point runs a line of ruined cities parallel with the border range
between the plateau and Mesopotamian lowlands. Amongst these are Sirwan, on
a western affluent of the Kerkha, Rudbar,&\ the junction of the Kerka and Kirind,
and farther south Siimartih, or Shekr-i-Khllxrti, that is, "City of Chosroes," whose

is still marked by the remains of a vast palace known as the "Throne of
Chosroes." But of all the ruins of this region none are more famous than those of
Sttsa [Shus), win nee the whole country often takes the name of Susiana. This

SUSA.

149

renowned old capital was conveniently situated on the river Dizfal, a tributary of
the Karun, not far from its junction with the Kerkha. The intervening plain,
some 9 miles broad, is intersected by numerous irrigating rills derived from both
rivers, and by the Shapur or Shahwer, a navigable natural channel, which runs
from above Susa south-east to the Karun. The grassy mounds marking the site
of the ancient city occupy a space some 6 or 7 miles in circumference, and are

Fig. 56 — Shustek and ISand-i-Kik.
Scale 1 : 530,000.

:::

[ .ofGrecnmch 48*50

IS Miles.

commanded by a square platform over half a mile on all aides, on which formerly

stood the citadel. Xorth-west of this terrace is an artificial eminence 165 feet
high, marking the spot where the strongest ramparts of the acropolis had been
constructed. But beyond a few scattered capitals, broken shafts, and carved
blocks, nothing survives to attest the ancient splendour of Susa. The plan,
however, has been traced of the great palace begun by Darius, finished by

l.-.ll

SOUTH WESTERN ASIA.

Artaxerxes Rfnenon, and resembling the "Throne of Jemshid" al Peraepolis.
The black slal> bearing a bilingual inscription in hieroglyphics and cuneiform
characters, and by the natives regarded as a talisman or protector of tin- country,
has unfortunately beeo destroyed.

The river Dizful, chief affluenl of the Karun, rises in one of the longitudinal
upland valleys between the parallel border ranges, flows south-east towards
Burujird, and alter successively piercing all the rocky ridges of Laristan, enters
the plains at Dizful. Such is the rugged character id' this region that the solitary
track connecting Burujird with Dizful is not everywhere accessible to pack

animals. l)i/l'ul, which lies in the vicinity of Susa, may lie regarded as the heir
of that great city. The river is intermittently navigable to this point by small

Fig. 57. — The Dam of Aiiwa/..
Scale 1 : 21,000.

••'\'

E.of.Gr. -S8M5 'SO'

W 16'

1,100 Yards.

craft, which here take in Cargoes of wool, cotton, indigo, corn, bitumen, and
sulphur from the surrounding districts. The local industries are also flourishing,
and the neighbouring marshes yield the best reed pens in the Mast. At present
Dizful, the "Manchester" of Khu/istan, is the largest city in the Persian low-
lands. North-east of it stands the famous K<ilch-diz, or " Rock Castle," so named
from a natural crag ascended by means of ladders, ropes, and steps cut in the rock.
This natural stronghold is the residence of a Bakhtyari chief, who cultivates the
upper plateau, and owns some flocks of sheep directly descended from a wild stock.
Shutter, or the "Little Susa," on the Karun, was the tirst city of Arabistan
before the plague of 1 832. Since that fatal year, when it was almost depopulated,
it has again revived. It has the advantage of lying at the entrance of vast and

SHUSTEK-MOIIAMMERAH. 151

fertile plains on a river which, if not easily navigable, is at least accessible to
small vessels. It also marks the western terminus of the route which must sooner
or later run across the Bakktyari country in the direction of Ispahan. The
hydraulic works needed to make Shuster a riverain port are very slight compared
with those executed in the third century of the new era by King Sapor, possibly
under the direction of his imperial prisoner, Valerian. One of the old embank-
ments still bears the name of Band-i-Kaisar, or " The Emperor's Dyke." At a
sudden bend of the river above the city a cutting was made in the sandstone cliff
on the left bank, and the canal thus formed has gradually taken, under the name
of the Gerger, the aspect of a natural stream, with its windings, its alluvial
deposits, and oscillations of level. Its two branches, which are again united below
the cutting, enclose an island converted by the irrigating works into a vast
garden. Most of these extensive undertakings have remained in good condition
for fifteen hundred years, and attest a knowledge of hydraulics far beyond the
capacity of the modern Persian engineers.

At Band-i-kir the Karun is joined by the Gerger and Dizful (Ab-i-Diz), and
the united stream flows thence south to the Shat-el-Arab. Atucaz, near the reefs
and remains of a dyke which present the only obstacle to the navigation of the
Lower Karun, is now a mere village, lost amid the ruins and tombs of an ancient
city. But lower down it has been supplanted by the town of Mohammerah, which
stands on a tongue of land between the Karun and Euphrates. This riverain port
has the advantage of lying nearer to the Persian Gulf than Bassorah, and, more-
over, communicates with the sea through the Bamushir Channel, which lies
entirely within Persian territory, and which formed the chief arm of the Karun
before that river joined the Shat-el-Arab.

Social State. — Trade. — Industries. — Administration.

No people can be said to excel the Persians in natural intelligence and shrewd-
ness, in mental capacity and artistic skill ; jret their present influence over the
rest of Asia is scarcely perceptible. To ages long past must be referred the origin
of those intellectual movements which introduced Persian ideas into the religions
and philosophies of the West, and which enabled the language, literature, and
industries of Irania to play so great a part in India and throughout the whole
Mussulman world. But since then the pure Persian stock has been reduced in
numbers relatively to the other inhabitants of the Iranian plateau, India, and
Hither Asia, Even since the beginning of the present century, while the
population of Caucasia has increased considerably, that of Persia has been still
further diminished by civil wars, pestilence, famine, Baluch, Kurd, and Turkoman
invasions. Although there are fewer disorders than in West Europe, epidemics
are always of a deadly character, Persia in this respect resembling mediaeval
Europe. Leprosy still exists in the Khamseh district between Kasvill and Tabriz;
in Luristan nearly all the inhabitants except the negro slaves sutler from the
" Aleppo button " or the " Medina worm," and in Dardistan at least every third

152

SOUTH- WESTERN ASIA.

person is affected by ophthalmia. The country is frequently wasted by pestilence,
which seems generally to originate in the Azerbaijan highlands. It firs! attacks
the nomad Kurdish tribes, passing From them to the settled communities, and
spreading thence southwards, invariably towards the river mouths. But no
calamity is more dreaded than famine, which rages chiefly in the large towns and
in the insufficiently watered districts of the plateau.

Besides these evils, the almost total absence of international highways has
naturally tended to diminish the influence oi Persia over the surrounding popula-

Fig. 58. — Range ok the Pi. ague in Ki hdistan.
Scale 1 : 1,400,000.

;\x

- y~

i- Jflk£ V '^L,

1 « jj«. w"

:XA

- -

-^\

i. I»

^>-

• °" • "

*J&T^

' * /**■

SO Miles.

tions. The whole region comprised between Tabriz and Bampur, between Sinister
and Meshed, might he suddenly effaced without in the least affecting the general
movement of the peoples between East and Wesl Asia. The great migrations
which Formerly passed along this route from continent to continent have been
entirely arrested. The expeditions and conquests of Nadir Shah, followed by the
advance and final retreat of the Afghans, are the last events that recall the ancient
importance of Irania as a land of transition between the eastern and western

A< JBICULTUEE. 153

peoples. So far from occupying this position, it is at present itself hemmed in, so
to say, between two new routes, a northern opened up by the Russians across the
Kirghiz and Turkoman steppes, and the southern oceanic highway, now regularly
followed by the deep-sea and coasting steamers.

The agricultural element represents scarcely two-thirds of the whole population,
while the land actually under cultivation is certainly less than one-fifth of the
empire. This restricted space is moreover almost exclusively in the hands not of
the peasantry but of large proprietors. Vast tracts form part of the royal domain,
and are tilled by a class little removed from the condition of mere serfs. Other
lands of still greater extent, but mostly lying fallow, have lapsed, either through
confiscation or conquest, to the Crown, which usually cedes them temporarilv to
Court favourites or creditors. Amongst the great landowners must also be included
the mosques, schools, and religious foundations of all sorts, whose possessions
expand from year to year, not only through legacies, but also through secret
concert with public functionaries, who avoid the total sequestration of their estat* is
by bequeathing them to the Church in return for a fixed life annuity. The whole
country was threatening to become a vast wakuf, or " mortmain," when Xadir-
Shah deprived the mosques of a large portion of their immovable property. But
the evil has since then become as bad as ever, and the question now arises whether
a similar measure of spoliation may not soon be again called for for the public
good. The private estates of any size are usually rented to farmers, who receive
the water for irrigation, the seed, and stock in exchange for two-thirds or three-
fourths of the produce. But when the conditions become oppressive beyond
further endurance, the tenants will occasionally conclude the contract by firing
their huts, felling the timber they have planted, and removing elsewhere in search
of some less cruel taskmaster. According to Stack, no trace remains of the com-
munal system still surviving in India, although he speaks of village communities
which annually allot the neighbouring sabra or plain according to the number of
available ploughs, each plough — that is, each head of a family— receiving a share.

Agricultural property is subject to a fixed impost of one-fifth, which is vigor-
ously exacted under all circumstances. When the country is ravaged by locusts,
or the crops destroyed by long droughts, utter ruin overtakes the peasant unable to
pay the taxes. Then arise those widespread famines which sweep away whole
communities, and convert flourishing cities into wildernesses. Dry winters, leaving
the hillsides bare or without a thick mantle of snow, are followed by hot summers,
during which the mountain torrents become exhausted and the underground
galleries remain without water. Nevertheless some provinces, especially in the
north-west and on the Caspian seaboard, are favoured by a sufficiently copious rain-
fall to render them independent of artificial irrigation. But here as elsewhere
agriculture is still in a rudimentary state, field operations being carried on with the
most primitive implements, although much skill is shown in the use of the hoe,
with which the gardens and orchards are carefully cultivated.

Cereals arc the staple crop in the western provinces from Tabriz to Ilamadau
and Kermanshah, which in good years yield sufficient corn to support a small

151 SOUTH-WEOTEEN Asia.

ezporl trade to Mesopotamia and Caucasia. Bui owing to the difficulties of trans-
port, most of the superfluous grain remains unsold. When .Napier visited the
province of Ardilan, aboul 80,000 tons of wheat thus remained undisposed of in the
Cermanshah district alone. Besides wheat, rice grown only in the Caspian
provinces, and a species <>f millet used for a coarse kind of bread, barley is the
only cereal cultivated, and this, in the absence of oats, is reserved exclusively for the
horses. All the European vegetables are known in Persia, and some, such as
onions and cucumbers, are consumed to an enormous extent. Fruits also constitute
one of the chief resouroes of the country. The melons and pistachio-nuts are of
prime quality, and the vine, which grows in I be upland valleys from 'J, (MM) to (J, 000
feet above sea level, yields excellent raisins, which, under the name of kishmish, are
exported to Russia and India. Apricots and other fruits, dried or preserved, are
also forwarded in yearly increasing quantities to Russia. The apple, pear, plum,
and cherry are inferior to the European varieties ; but the peach is highly esteemed,
and was supposed to have originated in Irania until M. de Candolle showed that
China was more probably its true home.

Amongst the industrial plants a foremost rank is taken by the mulberry, culti-
vated both for its fruit and as food for the silkworm. The raw material is partly
used in the factories of Tabriz, Keshan, and Yezd, and partly exported through
Trans-Caucasia to Europe. Bui since the silkworm disease first appeared in the
province of Ghilan in L864, the crop has been reduced to a third. Flax is little
cultivated, and hemp used only in the preparation of hashish. But cotton is
extensively grown throughout the western provinces, and aa far north as Azerbeiian,
where the temperature is too low for the American varieties. The southern dis-
tricts, and especially Laristan, yield henna, and a tine quality of tobacco, since the
Crimean War well known throughout the East. But in recent times no industry
has been developed so rapidly as that of opium, which is grown especially in
Yezd and Ispahan, and which already threatens to become a formidable rival of
the Indian narcotic in the Chinese market.* Nearly all Persians have acquired the
habit of taking a little every day, and even give it to their horses. [Jut it is seldom
taken in excess, as is too often the case with hashish. Whilethe cultivation of the
poppy is extending, that of the sugar-cane is diminishing, the plantations at
Ahwaz, Shapur, and other cities in the Karun basin and on the rivers of Farsistan
having already disappeared. Persia, where the art of refining sugar seems to
have been invented in the tenth century, now imports this product from France
and Java.

Tie- nomad element is relatively more numerous than before the Mohammedan
invasion. With the Arab conquest came many powerful tribes, which retained on
the plateau their wandering habits. Then other hordes of Turks, Turkomans,
Kurds, and Ualuches were uttracted by the local troubles, and the territory
occupied by them was constantly enlarged at the expense of the cultivated lands.
The displacement of whole communities from one province to another caused many

• Exports of opium from the Persian Gull' in 1872, 872 chests, value £71,000; in 1880, 7,700 chests,
value £847,000.

INDUSTRIES— TRADE. 155

families to adopt nomad habits who had for generations led a sedentary life. The
tyranny and exactions of the provincial rulers also drove many to become
marauders, rovers, or mendicants. On the whole these nomads contribute nothing
to the national resources, except as stock-breeders. Their flocks are numerous
enough to supply the wants of the whole nation, which lives almost exclusively on
mutton. They also yield considerable quantities of wool, while from the goats is
obtained the soft fleece used in the manufacture of the exquisite Kirmanian shawls.
Camel-hair, which in spring falls off in large tufts, is also collected for the prepara-
tion of felts. The nomads own few horses, but many mules and asses, used chiefly
as pack-animals. They leave all the industries to the women, who weave mats,
coarse carpets, and rugs for the surrounding markets.

For many ages the industrial processes have undergone but little change, and real
attempts to introduce factories like those of the West have completely failed. But
the growing taste for European wares is gradually causing the native industries to
disappear. At present the Russian dealers are the chief gainers by this displacement.
Till the middle of the present century the bazaars were stocked mainly with
English goods; but Russian competition has already monopolised the trade of the
northern provinces, leaving to the British dealers only a narrow zone round about
Bushir. As in Afghanistan and Asia Minor, the commercial as well as the
political predominance of the Russians is becoming daily more evident, and the
geographical conditions are so favourable to them that their British rivals can
scarcely hope to recover the lost ground. The Russian domain is conterminous
with that of Persia, all along the line from Trans-Caucasia round the Caspian sea-
board to the Turkestan steppes, while the approaches to the plateau from the north,
through Tabriz, Reshd, Barfrush, and Astrabad, are much easier than those open to
the English from the ports of the Persian Gulf. Here the rugged track leading
from Bushir up to Shiraz is carried over no less than six difficult passes.

The invasion of the native markets by foreign wares has brought about, if not
the ruin, at least the decadence of the national industries. Certainly Persia no
longer possesses so many skilful artisans as at the time when Chardin visited the
bazaars of Ispahan, and the finer qualities of earthenware have almost totally
disappeared from the manufacturing centres. Nevertheless some of the old trades
still flourish, and the traditions of the local schools of art have nowhere been
entirely forgotten. Great skill is shown in damascene work, and the wrought steel
and copper articles, chased with the graver, or embellished with silver, continue to
excite the admiration of foreigners. Admirably-tempered swords are produced in
Khorassan, and the arsenals under European management turn out excellent small-
arms and even rifles. Inventors of the narghili, the Persians, and especially the
natives of Ispahan and Shiraz, still make the best kalians, which they enrich with
gold and silver chased work encrusted with precious stones. Although nearly all
the cotton stuffs, whether plain or printed, come from Europe, many still prefer the
stout kerbas or kalemkars embellished with hand-printed flowers and arabesques.
Nor have the coarse woollen fabrics of the Turkomans and Kurds been completely
driven from the field by the German and Polish cloths. The local felts ornamented

L56 SOUTH-WESTERN As] \.

with figures and inscriptions also continue to be unrivalled. The hrocadcs and
velvets of rlashan, as well a^ certain silk fabrics of Yezd, are highly esteemed, while
the carpets of Barman arc universally celebrated for their combined solidity
and lightness of texture, exquisite design, and harmony of colour. In this branch
the native craftsmen have nothing to learn from Europeans, who, <>u the contrary,
copy their work without attaining equally the variety and graceful symmetry of their
figures. Unfortunately weaving is carried on in Ve/d, Kashan, and Barman under
extremely unhealthy conditions. Owing to the excessive dryness of the air, the

artisans arc obliged tn work in underground places, where the elasticity of the
threads is preserved by the moisture produced by vessels kept constantly full of
water. They are also very badly paid, those of Ye/d receiving on an average not
more than sevenpence a day. A shawl worth £40 will occupy three hands for a
whole year, and their earnings will amount to scarcely t'lti altogether.

The capital being situated near the Caspian, and receiving most of its supplies
from that basin and Trans-Caucasia, nearly all the numerous new routes recently
projected have reference to the north-western region between Teheran and the
Russian frontier. But the formal concessions for railways have all been cancelled,
partly no doubt owing to the fear of future invasions. As soon, however, as the
Trans-Caucasian system has Keen completed and connected with that of European
Russia, it will be impossible any Longer to prevent the locomotive from penetrating
southwards into the Iranian plateau. The physical obstacles are no doubt serious,
and some elevated passes will have to be surmounted in order to reach Teheran.
Hut modern engineers have elsewhere overcome far greater difficulties, and the
plateau once gained, it will be easy to extend the system to all the more important
cities of [rania. It might be possible even to continue it to British India across
settled districts throughout its whole course. Stations like Shah-rud, Isishapur,
Herat, Farah, Kandahar would supply a local traffic such as would be totally
lacking to any line running farther north through tin steppes and sands of Asiatic
Russia.

Another line has been proposed to run from Bagdad up the Divalah river valley
to Khanikin, on the Turko-Persian frontier, and thence through the Holwan valley,
the old " royal route" of Alexander. 15ut the costly nature of the works required
to carry the rails across the border ranges and up the slopes of the plateau must
for a long time prevent the execution of this scheme. What is here more urgently
needed is the conversion of the present mountain-tracts into carriage-roads running
from Bagdad to Eamadan by the already mentioned " royal route," from Shuster to
Ispahan, from Iiushir and Bandar-Abbas through Shiraz to Barman. "But," say
the natives, " the Europeans would have no roads if they had horses like ours."
and so nothing is done to improve the local lines of communication. The only
route hitherto opened for wheeled traffic is that running from Teheran to Kasvin,
along the line of the Russian telegraph-lines.

The whole trade of the country is carried on by caravans, which radiate from
the cities of the interior to Erzerum, liagdad, and other marts beyond the frontier.
In the west goods are transported by mules across the rugged border chain, but

TRADE.— HIGHWAYS.

157

camels are chiefly employed on the tracts traversing the relatively level plateau
and eastern districts. The convoys often consist of several hundred pack-animals
following in single file the lead of some well-trained horse, and, owing to the great
heat, marching usually at night. Journeys of 18 to 20 miles are thus performed
by the light of the Btars, and along the sixteen main routes known as " the Shah's
highways," stations are established at regular intervals for the service of the post
and the accommodation of men and beasts in vast caravanserais. Nearly all these

Fig. 59. — Routes and Telegraph-lines in Persia.

Scale 1 : 15,000,000.

Bokhara .

L . of (jreenwicn

Railways.
Projected railways.
Postal routes.

Principal caravan routes.

--* Telegraphs.
urf. Navigable rivers.

3CH > Miles.

structures, some of which are not lacking in architectural pretensions, date from
the time of Shah Abbas. But since then they have never been repaired, and they
are now often rendered inaccessible by heaps of refuse. Most of the bridges
erected by the same sovereign have become too dangerous for use, and the paved
causeways here and there crossing the quagmires are also carefully avoided. Bu<
time is of little value in Persia, and if the roads are difficult it costs little to travel
at a slow pace. The route between Teheran and Reahd, the most frequented in
the country, usually takes about seven days, although only L80 miles long. The

158 SOUTH-WESTERN Asia.

journey from Teheran to Buahir occupies one month, to Bandar-Abbas forty days,
to tin- Baluch frontier beyond Baxnpur two months.

The foreign trade of Persia is estimated altogether at some L'i >,<»<><>, 000. A fixed
in i] ii >st of five percent, is levied on all goods imported and exported. Bui to this tax,

the only one imposed on foreigners, octroi and excise dues are added for the natives.

By this eccentric fiscal arrangemenl the European traders are •• protected " againsl
their Persian competitors. In the interior the commercial relations are expanding
from year to year, as attested by the steady increase of the telegraphic business.
Beside the Anglo-Indian system, which crosses Persian territory from Tabriz to
Bushir, the Govemmenl has laid down a network of wires between all the large
cities, the total mileage amounting in 1881 to over 3,000 miles. Must of the heads
of the telegraph-offices are members of the royal family.

Public molality necessarily stands on a low level in a country where divorce is
so frequent that temporary unions for periods of twenty-live days and even less are
regularly sanctioned by the mullahs. Few women reach their twenty-fourth year
without having had two or three husliands. The least liable to be divorced are

those who before marriage were related to their husbands. These command the

whole household, and exercise considerable influence even beyond the family circle.
Slavery still exists, and the Arabs of Muscat continue to import negroes and
Somalis, whom they sell to the highest bidder. Baluch and Turkoman captives
are the only whites thai are reduced to slavery. At the same time slaves are
generally treated as members of the family, and are commonly addressed as bacha
or "children." They may even become proprietors, although all they may acquire
belongs legally to their owners.

Elementary instruction is more developed than in certain European countries.
To nearly all the mosques is attached a school, where the children learn at least to
repeal passages from the Koran and strophes from the national poets. The poetic,
taste has thus been so far cultivated that all Persians take pleasure in the recitation
of the compositions of Ilatiz or Firdusi. Many are themselves skilled versifiers,
and capable of composing treatises on scientific or theological subjects. "The ink
of the learned is more precious than the blood of martyrs," say the natives with
the Prophet. Nevertheless the printing-press, introduced into Tabriz in the begin-
ning of this century, is still little used. Manuscripts are usually reproduced by the
lithographic process, which is liest adapted to the graceful form of the Persian
characters. There are also a few periodicals in Tabriz, Teheran, and Ispahan ; but
being under the direct control of the Government, these journals are far from
constituting a " fourth estate."

Notwithstanding the decadence of the Iranian monarchy in territorial extent,
population, commercial and industrial activity, the sovereign has abated none of
his official claims to supremacy. The language that he addresses to his subjects
recalls the haughty tone adopted by Artaxerxes or Darius when commemorating
their triumphs in rock inscriptions addressed to their countless subjects. What
are the •' majesties" of Europe, the " kings by the e^race of God," compared with
such a title as " Kingof kings, exalted like the planet Saturn, Pole of the Universe,

ADMINISTRATION. 159

Well of Science, Footpath of Heaven, Sublime Sovereign whose standard is the sun,
whose splendour is that of the firmament, Monarch of armies numerous as the
stars " ? Amongst the rulers of men who is more legitimate than the " emanation
of God himself " ? Every Persian subject repeats the lines of Sadi, " The vice
approved by the prince becomes a virtue. To seek counsel opposed to his is to
wash one's hands in one's own blood." But the Shah's omnipotence is already a
thing of the past. In the eyes of his own people he is a sovereign only de facto,
not de jure, for he is not a descendant of Ali, and such alone have any right to the
Iranian throne. The grandiloquent titles possessed by the khan of the obscure
Turki-Kajar tribe, who became Shah of Persia, have not prevented his power from
becoming seriously limited. His last conflict with a European power occurred in
1857, when the English landed a small force at Bushir, and bombarded Moham-
merah. Since then in his foreign policy he has been fain to conform to the advice
of the ministers resident at his Court. He has especially to attend to the counsel of
the Russian ambassador, the maintenance of his power depending largely on the
will of his powerful neighbour. Since the murder of the envoy (iriboyedov at
Teheran in 1829, the kingdom is being gradually but surelv transformed into a
Russian province. Without incurring the cost or responsibilities of conquest, the
new masters of the country enjoy all the advantages of their undoubted political
supremacy.

Even in the administration of the interior the royal power is limited by the
precepts of the Koran, by custom, by the influence of the mushtehid, and other
ecclesiastical functionaries. The Shah has even to take account of a certain public
opinion, and still more of the unfavourable criticisms of the European press. But
the Crown is assisted by no representative body. The ministers chosen by the Shah,
whose number and rank he modifies at pleasure, are mere servants whom he loads
with honours or causes to be strangled according to the whim of the moment. The
principal wazirs are those of foreign affairs, of the interior, finance, justice, war,
religion.

The administrative regime resembles that of the ancient satrapies. The
provinces are ruled by the hakims or governors, " pillars and props of the State,"
who are mostly chosen from the royal family and reside at Teheran, being repre-
sented on the spot by secondary wazirs. Their power, flowing directly from the
royal authority, is without appeal, and comprises the right of life, torture, and
death. " The king smiles only to show his lion-teeth " is a proverb quoted by
Chardin, and recent instances are not lacking of wretched victims of the imperial
wrath being bricked up alive, torn to pieces with the lash, or burnt to death at a
slow fire. Imprisonment, owing to the cost of maintenance, is a punishment
seldom resorted to, and in any ease t lie doors of all gaols are thrown open on the
great feast of the new year. The district governors, as well as the police magis-
trates in the towns, arc absolute in their respective jurisdictions. As in other
M i issulman countries, jurisprudence and religion are confounded together. The
sheikhs-el- Islam sit as judges in the provincial capitals, and appoint the secondary
judges and magistrates in their several circuits. Nevertheless, in all the villages

160 SOUTH-WESTERN Asia.

and in many towns arc found the rudiments "I a judicial system, and even "I a
popular representation. All traders elect the syndic, who is charged with the
defence of the communal interests before the judges and governors, but who is also
held responsible for disturbances arising within hi* jurisdiction. He is required to
make compensation for all loss or damage to property. Hence, having a personal
interest iii the preservation of order, the police is much better organised than in
Asiatic Turkey. The rural populations are nut armed, and their disputes seldom
lead to serious outbreaks. The nomads have a separate administration, but, like
the provinces, they form Btrictly monarchical groups. The ilkhani, or tribal chief,
depends directly on the Shah or on the provincial governor, takes, like the latter,
the title of " Pillar of the State," and is the sole lord and master of the community
for whose good conduct he makes himself res] sihle.

The army is composed chiefly of Turki and Turkoman elements drawn from the
north-west provinces, where the warlike spirit is much more developed than in
the lands occupied by the Iranians proper. Troops of formidable cavalry are also
furnished by the Kashkai chiefs, the Bakhtyari ilkhanis, and the sheikhs of
Arabistan. All the large iliat groups are required to equip &fanj, that is, a body
nf sin) hi irse, for the frontier service. Christians and Guebres are exempt from
military duties, as are also the natives of rlashan, who hear a traditional reputation
for coward ice. Altogether, the army, being of a differenl race from the hulk of
the people, shows itself only ton ready to treat them as conquered rebels, and has
often recovered the arrears of pay by plundering them. Till 1875 the soldiers
were enlisted for their whole life, returning to their homes only on temporary
leave ; hut according to the official documents, the service is now reduced to twelve
years, and the recruits are raised by ballot, with the privilege of finding substi-
tutes. But these reforms exist only on paper, and the old system still prevails.
The nizam, or regulars, are equipped and disciplined in the European way under
foreign instructors, formerly English, French, and Austrians, now chiefly Russians
and A ust m Hungarians. With the exception of a few squadrons of cavalry
dressed as Cossacks, the tmnps wear the Austrian uniform. According to the
official returns they comprise 77 battalions of infantry, 7!) regiments of cavalry,
20 of artillery, and 1 battalion of pioneers, numbering altogether 100,000 men,

with 200 guns. But there are probably not l v than "ill, (MM) effectives, some

li>. nun of whom form a special body of gendarmerie and police. The navy is
reduced to a bw custom-house boats and a royal yacht commanded by an admiral.
In virtue of sundry treaties, the I laspian is now exclusively a " Russian lake," while
the British navy is supreme in the Persian Gulf.

Persia is one of the few States which have no public debt. The Crown even
possesses a well-filled treasury, said to contain about If, 000, 000 in the precious
metals and gems, or twice the annual receipts, which arc estimated at from
fl. son, nun ,,, t".1, 000,000. The two main Bonrcesof revenue arc the land-tax, fixed
at one-tilth of the produce besides supplementary charges, and the customs, farmed
out for sums varying from £','00,000 to £240,000. The Government also imposes
at pleasure additional taxes, cither throughout the empire or in special districts,

ADMIN ISTlI.mON OF PERSIA. 101

thus enabling the provincial rulers to indulge in the most oppressive measures, and
often involving whole communities in rain. On the arrival or departure of a hakim,
the municipalities are further called upon to contribute towards his travelling
expenses. But the sheep and oxen formerly sacrificed at his approach are now
replaced by presents of money, costly fabrics, horses, and mules. Lastly, to their
official salary the higher officials add the so-called mokatel, or supplemental^-
honorarium exacted from his subordinates.

The gold, silver, and copper coinage, made of ingots imported from Russia, is
minted in most of the large cities, as far east as Sikohah in Sistan. The gold and
silver pieces bear the name of the reigning shah, Nasr-ed-din Kajar, and
occasionally even his effigy, notwithstanding the precepts of the Koran. Formerly
the tomans were of pure gold ; now they contain a large proportion of alloy, and
are mostly so worn that traders will accept them only by weight. Since 1879 the
French monetary system has been officially introduced, and the toman now consists
of ten krans (francs), subdivided into ten doubles (sAae, shaghis), the other
divisions being the same as in France.

A table of the provinces, governments, and chief towns, with their approximate
populations, will be found in the appendix. The limits of the governments,
districts, and buluks (cantons) are frequently modified according to the favour
enjoyed by the royal princes and others entrusted with the administration of the
land, their revenues increasing and diminishing with the extent of their several
jurisdictions.

109

CHAPTEl; V.

Asiatic TXJEKET.

i|S in European Turkey, (lie portion of Western Asia subject to the
sultan of Constantinople forms a dismembered political region,
the remnant of an empire still kept together mainly through the
sufferance of the great European powers. In the north-east the
frontier has recently been rectified to the advantage of Russia,
which has seized on the strategic points about the main water-partings. The yerj
routes are already planned by which her armies are to descend the Euphrates, and
add the Armenian and Kurdish territories to her other conquests. England, also,
unable directly to prevent these political encroachments, has sought compensation
in the island of Cyprus, whence the course of events may at least be observed, if
not controlled. Even the Greeks of the Anatolian seaboard have begun to reassert
the old llellenie autonomy, by the constitution of the principality of Samos, under
the official suzerainty of the Porte.

"While the Turkish empire in Asia is thus threatened, either by foreign powers
on the frontiers, or by its own subjects on the coast, it is fast losing its cohesion
in the interior, through the conflict of its discordant national elements. Greek
and Turk, Laz and Kurd, Armenian, Maronite, Druse and Ansarieh, have begun
that restless agitation which anticipates and hastens the final rupture of the ties
still binding them together in one political system. The various provinces of the
empire are, moreover, separated by intervening deserts or wasted lands; and in the
s ml h long journeys must be made across the wilderness, in order to reach the
Euphrates from the cultivated valleys of the Lebanon. Since the Roman epoch
the waste spaees have increased in extent. Round about Palmyra and other
ancient cities nothing is now to be seen except scattered nomad camping-grounds.
Even since the beginning of the present century, many cultivated tracts have
become depopulated, either by famine, emigration, or the frequent conscriptions
of soldier- seldom destined to revisit their homes.

Hence, whatever be the official administrative divisions, it will be convenient
to treat as distinct lands the various countries ,,!' Asiatic Turkey, which present a
certain unity in their geographical outlines, their history, and ethnical relations.
One of these natural regions is formed by the closed basin of Lake Van, with the

TURKISH ARMENIAN HIGHLANDS. 163

Kurdish and Armenian highlands between Trans-Caucasia and the Upper
Euphrates. The Mesopotamian plain, formerly the seat of powerful empires and
of many famous cities, also constitutes a well-detined geographical and historical
land. The same is true of the Anatolian peninsula, whose seaboard, fringed with
islands and islets, develops a vast zone of cultivated lowlands round about the
thinly-peopled inland region of plateaux and saline steppes. Cyprus, now
constituting a portion of the prodigious British empire, must also be studied apart,
presenting as it does a distinctly original culture, intermediate between those of
Greece and Phoenicia. Lastly, the long hilly district of Syria and Palestine,
skirted on one side by the Mediterranean, on the other by the desert, forms a
separate physical region, whose inhabitants have played a leading part in the
history of the world by their discoveries, commercial enterprise, and diffusion
of ideas. There remain the Turkish possessions on the Arabian seaboard, which
are best considered in connection with the peninsula with which they form a
geographical whole.

LAZISTAN, ARMENIA, AND KURDISTAN.
(Black Sea Coast — Basins of Lake Van and the Upper Euphrates.)

Although the present political limits of Asiatic Turkey no longer correspond
with its natural frontiers, Mount Ararat forms at least a convenient corner-stone at
the converging point of the Russian, Turkish, and Persian territories. From the
depression between the Great and Little Ararat, where the three empires meet, the
Turkish frontier follows for 90 miles to the west the water-parting between the
Aras and Euphrates basins. This is confessedly a temporary arrangement, and to
judge from past experiences, fresh wars must sooner or later be followed by fresh
annexations to the Russian empire. Elburz, giant of the Caucasus, ruay repeat to
Tandurek, Bingol-dagh and Argseus what it formerly said to Kazbek, in the lines of
Lermontov : " Tremble ! Peering towards the icy north, I behold sights of ill-
omen ! From Ural to Danube the clash of arms ; brazen batteries moving forward
with sinister rumblings ; smoking fuses ready for battle ! "

West of Ararat, the green plain of the Echmiadzin basin is skirted by a
rugged volcanic chain, some of whose cones, such as the Chinghil and Perli-dagh,
exceed 10,000 feet, or about 5,000 above the plain. But the range falls gradually
towards the west and south-west, again rising towards the water-parting, and with
other converging ridges forming the Bingol-dagh, or " Mountain of the Thousand
Lakes" (11,500 feet), whose winter and spring snows feed the streams radiating in
all directions, east to the Aras, north and south to the Kara-su and Murad, the
two main branches of the Upper Euphrates. Beyond this point the chief crest of
these highlands runs for 150 miles westwards parallel with the Euxine seaboard.
Here an opening is at last made for the Kara-su, which trends abruptly south-east
to join the other branch of the Euphrates.

The Bingol-dag is connected with the Erzerum Mountains by a lofty ridge
running north, and forming an irregular water-parting east of the sources of the
Kara-su. Along this line passes the great military highway between Erzerum and

164

SOUTH-WESTEBN \-l \.

Kara. Eere tin- culminating point is the Palandoken (10,450 feet) ; but farther
west a still greater altitude is attained by Beveral Bummite of the Perli-dagh,
which is skirted by the firsl great bend <>i the Eara-su. North of the Erzerum
basin the Bingol is rivalled l>y the (ihiaur-dagh, another great centre of streams
radiating in various directions. Such arc the Tortum-su, which, after forming one
of the finest waterfalls in the old World, flows through deep lava gorges with walls
l,0(J(t feet high, to the Choruk and Black Sea; several head-stream- id' the Aras
and Kura, belonging to the Caspian basin, and lastly, the main source of the
Euphrates, which flows to the Persian Gulf. The latter is associated with many
local Armenian legends, and is regarded as sacred even by the Turks, who believe

Pig. 60. — Bourn oi thi Chin Explorers oi Armenia.

1 : 6,500,000.

O^toum

■Sr .... »Kh»fbolrt- ,, . - J.

•«£•

120 Miles.

that while ordinary sins are washed away by the healing waters of the Euphrates,
they prove fatal to those pursued by the wrath of Allah. After its junction with
numerous other mountain torrents, the sacred stream descends into the Erzerum
basin, where the extensive Sazlik swamps Income Hooded during the melting of
the snows in spring. These swamps are probably the remains of an old lake
formerly filling the Erzerum basin, although Radde failed, after a long search, to
find any species of lacustrine molusc in its bed.

The hills encircling this basin are largely of igneous origin, as is evident from
the regular cones rising here and there above the crest. At the very gates of
Erzerum is a crater formerly tilled with water, which has escaped through a deep

LAZ1STAN HIGHLANDS.

165

gorge northwards to the Kara-su marshes. But the highest and most remarkable
of these volcanoes is the Sishchik of the Ghiaur-dagh range, which rises to the
north-west of Erzerum, 3,960 feet above the plain, and to an absolute elevation of
10,550 feet. From the centre of the crater, which resembles Vesuvius in shape,
but greatly exceeds it in size, there springs a cone of black and brown scoriae,
round which runs a grassy zone covered with flowers in spring.

The La/.istan and Kurdistan Mountains.

The Kara-su Valley is skirted on the north by a chain of hills running mainly
parallel with the Black Sea, and merging westwards in the Sivas plateau. This is
the Paryandres of the ancients, now better known as the Kop-dagh, from a peak

Fig. 61. — Bixgol-Dagh.

Scale 1 : 150,000.

, ■

4i°scr

af G

. 3 Miles.

of that name rising 13,000 feet above the great highway between Erzerum and
Trebizond. The pass crossed by this route, the most remarkable engineering work
in Turkey, is 9,000 feet high, or about the same altitude as the Stelvio of the
Central Alps. North of it is the Churuk Valley, which, with that id the Kharshut,
or Gumish-Kaneh River, forms a surprisingly regular semicircular depression.
From the port of Batum, near the mouth of the Churuk. to Tireboli, at the mouth of
the Kharshut, the road runs along a vast avenue of peaks, and rises nowhere
higher than the pass (6,330 feet) between the sources of the two rivers, near the

166 SOUTH-WESTEBN AS] \

village of Yavug. The va-t crescent enclosed bj these two streams is occupied by
the Pontine Alps, a lofty range culminating with the Khachkar peak, about 1 '2,000
feet. In these Lazistan highlands the paths are blocked by mow for siz months
in the year. " The birds themselves," say the natives, " are unahle to fly over the
hills in winter."

The mountains coasting the Euxine, west of the Kharshut, towards the Kizil-

innak, although less elevated than the routine Alps, are still high enough to
render the communications very arduous. Theyproject lofty headlands at intervals
seawards, one of which still hears the name of Yasun-burun, that is, Cape Jason,

from the navigator of Greek legend. Numerous traces of old glaciers and

moraines arc visible in the upland valleys of the Pontine Alps, whose lavas,
porphyries, and other eruptive rocks have been everyu here scored by the ice-streams.
In this region the glacial period seems to have been preceded by the igneous
activity, the only surviving indications of which are the frequent earthquakes and
numerous hot springs at the foot and on the slope of the hills. According to
Strecker, the Kolat-dagh (9,600 feet), rising above the main range over 30 miles
south of Trebizond, is the Mount Theekes whence Xenophon's ten thousand first
sighted the sea on their retreat from Babylonia. But this peak is scarcely accessible
to an army on the march, while the descent on the north side is altogether imprac-
ticable. But south of it, and close to the route which the Greeks must have followed,
there stands a hill 8,000 feet high, whence the Euxine is perfectly visible. On its
highest point stands a monument of porphyry blocks some 30 feet high, surrounded
by some truncated cones, which according to Briot, were erected by/ the Greeks to
Commemorate their arrival at the coast.

The vast labyrinth of the Anti-Caucasus, or Armenian Alps, comprises not
only the region between the Kura basin, Black Sea, and Upper Euphrates, but
also the extensive basin of Lake Van, south of Ararat, and the surrounding districts
as far as the Persian frontier. Throughout the whole of this region the mean
elevation of the land is very great. Even the lacustrine depression of Lake Dalik-
gol, south of the Perli-dagh, stands at an altitude of 7,-Vmi feet, whence its
overflow is discharged to a tributary of the Aras. South of it flows the Afurad,
or Southern Euphrates, in a narrow rocky bed over fi.oOO feet above sea level.
Northwards this rugged upland region is bounded by the twin peaks of Ararat,
southwards by the less elevated Ala-dagh, whence How the highest head-streams
of the Euphrates, at an elevation of 11,700 feet. Due east of this point stands the
still loftier Tandurek (11,850 feet), known also as the Sunderlik-dagh, Khur, or
Khori, which of all the Armenian volcanoes still preserves the most numerous
traces of the former plutonic forces. The chief crater, over 3,000 yards in
circumference and :'.S0 deep, is now flooded by a small Alpine lake. But smoke
still escapes from its flanks, and on the eastern slope is a cavern emitting vapours at
a temperature of 265 P. Mere is heard a continuous booming, which resembles
the sound of distant artillery, and which, during one of the Russo-Turkiflh frontier
wars, canned an alarm in the two hostile armies encamped in the neighbourhood.
At the north-west foot of the Tandurek well up the copious sulphur springs of

KURDISTAN HIGHLANDS. 16T

Divadin, covering the ground with their many-coloured incrustations, and forming
a thermal stream, which descends through a series of smoking cascades down to
the icy waters of the Murad. Farther down the Murad itself disappears in a
hasalt underground channel, which is continued hy a deep canon between two
vertical rocky walls.

The Tandurek is connected north-westwards with the Perli-dagh by a ridge,
which is crossed by the route from Erzerum to Tabriz, and which would appear
to form the true natural frontier between Turkey and Persia. But the eastern
valley, watered by Lake Balik with its emissary of like name, is at present included
within the limits of the Ottoman empire. The range running east of Tandurek
over against Ararat also forms a natural frontier, both slopes of which are
occupied by semi-independent Kurdish tribes between the two conterminous
states. Eastwards this range projects a few short spurs, terminating with abrupt
headlands towards Lake Urmiah. But in the direction of Lake Tan several
branches stretch for a long way westwards, gradually merging in the plateau,
which has here a mean altitude of over 6,000 feet, while some of the peaks on the
main range itself rise to an absolute height of 10,000 feet. The same elevation
appears to be attained, if not exceeded, by the Hakkiari hills, which sweep round
to the south along the southern shore of Lake Van. The circuit of mountains
enclosing this lacustrine basin is completed on the north and north-west by
another range, culminating with the extinct volcanic peak of Seiban, or Sapan,
(about 12,000 feet), which, according to Tozer, is covered with snow for ten months
in the year. This majestic cone, formerly supposed to rival Demavend in height,
and associated with Ararat in the Armenian legends connected with the Xoachian
deluge, commands a magnificent prospect of the northern highlands, sweeping
round in a vast curve of 180 miles from Ararat to Bingol-dagh. Southwards is
visible the side crater flooded by the Aghir-gol, or " Still Lake," beyond which
stretches the basin of Van itself, with its inlets, bays, marshes, and encircling hills.
At the west foot of Sapan lies the freshwater lakelet of Xazik, on the water-
parting between Van and the Euphrates, to both of which it sends emissaries.

The last southern terraces of the Armenian plateau terminate above the
Mesopotamian plains in a line of rugged cliffs scored by deep river gorges, but
forming in their normal direction a regular north-western continuation of the
Luristan border range. Immediately west of Lake Van rises the vast crater of the
Nimrud-dagh composed entirely of scoria', the south side of which is indented by
an elliptic bay, section of another volcano now partly submerged. The whole
of Upper Armenia is an igneous region, still subject to frequent earthquakes.

Lake Van.

Lake Van, the Tosp of the Armenians, whence its classic name of Thospitis,
stands at an altitude of 5,400 feet: that is, 1,100 feet higher than Urmiah. It has
an estimated area of 1,470 square miles, or somewhat less than its Azerbaijan
neighbour, which, however, it considerably exceeds in depth, and consequently also

li;s

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

in volume. On the east side, within 2 miles of the town of Van, the soundings give
so feet of water, while the bed ol the lake sinks to far greater depths along its
southern shore. The great bay, however, which penetrates some o(i miles north-
eastwards, forma a shallow i spanse, n here in spring the mountain torrents develop
extensive alluvial deltas. According to a local tradition, this inlel was formerly a
Tortile plain watered by two streams which continued their winding eourse south-
westward- to Bitlis. In any case, the data collected by Jaubert, Loftus, Strecker,

Via. 62. — Lake Van— Tadwan Bai i\n Mount Nimbub.

and other-. Leave no doubt regarding the e-reat changes of level undergone by this
inland sea. Between ls:»S and L8 10 it rose from 10 to 13 feet, and a similar rising
seems to have occurred early in the seventeenth century, the waters again subsiding
after a few years. Several of the islets along the coast have at times been Hooded,

and old promontories have been transformed to islands constantly diminishing in
extent. The highway skirting the north side has in the same way steadily
reeeded farther inland The town of Arjish, on the aorth-easl bay, has almost

LAKE VAN. 169

entirely disappeared ; while Adeljivas, on (lie north coast, is now threatened by the
rising waters. On the east side also the lake is advancing towards Van, which has
itself already replaced a more ancient city of that name. The village of Iskella
has been partly abandoned, and the boatmen moor their craft to trunks of trees
which now stand far from the shore. To these constant invasions are perhaps to be
attributed the local traditions regarding large cities formerly swallowed up by the
lake. What is the explanation of a phenomenon, the very opposite of what is
observed in nearly all the other Asiatic lacustrine basins ? Unless it be due to some
local atmospheric currents attracting to this region more rain-bearing clouds than
elsewhere, the reason given by the inhabitants themselves must be accepted.
According to their statements the underground passages, through which copious
streams formerly escaped to the head waters of the Tigris, have been partly effaced,
and the reservoir receiving more supplies than can now be carried off by evapora-
tion and subterranean emissaries, must continue to rise until an equilibrium is
established, or until the excess is discharged south-westwards to the torrent of
Bitlis. It is also stated that the neighbouring nomads have rolled a huge block to
the head of one of the underground outlets, and since then the lake has been
gradually but steadily rising. The lakelet of Erchek, east of Van, is also expanding,
a circumstance which would seem to point rather at a change of the local climatic
conditions. Erchek also resembles Van in its saline properties, but contains,
according to Millingen, a strong proportion of arsenic.

Van itself is far too brackish to be potable by man or beast. But being still
less saline than Urmiah, it contains a more developed fauna. At the mouths
of the streams considerable captures are made of a species of fish wrongly identi-
fied by Joubert with the anchovy of the Black Sea. As shown by the naturalist
Deyrolle, it is a blay (Cyprinus TarachiX which appears to avoid the more saline
waters, and shows itself near the surface only in the spring, from March to May,
when the fresh supplies from the melting snows are spread over the heavier salt
layers found at lower depths. The saline deposits round the shores both of Van
and Erchek, consist in even proportions of carbonate and sulphate of soda, utilised
in the manufacture of soap, which is exported as far as Syria.

Boats are rare on Lake Van, although Fanshawe Tozer recently crossed it in a
fishing-smack, accompanied by a Hot ilia of five others, and a steamer was launched
on its waters by the American missionaries in 1879.

Climate — Flora — Fauna.

The very existence of Van, Urmiah, Gokclia, and of the numerous smaller
lacustrine basins on the Akhaltzikh plateau, between Ears and Tiflis, is sufficient
proof that the climate of the Armenian uplands is far more humid than that
of Persia. The whole of Lazistan and the hilly region comprised by the ancients
under the name of Pontus, lie, in fact, within the influence of the western and
north-western winds, which bring from the Euxine an abundant supply of rain
during the summer storms, and of snow during winter. Although the rainfall

170 SOUTH-WESTERN A-l L

is less copious than cm the southern slopes of the Caucasus, where the annual
discharge exceeds 75 inches in Mingrelia and [meria, ii amounts to at leasl hali that
average in some of the more favoured valleys of Lazistan. In the absence "I'
accurate returns, the mean yearly discharge may )»■ approximately estimated at
about 20 inches for the whole of the Armenian uplands.

<>n the other hand certain districts, such as the < * 1 t i plateau, shut oil' by lofty
ranges from the rain-bearing clouds, liave seldom sullieient moisture for agricul-
tural purposes. Heme, as on the Caspian slope id' Trans-Caucasia, the brooks have
here to be collected in reservoirs, and dispersed in a thousand channels over the
arable lands. But notwithstanding the harrier of the Tontine Alps, most of
Southern Armenia is exposed to the influence of the moist winds, which blow from
the Euxine across the Shas plateau into the funnel-shaped upland valleys being
westwards. They prevail chiefly in winter, when they clothe with a thick mantle
of snow the amphitheatre of hills about the head-waters id' the Euphrates. In
summer they are succeeded by the dry northern and eastern breezes from the great
polar current, which traverse the Asiatic continent and melt the Alpine snows. A
supply of moisture is also yielded by the south-western winds from the -Mediter-
ranean, to which are due the soft, hazy outlines of the hills, and the delicate tints
of the landscape, conspicuous even in clear weather. On the northern slopes the
superabundant humidity from the Euxine is sufficient to develop rivers, such as the
Choruk and Kharchut, whose volume is out of proportion with the extent of their
basin. Enough remains even for the southern slope, where it feeds the Euphrates
and Tigris, whose united stream in the Shat-el-Arab exceeds all other rivers
between the Indus and the Danube. The Euphrates maj thus be regarded as a
great emissary of the Black Sea, whose evaporated waters are precipitated through
this perennial channel into the Persian Gulf.

On the shores of the Euxine a tolerably mild temperature prevails throughout
the year. Here the e;lass srldom falls 10° F. below freezing point, while the
moderating influence of the sea prevents the summer heats from exceeding 77° F.
But the Turkish Armenian uplands, lying beyond this influence, are subject to
extreme vicissitudes of heat and cold. There is scarcely any spring at Erzerum,
where the winter snows rapidly melting, suddenly change the torrents into large
rivers. Extended observations are still needed to form a just estimate of this
climate, as compared with that of other countries in Europe and Asia, whose
meteorological conditions are already determined. But differences of no less than
60" F. have been recorded between dawn and noon, while the glass seems to
oscillate between the extremes of 13° F. and 112° F. of absolute cold and heat
The vegetation, retarded by the winter and spring frosts, is stimulated by the early
summer heats, when all tiature bursts suddenly into full bloom. Wheat is
developed from sprout to ear within the space of two months; bul it would soon
be burnt up by the fierce midsummer sun, were it not supplied with sufficient
moisture by artificial irrigation. This eoeal is cultivated to an altitude of 6,000,
and barley up to 7,000, feet ; but at these extreme heights tin- crops are threatened
by the sudden return of frost in the early autumn. On the whole, agricultural

FLOEA AND FAUNA OF TURKISH ARMENIA. 171

operations are confined to lower limits on the Armenian highlands than on the
more northerly Georgian slopes of Caucasia. This is due probably to the form
of the Armenian ranges, which give access tbrough numerous openings to
the northern winds, against which the Great Caucasus presents an unbroken
barrier.

In the neighbourhood of the Black Sea, the vegetation resembles that of Min-
grelia, but presents fewer species and a less varied display of bright colours.
Laziatan, say the natives, is the land of fruits, while Armenia is supposed to be the
original home of the vine, pear, and many other species. In the Trebizond district,
the hills are clothed from base to summit with a rich vegetable humus, which
supports a varied growth of garden plants, orchards, grassy tracts, evergreen and
other trees. The towns and villages on the coast are surrounded by citron and
olive groves, which are succeeded higher up by the walnut, oak, and chestnut.
Beyond these comes the zone of scarlet rhododendrons and azaleas, to the latter of
which has been attributed the poisonous action of the honey that intoxicated or
demented the Greek soldiers of Xenophon's expedition.

Further inland the Armenian highlands are mostly destitute of arborescent
vegetation. Nothing is seen but bare rocks and pastures, in a region which might
be covered with timber. Hence animals and even birds are rare, most of the slopes
being occupied by nomad pastors, with their flocks of fat-tailed sheep, guarded by
half wild collies, which are often more dangerous than bears or wolves. There is
also a good breed of horses, extremely gentle yet full of spirit, but inferior in
strength to the Turkoman and in graceful action to the Persian species. But the
chief resource of the whole of this region is the sheep, of which as many as forty
millions are said to be found between Ararat and the Persian Gulf. At the bes?in-
ning of the century Jaubert estimated at 1, 000, ( 100 the number sent annuallv to
Constantinople from the Armenian uplands. Aleppo, Damascus, and even Beirut,
are supplied with mutton from Armenia and Kurdistan, and during their
campaigns the Turkish armies largely depend for their provisions on the region of
the Upper Euphrates.

Inhabitants — The Lazes and Armenians.

The inhabitants of Lazistan, Turkish Armenia, and Kurdistan, estimated
altogether at upwards of two millions, belong mainly to the same ethnical groups
as the populations of Trans-Caucasia. Here the political frontier forms no ethno-
graphic parting- line. On both sides dwell peoples of Georgian stock ; the Turkish
Erzerum, like the Russian Erivan, belongs to the Armenian domain ; Kurdish
nomad pastors frequent the shores of lake Van as well as those of lake Gokcha.
At every fresh Russian conquest, migrations, forced or voluntary, have taken place
between the conterminous states. Between 1828 and ]s:ii» over 100,000 Armenians
passed from Turkey and Persia into Russian territory, where they received the
lands of the Turki and Kurdish immigrants into the Mohammedan countries.
Since 1877 similar shiftings of the populations have taken place between Turkish

172 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

Armenia and the provinces annexed to Russian Trans-Caucasia. The Turks of
Ardahan and Ears have retired to Erzerum ami Sivas, those ..| Artvin to the Nan
plateau, the lands thus Left vacant being occupied by Armenians from tin- I ' [ >] n r
Chorukh, from the Erzerum and \'an districts. In this readjustmenl of the popu-
lations, the Ottoman empire has on the whole benefitted most. The Mussulmans
almo>t unanimously flee from their mw Russian masters, whereas many Turkish
Armenian- prefer the misrule of the pa-has to the meddlesome interference of the
Muscovite administration. Thus the chief re8ult of the Russian invasions has lieen
to transform Armenia into another Turkestan.

Nevertheless these displacements, which have been constantly accompanied by
a frightful mortality caused by famine, fever, homesickness, and hardships oi ever]
sort, are still far from having produced an ethnological grouping coincident with
the conventional political frontier. In case id' fresh conflicts with the Porte, Russia
naturally derives great diplomatic and military advantages from the presence of
kindred communities in the conterminous provinces. On behalf of her Trans-
Caucasian Georgian subjects, she acquires a right or pretext for interfering in the
affairs of their Laz brethern in the Trebizond district. As mistress of the Kurdish
pastors, she may claim the prerogative of maintaining order amongst these restless

nomads on both sides of the frontier. But especially as possessor of the holy city

of Echmiadzin, and guardian of the Armenian Christians, she may feel called upon
to insist upon those administrative reforms which British influence has hitherto
been powerless to introduce into Turkish Armenia. In European Turkey, Russia
has successfully interfered on behalf of the Bulgarians, and obtained for them an
autonomous territory stretching nearly to the (Julf of Salonica. In the same way,
when the occasion serves, she will be ready armed with a pretext for intervention
in favour of the Armenian communities scattered over Western Asia from Erzerum
to the Gulf of Alexandretta, over against Cyprus, England's new acquisition in the
East. England herself can scarcely expect to olfer an etlicaei.ni- guarantee against
farther Muscovite encroachments on the present limits of the Ottoman empire.
She can no longer control the course of events in these regions, and the refusal
or neglect of the Turk to introduce the much needed reforms will merely serve as
an excuse for withdrawing from her new •• Protectorate."

It is -ad to reflect that such a rich land, one of the fairest, and formerly one of
the most productive in the temperate /one. is now so little utilised by man. The
population, which cannot be estimated at more than ten or twelve to the square mile,
seems to be even diminishing. Yet the dominant Turki race, although still mostly
in the tribal state, possesses many sterling qualities, which ought to secure it a con-
siderable part in the common work of human progress. Laborious, long-suifering,
persevering, the western Turkoman an weariedly returns to field labours interrupted
hv invasions. Conscious of the renown of their forefathers, the Kara-Koyunli and
the Ak-Koyunli — that is, the " Black " and "White Shepherds" — preserve a feeling
of national cohesion unknown to most of their neighbours. Hence the facility with
which they absorb fresh ethnical elements, such as Lazes, Circassians, and Kurds,
who gradually become assimilated to the ruling race, especially in those districts

TIIE LAZES AND ARMENIANS. 173

where nomad habits have given place to agricultural pursuits. For Turkey the
true source of regeneration lies rather in these vigorous Turkoman peasant com-
munities than in political alliances or " European capital."

The Lazes of the seaboard and the A jar a of the coast ranges between Batum
and Trebizond, are Mohammedans of Georgian stock, endowed with the same fine
physical qualities as their Trans-Caucasian kinsmen. Their speech is closely allied
to that current on the Mingrelian lowlands, but affected by Turki and Greek
elements. At the same time, the migratory habits and different religious and
political institutions of the Lazes, cause their dialect to diverge more and more
from that of the Russian Georgians, and become more assimilated to the Turkish,
which has even already displaced it in some districts on the Upper Chorukh river.
These mountaineers are a hardy, industrious race, fond of adventure, formerly
much addicted to piracy on the Euxiue waters. They are now chiefly occupied
with fishing, agriculture, and the transport of merchandise, while thousands seek
employment as porters, coppersmiths and tide-waiters in Constantinople. In
Lazistan proper, which reaches westwards to Cape Kemer, the inhabitants are
almost exclusively of Laz stock. But beyond this point, in the direction of
Trebizond and Platana, Laz communities become gradually less numerous, and
more interspersed with Greek and Turkish populations. Next to them the most
important ethnical elements are the Cherkesses, Abkhasians, and other refugees
from the Caucasus, about 6,000 of whom are annually moving westwards. The
Armenians have only a small group of villages about Kopi, on the frontier of the
Batum district, and the Greek colon)' is reduced to a few isolated families in the
towns along the coast. In certain inland villages, especially at Jivislik, on the
road from Trebizond to Gumish-kaneh, there occurs an intermediate class of
" Mezzo-mezzos," in the morning speaking Turkish and visiting the mosques,
in the evening conversing in Greek and celebrating Christian rites. These half-
caste Hellenes and Lazes have by some been identified with the Macrones, who,
according to Herodotus, practised circumcision, and who may have consequently
been regarded as a sort of Mussulmans before the Moslem conquest .

Although nowhere in Trans-Caucasia or Asiatic Turkey forming a compact
national community, the Haikans (Armenians) form the dominant population on the
southern slope of the Chorukh Valley, as well as on the main branches of the
Upper Euphrates. They are also in exclusive possession of some upland valleys in
the Jihun basin, Asia Minor, where the traditions of the old Armenian empire
are still best preserved. The total number of Armenians in the provinces left to
Turkey has been variously estimated, according to the political bias of the writers,
at from 500,000 to 2,000,000 or 3,000,000. They may approximately be calculated
at some 700,000 or 800,000 — that is to say, about one third of the whole Armenian
nation. In Erzerum, as in Constantinople, they are distinguished from the Turks by
their greater love of instruction and industrious habits. In the vilayet of Van they
have almost a complete monopoly of the local trades. Tiny readily migrate, and thou-
sands are now settled in Constantinople, and the other cities of European and Asiatic
Turkey, where they find employment especially as builders, artisans, and carriers.

174 SOUTH-WESTERN Asia.

The Ki rds.

While tlic centre of gravity of the Armenian nationality now lies at the foot of

Mount Ararat within Russian territory, the Kurds are concentrated chiefly on the
Vun plateau, whence their numerous tribes radiate over a vast extent of country.
Including in this group the Luri and Bakhtyari of the Persian border ranges, and
the rarious aomads removed by the Persian sovereigns to Khorassan and the
Baluch frontier, their domain is found to stretch for about GOO miles from the
neighbourhood of Ramadan to Aintab, with a mean breadth of 150 miles. Bui the
few tribes scattered amongst the Armenians, Georgians, and Tatars of Russian
Trans-Caucasia, have little cohesion with the Persian and Turkish divisions of the
family. The majority recognise the sovereignty of the Porte, although various
communities, especially in the Dersim highlands, south-west of Erzerum, still form
petty semi-independent states. F.lsewhere also, and notably in the basin of tin
Great Zab, they constitute a compact nationality, powerful enough to aspire to
political autonomy in the Turko-l'ersian borderlands. Attempts have even been
made to found a common league or confederacy of all the Kurdish tribes, which,
however aggressive towards other races, seldom quarrel amongsl themselves.

Scattered over such a vast range, the Kurds naturally present considerable
diversity of physical types. In some respects they even form distinct ethnical
groups, some being affected by Turkoman or Tatar, others by Armenian or
Persian elements. Certain tribes, regarded as of pure Armenian stock, are
supposed to be descended from old Christian communities converted to Islam.
.Nearly all the Turkish soldiers stationed in the Kurdish highlands intermarry with
the natives, whereby the physical appearance becomes still farther modified.
Some are noted for their coarse and even ugly features, while others rival the finest
Cherkesses in grace and symmetry of form, Thoseofthe (Jrmiahand Van basins,
who are regarded as the descendants of the K'udraha, mentioned in the Persepolis
inscriptions (the Kardukhi and Gordyans of Greek writers), are of middle size and
thick-set, with a haughty expression; while those of the Persian frontier have
generally a receding brow, wide eyebrows, long lashes, large mouth, projecting
chin, pointed aquiline nose. Many, especially of the Persian tribes, dye their bushy
beards and hair red or black, although naturally light hair and even blue eyes are
far from rare. Five skulls measured by Duhousset are strongly brachycephalic,
thus presenting a marked contrast to the Past Persian, Afghan, and Hindu crania.
But no general conclusion can be drawn from such partial measurements, still less
from the vague comparisons made by the American missionaries with the Red-
skins of the New World.

The children are very pretty, and the features of the women, who never go
veiled, distinguished by great regularity, largo eyes, aquiline nose, robust figure,
deep black hair, well harmonising with a slightly brown or swarthy complexion.
Unfortunately they are too often disfigured, like their Hindu sisters, by the gold
ring passed through the nostrils. Roth sexes are fond of finery, bright-coloured,
costly robes, high head-dresses, enveloped by the men in gorgeous turbans. The

TYPES AND COSTCMES-KCKDISH GENTLEMEN.

THE Kl'KltS.

175

Kurd completes his costume by an arsenal of small-arms — revolvers, knives and
yatagana — attached to the girdle, ritiV swung to a shoulder-belt, a long lance
decorated with ribbons and carried in the hand. But this is mere parade, most of
such encumbrances being dispensed with in actual combat.

Most explorers and missionaries that have resided any time amongst them
have recognised two well defined castes, descended probably from distinct
ethnical stocks, and known as the Kermani or Assireta — that is, nobles — and
guran, or peasants. The latter, four or five times more numerous that the former
in South Kurdistan, are regarded, not without reason, as the descendants of a
conquered and enslaved race. Like other serfs attached to the soil, they are

Fig. G3. — Populations of Turkish Akmenia.
Scale 1 : 6,000,000

JACOBITIS

'-'V.

' *■* V" JJt

58'

42"

L | ot ur~ecnwich

known in Turkey as raya, or riots. In certain districts they are compelled to
till the land for masters who claim over them the right of life and death.
Under no circumstances can they rise to the rank of warriors, but, like cattle,
change their owners according to the vicissitudes of battle. On the other hand,
the military, or noble caste, would be dishonoured by agricultural labour. Besides
stock-breeding, their only occupation is pillage and warfare, either on their nun
account or as mercenaries. The type is inferior to that of the Gurans, being
marked by angular features, small sunken eyes, heavy figures. Amongst them
are also found a few Chinghianehs, or gipsies, differing in no respect from those
of Europe ; and the Tere-Kamehs, who occupy about a hundred villages near the

17C BOUTH-WBSTEEN ASIA.

Persian frontier, and who, owing to their Turki speech, arc regarded as of
Tatar descent.

Like the race itself, the Kurdish language presents a great diversity of form,
although the common structure is essentially [ranic. The vocabulary lias been
enriched in the east by Persian, in the west by Arabic and Turkish words, in
some district even by Syriac and Russian terms. The Zaza, current at Mush and
l'alu, presents certain analogies with the Ossetian of the Caucasus; and.
according to Lereh, there are altogether five distinct dialects, (me of which, the
Kciinanji, is spoken by all the tribes west of MosauL All these idioms are harsh,
sounding like a series of explosions, yet less affected by sibilants and gutturals
than most of those current amongst the surrounding peoples. To the national
literature, consisting of a few Bongs in praise of their heroes and wild mountain
scenery, the American missionaries have added a translation of the Bible and a few
religious works. Having no distinct writing system, the Kurds employ the
Arabic as modified by their Persian neighbours, and the lettered classes usual]}
exchange the rude national speech for the more cultured Turkish or Persian.

Neither Baluch, Bedouin, nor Apache has developed the marauding instinct
to a higher degree than have the warlike Kurd tribes. The chief, whose moun-
tain fastness commands like an eyrie the entrance of the gorges, entertains a
hand of freebooters, who scour the surrounding highways, and swei p the plunder
into his inaccessible den. Armed robbery is regarded as the most honourable of
deeds; hut smuggling, which might be so easily carried on in an upland region
on the confines of three empires, is held in contempt. Advantage, however, is
taken of the conterminous frontiers, in order to organise excursions now against
one, now against another of the neighbouring states, and when pursued rapidly
retire across the border. It is to avoid these dangerous hereditary foes of their
race and religion that so many Armenian communities have forsaken their homes
and withdrawn to Russian territory. In many districts of the plateau, a chronic
state of blockade is kept up against whole towns and groups of villages, where
the inhabitants live in constant dread of the marauders. The drastic measures,
such as impaling and the stake, taken against them, instead of striking terror
into these brigand tribes, have often the effect of stimulating them to frightful
reprisals. Suppressed in one place, the incessant struggle breaks out in another,
at times compelling the Turkish (iovernment to fit out costly military expeditions.
According to Polak, there is one Kurdish sect which strictly forbids the plunder
of the living, in consequence of which these sectaries first scrupulously murder
their victims before rifling them. Nevertheless, under ordinary circumstances,
human life is respected, and clothes and provisions are even occasionally left to
the poor in the villages plundered. Bloodshed is avoided except in the case of
personal or hereditary feuds, when the laws of vendetta may be enforced in the
mosque itself. The chiefs, to whom all yield blind obedience, keep open table,
and return in banquets the presents exacted and the products of their plundering
raids. The stranger also is well received when he presents himself as a guest.

Notwithstanding their warlike habits and marauding propensities, the Kurds

THE KIZIL-BASHES. 177

are on the whole more honest and trustworthy than llie surrounding races. In
general they respect their women, who enjoy far greater freedom than their
Turkish and Persian sisters. But the incessant toil to which they are condemned
renders their existence so burdensome that mothers are said frequently to make
away with their female offspring, in order to save them from their hard lot. But,
unlike the Circassians, whom they resemble in so many other respects, they have
never been accustomed to sell them to the purveyors of the Turkish harems.
Notwithstanding their many sterling qualities, the Kurds are threathened with
extinction in many districts in Persia and Turkey, where they are diminishing
in numbers, and here and there merging in the surrounding populations. The
serfs, who constitute the bulk of the nation, have no interest in maintaining the
relations binding them to the warlike caste, which on its part is condemned to
exhaustion by its very mode of existence — a perpetual warfare against all their
neighbours. Keligious animosity contributes to the work of destruction, at least
in Persia, where three-fourths of the Kurds are zealous Sunnites, and consequently
regarded by the Iranian Shiahs as heretics deserving the worst of fates.

The Kizil-Bashes, Yezidis, and Nestorians.

In this land of transition, where the remnants of so many peoples have
become amalgamated, traces have survived of the most varied forms of worship.
A Kurdish community in the sanjak of Sert, has even been mentioned as pro-
fessing no religion. Amongst the tribes on the Armenian and Kurdistan plateaux
there exist not only members of every Mohammedan and Christian sect, but also
unconscious heirs of the old Persia.ii Mazdeism. The Kizil-Bashes, or " Red
Heads," a term applied in Afghanistan and other eastern countries to peoples of
Persian stock, are for the most part Kurds. Of 400,000 of these sectaries not
more than 15,000 are of Turkoman descent, while two or three tribes call them-
selves Arabs. The Red Heads, who are centred chiefly in the middle Euphrates
basin, on the banks of the Ghermili and Upper Kizil-irmak, are included by the
Mussulmans among the Christian sects, because they drink wine, allow their
women to go unveiled, and practice the rites of baptism and communion. They
are also accused, rightly or wrongly, of celebrating nocturnal feasts or orgies, in
which unbridled licentiousness prevails. Hence the term Terah Sonderan, or
"Extinguishers of Lights," by which they are commonly known. Their religious
chief resides in the Dersim district, near the river Murad.

Other detested sectaries are the so-called " Devil Worshippers." These
Yezidi, or Shemsieh Kurds, although they number scarcely 50,000 souls altogether,
are scattered over a very wide area. Their chief settlement is in the Sinjar hills,
north of the Mesopotamian plain, but they are also found on the Van and
Erzerum plateaux, in Persia ami in Trans-Caucasia, near the east bank of Lake
Gokcha. One of their colonies is even said to have penetrated westwards to the
Bosphorus, over against Constantinople. Hated by all their neighbours, persecuted
and reduced by famine and epidemics even more than by the sword, they
110

ITS 80TJTH-WESTEEN Asia.

have nevertheless contrived to survive Eromage to age, with nothing to sustain
them except their Faith, and the memory of their trials and afflictions. They
pretend thai their greal saint, Sheikh Aili, wrote a code of doctrine, the so-called
Aswat, or " Black " Book. But the assertion is unsupported by any documentary

evidence. The autonomous Sinjar Vezidis, half-caste Kurds and Arabs, were
mostly exterminated in 1838, when those who had taken refuge in die caves were

smoked tn death, and their women sold into slavery. Since then no Ye/.idi com-
munity has maintained it-- political independence.

The accounts given by travellers of the different Yezidi tribes vary so greatly

that these sectaries have lieen referred to several distinct origins. Those residing
near the Armenians seem to belong to that ethnical group, and extant documents
mention a Tillage in the Van district where the sect was rounded in the ninth
century. In Sinjar, on the contrary, they are traced to an Arab source, and their
cult associated with Islam. In Persia again they are regarded as (iucbrcs. Vet

tiny are ( nected with the Mussulman world by their very title of Yezidi, derived

from Vezid, the detested caliph, grandson of the prophet, and murderer of Hussein.
Lastly, the Kurds confound them with the Christian sects of the lowlands,
attributing to all alike every conceivable abomination. The ceremonies vary with
every district. Some baptise their children and make the sign of the cross;
others practice circumcision, which is prohibited elsewhere; in one place polygamy
prevails, in another all are strict monogamists; formerly blue was chiefly worn;
now this colour is held in horror, and replaced by white.

lint the common bond of union between all the Vezidis, is the worship of the
melek Taus, their peacock or phoenix king, Lord of Life, Holy Ghost, Fire and
Light, represented under the form of a bird with a cock's head, perched on a
chandelier. His "prime minister " is Lucifer, the morning star, still venerated
notwithstanding his fall. Having themselves fallen, by what light, they argue,
could they curse the fallen angel? And as they themselves hope for salvation
through the divine favour, why may not Lucifer also resume his rank as chief of
the heavenly hosts Y The prophets Moms, Mohammed, Jesus. Christ, may them-
selves have been his incarnations ; possibly he has already returned to heaven, in
order again, as supreme minister, to execute the decrees of the divine legislator.
Thev are struck with horror when they hear the archangel's name blasphemed
by Moslem or Christian; and the sentence of death is said to be pronounced
against those amongst them who take the name of " Satan." Those who hear i<
an- bound to kill, first the blasphemer, then themselves. They scrupulously comply
with the orders of their priests, and many make the pilgrimage to the shrine of
Sheikh Adi, on the route to Amadiah, north of Mossul. Their pope, or Sheikh-
Khan, resides at Baadli ; but the sanctuary is in the village of Lalest, where lived
a prophet, tin- •• Mohammed" of the Yezidi. Here are performed the greal
ceremonies, anil here the holy effigy of the melek Taus is exposed to the veneration
of the faithful. Travellers, and even Christian missionaries amongst them, unani-
mously represent the Yezidi as far superior, morally, to their Nestorian or Gregorian,
Shiah or Sunnite neighbours. They are perfectly honest, showing a scrupulous

THE NESTOEIANS.

179

regard for the property of others. They are also extremely courteous to strangers,
kind to each other, faithful to the marriage vow, and of industrious habits. The
songs sung by them while tilling the land, or during the evening rest from labour,
consist either of fragments of epic poems celebrating the great deeds of their
forefathers, love ditties full of sentiment, or else plaintive appeals for redress.
" The jackal preys only on carrion ; but the pasha drinks the blood of our youth.
He severs the young man from his betrothed. Cursed be whosoever two loving
hearts sever. Cursed be the ruler to pity a stranger. Its dead the grave gives
not up, but the angel of doom our cry will hear ! "

Of the Christian sects surviving in Kurdistan, the most important is that of
the so-called Nestorians, a title, however, which they reject, calling themselves

Fig. 64. — Catholic and Protestant Missions amongst the Nestorians and Chaldeans.

Scale 1 : 5,500.000.

C . of Gr

Yezedi.

rami

Chaldeans.

Jacobites. Nestorians. Kizil-bash.

Catholic Missions. Protestant (American) Missions.
60 Miles.

"Messianic Nazarenes," "Syrian Nazarenes," or simply " Nazarenes." Their
language is an Aramean dialect derived directly from the Syriac ; hence the
surprising facility with which they learn Hebrew, which the missionaries have
introduced into their schools. Numbering, perhaps, 2(H), (1(H) altogether, they are
scattered, like the Yezidi, over a vast territory ; and to them probably belonged
the now extinct Nestorians of China, as well as the Nassareni-Moplahs of the
Malabar coast, whose liturgical language is the Syriac, and who recognise as
their head the Babylonian patriarch residing in Mossul. Their diffusion to such
remote regions doubtless preceded the occupation of Mesopotamia by the Moham-

I so SOUTH-WESTERN VS1A.

medans, who < 1 i • 1 not invade the Julamerk highlands between lakes Van and
Urmiah, where the Neatorians had their strongholds and mosl important communi-
ties. Bui in Is 13 their villages were overrun by the surrounding Mussulman
Kurds, who massacred the men taken in arm-, carried the women into captivity,
and brought up the young in the Mohammedan faith.

At presenl the Porte lias no more loyal subjects than the sun iving < 'hristians of
Julamerk, who, like the neighbouring Curds, are divided into two classes, the
assireln, or nobles, and the peasants, little better than slaves. They are governed by
a sacerdotal hierarchy, under the patriarchate of a priest-king known as " Mar
Shiinun," or "Lord Simon." The Nestorians trouble themselves little with the
theological subtleties on the human and divine nature of Christ which gave rise to
the schism of Nestorius. But ceremonial differences have sufficed to create secular
hatreds between them and the other religious sects. The Chaldeans of Mesopo-
tamia and Zagros, who are settled mostly in the Diarbekir district and north of
Bagdad, have been united at least officially to the Church of Rome since the -i\-
teenth century. Nevertheless they retain various old rites, and celibacy is
restricted to the higher orders of the clergy. Recently, however, some of the
Catholic missionaries have been endeavouring gradually to assimilate the Chaldean
to the Latin ritual. < >n the other hand, the .Nestorians, who remained faithful to
the old Hazarene cult of Syria, have since 1831 been brought chiefly under the
influence of the American missionaries. These Protestant evangelisers maintain
about sixty stations in the country, contribute to the support of the native clergy
and schools, and have more than once protected their highland congregations from
the Turks and Kurds.

Topography.

There are comparatively lew towns in these upland regions, which have been so
frequently wasted by pillage, famine, and military expeditions. Half the popula-
tion still leads a semi-nomad existence between the winter and summer pastures,
residing during the heats in felt tents L5 to 20 feet high, for the rest of the year
in hovels half buried in the ground, with grass-grown roofs rendering them almost
indistinguishable from the surrounding land. Some of the powerful Kurdish chiefs
possess huge stone houses, but always so disposed as to keep in view the horses who
form their main pride and delight.

West of Batum and the Chorukh delta, recently ceded to Russia, no town of
any consequence occurs for a distance of over 90 miles along the coast. Atina, an
old Greek colony, formerly known by the name of Athens, consists of a few
scattered houses, and in the neighbourhood some mural remains mark the site of Eski-
Tirabson, or Old Trebizond. Wesl of Atina follow the open roadsteads of Rizch,
Of, and Surmeneh, beyond which comes the famous city of Trebizond, the Trapezos
of the Creeks, founded some ~\lil»l> years ago by a colony from Sinope. Trebizond
was the capital of Pontus, and in the thirteenth century became the metropolis of
the empire which was founded by Alexis Comnenus, and which for over 250 years

TliKISIZOXD.

181

arrested the progress of Islam. Although now merely a provincial capital, it pre-
serves a certain importance as the outlet of Persia on the Black Sea. Notwith-
standing its unsheltered anchorage, it has at all times been the port where
passengers and goods are landed for the Iranian plateau, and where the produce of
Persia is shipped for the West. The route, carried southwards over the rugged
intervening highlands, is essentially a historic highway, the shortest and easiest
between the Euxine and North Persia by the BayazidPass and the plain of Erzerum.
The section between Trebizond and Erzerum now forms a fine carriage-road 200
miles long, accessible even to artillery. But the Trans-Caucasian railway from
Batum and Poti through Tiflis to Baku, which must sooner or later be continued
round the Caspian seaboard to Persia, is already threatening to deprive Trebizond

Fig. 65. — Thebizond.
Scale 1 : 215,000.

JG5I T,

0to32
Feet.

32 to 76
fleet.

76 to 152 152 Feet and
Feet. upwar.l-.
3 Miles.

of most of its trade. Nevertheless the imports and exports were still valued in
1881, at £1,733,000 and £1,000,000 respectively; and since the interdict imposed
by the Russian Government on the Caucasian transit trade, the French sugars and
English woven goods intended for the Persian market have again been diverted to
the old route over the Armenian plateau.

Of the old ramparts, built in form of a trapezium, whence the name of the city,
the lines are still marked by several ivy-clad towers and a ruined castle on the
coast. The modern quarter of Ghiaur-Meidan, lying beyond the walls on a cliff
east of the town, is occupied by Armenians, Greeks and the European merchants
settled in the place. Here is also a considerable Persian colony, which supplies
nearly all the local artisans. In an enormous cave on the Kolat-dagh hills south of
Trebizond is the famous Panagia of Sumelas, the Miriam ana, or " Mother Mary,"
annually visited by 8,000 or 10,000 Greeks in the month of August. Even the

182 SOUTH-WESTERN \>l \

Turkish women flock in large numbers to the shrine to implore her intercession
against fever or sterility. She can dispel all calamities, bul is especially potenl
against locusts, whence the title of " Panagia of the Locusts." by which she is
known from Paphlagonia to Cappadocia. To the monaster] belong extensive
diiinaiiis along the Euxine Beaboard between Trebizond and Constantinople.

W'csi of Trebizond other Greek names recall the days when Hellenic influence
predominated on the coast of Pontus. Tireboli, <>r Tara/m/itx, is one of the
numerous Tripolis or " Three Cities," whose walls afforded a refuge to people of
threefold origin. It has the advantage over Trebizond of lying at the mouth of a
considerable stream, the Kharshut, which, however, flows through gorges too
narrow to allow of a road being opened along its course. Farther on is the little
seaport of Kiresun, the old Greek settlement of Kerasos, so named from the
Armenian keraz, cherry, whole forests of which tree formerly encircled the town.
But the staple exports at present are filberts, of which o,oH0 tons, valued at flit), (MM),
were shipped for Russia and other places in 1881.

Between Trebizond and Erzerum the chief station is Baiburt, which lies at the
Cool of the Kop-dagh on the eastern bead-stream of thet'horukh. Like most other
upland towns in Turkish Armenia, it is little more than a collection of hovels and
ruins, commanded by a strong citadel dating from the Seljuk period. In the
neighbourhood is a still finer castle, the Lihonis-kaleh, built by the old Genoese
traders on the highway to Persia. The silver mines in the vicinity, as well as those
of Ourmish-khaneh, lying further west in the upper Kharshut basin, are no longer
worked, having been partly flooded since the middle of the present century, when
they were the most productive in the Ottoman empire. The copper mine situated
some 12 miles to the south-east of Baiburt, at one time employed 500 hands,
and its deepest shaft descended 1,300 feet into the ground. The whole valley of
Chorukh is strewn with the ruins of castles, churches, and towns. Yet the entire
district might be changed to a vast garden, like the lateral valley of Toriuni, which
supplies Erzerum with fruits ami vegetables. In the neighbourhood stand the
church and monastery of Evek Vank, the most remarkable monument of Georgian
art.

Erzerum retains some of its former importance as the most advanced bulwark of
Turkey towards Russia, and as the converging point of the caravans crossing the
Armenian highlands, or radiating from this point towards Trebizond and Batum,
Sivas and Diarbekir, Bagdad, Teheran, and Tiflis. Tin- transit trade between the
Ehixine and Persia has greatly diminished since the completion of the Trans-Cauca-
sian railway from the Black Sea to the Caspian ; and after the Russian invasions of
1829 and 1 S 7 7 , the most skilful and industrious Armenian artisans, notably tin
workers in metal, hit the city in the wake of the conquerors. Thus deprived at
e of its trade and industries, and threatened with further aggression and politi-
cal changes, Erzerum has in recent times suffered greater losses than most other
Turkish towns. It is also avoided by strangers, owing to its excessively severe
winter climate. Lying at an altitude of 6,500 feet above the sea, in a treeless,
marshy plain, its Btreets are blocked by snow for more than half the year. But during

ERZERUM.

183

the summer months it presents a more inviting aspect, with its amphitheatre of
mountains and snowy cones, the grassy slopes of the lower hills, and the cultivated
tracts of its fertile and well watered alluvial plain.

The isolated hill crowned for centuries by the citadel of Erzerum, explains the
choice made of this spot for strategical purposes. The ancient Armenian trading
city of Arzen stood farther east. The fort of Theodosiopolis, erected at the begin-
ning of the tifth century above the city of Garin (Karin), also took the name of
Arzen, or Arsen-er-Rum, that is, " Arzen of the Romans " (Byzantine Greeks),
whence the modern Erzerum. Few places have been subject to more frequent

Fig. 66. — Euzi i;im.
Scale 1 : 040,000.

lir-stch// ~r.iAh- J8a

SuB

. Ja§h

L , of bree-1 ■'.

12 Miles.

assaults than this stronghold, which was successively taken and retaken by the
Persian Sassanides, by the Arabs, Mongols, Turks, and Russians, belonging in turn
to every nation except the people in whose territory it stands. According to the
vicissitudes of war, the population has fluctuated enormously. Before the siege of
1829, Erzerum is said to have contained 130,000 inhabitants, who were reduced
the following year to 15,000. Its only striking monuments are the picturesque
gray basalt citadel, and the mosque of the "Two .Minarets," covered in the Persian
style with enamelled porcelain. With the exception of leather-dressing, and some
metal works, the local industries have almost disappeared, and the neighbouring

lsi SOUTH-WESTERN Asi \.

mines are now closed. Yet this [a the traditional home of the first winkers in
metal, those Tibarenians and Chalybes, who Forged arms, and bronze and iron
instruments, at a time when their neighbours were still in the stone age.

West of Erzerum, the main route follows the banks of the Kara-su (Upper
Euphrates) down to the hoi springe of Ilija, the most frequented in Armenia, and

across several populous basins alternating with narrow gorges. But for a distance
of 12u miles no town of any size occurs, till the ancient city of Erfsenjan, or
Erzifigan (Erez), is reached, which lies in a fertile plan watered by several small

tributaries of the Euphrates. Even before the Christian era, Erez was famous as
the sanctuary of the Armenian goddess, Anahid (Anaitis), who became successively
the Artemis of the Greeks, the Roman Diana, and the Panagia of the Christians,
when the old temple was transformed to a church of the Madonna. Before the
rise of Krzerum, Krzenjan was the chief city of the llaik country, whence the
Armenians take their national name of Ea'ikana : and even when visited by Marco
Polo it was still a large place, where were produced the finest "bouquerans"
(muslins;') in the world. Hut it was overthrown by an earthquake in Ki<>7, when
half of the inhabitants perished in the ruins. Lying at an elevation of l.oilll feet,
it enjoys a milder climate than Erzerum, and on its fertile plain are successfully
cultivated the \ ine, melon, and other fruits of the temperate /one.

Below Krzenjan, a bluff overhanging the Euphrates, before it plunges into the
profound gorges lower down, is crowned by the walled city of K<nnikli, where the
kings of Armenia at the beginning of the Christian era had their finest temples,
their treasury, state prison, and tombs. But a still more remarkable place is Eghin
oi- Akin, which stands on the right bank of the Kara-su ( Euphrates) above the con-
fluence of the Chalta-chai. Here the river is deflected from its westerly course
towards the Mediterranean, and begins to describe the series of bends through
which it escapes from the Armenian highlands to Mesopotamia. In this romantic
region Eghin occupies one of the finest sites in Western Asia, anil has become a
favourite retreat for the Armenian traders who have made their fortunes in Con-
stantinople and in the cities of the lowlands. In the tributary Chalta-chai valley
the chief place is Divrig or Divrighi, which is supposed to stand on the site of the
Nicopolis, or "City of Victory," founded to commemorate the triumph of Pompey
over Mithridates. Goitre is very prevalent in these highlands, and especially in the
Eghin district.

East of Erzerum the main route to Persia crosses the easy pass of Deveh-boinu,
hading from the Euphrates to the Aras basin, and formerly fortified to protect the
city against the Russians. Here is also the old fortress of Htusan-kaleh, now a
mere collection of hovels al the foot of a hill crowned by the ruins of a fort wrongly
attributed to the Genoese. Below Eassan-kaleh the route bifurcates mar the
Trans-Caucasian frontier, one branch running north-east along the course of the
Aras to the town of Khorasnan, and thence to Kara, the other winding up to the
Deli-baba Pass and down to the valley of the Upper Murad, or Kasteni Euphrates.
lien- are Topra-kalefi, ahnosi entirely abandoned since the first Russian invasion ;
Uch-Kilimi, or the "Three Churches," a much frequented place of pilgrimage;

i:\Y.\XII).

185

and Diyadin, at the foot of an ancient fortress at the junction of the head-waters of
the Murad. Near Diyadin, now merely a ruined caravan station, formerly stood
the great city of Zahratoan, destroyed by the Persians in the middle of the fourth
century, when it is said to have contained about 80,000 inhabitants, of whom 50,000
were Jews.

Bayazid, which lies south of the main route to Persia, and of the water-parting
between the Euphrates and Urmiah basins, replaced the old Armenian city of
Pakovan, founded in the first century of the new era. The present town, which is
named after its founder, Sultan Bayazid L, forms one of the most picturesque
groups of ruins in Western Asia. The steep slopes are covered with an amphi-
theatre of buildings, above which rise a half-ruined palace and a graceful minaret,
commanded by a strong citadel. Still higher up a red marble crag streaked in
white forms, with a snowy crest, a suitable background to this romantic scene. The
palace, built by a Persian architect, was, till recently, the finest in the Turkish

Fig. 67.— Uppeb Murad Valley.
Scale 1 : 250,000.

>a.nj-

Bayazid

L.ofGr,

, 30 Miles.

empire. Porticoes, colonnades, and walls are entirely constructed of the rich red
marble from the neighbouring hill ; the interlaced arabesque and foliated sculptures
display marvellous taste and delicacy, combined with a sobriety of judgment rare
amongst Persian artists. The mosque has been degraded to a barrack ; the
neighbouring buildings have been rent, and a large portion of the city levelled to
the ground, by earthquakes ; but the graceful minaret still maintains its equilibrium.
Convalescent fever patients were formerly sent from Erivan to enjoy the benefit of
the pure air of Bayazid.

Smith and south-west of the old lacustrine basin, where the Murad is joined by
the Sharian-chai from the Pasin plateau, the course of the Upper Euphrates has
not yet been entirely explored, although traversed by numerous travellers. No
great caravan route runs in the direction of this upland river valley, which is
inhabited by fierce and formidable Kurdish tribes. Amongst the tew centres of
population in this wild region, the most noteworthy are Melezgherd (ManazgherdX

]st\

snlTIl \\ EST! l:\ \-l \

which Buppliea a great pari of Armenia with salt Erom the Tuzla-su, or "Sail
River," and Mush, capita] of the Paahalik, watered by the Murad. Mush lies ool
,,n the river itself, bul on an extensive lateral plain at the issue of a rocky gorge
commanded by mountains, <>n which the snow lies for six months in the year. Hut
Lying 1,600 feef Lower down than Erzerum, it enjoys a milder climate, in which
fruit-trees and even the vine are cultivated. The ruined citadel was formerly the
residence of those Mamigonians who were governed by princes Erom Jenasdan —

Fig. 6i> — HaYA7.II> — THI IfOMUa AMI 111 K Ul INKU U.LAKTKK.

that is, China — during the first centuries of the vulgar era. In the Mush district
were born two illustrious Armenians: Mezrop, inventor of the Haikan alphabet,
and Moses, the historian.

After its junction with the Kara-su, which flows from a " fathomless " crater
in the plain of Mush, the Murad plunges into a deep gorge, forming a cataract,
From the Bound of whose roaring waters the neighbouring village of Gurgnr, or
Kurkur, takes its name. Although already very copious, the river is not yet

GUBGUB— PALU.

187

navigable below this point. Dashing against its rocky walls, the current here
recoils in swift eddies, or descends in rapids over the reefs. At certain points the
hills running athwart its course confine it to a very narrow bed between vertical
walls or abrupt escarpments rising several hundred yards above the stream. Near
the village of Akrakii, the Mnrad is only some twenty paces broad, and assumes the

Fig. 69. — Confluence of the Two Euphrates.
Scale 1 : 640,000.

#5:._

12 Miles

character of a regular river only after passing the town of Palu. But the attempts
made to navigate it, from this place to the confluence of the two Euphrates, have
hitherto proved unsuccessful. The current, which at Palu is still 2,880 feet above
sea-level, is too swift for ordinary craft, which are here replaced by the kelleks, or
rafts made of thin planks bound together with ropes and supported by inflated
sheepskins. Six of these floats will cany four men over the eddies and rapids.

lss m in \\ BSTEBN \sl.\.

The la-t bridge across the river above Eilleb is at Palu, which is commanded by a
picturesque citadel, traditionally attributed to the hands of genii. In the neigh-
bour] 1 is a cuneiform rock inscription, and the district yields the best wine in

Armenia. A little Farther south are the important iron-works of Sivan-maden,
where the bills and valleys are strewn with rich blocks of black ferriferous ore.
Near Sivan-maderj the water-parting between the Tigris and Murad lies \\ ithin half
a mile of the latter river, whose chief northern affluent is the Mezur-su. .Near the
junction is the wretched bamlel of Mazgherd, in which Taylor recognises the
Iranian Eormuz-ghere, or "City of Eormuz." Eere Formerly >t < >< ><1 a fire-temple,
whose remains, visible at a vast distance, are still venerated by the neighbouring
Ki/il-hash and Armenian communities.

Below the confluence of the Murad and Kara-su, the main stream is still locally
knOWIl as the Murad, a name said to lie derived from the numerous forts erected on
the surrounding hills by Murad I. The term Frat (Euphrates) borne by the
Kara-su, is not usually extended to the united waters till they reach the plain. No
large town has sprung up at the confluence, and Kyeban-maden, which stands on
the left bank a little lower down, evidently owes its origin to the recently
abandoned argentiferous lead mines of the vicinity. The cliffs here at intervals
confining the stream to a narrow bed, also prevent the formation of roads, so that
all the caravan routes, towns, and strongholds, lie higher up on the plateaux and in
the lateral valleys. In the triangular space formed by the two Euphrates, the
chief place is Chemech-gadzak, the ancient Hierapolis, which is enclosed on tine.
sides by sandstone rocks, full of formerly inhabited caverns. On the western
plateaus Arabkir, or "Arab Conquest," lies 2 miles south of Eski-shehr ("Old
Town") in a depression encircled by black basalt scarps. This gloomy upland
recess has been converted into a smiling garden by its industrious inhabitants,
whose weavers import spun cotton from England for the local looms.

The peninsular district limited north by the .Murad, west and south by the
great bend of the Euphrates, is commanded by the Fortified city of Kharput
iKarber<£), which overlooks a fertile and well cultivated plain, yielding all the
fruits of the temperate zone. In the middle of this plain stands the town of
Mizrrili, known also as " New Kharput." The "Armenian College" founded at
Kharput by the American missionaries, has become the chief centre of public
instruction for the whole of Armenia and Kurdistan.

In the south-eastern section of the Armenian plateaux, the largest place is Van,
which gives its name to the neighbouring lake. It stands about "J miles from the
east bank in a level plain, surrounded on the north, east and south by bare lime-
stone hills. The city proper is enclosed on three sides by broad ditches, and a
double rampart of erenelled walls Hanked by towers. But the outer city, that of
the Baghlar or "gardens," is far more extensive, stretching a long way across the
fertile plain, which has given rise to the saying, "Van in this, heaven in the
next world ! " In summer nearly the whole population leaves the inner town for
the suburban district, whose glories are mostly concealed by high walls from the
passing traveller. The wine of the local vintages is light and very pleasant to the

-
>

En
O

-3

L>_i5 !£

SKMJltAMGHERD.

189

taste. The native women weave a species of goat-Hair waterproof moire antique,
highly esteemed even in Constantinople. The walled town, like so many other
places in Kurdistan and Persia, is sometimes known as Shemiram or Semiram. In
this case, however, there is historical evidence to show that, before taking the
name of Van, from an Armenian king, its second founder, it was specially
designated by the title of Semiramgherd, or "City of Seniiramis." The historian,
Moses of Khorene, who saw the magnificent palaces attributed to the famous queen,
states that she brought from Assyria sixty architects and 42,000 workmen, who
were employed for five years in the construction of those palaces and gardens which
became one of the " wonders of the world." Here Semiramis chose her summer
residence in order to enjoy the pure air of the highlands. Although no trace

Fig. Til. — Lake Vax.
Scale 1 : 1,500.000.

E .• of Greenwich 40" 20'

30 Miles.

remains of the Assyrian buildings, the rock of Van, which towers in isolated
majesty above the terraced houses clustering at its foot, offers none the less an
inexhaustible mine of wealth to the archaeologist. This huge mass of nummulitic
limestone, which is 2,000 feet long and about 100 high, comprises three main
sections, all containing numerous galleries, flights of steps, crypts, and inscriptions.
At all elevations the lines of cuneiform characters are visible on the bare rocky
walls. Schultz, who was afterwards assassinated in Kurdistan, was the first to
study them by means of a telescope erected on the top of a minaret. Rubbings
were subsequently taken by Deyrolle, by means of ropes and ladders suspended in
mid-air. One of the inscriptions, which, like that of Bisutun, is trilingual, relates
almost in the same words the great deeds of Xerxes, son of Darius. But other far
more ancient writings had long defied all efforts to interpret them, till they yielded

UK)

SOUTH-WESTERN Asia.

up their secret to the patienl lahour of Professor Sayoe and M. Ghiyard. Their
texts, composed in < >ld Armenian, are no longer a mystery, and the events here
recorded in marble archives will gradually be revealed by these imperishable
documents. Bui in the Van district there are other rock inscriptions, which still
await an interpreter, for the attempt made by Sayce to find a key for their solution
in the Georgian language of Trans-Caucasia cannot yet be regarded as entirely

successful.

Topra-kaleh, another Assyrian stronghold, south-west of Van, has been recently
explored by MM. Chantre and Barry. From the fortifications, which form three
distinct systems of basalt walls and towers, a view is commanded of the vast

Fig 71. — Tows ami Citadel of Van.

m .

HMWMII1

_
■

amphitheatre of hills, and of the lake, in whose blue waters is mirrored the snow-
capped cone of Seiban-dagh. Farther on, the town of Akhlat occupies a point on
the lake, where the route to Mush and the Euphrates begins to ascend towards
Lake Mazik. But little now remains of this formerly populous city, whose ruins
are scattered amidst the Burrounding gardens, and whose tombs are still to be seen
hollowed out of the surrounding sandstone rocks. East of Van the town of Erchek
overlooks the southern shore of Lake Erchek or Erteeh, beyond which runs the
border range between the two empires. Here the "Cut-throat Pass," familiar to
the marauding Kurds, leads down to the military station of Kotur, which belonged
formerly to Turkey, but which, by the Treaty of Berlin, has been ceded to Persia,

KOTUR— YEDDI-KILLISSA. 191

together with a territory some 500 square miles in extent. The last Turkish
valley in this direction is the lovely plain of AJbaga, which begins at the southern
foot of the Bayazid Mountains.

From Van is visible towards the south-west the hilly islet of Aktamar, which
was formerly a peninsula, but is now about '2^ miles from the shore. To the
Armenian kings, who long resided here, is due the church, dating from the
tenth century, which stands in the middle of the island. It is the finest and
richest in Turkish Armenia, and its patriarchs at one time claimed equal rank
with those of Echmiadzin. In a river valley south of Van is another famous
monastery, that of Yeddi-Kilissa, or the "Seven Churches," where young
Armenians of good families are educated in a college, modelled, like the normal
school of Van, on the training establishments of the West. The Armenians of
this district are great travellers, thousands annually seeking employment in
Constantinople and the cities along the Euxine seaboard, or visiting Bagdad,
Aleppo, Vienna, Paris. The total number of emigrants was estimated at upwards
of 30,000 in 1837, when the return movement averaged about 3,000

CHAPTEB VI.

TIGRIS AND BUPHEATES BA8INS.
Lower Kvrdistan, Mesopotamia, [rax-Akabi.

II I". section of Western Asia watered by the two great rivers
Euphrates and Tigris, is one of those regions which differ most
from the surrounding lands in their physical aspect and historic
evolution. Nowhere else do the outward conditions show more
clearly how the destinies of nations harmonise with their sur-
roundings. The civilisation of Chaldea and the Assyrian empire find their
explanation in the Tigris and Euphrates alone. And as the name of Egypl
conjures up the [mage of tin- Nile, at first pent up between two deserts, and then
broadening out in an alluvial delta, so are the great arteries of tin- rich Mesopo-
tamia plains at once suggested by the words Babylon and Nineveh. The
importance of the part played in history by the peoples dwelling between Taurus
and the Persian Gulf was not due to any special ethnical qualities, for the nations
that have been developed in this region were composed of the most In u rogeneous
elements. But Chaldea and Assyria were indebted for their long pre-eminence
in the history of the old world precisely to this intermingling' of races in an
environment favourable for their fusion, as well as for their social and intellectual
development.

The Iranian plateau, which skirts the plains of the Tigris on the east, is
disposed like a transverse barrier, whence the running waters flow down to the
lowlands. Mesopotamia itself forms a sort of emissary for the populations of the
neighbouring uplands, who found easy access i . > the Tigris through its numerous
lateral valleys. In the same way the inhabitants of the Armenian and Taurus
highlands on the north and north-west, as well as those of the Mediterranean
(•oast ranges, were all attracted towards the plains watered by the two great rivers.
To all these immigrants from the surrounding plateaux it offered a vast and
productive lowland region, where all the discordant ethnical elements could be
blended in one homogeneous nationality.

HISTORIC RETROSPECT. 193

Historic Retrospect.

As a historic highway, the united Euphrates-Tigris Valley occupied a position
of supreme importance in the Old World. Here passes the route connecting the
lines of coast navigation between India and the Mediterranean seaboard. The
valley which continues across Western Asia the transverse fissure of the Persian
Gulf, penetrates in a uorth-westerly direction towards the Mediterranean. Here
it communicates through a breach in the intervening ranges with the Lower
Orontes Valley, thus continuing the natural depression from sea to sea. Hence
from the first rise of navigation the Euphrates naturally became the main high-
way between East and West, offering in this respect analogous advantages to
those of the Nile Valley. Babylonia thus became the natural rival of Egypt for
the trade of the world, and the powerful rulers of both regions have ever aimed
at the conquest or suppression of the competing route. During one epoch at least,
Mesopotamia appears to have acquired the ascendency, and two thousand five
hundred years ago Xabuchodonozor, already master of Teredon, on the Persian
Gulf, occupied Tyre on the Mediterranean, in order to secure posses-ion of the
whole route. The Euphrates thus becoming the chief commercial highway of the
world, acquired even greater importance than the Red Sea and Nile Valley. But
the Persian conquerors, familiar with the overland routes across the plateaux, and
without experience of maritime affairs, arrested the movement between India and
Mesopotamia.

Alexander, in his turn, fully alive to the value of the great lines of communi-
cation which fell into his hands as master both of Persia and Egypt, endeavoured
to restore the Euphrates route. He removed the defensive works erected by the
Persians, revived the port of Teredon, built fleets, and formed a basin at Babylon
large enough to refit as many as one thousand vessels. Hence, not only during
the Greek rule, but even after the time of the Seleucides, the Euphrates remained
the chief line of traffic between East and West. Under the Arab caliphs, the
Mesopotamian markets again acquired a prominent position in the trade of the
world. And although this revival was followed by the silence of the wilderness
under the Turkish rule, the first symptoms of returning prosperity seem to be
already visible. The ebb of civilisation has set in towards the lands whence came
the flow. Athens, Smyrna, and Alexandria have acquired new life, and Babylon
will also rise from her ruins.

Including the whole historic period, Mesopotamia is one of those legions
which have enjoyed the longest culture. When the Medes and Persians inherited
the Assyrian sway, thousands of years had already elapsed since the Chaldean,
Elamite, Babylonian, and Ninivite dynasties had succeeded each other, and since
their institutions, religions, and languages, had accomplished their evolution on
the Mesopotamian plains. The riverain populations of the twin streams dated
their legendary history from the time of the great inundation which gave rise to
the myth of the biblical deluge, and even their authentic annals begin over four
thousand one hundred years ago. But before that now definitely fixed date, how
111

194 SOI TH-WESTEBN VSl v

many generations must bave elapsed to bring about the thorough Fusion of
Scythian, Iranian, Semite, and the other ethnical elements which gave birth to a
culture parked by such uniformity in its religious, social and political aspects.
Recent research eveu tends to Bhow thai the science of the Chinese, hitherto
regarded as of spontaneous growth in Eastern Asia, derived its first inspirations
from the banks of the Euphrates.* The magic of Babylon is found still practised
by the Siberian Tunguses.

Such was the pre-eminence of Chaldean civilisation that the surrounding
peoples placed between the two rivers the legendary land where the first men
lived a life <d' innocence and pleasure. Like other nations, those of the Euphrates
basin reserved their special veneration Tor the region whence came their arts and
sciences, and in their eyes this region became glorified as a land of bliss, a
" Paradise," or an •• Eden," where death was unknown, where no tempting serpent
had yet penetrated. As the Iranians turned their gaze towards the Elburz
valleys, the Hindus towards the'- Seven Rivers" Overshadowed by Meru, so the

Hebrews, of Mesopotamian origin, kept their eyes fixed on the land of great

rivers, and their "paradise" was watered by the Tigris, Euphrates, and the not

yet identified Pison and Gihon. Travellers ascending the Shat-el-Arab are si ill
shown the site of paradise, where grow the palms of Korna at the confluence of the
waters. Endless are the theories of archaeologists and biblical interpreters
regarding the exact position of the garden of happiness as described in the Jewish
writings. But may it not be simply identified with the arable zone irrigated by
the two rivers and their canals, beyond which lay the sandy wilderness? In the
cuneiform inscriptions Babylonia is always represented by the names of the four
streams, Tigris, Euphrates, Sumapi, and Ukni, probably the same as those of
Genesis. The word Eden, or Gan-Hdcn, would itself appear to be identical with
that of (ian-Duni, one of the names applied to the land of Babylon, consecrated to
the god Buni or Dunia.t Since the discoveryof the Zend and Sanskrit literatures,
the name of "terrestrial paradise," localised by the legend in Aram Naharain,
that is, " Syria of the Two Rivers," has become a floating- expression applicable to
Kashmir, Bactriana, or any other fertile region of Hither Asia.

Chaldea, towards which those western dreamers turn their eyes who still
believe in a golden age of the past, could not fail to exercise a vital influence on
the religion of the peoples civilised by them. The sacred writings of the Jews,
accepted by Christendom, embody numerous passages transcribed from the
Chaldean hooks, and even fragments in the Babylonian dialect. The legends
associated with the lives of the Patriarchs, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and
contusion of tongues, are identical in both literatures; while the cosmogony of
Genesis diifers little from that preserved in the surviving text of Berosus. But
to the west Chaldea also bequeathed its secular science, its knowledge of the stars
and their movements, the art of dividing time according; to the revolutions of the
heavens. She taught the western peoples how to weigh and measure accurately,

• Lenonnant ; Fritz Hommel ; Lepeins; Terrien de la Couperie.
t II. Rawlinson, " Notes on the Site of the Terrestrial Paradise."

IIISTdliir RETROSPECT.

195

besides a thousand primary notions in astronomy and geometry, traces of which
survive in modern nomenclature. In commerce the Chaldeans were probably the
first to employ orders for payment indelibly inscribed on brick tablets, an inven-
tion which passed from Babylon to Persia, and thence through the Arabs to
Europe.* Their influence made itself also felt in the art's' and literatures of the
peoples inhabiting the whole of the Euphrates basin, mainly, however, through

Fig. 72. — Mounds in the Tigris V alley, South of Seleucia.
Scale 1 : 425,000.

F . ot"G»-ep.uvtc^

Li Miles.

the indirect action on the one hand of the Jews and Phoenicians, on the other of
the Hittites, Cypriote, and Phrygians.

In no region of Hither Asia is the ground strewn with more numerous ruins
than in Mesopotamia. For vast spaces the soil is in some places mixed with
fragments of bricks and earthenware. The so called tells or mounds of rubbish
are dotted in hundreds and thousands over the plains, while a few remains of
towers and crumbling walls mark the sites of largo cities, the very names of many

* Lenormant.

mo si irin-w i> i i.i.n \SLk,

of which arc now unknown. But, like the neighbouring nations, those of the two
rivers have fallen from their former pre-eminence in consequence of the gradual
westerly movement of civilisation towards the Mediterranean seahoard, and thence
tn Western Europe. Consisting of traders and agriculturists scattered over a
plain exposed on all .-ides to the incursions of barbaric hordes, they were even less
able to defend themselves than their neighbours. Their greal cities were sacked
and razed to the ground, and the population reduced to scarcely five millions in a
region as large as France, and Ear more fertile wherever artificial irrigation is
possible. And even of these more than one half are nomads, whose tents are
pitched on the verge of the desert.

North Mesopotamia^ Orographic System.

Of Mesopotamia the natural limits are the advanced spurs of the Persian and
Kurdistan border ranges on the cast and north, and on the north-west the Tauric
uplands, which have a normal south-westerly direction towards the Mediterranean,
where they terminate in bold headlands. Bui within this vast amphitheatre of
highlands, and even within the space enclosed by the twin rivers, the plains arc
intersected by several independent ridges, separated by profound fissures from the
surrounding orographic systems of Kurdistan and the Taurus.

The Kara ja-dagh, south of the narrow rocky isthmus which rises between the
sources of the western Tigris, and the sudden bend of the Euphrates at Telek, runs
in the direction from north to south, thus forming the chord of the vast arc
described by the Armenian border ranges. It is separated by a pass J, GOO feet
high from the Mehrab-dagh, an advanced -pur of the Taurus, occupying the
extreme angle of the interfluvial region. The Karaja-dagh is a huge mass of
black basalt some ■"..film feet high, deeply scored by the beds of mountain torrents,
such as the Karaja-chai, which flows from the north-eastern slopes to the Tigris
below Diarbekir. Near the confluence it is joined by the Kuchuk-chai, another
stream, whose right bank is skirted by a vertical basalt wall 230 feet high.

Farther west the Karaja hills merge in the Nimrud-dagh (" Nimrod Moun-
tains") and other ridges ramifying towards the Euphrates, and rising at some
points to a height 2,600 feet, or some 1,500 feet above the level of the lower
plains, liut in their western section these uplands assume mainly the aspect of
plateaux. Such is the Kara-seka. a limestone table with a mean elevation of
2,400 feet, interrupted at intervals by crevasses, which terminate ill circular
cavities forming reservoirs for a little water during the rainy season.

Towards the east the Karaja-dagh is separated from the Mardin uplands by a
wide fissure some '2, olid feet deep, which presents an easy route for travellers
proceeding from Diarbekir to the steppes skirted by the river Khabur. A com-
plete geological contrast is offered by the two sides of the gorge, which is skirted
on the west by steep basalt cliffs, on the east by chalk and limestone formation-,
but the crests attain on both sides the same extreme altitude of about 5,000 feet,
and are occasionally streaked with snow down to the end of April. The Mardin

NORTH MESOPOTAMIA!* OROGRAPHIC SYSTEM.

197

IlilK the Masioa of the ancients, are crossed l>y numerous passes about 3,300 feel
high, leading from the Euphrates to the Tigris basin, while towards the west they
are separated by a broad valley from the less elevated dolomitic Tur-Abdin mass,
which is continued in the direction of the Tigris by the basalt Hamka-dagk and
Elim-dagh. The Tur-Abdin crests are mostly treeless, and in many places destitute
oven of herbage. But the plain at the foot of the southern escarpment, being well
watered by the mountain torrents distributed in a thousand channels, has been
converted into an extensive garden, as crowded with villages as the best cultivated
regions in Europe. Here the mounds formerly crowned by temples and defensive
works are now generally encircled by poplars.

In this district the water-parting lies much nearer to the Tigris than to the

Fig. 73. — The Makdin- Hills.
Scale 1 : 1,750,000.

L . of b^e^w-c

Artificial Mounds.

. 30 Miles.

Euphrates. It merges southwards in the Kara-chok and Butman heights, which
skirt the Tigris, and cause its bed to deflect eastwards. The Butman ridge itself
is connected at its eastern extremity with the Sinjar, or Singali Hills, a low but
conspicuous chain, penetrating south-westwards far into the steppes of central
Mesopotamia. From the river banks nothing is here visible except the rocky
escarpments of these Sin jar Hills, which stretch through the Jebel Akhdal, and
Jebel Aziz, beyond the Euphrates westwards to the Jebel Amur, Jebel Ruak, and
Anti-Lebanon.* Although rarely visited, the Sinjar supports a considerable
population, thanks to the rains which feed the brooks on its slopes. The plains
stretching thence westwards to the Euphrates were in the ninth century the
* Anne Blunt, " Among the Bedouins of the Euphrates."

198

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

Bcene of a great scientific event. Eere was measured a degree of the meridian by

a group of Arab aatr mere, who Eound thai the degree was 56J Arab miles long.

The precise value of this mile has not been determined; but in the calculation
there appears to bave been an error, according to some of one-tenth, to others of
one-fiftieth only, in excess.

South of the Sinjar, the Mesopotamia!] plains are broken only by low mounds,
nearly all artificial, and by rocky tables eroded by intermittenl streams. Hut
east of the Tigris the land rises everywhere to lofty ranges intersected by the
tributaries of the river. These highlands, which belong geologically to the Iranian
system, run north-west and south-east, parallel with the Persian border ranges

whose snowy peaks are visible from the Bagdad lowlands. Nort h-east of MoSBul

Pig. 74.— Source of the Westebn Tigris.
Soak 1 : eon.noo.

IS MiloB.

the more irregular uplands converge at several points in mountain masses with
numerous peaks exceeding P!,()IM) feet in altitude. Such is the Tura Jelu, east of
the Great Zab, which, according to Layard, has an elevation of over 14,000 feet.
The main ridjre. crossed at sjreat intervals by a lew passes, and overlooking the
villages and camping-grounds of the Ilakkari Kurds, runs from the lakes south of
Lake Tan to the Persian border chains between the sources of the two Zabs. In
this north-eastern corner of Mesopotamia the Kurd domain is limited by the
sandstone .lebel Ilamrin, an almost geometrical square mass, furrow-ed by no less
regular river gorges. All the highlands skirting the Mesopotamia]] plains are
known to the Persians by the collective name of Pusht-i-kuh, an expression which
occurs on many maps, but which belongs to no range in particular. It simply
means the " mountains beyond."

THE TKilUS BASIN. 199

The Tigris Basin.

The Tigris, the shortest of the two rivers whose united waters flow through
the Shat-el-Arab to the Persian Gulf, rises in the neighbourhood of the Euphrates.
The chief sources spring from the Utch-gol or " Three Lakes," near the Sivan
mines, within half a mile of the deep gorge traversed by the Murad ; and the
united stream flows south-west towards the Euphrates. But it is intercepted by
another watercourse, also rising near the Euphrates, by which it is deflected south-
wards. This is the Dijleh, which is regarded as the main branch of the Tigris,
and which at first traverses the peninsular region formed by the windings of the
Euphrates round three sides of the upland Kharput plain. Rising within a few
miles of one of these sharp bends, the Dijleh begins by seeking an outlet from the
vast circuit thus described by the rival stream. The Gbljuk, Goljik, or Golenjik,
a brackish lakelet, here occupies a depression in the plateau some 200 yards higher
up, whence emissaries flow both to the Tigris and the Euphrates. At least the
level of the Goljuk was recently raised by a series of wet seasons so high that its
surplus waters found an outlet at its south-east end towards the Tigris. A cutt inn-
has even been undertaken to regulate the discharge, and convert the lake into
a constant affluent of the river.* Thus have the two streams been made to inter-
mingle their waters, as if to confirm the accounts of the old writers.

On reaching the Diarbekir plains, the Shat or " River," as the Tigris is here
designated, is rapidly swollen by the contributions received from the northern
highlands. The Batman-su, one of the largest of these, resembles the main stream
in the impetuosity of its current, and like it, takes its rise near the Upper Euphrates
on the southern slope of the Mush hills. Lower down comes the Arzen-su, and
the Bohan-su, with its romantic affluent, the Bitlis, from the heights skirting the
south-west corner of the Van basin.

Below the junction of the two Shuts, that is, the Dijleh or Western, and
Botan, or Eastern Tigris, the main stream, already developed to one half of its
full volume, turns south-eastwards to a rugged region where it flows for a space of
about 40 miles through a series of profound limestone and basalt gorges. Beyond
this point it merges on an open alluvial plain, but soon plunges again into a series
of wild and inaccessible ravines. Here also the tracks leave the river banks,
making long detours over the hills to avoid both the main stream ami the lower
course of the tributaries, all of which flow through gorges 45 or 00 feet deep.

Throughout the series of defiles, which begin at the Botan-su confluence and
terminate above Mossul, the Tigris maintains the normal direction parallel with the
border ranges of the Iranian plateau, which it preserves to its junction with the
Euphrates. Throughout its whole course it receives large affluents only on its left
bank, the drainage on the opposite side being almost exclusively to the Euphrates.
But some of these affluents themselves occupy basins of considerable extent. Such
is the Great Zab (Zarb-el-Kobir), whose head-streams drain the whole region com-
prised between Lakes Van and I'riniah. The Little Zab (Zarb Saghir) also sends
* Fanshawe Tozer, "Turkish Armenia, and Eastern Asia Minor."

200 SOUTH-Y ESTERN ASIA.

down ;i copious flood, Borne of which comes from beyond the Persian border. The
Diyalah also, which joins the Tigris below Bagdad, receives numerous feeders from
Persia, where they take their rise in the parallel depressions of the frontier ranges.
Like the Tigris itself, the tributaries have to pierce a series of parallel mountain
barriers before escaping from their old lacustrine cavities down to the Meso-
potamia!] plain. On issuing Erom the upland Kurdistan valleys, the Great Zab
flows easl of Mossul through masses of conglomerate, in a broad bed in some places
over half a mile from bank to bank. The Little Zah also readies the Tigris
through a succession of mountain gorges. South-east of a so-called "Gate of the
Tigris," a fissure from L60 to 230 Eeet deep affords an outlet for the waters of the
Diyalah across the red Bandstone formations of the Eamrin. Here the water
collects during the rainy season in a temporary lake on the Ki/il-robat plain above
the ravine. The Adliim, another affluent of the Tigris, flowing from the Pir
• iiuar (iudrun, a holy mountain 8,300 feel high, forms a permanent morass above
the Demir-kapu or " Iron Gate," by which it is separated Erom the alluvial plains
nl Mesopotamia.

Below all it- tributaries the Tigris overflows it- banks at several points, and
sends eastwards the sluggish Iladd, which forms a junction with the Kerkha of
Luristan. In winter the whole plain stretching from the Lower Tigris to the
advanced -pur- of the Persian highlands i- converted into an inland sea, often
ironically called the " Umm-el-Bak," or " Mosquito Sea." In summer there still
remains a network of winding channels, navigable by boats for marly loo miles
between the Tigris and Kerkha.

At its junction with the Euphrates at Koma, the Tigris, contrary to the state-
ment uf StrabOj is the more copious of the two rivers.* Between its source and
mouth at the confluence, it has a total Length of about 1,200 miles, or one half that
of the Euphrates, while the extent of its basin is also much less. But instead of
winding through the desert, like 1 1 1 < • Euphrates alter Leaving the Taurus highlands,
the Tigris continues to skirt the western escarpments of the Iranian plateau,
whence it receives numerous feeders along its whole course. Rising many hundred
feet above the Euphrates Valley, and pursuing a less winding, but more precipitous
course toward- the Persian Gulf, it has a very -wilt current, whence its old Persian
name of Tigri-, or " Arrow," which has replaced the Assyrian Hiddekel (Idiklat),
still surviving in the Armenian Dikla and Arabic Dijleh. Owing to it- greater
velocitv, it also loses Less water by evaporation, and develops fewer Btagnanl pools
and swamps along it- bank- than doe-, the Euphrates. It is ascended as far as
Bagdad by steamers of Light draft, which might even penetrate to Tekrit, GOO miles
from the -ea. From that point to Mossul it i- open only to small boats, and thence
to Diarbekir the only craft found on it- water- are the kelleks. or rafts formed of
planks with inflated -heep-kin floats. De Moltke and Miihlhach were the tii-t
Europeans to descend its stream on these frail craft, and thus explore the grand
defiles through which the Tigris escapes to the plain-.

• Mean disfharaje of the Tigris at I; t.-i i 1. 163,000 cubic feet per second; of the Euphrates at Hit,
"2,000 cubic tei t.

THE EITHIIATKS li.VSIX. 201

Tiik Euphrates Basin.

Below the junction of its two head-streams, the Murad and Frat, or Kara-su,
the Euphrates has already received most of the supplies that it discharges at the
Tigris confluence. The head-streams have each an average width of about 850
feet, with a depth of nearly 4 feet, and a velocity of 10 feet per second. During
the floods, that is, from the middle of March to the end of May, it usually rises
some 15 or 20 feet, and occasionally much higher. Before leaving the hilly region,
the main stream still receives a few tributaries about the point where it describes
the great bend west of the last spurs of the Taurus. Here the drainage of the
Armenian highlands had formerly been collected in a lacustrine basin, whose old
beach is still visible on the surrounding escarpments, and the alluvial deposits from
which have enriched the Malatda plains. Few districts in Hither Asia have a
more productive soil than this depression, which, however, is also one of the
unhealthiest in Asiatic Turkey. Of the streams here joining the Euphrates from
the western slopes the most copious is the Tokma-su, the Melas of the ancients,
whose farthest sources are intermingled on the water-parting with those of the
Jihun or Cilician Pyramus, which flows to the Mediterranean. The fertile
Tokma-Euphrates plain lies exactly mid-way between Constantinople and Bagdad,
and thus forms a central resting-place on this main route of the empire. Other
historic highways also traverse the same basin, which forms the natural converging
point between Armenia, Syria, Asia Minor, and the lower Euphrates. Forming the
western continuation of the Upper Tigris Valley, it also offered the easiest line of
communication for caravans and armies proceeding from Persia to the Ionian sea-
board. Sculptured cuneiform inscriptions on a rock overlooking the Euphrates,
where it was crossed by the main route, record the great deeds of some now for-
gotten Persian conqueror, whose name still remains undeciphered.

In the Malatia basin the Euphrates, still at an elevation of 2,800 feet above the
sea, is separated from the lowland plains by the barrier of the Taurus. Turning
first eastwards along the northern foot of the hills, it soon bends south-eastwards
between rocky escarpments over 1,650 feet high. Here begin the " cataracts," to
which the Turks have given the name of the " Forty Gorges." For a space of 90
miles some three hundred rapids follow in such close proximity, that in many
places after escaping from one the boatman hears the roar of the waters rushing
over the next. At times the floating ice collecting about these rocky ledges
presents a temporary bridge to the riverain populations. The dangers attending
the navigation of this section of the stream vary with the height of the water,
which sometimes flows in one sheet down an inclined plane, sometimes in cascades
from ledge to ledge. Right and left the stream is joined by foaming mountain
torrents, whose ravines often afford glimpses of the upper terraces, here clothed with
a grassy sward shaded by widespreading walnut-tree-.

One of the most dangerous of the cataracts is the first of the series on leaving
the Malatia plain, where there is a fall of lb' in a space of L80 feet. Other formid-
able rapids follow near Telek, at the point where the Euphrates, turning abruptly

202 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

to the south and south-west, flows beneath the plateau on which the western Tigris
takes its rise some l.:5()(t feet higher up. Sere the sulphur-charged waters, issuing
from a fissure in the rock, are revealed at a distance by the wreaths of rapour rising
above them. Lower down the stream is contracted by a projecting blulf front a
mean width of 650 to about 10 Eeet. This defile is known as the Geik-tash, or
" Stag's Leap," and one of the last of the series has been well named the Gerger
(Uurgur. Ivharkar), that is, the " Roarer." Nevertheless the cataracts have been
run more than once, as in 1838 and L839 by Von Moltke, at that time employed
by the Turkish Government to survej the ground, and Btudj the means of trans-
porting military supplies along tins route. I »n the first occasion he passed through
safely; but in the sic. .ml trip, undertaken during the tl Is, lie escaped with

difficulty from the rapids at Telek.

On issuing from the gorges of the Armenian Taurus, the Euphrates skirts this
range first on the east and then on the south, receiving from its slopes numerous
torrents, and still forming a few rapids above the village of Kantara. Here the
valley continues to be confined especially on the right side by chalk or limestone cliffs
:{(l(l or KM) feet high. Hut from their summit a view is already commanded of the
open Mesopotamia!! plains and the great river winding away between its sandy
hanks westwards. for the Euphrates ill this part of its course is still flowing

towards the Mediterranean, to which it approaches within 95 miles at the last hend
between Rum-Kalah and Birejik. At this importanl historical spot converge the
natural highways between the sea and the river. The very name of lium-Kalah,
or " Castle of the Romans," indicates the importance attached by the Romans or
Byzantines to this part of the river valley, known to the ancients as the Zeugma,
the yoke or link between east ami west. Eigher up, the stream had been bridged
at various times, and iii l.s:i(i Lynch discovered some remains, which seemed to be

connected with these works. Lower down the chief Crossing for caravans is at Bir
or Birejik, where as many as five thousand camels have at times heen detained
waiting for the ferry-boats. As far as Balis, !>(> miles still farther down, the
Euphrates continues to run nearly parallel with the Mediterranean; but here it at
last bends to the south-east, henceforth flowing obliquely across the Mcsopotamiao
plains to the Persian Gulf.

The level plains on both sides are diversified by moderately elevated dill's,
especially along the right bank, where the erosive action of the stream is most felt.
lb re and there the hills terminate in bluffs overlooking and even contracting the
bed of the river. Thus the Euphrates helow Deir is deflected hy the Jebel Abyad
(White Mountain), westward to the gorge where it is joined hy the Khabur.
Below Anah, and as far as Hit. the limestone cliffs skirting its course approach so
near that no space is left for houses or gardens. Villages, such as lladidha, Id- 1 /.,
Jebah, and others, are either excavated in the rock itself, or else occupy the rocky
islets in mid-stream, built like strongholds above the level of the summer floods,
which here rise some 24 hot above the winter low-water mark.

Navigable throughout a portion id' the year, at least for steamers of light draft,
the Euphrates from Birejik to the sea has a fall of scarcely more than 8 inches in

a:
a
E-
<

-
O
H

a
a

THE EUPHRATES BASIN.

203

the mile. Ilence it flows very gently, especially in the dry season between the end
of autumn and beginning of winter. Like the Nile, it also diminishes continually
in volume throughout its whole course across the Mesopotamian plains below
Birejik. At Iladidha it is fordable even for the villagers, and for camels at many
other points, where the depth scarcely exceeds 5 feet. It is doubtless joined on
both banks by a few affluents, such as the Sajur from the Tauric range, the Xahr-

Fig. "5. — Caravan on the Banks of the Euphrates.

Balik from the Urfa hills, the Khabur from the Tur-Abdin heights. Bui with the
exception of the last-mentioned, the torrents reaching the middle Euphrates send
down a considerable volume only during the rainy season. The other tributaries
are mere wadies, dry throughout most of the year, and when flooded mostly used
up in irrigating the surrounding fields. Several of these intermittent streams are
thus completely absorbed by the reservoirs, or else are lost in the marshes. Such is
the Wad- AH, which rises near Palmyra, and which although fully ISO miles Lone.

2iU

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

presents generally the appearance of a dry watercourse. Such also are the Qharra
and Hainan, whose broad beds, winding between high cliffs, arc little better than
quagmires even in summer. Bui all these wadies of the Syrian desert are vastly
, sceeded in extent by the Er-Rumen or El-Nej, which rises within some 30 miles
of the coasl of Madian, and after describing a great bend southwards into the bearl

Fig. 76. — Windings oi wi Middle Ehhuates.

Scale 1 : 123,000.

<y o

E. of G^ee^^c^

42' SO'

4S'2S

. 3 Milea.

of Arabia, falls ultimately into the Lower Euphrates after a course of at least 1,200
miles. This "waterless river" attests the great changes of climate that have
occurred since the time when the rains were copious enough to develop such a
mighty watercourse across the eastern -lope of Arabia. If account be taken of all
the ephemeral stream- (lowing from the centre of the Arabian peninsula towards
Mesopotamia, the basin of the Euphrates aud Tigris, usually estimated at nearly

THE EUPHKATES BASIN. 205

200,000 square miles, will have to be increased by fully a third. The mouths of
the wadies are at times dangerous to pass, even when their dry beds seem perfectly
level. During the great heats the ground becomes fissured by wide and deep
crevasses, which the first rains, charged with tine sand, cover with minute particles
of silicate no thicker than a sheet of paper. The space enclosed by the Kubeissieh
and Mohammedieh wadies, which join the main stream from the western steppes
immediately below the town of Hit, is occupied by vast layers of a bituminous soil
covered with clay and gypsum. Countless grey eminences, dotted over the plain
like the tents of a camping-ground, discharge from their bases smoking streams of
asphalt with a mean temperature of from 75° to 85° F. The viscous fluid winds
sluggishly over the surface towards the Euphrates.

At the point where the western artery approaches nearest to the Tigris, and
where the twin rivers run parallel, at a mean distance of 20 miles, the Euphrates
flows at an elevation of about 10 feet higher than the Tigris, and consequently
supplies the irrigation canals of the intervening plain. It appears at some former
time to have even joined the Tigris, the slope between the two being uniform and
interrupted by no intermediate heights. But the constant erosions in its right
bank, and the accumulation of alluvia on its left, caused the two channels gradually
to diverge, although still connected by lateral streams. The volume of the
Euphrates thus continues constantly to diminish, and much of its waters also
escapes through the ill-kept embankments to the surrounding plains, where they
develop reedy marshes of vast extent. Above Babylon its course has been
repeatedly shifted, now to the right now to the left, sometimes spontaneously, more
frequently at the pleasure of Nitocris, Cyrus, Alexander, or other conquerors.
During the epoch of the Seleucides, the main channel still flowed east of a slight
elevation directly south-west of Bagdad, and winded through the plain within 15
miles of the Tigris. Along this old bed are found nearly all the heaps of refuse
marking the sites of former cities, no ruins of which have been discovered on the
banks of the present channel. Some 50 miles south of the original bifurcation
begins the branch known as *he Hindieh Canal, said to have been so named from an
Indian nawab by whom it was repaired in the last century, although it appears to
have existed under other names at a former period, when many cuttings were made
to regulate the discharge. At present the Hindieh Canal diverts nearly half of
the main stream westwards to the vast " sea " of Nejef. In this marshy reservoir
much is lost by evaporation on its emerging to rejoin the river lower down. Owing
to all these ramifications, it has become difficult to recognise the branch which ought
to bear the name of Euphrates, which amid the Lamlun swamps is scarcely 250 feet
wide from bank to bank. In the dry season it shrinks to 14 or 15 feet, with a
depth of scarcely 2 feet, and when descending this channel Kemhall and Bewsher
had often to drag their boat through the mud and reeds at places where thirty
years previously Chesney's steamers had found from 13 to 20 feet of water.

Farther down the Euphrates resumes iis normal proportions, thank-; to the
Hindieh branch and to the riverain canals, as well as to the Tigris itself, which, by
a remarkable phenomenon, after receiving the overflow of the Euphrates, becomes

206

SOUTH VVES1 l.i:\ \S1 \

in its turn a tributary of it- rival. The canalisation system is, however, every-
where so defective thai many channels, instead of ramifying into secondary rills
and cuttings, become lost in vast pestiferous morasses. During the Hoods the
dykes above Bagdad often give way. isolating the city from the eastern uplands for
months together by a broad sheet of water dotted over with solitary eminences,
whore the riverain populations take refuge. The inundations arc now no longer

Pig. 77. — The EvPHBATES AND Lake Xkju.
Scale 1 : 878,000.

OumchiecJieVi

of GreeiwicW ~4-*l0

••

1« Miles.

controlled by all those lateral canals, which communicated with inland reservoirs,
and thus protected the lower plains while harbouring the superfluous waters for the
dry season. The eastern affluents of the Tigris, having a greater incline, are more
suitable for irrigating purposes than the main stream. To the waters of the
Klialis, a branch of the Diyalah, the plains of Bagdad are indebted for their
exuberant vegetation. Here have for the first time been successfully introduced
the improved European methods of irrigation.

THE EUPHRATES BASIX.

207

Efforts have at all times been made to established a sort of mystic contrast
between the two great Mesopotamia!! arteries. In the marriage of the converging
streams, the Euphrates thus represents the male, the Tigris the female element.
Several miles below the confluence, the difference is still perceptible between the
two currents in the Shat-el-Arab. The less copious and more sluggish Euphrati >
sends down a warmer, more limpid, and regular stream, depositing its alluvia in the
riverain marshes, while the Tigris keeps its sedimentary matter much longer in
solution. Korna, where the confluence takes place, forms the southern extremity of
the vast oval peninsula of Mesopotamia, the Jezireh or " Island " of the Arabs, the
Aram Neherain of the Chaldeans and Egyptians in the Tutmes and Ramses epochs.

Fig. 78. — Confluence op the Euphrates and Tigris.
Scale 1 : 230,000.

47 '20

E . at G^ee^wich

47'53

. G Miles.

This insular region begins properly speaking at the Telek bend, where the
Euphrates rapids are separated only by a narrow rocky barrier from the sources of
the Tigris. But from the geographical, climatic, social, and historical standpoints,
tin' true Mesopotamia is simply the plain in which are intermingled the irrigation
canals derived from both rivers. Northwards this fertile tract is limited by a
rampart running from the Tigris near the Samara bend, south-west towards the
western extremity of the Saklaviyah Canal. This " rampart of Xemrod," as it is
called, had a mean height of from 36 to 50 feet, and was flanked by towers at
intervals of 160 feet; but in many places nothing remains of these work- excepl
shapeless heaps of rubbish.

lids

SOTJTH-WESTEBN ASIA.

The Euphrates is little used Eor navigation, although since L836 steamers have
plied on its waters below Birejik. At various epochs since the time of Alexander
it was utilised by the Greeks, and as man\ as I, lot) vessels were collected on this
great highway of Western Asia. In peaceful times the middle Euphrates is
accessible for eighl months in the year to boats 10 feel long, drawing 3 feet, and
carrying cargoes of fifteen inns. Since 1563, when the Venetian trader, Cesare
Federigo, sailed from Birejik down to Feluja, riverain porl of Bagdad, European

travellers have frequently followed this route from the Mediterranean to the cities

of Mesopotamia. Before the introduction of ateam the chief obstacle was the

Fiir. 79. — Boats on the Ei ihkatbs.

difficulty of stemming the current. Hence most of the boats, after the downward
trip, were taken to pieces and sold for timber or fuel, the boatmen returning by
land, as in the time of Eerodotus. The scarcity of wood on the Armenian and
Tauric uplands contributes to render this traffic very expensive, and on the Lower
Euphrates, below Hit and its asphalt springs, wickerwork craft are used, made of
tamarind twigs stuffed with straw and covered on hoth sides with a coating of
asphalt, which is found to be perfectly waterproof. Hundreds of such boats may
at times be .seen spinning round with the stream, and laden with cargoes for the
caravans awaiting them along the hanks. Uut since the expeditions of Cheeney
and other British officers, the Euphrates has been sufficiently surveyed to organise

Till: EUPHRATES BASIN. 209

a regular service of steamers throughout its lower course during the rainy season.
But the towns that have succeeded Babylon and the other great cities of antiquity
are not large enough to encourage such undertakings. From time to time a
Turkish vessel ascends above Hillah, as far as Anah. But the small importance of
the river as a navigable highway may be judged from the fact that nearly the
whole trade of Anah with Bagdad is carried on, not by water, but by the land
route running across the desert eastwards to Tekrit, on the Tigris.

There is authentic record of the prodigious fertility of the Babylonian soil, when
the fluvial stream was skilfully distributed over the riverain plains. Herodotus,
who had visited the Nile delta, declined to describe the vegetation on the banks of
the Euphrates, lest his account might be suspected of exaggeration. Even after
the devastation caused by so many invasions, and especially by the destruction of
the Assyrian works of canalisation, the harried southern section of Mesopotamia,
so different from the arid northern steppes, continued to retain its exuberant
fertility. It yielded a vast revenue to the first caliphs without the oppressive
taxation which afterwards depopulated the land and caused the desert to encroach
on the arable tracts. From a statistical report, made by order of Omar, it appears
that certain districts, known as the Sawad, or "Black Bands," not more than
2,7-j0,000 acres in extent, furnished a yearly income of no less than £-"3, 400,000 to
the public treasury. Although greatly reduced, the yield is even now so
considerable that one asks in amazement how so much can be drawn from the land
under the present rudimentary system of cultivation. The Arab peasant selects
his plot— some " khor," or marshy strip, with little but mud and reeds in the
centre. Here he sows his barley, without clearing the ground or any preliminary,
except, perhaps, scratching the surface with a hooked stick. Then the cattle are
let loose to graze on the first sprouts of corn, after which nothing is done till
harvest-time. Four months after the April sowing the crop is ready for the sickle,
each grain yielding several hundredfold.*

So much water is still drawn off by the somewhat primitive methods of irriga-
tion, that the river becomes considerably reduced in certain parts of its course.
Must of the peasantry water their fields by means of a contrivance which
alternately raises and lowers an inflated goatskin. In more flourishing districts
wheels are employed to raise the water to the stone aqueducts built on the summit
of the cliff. Elsewhere the water is drawn directly from the river by means of
channels regulated at the issue by a system of sluices. Such is all that survives of
the colossal hydraulic works described by Herodotus, when the lateral reservoir
supplying the network of rills was \ ;(>t enough to receive for several days the
whole stream of the Euphrates without overflowing. The canal, attributed to
Xebuchodonosor, which ramified parallel with the river from Hit to the sea, was
no less than 480 miles long ; it has never been surpassed by any similar work,
even in modern times.

The old canals, whose remains are still visible along the riverain tracts, were
of two kinds. Some, such as the Nahr-el-Melek or "Royal Stream," which ran

* Baillie Fraser, "Travels in Mesopotamia."
112

•ill)

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

transversely with the Euphrates to the Tigris al Seleucia, were excavated to a
sufficienl depth to allow the currenl to flow at all seasons ami scour its bed l>v erosive
action. These were navigable. Others, used exclusively for irrigation purposes,
were flushed only during the floods, thai is, precisely al the time when vegetation
was mosl vigorous. Bui these rills were continually silting, and the mud
dredged annually from their beds and deposited along both sides, gradually formed
embankments rising from 20 to 24 feet above the surrounding plains. Some are
siill in he seen exceeding '■'>'■'< feel in height. Eventually the labour id' maintaining
such works became excessive, and fresh canals were dug, thus gradually covering
the plain with a succession of lofty dykes. In many places the hori/on is bounded
by five or six of these parallel walls, which al a distance look like the lines ,,|

Fig. SO. Can.u.s oi Mesopotamia West ok Uaodad.
Scale 1 : 500,000.

12 Milts.

entrenched camps. Nothing would he easier than to restore these old canals by
clearing oul the sand and mud now obstructing them. Sumo partial repairs have
already been effected, as in the Sakhniyah canal, which was navigated in July,
lv:'s, by a steamer down to the Tigris at Bagdad. Since then Borne other
Babylonian canals have been restored. But the modern irrigating rills mostly
lack the magnificent proportions of the older works, which ranged from 'lit to
250 feel wide; nor are they provided with any of those paved or cemented
reservoirs, a few of which are still to be Been here and then' in the interior of the
laud. The Arab and other riverain populations still, however, understand the
art of constructing the fluvial embankments, using tamarind branches and reeds
to make their fascines, which being elastic, offer greater resistance than stone.
The mud lodging in the interstices also contributes to their solidity.

THE SHAT-EL-ABAB AND EUPHRATES DELTA.

211

The Shat-el-Arab and Euphrates Dim \.

A few miles below the confluence, the Shat-el-Arab is joined on its left hank
by a considerable tributary, the Kerkha, flowing from the Luristan highlands
mainly through Persian territory. About 500 or 600 yards wide, with a depth of
from 20 to 35 feet, the Shat-el-Arab ranks among the great rivers of Asia,
although it cannot be compared with such mighty streams as the Yangtze, Ganges,
or Brahmaputra. It is even far inferior to the Danube, which, while rivalling the
Euphrates in length, flows through a more humid region. Barnes estimates the mean
discharge of the Shat-el-Arab at about 23-1,000 cubic feet per second. As the
Persian Gulf has an average depth of some 200 feet, it would take the Shat about

Fig. SI. — Hoi'Tiis of the .Shat-el-Arah.
Scale 1 : 2,700,000.

Sands exposed at
l"\v -water.

.. t. ..;■_'
Feet.

32 toet

Feet.

6-4 Feet and
upwards.

. 60 Miles.

seventy years to till this cavity, were it to be dried up by any natural convulsion.
The argillaceous particles held in suspense are deposited at the mouth of the river,
where they have developed a crescent-shaped bar with scarcely more than 15 feet
at low-water. Large steamers are thus obliged to wait fur the tide, which usually
rises about 10 feet, or else force the bar by steam pressure. The alluvia, which
arc continually encroaching on the gulf, during the sixty years from 1793 to 1853
advanced, according to Bawlinson, some 3,500 yards, or at the annual rate of about
(in yards. The whole delta appears to have thus pushed seawards about 90 miles
altogether during the last 3.000 years. The plains of marine formation stretch,
on the other hand, northwards to the vicinity of Babylon, where their origin is
revealed by myriads of fossil shells belonging to the same species as those now
living in the Persian Gulf. But while gradually gaining on the oceanic domain,

212 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

the river itself i- continually -li i ft ii iu: its courae to the right and to the left, tlms
displacing its bed Erom year to year and from age to age. There was a time
when the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Karon, and even the Kerkha, reached the sea
in independent channels. The twin rivers, united in their middle course, flowed
Lower down in separate but parallel streams to tin- coast. The cuneiform inscrip-
tions mention an expedition undertaken by Sennacherib against the country of
Elam, in which he had to face the dangers of the Bea in order to pass Erom the

inimtli ol' oik' to tliai of the other river. Tl Id independent channel of the

Euphrates, the Pallacopas of the Greeks, now known as the Jahri-zadeh, lies
some 12 miles west of the Shut -ol- A rab. Although frequently railed the
" Waterless River," it is, nevertheless, Mill flushed by a branch of the Euphrates
lor eight months in the year.* But the " Alidallah mouth," or embouchure of
the Pallacopas, has been gradually obliterated by the marine current which skirts
the Persian Gulf, flowing east and west from the Persian to the Arabian coast.

The presenl estuary is also subject to displacements, and since the construct! I

the first charts of the British Admiralty, it has shifted eastwards, thus approach-
ing the old mouth of the Karon. This Persian river, which formerly found its
way independently to the sea, is now connected with the Shat-el-Arah by the
llalfar, an artificial canal excavated "J 1 miles below BasSOrah. The original
channel of the Karon still exists under the name of Bamishir, and oilers to the
Persians a separate commercial route, of which, however, tiny make no use, in
order not to have the trouble of cleansing and keeping open the passage.

The Shat and Bamishir mouths, the now forsaken channels, the upper water-
courses, the intermittently flooded depressions, and the shallow, muddy shores, form
altogether a sort of debatable region between the land and sea, which maybe
compared with the Gangetic Sanderbans. But the impenetrable thickets of tangled
stems and branches characteristic of the Indian delta are here represented only by
patches of reeds strewn over the flooded plain. Even these disappear at high- water,
when travellers, after crossing the bar and ascending the Shat, might still fancy
themselves on the high seas. Nothing is now visible except the feathery crests of
the palm groves showing in mid-air like flocks of birds on the northern horizon.
The saline spaces rising above high- water mark are clothed with alkaline plants,
while the tracts exposed to periodical fresh-water floodings bear the mariscus elatus,
whose fibrous roots become so closely matted together that the whole surface 18
completely protected from further erosions. The shallow muddy waters skirting
the reedy zone harbour myriads of gurnards, which, by burrowing in the mud,
gradually raise the soil, and thus promote the encroachments of vegetation.

The fauna of the Shat-el- Aral) is partly marine. Sharks ascend with the tide
a- far a- Bassorah, and even higher up, both in the Tigris and Euphrates. They
also penetrate into the Karun, whose waters, flowing from the Khuzistan highlands,
are much fresher than those of the Mesopotamian rivers. Within a lew handled
yards the temperature differs by some 14 degrees Fahr. These sharks have been
met as high up as the dam at Ahwaz, and even in the vicinity of Sinister.

* Carl Ritter, " Amen," vol. xi.

CLIMATE, FAUNA, AND FLORA OF MESOPOTAMIA. 213

Climate, Fauna, and Flora of Mesopotamia.

Along the banks of botli rivers, and in the steppes as far as the Sin jar and
Mardin Hills, the summer heats are almost unbearable. In winter the cold is also
acutely felt, especially in the open plains, where the stagnant waters freeze at night.
When the keen north wind sweeps down from the uplands, the Arab horsemen fall
prostrate on the ground, and the camels, numbed with cold, are unable to continue
their march. The Mesopotamian region, which is indebted exclusively to its two
rivers for its remarkable geographical individuality, thus forms climatically a zone
of transition, in which the meteorological phenomena of the surrounding lands
become intermingled, and in which are met the faunas and floras of diverse regions.
While the northern districts are occupied by the advanced spurs of the Kurdistan
highlands and by the first buttresses of the Iranian plateau, the vast interfluvial tracts
form argillaceous or rocky steppes, where the vegetation fringing the right bank
of the Euphrates is hemmed in by the sands of the desert, or by the saline
efflorescences of dried-up morasses. On the one hand, the mountain slopes are
carpeted in spring with flowers of every hue, and here the gazelle finds a shelter
in the tall grasses. On the other, the arid soil yields little but a stunted growth of
scrub, infested by wild beasts prowling nightly round the Bedouin's tent. Between
Bagdad and Mardin no trees are to be seen, except in the cultivated depressions or
on the summit of the hills. Nevertheless even the northern steppes contain some
extremely fertile tracts, where millions of human beings might be supported l>v
utilising the waters of the torrents and of the great rivers, In spring, hounds
pursuing the game across the steppe return yellow with the pollen of the prairie
flowers. The vast plain, green from February to May, yellow for the rest of the
year, is connected by its mugworts with the Russian zone, by its mimosas with the
Sahara, by its grasses with the Mediterranean basin. Most botanists have confirmed
the statement made two thousand three hundred years ago by Berosus, that
Mesopotamia is pre-eminently the land of cereals. Here was probably kneaded the
first loaf; and in 1807 Olivier here discovered wheat, barley, and spelt, growing
spontaneously in ground unsuitable for cultivation. Since then the same species
have been found by several botanists in the region of the middle Euphrates.

As we proceed northwards and eastwards, we traverse in- Mesopotamia a
succession of distinct zones, separated from each other by irregular lines. The
palm reaches northwards no farther than the southern foot of the Sin jar hills. On
the Euphrates the last great palm-grove is that of Anah ; at Tekrit on the Tigris
are to be seen the two last date-trees, pioneers of the lower Mesopotamian forests.
They mark the natural limit of the Arab domain, which is succeeded farther north
by the olive of Kurdistan and Armenia. Cotton grows on the plain of Diarbekir,
hut nowhere beyond that point. Higher up the villages are surrounded by fruit-
trees, such as the apple, pear, and apricot, common to Europe, although indigenous
in Western Asia. But the cherry, so characteristic of North Armenia and the
Euxine seaboard, is nowhere to be seen.

Down to the middle of the present century, the lion still roamed as far as the

2] i SOUTH-WESTERN Asia.

ii. ighbourhood of the Mardin Hill- ; bul he lias disappeared from the banks of the
middle Tigris ahove the Kerkha marshes. The elephant and wild-ox, hunted by
the Assyrian monarchs round about Niniveh, have here been extinct for at least
two thousand five hundred years. The wild-ass has also vanished, and the pelican,
till recently sn common along the Euphrates, also threatens sunn to disappear, 111
the steppe the most common animal is the jerboa, whose borrowings render the
ground in certain places very dangerous for horses. The Euphrates lias preserved

a few remnants ol' a fauna distinct Irniii that of the steppe. The great river has its

own vegetation, its birds and wild beasts. Eerearemet the partridge, the francolin,

the magpie, duck, goose, and other fowls, which are never seen straying far from
the hanks of the stream. The iliin coniata, an Ahysinian bird, builds on the Hirejik
heights, hut apparently nowhere else in the Euphrates Valley, lie is protected by
the inhabitants of Birejik, who regard him as the patron of their city. The beaver
has held his ground along the middle Euphrates, and the riverain marshes are
inhabited by the trioniz euphratica, a peculiar species of tortoise about three feet
long. Chesney's statement, that crocodiles infest the stream where it approaches
nearest to Syria, has heen questioned by some zoologists.

Inhabitants of Mesopotamia — The Arabs \\n Kurds.

At all times, from the very beginning of recorded history, the population of
Mesopotamia has been of a mixed character. The Iranians of the northern and
eastern uplands, the Semites of the south and west, have met on the plains of the

Tigris and Euphrates, where new ] pies have heen developed, differing from the

original stocks, and distinguished, like the alloys of two or more metals, by special
qualities. Assyrians and Chaldeans had their peculiar genius, contrasting with
those of their Persian, Medic, Arab, Syrian, and Jewish neighbours, who have
outlived them. Losing their political supremacy, they were either exterminated,
or else absorbed in the victorious races, forfeiting name, speech, and the very

consciousness of their nationality. Nevertheless, there still survives amongst the
Kurds a tribe hearing the name of Aissor, which claims direct descent from the
Assyrians. (Ivor the ruins of the Babylonian and Ninivite cultures the primitive
elements were enabled to resume the ascendant, and at present Mesopotamia is
parcelled out like a conquered land between the ethnical domains of the lowland
Arabs and highland Kurds and Turkomans. In the middle of the seventeenth
century, when the Turkish empire was engaged in warfare with Austria, the
Shammar or Shomer Arabs of Nejd, taking advantage of the absence of the
Turkish garrisons, seized some of the towns along the hanks of the Euphrates, and
overran the plains as far as the Mardin Hills. The Anazeh, another Arab tribe,
followed in their wake, eager to share the spoils of conquest, and after a pro-
tracted ami sanguinary struggle, the whole region stretching from the Syrian
highlands to the Iranian escarpments became divided between the two great tribes
and their allies. The Anazeh remained supreme in the north-western steppes as
far as the gates of Aleppo; the Shammars prevailed in the rest of Mesopotamia.

INHABITANTS OF MESOPOTAMIA— THE ARABS AND KURDS. 215

"War, in the strict sense of the term, has ceased between the two rivals, but peace
has never been concluded, and incursions are still frequent into the respective
territories.*

Since the Crimean war the Turks have retaken the riverain cities; military
.stations have been established along the caravan routes, and some tribes have even
abandoned the nomad life and become settled agriculturists. Thus the powerful
Montefiks, that is, " United," formerly numbering at least thirty thousand tents,
now consist of fellahin dwelling in houses on the lower Euphrates and Tigris.
The Beni-Laam, comprising four thousand families, the Battars, Zigrits, Abu-
Mohammeds, Shahs of the lower Karun, the last-mentioned largely mixed with
Iranian elements, also form agricultural Arab communities in the neighbourhood of
the large towns. But the change has been effected not so much by force as through
the growing spirit of trade. The attempts made by the Turkish Government to
compel them by force of arms to adopt a sedentary life have always failed. Those
pass most readily from the nomad to the settled state who are engaged in buffalo
and sheep- farming, while horsemen accustomed to the use of the lance can rarely be
induced to leave the desert. Certain tribes have taken to living under reed huts in
the midst of the marshes. Such are the Khozails and Madans, whom no conquerors
have ever dared to pursue into their swampy domain. Other Arab clans, such as
the Zobeirs, are engaged exclusively as boatmen on the lower Euphrates and
Tigris. Mesopotamia boasts of no finer men than these robust watermen, none of
whom can aspire to the honour of matrimony until they have made the trip at
least three times from the Shat-el-Arab to the Tigris at Bagdad.

The Kurds of the advanced spurs belong, like those of Persia and Armenia,
probably to different races, although now assimilated in habits and pursuits. The
majority are Mohammedans, but the Nestorians are also numerously represented,
especially in the valley of the Great Zab, round about Julamerk. The Chaldeans
have wealthier communities in the Mossul district than on the TJrmiah plateau;
the Suriyam, or Jacobite Christians, number about thirty thousand in the Tur-Abdin
Mountains at Midat and the convent of Der Amer. The ruins of seventy large
monasteries attest the important position formerly held by this sect. In Upper
Mesopotamia the Shemsieh, Yezidi, or " Devil Worshijjpers," have also found a
refuge in the Sinjar Hills, where they long enjoyed almost complete autonomy.
Other peculiar sects, remnants of the persecuted Gnostics, have also maintained
themselves in the remote mountain retreats of Upper Mesopotamia. Mention is
made of a highland community in the Mardin district supposed to be descended
from the sun worshippers driven out of Harran, the city of Abraham. Threatened
with death by the Caliph Al-Mamun, because they had no "book" like the Jews
and Christians, they were compelled to conform officially to one of the tolerated
religions. Most of them thus became attached outwardly to the Christian
Jacobites, who occupied with them some sixty villages in the Mardin and Tor

* Aua/.eh ;iik1 allied tribes : 30,000 tents, or 120,000 souls.
Shammaia „ js.:;no „ 112,000 ,,

— Anne Blunt, "The Bedouins of the Euphrates."

216 SOOTH-WESTERN ASIA.

Mountains. With ;i characteristically • b-iental power of simulation, they regularly
perform the ceremonies prescribed by the patriarch ; lint they still secretly invoke
the -un, the moon, all the hosl "I stars, ami regulate their lives according t>> the
conjunctions of the planets and magic incantations.

Tin. Sabian: — Mohammedan Sects.

• in tin- Euphrates and in the Karon Valley there arc other Gnostic Christians,
who are also said to have preserved some practices associated with star-worship.
These are the Ilaraniks, or Sabians (not Saba-ans), BO named from one of their
prophets, who call themselves Mandayeh, or " Disciples of the Word. "and who are
by the Catholic missionaries usually spoken of as "Christians of St. John the
Baptist," whom they claim as the founder of their religion. The Saliians appear
to have been formerly very numerous, Forming in the Bassora district alone as
many as thirty-six groups, some of whom comprised two thousand families. Hut
in L875 there were only about one thousand on the banks of the Tigris, and eight
thousand in the whole of Mesopotamia. On the Euphrates their chief village is
Suk-esh-Shiok in the Monterik territory. Before the middle id' the present century
all the Sabian priests in the Bassora district had been carried off by the plague, and
their successors practised the outward rites alone, amongst which the most important
is the frequent baptism of the faithful, a preliminary condition of tin- remission of
sins. The Sabians are not permitted to dwell far from a" Jordan," or river, most of
their ceremonies, including marriage itself, being celebrated in the running waters.
They worship the cross, because the world being divided into four quarters, is itself
the cross in a pre-eminent sense. Their religion, hostile sister of Judaism, Christi-
anity, and Islam, is based on the Gnostic idea of the two principles formerly
preached by their theologians and philosophers, at a time when the Sabians also had
their period of literary activity. Like the Christians, Jews, and Mussulmans, they
have their "Treasure" or Bible, called also the "Book of Adam," although posterior
to .Mohammed, and composed in a distinct Semitic dialect. This language, however,
has no currency beyond the sacred writings, the Sabians now speaking Arabic,
like the other inhabitants id' the country. Polygamy is not prohibited, but they
can marry only within the community itself. In civil life they are distinguished
from the Mohammedans only by their greater honesty, the practice of which is
indispensable lor all compelled to earn the respect, in order to secure the tolerance,
of their neighbours.

Like Christianity, Mohammedanism has given birth to a great number of sects in
this region, ulnre mi many religious traditions have become intermingled. All the
Eastern sects have their representatives in Mesopotamia. Here the Wahabis of
Arabia have their jealously guarded communities; here the Babi of Persia hold
their secret conventicles; here thousands of Mussulmans call themselves the
disciples of the Akhund, the humble and poor priest of the Swat Valley in Afghan-
istan. Amongst the Monteftks and other Arabs of the lower Euphrates and Shat-
el-Arab, there are also said to exist some adherents of the religious brotherhood of

THE SABIANS— MOHAMMEDAN SECTS.

217

the Senusiya, which hud its origin in Algeria, where it caused serious embarrass-
ment to the French. Besides the persecuted sects, which are obliged publicly to
simulate some tolerated religion, while practising their own in secret, there are
villages in which two worships are held in honour. The inhabitants of Mossul,
Moslem and Christian alike, have the same patron saint, Jerjis, or George. In many
Mesopotamiun districts, and notably at Orfa, the Mussulman women bring their

Fie. s2. — Diakbekik — Bridge over the Tigris.

offerings to " Our Lady " in order to obtain children. If their prayers are heard,
they never fail to resort to the church to return thanks, scrupulously following
the Christian practice on these occasions. On the other hand, there are many
Bedouins who would have some difficulty in Mating to what religion they really
belpng. They fear the evil eye. and conjure it by gestures, like the Neapolitans,
but they recognise no form of prayer, and are Mohammedans only in name.

In the towns, the Arab population, intermingled with Turkish and Chaldean

218 SMiniw i:-n:i:\ ASIA.

elements, professes the Sunnite dogma. Nevertheless Babylonia contains, next to
Mecca, the most venerated Bhrinea of the Bhiahs. Such arc Kerbela, with the tomb
..I Hussein, and Nejef, where stands the domed mosque of Ali. Faithful Shiahs,
fortunate enough to live and die in these holy places, have naught to Eear in the
after life, and will !»• held unanswerable even Eor the evil deeds committed here
below. Hence thousands of Persians and hundreds of wealthy Hindus hare settled
either in Bagdad or in Ghadim, near the sacred tombs, and even in Nejef and
Kerbela. Very numerous also are the rich Iranians who. not haying the
happiness to live in the venerated places, seek alter death to have their remains
here deposited. The transport of the bodies to Kerbela and Nejef, although at
times prohibited, has remained oiie of the chief sources of traffic between Persia
and Asiatic Turkey. According to a recent statistical report, the number yearly
conveyed across the frontier averages about 4,000. But in L874, after the famine
and great ensuing mortality, as many as 12,202 were registered. Several Arab
tribes, carried away by the force of example, have also acquired the habit of
consigning their dead to the holy Shiab cities, which have been gradually trans-
formed to vast cemeteries. Owing to the decomposed state of the bodies brought
from a distance, and to the absence of proper sanitary measures, Lrak-Arabi has
become a chief locus of the plague in Asia. Of the forty last epidemics, as many
as twenty-two either had their origin here or were disseminated through this
region.

Topograph? of the Tigris Basin.

In the upper basin of the Western Tigris, the highest place above sea level is
the mining city of Khapur (Maden-KhapurX standing at an altitude of '■'>. l~<<» feet,
and 830 above the torrent. The neighbouring Mount Magharat yields an abun-
dance of copper ore, which is partly smelted on the spot, but mostly exported to
the industrial cities of Asiatic Turkey, such as Diarbekir, Erzerum, and Trebizond.
Till recently, most of the copper utensils used throughout the East, from Con-
stantinople to Ispahan, came from the workshops of Maden-Khapur. At the
beginning of the present century, about four hundred tons of ores were annually
sent down from the Upper Tigris to Bagdad ; but since then the yield of copper
lias greatly fallen off. The argentiferous lead mines are little worked, and those
of the precious metals are entirely neglected. A bluff overlooking the torrent
south-west of Khapur is crowned by the town of Arghana, which from the neigh-
bouring mines ah*) takes the name of Maden — Arghana- Maden, or " Arghana of
the Mines."

Diarbekir or Diarbekr, that is, the "Bekr country," so-nained from the Arab
clan, Bekr, which conquered it in the seventh century, is the ancient Amid
(Atnida), and is still often called Kara-Amid, or " Black Amid," from the colour
of the basalt used in its construction. Standing at an altitude of 2,000 feet above
sea level, with a climate like that of South France, Diarbekir occupies a \» culiarly
happy position at the northern extremity of Mesopotamia, at the converging point
of the chief routes between the Euphrates and Tigris basins, as well as of the

TOPOGRAPHY OF TIIK TIGRIS BASIN. 219

Turkish, Armenian, Kurd, and Arab ethnical domains. It has the further advan-
tage of commanding a vast alluvial plain of great fertility, a plain which has at
all times been the "granary" of Western Asia. Hence the great importance
enjoyed by Diarbekir in former times, when its inhabitants were counted by
hundreds of thousands. During many a protracted siege, more victims fell beneath
its walls than there are now residents in the whole place. The old basalt ram-
parts, flanked with round towers still in good repair, have a circuit of 5 miles,
sweeping round from a quadrangular citadel in ruins to a ten-arched bridge, the
last structure of the kind now crossing the Tigris. Within the walls the city is
gloomy, dull, damp, and unhealthy, with narrow, muddy streets, the widest of
which scarcely exceeds 12 feet. This thoroughfare runs through the bazaar,
which is well stocked with European and local wares, the latter including copper
utensils, filigree jewellery, woollen, silk, and cotton fabrics. The bazaar is always
crowded with a motley gathering of Kurds, Armenians, Turks and Turkomans,
Chaldeans, Xestorians, Jacobites, Yezidis, Jews, Syrians, and Greeks, besides many
Bulgarians recently banished to this place by the Turkish Government. Nearly
half of the inhabitants are Christians, whose churches rival the Mohammedan
mosques in number and size.

The valleys of the Upper Tigris and its affluents aboimd in ruins, and the
modern towns themselves stand mostly on the site of ancient cities. Of the older
structures, the finest remains are those of a bridge, whose broken arches rise 80
feet above the main stream, near its junction with the Batman-su. Xorth-east of
Diarbekir, and on a tributary of the Batman, lies Maya-Farkein (FarkeinX the
Martyropolis of the Byzantines, where are still to be seen the imposing ruins of
the monument raised in the fifth century over the remains of several thousand
Christians massacred by Sapor, King of Persia. Farther east, the Batman is
crossed by a Persian bridge with pointed arches 165 feet high. The picturesque
town of Hiizu (Khuzu, KAasuj, stands on the ruins of an ancient castle near an
Armenian church yearly visited by numerous pilgrims from Syria, Armenia, and
Russia. Serf, or Saert, also stands on ruins supposed by d'Anville and others to
be those of Tigranocerta. The polished surface of the rocks in several places in
this district bear Armenian inscriptions in the cuneiform character.

But next to Diarbekir, the largest town in the Upper Tigris basin is Bitlis,
which occupies a delightful position 8,000 feet above the sea near the south-west
corner of Lake Van. Near it is an ancient fortress commanding the junction of
the main stream with the Bitlis-su, a mountain torrent formed by the mineral,
thermal, and other rivulets flowing from the Nimrud-dagh. Bitlis, which is partly
inhabited by Armenians, has some weaving and dyeing industries, and enjoys a
considerable trade as the chief station between the Upper Murad and Tigris
valleys.

The ancient city of Jezireh-ibn-Omer, or " Island of Omar's Son," Lying below
the Tigris gorge on an island formed by the river and an artificial canal, despite
its Mussulman name, was often the centre of non-Mohammedan communities. In
the fourteenth century it contained a large Jewish colony, whose schools produced

220 snrni-WT.STKKN ASIA.

simir famous niliKis. About the beginning of the present century the Yezidis had
made it one of their chief strongholds, but when the place was stormed by the
Turks nearly all of them were put to the sword, ami Jezireh has since been
occupied by the Kurds. In the neighbourhood grows a shrub resembling the
evtisus, which is sometimes covered by thousands of cocoons belonging t<> a wild
species of Bilkworm. From these cocoons the women of the district manufacture
B \ cry durable silken fabric. Lower down is the decayed city of Eski- Mosml, OT
" < >ld Mnssul," occupying a chalk terrace on the right bank of the Tigris.

Mossul itself is a relatively modern place. I'm' it is first mentioned in Moham-
medan times. But it stands on the ground which must have been Formerly
occupied by the western suburb of Niniveh, on the right bank of the river. Like
Birejik on the Euphrates, it lies on the natural highway leading Erom the
Mediterranean along the southern foot of the Kurdistan hills eastwards to the
" royal route " through Zagros to the Iranian plateau. Even caravans from
Aleppo to Bagdad pass through Mossul, in order to avoid the territory occupied by

the marauding Anazeh tribes. According to an old writer quoted by de Ghiignes,
•■ Damascus is the gate of the West, Nishapur the gate of the East, and Mossul
the high road from East to West." Although much decayed, like the other cities
of the Tigris, Mossul still presents a fine appearance, its houses developing a rast
amphitheatre within an enclosure <> miles in circuit, on the slope of the Jebel-
.luhilah, an eastern spur of the Sinjar range. The summit of the hill is occupied
b\ the dwellings and gardens of the better classes, while lower down those of the
artisans and poor are crowded round the bazaars, baths, and mosques. Beyond the
walls, the city stretches southwards through the suburb of Mahaleh, in front of
which the Kurds stop and take their rafts to pieces. The public buildings, mostlj
in bad taste, are noted chiefly for the beauty of their materials, amongst others
the so-called "marble of Mossul," an alabaster brought from the quarries of
Mekluh-diiijh, on the east side of the plain. Instead of exporting its delicate
muslins to the whole world, as in the time of the caliphs, Mossul now imports
nearly all its woven goods, the local industries being mainly restricted to tanning
ami filigree work. Hut some trade is done in gall-nuts, cereals, and other produce
from Kurdistan.

At its narrowest point, some oGO feet broad, the Tigris is crossed by a bridge
of boats, which is continued across the plain subject to floodings by an embank-
ment winding amidst the fluvial channels. About a mile anil a quarter from
Mossul, the east side id' the river is skirted by an extensive level terrace limited on
all sides by ravines now choked with refuse. On this plateau stood Niniveh. By
the Easser-chai, a small affluent of the Tigris, it is divided into two halves, each
witli a circuit of over 5 miles. A square mound 60 feet high, pierced in all
directions by galleries, stands in the northern section immediately above the
Hasser-chai. This is the far-famed Kuyun jik hill, a huge mass id' bricks estimated
at fourteen and a half million tons weight. The southern quarter i- commanded
towards the middle of its western scarp by the Vunes-Pegamber, or Nebi-Yunas,
another mound so named in memory of the prophet Jonah, whom Mohammedans

TOPOGltAl'llY OF THE TIGRIS BASIN.

221

and Christians alike believe to be buried there. A third less extensive heap of
detritus marks the south-west angle of the terrace. But the whole place, exclu-
sive of the suhurbs, which probably stretched beyond the enclosures along the river
and highways, represents about one-eighth of the area of Paris. The multitudes
spoken of in the Book of Jonah could scarcely have been packed together within
such narrow limits.

It had long been known that under the mounds facing Mossul lay concealed
many curious vestiges of the ancient Assyrian capital. Travellers had detected
the remains of buildings and sculptures, and had brought away inscribed stones,
cylinders, and other small objects. But the first explorations were made in 18 13,
under the direction of Botta, French consul at Mossul. Since then a new world of

Fig. 83. — Mossul and Nintvbh.

Scale 1 : 77,000,000.

45'^

L . of G'-eenwc1**

2,200 Yards.

art has here been brought to light, a new science has been created, unfolding the
annals of Assyria, revealing the ceremonies and feasts of its people. But much
still remains to be discovered. Even the Kuyunjik mound, examined especially by
the English archaeologists Layard, Loftus, and Smith, is far from being exhausted.
The rough plans, however, have been determined of the two palaces here discovered,
which have yielded the colossal blocks, weighing from thirty to forty tons, now in
the British Museum, besides the still more valuable libraries composed entirely ■•!
brick tablets, each forming, as it were, the page <>f a book. The mound of Jonah,
protected from profane hands by the Mussulman tombs and houses covering its
slopes, remained untouched till 1879. Here Mr. Hormuzd Bassam has recently
discovered the remains of the palace of Sennacherib.

•2-1-2 SO II 1 1 \\ BSTEKN ASIA.

But amidst all the deoris of Assyrian cities, the most carefully studied ruins are

those of Klmrxtthad, or Khos-robat, lying some 12 miles north-cast of Mossul,
far beyond the limits of Niniveh. lien' was tin- " Versailles of some Assyrian

I. mil- \ I \ ." Tilt' city scarcely covcrcil much mure than an ana of One Square mile ;

Imi its enclosure is well preserved, and the palace, methodically explored by Botta
and hi- successor, Place, i- more thoroughly known in all it- details than any other
Mesopotamian edifice. Tl was huilt between the year- 705 and 722 of the old era,
under the reign of Sargon, whose bas-reliefs and inscriptions, covering a surface of
more than a mile in extent, commemorate the hitherto forgotten glory and power
of that monarch. Some idea of the prodigious labour represented by this " Cityof
Sargon " fHisr-Sargon, or Dur-Saryukin), from the fact that the outer walls were
no less than SO feet thick and lUO feet high. Near the palace stood the Zii/itrtif,
or storied tower, perhaps an observatory, resembling the royal tombs of Egypt in
its pyramidal form, ''tie of the mo-t remarkable finds of Place was an iron
magazine, containing over one hundred and sixty tons ,,f all kinds ,,f instruments.

East of ICoyunjik are the mounds of KiaramlU, and of the other Chaldean
villages, the most famous of which, some 18 miles south of Mossul, hears the
legendary name of Nimrud. It is now known that this hillock stands on the site
of Calash, the first capital of Assyria, founded nearly thirty-two centuries ago by
Salmanazar I. Later on it continued to be a large city, even after the royal
residence had been removed to Niniveh. It occupied a convenient position uear
the confluence of the Tigris and Great Zab, and amongst its monument- con-
spicuous was the palace of Assur-Nazirpal, dating from the ninth century of the
old era. The sculptures here collected are the masterpieces of Assyrian art, and
the •■ black " obelisk is the most precious epigraphic monument of the empire. I Mi
the Balatcat mound, 9 miles north-east of Calash, llassam discovered the famous
bronze gates now in the British Museum, which are covered with sculptures and
inscriptions commemorating the great deeds performed by Assur-Nazirpal 2,750
years ago.

.Many other mound- still harbour unknown treasures. All the cities of the
plains had their temple and palace, anil the valleys of the Khahur and Great /ah
contain numerous remains of struct tires built by the Assyrian kings, who spent half
their time in the upland wooded region pursuing the chase. Some of the most
remarkable sculptures in Upper Mesopotamia are carved on a rock overlooking the
Dulap rivulet near Jfn/rni, "in miles north of Mossul. Still more curious colossal
figures were cut in relief on a lime-tone wall in the narrow liavian Valley,
separated by the Meklub hills from the plain of Mossul.

At present the Great Zab basin is one of the most dangerous regions in Asia,
being held by the fiercest of all the highland Kurdish tribes, who have been least
affected by the influence of the Turkish and Arab Mohammedans settled on the
plains. I hi.' were also situated the mountain Fastnesses of the marauding Nestorian
tribes, who so long defied the power of the pashas. No record occurs of any
Assyrian, Persian, or Greek conquerors who ever dared to penetrate into this
dread* d region. All skirted it cither on the north or south, in order to reach the

TOI'OGRAI'IIV (iF THE TIGRIS BASIN.

2SA

Persian tableland, or descended into the plains of the Tigris. Sehulz, the first
European traveller who ventured into this district, in 18:29, perished, with all L i-
companions. The Kurdish chiefs, formerly independent but now subject to Turkey,
thanks to their mutual jealousies, reside during a portion of the year in fortresses
surrounded by a few houses. In winter, on the return of the tribes from their

Pig. 84. — Calash, and Confluence of Tigris and Great Zab.

Scale 1 : 445,000.

55'

■■ -:*

- ^

■■■^m

•

L , of [jre

dg'SS

49-58

mountain pastures, these places become veritable cities. The most important is
Julamerk, capital of the Hakkari Kurds, crowning a bluff on the right bank of the
Great Zab. A little farther north lies the village of Koch ffannis, residence of
the Mar Shimen (" Master Simon"), patriarch of the Tiyari (Nestorians). The

Hakkari chief works some of the iron and lead mines in the Julamerk district ; but

221

SOI CH-WESTEBN ASIA.

the great mineral wraith Baid by the missionaries to be contained in the surrounding
bills is entirely aeglected.

South of the Hakkari country, the town of Amadiah, 1 \ i 1 1 tr on a slope near the
(treat /id> and Iihabur water-parting, was long a chief emporium of the highland
K urda, who here assembled to effecl their exchanges witb the Mesopotamian dealers.
A Jewish colony, compriaing nearly half the population, recalls that period of corn-

Fig. 85.— IIakkaui Kt hd Tbtbks, Gbbat Zab Valley.

Scab' 1 t.OO

jf Achitha \

;.'

vVr-*i»

-
""">

CheTkh Ad I '

4 5* 50'

T O Bl

'■"'■<■'.

'■■-

***.

L , of breer

c- Miles.

mercial activity. These Kurdistan Jews readily contract alliances with the Turk-,
and have thus become gradually assimilated to the surrounding populations, from
whom they differ little in appearance and usages. South of Amadiah stands the
little temple of Sheikh Adi, with its graven serpent, symbol of the fallen angel.
Hound about are disposed the altars which on the great feasts are lit up with fires
of naphtha and bitumen. El Konh, another religious centre, and residence of the

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE TIGRIS BASIN. 225

Chaldean patriarch, stands at the foot of a hill, which is honeycombed with
grottoes, old dwellings, and tombs, and crowned with the monastery of Kabban
Ormuz.

Revandoz (Rowawtiz), lying between profound lateral gorges of the Great Zal>
above the issue of the ravine, is a large place, whose inhabitants are crowded
together within its narrow ramparts. Here are closely packed over one thousand
houses, each with two or three families and even more. During the summer
months the whole population, men, women, children, dogs, and poultry, pass their
time mostly on the flat roofs strewn with foliage. Revandoz is visited bv the
Mossul dealers, who here barter their European wares for gall-nuts and some other
local produce.

The chief market of the Kurds occuping the basins of both Zabs is Arbil
(Erbii), the Arbela of the Greeks, which lies at an elevation of 1,430 feet beyond
the mountain region, on a pleasant undulating plain opening westwards to the
Great Zab and Tigris, southwards to the Little Zab Valley. It stands exactly on
the ethnological frontier between the Arab and Kurd domain, but is little more
than a ruin, compared with its former gi-eatness. The remains of the ancient
enclosure may still be traced, and the old town occupies one of those artificial
mounds, which are so numerous in this region. The explorations recently begun
have already revealed vaults and galleries probably of Assyrian origin. Farther
west extend the conglomerate Dehir-dagh Hills, pierced by ancient irrigation
canals, which descend towards the Shemamlik plain between Erbil and the Great
Zab. At Gaugamela, where this river escapes from its last gorge between the
Dehir and Arka Hills, was fought the so-called battle of Arbela, which threw open
the Persian highway to the Macedonians.

In the Little Zab basin the only town is Altin-Kiopru ("Bridge of Gold,") a
small place commanding the caravan route between the Erbil plain and the valley
of the Adhim or Diyalah. It occupies an extremely picturesque position on a
conglomerate island, steep and rugged above, sloping gently down to a sandy
point at its lower extremity. The river is here crossed by a lofty pointed bridge,
from whose parapets a fine view is commanded of the town and surrounding
country. A little farther to the south-west begins the Khaza-chai Valley,
occupied by Kerkuk, the largest place in Lower Kurdistan. Kerkuk consists in
reality of three distinct towns — the fortress crowning an artificial mound 130 feet
high ; the lower quarter, forming a semicircle round the foot of the citadel, and the
mahaleh, or suburb, whose houses and gardens line the right bank of the stream.
Here resides a dervish sheikh, spiritual head of fifty thousand murids ("dis-
ciples,") dispersed over various parts of Mesopotamia. Here are also some much-
frequented thermal waters and copious saline springs, and rich alabaster quarries
in the neighbouring hills. A little to the north lies a famous igneous district,
like the Phlegrean Fields of Italy, where was worshipped the godde>s Analiit.
From its underground rumblings this land of fire has received the name of ISaba
Gurgur, or " Father Grumble." The naphtha of Kerkur is forwarded to Bagdad
and every part of Mesopotamia. Supplies arc also drawn from the bituminous
113

226

SOI rH-WESTEKN \-l \

springs oi Tuz-Khurmapli, farther Bouth, and of Kifri or Salahieh, a small place on
a tributary of the Diyalah.

Belovi the confluence of the Tigris and Greal Zab, the main Btream is lined
with ruins, indicated from a distance by the tells or heaps of refuse, now clothed

with grass and bru&hvi L Near one of these heaps, die highest in Mesopotamia

above Bagdad, stands the village of Kaleh-Stiarghat on the site of the ancient
Atsur, which preceded Niniveh, and gave its name to the Assyrian empire. In

Fig. 86.— Kehkvk.
Scale 1 : 45,000.

■

A4'50

1 1 Tarda.

tin midst of the wilderness the Shammar nomads pitch their tents on the ruins of
another ancient capital, whose very name of /'.'/ I fair or Hatra, seems to have
meant "City" or "Residence," in a pre-eminent sense. On the banks of the
Tartar, a streamlet flowing from the Sinjar valleys, stand the perfectly circular
walls of a temple of the sun facing eastwards. This richly sculptured edifice
dates from the period of the Sassanides ; but it stands on far more ancient
foundations, some fragments of which recall the Chaldean epoch.

TYPES AND COSTUMES-ARABS OF BAGDAD.

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE TIGRIS BASIN. 227

On the Tigris the scattered groups of modern dwellings are usually indicated
from afar by the encircling belts of verdure. Between Moasul and Bagdad the
only oasis containing a large population is that of Tekrit, which i- situated below
the fattha or cutting of the Hamriu. Here may be seen the black naphtha
springs welling up from the bed of the river, and covering the yellow waters with
their iridescent bubbles. The low houses of Tekrit are commanded by a vu-t
ruined castle, birthplace of Saladin. Along the left bank of the Tigris follow in
succession one of the many JEski Bagdad or " Old Bagdads," on the site of an
unknown city, and Samara, now a small village, but in the ninth century capital
of the empire of the caliphs. Near this spot are the remains of an earthen rampart
known to the Arabs as " Nimrud's Wall," possibly a fragment of the " Medic
Wall " which formerly guarded the plains of Lower Mesopotamia from the
incursions of the northern barbarians.

Bagdad (Baghdad}, which bears the official title of Dar-es-Salam or " Abode of
Peace," stands on the site of an ancient city, whose name Oppert interprets by the
Persian word bagadata or " God-given." But of this place nothing but ruins
remained when Bagdad was rebuilt by Abu-Jaffar-al-Mansur. in the second half of
the eight century. It lies in one of those regions where the converging historic
routes necessarily give rise to large cities Here the Tigris approaches so near to
the Euphrates as to form with it and the connecting canals a common hydro-
graphic system. Here also the Tigris is itself joined by the Diyalah, which offers
the best approach through the intervening border ranges to the Iranian tableland.
But the very importance of Bagdad attracted the invaders, and few other cities
have been more frequently levelled with the ground. Remains of galleries are
still found below the surface, whose bricks are inscribed with the name of
Xabuchodonosor. But the very vestiges have disappeared of the palace occupied
by the renowned Harun-ar-liashid, contemporary of Charlemagne. Of this
flourishing epoch Bagdad preserves nothing but the rifled tomb of Zobeid,
favourite wife of Harun.

The city founded by Ali-Mansur stood on the right bank ; but it continued to
grow beyond its too narrow enclosures, gradually overflowing to the other side
through suburbs and gardens, which have since become the true city. The old
quarter, now sunk to a mere suburb, has lost its very name, and is now called
Karshiaka, and inhabited chiefly by Arabs of the Aghed tribe. At the narrowest
point of the river both banks are connected by two bridges of boats, each some
730 feet long. Formerly Bagdad spread over the surrounding plains, where it
formed an agglomeration of forty distinct groups, connected by lines of houses
skirting the highways. At present it no longer fills the rectangular space
enclosed by the ramparts, half of which is covered with ruins. Several quarter'.
consist of wretched tumble-down hovels little better than those of the country
villages. Nevertheless, taken as a whole Bagdad is one of the most prosperous
cities in Turkey. As an emporium and station for the transit trade, it receives tin-
produce and costly wares of the whole of Hither Asia, and the eight English and
Turkish steamers now plying between Bassora and Bagdad no longer suffice for

•>-m

SOUTH-WESTERN \»l \.

the riverain traffic in corn, wool, and gall-nuts. To the export trade the loeal
industries contribute largely; the dates, fruits, and vegetables of the surrounding
gardens are Famous throughout the Bast, and the native breeds of horses, and white
asses speckled with henna, command the highest prices. Besides the Moslem
colleges and the Catholic and Protestant missionary schools, Bagdad possesses a
technical institution for the metal, textile paper, chemical, and other industries.
It even pays some attention to hygienic matters, and a fine " people's garden,''

Fig. 87.— Bagdad.
Bo lie 1 : 70,000.

; ■■]' ' o'-'r ii't •*%**■ \s

„C' WML'-"'.1' • °LmI^L'

\ \ fyi'F V-r &&

^^ \ * 409R9E WR*.':'/; . VS%

•■

•
■

X VN^/$F§^£?£ v^

x \

\ \ \\A- - • »•

J WJ*-1''^

44*eS* L . of G-eenwcr.

•-V.'oO Yard*.

watered by steam hydraulic works, has been laid out on the left bank of the Tigris.
Thanks to the improved sanitary arrangements, the plague, which carried off or
dispersed three-fourths of the population in 1831, and again committed serious
ravages in 1N40 and 1*77, is continuously diminishing in virulence. Bagdad is
also better protected than formerly from inundations by means of a lofty dyke
(■(instructed round the town walls. But the " Bagdad date," another form of the
" Aleppo button," attacks nearly all the native and foreign residents.

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE TIGRIS BASIN. 229

The Turks have remained strangers in Bagdad as well us elsewhere in Meso-
potamia, where they are chiefly represented by -the official and military classes.
The city is essentially Arab, as much in speech and usages as in the patriotic
feeling of the people. Yet the Jews form at least one-fourth of the urban
population, being thus numerous enough to preserve the use of the Hebrew tongue,
which they speak as well as Arabic. Most of the Iranians, including many of the
Babi sect, are settled beyond the walls at Ghadim, Khatimaim, or Imam-Mu&a, '■'>
miles north-west of the upper bridge over the Tigris. Above the houses of
Ghadim rise the six minarets of the mosque containing the tomb of the Shiah
martyr, Musa-ibn-Jaffar. Bagdad boasts of no monument comparable to this Shia
sanctuary, which is approached by zealous pilgrims on all-fours, by fashionable
worshippers in the comfortable carriages of the tramway. Over against Ghadim
stands Madhim, another place of pilgrimage on the right bank, visited by the
" orthodox " Sunnites.

The Ghadim horse-railway forms the first section of a system of lines destined
some day to connect Bagdad with Kerbela, Nejef, and Hilleh southwards, and north-
wards with Khanikin or Khanakin, on the Persian frontier. From forty to fifty
thousand Iranian pilgrims pass yearly through this place to the Shiah sanctuaries
below Bagdad. Due north of Khanikin, in the fertile Diyalah basin, the modern
city of Suleimanieh, dating only from 1788, occupies a strong strategical position
in the heart of the mountains at the foot of the snowy Avroman, where it guards
the Persian frontier and serves as a market for the surrounding Kurdish tribes
In the same Diyalah Valley the large village of Bakuba lies some 30 miles north
of Bagdad near the ruins of Deutagherd, another " Eski Bagdad," which has not
yet been explored.

The plain round about Bagdad is dotted over with numerous tells, one of which,
the Tell Mohammed, stands at the very gates of the city. Another, 18 miles
farther west, bearing the name of Kasr-Nimrud, or "Palace of Nimrod," is one of
the highest in Chaldea, towering over 130 feet above the plain. Like the other
mounds in this region, it consists of sun-dried bricks alternating with layers of
reeds. Other barrows above Bagdad fringe the left bank of the river, like a long
line of military outposts ; and below the Diyalah confluence heaps of bricks and
earthenware mark the sites of the Madain or " Two Cities," ancient capitals facing
each other on either side of the Tigris. Of Seleucia, the city on the right bank,
so-named in honour of the sovereign who built it after the destruction of Babylon,
not a single monument survives, and the traces of its square enclosures are
scarcely to be recognised. A portion of this old Syrian capital has been swept
away by the erosions of the stream, while fresh land has been added on the left
side to the peninsula where stood Ctesiphon, capital of the Parthians. Of the city
itself little remains except bricks and potsherds : but the palace of Chosroes
Nurshivan, dating from the sixth century of the new era, still lifts its colossal
gateway over 100 feet above the plain. This Tak-i-Kesra (Tak-Kosru), or Arch
of Chosroes, leads to a nave 160 feet long, grouped round which is a structure
several stories high, laid out in apartments of small size. The ornaments and

280 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

sculptures have disappeared, bul the majestic archway, the onlj pre-Mohammedan
Persian monument in l/nvir Mesopotamia, is all the more imposing in its naked
BTandeur. Beneath this vaull the Arab victors on the fatal field of Kaderia found
the throne, crown, girdle, and standard of the Persian monarch.

Below .Madam many other hillocks recall the existence of vanished cities, while
thesiill inhabited villages gradually give place to nomad camping-grounds. On
the route, some 480 miles long, traversed by the steamers between Bagdad and
Bassorah, there are only four stations, one alone of which, Rut-, l-Aiinirn , Founded
in I860, has become a market for hundreds of tribes. Sere and there is seen
Mime domed shrine, such as the " Tomb of Esau," and near the Euphrates junct ion
that of Esdras, the latter equally venerated 1>\ Jew, Christian, and Moslem. The
Shat-el-IIai canal, which branches from the Tigris at Kul -el-Amara, flowing
thence southwards to the Euphrates, waters a cultivated and populous district,

containing the remains of some of the oldest cities in Chaldea. Here lies Telle, or
Tell Loh, the Sirtella ( Sirbula) of archaeologists, where the explorations of M. de
Sar/ec suddenly revealed a remarkable period of art antecedent to the Nmiveh
and Babylonian epochs. At that time writing had not yet acquired its cuneiform

aspect, and each character still showed the vague outlines of the object represented

under its hieroglyphic form. The monuments of Tello, sculptured in hard stone
possibly brought from Egypt, there being none in the country, have been removed
to the Louvre.

Topograph? op the Euphrates 11\sin.

The Euphrates, a less copious stream than the Tigris, farther removed from the
fertile upland valleys, and hemmed in on its right bank by the wilderness, has
consequently far fewer cities above Babylonia proper. Although its course marks
the great diagonal line between the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf, it is a lifeless
artery compared with its eastern rival. Bui formerly it was not so. From the
issue of the gorges down to Susiana, the Tigris was lined by all the great Assyrian
cities. lint in Lower Mesopotamia, south of the Medic wall, nearly all the towns
stood either on the Euphrates or else in its vicinity. The contrast between the

Assyrian and Babylonian empires thus corresponds to thai of the two rivers

themselves.

From the confluence of its two great headstreams down to the issue of the
Tauric gorges, the Euphrates has nothing to show except a few insignificant
hamlets. But in the lateral basin of the Tokma-su are situated the two capitals,
Malatia and Azhuzu, between which nearly the whole urban population formerly
migrated with the seasons. Malatia. the Melitene of the Romans, was resorted to
in winter, hut quitted in summer for the more elevated and breezy Azhuzu. At
presenl this movement has mainly ceased, most of the inhabitants having
definitely settled in Azbuzu. a delightful place, where every house has its fountain,
garden, or grove. Gurun and Derendah, the two chief places in the Upper Tokma
Valley, are also mostly abandoned in summer, when the population removes to the
sill-rounding districts.

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE EUPHRATES BASIN.

231

Samomta, former capital of Comagena and birthplace of Lucian, is now a
ruined hamlet, less important than the small town of Suverek, which lies in a
lateral valley on the route to Diarbekir. In this neighbourhood have recently
been discovered the sumptuous sepulchral monuments of the kings of Comagena,
ornamented with colossal statues over 50 feet high. The natives regard this
structure as the tomb of Nimrod, legendary hero of Mesopotamia, whence the
name of Nimrud-dagh that they have given to the surrounding hills.

Below Samosata follow the Turkish town of Behesni and Rum-Ealeh, or
" Castle of the Romans," former residence of the Armenian Catholieos. Here the
Euphrates was at one time crossed by the great caravan route which has now been
deflected southwards to Bir (Bir-al-Dirat or Birejik), where, according to the
Greek legend Bacchus threw the first bridge over the river on his march to the

Fig. 88. — AlNTAB AND BlREJTK.
Scale 1 : 720,000.

[, of Greenwich 57'50

Artificial Mounds.

2 Miles.

conquest of India. An isolated bluff on the left bank is crowned with the
picturesque ruins of a vast fortress, which formerly guarded the passage of the
river at this point. Bir is inhabited chiefly by Turks, with an Armenian colony
engaged in the transit trade, and near the citadel numerous Kurdish families,
burrowing amidst the ruins and in the caves of the limestone rocks. In the
district much barley is grown, and towards the west lies the mound of Ballcis,
where were found some fine Roman mosaics and paintings.

The main highway from Bir to Alexandretta traverses the small town of Nizib
and its olive groves, where the Turkish defeat in 18o9 placed Asia Minor at the
mercy of the Egyptian army under Ibrahim-Pasha, and led to the European
intervention. The chief place in this region is Aintab, which develops an
amphitheatre along the northern slopes overlooking the Sajur Valley. Between

282

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

the town and river stands an artificial mound covered with the ruins of a now
abandoned fortress. Aintab, which is inhabited chiefly by Turkomans, has lew
industries, hut does a large transit trade, as the chief station between Birejik and
the coast. Towards the south-west an artificial canal continued by a tunnel 830

feet long, runs from the Sajur to the headwaters of the (iok-su, flowing southwards
to the plains id' Aleppo. This cutting1, which dates from the thirteenth century,
and which has been recently restored, thus connects the Euphrates basin with the
closed depression of which Aleppo occupies the lowest Level. Roman ruins are nume-
rous in this district, which lor four hundred years formed the frontier of the empire.

Fig. 89.— Obi \.

Scnle 1 : .10,000.

E>7\

38-51

58"55' E. of Greffn^eh

2,200 Yards.

On the right bank of the Euphrates, near the Sajur confluence, stand the remains
of the temple of Jarabix (Jerablus), which till recently was supposed to have been
that of the ancient Europus. But the explorations of Conder and Henderson
have placed it beyond doubt that these are the ruins of Karkhemish, the long
sought for capital of the mysterious llittite nation. The sculptures, carved in the
basalt and limestone rocks, while recalling those of Assyria, present some original
features. The inscriptions appear to be in hieroglyphic characters, that have not
yet been deciphered. South of the Sajur, common limit of the Arabic and
Turkish languages, lies the ruined city of Bambyce, the present Mambij, which was

Tol'OCP.Al'IIY OF TIIK EUPHRATES BASIN.

233

one of the numerous Hierapolis formerly consecrated to the sun and to the " Great
Goddess." It bears also the name of Magog.

East of liirejik the first great caravan station on the route to Mossul, is Ort'n
(Urfa), the ancient Rohan and the Edessa of the crusaders. Standing on the west
bank of the Kara-chai, which flows through the Nakr-Iielik to the Euphrates,
Orfa is Hanked by the advanced spurs of the Top-dagh, and its castle, erected by
Justinian, rises above a steep bluff completely isolated by moats cut 40 feet
through the live rock. A triangular rampart strengthened with square towers
separates the town from the wooded and fertile district watered by the Kara-chai.
From the citadel, on the west, a view is afforded of the city, with its domes and
minarets, and the vine-clad slopes of the surrounding hills. A spring, the ancient

Kit;- 90— Oufa— Mosqcf, and Fountain; of Abraham.

Callirhoe, still wells up at the foot of the castle, and overflows into a sacred tank,
in which are mirrored the walls of a mosque consecrated to the patriarch
Abraham, the Khalil, or " Friend of God." Two columns, traditionally attributed
to the father of Israel, stand near the citadel, and the surrounding cliffs are pierced
by at least two hundred caves, ancient tombs converted into modern dwellings.
In the city are some mediaeval remains, including fragments of the palace occupied
by the princes of Courtenay, rulers of Edessa during the Crusades. The buildings
of Orfa are constructed of alternate layers of limestone and basalt, producing a
very pleasant effect. The industries are restricted mainly to weaving and
earthenware, but there is a large transit trade, and considerable quantities of
wheat are uow exported. Hundreds of half-sedentary Bedouins and Kurds pitch

284 SOTJTH-WESTEBH \s[ \.

their tents iii the neighbourhood, and are employed by the French Consul on the
extensive plantations of Mejeri-Khan, which, besides cereals, yield sesame, hemp,
and cotton.

All tlic cities nt 1 *]'!'< t Mesopotamia are associated with religious events.
South of Orfa, sacred to the memory of Abraham, Harran, the ancient Charrce, is
mentioned in Genesis as having been the residence of the same patriarch, and here
star-worship long held its ground. Farther east Mardin is famous as a centre of
the sectaries driven into the mountains first by the orthodox Christians, and then
by the Mussulmans. Nearly half of the population belongs to various Christian

sects — Chaldeans, Syrians, Jacobites, Armenians, besides the more recent Catholic
and Protestant converts, who do not live in separate quarters. Mardin is thus a
city of mosques and churches, colleges and schools. It is picturesquely situated

3,950 feel above the sea, on a crevassed limestone crag crowned with a white
fortress reputed to be impregnable. Some 15 miles to the south-east, the main
route towards Nisibin and Mossul passes the issue of a gorge formerly defended by
the Byzantine city of Dam. The crenelled towers, flights of stops, galleries, and
colonnades, hewn in the live rock, have been preserved intact : but the crowds that
once swarmed about the portals and temples of this great underground city are
now represented by a few Turkoman families crouching here and there amid the
caves and piles of refuse.

Farther east lie Midyat, metropolis of the Jacobites, and the far-famed Nisibin
(Nisihis). residence of Tigranes, a Roman bulwark against the Parthians, a •• second
Antioch," said to have at one time contained several hundred thousand inhabitants.
Its site is now marked only by the columns of a temple, and a bridge thrown by the
Romans across the Jakhjakh, a foaming torrent rushing headlong down to the
Khabur. In the Khabur basin to the south-west of Mardin, Sachau thought he
had discovered the long sought for site of Tigranocertes in the Tell Ermen, or
"Armenian Hills" near the village of Dunaisir. Bui no ruins have here been
found. Ras-et-tin, in the same valley, was till recently the centre of Chechenz
settlers from Caucasia, but most of these refugees from the Russians have been
massacred by the Arabs, or driven to enlist in the Turkish police service. At the
foot of the now almost desert plain runs the broken range of the Sinjar Hills,
whose chief town Singaa, the Siagali of the Kurds and Beled of the Arabs, is the
principal market of the Yezidis. In the Johol-Aziz, west of this range, rumour
speaks of a " bottomless chasm," where the Yezidis make their yearly offerings of
gems, gold, and silver, to the devil.

On the banks of the Euphrates the ruined cities, all marked by mounds crowned
with citadels, are more numerous than the still inhabited places, which are them-
selves iiiusilv mere remnants of larger towns. Balk is reduced to a dilapidated
castle standing on a chalk cliff, where the river trends south-east wards to the Persian
Gulf. Thapsacus has disappeared, and Rakka, just above the Belik confluence,
successor of the Creel: cities ,,i Jfikephorion, Kallinikon and Leontopolis, has pre-
served nothing but a few fragments of the palace here built by 1 1 a run-ar-Kashid
when he made it his capital. On the neighbouring Tertin plains were fought the

T< U'OGRAriiY OF TILE EUPHRATES BASIN. 235

sanguinary battles between the armies of Ali and Moavieh, which decided the order
of succession in the caliphate at the cost of 70,000 Uvea

Zelibi, the ancient Zenobia, perched on a crag on the caravan route between
Palmyra and Persia, still shows a few scattered remnants of its alabaster monuments.
The route is now guarded by the garrison town of Deir (ZW), the " Convent,"
which lies 240 miles below Birejik by water. The bridge connecting it with a
large and fertile island in the Euphrates was swept away by the floods in 1882.
Farther down, the Greek city of KirJcesioii, till recently supposed to, be the
Karkhemish of the Hittites, has given place to the wretched hamlet of Bmeirah,
south of which a steep rock overlooking the little town of Mayadini is crowned by
the superb ruins of the castle of liahaba, supposed to be the biblical Rehoboth.

Anah, the ancient Anetho, is a unique town in Western Asia, resembling those
straggling places on the Ceylon and Malabar coasts, where an endless line of houses
fringes the shaded highways. It extends some five miles along the west bank of
the Euphrates, through a marvellous oasis of palm-groves, vineyards, figs, oranges,
pomegranates, sugar and cotton plantations. Anah is the capital and chief market
of the Bedouins who have their camping-grounds on the plains between Syria and
the Euphrates. On the opposite side lies Barak, starting-point of the caravans
proceeding to Tekrit on the Tigris.

Farther down follow lladihah-el-Uz, Jibbah, and Hit, the last-named famous
for its asphalte springs. Hit is also an important station of the transit trade
between the two rivers, but here the chief riverain port is Fehijah, terminus of the
shortest route from Bagdad to the Euphrates. Near it are the fertile plains of
Sakkmyah, where are bred tens of thousands of camels and Arab horses, famous
throughout the East. These grazing-grounds are continued southwards to the
marshy tracts bordering the Euphrates in ancient Babylonia.

" Great Babylon " itself is now nothing more than a plain dotted over with
mounds and heaps of bricks, the remains of former palaces and temples. The
space enclosed within the walls, 14 miles both ways, or some 200 square miles
altogether, is now mainly a wilderness, although south of it lies Hilleh-ct-Fcidah,
or "Ililleh the Vast," one of the chief inhabited cities of Lower Mesopotamia.
Shaded with date-groves, surrounded by magnificent gardens, laid out with fine
streets well kept and lined with rich bazaars, Hilleh skirts the right bank of the
Euphrates, communicating with a suburb on the opposite side by means of a
bridge of boats 660 feet long.

The huge mound lying nearest to Bagdad, and specially known as Babil
("Gate of God"), or Mujelibch ("The Overthrown "), has for two thousand years
supplied the bricks used in building all the surrounding cities. Even now whole
families, belonging mostly to the Babili tribe, who claim direct descent from the
ancient Babylonians, are exclusively employed in quarrying these materials. But
on the west side of the river the highest mound is the East; or " Palace," which
dates from Nabuchodonosor, and which has a circuit of no less than 1,650 yards.
Farther south, and on the same side, the Amran mound probably marks the site of
the hanging gardens. During the epoch subsequent to the death of Alexander,

•j:;.;

SOI l EI-WESTERN ASIA

tliis hillock Berved as a necropolis, doubtless owing to the advantages presented by
the vaulted galleries supporting the upper platforms. Still farther Bouth the date-
grove encircling the village of Jumjumah conceals all that remains of the market-
place of Babylon, whence have been exhumed over three thousand tablets revealing
the financial history of the Chaldean metropolis. <>n the righl hank, at Eilleh,
which, according to Oppert, was the industrial quarter, mounds are of rare occur-

Pig. 91.— Ths Mound 01 Habil.

- -r — ^ "-«

rence, and all vestiges have vanished of the palace here erected by Semiramis over

against the Kasr of Xalmchodonosor. The complete disappearance of the monu-
ments west of Babylon must he attributed to the fluvial erosions which, have taken
place chiefly on the right hank. Extensive strips id' soil have been swept away
with all their contents, and replaced by fresh alluvial matter. Nevertheless one
famous monument still stands towards the south-west , on the site of the ancient.
Sorsippa, near the marshes, here stretching at some distance parallel with the

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE EUPHRATES BASIN.

237

right bank of the river. This is none other than the Birs-Nimrud, or " Tower of
Babel " itself, traditionally supposed to be the oldest structure in the world, which
was to have reached the heavens, but the progress of which was arrested by the
" confusion of tongues." Yet this vast heap of earthenware has hitherto yielded
no remains anterior to Nabuchodonosor, whose name alone is found inscribed on
its brick tablets. According to Rich, it is 140 feet high, exclusive of a broken
wall raising its total height to 175 feet, although Strabo gives it an elevation of
one stadium, or 660 feet. As far as can be judged from its present aspect, the

Fig. 92.— Babylon.

Scale 1 : 375,000.

L . ct bfee^vvcVi

ra m

Palm-groves. Tilled lands. Pasture Marshes.

The double square of dotted lines marks the site of the old walls.

6 Miles.

west side was a vertical wall, while on the east side it formed a series of terraces
disposed at equal intervals. Long a puzzle to archaeologists, this structure is now
known to have been the "Tower of the Seven Spheres," a zigurat or observatory,
like that of Khorsabad.

It is not likely that either Babylon or any of the other ruined cities of lower
Chaldca will yield any monumental sculptures or stone records, such as those of the
Assyrian cities. Being an entirely alluvial region, South Mesopotamia offered no
materials to the builders, except its reeds and scrub, its mud and asphalt, loosely
worked up for the Arab hovels, more carefully cast in moulds for durable struc-

■j:;s i SOUTH-WESTERN Asia

tures. The stone required for the statues <>l u. "1 - ;m»l kings had to be brought from
the Iranian border ranges, from the shores of Arabia, or even From Egypt. But if
the ruins of Babylon cm tain few monuments or sculptures in stone, they a 1 ion ml in
briek tablets of vast antiquity, carrying the records of mankind hack many

centuries nearer to the origin of human culture. On a canal north of Babel si 1

the twin cities of Sippar and Aghadeh, which flourished some forty centuries ago,
when the extinct Akkad and Samar nations were struggling for empire. In the
same district are the Abu-Hubbd mounds, with the remains id' the temple of the
sun, where dwelt Xisuthrus, king of the Chaldeans. The marshy and often
flooded region of the lower Euphrates smith of Babel is dotted over with the
mounds of the ancient Erckli (?'/•»/), the Orkln- of the ({reeks, and Warka of the
Arabs. This was the city of " books," containing the oldest library in Chaldea,
and here hopes are entertained of some day discovering the whole poetic Legend of
Isdubar, some fragments only of which have yet been found. The history of the
Deluge, recorded originally on the bricks of Ninivch, has also been procured in
duplicate at Krekh. This place is surrounded by vast cemeteries, extending for
many miles in some directions. The dead were doubtless sent from all parts of
Mesopotamia to be buried here, just as they are ^till sent from Persia to Kerbela.

In the early Chaldean epochs, other great cities stretched farther south of Babylon.
Such was Ur, a nourishing place four thousand years ago, of which nothing now
remains except an imposing mound, the Mugheir or " Bitumen " of the Arabs, so

named from the material used in cementing its brick edifices.

Babylon, heir of all these venerable cities, preserves the prestige conferred by
long ages of culture and power. The Bedouin approaches its mighty remains
with awe The dews, recalling the " Halls of Babylon," where their fathers wept,
look on the place of their captivity as a second fatherland. Here was the seat of a
famous school, whence came the learned Rabbi llillel. whose teachings were enrolled
in the Talmud, and here was also the birthplace of the Kabbala. At the time of the
journey of Benjamin of Tudelas, in the twelfth century, as many as twenty thousand
Jews were settled within the enclosures of ancient Babylon. All the money-
lenders of Hilleh are still Jews, and they also hold in mortgage most of the
surrounding lands and bouses. South of the ruins lies their colony of Kifil,
grouped round a tomb believed by them to be that of their prophet Kzekiel. To
this venerated shrine flock Jewish pilgrims from all quarters, and as many as
twenty thousand have at times been encamped on the plain round about the
village.

The memories of great Babylon may possibly have also intensified the fervour
of the Shiah pilgrims, who gather from the extremities of Persia, from India and
the Caucasus, at tin' holy cities of Kerbela and Nejef. The former, lying north-
west of Babylon, west of Tuerij, on the Ilindieh, is surrounded by swamps and
stagnant waters caused by the overflow of the great canal which runs from the
Euphrates to the Nejef lagoon. Kerbela is encircled by avenues of palms, which
partly shelter it from the malaria of the neighbouring marshes. But in the very
heart id* the city, which is also known as Meshed-Huasein, stands the cemetery;

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE EUPHRATES BASIN.

230

or rather the whole place is one vast necropolis. The very houses serve as graves,
and earth extracted from them to make room for the dead is retailed in talismanic
cakes to the pilgrims. The inhabitants themselves, amongst whom are some
thousand Hindus, are chiefly occupied in burying the dead brought hither from all
parts of the Shiah world, even from Bombay itself on board the English steamers.
Thus the living are ever in contact with the dead, especially in the month of
February, when the faithful come to lament over the murder of Hussein. In
March they pass on to Nejef, or Meshed-Ali, the city of the " Martyr Ali," beneath
whose lofty mosque with its gilded domes the bodies are deposited in a vast three-
storied crypt, taking precedence according to the price paid by their heirs. A group
of hovels a little to the east of Xejef is all that remains of Kufa, which was at one

Fig. 93. — Old Cities of Chaldea.
Scalp 1 : 5.425 o<yv

Old Gulf.

120 Miles.

rime capital of the caliphate, and which is said to have been as large as Babylon
itself. But this renowned city of letters and art is now known only by those
beautiful inscriptions in " Kufic letters " which embellish all the palaces and
moscpies of the great architectural epoch of Islam. Pilgrims proceeding to the
shrine of Ali avoid this place, which they regard as accursed, because here stands
the roofless and dilapidated mosque the scene of Ali's murder. Of JTtrrfalso, another
great city, nothing is left but ruins. Near Kerbela is the village of El-Kadder,
the ancient Kadesia, where was fought the battle which put an end to the national
monarchy of Persia. In 1801 the Wahabitea seized and plundered Kerbela.

Below Babylon the formerly populous banks of the Euphrates are net vet quite
deserted. One of the routes to Xejef traverses the village of Divanieh on the right

240 BOUTH-WESTEEN ASIA,

side, which i^ here Eringed with rioe-grooods. Lower down on the same side lie
Satnava, at the mouth of the Shenafieh canal, and Nazriili, a modern place near the
junction of the Euphrates and Shat-el-Hai. The latter is inhabited by Arabs of

the Montetik tribe, as i> also Sllk-esh-Shiokh, which is situated near the marshes,
and which is said to have Eormerly contained ;h many as 7(1,000 inhabitants.
This: is the only place where the Sabians have a church.

At the confluence of the two rivers stands Kama, traditionally supposed to be
the "City of Paradise," where may still be -ecu the "tree of the knowledge of
good and evil." But little trade i- hen- dune, the chief port on the Shat-el-Arab
lying lower down at Bassorah (Basrah), about midway between Corna and the sea.
When Bagdad was one of the great cities of the world, Bassorah, which at that
time stood farther west, on a canal communicating with the main stream, was the
busiesl port in the blast, and contained many hundred thousand inhabitants. But
partly through inundations, partly through the silting of the canals, it lost all its
trade, and of the old town nothing remains except a heap of bricks near the little
towns of Znlicir, and Jebel-Sinan, the latter of which has been identified with the
Teredun of Xabuchodonosor and Alexander. The new town of Bassorah, dating at
least from the sixteenth century, lies nearly 'J miles west of the Shat-el-Arab, on a
canal at the mouth of which the English have established their dockyards and
warehouses. The Turkish arsenal lies .'5 miles higher up, at the busy little town of
Maaghil. Hundreds id' millions of date-palms, noted for their exquisite flavour,
flourish in the moist district of Bassorah, the plantations stretching along the right
hank of the Shat for some -'50 miles, and at some points extending 0 miles inland.
On the opposite or Persian side, nothing 18 seen except a lew clumps of neglected
date-trees, and the striking contrast between the two riverain tracts has been
appealed to as a proof of the superiority of the Turkish over the Persian adminis-
tration. But the plantations on the Ottoman side belong almost exclusively to the
Arabs of the port of Koveit, who form a sort of independent commonwealth.
Since the opening of the Suez Canal, the value of the Bassorah dates, of which
there are said to be seventy varieties, has increased sixfold; yet even before this
event the yearly export averaged about £80,000. Cereals also are here grown in
such quantities that, to save the cost of transport, wheat is used as fodder and even
as fuel.

At the mouth of the Shat-el-Arab lies the seaport of Fao, residence of the
riverain pilots, the custom house officers and officials connected with the semaphore
and telegraph services. The annual traffic at this place exceeds 500,000 tons.
On the opposite side the Persian riverain port of Mohammerah lies higher up, at
the junction of the Shat with the canal flowing from the Karun.

CHAPTER VII.

ASIA MINOR.

FIE terms Asia Minor and Anatolia, now used synonymously, are of
Byzantine origin ; but their meaning has gradually been modified
during the course of centuries. But about the beginning of the
fifth century of the new era, the expression Asia Minor was already
applied to the peninsula comprised between the Cyprus waters, the
Euxine, and the course of the Halys, to distinguish it from the rest of the continent,
the "Greater Asia," as it was then called. In the same way Anatolia, at first
designating a small portion of the Asiatic peninsula, and, under Suleiman the
Magnificent, the official name of a particular province, at last acquired a general
meaning, replacing the term Rum or Romania, which custom had attributed to
the Byzantine provinces exposed to the invasions of the Osmanli. The Turks
themselves use the Greek term under the modified forms of Anadoli or Anadolu, as
synonymous with the western expressions, the " East " and the " Levant."

Both terms are now employed in a sufficiently definite sense, being applied to a
clearly defined physical region, whose extreme south-eastern angle is marked by
the Gulf of Iskanderun (Alexandretta), which penetrates far inland between C'ilicia
and Syria. The natural frontier at the neck of the peninsula is indicated by the
mountain range forming the northern continuation of the Syrian crests, and con-
stituting the water-parting between the Jibuti (Pyramis) and the Euphrates basin.
But towards the north-east corner the frontier line becomes somewhat vague, where
the Pontine Alps run parallel with the Euxine. Here a purely conventional
geographical frontier has been traced from the Sivas plateau to the Yasun head-
land, across the valley of the Ghermili, a tributary of the Yeshil-irmak. Within
these limits the peninsula covers an area about equal to that of France, but with
scarcely one-tilth of its population.

Yet Anatolia miirht well sustain as many inhabitants as the richest lands in
Europe. Doubtless most of the surface is occupied by. elevated tablelands and
mountains, the mean altitude being scarcely less than 3,500 feet. Bui millions
might be easily supported in the exuberant valley of the .Meander and other plains
facing the Archipelago. Even on the uplands of the interior, multitudes might be
114

242 SOUTH-WESTERN \<l \.

sustained where nothing now i> Been bul the tents of nomad pastors, and where tlic
surface is strewn with cities in ruins. Here the great altitude is balanced by the
lower latitude, and mi the .slopes lacing southwards the climate is almost tropical.

General Survey.

Asia Minor enjoys a special advantage in the remarkable development of its

seaboard compared with its total area. Eastwards, both on the Euxine and Mediter-
ranean, the coast describes long semicircular undulations, which towards the south-
west corners are replaced by deep inlets. Sere the great projections themselves
ramify into smaller headlands in a sea studded with countless islands and islets.
Thus the coast-line between the Dardanelles and Rhodes is at least lour times, and
including the shores of all the inhabited islands, fully ten times longer than the
distance as the bird flies.

At the same time the western section of Asia Minor affords a striking instance
of the arbitrary character of conventional divisions. Certainly the islands,
peninsulas, and river valleys, right up to the mountains and plateaux of the interior,
nowhere present an Asiatic aspect ; they belong geographically as well as histori
cally not t" Asia but to Europe. On both sides of the intervening waters the
climate corresponds ; the seaboard has the same appearance and formation ; popula-
tions of the same race have here settled over against each other, and have taken
part in a common historic movement. So far from separating Hellas from Anatolia,
the .Egean Sea has on the contrary cemented their union by affording \'vv<- scope
for mutual intercourse from island to island, from shore to shore. As in the days
of Herodotus, Athens and Smyrna, on either side of the archipelago, have remained
Greek cities, spite of conquests and repeated barbaric invasions advancing at first
from east to west, later on reacting from the west to the east.

Nevertheless, a remarkable contrast is presented by the two Greek domains.
While the PeloponeSUS, as indicated by its very name, is rather an i-land than a
peninsula, and continental Greece itself an almost exclusively maritime land,
separated by lofty ranges from the northern mainland, the richly diversified
tonian coastlands form on the contrary a natural dependence of the inland plateaux.
The communications between the seaboard and uplands are doubtless rendered
difficult by the intervening boghaz or rugged hills, which often approach close to
the shore. In certain places also the river valleys on the Ionian coast are rendered
almost inaccessible to each other by the encircling ridges, so that the Hellenes
were long enabled here to preserve their original autonomy and culture on the very
flank of powerful Asiatic monarchies, from which they were separated only by a
6 u miles of rocky hills. Hut it is none the less certain that in a general way
continuous intercourse, an uninterrupted exchange of commodities, ideas, and even
family ties, was from remote times established between the maritime and inland
provinces of Anatolia. Herein consists the original character of the work
accomplished in the history of human progress by the inhabitants of the peninsula,
a region which may be described as consisting of two lands incapsulated one in the

GENERAL SURVEY. 243

other — a section of the Asiatic mainland, so to say, dovetailed in a detached strip
of the European seaboard.

As a highway for the eastern peoples moving westwards, Asia Minor forms the
natural continuation of the Armenian plateaux and " Medic Strait." But at this
extremity of Asia, a time necessarily arrived when the further western movement
of the Asiatic peoples was arrested. In the north-wrest alone, where the marine
wraters are contracted in the Bosphorus and Hellespont to the proportions of a
river, the migrations from one continent to the other could be effected under easy
conditions. Elsewhere the relations between Europe and Asia, impeded by
extensive maritime tracts, were carried on, not by the displacement of the masses,
but rather by the action of war and commerce. At the same time a decided
contrast between the populations of the peninsula was brought about by the
physical and climatic differences existing between the elevated inland plateaux and
the low-lying maritime region. Thus was developed in Anatolia itself the zone
of transition between the inhabitants of the two continents, between Ionians mi
the one hand, and Lydians or Phrygians on the other. Here also the genius of the
maritime Hellenes accomplished that marvellous fusion of all the elements of the
arts, sciences, and general culture brought from Chaldea, Assyria,' Persia, the
Semitic world, and even indirectly from remote Egypt itself. They gave
practical effect to all these foreign materials, transmitting the new inheritance to
their kinsmen in the archipelago and on the coasts of continental Greece.
Anatolia has been likened to a hand extended by Asia to Europe. But this hand
would have failed to impart its benefits but for the Hellenes acting as intermedi-
aries between the two continents.

In few other regions of the globe has more history, in the language of Curtis,
been condensed within a narrower area. Rival populations were irresistibly
attracted to a seaboard presenting so many physical advantages — a delightful
climate, a coast diversified by endless inlets and headlands, rich alluvial plains
yielding in abundance all kinds of plants useful to man. On the one hand, the
inhabitants of the plateaux and inland valleys sought to retain possession of the
riverain valleys giving access to the iEgean Sea; on the other, the seafaring
peoples, traders or pirates, endeavoured to gain a footing on such inviting territory.
After long vicissitudes of sanguinary struggles and wholesale extermination,
commemorated in the old myths and poems, the issue was decided in favour of
the more active and energetic maritime tribes. Greeks of diverse stocks. Leleges,
Ionians, Dorians, seized the most convenient seaports, and the towns founded by
them rose to great power and influence. They became the true cradle of Western
culture, for from these centres were diffused those combined elements of the various
Egyptian, Syrian, Persian, and Indian civilisations, those artistic and scientific
impulses by which the European world is still vivified. Here the Homerides san^
the oldest songs of Mediterranean literature; here Ionian art attained the acme of
its grace and splendour; here their sages enunciated those problems on the
constitution of the universe which are still discussed by modern philosophy ; and it
was in Miletus, a renowned Anatolian citv, that over two thousand four hundred

•J44 SolTII-WESTEEN Afll \

years ago the first charts were engraved on bronze plates bj Anaximander, Becataaus,
Aristagoras. Yel full justice i> rarely done to these Asiatic Eellenes. 'lust as for
many centuries Greece itself was viewed through a Roman atmosphere, bo by a
natural law of perspective Eellenic Anatolia is still contemplated, overshadowed, as
it were, by continental Greece. Now, however, the discoveries of archaeology
have shown thai Asiatic Greece not only took the lead in point of time, but was
ne\er surpassed by her Kuropean sister in the works of art. "Ionian culture,"
writes Perrot, "was the springtide of Greek culture. To her the world is indebted
for epic and lyric poetry, the firstlings of Hellenic genius." Asia Minor was the
birthplace of Homer, of Thales, of Heraclitus, Pythagoras, and Herodotus. And
while the full blaze of science and letters seems in Kuropean Greece to be mainly
centred in Athens, it was diffused on the Asiatic side throughout many centres,
such as lYrgamus, Smyrna, Kphesus, Miletus, Halicarnassus.

Bui how profound the difference between the Ionia of those days and the
modern Turkish province of Aniuloli ! So striking is the contrast, that the name
of Asi.i Minor conjures up the memory of its glorious past, without a thought for
its presenl state of decay. The tongue refuses almost to name its cities and
provinces by their contemporary designations, and the mind loves to still think of
them as they existed two thousand years ago. Nevertheless, it would be unfair
merely to echo the current charges against the Osmanli, as if they alone were to
blame for the decadence of Anatolia. As Chihachefl remarks, its Turkish
conquerors succeeded to an already ruined inheritance, ruined by the repeated
devastating wars and massacres that followed cadi other from the arrival of the
Romans down to the Crusades and the Mongol incursions. Some of the changes
that have ensued must also, perhaps, be attributed to climatic conditions and to
a bad treatment of the soil. Of timber-growing lands, few have suffered more than
Asia Minor from reckless waste. Many old records speak of forests covering
extensive tracts, where nothing is now to be seen but arid solitudes or stunted
scrub. The extremes of temperature between the seasons have certainly been
intensified by the disappearance of the woodlands. To the same cause are due the
prolonged droughts and the sudden inundations in the riverain valleys. Less
subject to control than formerly, the running waters have developed \ast morasses,
poisoning the atmosphere and almost depopulating whole districts. In certain
low-lying tracts the villages standing on the sites of once flourishing cities are
altogether uninhabitable in summer. In some of the most dangerous parts, the
malarious exhalations are felt even at altitudes of (>,000 feet. And besides the
devastations of miasmatic endemics, the country has also been frequently ravaged
by frightful epidemics, which have spread thence westwards to the seaports of Italy,
Prance, and Spain.

But despite the present deplorable condition of Anatolia, symptoms are not
lacking of a brighter future. The work of Kuropean culture is no longer
restricted to the peopling of new worlds across the Atlantic and at the Antipodes.
It has also begun to re-act on the eastern lands whence came the first elements of
its civilisation. The work of geographical exploration has already been all but

ANATOLIAN* MOUNTAIN* SYSTEMS.

245

accomplished along all the main lines of communication across Anatolia, and this
general survey is now being complemented by more detailed and accurate local
research. From the seaboard the progress of discovery is moving inland, where a
rich field of exploration awaits the archaeologist in the numerous artificial mounds,
piles of refuse, sepulchral monuments, broken shafts, dismantled strongholds, half-
buried cities, strewn over the plateaux.

Anatolian Mountain Systems.

The Anatolian rectangle may, roughly speaking, be described as a plane
inclined towards the Black Sea. All the more elevated lands and main ranges are

Fig. 94. — Old Provinces of Asia Mihok.
Scale 1 : 11,000,000.

L, ofb

Names and limits of the Vilayets.

LYDIA
Names and limits of the Old provinces.
— 180 Miles.

massed in the southern section of the peninsula, along the Mediterranean seaboard.
The northern slopes of these uplands merge imperceptibly in the central plateaux,
which are themselves furrowed in every direction by river valleys, gradually
broadening out and draining to the Euxine. But in the extreme north, where the
Coast-line advances in a vast convex curve into the sea, independent and almost
isolated masses rise between the Kizil-irmak and Sakaria river basins, skirting on
its northern edge an extensive central plain, whose deeper parts are still flooded by
the remains of an inland sea. The ranges which follow at some distance the
line of the southern shore, and which are broken into irregular chains and moun-
tain masses, are mainly disposed in the form of a crescent, with its convex side
facing the Mediterranean, and thus corresponding to the northern curve turned

246 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA..

towards the Euxine. This southern orographic system takes the oollective aame
of the Taurus.

But like that of the Caucasus, this appellation of Taurus was one of those
vague terms applied by the ancients to different and often far removed ranges.
The term Davr or Darri, still occurring throughout the whole of tin- peninsula, is
merely a modified form of the same word. But according to the most accepted
usage, by Taurus was understood the whole system of crests running from the
western headland- of Anatolia to the unknown regions of the extreme east, and
forming the diaphragm of the continent. At present the name is -till applied in
a general way to several distinct chains of Hither Asia, each, however, can fully
distinguished by some secondary local designation. Thus the Armenian Taurus
comprises collectively the whole of the south-western Armenian highlands which
are pierced by the Euphrates on its way to the Mesopotamian plains. The Cilician
laurus forms in the same way the angular rampart rising ahove the valley of the
Seihun in the south-east corner of Asia Minor, and this again is followed from
east to west by the Isaurian, Pisidian, and Lyeian Taurus. The local Turkish
names, whose sense is more defined, are applied to distinct highland groups.

In the regions of Upper Armenia and Pontus, lying north of the Murad, the
continental axis is formed by the Pontine ranges skirting the Black Sea, whereas
in Anatolia it trends southwards to the Mediterranean. But both systems are
connected by a transverse ridge running north-east and south-west, in the same
direction as all the hills, valleys, and coast lines in this part of Asia Minor. The
first link between the Pontine and Cilician Alps is the Karabel-da;;h, which runs
from the great bend of the Euphrates at Eghin to the bead-streams of the Kizil-
irmak. It attains at one point an absolute elevation of 5,X00 feet; but relatively
to the surrounding plateaux, which have a mean altitude of 5,000 feet, it presents
the appearance of a very moderately elevated chain of hills. With it begins the
system of the Anti-Taurus, which develops a series of parallel barriers running in
a south-westerly direction, and standing out all the more boldly that their base
has been profoundly eroded by the Seihun and its tributaries. Besides, these
rocky walls, intersected at intervals by narrow difficult passes, really increase in
altitude as they advance southwards. The Khanzin-da^h (•• Wild Boar Moun-
tain "), and Bimbogha-dagh (" Mountain of the Thousand Bulls "), and some other
peaks, remain snow-clad till the month of July, while many rocky gorges develop
perennial snow-fields. One of the Kozan-dagh crests rises to a height of 9,350
feet, and another in the Kermez-dagh chain, east of the river Seihun, attains an
elevation of 10,650 feet. The copious rainfall on this southern portion of the
Anti-Taurus, as compared with the rolling plateaux farther north, fosters a much
richer vegetation, in which extensive woodlands are interspersed with grassy and
flowery slopes. Some of the valleys draining to the Seihun thus present a
-trikintr contrast in the variety of their plants and their brilliant verdure to the
impoverished flora of the central Anatolian regions.

THE ANTI-TATJEUS AND CILICIAN TAURUS. 247

The Akti-Taukus and Cilician Taurus.

The various broken ridges, which follow each other in a general south-westerly
direction, with a slight convexity towards the west, bear no collective local
designation. Xor can the terra Anti-Taurus applied to the system by geographers
be justified, for it dues not stand like a rival over against the Cilician Taurus, but
both of these highlands belong to the same orographic system, interrupted onlv bv
a slight intervening fault. The Anti-Taurus forms a continuation of the Cilician
mountains, in the same way that in the Pyrenees the Mediterranean forms a
continuation of the Atlantic section, from which it is separated only by the Aran
Valley. In the Tauric system the breach is formed by the valley of the Zamantia-
su, the most copious western affluent of the Seihun. To the west rise the Ala-dagh
crests, forming the northern extremity of the Cilician Taurus; eastwards the
Ghadin-bali and Kozan-dagh form the southern termination of the Anti-Taurus,"
although the Kaleh-dagh, the Khanzir-dagh, and several other chains regarded as
belonging to this section of the Tauric highlands, are continued to the west of the
Zamantia-su. Farther east the Kermez-dagh merges through the Berut group
(8,000 feet) in other parallel ramparts, as regularly disposed as those of the Anti-
Taurus, but running in a different direction, from west to east. These constitute the
Armenian Taurus, which deflects the Euphrates for some distance eastwards, before
allowing its waters to escape through a series of deep gorges southwards. On the
south the Ghiaur-dagh, or " Mountain of Unbelievers," so named from the Greeks
and Armenians inhabiting its valleys, forms the south-eastern barrier of Asia
Minor, which is here clearly marked by the deep valley of the Ak-su, flowing to
the Jihun. The Ghiaur-dagh, which runs north-east and south-west, is connected
by a transverse ridge with the Syrian Amanus range. Interrupted by profound
depressions, it reappears on the Gulf of Alexandretta, where it develops the two
headlands of Jebel Xur and Jebel Missis. These hills are skirted southwards by
the Jihun, beyond the broad alluvial plain of which thev arc continued In' a
number of heights, formerly islets in the gulf, but now connected bv swampy
tracts with the mainland, and terminating abruptly in the steep promontory of
Kara-tash, or the " Blackrock."

The Cilician Taurus, properly so called, begins with the majestic Ala-dagh,
which culminates in the Apish-Kardagh, over 11,000 feet high. But here the
crests are so entangled in a labyrinth of other transverse or parallel ridges, that a
clear idea of the main axis, with its snowy peaks, can be formed only by surveying
it from some commanding summit at a distance. And although forming the south-
eastern scarp of the Anatolian plateau, these lofty uplands nowhere form a true
water-parting. Two rivers rising on the uplands north of them force their way
through the Ala-dagh on their course to the Seihun, which is itself formed by all
the streams issuing from the parallel valleys of the Anti-Taurus. The two gorges
traversed by the Goklu-su and Chekid-su are absolutely impracticable, so that the
range has here to be crossed by dangerous passes, one of which in the old itineraries is
named the Karghah-Kermez, " Impassable by the Raven." The only route by which

248 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA

artillery could penetrate from the coasl to the int. Tim- of Anatolia ascends the river
Cydnua north of Tarsus, beyond which it plunges into the lateral gorge of the
Ghilek-boghaz, thereby turning the escapments skirting the wesl ride of the Chekid-
su ravine.

The Pvla , or "Cilician Grates," as this passage is called, have an altitude of
3,200 feet, and were at all times of vital strategic importance. Eere terminates the
diagonal line running from the Bosphorus across Asia Minor to the <iulf of
Alt sandretta, and this route must be taken by militarj expeditions advancing from
Constantinople towards the Syrian coast, or towards the greal Lend of the Euphrates
where it enters Mesopotamia. No highway is more famous in the annals of war-
fare than this narrow defile, where converge all the routes of the peninsula. Even
before the days of Xerxes and Alexander it had been forced by many invading
boats, and since then it has been frequently used down to recent times. In 1836
Ilirahim-l'asha, victorious at Nizih, strongly fortified the Gulek-boghaz to bar the
road against the Turkish armies. All the paths crossing the crest were also ren-
dered impassable by artificial works, and the whole of the cilician Taurus was
converted into an impregnable citadel. Some remains of the formidable Egyptian
lines are still visible, as well as some older works constructed by the Genoese and
Armenians. Above the route traversing the Gulek-boghaz, may be distinctly seen
the remains of an ancient road cut in the live rock either by the Assyrians or the
Persians. At the narrowest point of the defile stands a ruined altar with two
votive tablets, the inscriptions on which have been effaced, as has also the flight of
steps leading up to the gates, which were closed in time of war. At present the
cilician Gates have lost their strategic value, but retain their commercial impor-
tance, notwithstanding the charges imposed by the inland custom-houses on every
camel-load. All the gorges intersecting the Taurus range present a meteorological
phenomenon analogous to that observed in the Sefid-rud ravine between the Iranian
plateau and the Caspian lowlands. A fierce wind here constantly prevails, blowing
alternately up and down the narrow valleys according to the diurnal oscillations of
temperature.

The whole of the western section of the Cilician Taurus, terminating eastwards
at the < hekid-su Valley, is specially known as the Bulgar-dagh. This is the range
visible from the sea along the northern horizon, and pointed out to travellers as the
"Taurus " in a pre-eminent sense. And it certainly is one of the loftiest Anatolian
chains, as well as one of those which, in their bold outlines, ja^ed crests, and rich
vegetation, most resemble the west European highlands. But the culminating
peaks of the Bulgar-dagh are rather more elevated than those of the Pyrenees, and
they are also disposed parallel to a marine shore, where the white groups of houses
are seen nestling amidst dense tufts of the Feathery palm. The highest point of
the Bulgar-dagh, 11,650 feet, or sonic 300 feet higher than Maladetta in the
Pyrenees, is locally known by the name of Bfetdesia. It was first ascended in 1836
by the engineer Russeger, who from its summit enjoyed a superb prespecl
embracing all the chief peaks of the range, and the chaos of uplands limiting the
north-eastern horizon. Here the mountains present an endless variety of form and

THE AXTI-TAURUS AND CTLICIAX TAUEUS.

249

colour, terraces, pyramids, needles, some red or yellow, others grey or black, and
ever shifting with the shifting lights. In these spurs of the Bulgar-dagh are
situated the rich argentiferous lead mines of the Bulgar-maden, beyond which rise
the Ala-dagh and Anti-Taurus. To the north are faintly mirrored the great lakes
of the plateau, above which sparkle the eternal snows of Arjish, culminating point
of the peninsula. Southwards the view commands the slope of the whole range,
with its advanced spurs and ramparts, beyond which are visible the shores of
Syria as far as Latakieh, and in the midst of the blue waters the faint outlines of
the Cyprus hills in the hazy distance.

Notwithstanding its southern position and complete exposure to the solar rays,
the Bulgar-dagh remains wrapped for several months in a snowy mantle, while its

Fig. 95. — The Bvlgar-dagh.
Scale t : 240,000.

e:«^

^ ■

»v .

. 6 Miles.

higher gorges are sometimes completely blocked throughout the year. A small
glacier was even supposed to exist on the slopes of Mount Ohuban-huyu, near the
Metdesis peak. But the massess of transparent bluish ice here discovered are due
to a copious spring, by which the snow is melted, and the water soon again frozen
to ice during the cold nights.

Seawards the Cilician Taurus presents a much more imposing appearance than
towards the interior, where its absolute height is lessened by the mean altitude of
the plateau, which considerably exceeds 3,000 feet, and which is connected by
numerous transverse ridges with the Bulgar-dagh and Ala-dagh. An interrupted
series of mountains follows successively between the Taurus and the Ilassan-dagh,
which latter groups, however, belong to a different geological system. They form
part of the extensive volcanic region, which at one time displayed intense igneous

250 SOUTH-WESTERN Asia.

activity mi the shores of the ancient inland sea occupying the centre of the peninsula.
This plutonic mass culminates towards the uorth-easl in the mighty Erjiah ( Arjeh),
the Argaeus of 1 1 1 < - ancients, which is the highest peak in Anatolia, as was alreadj
known to Strabo, who was born some distance to the north of the volcano. Accord-
ing to Chihacheff, the southern edge of ili«' crater is 1-J.siin |irt hi<rh, mul above it
some vertical rocky walls rise some :>imi feel higher. Bui the report current in
Strabo's time, that both the Euxine and "Sea of tssus" were visible from its
summit, lias qo Foundation in fact. Southwards the Mediterranean is concealed by
the intervening Bulgar-dagh and Ala-dagh, while towards the north-east the vague
outlines of the Pontine highlands are scarcely visible in the cli uresl weather.*

Mm m Akoi.is The [saurian \m> Ltciam Taurus.

Mount Argffius rests on a very lofty pediment. Even the northern plain of
Kaisarieh, the lowest of all the surrounding lands, has an elevation of over 3,300
feet, whilst a depression separating the central mass from another volcanic group
towards the west exceeds o.imiii feet. The mountain properly so called is encircled
by spurs, cones, and lava streams, giving to the whole group a total area of about
loii square miles. The southern ascent, chosen by Hamilton, the first to scale the
cone in modern times, passes successively over broad tracts disposed in a series of
terraces round the highest cone, which is 2, <>•>() feet high, and scored by deep
crevasses and divergent ravines describing a pendant necklace of white snow round
the crater, and descending in long streaks amid the reddish scoriui. On these
furrowed heights the least change of temperature during the night suffices to arrest
the progress of the snowy masses, which with the morning sun become again dis-
engaged, and then continue to rush down the slopes, bounding from crag to crag,
across the crevasses. When the snows begin to melt in spring, the danger from
this cause becomes SO great that the ascent has to lie made at night "before the
mountain is awake." In summer the snow disappears altogether from the southern
slopes; but some remains throughout the year in the deep crater, where it even
forms real glaciers.

In the time of St rabo the cone was not yet quite extinct. Its slopes were covered
with forests, which have since disappeared ; but the surround ing plain was
" undermined by a subterranean fire," frequently emitting flames, and so late as
the tilth century Claudian still speaks of the "burning summits" of Argeus.
Chihacheff refers to the coins found in the neighbourhood of Kaisarieh representing
the crater in a state of eruption ; and although in modern times no trace has been
observed of vapour or carbonic acid springs, the scoriae, lava-streams, and craters
everywhere present the appearance of recent cooling. The Ali-dagh to the north-
east, the Sevri-dagh to the south-west, and hundreds of other eminences dotted over
this igneous region, have preserved their craters. Of these the highest, next to
Argseus, are those of the Hassan-dagh, which attain an elevation of nearly 10,000
feet. They are connected towards the south-east with the scarcely less elevated
• Aliitude of Mount Argaeus, according to Tl.-nniltoii. 13,200 feet; Cooper, 13,300; Tozer, 13,350.

MOUNT ARGIL'S— THE ISAUEIAX AXD LYCIAN TAURUS.

251

Yeshil-dagh, whose vertical walls and basalt colonnades rise abruptly above the
plains. Towards the south-west the volcanic range merges in the Karaja-dagh,
which extends for 120 miles beyond Argasus. One of the craters of this range,
visible in a saline lakelet five miles south-east of Karabunar, presents the probably
unique appearance of an oval bowl, with the rim gradually rising towards the east,
where it terminates in a vertical spout.

West of the Cilician Taurus the whole seaboard between the gulfs of Taurus and

Fig. 96. — Mount Arg.eus.
Scale 1 : 540,000.

55*50'

Adalia is occupied by a labyrinth of highlands known as the Isaurian Taurus.
Here geographers have not yet succeeded in positively identifying the (Tragus,
Imbarus, or Andricus of the ancients, names which were applied especially to the
peaks visible from the coast, whatever might be their importance relatively to the
more elevated summits of the interior. In this region the chief group is that of
the Gok-kuh, or " Celestial Mountain," whose highe-t crests attain an altitude of
10,000 feet. Most of the ridges connected with it are disposed in the direction

252 SOTJTH-WEOTBKN ISIA.

from north-west to Bouth east, parallel with those skirting the oast side of the Gulf
of Adalia. None, except the Gok-kuh, exceed -">,<)(»(( in i ; \,t, despite their
moderate elevation, tin- Anatolian seaboard nowhere presents a more rugged aspect
than on tin- coast nt Cilicia Trachsea, as this district was named in opposition to the
low-lying shores of Cilicia Campestris, stretching along tin- loot of the Uulgar-
dagh towards the Gulf of Alexandretta. Headlands of Bchists, conglomers
limestone, or white marble follow almost uninterruptedly around the eon vex coast-
line over against Cyprus. Coming westwards the first of these headlands, some of
which rise in vertical dill's ooo or 700 feet above the waves, is the superb promon-
tory of Manavat ("Cavalier Point '*), almost detached Erom the mainland, and thus
forming a natural stronghold, which has been further strengthened by defensive
works and ditches cut in the live rock. A lew miles farther east Is Provencal Isle,
another marble rock completely surrounded by water, and also crowned with a
fortress Standing amidst the debris of houses and chapels. These remains of
military and religious structures, as well as the names of the cape and island still
current along the coast, recall the presence of European Christians in the district.
The two Cilician rocks were amongst the fortresses ceiled by Leo. King of Armenia,
to the pope about the end of the twelfth century, and lure the knights of Saint
John of Jerusalem established a refuge for liberated Christian slaves. The other
headlands west of Cavalier Point, if less interesting historic-ally, are none the less
picturesque. Cape Kizliman, which is attached to the mainland by a low isthmus,
consists of perfectly regular strata with the most varied and brilliant tints — red,
violet, brown, yellow, and deep blue. Farther on, (ape Anamur marks the
southernmost point of Asia Minor.

North of the Tracluean highlands, the isolated Kara-dagh, or "Black Moun-
tains," rise like an island amidst the uniform plains of Konieh. This group lies on
the prolonged axis of the chains, which stretch north-westwards for some 120 miles
beyond Konieh. The eastern rampart, skirting the Central Anatolian depression
on the west, is broken by numerous breaches, and has a mean altitude of scarcely
more than 800 or 900 feet above the plateau, lint at its north-western extremity
it terminates in the Kmir-dagh and Keshir-dagh, which attain a somewhat greater
elevation, and which afford abundant pasturage during the summer heats. The
western section, known as the Sultan-dagh, possibly on account of its greater
height, forms a lofty range towards the east : but wis! and north it merges in
many places with the hilly tableland, where rise the Ghediz-chai, Meander, and
other streams flowing to the .Kgean Sea.

South-west of the Sultan-dagh, the hills gradually increase in height as they
advance seawards. In Pisidia, where the Boz-burun, or " Grey Head," falls little
short of 10,000 feet, they run north and south ; but in Lycia tiny are mainly
disposed north-east and south-west. In tin Lycian Taurus the Ak-dagh, or
•• White Mountain," attains an altitude of 10,250 feet, and is almost rivalled by the
Suzuz-dagh facing it on the east, and possibly surpassed by the Bei-dagh east of
Klmalu, which is said to have an elevation of 10,500 feet. Next to Metdesis, the
Ak-dagh and Bei-dagh are the loftiest summits in the Tauric system, and from

MOUNT ARGIL'S— TILE ISAURIAX AND LYCTAN TAURUS.

253

their greater vicinity to the sea they present a still more imposing appearance.
The northern slopes of the Lycian Taurus are covered or flecked with snow
throughout the year. To their white crests many of the uplands in this part of
Asia Minor are indebted for their designation ball, a term almost identical with the

Fig. 97.— The Chim-eka of Lycia.
Scale 1 : 450.000.

i Ycnldjik

^~-~ -*"* f*t^T'*A

30'25'

u._ oT uree

OtoSO
Feet.

Igneous Rocks.

80 to 160
Feet.

160 Feet and
upwards.

■mm 72 Miles.

Slav word for white, which is also applied to snowy summits. But the general
appellation of Taurus has also been preserved in the local nomenclatures ; and the
chain beginning at the southern extremity of lake Egherdir and forming the main
axis of all the branches ramifying towards the Lycian coast, still bears the name of
Davras or Dauras (Taurus).

254 30TJTH-WESTEEN Asi \.

On the oast coast of Lycia the w led and fissured Takh-talu, the Solyma of

the ancients, rises to a height of 7,300 feet On the southern slope of this
majestic peak lies the famous Ohimsera, which burns night and day, and which has
given rise to so many fables. The Yanar, or Yanar-tash, source of the everlasting
fires, wells up from a fissure about 3 feet deep, above which stand the remains of a
temple. The Hame is perfectly smokeless, and a few yards oif the serpentine rock
whence rises the mysterious fire, has a temperature no higher than that of the
surrounding soil. Plants flourish in the immediate neighbourhood, which is

watered by a shadd stream. The shepherds of the district often prepare their f I

in the Chimiera, which, however, according to the Legend, refuses to cook stolen
aliments. Another fissure resembling the Yanar is now extinct, nor has any escape
of gas been observed on the spot. This district, where underground rumblings are
said to be occasionally heard, was formerly known by the name of .Mount l'hunix,
and one of the neighbouring villages still bears the designation of Phineka,
Eagles and vultures incessantly hover above the flaming rock, a circumstance
which may possibly have inspired the legend of the phoenix springing eternally
from its ashes.

Like those of Cilician Traehcca, the Lycian promontories mostly terminate
abruptly in white limestone headlands, contrasting vividly with their dark pine
forests. The seaboard, indented by numerous inlets, presents in its peninsular
formation a forecast of the insular groups on the west coast. Here a Greek or
Italian nomenclature begins to prevail. Thus Castel Orizzo (Castel Rosso), lie-
largest island on the coast, probably takes its Italian name from the reddish tints
of its rocks. The promontory and islets of Chelidan (Chelidonia) at the south-east
corner of Lycia, are so called by the Greeks from the swallows frequenting them;
and farther on the harbour of " Port Geuovese " occurs on the east side. In the
straits winding between the Chelidan islands, the currents, which set steadily from
Syria along the Anatolian shores westwards, are more rapid than elsewhere in the
Levant. After striking the cliffs of Adalia, which project like a huge barrier
across their course, they aie deflected to the left, escaping with great impetuosity
through the Chelidan channels to the high seas. At certain points the stream
attains a velocity of nearly three miles an hour. Amongst the other curiosities of
this archipelago is a freshwater brook in the islet of Grambusa, apparently far too
copious to be maintained by the rainfall on such a small area. Hence the conjec-
ture that it flows in an underground channel from the mainland, although the
intervening strait is no less than 17(1 feet deep.

The AVkst Anatolian Coast-lands and Islands.

The western section of the Anatolian plateau does not fall uniformly towards
the .Lgean seaboard, whose numerous indentations find their counterpart along the
face of the escarpment, even still more complicated by lateral ramifications like
those of the Norwegian fiords. The uplands are thus frayed, so to say, like the
ravelled edge of a textile fabric, the main axes being disposed mostly in parallel

THE WEST ANATOLIAN COASTLANDS AND ISLANDS. 255

lines falling in successive terraces seawards. Detached from these by profound
fissures are other ridges, which in their turn are interrupted by broad, verdant
depressions connecting together the fertile plains on either side. Farther on the
ranges reappear, projecting as peninsulas far into the .Egean, where they terminate
in precipitous headlands. But the mainland vanishes only to emerge again in hillv
islands, which are themselves continued by lower insular groups, gradually dying
away in still smaller islets and reefs. The continental uplands and insular mass -
thus belong to the same formation, so that with a change of sea level new islands
would either be developed farther inland, or else the archipelagos become con-
verted into promontories projecting seawards.

This broken section of the plateau, which develops towards the south-west an
intricate highland system, begins with the majestic Baba-dagh, or Cadmus of the
ancients. It rises to a height of 10,200 feet, and is skirted eastwards by a depres-
sion connecting the basin of the Meander, which flows to the iEgean, with that of
the Duluman-chai, draining to the Sea of Rhodes. South of the Baba-dagh, the
Boz-dagh, or " Gray Range," falls gradually to heights of 3,000 and 2,000 feet, and
even less, so that the spurs projecting from the south-west corner of Anatolia far
into the sea have a very moderate elevation, although still presenting an endless
variety of bold and fantastic forms. Here the insular eminences are higher than
those of the mainland, Mount Attairos, in Rhodes, attaining upwards of 4,000 feet,
and exceeding Mount Lastos in Karpathos only by some 60 feet. From this
culminating point a clear view is afforded of the eastern extremity of Crete, which
is connected with Anatolia by a submarine bank 1,000 to 1.200 feet deep, with
abysses of from 6,500 to 7,000 feet on either side. North of Rhodes another
headland is continued by the islet of Symi, while the long hilly strip terminating
at Cape Krio reappears at Nisyros, whose pyramidal cone rises to a height of 2,300
feet. Farther on the peninsula of Halicarnassus is separated only by narrow rocky
channels from Kos and the Kalymnos and Leros insular groups. It is noteworthy
that Nisyros, the only still active volcano in Asia Minor, stands exactly at the
corner of the peninsula, between the ^Fgean and the deep basin of the East
Mediterranean Sea. At present the only visible indications of igneous activity,
are the clouds of smoke with a temperature of over 220° F., the jets of vapour,
and crystallised sulphur deposits. The underground energies are stimulated
during the rainy season, when the bottom of the crater is converted into a sulphu-
rous lake with the temperature of boiling water. This crater is used as a sort of
refinery by the people engaged in the sulphur trade. According to a Greek legend,
Nisyros was a fragment of the island of Kos, hurled by a god into the sea. In
reality the surrounding lands have been largely formed by the matter cast up by
Nisyros during its former explosions. Thus the islet of Yali, lying between Cos
and Nisyros, consists of such volcanic tuffa alternating with travertine abounding
in fossils. According to M. Gorceix, this islet has undergone continual changes of
level, continued down to the present time, thus attesting the uninterrupted play of
the subterranean forces in the neighbouring volcano. In this part of the Mediter-
ranean the tides are very perceptible, rising about one foot in the Gulf of Symi.

256

!!-\VK<TKl;\- ASl \

The saim Baba-dagh group, whence radiate the south-western spurs of the
peninsula, also projects westwards a branch interrupted at intervals by deep
valleys. Above the crest ris(. severe] peaks considerably over 3,000 Eeel high, and
towards the western extremity the Besh-l'armak, or "Five Finders," attains an
elevation of l.*>?i> feet. North of the Meander Valley, the range projecting west-
wards from the plateaux is much more regular than the Baba-dagh system. Known
by rarious local names, bul generally spoken of by the Greeks by its old appella-
tion of Misoghis, this chain extends uninterruptedly for a distance "I 84 miles

Fig. 98. — Nisyhob.
Scale 1 : 230.000.

L . i of ureer

0 to 640 I-'eet.

G40 Feet and upwardl.
8 Bfilflfl

from the Meander gorge near Buladan, to the Scala Nova promontories in the
gulf of Ephesus. The highest crests, whose mean height scarcely exceeds 3,000
feet, follow in regular succession from east to west, without any intermediate
depressions. Yet the whole range presents the most varied outlines, thanks to
the terraces of conglomerate skirting its base al an altitude of from 300 to 450
feet, and cut into cubic and pyramidal figures by the mountain torrents. Here the
cultivated terraced tracts and the dense foliage of the valleys present a striking
contrast to the red tints of the detritus swept down and deposited by the torrents
as alluvia in the Meander Valley. All these crumbling rocks are evidently the

THE WEST ANATOLIAN COASTLANDS AND ISLANDS. 257

remains of sedimentary formations, deposited during an older geological epoch,
when the Anatolian seaboard was more deeply submerged than at present.

Towards its western extremity, the Misoghis range falls as low as 800 feet at
one point, where it is pierced by a tunnel on the railway, running from Smyrna up
the Meander Valley. This depression separates the main chain from the Gumish-
dagh, or " Silver Mountain," which abounds in deposits of emery and other
minerals. Southwards the Lower Meander is skirted by groups of hills facing the
Besh-Parmak escarpments, beyond which the jagged crests of the Samsun-da^h,
the Mycale of the ancients, are seen stretching east and west. Here the Asiatic
seaboard of the ^Egean Sea culminates in the rocky pyramid of Rapana, which rises
to a height of 4,180 feet about the centre of this range. Immediately to the wesl
is a somewhat less elevated but more venerated peak, on which stands a ruined
shrine dedicated to the prophet Eliah, who has replaced Apollo-Melkarth as the
tutelar genius of the Ionian Greeks. Over against it lies the island of Samos,
terminating westwards in the still loftier peak of Kerki (5,900 feet), beyond which
are visible the summits of Nikaria (over 3,000 feet), and towards the south-west
Patmos and other islets are dimly seen, now like deep shadows, now like luminous
vapour floating on the purple waters. The strait separating Samos from the
mainland is less than a mile and a half wide, and even this is divided bv a rocky
islet into two channels. From the town of Samos is visible the last promontory of
the mainland, which has retained its old name of Mycale, changed by trans-
position of syllables to Camilla or Camello.

North of the Misoghis chain is developed another of the same elevation, the
Tmolus of the ancients, terminating immediately to the east of Smyrna, and
forming jointly with the Misoghis a vast semi-circle round the valley of the
Cayster. West of this valley the hills break into independent groups, which were
formerly separated by broad straits from the mountains of the interior. The
Alaman-dagh, the Gallesion of the ancients, has preserved its insular aspect, the
verdure clothing its spurs and penetrating into its gorges serving to define its out-
lines as sharply as might the marine waters themselves. Differing from nearly all
the other Ionian chains, which run normally east and west, the AUuuan-dagh is
disposed in the direction from north to south, as is also the more westerly ridge,
which crosses the Smyrnian peninsula, terminating with the twin peaks of the Two
Brothers, whose wooded slopes overlook the entrance of the roadstead. Farther on
another and loftier chain follows the same direction from Cape Karaka to the
Mimas or Kara-burun promontory. Chio, the nearest island to this part of the
coast, also runs north and south, differing in this respect from all the other islands
of the Ionian Archipelago, Chio culminates northwards with Mount Saint Elias
(4,220 feet), which occasionally remains covered with snow for a lew days, or even
weeks in winter, whence perhaps the name of the island (khion, snow).

The rocks of Chio belong to various geological epochs, and the underground
forces are still at work producing fresh formations. Igneous rocks, such as serpen-
tine, porphyries, trachytes, occur in several places, as well as in the neighbouring
Erythrean peninsula, for the two parallel ridges, here separated by a marine
115

li.Vs

SOI TH-WESTERN ASIA.

channel scarcely 80 feel deep, are comprised within the same area of volcanic
disturbance. This district of Ionia, one of the richest in thermal springs, is also
one d!' those that have Buffered mosl from subterranean convulsions.

During the second half of this century, the town of <'lii" was destroyed by a
tremendous earthquake seldom exceeded in violence, and the island was again
Bhaken in October, 1883, when the springs were dried up or replaced by others,

I M..I is \" VI 1 I'Y. l'l AIN Dl' S.UIMS.

^ ' ■■-■

.-ess

^5Ss

--*■-.-•-:

-s=e.

several villages and parts of towns overthrown, and over -50,000 people rendered
houseless.

The chain, connected by a low depression with Mount Tmolus, and bending
westwards round the north side of Smyrna harbour, is famous in legend and

history as the Sipylos of Khlg Tantalus; and over against the city stands ill. " Seat

of Pelops," where reigned thechief of the family that gave its name to the Pelopon-
nesus. The old writers speak of frightful earthquakes, which destroyed the cities

THE WEST ANATOLIAN COASTLANDS AND ISLANDS.

259

and " devoured " Sipylos. No trace can now be detected of these convulsions ; but
all the western section of the range, that is, the Yamanlar-dagh of the Turks
consists of eruptive rocks. The Manissa-dagh, or " Mountain of Magnesia," as the
western part of Sipylos is called, is formed of chalk cliffs, which on the north side
terminate abruptly in lofty walls diversely coloured, pierced by caves, and broken
by faults, which seem to traverse the mountain in its entire thickness. East of the
Manissa-dagh the northern slope of Tmolus, here known as the Boz-dagh, or " Grey
Mountain," is skirted by the plain of Sardis, watered by the Hermus.

The hills facing Tmolus north of the Alashehr Valley are partly of volcanic

Fig. 100.— Mytilene.
Scale 1 : 490.000.

SB"I0-

of Ijreenivich

0tr>32
Feet.

S2 to 320
Feet.

i>20 to 1,600
Feet.

1,600 Feet and
upwards.

12 Miles.

origin, and one of the plains enclosed by them is the Katakekaumene, or " Burnt
Land" of the Greeks. Here the volcanic Kard Devlit, or "Black Inkbottlc,"
which rises to a height of about 500 feet above the Eula plain, is entirely composed
of ashes and blackish semi;!', which crumble beneath the feet. Vest of it follow
two other cones at intervals of 6 or 7 miles, both of which, like the Kara Devlit,
have discharged streams of lava towards the Hermus Valley. Of these the
westernmost, known as the Kaplan Alan, or "Tiger's Cave," presents a terminal
crater about half a mile in circumference. Besides these comparatively modern
volcanoes, which arc probably of the same age as those of Auvergne, there are
several others, which can now be distinguished only in outline, and which are

260 SOUTH -WESTERN \si \.

clothed with the same vegetation as the surrounding districts. Others again, of a
still more remote epoch, are dotted over the marble and schistose plateaux.

The Murad-dagh, which Forms a western continuation of the Emir-dagh of the

central plateau, may be regarded as the nucleus whence diverge the chief ranges
and rivers in the north-west of the peninsula. Here the Meander, Hermits, and
Thymbrius lake their rise, and here the lofty Murad range, which exceeds f>,"il)<)
feet in height, merges westwards in the Ak-dagh, or " White Mountain," which
has an elevation of 8,120 Feet. Farther on this system is continued by the
Demirji-dagh, with its southern spurs, one of which is the superb trachytic Kavajik,
rising vertically above the surrounding valleys. The Eassan-dagh, by which the
main range is continued to the east and south-east, sweeps round towards Mount
Sipylos, as if to enclose the llermus Valley. Its gorges, formerly crossed only by
rugged tracks, are now traversed by the railway between Smyrna and Magnesia.
Most of the other chains connected with the Demirji generally stretch away in a
succession of gently rolling hills towards the sea of Marmora. I'.ut Syenitie
Madara-dagh, over against Mytelene, consists largely of huge blocks piled up in
fantastic shapes, and presenting all the transitions between the solid rock and
disintegrated sands. Mytelene itself, which is separated by the Gulf of Edrcmid
from the high seas, also bristles with peaks, amongst which is an "Olympus,"
whose summit is occasionally covered with snow. This large Anatolian island
evidently belongs to two different orographic systems, its west side forming part of
the Troad, while the east runs parallel to the shores of Mysia. To this double forma-
tion Mytelene is indebted for its peculiar fan-like shape, giving access southwards
to circular marine inlets.

Ida \\d Olympus — North Anatoliah Ranges.

The mountains of the Troad have their chief nucleus at its southern extremity,
immediately north of the Gulf of Edremid, where rise the wooded heights of the
Kaz-dagh, the Ida or Gargara of the ancients. These two names, however, must
be applied in their poetic sense to other more central mountains of the Troad.
At least from the topmost crest of the Kaz-dagh, 5,880 feet high according to
Schmidt, and surrounded by other peaks scarcely less elevated, the plain of Ilion is
not visible. Hence from this point Zeus could have been described as contemplating
the struggles of Trojan and < ireek on the banks of the Scamander. For the present
Hellenes Ida is a sacred mountain, as it hud been in pagan times. Near the
summit are seen the remains of cells and shrines, and on the feast of the prophet
Elias the surrounding peasantry spend the night on the peak, in order to kneel in
worship as soon as the sun appears above the horizon. Doubtless the ceremony has
little changed since the old poets celebrated the glorious crest lit up by the ruddy
dawn, and diffusing a divine effulgence over the la ml.

Ida is still clothed with the magnificenl forests to which it owes its name.
But on most of the advanced spurs, such as the Kara-dagh and Karali-dagh,
nothing now remains except scrub and brushwood. Nevertheless, the upland

IDA AND OLYMPUS— NOETH ANATOLIAN RANGES. 261

pastures have here and there preserved their clumps of pines, nowhere dense
enough to arrest the view. Lower down, the Mendereh winds through the Trojan
plain, stretching away to the Hellespont, beyond which spreads the glittering sea
with its islands — Tenedos, Lemnos, Irabros, Samothrace — supported in the back-
ground by the triangular headland of Mount Athos, The last hills of the Ida
system, comprised between Besika Bay and the entrance of the Dardanelles, form
an isolated barrier skirting the coast, and limited southwards by the mouth of the
Scamander, towards the north by the delta of the Mendereh, the Simois of Homer.
At this point Tenedos, with its bare hills, forms, with a few other islets less
destitute of vegetation, a small archipelago off the Trojan coast.

The south side of the Sea of Marmora, is also skirted b)' a small orographic
system, separated from the southern hills by alluvial and tertiary formations, which
mark the direction of an ancient strait flowing between the Euxine and iEgean.
The peninsula of Cyzicum, connected by a narrow strip with the mainland, is also
commanded by an eminence known as the Kopu-dagh, while the Marmora group,
so named from its marble cliffs, consists of upheaved rocks. East of the Propontis
is the peninsula lying between the gulfs of Ghemlik and Ismid, which has also its
insular mass, whose chief summit, the Samanlu-dagh, rises to a height 2,730 feet,
terminating westwards in the imposing headland of Boz-burun. This headland is
of volcanic formation, like several other promontories stretching along the coast
between the Gulf of Ismid and the Black Sea.

Olympus, whose hazy outlines are visible from Constantinople on the southern
horizon, is connected only by irregular spurs with the inland Murad-dagh high-
lands. It consists of an almost isolated mass of gneiss and granite, interspersed
along its slopes with diorite and marble. Although easily ascended, even on
horseback, the actual height of the Kechish or central peak is still unknown. But
it can scarcely be less than 8,000 feet, thus taking the first rank amongst the
mountains of Northern Anatolia.* West of the Galatian Olympus, this is the
first that has received the name of Olympus, and amongst the fifteen or twenty
other peaks so named this has been chosen by the popular tradition as the chief
abode of the gods. Facing Bithynia on the north, Mysia on the south side, it
towers in isolated grandeur between these two provinces, commanding a vast
horizon from the Euxine waters to the isles of Marmora and the Thraeian shores.
South-eastwards it is continued by a narrow regular crest, which branches off
further on in parallel ridges. Eastwards other less elevated eminences stretch
away towards the valley of the Sakaria, which flows in a narrow bed between
vertical or steeply inclined walls, rising to a moderate height above the surrounding
plateau. The highlands, properly so called, reappear east of the Sakaria and of
the steppe region occupying tin- centre of Anatolia.

The various ranges intersecting the plateau between the Sakaria, Kizil-irmak,
and Teshil-irmak basins, consist mainly of relatively slightly elevated crests,
disposed in the direction from south-west to north-east. Few of them exceed

* Height of Olympus, according to Kit-pert. 6,280 feet; retemiann, 6.420; Stelinitzkiy, 8.100; Mar-
mont, 7,490 , Fritsch, 7,060.

262 SOUTH-WESTERN A-l V

6,000 feet, and several are merely rolling hilla covered with pastures, bal probably
destined one day to receive a large Bedentary population. For the soil is naturally
fertile, and the atmosphere remarkably pure. Of the ranges in this region, the
highest is the Ala-dagh, whose culminating peaks exceed 8,000 feet. It consists
■ •I five parallel chains, sloping gently down to the surrounding plateau. The Ilkas-
dagh, south of Kastamuni, and the Elma-dagh, south of Angora, also exceed 'i,000
West of Sivas a range formed of parallel ridges running Bouth-west and
north-east, takes the name of Ak-dagh, or " White Mountains," from its winter
snow.-. ChihachefE assigns a height of 7,400 feel to its loftiest peaks. It is
continued north-eastwards by the Yildiz-dagh, or "Star Range," which falls to
about 3,000 feet, lint farther on the hills again rise to a considerable altitude
merging at last in the Pontine system. A lofty ridge skirts the coast north of the
dec]) valley <>f the Lyeus, or Ghermili. Sienites and porphyries, here and there
underlying sedimentary rocks, are the prevailing formations in these ranges, which
are pierced in many places by lava streams. North of Sliahin Carahissar, the
Eazan-Kaza volcano rises to an elevation of over 8,300 feet. This coast range
prohahlv abounds more than any other Anatolian mountains in iron, copper, and
argentiferous lead ores. Here, according to the legend, were invented the hammer
and anvil.

Tin: Anatolian Water Systems — The Yeshil-irmak, Ki/h.-irmak and

Sab w;ia.

The Anatolian plateau being roughly inclined towards the north-west, its
main drainage necessarily follows the same direction. Thus the running waters
of more than half of the peninsula How to the Euxine, through the basins of the
two Irmaks and Sakaria. But there still remain extensive central depressions,
where the rainfall is collected in saline lakes. In former times, when the climate
was more moist than at present, these now landlocked basins probably discharged
their overflow seawards. But the old freshwater lakes have been transformed to
salt lagoons by the gradual dessicatiou of the land and the excess of evaporation
over the rainfall.

In north-east Anatolia the largest river basin is that of the Yeshil-irmak, the
ancient Iris, which receives nearly all its feeders from the western spurs of the
Anti-Caucasus. The Tosanli-su, which, owing to its direction, is regarded as the
main stream, has its source in the valley of the Kos-dagh, whose southern slope
gives rise to the Kizil-irmak, the largest river in Asia Minor. It flows first west-
wards, then trends north and south-east, receiving at Amasia the discharge of Lake
Ladik-gol, now a small sheet of water, but which in the time of Strabo covered a
vast area. Of the two streams, the Lycus, the Kelkit or Ghermili of the Turks, is
the most copious, rising far to the east of the Tosanli about the meridian of
Trebizond. Below the confluence the main stream receives no more affluents, and
after piercing a rocky barrier, by which its course was formerly arrested, it spreads
out in an extensive alluvial delta, which has already encroached some hundred
square miles on the Euxine.

THE ANATOLIAN" WATER SYSTEMS.

263

Immediately east of the Yeshil-irmak flows the Termeh, the Thermodon of the
Greeks, a far more copious stream than might be expected from the limited extent
of its basin. Its upper valley was formerly associated with the legend of the
Amazons, a legend which even still survives in the local traditions. One of the
ridges pierced by the Termeh is continued westwards beyond the Iris under the
name of Mason-dagh, or "Amazon Mountains."

The Kizil-irmak, or " Red River " of the Turks, and Halys of the ancients,
roughly describes a vast concentric curve with the Yeshil-irmak, or "Green River."
The length of its course between its source in the Kos-dagh and its delta, is at least
fivefold the direct distance between these two points. Its upper bed is at times
completely dry in summer, and even lower down it is fordable in many places as far

Fig. 101. — Delta of the Kizil-Irmak

Scale 1 : 130.000.

0 to 80 Feet.

80 Feet and upw.irds.
12 Miles.

as the neighbourhood of the delta. The excess of evaporation over the rainfall in
its basin gives it a brackish taste fully justifying its Greek appellation. In the
Sivas plain it traverses beds of pure salt, whence the natives of Western Armenia
derive their usual supply. Like the Yeshil, the Red River ramifies at its mouth
into a number of branches, which have largely gained on the waters of the Kuxine.
The old geographers, following the example of Herodotus, often took the Halys as
the natural limit of Asia Minor, calling the vast region beyond its delta Trans-
halysiun Asia. The choice of this boundary is explained by the military importance
of three considerable streams — Thermodon, Iris, and Halys — following at short
intervals like the moats of a citadel.

Although the longest of all Anatolian rivers, the Kizil-irmak is less copious

264 sni tii-\vi>ti:i:\ \-i\.

than the Sakaria, the Sagaria or Sagarias of the ancients. Like the two Innaka,
the Sakaria pursues a very meandering course nf about :{<!0 miles in the normal
direction from east to west. On the plains it has frequently shifted its bed, and in
the Byzantine annals mention is made of extensive hydraulic works undertaken to
regulate its current. Several projects of canalisation have also been recently
presented to the Turkish Government, one of which, prepared by French engineers
in L870, proposed to render the river completely navigable throughout the year for
L50 miles from its mouth by a system of Locks, cuttings, and lateral canals.
Pending the execution of these plans, the Sakaria remains (innavigable, except for
very light heats and rafts, on which timber and charcoal are floated down for
Constantinople. The projected railway schemes have also hitherto remained in
abeyance, but will no doubl sooner or later be realised, for the Sakaria route forms
an important link in the shortest overland highway between England and India.

The lacustrine region of Central Anatolia seems to have formerly formed part
of the Sakaria basin, at least for the greater part of its extent. Here the largest
sheet of water is the Tuz-gol, or "Salt Lake," which is at Least 60 miles long
north-west and south-east, and nowhere Less than •'! or 1 miles wide. It COVena total
area of over 400 square miles, but in summer its mean depth is probably less than
7 feet. Towards the centre are seen the traces of a dyke over 7 miles long,
constructed by a sultan for military purposes, and here the water is nowhere much
more than '■'> feet deep. During the dry season its outlines could scarcely be
recognised but for the plants growing along the shore, beyond which an unbroken
deposit of salt stretches for many miles in some directions. In winter the whole
depression is flooded, but even then the surface La covered by a saline crust from 2
inches t,, t: or 7 feet in thickness, and generally solid enough to support a man on
horsehack. According to Philipps, the water of the Tuz-gol is heavier and more
saline than that of the Dead Sea, containing over thirty-two percent of salt, with a
specific weight of 1 "J fit.

West of the Tuz-gol the plain is studded with numerous ponds, tarns, salt pools,
Bwamps, and rivulets, which evaporate in summer, and which besides salt, often
contain sulphates of magnesia and soda. The temporary lakes stretching to the
south and wesl are also charged with hitter magnesia salts, without any admixture
of chloride of sodium. Such phenomena are common enough in closed basins, and
an due to the different chemical constituents of the soil traversed by the streams

I i drier parts of the steppe are clothed with an aromatic herb, which cattle
eagerly devour, and which yields a perfumed oil, pronounced by Moltke to be as
pleasant as essence of roses.

Beside the Bteppe lakes, evidently the remains of an older and more extensive
ba^in which drained northwards through the Sakaria, there are other reservoirs,
which although now occupying distinct cavities in almost closed cirques, appear to
have belonged to the Bystem of seaward drainage. Traces of old communications
are indicated at several places by channels and ravines still showing the marks of
running water. To the same marine basin of Central Anatolia apparently also
belonged the reservoirs scattered over the depression lying between the Emir-dagh

THE ANATOLIAN WATER SYSTEMS.

265

and Sultan-dagh, and which are alternately flooded basins and simple meres
surrounded by saline incrustations.

In its lower course, the Sakaria receives the overflow of a lake, which though of
small size is very remarkable as the remains apparently of a channel, through which
the Euxine communicated with the ^Egean before the opening of the Bosphorus
farther west. This lake, the Sophon of the ancients, and present Sabanja, stands
100 feet above sea level, and has a depth of over 120 feet. Yet it is a mere
remnant of a former inland sea, as shown by the surrounding soil, which consists of
fine sedimentary matter, wafted by the slightest breeze into dense clouds of dust.
The lake seems even now marked out as the natural port of a navigable strait,

Fig. 102.— Lake of Sabanja.
Scale 1 : 630.000.

E. of G^eer *cK

OtoSO
Feet.

SOto 160
Feet.

160 Feet and
upwards.

6 Miles.

which might easily be constructed or restored between the Sea of Marmora and the
Euxine by the Gulf of Ismid and the lower course of the Sakaria. Such a project
was proposed to Trajan by Pliny the younger, and traces, .still visible in his time,
attested that the enterprise had already been undertaken by Mithridates, Xerxes, or
some other sovereign. It was again resumed at various epochs since the time of
Solomon the Magnificent, but always unsuccessfully. According to several careful
surveys, the intervening ridge is about 135 feet, so that the relative level of land
and sea has been modified at least to this extent since the closing of the Sabanja
strait, an event probably coincident with the opening of the Bosphorous. Along
the Euxine coast old beaches are still visible at various points and at different

266 BOUTH v\ ESTEEN AS] L

heights \ij) to 100 feet, covered with sheila exclusively of tlio same species a> those
dow inhabiting the surrounding waters. There are few more interesting regions
than these shifting straits and isthmuses between Europe and Asia ; bul their
geological history is --till bul imperfectly known. The regime of the current and
counter-currenl between the Euxine and Sea of Marmora is not even yel accurately
determined; nor has it been ascertained with certainty whether the two basins do
not present some difference of level. The waters of the Euxine, Betting from the
shores of European Turkey towards the Bosphorus, are not all able to escape
through this narrow outlet. A portion of the Btream is thus deflected to the left
along the Anatolian seaboard at a mean velocity of nearly.2 miles per hour, and tie-
current is Celt as far east as Sinope. At the foot of the [neboli lighthouse, where it
attains a speed of about 2| miles, the existence of regular tides in the Black 8
were for the first time determined. On the neighbouring shores of the Bosphorus
they vary with the winds from 1 to 5 inches. But at [neboli the tidal wave rushes
in the form of a hore for over a mile up the rivulet.

Like thai of Sabanja, the hake of Isnik, or Nicea, is a freshwater basin cora-
municating through an emissary with the sea. Westwards the Gulf of Ghemlik
penetrates far inland, as if to effect a junction with the lake, which was it*,. If no
doubt at one time a marine inlet. It lies within 7 miles of the coast, and the
difference of level is only 1"<* feet. Towards the Bouthwest another lacustrine
basin, which has preserved its Greek name of Apollonia under the form of
Abolonta or Abolumia, covers about the same area as the Lake of Nicea, and like it
seems to have been much larger down to comparatively modern times. It com-
municates westwards with the rapid river Susurlu-chai, nearly opposite the con-
fluence of another Btream, emissary of Lake Maniyas, the ancient Bliletopolites or
Aphanites. This basin, which is about the same size as thai of Apollonia, also
stands at a slight level above the sea. It forms the last western link in a chain of
lakes running parallel with the southern shores of the Sea of Marmora, and
apparently representing an ancient "Propontis" between the .Lgean and the
Euxine. Of the four chief lakes in this chain. Apollonia is the most utilised for
navigation, the riverain <ireek population carrying on a local traffic with small
craft which maintain the communications from village to village.

'I'll! GrANICUS, ScAMANDER, Ml.AMH.i;, WIi OTHER RlVERS FLOWING TO TITS

<33gi w.

West of the Susurlu-chai and of Lake Maniyas, the small basin of the Koja-chai,
the ancient Granicus, is partly fed by the waters of Mount Ida. Like the neigh-
bouring streams, the Koja, which separates the Trojan uplands from the rest of
Anatolia, becomes a river properly so called only during the heavy rains and
melting of the winter snows. Famous amongst these mountain streams is the
Menendereh, immortalised in the Homeric songs, although it is still doubtful
whether it is to be identified with the .Simois or the Scamander. According to
most historians and archaeologists, the Mendereh is the Simois, although Schlieuiann,

MYERS FLOWING TO THE -EGEAN.

207

the illustrious explorer of the Hissarlik ruins, makes it the Xanthus, in accordance
with the etymology of the present name. The aspect of the land shows that the
plain of Troy is one of those Anatolian districts that have undergone most change
during the historic period. The hills themselves have been but slightly modified
by erosions and weathering ; but the intervening plain, formerly partly covered
with reservoirs, is now dried up. A line of dunes connecting the Eren-koi hills
with the Kum-Kaleh headland, has served to retain the alluvia and detritus washed
down to the plain by the Mendereh and other streams. These waters are no longer
accessible to the smallest craft, and Kalafat, where boats were formerly built, is
now an inland agricultural hamlet. At present the alluvia of the Menendereb are
borne seawards and carried by the Hellespont far into the ^Egean. Formerly the

Fig. 103. — NlCEA and Ghemlik.
Scale 1 : 735.000.

0 to ICO Feet 160 Feet and upwards.
. 12 Miles.

Bunarbachi, identified by most travellers with the Homeric Scamander, drained to
the Menendereb through a series of marshy lagoons. But its waters have been
diverted to the sea near Tenedos by means of a cutting which now connects the
Bunarbachi basin with Besika Bay. Thus the little rocky headland of Sigajus, with
its funeral mounds, has been converted into an island.

Amongst the torrents or rivulets flowing from Mount Ida and the neighbouring
hills to the 2Egean, the Tuzla-su, or " Salt Stream,'- is remarkable for the fantastic
form of its valley. After piercing the snowy heights, it runs parallel with the < lull'
of Edremid, thus reaching the iEgean north of the Baba-kaleh headland. But
instead of flowing directly to the sea, it skirts an intervening rocky barrier for a
distance of UO miles. The white cliffs at the outlet of its valley are streaked in
blue, red, and yellow, and disintegrated by a multitude of little saline springs

268

801 PH-WESTEEN asi L

intersecting the plain in all directions, at a b mperature of from 140° to 160° F., and
flowing through a common thermal channel to the Tuzla-su. A vast quantity of
salt might he derived from this source, which, however, according to Chihacheff,
scarcely yields eighteen or twenty tons yearly.

Southwards follow the Madara-chai, Khoja-chai, and Bakyr-chai successively ;
but here the first really copious Btream is the Ghediz-ohai, the ancient Qermus,
fertiliser of the Lydian plains. Rising near the town of Ghediz, whence its name,
it escapes from the bills through a series of gorges down to the old lacustrine plain
of Sardis. The brackish little upland lake of Mermereh, north of this plain, is
perhaps a remnant of the inland sea which once flooded the Lydian district, and
which escaped through the Menemen defile between the Sipylos and the Ilassan-
i. Beyond the gorges the Ghediz, with its abundant sedimentary matter, has

Fig. 104.— The Tczi.\-S< Valley.

Scale 1 : 775 nnn

0 to 6Q Feet.

■

] ' Feet nni

upwards.

^^^_^^^^_ 12 Miles.

never ceased to encroach on the gulf, gradually rilling up all the space, some
hundred square miles in extent, stretching south of ilencmen between the western
promontories of the Sipylos and the Phocoeau Hills. Pliny mentions Cape Levke
(Leuke) as having thus become attached to the mainland: and this headland, the
Tres-tepch of the Turks, now lies nearly 3 miles inland, being separated from the
Gulf of Smyrna by shallow tishiiiLT lagoons.

Ramifying into several branches, the Ghediz-chai delta still continues to
advance somewhat irregularly seawards. Formerly it spread chiefly towards the
west in the direction of tic Phocsean Hills; but the mouths of the delta are now
extending southwards, in a way that threatens to block the entrance of the port of
Smyrna. During the floods the sea is turbid with alluvia for a great distance from
the mouth of the river, while farther east the harbour has lost all the limpid

RIVEBS FLOYS'IXG TO THE JEGEAS.

269

clearness of the iEgean waters. The time may even he calculated when the
passage will be entirely closed. Before the chief mouth of the delta there is still a
channel over 1 mile wide, with a depth varying from 60 to 120 feet ; but eastwards
it narrows to a width of about 140 feet between a fortified point on the south, and
a sandbank on the north side, where the depth, now about 60 feet, is yearly
diminishing by from 8 to 10 feet. The channel has occasionally been suddenly
scoured by storms ; but after these passing interruptions, the silting process is
resumed at a rate that will probably reduce the whole harbour to a mean depth of
about 40 feet towards the year 2,000. Then deep sea navigation will become
difficult and even impossible, unless meantime the lower Hermus be again diverted

Kg. 105.— Smyrna Channel.
Scale 1 : 155.000.

L ^ Oi UT-ee«w.ch

0 to 6 Feet. 6 to 32 Feet. 32 to SO Feet. 80 to 160 Feet. 160 Feet and

upwards.

^— ^_^__ 21 Miles.

through its old bed towards Phocaea, so as to carrv its alluvia westwards to the
outer gulf.

The same silting process, possibly aided by a gradual upheaval of the coast, is
characteristic of the other streams flowing farther south to the iEgean. "While the
port of Smyrna alone is threatened by the Ghediz, the Cayster, the ancient " Swan
River" and modern Kuehuk-Mendereh, or "Little Mendereh," has long since
choked the harbours of Ephesus, and the Great Meander has converted that of
Miletus into an inland lake. Nowhere else are the fluvial deposits encroaching so
rapidly on the sea, due regard being had to the insignificant discharge of these
streams compared with that of such rivers as the Nile, Rhone, or Po. Thus,
although the Little Meander has a course of scarcely more than 75 miles, in a basin
only 1,200 square miles in extent, and although its average rainfall is one-fifth less

270 80UTH-WESTEBN AS] L

than thai of France, it has sen! down sufficient matter in till the porta of Ephesos
and the estuary, which, according to Leo the Deacon, was --till open in the twelth
century. Eence the coast-line must have advanced nearly 5 miles since that time,
a rate of progress which has led to the conclusion that such changes must have
been at hast accelerated by oscillations of Level along the Ionian seaboard.

The I'liiyuk Mendereh, or "Great .Meander." is in any ease one of the most
copious of Anatolian streams. From source to mouth it has a total length of some

230 miles, while some of its affluents are tin miles Long, and the whole basin, about
9,500 square miles in extent, with a mean discharge of over r,000 cubic feet per
second, judging at Least from the average local rainfall. It rises in the lakelet of

Hoiran, which Lies at an altitude of about :(,0()0 (Vol on the plateau. Alter twice
disappearing in the cavities of the limestone formations about tin- town of Dineir,
it escapes from the hills to an extensive plain, formerly a lacustrine basin, where
its waters are concealed by the dense sedge Lining its banks for miles. On Leaving
this plain the Meander, doubled in volume by the Banas-chai, forces its way
through narrow gorges down to the magnificent lowlands stretching thence to the

const. During the tl Is it assumes formidable proportions, eating away its hanks,

opening new channels, forming or sweeping away islands. In its lower course
joined by the scarcely less copious Choruk-su, the ancient Lycus, which in the time
ol Herodotus appears to have flowed at one point through a tunnel over half a mile
long, formed by calcareous incrustat ions from the hundreds of limewater springs
fringing both sides of its bed. The tunnel has disappeared, and the Ak-su, or
"White River," which had contributed most to its formation, has been deflected
farther up. Trees falling into the Ak-su, and even the wheels of mills ended on
its banks, soon become petrified.

The hill commandin<r the Meander and ( 'horuk confluence is flanked for some

miles along its base by a regular two-storied terrace, rising about 300 feet al>ove
the plain. This terrace, whose sparkling milk-white cascades are visible 18 miles
off, has been entirely formed by the deposits of petrifying springs. Most travellers
give it tlie name of Pambuk-Kaleh, or Pambuk-Kalessi, or "Cotton Castle,"
doubtless from the whitish fluffy looking masses precipitated by the waters. But
the local name is Tambuk, which is certainly the Hierapolisof the Greeks. On the
upper platform, over half a mile long, there well up numerous and extremely
copious thermal springs, all slightly ferruginous and acidulous to the taste, all
yielding carbonic acid, and varying in temperature from 98 to 'J<><> F. The ground
is covered by thick layers of travertine deposited by these springs, traces of whose
shifting beds are everywhere visible. All these phenomena produced a vivid
impression on the ancients, and Strabo tells us that the Hierapolis waters became so
rapidly solidified that when diverted into new channels these were presently
converted into a monolithic block. The cavern which in his time was said to emit
deadly carbonic acid vapours, seems t" have disappeared.

Hut the ancients do not mention the real marvel of Tambuk, the rim of whose
upper terrace is everywhere scored by sparkling cascades. liven where these are
not fully developed or have ceased to flow, the neighbouring walls formed by the

BIVEBS FLOWING TO THE JEGEAX. 271

concretions of other streamlets look at a distance like so many rushing waterfalls.
Of the six larger stony cataracts, one especially strikes the spectator by its vast
size. This is the southern cliff lying immediately below the ruins of the ancient
Hierapolis. Altogether these calcareous deposits of Tambuk are amongst the most
remarkable formations of the kind in the whole world. Nowhere else does the slow
and constant work of dripping or trickling water present more marvellous effects.
In a cavity of the upper terrace several springs are collected in one pool over 10
feet deep, studded with broken white marble friezes and shafts, the remains of an
ancient portico. A thermal brook, escaping from this lakelet, traverses the
plateau, penetrating beneath the vaults of a palace, whose walls it has covered
with a coating over 30 feet thick. Farther on it is joined by another thermal
rivulet, the united stream falling from stage to stage over the brink of the preci-
pice. Although the actual discharge is probably not much more than twelve
gallons per second, seen from below the cascade, blending with its sparkling stony
walls, presents the appearance of a mighty river. The illusion is heightened in
winter, in spring, and during the summer mornings by the vapours rising above
the tepid waters, and forming a misty veil, which seems to half conceal the fall of
some tumultuous Niagara. Even when the deception is dissipated by a nearer
view, the glint of these glittering incrustations irresistibly suggests the presence
of a vast glacier, or river suddenly congealed as it falls. Like the Alpine ice, the
travertine of Hierapolis blends with its natural whiteness the lovely tints of a
delicate blue, here and there interspersed with the green and rosy hues of marble
and alabaster. Thus to the magnificent proportions of this marvellous amphi-
theatre are added the excpiisite details of its dazzling white or softly tinted rocks.
In its fall the water gradually cooling spreads in gentle folds, the last of which is
precipitated as a snowy border. Each successive stage is thus fashioned like a
rounded bowl, below which follow other " fonts" with polished rim, the water still
falling from step to step of these " Neptunian stairs." But in its course it
everywhere flings an embroidered mantle of wavy pattern over the rocky surface
of the cliff, leaving no spot unarrayed with sculptured arabesques.

Below the confluence of the petrifying waters from Tambuk and neighbouring
heights, the Meander continues its course across the broad plain, where it describes
those peculiar curves which are known by its name. At the same time these
" meanderings," although remarkable enough, are far inferior to those of some other
rivers, such as the Seine, Lot, Forth, and Mississippi. Its windings are on the
whole of a local character, without any of those bold sweeps, by which the Kizil-
irmak and Sakaria are distinguished. To these might, with far more justice, be
applied the language of the Greek historian, who spoke of the Meander as on its
course flowing back towards its source.

On the other hand the Meander is specially noteworthy for its extraordinary
encroachments seawards, which during the last twenty three centuries, have been
exceeded by no other river of the same volume. To explain the phenomenon
recourse has naturally been had to the usual hypothesis of upheaval, which however
in this case has not yet been determined by any direct observations. Of the old Gulf

272 SOUTH-WEOTEHN ASIA.

of Latmos, on which stood t In - maritime city of Miletus, and which stretched

W
g

northwards to the foot of the hill crowned by the temple of Priene, nothing
remains except the small reservoir of lake Kapikeren Denizi or Akis-chai, whose

THE MEANDER. 273

west side now lies over 10 miles in a straight line from the coast. The former
island of Lade, west of Miletus and north of the present course of the Meander, is
now a mere protuberance in the midst of the inland marshes. The space thus
gained on the sea in two thousand three hundred years, may be estimated at 130
square miles, giving a mean yearly advance of about 40 feet. Assuming that in
this region of comparatively recent alluvial formation the sea itself was only GO
or 70 feet deep, and allowing a mean rise of some 30 feet through the alluvia of
the Meander, the total quantity of matter deposited in this perkxl would be about
350,000,000,000 cubic feet, or 17,500 cubic feet daily. This is certainly no extraor-
dinary proportion, for even the Brenta, whose discharge has been most carefully
studied, with an inferior volume deposits eight times as much in the Chioggia
lagoon. But the deposits of the Meander probably greatly exceed the assumed
ratio, for according to Chihacheff, lake Akis-chai now stands at an elevation of 96
feet above sea level. But however this be, the Meander delta is one of those in
which are combined all the elements of transformation — gulfs filled in, islands
attached to the land, cities swallowed up in the sands. From the peaks of the
Sumsun-dagh overlooking the plain, a varied prospect is commanded of all these
secular changes, a white streak at the foot of a green hill in the distance marking
the site of Palatia, all that now remains of the once-famous Miletus.

Lacustrine Basins and Rivers draining to the Mediterranean — The

Seihun and Jihvn.

On the Anatolian slope draining southwards, the first lake which discharges to
the Mediterranean appears, like the Akis-chai, to form part of a marine inlet
closed by recent alluvia, and gradually raised to its present level of 96 feet above
the sea. This is the Kojez-liman, or Caunus of the ancients, which even in the
time of Strabo was already cut off from the coast. Hence at least eighteen or
nineteen centuries have elapsed since the old gulf has become a lake. But the
coast-line has changed, for the town, which then stood close to the sea, now lies 5
miles inland. Another proof of change is a sarcophagus, which, after having been
submerged to a third of its height, now stands once more on dry land. This
Lycian coast is the only part of the Anatolian seaboard where corals (ehtdreora
c&spitosa} build extensive reefs. Red coral also grows in the shallows, but its
branches are too small to repay the trouble of fishing it.

On the south-west coast of Lycia, the harbour of Patara has also been trans-
formed to a lake, or rather a morass. But a far more important change has taken
place in Pamphylia, on the north side of the gulf of Adalia. Here the extensive
lake of Cypria, of which Strabo speaks, has been replaced by marshy and scrubby
tracts, and lagoons separated from the sea by a strip of yellow Band. Chihacheff
estimates at about 160 square miles the surface of the Pamphylian lacustrine basin,
which now forms part of the mainland. Besides the fluvial alluvia, this reservoir
has been filled in by the deposits from innumerable calcareous springs, like those
of Tambuk. Near Adalia the face of the cliffs has evidently advanced at least
116

274

SOUTH-WESTERN AS! \

I.ooo feet, thanks to these accumulated incrustations. The streams thai have
red the land with layers of travertine are incessantly shifting their beds,
sometimes even disappearing altogether under natural galleries in the porous soil.
Thus the hydrographic system becomes modified from age to age, so thai it is no
Longer possible to reconcile the old accounts with the presenl conditions. The
Cataracts spoken of by Straho as a large river rushing impetuously over a pre-
cipitous rock has ceased to exist, having probably ramified into a number of
surface or subterranean branches.

The Ak-su, or " White River," which furrows the western plains of litis stony
basin, rises in the hills to the west of Lake Kgherdir, which may possibly com-
municate with it through an underground channel. Although less extensive than
the great Lycaoniun Salt Lake, that of Eghidir is much deeper, and probably the

Fig. 107. — Plains of ihk Lowbb Mbandek.

Scute 1 : MO.OOO.

L . of (jreenwicb

P7-IU

97-50

Alluvia.

Depths.

Fifth Centuiy, Fifth to

B.C. S.'ciiixl.

S' 'ond to
present time.

Feet.

is hum

;ia) Feet and
upwards.

most voluminous in Asia Minor. It is divided by a transverse ridge into two
sections, the southernmost of which resembles an Alpine lake. Encircled by steep
wooded escarpments, and studded with islets where the white hamlets flitter amid
clusters of poplars, it presents at every step an endless change of scenery. Very
different are the two reservoirs of Buldar and Ohuruk-su, lying farther west, and
with their low monotonous beaches presenting for the most part the aspect of
dreary marshes or lagoons.

Amongst the closed basins of Asia Minor must also be included the lieishehr-
gdl, or Kereli, the Karalitis of the Greeks, which, although smaller in extent,
probably contains a larger volume than the greal Salt Lake. Mosl of the numerous
torrents flowing from the neighlxmring hills disappear in the crevasses of the soil
before reaching this reservoir, which is fed chiefly by springs welling up in the

LAKES EGHERDIR AND BEISHEHR GOL.

275

lacustrine cavity itself, or flowing from fissures in the encircling- rocks. Mingling
with the unwholesome waters of the lake, these springs thus become lost to the
riverain populations, who are obliged to sink wells in the immediate neighbourhood
of this fresh-water but unpalatable reservoir.

The Beishehr-gol, which according to Chihacheif stands -3,800 feet above sea
level, discharges its overflow through an emissary flowing from its southern
extremity to a depression lying some 50 feet lower down. This depression was till

Fitf. 10S. — Lake of Egherdib.
Stale 1 : 750,000.

SO " "

57T 1SBAR'

E.af

II" i0"

12 iliks.

recently flooded by lake Soghlu, which had a mean depth of 20 to 25 feet, with an
area of about 70 square miles, and a volume of over 35 billions cubic feet. Yet
this vast body of water disappeared towards the middle of the present century,
having probably forced its way through some hitherto obstructed underground
gallery seawards. The alluvial tracts developed in the lacustrine basin have since
been converted into productive lands by the local peasantry, who, according to a
traditional custom, became proprietors of the reclaimed soil by yielding half of the

27G SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

firsl and a tenth of subsequent oropa to the Government. The other small lakes of
Lycia, in the Llmalu basin and aeighbouring plains, also discharge their overflow
through subterranean channels excavated in the limestone rocks. The Avlan-
Oghlu, south of Elmalu, is fed by a rapid stream some 30 feel broad and 0 or 7

deep, and its emissary, after plunging into a deep crevasse, reappears in the form of
copious springs near the village id' Phineka, not Ear from the coast. According to
a tradition mentioned by Hamilton, the valley now flooded by Lake Eghedir was dry
land eight hundred years ago, when the obstruction of some subterranean passage
caused the waters to accumulate in the depression.

Easl of this depression siime other now closed lacustrine basins appear to have
formerly drained to the Mediterranean. Such is the Kara-hunar, or " Black
Fountain," which is encircled by volcanic cones and lava streams. South of it the
shallow lagoon of Eregli stretches for some 60 miles parallel with the northern base
o| the Bulgar-dagh. This extensive basin is studded with reservoirs, some always
saline, others tilled in winter by small freshwater affluents, but again slightly
brackish iu summer. Eregli still drains to the Mediterranean through a rivulet,
which in spring is swollen to considerable proportions by the melting snows. At
this season both Eregli and Kara-bunar, as well as all the low-lying marshy tracts,
are converted into a vast inland sea 60 miles broad, and stretching westwards to the
gates of Konieh.

In classic times both the Castros, or modern Ak-su, and the neighbouring
Eurymedon, or Kopro-su, were navigable at their mouth. Now they are closed to
small craft ; while the Malas, or Manavgat, is navigable by sailing vessels, although
not spoken of by the old writers as accessible to shipping. On the other hand, the
Calycadnus (Lrmerek, or (iok-su) although the most copious coast stream wist of
Cilieia Gampestris, is too rapid to have ever been navigable. Farther east the
Tarsus-chai, or " River of Tarsus," in Cilieia proper, is the famous Cydnus of the
ancients. At its source, one of the most copious in Asia Minor, countless rivulets
springing from a crevassed rock are collected in a common basin, whence the
Cydnus descends through wild gorges and romantic cascades down to the fertile,
plain of Tarsus. Farther on it winds through a series of swamps, remnants of an
old lake, to the coast a little west of the Seihun. Like so many other Anatolian
streams, it has frequently shifted its bed, and since the end of the sixteenth century
has been deflected to the east of Tarsus, which formerly stood on its banks.

But the pre-eminently wandering streams are the Last Cilician Sarus and
Pyramus, the Seihun (Sihun, Sihan, Saran) and Jihun (Jihan) of the Turks and
Arabs. The Sarus, which is the longest and most copious, flows from the highlands
north-east of Mount Arga-us, and collects all the streams traversing the parallel
depressions of the Anti-Taurus. On the west it is joined by other torrents which,
descending from the central plateau, pierce the Taurus through gorges even more
inaccessible than the Cilician Gates. The Pyramus rises in the upland region,
forming the water-parting between its basin and thai of the L^uphrates. But

hitherto Strabo is th ily traveller who describes its source, and he also speaks in

remarkably precise terms of the gorge through which it escapes to the plains.

THE SEIIIUX AND JIIIUX.

277

" The prominences of one wall correspond exactly with the depressions of the other,
so that if brought together they would fit into each other. Towards the centre of
the gorge the fissure is so contracted that a dog or a hare could clear it at a bound." *

DO O

In its lower course the Pyramus collects all the torrents from the hilly district
stretching east of the Anti-Taurus; but these uplands, being less exposed to the
rain-bearing winds than those of west Cilicia, receive a smaller quantity of water.
Hence, notwithstanding the greater extent of its basin, the Jihun is much inferior
in volume to the Seihun. According to the engineers who have surveyed the land
for the projected railway between Mersina and Adana, its discharge is scarcely

Fig. 109 — Mouths ok the Seihun and Jihun.
Scale 1 : 1,280,000.

0 to 80 Feet.

) to 160 Feet.

lfiO Feet and
upwards.

, 24 Miles.

more than a third of that of the western stream.! Nevertheless it is navigable in
its lower course for over (30 miles from its mouth.

Throughout the historic period both rivers have never ceased to wander over
the alluvial plains which they have developed west of the Gulf of Alexandretta.
At present their mouths are separated by a space of 43 miles as the bird flies.
But from the old records it appears that their currents were often intermingled in
a common estuary. During the last twenty-three centuries as many as seven great
changes have taken place. Three times they have flowed together in a common

* Book XII., chap. 4.

t The Cilician rivers : —
( vilnus (TareuB-chai)
Sarus (Seihun)
Pyramus (Jihun)

Lengrth

(miles).

80
270
270

Area of Bans
(square miles .

560

9,000
9,650

Mean discharge
per second
(cubic feet'.

700

8,750
3,300

278 SOUTH-WESEEBN ASIA.

channel, four times independently to the Bea ; and even now ;i Blight lateral catting
would Buffice again to unite them. During these shifting* over the plain, they
have continued to advance with their alluvia incessantly seawards. The Chukur-
ova plain, and most of the tracl stretching for over <in miles between Tarsus and
Sis, along the cast fool of the Taurus, arc their creation. The Kara-tasli, or" lilaek-
roek " headland, which serves as a southern barrier to the sedimentary matter
washed down from the interior, i^ an old island, which has thus become connected
with the mainland. " In the same way," says an oracle quoted by Strabo, "the time

will come when the silver waters of the I'yramus will reach the sacred shores of
Cyprus." The muddy tracts about both mouths are still a sort of debatable
territory between land and sea. Flora and fauna suggest the recent ascendency of
the marine waters, which teem with fish, and which are frequented by myriads of
aquatic birds, such as the pelican, swan, goose, and duck. The surrounding .sands
are also the resort of turtles of gigantic size.

Climate, Flora, and Fauna.

Regarded as a whole, Asia Minor is colder than the European peninsulas under
the same latitude, and is subject to greater extremes of temperature. The contrast
is due to their relative positions, Spain, Italy, France, and Greece being protected
front" the polar winds by the Pyrenees, Alps, and Balkans, whereas Anatolia is
partly exposed to these currents sweeping unimpeded across the Russian steppes
and the Euxine. The section of the Anatolian seaboard washed by the Kuxine
waters itself supplies a Striking example of the climatic effects produced by
sheltering mountain-ranges. Thus the western coast /.one, comprised between
Constantinople and Sinope, is exposed to keen winter blasts and sultry summer
heats, while farther east this " Byzantine " climate becomes continually modified
towards the north-east, where the hd'ty barrier of the Caucasus intercepts the arctic
winds blowing towards Anatolia. Here the extremes of annual temperature are
less marked, and plants which avoid the bleat west coast flourish on the banks of

the i e sheltered eastern streams. The olive and orange begin to be met in the

neighbourhood of towns and villages, while the hill-sides arc clothed with magnifi-
cent pine forests. According t<> Koch, the Choruk Valley is the original home of
ihepinea, so characteristic of the Mediterranean botanical zone.

The western shores of Asia Minor, washed by Mm- 33gean, are intersected by
isothermal lines slightly divergent from the parallels of latitude. Here the mean
temperature is somewhat lower than on the opposite coast of Greece, and the
climatic changes are also generally more abrupt and irregular. The normal direc-
tion of the winds is at the same time endlessly modified by the islands fringing
the seaboard, and by the numerous indentations along the Ionian coast. Ever}'
headland, every channel, so to say, has it> special atmospheric currents, while at
the entrance of the marine inlets a struggle takes place between the winds of
different temperature sweeping down from the interior and blowing inland from

CLIMATE, FLORA, AND FAUNA. 279

the sea. The sudden gusts and squalls due to this cause render certain waters
absolutely unnavigable in winter, while the vicissitudes of temperature prevent the
vegetation from assuming a sub-tropical character. The chamaerops palm and date
do not grow spontaneously in west Anatolia, and clusters of palms are met on the
coast no farther north than Patmos, hence called Palmosa.

Being well sheltered by the various sections of the Taurus, the southern zone
of Asia Minor naturally enjoys a far warmer climate than other parts of the
peninsula. Within an equal distance there are few regions presenting a greater
difference of mean temperature than the coasts of Tarsus and Sinope. On the
Cilician coast the pleasantest season comprises the last two months of the year,
separated from the summer heats by the so-called kassiifi, a short autumnal
interval which usually lasts about eight days. During this period the atmosphere
becomes cleansed from all impurities by violent storms accompanied by heavy
downpours and hail, and the inhabitants are now able to descend from their
summer encampments down to the plains.

The upland valleys and plateaux of the interior offer the greatest diversity of
climate, according to the altitude and aspect of the land, and the thousand con-
trasts presented by its relief. But a common feature of the whole region com-
prised within the encircling ranges is its scanty rainfall. Little moisture is
brought to the Anatolian plateaux by the clouds, while the coastlands themselves
receive less rain than western Europe. Although Asia Minor has an area about
equal to that of France, the collective discharge of all its rivers can scarcely be
estimated at more than 70,000 cubic feet per second, or about one-third of the
united volume of the French streams. Contrasted with the Pontine region, which
enjoys a considerable rainfall during the summer months, the peninsular region
belongs to the sub-tropical zone, which is marked by comparatively dry summers.
Thus even at Smyrna, notwithstanding its exposure to the moist sea-breezes, the
fall during the months of June, July, and August, is only two inches, or less than
the fifteenth part of the average- annual discharge. But in certain inland districts
the blue sky remains at times unfleeked by a single cloud for six or seven months
together. While the coast climate may on the whole be compared with that of
southern France, the inland plateaux present meteorological conditions analogous to
those of the Turkestan steppes.*

In Anatolia malaria has long been endemic. In shifting their beds all the
rivers have strewn the plains with meres and stagnant waters, while so many
swamps have been formed by inundations or the retreat of the sea that large tracts
on the plains and uplands are constantly wrapped in a pestiferous atmosphere.
There can be 'no doubt that since the flourishing period of Ionian culture the
climate has greatly changed for the worse. The deterioration is attested by the
ruins of ancient cities, such as Miletus, lying in districts now no longer inhabitable.
There was a time when the rivers were confined to their beds, and when the
vapours were arrested by the trees fringing their banks. But so ruthless has been

* Mean probable temperature of Asia Minor: winter, 40 V. : summer. 72° F. ; average, 54° F.
Climate of Smyrna : extremes, 40°— 103° F. ; mean, 65° F. ; rainfall, 24 inches.

280 SOUTH- WESTERN ASIA.

the destruction of timber in the greater part of the peninsula, lhat the contami-
nated air of the plains and valley- is freely watted over the uplands. The natives
show great skill in selecting the sites of their summer camping-grounds amongst
the hills, where they are sheltered by crests or headlands from the effluvia of the
low-lying marshy lands. In some districts, the villages on the plains are com-
pletely abandoned during the ho1 Beason, when officials, peasants, thieves, and
mendicants migrate bodily to the upland yaiku or encampments. In the open
districts these are composed <d' tents or stone cabins; in the wooded regions of north
Anatolia, of log-huts, like the Russian izbas. Several of these temporary villages,
standing mostly on the ruins of old towns, are important markets, visited by
traders from the coast for the purchase of butter, cheese, cattle, and other agricul-
tural produce.

On the inland plateaux, the scanty vegetation flourishes chiefly in the spring.
It presents a marked contrast to the varied flora of the surrounding coastlands,
where are successively represented all the botanical /ones of the neighbouring
lands. Thus the rich vegetation of the Pontus forms a transition to that of
Mingrelia, while in the Troad are found all the plants of Macedonia and Thrace,
Mile by side with many Asiatic types. The two Ionias of Anatolia and Europe
havc> in the same way exchanged their characteristic- species across the islands of the
.Tigean Sea, while in Cilicia many Syrian and even Kgyptian specimens have
become acclimatised. Thus in the history of its flora, as well as in that of it-
inhabitants, the peninsula forms a land of transition between the throe continents
of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The .Mediterranean vegetation is represented chiefly
by evergreen shrubs, such as the laurel, arbutus, and myrtle, which on the slopes of
the Anatolian hills acquire an extraordinary development. The oak also is here
found in greater variety than in any other part of the world, offering as many as
fifty-two species altogether, of which twenty-six occur nowhere else.

The most extensive Anatolian forest is the Agach-deniz, or " Sea of Trees,"
which covers the Boll Hills to the east of the Sakaria Valley. -Ml the northern
-lopes ol* the ranges running parallel with the Ku.xine are richly wooded, while
forest tracts are also met in the intervening valleys and river gorges. The Agach-
deniz supplies timber for building purposes ajid masts for the Turkish navy ; but in
general, forestry is still in a rudimentary state. In the inland districts lying off
the main routes little use is made of the timber except for fuel, and in Caria this is
often obtained by the destructive process of firing the woodlands.

The terraced disposition of the vegetable zone on the slopes of the encircling
ranges is nowhere better Been than along the southern face of the Cilician Taurus.
The subtropical belt of palm-groves and garden-plots enclosed by hedges of aloes
leads to the caduceous forest timber clothing the lower hills. Farther up come the
conifers — at first the sombre pine and many species of juniper, then Cilician spruce
and cedars. Nowhere else in Anatolia or Syria, not even on the Lebanon itself, arc-
to be found such magnificent cedar-groves as those- which girdle the Eulgar-dagh
escarpments to an altitude of G,000 feet and upwards. Here grow several millions
of these glorious evergreens, disposed in clusters towering above the pines, firs, and

CLIMATE. FAUNA, AND FLORA. 281

junipers. But here also the fires kindled by the improvident natives, often
wrap the hill-sides in a sheet of flame, destroying thousands of trees in a few-
hours. Beyond the forest zone follows the brushwood corresponding to the
upland pastures of Alpine Europe. On the Cilician Taurus grassy slopes are rare,
except along the line of running waters, and to the very foot of the arid or snow-
flecked crags the ground is overgrown with woody plants and lovely evergreen
shrubs. At an elevation where the European highlands present nothing but
monotonous gray surfaces, the heights are carpeted with stretches of bright-coloured
flowers, imparting to these silent uplands a diversity of aspect of which the western
Alps can give no idea. The north-eastern Pontine ranges present a much greater
resemblance with those of Central Europe, but they are far more diversified, some
of the pastures yielding as many as two hundred species of Alpine plants.

The presence of foreign varieties lias been found associated with the settlements
of immigrants from distant lands. Thus amid the ruins of strongholds erected by
the Genoese, or the Knights of Rhodes, along the headlands and islands of the
southern seaboard, flourish the soapwort and other European plants, sprung from
those brought hither by the western settlers some six or seven hundred years ago.
Garden-plots and orchards also occur, where according to the local tradition, the
walnut, apple, cherry, and other fruit-trees, were planted by the Genoese. On the
other hand, Europe has during recent times been indebted to Anatolia for a far
greater number of specimens. During the sixteenth century the western botanic
gardens were little more than nursery-grounds, for acclimatising the evergreen oak,
the agnus castus, eastern juniper, white and black mulberry, viburnum tinus,
sumach, and other Levantine varieties.

Little effort has hitherto been made to repair former waste by fresh plantations.
The attempts made in this direction have hitherto been chiefly limited to the few
trees that have, so to say, become the inseparable companions of man — the plantain,
associated with his repose, his prayers, his pastimes, and whole domestic life ; and
the cypress, which watches over his grave. Nowhere else are these plants more
venerated than in Anatolia, where they are almost regarded as sacred objects of
worship.

The wholesale destruction of timber has been followed by the disappearance of
numerous animal species. Thus the lion, which survived down to the time of the
Crusades, is now no longer met, except, perhaps, in the more inaccessible gorges of
the Lycian Taurus. Here also the Turks speak of the presence of another large
feline variety, to which they give the name of kapfan, and which may perhaps be
a leopard or a panther, like the variety that still infests the Tmolus highlands.
Nor is the hyena completely extirpated, and the night is still everywhere alive with
the howlings of the jackals, with which the village pariah dogs keep concert. In
the eastern districts the jackal is rarer than in the centre and on the Ionian coast,
and it has been partly replaced by the brown and the black wolf. The fox is also
less frequent than in southern Europe, and the carnivora are altogether mainly
represented by the various species of half-savage dogs that prowl about the streets
of all the large towns. They are rarely if ever attacked by hydrophobia, although

282 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

in tin' neighbourhood of Smyrna a few cases are reported of deaths following the
bite of mad dogs, wolves and jackals. Against this malady the peasantry use a
decoction of bitter roots.

The larger European game is also found in Anatolia, where the wild-boar is very
common in some districts. The deer and roebuck are mel in herds, and the gazelle,
unknown in Europe, frequents the lowland plains of Cilieia, while other species of
antelope probably inhabit the plateaux. The eegagra, or wild-goat, Mill survives in
the Cilician Taurus and the Anti-Taurus, near the regions where the goal app
as a domestic animal in ancient times. So striking is the resemblance between the
two in size, outward form, and shape of the horns, that it is probable the tame
variety has sprung from the wild stock. The upland steppes are also frequented
by the wild-sheep, a species of mufflon supposed to be the prototype of the European
sheep. Thus Asia Minor, the original home of so many vegetable species, would
appear to have also yielded two of our most valued domestic animals. On the other
hand, it may he doubted whether the Angora goat, s,> remarkable lor the delicacy of
its silken, glossy down, is of Anatolian origin. It is mentioned by none id' the old
writers, who nevertheless describe all the sheep whose wool was used in the
manufacture of tine woven fabrics. Hence the introduction of the Angora goat is
attributed by Chihaoheff to the Turkish immigrants in the eleventh or twelfth
centuries. This writer is inclined to trace these tribes and their Bocks back to the
valley of the Iiukhtarma, a tributary of the [rtish, in the Altai Mountains. Here
is also found a species of cat, more remarkable even than that of Angora,
distinguished like the native goat tor its silky fleece, and apparently indicating
analogous climatic conditions. But however this be, the Angora goat is at present
limited to a district about 16,000 square miles in extent, and even here it flourishes
only on the plateaux and in the valleys lying between the altitudes (if "J, 00(1 and
5,000 bet above the sea. The flocks number altogether from (00,000 to 500,000
goats, which are extremely difficult to acclimatise elsewhere, the hast change of
locality causing a corresponding deterioration in the quality of the fleece. Of the
ovine family, the most ordinary variety is the karamanli, or fat-tailed sheep, which
prevails also in Syria, on the Asiatic steppes, and even in Southern Russia. The
opi n plateaux and steppes are the proper domain of the sheep, the goat being
confined to the escarpments of the encircling ranges. The steppes themselves are
everywhere undermined by the galleries of the burrowing jerboa.

Horned cattle were never very numerous in Asia Minor, although the south-
western regions are said to be frequented by a few zebus, with a hump and short
movable horns, like those of the Indian variety. But the most eummon bovine
species is the buffalo, which is everywhere found along the river banks and on the
marshy lands fringing the peninsula. It is even said to roam wild, or else to have
lapsed into the savage state, in the swampy tracts formed by the shitting beds of
the Seihun and Jibuti, and perhaps in some other districts. The only variety of
camel is the one-humped species, which is utilised as a pack animal, bearing loads
of 250 lbs. even over the mountain passes and escarpments. The caravans, consist-
ing of from seven to nine camels tied together by a string, are usually headed by a

IXIIAUITAXTS OF ASIA MIXOR. 283

small ass, whose rider's legs almost touch the ground. The Anatolian camel
nowhere betrays that antipathy for the equine species which it manifests else-
where ; it associates peaceably with the horse, and has even been seen yoked
together with the ass.

The immigration of the camel, probably dating from the twelfth century, is one
of the most striking signs of the territorial and political changes that have taken
place in Asia Minor. For this animal symbolises the substitution of Oriental
culture for the civilisation of the Mediterranean races. Even the present race of
Anatolian horses seems to be mostly a cross on eastern stock. Like the Turkoman
variety, it has long legs and a comparatively large head, while the tail resembles
that of the Persian breed. It is an active, hardy animal, distinguished, especially
in the eastern provinces, for its graceful form, but nowhere very numerous. As a
beast of burden it yields not only to the camel, but also to the ass, the latter a
small debased variety far inferior to the superb donkeys of Syria and Egypt, and
to the wild species, a few specimens of which are said still to survive in the
wooded districts of Eastern Anatolia. The mule, said by a tradition recorded
in the Iliad to have been first bred in the peninsula, is still employed by the
Anatolians, and preferred even to the horse, both for mounting and as a pack
animal.

One of the most characteristic features of the Anatolian landscape is the stork,
which in some villages is more numerous than the people themselves. At the time
of the yearly migrations to the winter quarters in Egypt, they collect in flocks of
25,000 or 30,000 on the borders of the marshy tracts, where they take wing for the
flight across the Mediterranean. Like the crows, magpies, and swallows, they
prove valued allies to the husbandman when the locusts settle in vast multitudes
on the land. But a still more welcome friend is the smarmar (turdus roseus), a
pink thrush with black wings, which falls furiously on the destructive insects,
killing them not only for food, but for the mere pleasure of exterminating them.
On one occasion the French engineer, M. Amat, saw the inhabitants of a whole
village coming out, voluntarily giving up their houses to these carnivorous birds
during the breeding season.

Inhabitants of Asia Minor.

The inhabitants of Asia Minor are of very diverse origin. Forming the western
extremity of the continent, the peninsula became the natural converging point of
all the warlike, nomad, or trading peoples migrating westwards. The southern
districts were formerly occupied by Semitic tribes, whose speech seems to have
prevailed even in the interior. In the south-west they appear to have become
intermingled with a dark race, possibly Kushites. In the eastern provinces the
chief ethnical elements were allied to the Iranians, and spoke dialects akin to the
Zend, while others represented those immigrants from the North collectively
grouped as "Turanians." In the west opposite streams of migration poured in
across the Bosphorus and Hellespont. Here the Thracians maintained the com-

284 SOUTH-WKSTKKN ASIA.

mercial and social relations between the European and Asiatic lands encircling the
Propontis, while a constant intercourse was kepi up by the Eellenes between the

opposite shores of the .Korean Sea. Numerous contingents arrived even from the
remotest parts of Europe, amongst them the Gauls fGalatians), who for centuries
maintained a separate national existence in Western Asia. Bui at no period <li<l
the peninsula belong to a Bingle homogeneous people, one in speech and culture.
Ionians, Leleges, Carians, Phrygians, Paphlagonians, Lycians, and Cilicians, one
and all sought eacli to preserve their own autonomy. Many isolated cities, after
securing their individual independence, rose to power and splendour; but no
political unity was ever achieved by the confederation of these places. Such
uniformity as finally existed was the result rather of foreign conquests, and was
effected by reducing the inhabitants to a state of political thraldom.

In this vast ethnical crucible most of the old nationalities have lost their very
nanus, and the traditions of their racial origin. Where are now the Chalybes, who
taught their neighbours the art of smelting and forging irony Where are the
Galatians, brethren of the Western (iauls, who gave their name to one of the great
Anatolian provinces? These, in common with most of the peoples originally
occupying the inland plateaux, have become gradually fused with the surrounding
populations. The Greeks in tin* West, the Kurds and Armenians in the east, are
the only communities thai can trace their origin back to the dawn of history. And
even amongst those calling themselves Greeks there are many belonging to the
older stocks, although now assimilated in speech and religion to the dominant race
on the Ionian seaboard.

Tin; Vi in ks and Turks.

In the interior the bulk of the people are now of Turki stock. On these
plateaux with their saline lakes the immigrants from the Aral and Balkash steppes
found a new and congenial home, where they could continue to lead the same
pastoral life as heretofore. Amongst these intruders there are many whose social
usages have undergone little change since their arrival, living witnesses of a
general culture that has ceased to exist in the regions of the globe regarded as
civilised. Thus the Yuruks, sprung from the earliest Turki immigrant tribes, and
belonging to the horde of the " Black Sheep," which also included the Seljueides,
are still nomads, migrating with their Hocks twice a year between their summer and
winter camping-grounds. Some possess real houses, like the civilised Turks, but
most of them still dwell in black goat-hair tents or huts made of branches,
approached on all fours, and nearly always full of smoke. The Yuruks are
Mohammedans in name only, and their women go unveiled, even raising theirhcads
when appealed to by the passing wayfarer for milk or water. The cabins are
usually disposed in a circle with an opening towards the open space, where the
tribal interests are discussed in common. Each encampment forms a world apart,
which neither invites the stranger nor yet refuses hospitality when asked. The
Yuruk tribes scattered over Asia Minor are reckoned by the hundred; in the
province of Brussa alone there are over thirty, subdivided into clans without any

THE YURUKS AND TURKS.

285

geographical cohesion. They are commonly spoken of under the generic name of
" Turcomans," a somewhat vague term, here applied indifferently to nomad
shepherds of all races, and not necessarily implying identity of origin with the
Central Asiatic Turkomans. Nevertheless several writers draw a distinction between
Yuruk and Turcoman, regarding the former as tent-dwellers without fixed abode,

Fig. 110.— Villages ok various Nationalities in the Dardanelles District.

Scale 1 : 300.000.

P6"I0

F=H

80 to 160 Feet

^^^

0 to 80 Feet.

100 Feet and
upwards.

6 Miles.

the latter as already half settled, chiefly on the central plateaux and eastern
uplands. At the same time the transit inn from one to the other habit of life is far
more common than is generally supposed. In Anatolia, as in Persia, the increase
or diminution of the agricultural element is a cpiestion not so much of race as of
public security. The Turcomans especial!}' pass readily from the nomad to the

286 SOUTH-WKSTKKN \si A.

settled state in peaceful times, when the camping-grounds soon give place to
permanent hamlets. Even the Chingani, or Gipsies, tramps, horsedealers, tins
who are very numerous in Anatolia, and who usually camp on the outskirts of the
towns, are often confounded with the Yuruka under the genera] designation of
Turkomans. In Lycia, where they reside in permanent Tillages, the Gipsies are
chiefly stock-breeders.

In the same region villages and encampment- often belong to totally different
nationalities -Greeks in one place, Cherkesses in another, elsewhere Turks or
Yuruks. In the town- also every race has its separate quarter, so that no general
ethnological map could convey a complete idea of all these intermingled yet distinct
populations. Even where the people belong to the same stock, thej are frequently
split up into tribes living apart and at times hostile to each other. Certain Afshar
or Turkoman hordes prowling about the Turkish villages differ from the residents
only in their habits of life and traditions of independence. They constitute distinct
communities, who seek to distinguish themselves from their neighbours by their
arms and costumes. Conspicuous amongst them are the Zeibeks of the Misoghis
highlands, descendants of one of the first intruding Turki tribes, who have kept
alive the memory of their ancestral glories, and who still endeavour to impose by
the splendour of their attire. Thanks to this love of finery and of sumptuous arms,
tlie-e tall and athletic Tatars have unjustly earned the reputation of dangerous
brigands. At the same time they are certainly a warlike people, with traditions of
honour, full of pride, ami, a- the name implies, each "a prince unto himself."
They fancy the whole world is theirs by right, and the Turkish Government has
in \ain endeavoured to assimilate them to the rest of the population by interdicting
the use of their national costume. Other mean- have been adopted to enforce
submission; nearly all the young men have been pressed into the service, and
thousands perished on the Bulgarian battlefields during the late Russo-Turkish war.

" Turk," in the ordinary language, is a term applied indiscriminately to all
sedentary Mohammedans in Asia Minor, whatever be their origin. Thus the
numerous Albanians sent against their will to serve in the peninsula are regarded
as Turks, although through their Pelasgian forefathers really akin to the Greeks.
The Mussulman Bosniaks and Bulgarians, who since the recent wars have migrated
in thousands across the Bosphoru-, are also called Turks, although belonging to the
same race as the Serbs, Oroatians, and Russians who drove them out. The Nogai
Tatar-, from the Crimea, are more entitled to this name, being really of the same
stock and speech as their Osmanli rulers. The term is applied also to the officials,
tin- offspring of Georgian or Circassian women, and more remotely descended from
all the nations whose captives have for ages peopled the harems. Lastly, amongst
the O-manli are also grouped the descendants of the Arabs and negroes formerly
imported by the slave-dealers from every part of Africa. In many Anatolian
towns a great part of the population shows traces of negro blood, while whole
villages in the Jebel-Missis, near Adana, are inhabited by blacks. The Kurds, how-
ever, notwithstanding their common Mohammedan faith, present such a marked
contrast to the Osmanli in their features and social usages, that to them the term

THE YURUKS AND TURKS. 287

Turk is never applied. Like those of the Zagros and Upper Tigris and Euphrates
basins, they are for the most part evidently of Iranian origin, although amongst
the Anatolian Kurds the Kizil-bashes are very numerous.

The Turks, properly so called, that is, the Turkoman section of the community
which has adopted a settled life and embraced the Mussulman faith, are seen to
much greater advantage in Anatolia than in European Turkey. They are generally
of a swarthy complexion, with black hair and eyes, slightly prominent cheek-bones,
great muscular power, but bad address, a heavy slow gait, rendered more ungainly
by too ample garments. They lack the grace and activity of the Iranians, but
thanks to their frugal and temperate habits, they are a remarkably healthy race,
subject to few maladies. Most of them maybe described as "flat-heads," the
occiput being compressed by the position of the infant in the cradle. On the
Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, especially round about Olympus, where they are
less mixed than elsewhere, the Osmanli still preserve all their natural qualities.
Here they feel themselves more at home than in Thrace, in the midst of Greek,
Bulgarian, Albanian, and so many other foreign elements. When uncorrupted by
the enjoyment of authority, or not debased by oppression, the Turk certainly
contrasts favourably with most other peoples. His very honesty, truth, and
uprightness have made him a subject of ridicule and compassion in the eyes of his
Greek, Syrian, Persian, and Armenian neighbours. Possessing the sentiment of
solidarity to a high degree, he willingly shares with his comrades, but seldom asks
in return. Whatever may be said to the contrary, the " bakshish " nuisance is a
greater evil ill Southern Europe than in the East outside the large towns, where
the Levantine element prevails. What traveller, however haughty and suspicious,
has failed to be deeply moved by the hearty welcome always awaiting him in the
Anatolian Turkish villages? At sight of the traveller, the head of the family
hastens to help him dismount, receives him with a pleasant smile, spreads the most
costly carpet in his honour, invites him to rest and refresh himself. Respectful,
but with the dignity of one who respects himself, he spares the stranger all
indiscreet questions, and essentially tolerant himself, especially avoids all religious
discussion. Different in this respect from the disputatious Persian, he is satisfied
with his own belief, and leaves others to their conscience and their God.

In the family the Turk is never false to the true spirit of kindness and justice.
Despite the latitude of the Koran and the example of the pashas, monogamy is the
rule among the Asiatic Osmanli, and whole cities, such as Phocrea, are mentioned
in which not a single case of polygamy occurs. No doubt in the rural districts a
second wife is taken in order to have an extra assistant, while in some manufactur-
ing towns employers seek to increase the number of hands by this means. Bui
under all circumstances, the Turks are far more faithful to the marriage ties than
are some western communities. Absolute mistress in her home, the wife is always
treated with kindness, and the children, however young, are already considered as
equals by right. The natural kindliness of the Turks is nearly always extended
to the domestic animals, and in many districts the asses are still allowed two days
of rest in the week.

•J—

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

Although descendants <>f the conquering race, amongst whom arc chiefly
selected the Government officials, the Turks arc themselves no less oppressed than
the other nationalities of tho empire, while in the embassies they find no one to
plead in their favour. The taxes, usually farmed out to Armenians, who have
become the worst oppressors of the land, weigh heavily on the unfortunate
< )sinanli, burdened as they are by so many other charges. To passing officials and

Fig. 111.— Turkish Woman of Brussa.

troops the villagers are bound to supply all requisites freely, and this enforced
hospitality often impoverishes them as much as downright plunder itself.

When the approach of functionaries or military is announced, the inhabitants
have their dwellings and take refuge in the woods or mountain gorges. The con-
scription also falls exclusively on the Turks, and l>y a people amongst whom the
family sentiment is so highly developed, this blood-tax is naturally held in special
abhorrence. During the period of conquest the Osmanli moved forward in clans
and families, old and young, wives and sisters, following the warriors to the battle-
field, conquerors or vanquished all sharing the same Lot. But now the conscription
carries off the young men not merely for a few months, or four or five year-, as in
Western Europe, but for a long period., and often for their whole life. The con-

THE YUBUKS AND TURKS. 289

scripts, mostly married for two or three years, have thus to part from parents, wife,
and children, and all the family ties become suddenly broken, perhaps for ever.

"Weakened and threatened in their national existence by the systematic blows
of this enforced military service, endowed also with the fatal gift of resignation,
the Turks are exposed to the greatest danger in the vital competition with a race
possessed of a more enterprising spirit. They cannot contend successfully with the
Greeks, who by pacific means are avenging themselves for the war of extermina-
tion of which Cydonia and Chio have preserved the traces. In the struggle the
Turks are heavily handicapped, being mostly ignorant and artless, and sneaking
their mother-tongue alone ; whereas the Greeks are clever, full of subterfuge, and
acquainted with several languages. "Without being lazy, the Turk dislikes hurry.
" Haste," he says, " is the devil's ; patience is God's." He cannot dispense with
his kief, a vague dream in which he lives the life of plants, free from the effort to
think or will. His very excellences tell against him. Honest and faithful to his
pledged word, he will work to the end of his days in order to discharge a debt, a
quality of which the money-lender takes advantage to offer him long and ruinous
credits. " If you wish to succeed," says an Anatolian commercial axiom, " trust
the Christian to one-tenth, the Mussulman to tenfold his income." Thus trusted,
the Turk no longer possesses anything he can call his own. All the products of
his toil are destined for the usurer, into whose hands will successively pass bis
costly carpets, his crops, his live-stock, his very land. Nearly all the local
industries except weaving and saddlery have already been monopolised by others.
Deprived of all share in the seaborne traffic and in the industrial arts, he is being
gradually driven from the seaboard to the interior, where he lapses to the nomad
life of his forefathers. If agriculture is still left to him, it is onlv that he may till
his own land as a hireling. Presently nothing will remain open to him except the
guidance of caravans or a purely pastoral existence. The Osmanli have been
almost completely driven from the islands of the Ionian coast, while in the large
maritime cities, where they were till lately the dominant element, they are now
reduced to the second rank. In Smyrna itself, the great mart of their peninsular
empire, they seem rather tolerated than obeyed. Even in certain inland towns
Hellenic already counterpoise Turkish influences. The movement seems as irresis-
tible as the surging tides, and the ( Ismanli are themselves as fullv conscious of it as
are the Greeks. Long since the summons to withdraw from Europe has been issued
not only against the ruling < Ismanli, but also against the mass of the Turkish nation,
and we know that the cruel mandate has already been to a great extent realised.
By hundreds of thousands the emigrants have taken refuge in Anatolia from Greek
Thessaly, from Macedonia, Thrace, and Bulgaria, and these fugitives arc a mere
fragment of the victims that have had to quit their paternal homes. The exodus
continues, and will doubtless cease only when the whole of lower Rumelia shall
have again become European in speech, habits, and usages. And now the Turks
are threatened in Asia itself. The ominous cry " To the steppes ! " has been raised,
and one asks in terror must this mandate also be realised ? Is there no possible
means of reconciliation between the conflicting elements? Is the unity of civilisa-
117

290 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

tioii to be had only by the sacrifice of whole populations, and those above all which
are mosl distinguished bj the highest moral qualities — uprightness, truth, manliness,
courage, and tolerance !

The A\ mih. i w Grei ks.

The Greeks, those children of oppressed ii«ii >, who already regard themselves as
the Future masters of the peninsula, are probably to a large extent descendants of
the Eonians and other maritime Hellenes. Still they cannot on the whole lay
claim to any greal purity of hlood. The fusion has boon complete between them
and the various peoples who penetrated into the petty Ionian states, and who later
mi became Hellenised under Byzantine ^influences. The distinctive mark "I Greek
nationality as constituted in Asia Minor is neither race nor even speech, l>ut
religion in its outward forms. The limits of the nation, which may be estimated at
about one million altogether, coincide with those of the orthodox communities.
As in the island of Chio and in the Erythrean peninsula, many villages are
inhabited by Osmanli, descendants of fugitives from the Peloponnesus, and Bpeak-
ing Greek exclusively. So also a large number of Greek communities usually
n mverse in Turkish, and even write their ancient Language with Turkish characters.
Several villages in the Eermus and Cayster valleys have only revived the Greek
tongue since the establishment of schools. Farther inland also numerous Greek
populations are met within a few hours of the seaport who know Turkish alone.
On the other hand there exist Hellenic communities which have scarcely been
modified for the last two thousand years. Such are the inhabitants of Karpathos,
Rhodes, of some ether neighbouring islands, and of some valleys on the Cariau
coast, where the old Dorian idiom has left a large number of words. In the islands
of the archipelago vestiges survive of customs anterior even to Hellenism itself.
Thus in the interior of ( 'os and Mitylene the daughters alone inherit from their
parents, and from them come the oilers of marriage. When the eldest daughter
has selected her husband, the father gives up his house to the couple.

At the neck of the peninsula on the Armenian frontier there survive some
Greek communities which have resisted the influence of their Kurd, Armenian, and
Osmanli neighbours, and which speak the old Hellenic language full of archaic
forms that have disappeared from the Greek current on the Ionian seaboard.
Thus Pharash (Pharaza), perched on a bluff overlooking the Zamantia-su on the
border of Cappadocia and Cilieia, has preserved its Greek nationality in the midst
of the surrounding Turkoman population. Proud of their primitive speech, the
Pharaziots claim I'eloponesian descent, and it may at all events be admitted that
Hellenic colonists have here become intermingled with the descendants of the
ancient Cappadocians, who had early adopted Greek civilisation. But unless
fostered by the Bpread of education, the Greek language must soon disappear from
the eastern provinces of the peninsula. In some of the former Greek-speaking
villages, the national songs are now remembered only by the old, and in many
families the rising generation has ceased to speak the language of Homer. Some

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THE ANATOLIAN GREEKS. 291

communities have even adopted Islam since the beginning of the present century,
and similar conversions seem to have taken place during the time of the first
Mohammedan invasions. The Afshars of Cappadocia, differing so greatly from
those of Persia, are by some ethnologists suspected of being descended from the
formerly Hellenised aborigines. Although speaking the same language as the
other Mussulmans, they betray a marked resemblance to the ancient Greeks in their
habits and customs. Now, however, the decadence of Hellenism in the inland
villages seems to have reached its extreme limits. Those who have preserved the
name of Greeks have also preserved the proud consciousness of their real or supposed
origin, and the recently established direct relations with their western kindred
will henceforth uphold them in the struggle for independent existence.

In any case the revival and expansion of the Greek national sentiment along
the coastlands, has been so rapid that a rough calculation might almost be made
of the time when the ancient Asiatic Hellas will be recovered as far as the central
plateaux by the gradual and peaceful substitution of one race for the other.
Although religion is the outward token of this ethnical movement, proselytism is
not it chief leverage. The Anatolian Greeks are, in fact, seldom distinguished by
their religious fervour ; the clergy have but slight influence over them, and except
in the villages, are rarely consulted on the secular affairs of the community. The
true bond of union between the scattered Hellenic groups is patriotism. They feel
their kinship with their brethren wherever settled on the Mediterranean seaboard,
and apart from conventional political divisions, their eyes are turned rather towards
Athens than Constantinople. At the same time, they see the fatherland not in any
given city, but in the rising tide of Hellenism, surging up amidst the islands of the
archipelago, and advancing along the encircling shores at so many points between
Alexandria and Odessa. All the Anatolian Hellenes are animated by the " great
idea," and all understand how it is best to be realised. No other race is more alive
to the value of education in this respect, and their zeal for the instruction of the
rising generation rivals that of the Armenians themselves. In every village the
chief business of life is the schools, in the prosperity of which the wealthy classes
take the deepest interest. On one point all are agreed, that is, the paramount
importance of fostering the national sentiment and the pride of race in the young.
All students are taught ancient Greek, and read the classic writers in whose pages
are reflected the greatness and the glory that made their forefathers the teachers
of mankind. All study modern history, and especially the heroic deeds performed
by their race during the war of independence. Under the passive eye of their
Turkish rulers, they inspire themselves with the thought of the day when these
rulers must withdraw, and thus is their political emancipation being slowly and
peacefully accomplished. To endow and support the schools, rightly regarded as
the hope of the future, no sacrifice is grudged. Many private persons build colleges
in their lifetime, while the sacred cause of education is never forgotten in the
testaments of all patriots.

Thanks to this general spread of culture, the Greeks have already wrested from
the Turks many industries and all the liberal professions. In the towns they are

■292 soi"ni-\vi:sri;i;\ w\.

the physicians, lawyers, and teachers; and as journalists or interpreters they have
become the exclusive channel of information for Europeans. To their nationality
everywhere belong the mosl Bkilful craftsmen, and a single \jmi to their dwellings
suflin is to show thai they bave not lost the inheritance of perfect rhythm and pro-
portion bequeathed to them by their ancestors. Despite many centuries of
barbarism and oppression, they still produce works which might serve as models for
European artisans. In their houses the woodwork, floors, wainscot ing, and ceilings
are fitted with a marvellous nicety, while the eye is delighted by the taste displayed
in the ornamentation and disposition of colours. In the port of Smyrna the boats
of the humblest oarsman are masterpieces of solid building, graceful outline, and
happy adjustment of all the gear and rigging. The only fear is, Lest through love
of change the imitation of western models beguile them from a purer standard, and
induce them to copy objects of foreign workmanship far inferior to their own. In
the Anatolian towns most of the Greeks already dress in the European fashion,
ashamed of the rich and elegant national costume which lends so much grace and
dignity to the carriage.

The Osmanli rulers are also threatened by the very ubiquity of the Greek
element. Seafarer and traveller, as in the days id' Herodotus, the versatile Greek
is still everywhere to be found, his restless activity rendering him a match for ten
sedentary Turks, who never quit the natal home except to breathe the purer air of
the uplands in their summer camping-grounds. Amongst the Asiatic Greeks are
a large number from Peloponesus, the European mainland and islands, while
multitudes pass over from Anatolia to reside with their western brethren. Thanks
to these frequent visits and the consequent family alliances, thanks also to the
falsification of passports facilitated by the venal Turkish officials, many Ionian
Greeks find little difficulty in making themselves legally subjects of Greece.
Supplied with the documents exempting him and his from direct Turkish control,
he returns to his Asiatic birthplace a proud citizen of the Hellenic State. Thus it
happens that in Smyrna and the other Anatolian seaports the (J reek consul finds
himself enjoying jurisdiction over whole communities. In Turkish territory itself
are in this way developed Hellenic colonies, possessing all the priceless advantages
of political independence combined with the superiority derived from personal
enterprise.

Amongsf the Europeans migrating to Asia Minor there arc many who arc con-
nected by the bond of religion with the Greek world, and who gradually become
absorbed in it. Such are the Bulgarians and Wallachians, who soon learn the
Greek language, and who in the second generation mostly adopt Greek habits of
life. To these are added a number of Cossack fishing communities settled in the
Kizil-Irmak and Yeshil-Irmak deltas, near Lake Maniyas and on the lower Cayster,
in the neighbourhood of Ephesus. Like those of the Danube, these ( 'ossacks arc
"Old Believers," who towards the end of the last century fled hither from the
persecutions of the Russian Government.

Hut during the last few decades the stream id* immigration has been swollen
chiefly by the < Iherkesses, a collective name under which are comprised all refugees

THE ANATOLIAN GREEKS.

293

of Caucasian origin. Fearing to render them too independent in the Pontine or
Taurus uplands, which would have been more congenial homes for these highlanders,
the Turkish authorities have grouped them in scattered cantonments, mostly on
lands taken by enforced purchase from the Turks and Hellenes. Here they
naturally came to be regarded as intruders and brigands, the more so that they
kept aloof from the surrounding populations, and found it difficult all at once to
lay aside their old marauding habits. Thus all combined against them, esjjecially
in the Greek villages, and in many districts standing feuds, accompanied by much
bloodshed, have since prevailed amongst these antagonistic elements. When a
Cherkess strays into hostile territory he disappears suddenly, and no questions are

Fig. 112. — Inhabitants of Anatolia.
Scale 1 : 11,000,000.

L , of breenw

■58*

Turks.

C, Cossacks.
Y, Yuruks.

O-reeks.

Bulgarians.

Ar. Armenians.
Tk. Turcomans.

Arabs.

K. Kurds.
Kz, Kizilbash.

Ch. Cherkesses.
Z, Zeibeks.

Af. Afshars
Neg, Negroes.

120 Miles.

asked. Nevertheless Cherkess communities have already been developed which,
possessing sufficient land and live-stock, live in peace with their neighbours, and
gradually adapt themselves to the new environment. Some of the Caucasian settle-
ments in the upper Meander Valley might serve as models for the surrounding
Osmanli, such is the care they take in tilling the land and keeping the irrigation
works in repair. Of all these immigrants the Abkhasians have given least cause of
complaint to the natives.

Formerly most of the Anatolian trade was in the hands of foreigners, nearly all
Catholics of the Latin rite settled in Smyrna and the other seaports, and collec-
tively known as " Levantines." Before the revival of the Greek nationality they

294 B01 11 1 -W I.STKKN ASIA.

were tin- exclusive commercial agents between the Turks and the West of Europe.
But the increasing activity of the Hellenes, combined with the facilities afforded
for direct Intercourse l>\ steam navigation, has greatly diminished the influence of
the Levantines. Settled for several generations in the peninsula, they are mostly a
mixed race, speaking their several national languages indifferently, but always
appealing to their consuls, and enjoying exemption from Turkish jurisdiction.
Amongst them are nearly always chosen the consular agents and the official
employes of the foreign representative's. Sooner or later they will doubtless
disappear as a distinct class, and even long before them will also vanish the lingua
franca, which has been developed by 'he commercial relations of the Levantines
with the other inhabitants of the seaboard. This jargon, consisting of a few
hundred words placed side by side without any inflections, was mainly Italian, but
also comprised some Provencal, Spanish, and French terms, as well as a few local
Greek and Turkish words connected with trade. But this crude form of speech has
already almost ceased to exist, having been replaced by an Italian dialect and by
French. In course of extinction is also the " Spaniol," another Levantine jargon
introduced by the Jewish refugees from Spain — a barbarous or archaic Spanish
mixed with a number of Hebrew expressions. Education is gradually substituting
cultured languages for all these crude forms of speech, and in many parts of
Anatolia French, often spoken with remarkable purity, has already become the real
lingua franca <>f trade and social intercourse.

TorOGRAHIY.

From the very relief of the land, its inhabitants have necessarily been con-
centrated along the seaboard. Here are situated the great majority of the towns
and large villages, and, as in the Iberian peninsula, with which Anatolia presents
so many points of resemblance, the population diminishes in density towards the
interior. Nevertheless the central plateaux, like those of Spain, contain a number
of important places, serving as indispensable stations along the great trade routes
crossing the peninsula from shore to shore. The water-parting between the Euxine
and Mediterranean corresponds almost exactly with two distinct stvles of archi-
tecture. The pitched roofs covered with tiles characteristic of the north are every-
where succeeded southwards by terraces of beaten earth or shingle, independently
of the climatic conditions.

West of Cape Jason, regarded as the eastern limit of the Anatolian Pontine
coast, the town of JJnieh serves as the outpost of the rich Janik district, whose
quarries yield fine red and white limestone blocks, besides the jasper of which
were perhaps made- the vases that Mithridates delighted to show his guests. The
limestone hills of the interior are covered with a yellow argillaceous clay containing
ferruginous ores, which are smelted and forged by the natives, possible descendants
of the ancient f'halybes. The iron, refined with charcoal, is of excellent quality,
and is bought up by the Turkish Government for use in the arsenals. On the

TOKAT— AMASIA— C^SAKEA—SIXOPE. 295

same coast are the small ports of Falina, Orht, and Vona-liman, the last of which
offers the best anchorage along the whole Anatolian seaboard of the Euxine.

In the rugged upper valley of the Ghcrmili, chief affluent of the Yeshil-Irmak,
the most important place is Kara-hissar, or " Black Castle," distinguished from so
many other towns of like name by the special designation of Sheb-Khaneh (Shabanah,
Shabin), so called from its alum mines. The produce of these works is conveyed
over the Gumbet-dagh to the port of Kerasun, from which place a carriage-road
has been traced, but not yet executed, to the quays of Tireboli. In the Ghermili
Valley is also situated the ancient city of Niksar (Neo-Caesarea), the Cabira of
Strabo, which lies about 30 miles from the confluence of the two main forks of the
Iris, 1,600 feet above sea level.

ToKAT AMASIA CiESAREA SlXOPE.

Tokat, capital of the Upper Iris (Tosanli-su) basin, is one of the greater inland
cities of Asia Minor, and a chief station on the highway between Constantinople
and Upper Mesopotamia. Its suburbs and gardens stretch far along the side
valleys, and 7 miles higher up stand the ruins of the sumptuous Comana ponfica,
where a Byzantine bridge crosses the Iris. The wretched earth or adobe hovels, of
which Tokat largely consists, might easily be replaced by marble houses with the
admirable building material from the neighbouring hills. On one of these stand
the picturesque ruins of a Byzantine castle, while its sides are pierced by natural
and artificial caves, which probably served formerly as a necropolis. The busy
copper foundry of Tokat is supplied with ores from the Koben-Maden mines beyond
Sivas, and its household utensils of this material are exported to Egypt, Persia, and
Turkestan. The pears and apples from the surrounding gardens have a finer
flavour even than those of Angora.

On the verge of the fertile Kaz-ova plain below Tokat stands the large village
of Turkhal, commanded by a completely isolated pyramidal rock, which presents a
curiously striking likeness to an Assyrian temple, and which is still crowned by a
ruined fortress. On a plain watered by a tributary of the Iris south-west of
Turkhal lies the town of Zillch, the ancient Zela, whose citadel is also perched on
an isolated eminence, on which formerly stood a famous temple of the goddess
Anahit, regarded by the old Persian monarchs as the most sacred shrine of the
national divinities. The numerous pilgrims at one time attracted to this spot have
been succeeded by traders from all quarters. Zilleh has thus become one of the
chief Anatolian market-towns. On the route leading north to Amasia lies the
battlefield where Caesar overthrew Pharnaces, king of Pontus, an event rendered
memorable by his laconic description : " I came, I saw, and conquered."

Amasia, birthplace of Strabo, fills a narrow basin traversed by the Iris, just
above its confluence with the Tersakan-su. East and west rise the lofty crags that
shelter the city from the solar rays for several hours in the day. The less
precipitous east heights are partly laid out in terraces, planted with vineyards and
studded with houses. Those on the opposite side, at whose base are still visible

296 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

some remnants of the palace of the routine kings, present an almost vertical flank,

>
I

topped by the citadel described by Strabo. The present fortress is almost entirely
of Byzantine and Turkish erection ; but there still remain two fine Hellenic towers,

TOKAT— AMASIA— C^SABEA— SIXOPE.

297

besides galleries cut in the rock and leading to a secret spring in the interior. On
the face of the bluff are shown five royal tombs, standing out sharply against the
grey ground of the rock.

This old metropolis of Pontus has preserved no other remains except a few
fragments of sculptured marbles used in building the piers of one of its bridges.
But it boasts of a handsome mosque, fine fountains, quaint bouses, large irrigating
mills, and streets that may almost be called clean, thanks to the white vultures that
act as industrious scavengers. There are also some local industries, such as silk-
carding and cloth-weaving, chiefly carried on by the Greeks and Armenians, who

Fig. 114. — Amasia.
Scale 1 : 100,000.

. 3,300 Yards-

constitute about one-fourth of the population. Nevertheless Amasia, the " Oxford
of Anatolia," is a stronghold of Turkish fanaticism, containing some 2,000
Mohammedan students, who are distributed in eighteen medreseh or colleges,
supported by revenues derived from lands, houses, and shops.

Along the lower Iris follow the towns of Chorion, Mersifun (Mersitcan), and at the
head of the delta Charshamba, a mere group of houses scattered along both banks
of the muddy stream. Nearly midway between the two deltas of the Iris and
Kizil-Irmak lies the modern port of Samsun, which has succeeded to the ancient
Aniasus of the Greeks, rather more than a mile farther north. The present town,

298

SOUTH-WESTERN AS] \

with its narrow dirty streets, has nothing ti> Bhow except its roadstead, comprised
between the two vast semicircles of the fluvial alluvia. Since the middle of the
present century its trade has much improved, especially with Russia, and in

Fiu'. 1 L5.- Saiisun.
Scale 1 : 1,760,000.

Otol6
Peel

16 to 32
Feet.

32 to 48
Feel.

et and

upwards.

4,400 Yards.

numerous engineering projects Samsun is designated as the future terminus of a
railway intended to run through Tokat and Sivas to the Mesopotamian plains.*

Sioas, capital of a large province, lies on the righl hank of the Upper Kizil-
Irmak, in a gently sloping plain some 4,000 feet above >m level. Notwithstanding
some waste spaces strewn with rubbish, and debased structures dating from Persian
• Shipping of Samsun (1880), 310,000 tons.

TOKAT— AMASIA— OaESAREA— SIXOPE. 299

times, Sivas is one of the most flourishing places in Central Anatolia, thanks to its
convenient position at the converging point of the chief caravan routes between the
Euxine, the Euphrates, and Mediterranean. The Armenians, who constitute a
fifth of the population, have here several schools, and in the neighbourhood a much
venerated church and a wealthy monastery. On the south side, near the village of
Ulash, are some very productive salines worked by the Government.

Kaisarieh, the ancient Caesarea and capital of Cappadocia, occupies an old
lacustrine basin, south of the Kizil-Irmak Valley, sheltered from the southern rays
by the gigantic Argaeus, and traversed by a small affluent of the Red River.
Nothing now remains of the lake except a swampy tract flooded in winter, when
the overflow is discharged through the Kara-su, which also receives the drainage
of Caesarea itself. The ravine through which these waters escape is undoubtedly
the outlet said by Strabo to have been dammed up in order to convert the plain into
an inland sea. Of the ancient Caesarea (Mazaca), which lay nearer to Argasus than
the modern city, nothing survives except a few shapeless piles, while a more recent
mediaeval town overthrown by earthquakes is now a heap of ruins. The present
Caesarea, where the Greeks and Armenians form over one-third of the population,
has lost some of its transit trade since the development of steam navigation along
the seaboard. The chief place in the district is Evcrek, an exclusively Christian
town at the southern foot of Argaeus. Many of the surrounding villages are
inhabited by Greeks, who for the most part now speak nothing but Turkish.

The main route running from Caesarea westwards to the Bosphorus passes by
the towns of Infeh-su, Urgub, and Nem Shehr (Nt r Shi hr\ the last of which is one
of the richest and largest places in the interior. About half of the population are
Greeks, who have monopolised nearly the whole of the local trade. Urgub and the
neighbouring village of Uch-hissar, or the " Three Castles," lie in one of the most
remarkable districts of Asia Minor, famous alike for its natural and archaeological
curiosities. Here the ground, consisting of a layer of hard stone, rests like a slab
on strata of tuffa, which are easily eroded by the action of water. The surface
itself has in course of ages been weathered by sun, winds, and rains into a network
of ravines, fissures, and barrancas. Some of the hills thus carved out of the tuffa
have preserved their capitals of hard stone, like the argillaceous obelisks met in
some of the valleys of erosion in the Alps. Others, rising to heights of from 30 to
300 feet, have lost their terminal block, and present the appearance of a vast
encampment covered with thousands of tents. Most of these grey or reddish cones,
encircled at their base with a zone of verdure, are pierced by openings giving
access to interior recesses, the habitations of men, pigeons, or the dead. Some of
the caves are simple square or round excavations, while others are approached by
sculptured vestibules or colonnades, and decorated with paintings. Whole com-
munities might be accommodated in these crypts, which were excavated in pre-
historic times, and undoubtedly inhabited by the aborigines of the country.

At the point where the Kizil-Irmak sweeps round from the north to the south-
east, the town of Kalejik, standing on the left bank, commands the route here
crossing the river from Angora through Yuzgat to Sivas. Yuzgat, which lies almost

300

SOrTn-WT.STF.KN AS1 \

in the geometrical centre of the greal curve of the Kizil-Irmak. between Sivaa and
the Euxine, is of modern origin, dating only from tin- middle of the eighteenth
century. It stands at an altitude of 5,950 feet, and would scarcely be inhabited in
the cold season had it no! been chosen as the civil and military centre of a large
district.

This region was undoubtedly at one time more thickly peopled than at present,
for it contains the ruins of uumerous cities which appear to have been very
flourishing, and which were adorned with sumptuous monuments. Some 24 miles
north-weal of Yuzgat, and near the village of Boghaz-Koi, are Been the ruins of a
vast temple. The surrounding rocks arc covered with bas-relit Is, representing
solemn processions; and according to Tericr, the city that occupied this site was the
Pteria, destroyed by Croesus over two thousand four hundred years ago ; while

Kg. 116.— SlNOPE.
Scale 1 : 450,000.

~_ -^^ -- sss;^gj=ifig

ggiHI^I^Ijjjisg^^ij

■'■'■

"-^f^ki

«,"-

I 4

)

..<•

•

fr*fS

iCvren- * »f

55'iQ

0 to M

80 Feet and upwards.
C Miles.

Hamilton identifies it with the Tavium, which Strabo describes as having at one
time been a very commercial place. Xo less remarkable arc the ruins of Oyuk,
lying 24 miles farther north near the pyramidal trachytic rock of Kara-hissar.
Here the old palace gateway is guarded by two gigantic animals, with the heads of
women, body and feet of lions, and in style resembling the Egyptian sphinxes.
Other sculptures, amongst which the two-headed eagle, revived by some modern
empires, recall the hunting scenes and battle-pieces figured on the Persian and
Assyrian monuments.

Changri, and Iskr/ih, lying in fertile river valleys tributary to the Kizil-Irmak,
are considerable places ; but the middle and lower courses of the main stream are
almost destitute of towns. One of the most important is Osmanjik, standing on the

HERACLEA—ANCYRA— SCUTARI— BRUSSA. 801

right bank at the head of an old stone bridge with fifteen arches, crossed by the
direct route between Constantinople and Amasia. Lower down follow the
manufacturing town of Kastamuni, one of the chief stations on the road from
Constantinople to Samsun, I'ash-Kopri, or " Stone Bridge," which has replaced the
ancient Pompeiopolis, Vizir-k'dpri, lying in a valley, and Bafra, the chief mart of the
delta. The tobacco grown in this moist and fertile region is shipped for Constan-
tinople at the little port of Kwnjaz or Kumjiugaz on the east side of the delta.

The ancient Assyrian city of Sinope, colonised twenty-seven centuries ago by
the Milesians, lies near the northernmost headland of Anatolia, on an almost insular
limestone rock covered here and there with trachytes and volcanic tuffas. The
absence of communications with the interior almost severs it from the mainland, so
that it may be regarded as a sort of island, owing its importance entirely to its
■maritime advantages. A narrow sandy isthmus connects the hilly peninsula with
the mainland, and the cliffs overlooking this neck of land afford an attractive view
of Sinope with its two roadsteads and surrounding district. But except a few
fragments of sculptures and inscriptions built into its Byzantine walls, Sinope has
preserved no remains of the monuments erected here when it was a free Greek city,
birthplace of Diogenes the Cynic, or later on in the time of Mithridates, who was
also a native of this place. Although unsheltered by any pier or breakwater, the
southern and more frequented harbour affords perfectly safe anchorage even
against the dangerous west winds. The Turkish Government has rebuilt the
arsenal and dock destroyed when the squadron at anchor in the harbour was burnt
by the Russians at the beginning of the Crimean war in 1853. The local trade is
limited to the export of wood and fruits.*

"West of Cape Syrias (Injeh-burnu), western limit of the olive, as already
remarked by Xenophon, the rocky headlands enclose a few small havens, such as
the old Greek colony of Ineboli, Sesamyus, Amastris (Amasra\ where are still
visible the remains of a hanging garden supported on nineteen colossal arches ;
Bartan, also of Greek origin, lying over 2 miles inland on the ancient Parthenius,
navigable to this point by vessels drawing 7 feet. The Filias (Billaeus), a more
copious stream than that of Bartan, but obstructed by a bar at its mouth, waters
the gardens of the two important towns of East and West Bolt. The former,
specially known as Zafaran-Boli, from the saffron here largely cultivated and
exported chiefly to Syria and Egypt, lies in a large and fertile basin traversed by
the Sughanli-su, an affluent of the Filias. The latter, the ancient Bithynium,
stands at an altitude of 2,8G0 feet amidst the hills crossed by the route from Erekli
to Angora. It is commanded by a ruined citadel perched on a lofty bluff, whence
stretch southwards the long wooded ridges of the Ala-dagh, or Galatian Olympus.
On the western headland, overlooking the mouth of the Filias, are scattered the
ruins of the city of Tium, the " Pearl of the Kuxine," whose ivy-clad walls and
gates, amphitheatres, temples, tombs, and aqueducts, now lie half buried amid the
foliage of forest trees.

• Shipping of Sinope (1880), 113,000 tons.

802

SOUTH-WESTERN AS\ L

Heraclea, Ancyra, Scutari, Brussa.

Erekli, the ancient Heraclea, or "Port of Eercules," although much decayed, is
still one lit' tin' must charming towns oil the coast. Lying at the issue of a verdant
glen mi a rink sheltered by a headland from the north wind, it is enclosed by old
walls hidden here and there by clumps of trees, and encircled by beech-clad hills
stretching away beyond the horizon. Erekli Beems destined to become one of the
chief ports on the Euxine, as soon as the resources of the country shall be properly
developed. The neighbouring coalfields, feebly worked since the Crimean war,

Fig. 117. EllEKLI.

Scale 1 : 12,600.

[•. ofG

recnwiC"

OtolG
Feet.

16 to 32
Feet

82 to 64

64 Feet and
upwards.

. 8 Miles.

stretch east and west for a distance of at least 70 or 80 miles, with a mean breadth
of 6 miles, and contain beds 12 or 14 feet thick. A few remains of the ancient
Heraclea still survive within the modern enclosure, and amid the rocks of the
northern headland is shown the cave of Acherousia, where Hercules descended to
shackle Cerberus and vanquish death. In the hilly and wooded district stretching
southwards to the Ala-dagh lies the town of Vskub, the ancient Prusa (Prusias ad
// ium i, where may be seen the remains of a Greek threatre, and some long and
curious incriptions.

AJi-serai, or the " White Palace," capital of the almost desert region of which the
Great Salt Lake occupies the chief depression, is inhabited exclusively by Turks,

IIERACLEA—ANCYRA— SCUTARI— BRUSSA.

308

and produces little except the saltpetre collected under the walls after the rains.
Towards the south the spurs of the Hassan-dagh are covered with the remains of
cyclopean structures, citadels, torahs, and temples, dating from the times anterior
to the Macedonian conquest. Viran-shehr, the "Deserted City," is supposed by
Hamilton to be the Nazianzum known in ecclesiastical history as the birthplace of
Saint Gregory.

The lacustrine basin enclosed by the Emir-dagh and Sultan-dagh is much more
thickly peopled than the saline Lycaonian steppes, and here are found the impor-

Fiir. lis. — Remains of the Temple of Augustus an-p Rome at Anctiia.

tant towns of Ilgun, Akshehr, Bulvadin, Afium-kara-hissar, the last named a large
and industrious place'producing morocco-leather, carpets, and woollen fabrics. It
is one of the chief stations on the route from the liosphorus to Syria, and is
probably destined to form the junction of the 1 wo lines from Constantinople and
Smyrna on the future railway to India. Beyond the northern hills lies the ancient
EaH-kara-himar, which contains some of the finest sculptured marbles in Asia
Minor, tombs, baths, and columns, the materials for which were supplied from the
neighbouring quarries.

804 BOUTB- WESTERN ASIA.

The region about the bead waters of the Sakaria abounds in ruins, but is now
but thinly peopled. The debris strewn over an extensive plain at Hergan-kaleh
are Bupposi d bj Hamilton to mark the site of Amorium, while in the broken Bhafts
and friezes a1 Bala-hwar Texier recognises the remains of Peasintu, where the
Gauls (Galatians) erected a temple to Cybele. The old Greek and Galatian cities
have been succeeded bj Sevri-hiasar, which stands nearly 3,500 Eeel above the
sea, at the south foot of a precipitous granite crag sheltering ii from the northern
winds.

The Knguri-su, oreastern braneh of the Sakaria, waters the plains of the famous
Engurieh or Angora, the ancient Galatian capital, which became the chief centre
of western civilisation in the interior of Anatolia. The modern town is an unin-
teresting place standing on a plateau over 3,000 feel above sea Level, which is
here intersected by low monotonous hills. Bui Angora, the Ancyra of the Greeks
and Romans, contains the remains of a fine temple dedicated to Augustus and
Rome, now enclosed within the precincts of the Ilaji Beirami mosque. Sere is to
be seen the precious "Ancyra .Monument," a bilingual inscription in which
iistus in his seventy-sixth year relates his great deeds, his conquests, and the
buildings erected by him. The Latin text and Greek translation of this important
historical document were not critically determined till L861. The walls and gates
of Angora arc to a large extent constructed with the fragments of Roman edifices,
temples, colonnades, and amphitheatres. A lion in good style is embedded in a
Turkish fountain near the modern gates, and in a .^orge one day's march towards
the south-west MM. Perrot and Guillaime have discovered a llittite monument,
representing two large figures wearing tiaras and pointing with the right hand
towards the west. Above these sculptures rise the cyclopean walls of a fortress
locally known as the Oiaur-kaleh, or " the infidels' Castle."

About a third of the population of Angoraare Roman Catholic Armenians, who
have forgotten their mother-tongue and speak Turkish exclusively. They are
distinguished from those of Constantinople by a more lively temperament and less
reserve towards strangers. The type also is less swarthy and coarse, many being
characterised by light hair, blue eyes, oval faces, and a European physiognomy,
whence Perrot's suggestion that they may possibly be a mixed race, partly
descended from the old Galatian conquerors. Even the Galatian Mohammedans,
the mildest and most genial in Anatolia, would seem to have a dash of Gaulish

hi 1 in their reins, although at least eighteen centuries have passed since the

complete fusion of the Keltic element in the Anatolian population. The statement
of Saint Jerome is often repeated that in his time — that is, in the fourth century of
the new era — the language current in Ancyra was the same as that of the people of
Treves on the Rhine. But for three centuries (J reek had already superseded
Galatian names, a sufficient proof that the Gaulish idiom had disappeared at this
epoch. In (talatia no Kiltie inscriptions or monuments have ever been found in
any way recalling the remote western home of the invaders. During the last
century the trade of Angora was chiedy in the hands of English, French, and
Dutch merchants; but it is now monopolised by Greek immigrants from Kaisarieh,

7' lifc,

H
P

«
&
>

«
O

o
«

HEEACLEA— ANCYBA— SCUTAEI— BETTSSA. 305

who buy up for the English market the delicate fleece of the Angora goats. Thev
also forward other local produce, especially wax, and the yellow Chekeri berry
[rhamnus alaternusX which yields a beautiful green dye.

On the Upper Pursak (Pursadu), western branch of the Sakaria, the chief
place is Kiutayeh, which rivals Angora in size, while enjoying greater commercial
advantages through its proximity to Brussa and Constantinople, and to its position
on the main route across Anatolia. Lying 3,100 feet above the sea, on a fertile
plain, apparently the bed of an old lake, Kiutayeh is commanded by one of the best-
preserved Byzantine fortresses in Asia Minor. No other remains have survived of
the ancient Cotyceum, a name preserved under the modern Turkish form of Kiutayeh.

Eski Shehr, or the " Old Town," the old borykeum, is frequently mentioned in
the carl}r Turkish records, and here a great victory was gained by the Crusaders
under Godfrey de Bouillon. It has some frequented mineral waters, but its chief
importance is due to the deposits of meerschaum in the district, of which valuable
commodity it has hitherto enjoyed a monopoly. It is forwarded to Paris, New
York, San Francisco, but chiefly to Yienna, for the manufacture of pipes and cigar-
holders. The beds, which are worked mainly by Persian miners, have already
betrayed symptoms of exhaustion, although the yearly export has steadily increased
from 3,000 chests in 1850, to 11,000, valued at £160,000 to £200,000, in 1881.

In the lower Sakaria basin the chief places are Ayash and Bci-bazar, noted for
their pears; Nalli-khan ; Mudurlu (ModseniX commanding the route from Eski
Shehr to Boli over the Ala-dagh ; Sogul (Shugshai), which contains the tomb of
Ottoman, founder of the Othman empire ; Iiilehjik ; Lefkeh, the ancient Leucw, at
the junction of the Gbk-su and Sakaria ; Ada -bazar, a flourishing place near the
rivulet through which Lake Sabanja discharges to the Sakaria. The magnificent
bridge, 890 feet long, here thrown across the old channel of the Sakaria, is still in a
perfect state of preservation. But the stream having shifted its course, it now
crosses nothing but swampy ground, which has been so raised by alluvial deposits
that the spring of the arches is completely concealed. The fruit-growing district
of Sabanja yielded in 1880 over 6,250,000 lbs. of apples and pears for the Con-
stantinople market.

The towns and villages on the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus are mere suburbs
of the Turkish capital. The peninsula at the extremity of which it stands belongs
geologically to Asia, for its consists of the same formations, the promontories and
inlets along the coast corresponding exactly on both sides of the strait. The true
geological limit is indicated some 18 miles to the west of the Bosphorus, where
the Devonian rocks of the Anatolian system develop a line of cliffs above the
more recent Tertiary and Quaternary formations. But from the historic standpoint
the possessions of both shores of the Bosphorus belongs to Europe, at hast since
the foundation of Byzantium. The fortifications, harbours, mosques, cemeteries,
promenades, fishing hamlets, summer retreats, and even the very towns are mere
dependencies of the neighbouring metropolis. At the Black Sea entrance of the
Bosphorus the Anatolian lighthouse corresponds to the Bumeli on the opposite side,
and hostile Russian fleets attempting to force the passage would be exposed to the
118

30G

SOITH-WKSTKKN \SI \

cross fire of EnropeaD and Asiatic batteries. The narrowest parts <>f the strait are
guarded by the two Genoese towers of Anadoli-kavak, and Rumeli-kavak, while
the pleasant towns of Buyuk-dereh and Therapia, with their marble palaces, plan-

Pig. 119. — AOIATII Si hi iir.v 01 CoNBTANTXKOFLB.

S. ile 1 : 78.000.

0 to 64 Feet. 64 to 160 Feet. 160 to 320 Feet. 320 and upward*.
.1,300 Yards.

tain-groves, and shady gardens are reflected on the oast side by the white colon-
nades, cupolas, minarets and verdant glens of Beikos, Injir-hoi, Chibuklu, and other
Asiatic villages. The centre of the passage, guarded on the west by the strong

a
»

i
o

IIERACLEA— ANVYRA— SH'TARI— BRUSSA.

307

towers of Rumeli-hissar, built by Mahomet II., is defended at the opposite point by
those of Anudoli-hissar, dating from the same conqueror.

Just south of the Anatolian Castle, the valley of the " Sweet Waters " marks

808

SOUTH-WESTEEN ASIA.

the limits of the Asiatic suburbs of Constantinople— iTanrfi//, Vani-koi, Kuleli,
Chengel-koi, Beiler-bey, Istacros, Kuz-gury'uk, and Scutari (Uskudar), which stretch
about 6 miles in a continuous line along the eaaf Bide of the Bosphorus. They
jointly contaiD upwards of ten thousand inhabitants, grouped in Turkish, < rreek, and
Armenian quarters according t<> their several nationalities. More than half of the
whole number are concentrated in Scutari, which lies over against the Golden Horn,
and here the Turkish element greatly prevails. Unmindful of the Ghrei h origin of
the ancient Chrytopolis, the Osmanli have come to look on Scutari as a holy city.
For them it is the extreme promontory of the fatherland, and when driven from
Stambul, hither must they withdraw, say their prophets. On the brow of the hill

Fig. 121. — Environs op Scutari — Turkish Ladies Abroad.

m0y- -

in the background stand the groat cypress trees overshadowing perhaps some
millions of their dead, their dust mingling with that of other millions of Byzantines,
Thracians, and still earlier settlers. Hitherto the Ottoman town has been little
modified by European innovations. Many quarters have preserved their original
character; the fountains with their arabesque carvings, the sculptured tombstones,
the two-storied wooden houses with their projecting gables, the steep winding
streets and shady plantains, remain unchanged. From Mount Bulgurlu, overlooking
the town, a superb panorama is commanded of Constantinople, the Bosphorus, and
Propontis.

South-east of Scutari the line of suburbs is continued hy huge barracks and

IIKEACLEA— ANCYli.

A— SOU1

TARI— BRVSSA .

309

cemeteries as far as the headland of Kadi-koi, the ancient Ghalcedonia. Here has
already begun the European invasion that is gradually changing the aspect of the
place. The resident population is chiefly Greek, with a few hundred merchants,
mostly English, from Constantinople. On the plain separating Kadi-koi from the
great cemetery of Scutari were formerly assembled the armies of the padishahs
for their Asiatic expeditions. Here, close to the " largest barracks in the world,"
now stands the Haidar Pasha terminus of the railway which skirts the north side
of the Gulf of Ismid, and which is destined one day to be continued through Syria
and Babylonia to India. It touches at the little ports of Mal-tepeh, Kortal, Pendik,
and reaches Ghabize {Ghybiasa,\ where Hannibal died, and where a hillock shaded
by three cypresses is said to preserve the ashes of the great captain.

Ismid ylskimid^, the ancient Nicomedia, "built by a son of Neptune," and

Fig. 122.— Ismid.
Scale 1 : lSfi.ooo.

_...

S9°IQ'

L . of Greenwich

29 'IS'

0 to 32 Feet.

32 to 80 Feet. 80 and upwards
^— _ 3,300 Yards.

which Diocletian wished to make the imperial capital, is admirably situated at the
extremity of the gulf of like name on the advanced spurs of a lofty hill facing
southwards. The town, with its docks and harbour, is commanded by a modern
imperial kiosk and a fine old Greek acropolis flanked with Roman and Byzantine
towers. Nicomedia may be regarded geographically as the real port of the Sakaria
River, from which it is separated only by a low eminence west of Lake Sabanja,
But notwithstanding its convenient position at the converging point of all the inland
routes, its trade is limited to the exportation of some wood and corn.

An analogous position is occupied by Ghcmlik, at the eastern extremity of a
gulf which penetrates far inland, and communicates with the Sakaria Valley by the
depression of the lake of Nirwa. The latter place, now called Isnik, is reduced to
a wretched village, lost within its double Roman enclosure, and almost completely

810

801 TH- WESTERN ASIA.

deserted during the unhealthy season. Yet from a distance Nioaea, "City of
Victory," residence of the Bithynian kings and birthplace of Bipparchus, Btill
liidks like a large metropolis, so well preserved are its lofty trails and massive
flanking towers. But within the ramparts all is desolation. Scarcely a vestige

Fig. 123. I

Srulo 1 : 330,000.

0 to »a

32 to a I I eel

si) and ppwaidfl
- 6 Miles.

remains of its Roman monuments; the very mosques arc in ruins, and the only
noteworthy object is a small (ireek church containing a coarse painting of the
Nicaean Council, which in 325 embodied in its " Creed " nearly all the articles of
faith comprised in the " Symbol of the Apostles." Nicsea was also a famous place
during the Crusades. In 1096 the Christian army lost ^0,000 men in the neigh-

OS
a
Z
a

■<

HEBACLEA.— AN< 1YBA— SCUTABI— BETJSSA. 311

bouring defiles, and the next year took the town by means of a flotilla transported
overland to the Lake of Isnik.

Brussa, capital of the vilayet of Hudavendighiar, is one of the great as well as
one of the most picturesque cities of Anatolia. Divided into several distinct
quarters, separated from each other by shady glens and running waters, its red-
roofed houses, gilded domes, and white minarets present a charming picture, seen
from the fertile plain of the TJlfer-chai. Immediately above the city rise the
densely wooded slopes of Olympus, which is girdled with successive zones of the
chestnut, walnut, hornbeam, oak, and various species of conifers. Brussa, which
retains in a slightly modified form the name of Pntsium given to it by its founder,
Prusias, king of Bithynia, preserves no remains of the Roman epoch. But
notwithstanding the frequent earthquakes by which its buildings have been
shattered, it still retains some precious monuments of the time when it was the
capital of the Ottoman empire. Here Orkhan the " Victorious" received the title
of padishah of the Osmanli, who had captured it in 1328, and here the Ottoman
Turks first felt the consciousness of the strength, which made them a great power
in the world. But after succeeding Teni-aher as residence of the sultans, it was in
its turn replaced first by Adrianople and finally by Constantinople as the imperial
capital. Nevertheless it still remains a venerated city, where the faithful come to
worship at the shrines of Osman, Mahomet II., and the other early sovereigns of
the empire. Amongst its " three hundred and sixty-five " mosques, several are
noted for the richness and beauty of their enamelled porcelains, and one of them,
the Yeshil Jami, or " Green Mosque," has been restored by a French artist in the
original style of Persian art. Brussa is the centre of a considerable trade, and has
some flourishing industries, especially flour-mills and sericulture. But since 1865
the silkworms have suffered so much from parasites that the production of the raw
material in the province of Hudavendighiar has been diminished by two-thirds, and
the mean annual value of the crop has fallen from £1,250,000, and even
£2,000,000, to £400,000. The forty-five spinning-mills now work almost exclu-
sively for the Lyons market, and the foreign commercial relations of Brussa are
carried on solely with France, through Armenian, Greek, and Turkish houses.

The permanent European colony at Brussa is temporarily increased in May and
September by visitors to the medicinal waters of Chekirjeli, which are very copious
and present a great variety of composition, with temperatures ranging from 92° to
208° F. During the summer heats the wealthy classes and visitors retire to the
villas scattered over the slopes of Olympus, or else resort to Mudania, Arnaul-koi,
and other marine watering-places. Mudania, the chief outport of Brussa, has an
open roadstead, exposed especially to the north-east gales, when the shipping takes
refuge in the port of Ghemlik. Since 1875 Brussa has been connected with
Mudania by a railway 25 miles long, but which has never yet been opened to the
public. The rusty locomotives, rails and sleepers carried off by the peasantry,
roadway ploughed up by the rains, are emblematic of the solicitude displayed by
the Turkish authorities for the public weal.

In the fertile valley of the Susurlu-ehai. which yields rich crops of opium,

312

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

hemp, and tobacco, there are several nourishing places, Buoh as Simau, near the
ancient Ancyra of Phrygia; Bogadieh (Bogaditsa): Baliketri (Balak-hissar), amach.-
rrequented market -town ; Mualich, at the junction of the Susurlu with the
emissaries from Lakes ManyasandAbulhon; ^4po//onta (Abullion) a fishing town on

an island in the lake cil' like name.

Little now remains of the sumptuous city of Cyzicus, which occupied an
admirable position mi the smith sideof a hilly island now transformed, to a peninsula,
with two sheltered harbours Facing the Hellespont and the Bosphorus. The .strait
has been completely filled up, and the two bridges which in Strabo's time connected

Rg>. 124. — ToiIB ov Mahomet II. in the Gu;:en Mosque at BuussA.

the island with the mainland, have given place to an isthmus ahout 1,200 yards
broad. At present the eastern port has been replaced by that of Pandermos
(Panormos), a small Turkish, Greek, and Armenian town regularly visited by the
steamers from Constantinople. The western port has linn succeeded by Edeh, the
ancient Artake, which is surrounded by vineyards yielding the best wines in
Anatolia. Facing it on the mainland stands the large village of Aidinjik, where
are seen numerous inscriptions found amongst the ruins of Cyzicus. In the
neighbourhood are the marble quarries whence came the material used in facing
the granite buildings of the city.

TEOY— PEEGAMtJS— SABDES— SMYENA.

313

Troy, Pergamus, Sardes, Smyrna.

On the mainland .stretching west of the Gulf of Erdek and of the Marmora
islets, the only important place is Bigha, which lies some 12 miles inland, at the
point where the Koja-chai (Grauicus) escapes from the hills, and where Alexander
gained his decisive victory over the Persians. Nor is the Asiatic side of the
Hellespont much more densely peopled. Here Lamsdki, the ancient Lampsacus,
whither Themistocles withdrew when exiled from Athens, is now a mere hamlet
buried amid the surrounding olive-groves and vineyards. Of Abydos the very
ruins have disappeared, or have been replaced by the barracks and batteries

Fig. 125.— Syzicus akd Aktaki Peninsula.
Scale 1 : 400,000.

r.ofG'-e-" e7°4o

0 to 80 Feet.

SO to 160 Feet. 1C0 and upwards.
G Miles.

defending the entrance of the strait. The Castle of the Dardanelles, central point
of all these fortifications, stands on the southern side at the mouth of the Chinarlik,
the ancient, Rodius. Kaleh-Sultanieli, as the Castle of the Dardanelles is officially
called, may be regarded as the port of entry of Constantinople, where all vessels
are obliged to east anchor before passing on to the capital This place also takes
the name of Chanak-Kalesii, Or " Castle of the Potteries," from the local glazed
earthenware, noted for its eccentric forms. The surrounding hills abound in
metalliferous deposits, of which the Government has mostly retained the monopoly.
On a headland south of Kaleh-Sultanieh are seen the regular lines of the
acropolis of the ancient Dardamis, whose broken marbles strew the surrounding

314

a-WESTERN AS] \

slopes. Farther on the large Greek village of Eten-koi (Itghelmez), perched on a
terrace planted with walnut and oak-trees, affords ;i distant view of the Trojan plain
and conic mounds crowning the surrounding hills. The valley and a rivulet supposed
by Sohliemann to be the Simois, separates tin- Eren-koi heights from a chain of
hills, the last of which, overlooking the marshy plain of the Mendereh, is the
famous terrace of Hiasarlik, or the "Fortalice," identified hy most archaeologists

Fig. 126.— Tub Tboad.
Scale 1 : 160,000.

V^-^A1

Oto 1''" Feet

160 and upwards.
8 Miles.

with New Won. Contrary to the opinion of Strabo, Schliemann regards it as the
Homeric Dion. Hence the natural tendency shown by the illustrious explorer to
exaggerate the value of the discoveries which have resulted from the enormous
labour undergone by him on this spot.

Here the solid rock is covered with remains disposed in regular layers, which
date apparently from six different epochs, and which have a total thickness of
52 feet. Below the upper layer, belonging to the historic Greek period, a very

TROT— PEBGAMUS— SAEDES— SMYBNA. 315

thin stratum containing vases of Lydian origin is followed by two strata, where
the houses, of mean appearance, had been built of small stones joined together with
mud, and plastered inside with clay. Beneath these is supposed to lie the Troy of
the Iliad, a burnt city whose ashes contained a thousand objects attesting the
Hellenic origin of the Trojans and their special worship of Athene. Lastly comes
the lowest stratum, indicating the settlement of a people anterior even to legend.
Judging from the form of the objects found in the ruins, the burning of Troy took
place some thirty-six centuries ago, during the pure copper age, when the deities
were represented with animal faces. Nevertheless the Hissarlik terrace, about
200 acres in extent, is much too confined to have ever afforded space for a large
and strongly fortified city. It is also destitute of water beyond a little moisture
oozing out at the foot of the cliff in rainy weather. According to Lechevalicr and
Forchhammer, the site of the ancient Ilion is to be sought rather on the Bunarbachi
hill, south of the alluvial plain, which is strewn with shattered blocks, and which
commands the west bank of the Mendereh with impregnable escarpments 330 feet
high. The hovels of the present Bunarbachi stand on the north side, which slopes
gently down to the plain, and at the foot of the cliff lie the " forty springs," which
are collected in two rivulets flowing to a common channel regarded by Lechevalier as
the true Scamander of the Iliad. Here no extensive excavations have yet been
made, and the remains of buildings hitherto discovered do not belong to the proto-
Hellenic period.

There exists a third Troy, built by Alexander the Great, on a headland of the
jUgean facing the grey cliffs of Tenedos. This place wTas also long regarded as the
residence of Priam, and its present name of Eski-Stambul, or Old Constantinople,
illustrates the delusion which everywhere in this district conjured up a great city
dating from the dawn of history. Alexandria Troas certainly presents some impos-
ing ruins, fragments of ramparts, remains of baths, palaces, temples, and aqueducts.
The quarries of a neighbouring granite hill contain columns resembling those
brought to light at Bunarbachi and Hissarlik, and in one of them is a monolith over 36
feet in length. At present the inhabitants of the Troad are concentrated chiefly at
the very extremity of the continent, in the isolated space limited on one side by the
Mendereh, on the other by the Besika channel. Here the southern cliff is crowned
by the large Greek village of Nco-k/wri {Yati-koi), while on the north side the
ancient Sigceum has been succeeded by Yenishehr, or " New Town," at the
extremity of the cliffs. Still farther north the low point separating the mouth of
the Mendereh from the ^gean is occupied by the fortress and small town of Kitin-
kaleh. The whole plain is covered with extensive cemeteries and sepulchral mounds,
which with some trachyte cones help to break the monotony of the uniform slopes
and crests. The mounds traditionally associated with the names of Achilles,
Patroclus, Antilochus, Ajax and Hector, have probably no connection with these
Homeric heroes, for the objects extracted from them date only from the Mace-
donian and imperial times. Ujek-tepe, the highest of the artifical eminences
standing on the plateau on the east side of Besika Bay, was formerly consecrated
to the Prophet Elias, and was annually visited by Greek pilgrims from the surround-

316

solTll-WKSTKKX VS] \

ing districts. Bui since the ground has been desecrated by Schliemann's excava-
tions, the religious Feasts nave been discontinued, and the devotees have ceased to
\i-ii the spot.

Baba-kaleh, at the Bouth-western extremity of the Troad, rises in picturesque
terraces along lie' steep slope of the headland. A little Farther easl stands the
ancient town id' Assns, described by Leake as tin- perfect ideal of a Greek city,
when speaking of the amphitheatre of its well preserved trachyte walls. Edremid
{Adratnytti}, On the alluvial plain skirted northwards by the spurs of Mount Ida, is
still a populous place, although its harbour has been completely choked by the
alluvia of the torrents converging from all parts towards the neighbouring bay.
On this coast the chief trading place is Cydonia, the Aivali of the Turks, which

Pig. 1 J 7. IIlss.uu.IK (IlION) — VlBW TAKEN FlltlM Till: MsNDBBBB.

stands on a bay separated by the archipelago of the " Hundred Isles" from the
Gulf of Edremid, and connected through its harbour with the isolated town of
Mosl;liinisi,i. After its destruction by the Turks in LS'21 this place long remained
unoccupied ; but it has been rebuilt by other Greek settlers, and is once more
distinguished for its enterprise and commercial activity. Nowhere else in Asia
Minor is the contrast more striking between the two rival races. Some 9 miles
south-east of Aivali recently stood the Turkish town of Ayftsnwt, whose inhabitants
massacred their Aivaliol neighbours in L821, and usurped their vineyards and
olive-groves. Now Ayasmal is reduced to about twenty wretched hovels on the
edge of a vast necropolis, while the Greeks of Aivali have increased threefold, and
repurchased their old landed property. The harbour having silted up, they have

TROY— PERGAUUS— SARDES— SMYRNA .

317

excavated a channel over 12 feet deep, affording access to the vessels which here
take in cargoes of oil, wine, and grapes.

' r i

Mytilini, which carries on a large trade with Aivali and the other ports on the

;tib

SOUTH WESTERN ASIA.

mainland, lies on the «v-i side of Mvtilini, or Lesbos, il»<' famous island thai pave
birth i" Sappho, Alcaeus, Terpander, Arion. The town is pleasantly situated under
tin- shelter ol a low bill crowned with irregular medieval Fortifications, which .seem

to have been constructed rather with a view to effect, so artistically disposed are
the walls and ramparts amid the surrounding vegetation. The delicately tinted

houses rise in a series of terraces alone; the slope, and are succeeded higher up by

extensive olive-groves. In Mvtilini, till recently called Castro, from its castle, arc
Concentrated over a third ol' the inhabitants of Lesbos, nearly all Greeks, noted for
their commercial enterprise. The harbour is unfortunately accessible only to light

Fig. 129. Peroami s.

S. iilc 1 : 30,001).

L . o*f G'eemvek

?7-2i

Cemeteries.

1,100 Miles.

craft, and although Lesbos possesses the two really fine havens of Kalloni and the
Olives, these lie oif the main highway of vessels plying between the tiulfs of
Smyrna and Edremid. Besides a Roman aqueduct at Mvtilini, the remains of
temples and citadels are scattered over various parts of the island.

In the fertile valley of the Bakir (G'aicus), the chief places are Kirkagach, in a
district which grows the best cotton in Anatolia; Soma, a centre of the corn trade,
and Bergama, the ancient Pergamus, on the Boklujeh (Selinus), formerly one of
the great cities of Asiatic Greece. Built in prehistoric times by the mythical
Pergamus, son of Andromache, it became in the Macedonian era the capital of a
kingdom, which the dynasty of Attains bequeathed to the Romans. From this

TROY— PERGAMUS— SARDES— SMYRNA. 319

period date the temple known as the " Basilica," and the remains of many other
fine monuments. Over 1,000 feet above the plain rises the steep hill crowned by
the acropolis, north-east of which a stadium, a theatre, and an amphitheatre mark
the site of the Ask/epeion, a watering-place famous in the Greek world for its
salubrious air and its copious thermal springs. Pergamus also boasts of prehistoric
monuments, galleries cut in the live rock, and four tombs, one of which is supposed
to mark the grave of the founder of the city, and his mother, Andromache.

Until 1878 Pergamus had yielded but few antiquities of much importance.
But since then, the German Government having obtained permission from the
Porte to make a complete exploration of the acropolis, the upper terrace has been
subjected to a thorough survey under the direction of Conze and other archaeologists.
About half of the ground, covering a space of 20 acres, has been carefully examined,
and the plan of the buildings crowning the hill is henceforth clearly determined.
On the south stood an altar over 130 feet on all sides, surrounded by colonnades ;
towards the centre of the acropolis the temple of Minerva Polias rose above the
edge of the western escarpment, and several other structures were grouped round
this sanctuary of the tutelar deity of the city. Farther on, at the culminating
point of the hill, the Romans had erected an Augusteum, while the northern
promontory terminated with a temple of Julia. Round the altar and temple of
Minerva were found the most precious bas-reliefs, which with those of Olympia
have become the glory of the Berlin Museum. About two hundred statues and
sculptured pedestals of the best period were recovered from the ruins, besides an
admirable frieze some 330 feet long, representing a battle of the giants, the last
struggle of the Titans against the gods. In the whole range of Greek art there
is no heroic subject treated with greater variety of invention combined with a
more powerful grasp of the predominant idea and skilful execution. These Titans
are supposed to symbolize the Gauls (Galatians), overthrown near Pergamus in the
year 168 B.C. Another scarcely less interesting discovery was that of a Greek
house two thousand years old, with all its compartments and mural paintings com-
plete. Henceforth the name of Pergamus takes the same position in the history of
art that it hitherto occupied in the history of the sciences, thanks to its illustrious
citizens, such as Galen, and to the precious manuscripts written on the skins first
prepared here, and hence called pergamena, whence our word parchment.

A road 17 miles long, constructed by Humann, explorer of the ruins, leads from
Pergamus to its new port of Dikli, already a flourishing Greek town, the rise of
which has seriously affected the trade of Chandarlik on the north side of the gulf
of like name. On the opposite side the hamlet of Lamurt-koi marks the site of
the ancient Chimes (CymiX mother of the Italian dimes, where Virgil places one
of the entrances to the lower regions. Farther on the Greeks have founded the
settlement of Yenijeh-Fokia, or " New Phocsea," on a part of the coast exposed to
the north winds.

Karqja-Fokia, or simply Fokia (Fughs, Foglerieh} is the famous P/ioctra, whose
daring navigators founded Marseilles and so many other colonies. Its harbour,
sheltered on the north and north-west by the little Peristerides archipelago, was

32D

SOUTII-AVESTKUN ASIA.

formerly defended by a citadel, whose mine -till cover the rrest of a neigboaring
headland. The modern town, inhabited almost exclusively by Greeks, is grouped
round the beach, whence are visible the remains of an old acropolis overlooking
the modern Beaport of Varia, the Haj'i-Liman of the Turks. The trade of Phocaea

Fig. 130.— Phoi ba.

Scale 1 : 70,000.

L . of Greenwich

0 to 32 Feet. 32 to 80 Feet. 80 to 160 Feet 160 and upwards.

— ^— ^ — _ &S00 Miles.

i> at present restricted to the export of salt, enormous heaps of which are piled up
on the quays.

Qhediz, which gives its modern name to the valley of the Hermus, is a small

TROY— FERGAMUS— SAEDE&— SMYRNA.

321

place standing on a creek commanded by the snowy crests of the Murad-dagh and
Ak-dagh. It is probably the Cadi of the ancient Greeks, and occupies a position
somewhat analogous to those of Demirji, Oordiz, and Ak-hmar, in the upper valleys
at the southern foot of the hills skirting the northern edge of the Hermus basin.
Ak-hissar, the ancient ThyaUra, has preserved nothing but a few sculptured frag-
ments of its old temples and palaces. It is now eclipsed by Mermereh, which
stands on a hill on the north side of the lake of the same name.

Kula, lying in the " burnt " region south of the Hermus, is noted for its rugs
and other woven goods, and is also an agricultural centre for the opium and other

Fi?. 131. — Sardes — Columns of the Temple of Cm. hi:.

produce forwarded to Smyrna by the Hermus Valley railway. The present
terminus of this important line is Ala-shehr, the ancient Philadelphia, founded by
Attalus Philadelphus, king of Pergamus. Although frequently overthrown by
earthquakes, Philadelphia, which lies at the foot of a spur of the Tmolus (Boz-dagh),
in the valley of the Cogamus (Sari Kiz-chai), a tributary of the Hermus, still
preserves the remains of several temples, of a stadium, a theatre, and of the city
and acropolis walls. It was one of the " Seven Churches " mentioned in the
Apocalypse, but no ruins have been discovered dating from the first period of
Christianity. It was the last Anatolian city captured by the Turks, against whom
it held out till the year 1390. At present its Greek inhabitants are increasing
rapidly and developing an active local trade.
119

322

SOITII-WKSTKKN ASIA.

Jor/), former capita] of Lydia, is aow a mere roadside railway
station surrounded by a few sheds and hovels. It stands on the famous Pactolus,
a rivulet flowing Erom Mounl Tmolus to the left bank of the Eermus, and here
crossed by a plank. The gold-dust washed down from the surrounding conglo-
merate and red argillaceous hills Was used to strike the first known cuius, and
earned for the Pactolus a reputation for inexhaustible wealth. At present the
native Greek and Turkish shepherds do not find ii wortb their while to wash the
Bands for the precious metal. Although a greal part of the ground occupied by
the old city has been covered by the alluvia brought down by the torrents from
the spurs of Tmolus, the remains are still visible of some ancient monuments, < >f
these the lirst is the temple of " Cybele," probably a Banctuary dedicated by

Fig. 132.— Mount Siptlub.
Scale 1 : 700,000.

3i Feet

32 Feet aud upwards.
IS Miles.

Alexander to Jupiter Olympius, of which two lofty columns are still standing.
Since the place was visited in L699 by Chishull, tin1 door and six columns, with
their architraves, have all disappeared; hut a systematic exploration would pro-
bably yield many precious sculptures from the renowned city of Croesus. Farther
north the numerous sepulchral harrows in the neighbourhood of Lake Gyges
I Mermereh) form quite a necropolis, known as the Bin Bir Tttpek, or t lie " Thousand
and One Mounds." Of these the largest, traditionally assigned to Alyattes,
father of ' ircesus, is ao less than 1,200 yards in circumference, but the explorations
here recently made have only served to show that it had already been rifled by
former treasure-seekers.

The modern town of Durgutli, lying west of Sardes, and better known by the
name of Cussaba, stands at the foot of the hills in an extremely fertile plain watered

■

•«
13

N
O

<
-

u.
o

a
o
I

3
p
o

"SI

. t • '■'

MAGNESIA— SMYRNA— CHIO. 323

by numerous streamlets flowing north to the left bank of the Hermus. Here
terminates the easiest route, leading from Smyrna over the Boz-dagh, down to the
Hermus valley. Before the opening of the railway which sweeps round the west
foot of Mount Sipylus, all the traffic with the coast followed this route, which
nowhere rises much more than 600 feet above sea level. Here are still visible
numerous traces of an ancient highway, and in the neighbourhood of the road
descending to the Hermus Valley a gray limestone cliff shows the bas-relief
described by Herodotus as a figure of Sesostris, and now known as the Nymphi
monument, so called from the neighbouring village of Ninfi or Ntf, the site of an
ancient nympheum. The rock has been much weathered, and many details of the
armour and costume can no longer be recognised. Nevertheless it seems certain
that this bas-relief never bore any hieroglyphic inscription, while its style has
nothing in common with Egyptian art. Whether of Lydian, or possibly of Hittite
origin, it betrays evidences of Assyrian influence. Conspicuous also in other pre-
Hellenic bas-reliefs of Asia Minor. In 1875 the vestiges of a second " Sesostris "
were discovered by Humann on a rock in the same valley.

Magnesia — Smyrna — Chio.

The modern Manissa (Manser}, the old Magnesia, either of the Hermus or of
Mount Sipylus, occupies a superb position at the foot of the steep cliffs separating
it from the Gulf of Smyrna. But by the side of the picturesque Turkish quarter,
which still retains its original aspect, a Greek Magnesia has recently sprung up,
which threatens soon to outstrip its sleepy rival. About 5 miles to the east a
recess in a rocky wall contains a somewhat decayed colossal statue, which has been
identified by some with the Niobe of Homer, by others with the Cybele, mother of
the gods, spoken of by Pausanias. In any case it seems to be one of the first
tentative efforts of Hellenic statuary. The scientific term " magnetism " is derived
from Magnesia, which was formerly noted for its rocks veined with loadstone.

Below Magnesia the only town in the Hermus Valley is Menemen, which lies at
the point where the river escapes from the gorges and enters its alluvial plain. It
may be regarded as an advanced suburb of Smyrna, the Ismir of the Turks, the
great emporium of Asia Minor, which lies at the eastern extremity of the gulf of
like name, where it covers a large space rising gently southwards along the foot of
Mount Pagus, still crowned with the ruins of an ancient acropolis. But its positii in,
much inferior to that of many other less vaunted Ionian towns, presents little to
relieve the dull monotony of its general aspect, except when approached from the
south. Here a good view is commanded of the Turkish quarter, spreading out with
its domes, and minarets, and cypress groves between the hills and the gulf.

Next to Constantinople, Smyrna is the most populous, and next to Athens the
most influential, city of the Hellenic world. In the port little is seen but European
shipping, and all the quarters skirting the quays belong to the "Infidel." Here
everything bears the stamp of Western enterprise. The quays paved with lava-
blocks from Vesuvius, the English trams, Austrian carriages, houses built in tho

32-1

SOUTH-WESTERN \<l \.

French taste; bricks, marbles, piles, timber, and other materials have all been
imported from beyond the seas. The stranger scarcely knows any other Smyrna
except thai of the Greeks and Franks, whence the Turks have been driven to the
slopes of Mount Pagus. Eere they occupy a labyrinth of wretched wooden houses,
which would never be purified bul Eor the fires which occasionally break out and

Fig. 133.— Smyrna.
Scale 1 : 35.000.

. . of Greenw.cr. K"9

27-ir

4*V;V' Cemeteries.

OtolttFeet. 16 to 32 Feet. 'a Feet. M Feet uud upwards.
1,100 Y.i

make great gaps in tlieir midst. Judging from the state of public instruction,
there can be no doubt that the Greeks arc rapidly acquiring the supremacy over
their political rulers. Their college, which has long been protected by British
influence from the jealous interference of the Turkish Government, occupies a whole
quarter, and is still spreading. It possesses a constantly accumulating collection

MAGNESIA— SMYTJXA— CHIO.

325

Fie

134. — Isthmus op Vurlah.

Scale 1 : 400,000.

of antiquities, and a large library of priceless value at this threshhold of Asiatic
ignorance. The Armenians are also zealous in the cause of public instruction, and
even the hitherto despised Jews are gradually rising in the general estimation,
thanks to the energy they display in the education of their children. Many have
substituted French for Spanish as the current language of social intercourse!*

The local industries are unimportant, and even the so-called " Smyrna " carpets
come from the interior. Nothing
is produced in the city and suburbs,
except some coarse cottons, wicker-
work, ribbons, and light silken
fabrics interwoven with gold
thread. The chief comestible is
Italra, a paste made of sesame-
flour and honey, highly appre-
ciated by Eastern communities
condemned to frequent abstinence
from flesh. Most of the exports
consist of industrial and agricul-
tural produce brought from the
interior by the railways, which at
the end of 1883 had a total length
of 340 miles. These products —
grapes, figs, cereals, oils, cotton,
tobacco, opium, hides, dressed
skins, carpets, and rugs — are ex-
changed for English cotton and
linen goods, German cloth, Lyon-
ese silks, brocades, hardware, and
other manufactures of all sorts.
The trade of Smyrna with Europe
is increasing rapidly, having risen
from about £3,000,000 in 1816
to £8,500,000 in 1882.

Of the summer retreats and
health resorts in the neighbour-
hood of Smyrna, the chief are
Burnabat, Hajilar, Bunar-bashi,
Kakluja, all situated amongst the

26*50

hills and valleys stretching east
gulf.

OtoSO
Feet.

SO to 160
Feet.

ISO to 320
Feet.

380 I
and upwards.

6 Miles.

from the gulf. But amid all

these new centres of population, where is the site of the ancient Smyrna, and

* Approximate population of the " nations "in Bm yrna : subject Greeks, 90,000 ; Hellenic citizens,
30,000; Turks, 40,000; Jews, 15,000; Armenians, 9,000; Levantines and foreigners, 8,000; Total,
192,000.

■■■■i<;

Sitl'TII-WKSTKILN VS] \

where are we to look for the Melee, on whose banks Homer is supposed to have
been born? The old traditions had placed this streamlet under the walls of
Smyrna, and with each successive displacement "l the city the Dame of the river
was transferred to a new watercourse. Accepting this tradition, most travellers
identify the Meles with the rivulet at present flowing to the north-east of the town

8l RAIT "l Chios OB < 111 -mi.h.
Scale 1 : 400,000

36" Iff

Q6'20 E 1 of Gretnw.ct*

0 to 160
Feet.

160 to 320

Fe< 1
and hi

IS Mil. -

under the " Caravan " bridge, while others think tli.it the true Meles was either
Hara-bunar, more commonly known as " Diana's Bath," or the torrent entering

the roadstead at the north-east corner of the gulf.

Like the city of Homer, the ancient Clazomencs, birthplace of Anaxagoras, has

almost entirely disappeared. It stood on an island in the outer gulf, which has

now been converted into a quarantine station for shipping arriving from infected

ill III

lllllli

PI1

MA A

■III

lllllli

1111111

■

m :

o
<

is
b

o
s

s
o

S5
a

<
E-

>
I

•<
a;

MAGNESIA— SMYRNA— CHIO. 327

seaports. A causeway, now razed to the level of the water, harl been constructed
by Alexander, connecting the island with the mainland, at the point where now
stands the small seaport of Scald, the outlet of the trade of Vurlah, which lies in a
rich wine-growing country some 3 miles farther inland. On the south coast of the
isthmus, to which Vurlah gives its name, the two towns of Sevri-hissar and Sigajik
have also become important agricultural centres. About \\ mile south of Sigajik
stand the imposing ruins of the Ionian city of Teos, birthplace of Anacreon.
Within the ramparts, nearly 4 miles in circuit, may still be distinguished the
remains of temples, of a theatre, and of the shrine of Dionysus, to whom the place
was dedicated. On the same coast, but farther south-east, a few shapeless heaps
mark the site of Lebedos ; while almost every trace of Claros and Colophon has
disappeared. This district, formerly thickly peopled and noted for a famous breed
of horses, is now a wilderness, frequented only in winter bv a few nomad pastors.

During Greek and Roman times Lebedos was much visited by strangers, for the
sake of the neighbouring thermal waters, which are still utilised. Few regions are
richer in hot springs than this peninsular district projecting between the Gulfs of
Smyrna and Scala Nora. The most frequented are those of Chesmeh, at the western
extremity over against Chio, and near the ruins of Erythrea. Chesmeh, that is,
the " Fountain," in a pre-eminent sense, is memorable for the naval battle in which
the Ottoman fleet was destroyed by the Russians in 1770. The high temperature
of the springs in this district is attributed to the underground forces, which are
still active in the whole peninsular and adjacent islands. By the terrific earthquake
of October, 1883, over six thousand houses were demolished in Chesmeh, Latzata,
Ritra, and Reis-dereh.

The dilapidated appearance of the town of Chio, which stretches for some miles
along the east coast of the island of like name, still bears witness to the disastrous
effects of the earthquake of 1881, when the whole place was nearly destroyed,
burying over 5,800 victims beneath its ruins. But such is the enterprise of its
inhabitants, that they are already recovering from the calamity, as tiny had
previously survived the still more frightful catastrophe of 1822, when, during the
war of independence, 25,000 Chiotswere massacred by the Turks, 45,000 carried off
as slaves to Smyrna and Constantinople, and 15,000 driven to take refuge in the
islands and mainland of Greece. Of 100,000 souls at that time inhabiting the
island of Chio, not more than 2,000 survived to repeople this "Paradise of the
Archipelago." The town of Chio, or Castro, as it is called, from the neighbouring
Genoese castle, occupies a convenient position on the main route of vessels coasting
the west side of Asia Minor. It thus serves as the advanced outport of Smyrna
towards Athens and the "West. It is continued north and south through the
extensive suburbs of Vrontados, the shipping quarter, and Campos, the resort of its
wealthy merchants. The Cbiots have at all times been famous for their trading
instincts, and their Greek kindred, jealous of their enterprising spirit, pretend that
they are the descendants of an old Jewish or Phoenician colony. Nor can it be
denied that the women especially betray a certain Semitic expression in the nobility
and regularity of their features. Like the Jews, they keep aloof from strangers,

828

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

and oven from the Hellenes of the neighbouring islands, intermarrying only
amongst themselves, and manifesting the same clannish spirit in all their busu
relations. Although the island is uol naturally very fertile, except in the glens
and Lowlands, its industrious inhabitants raise enormous quantities of fruits of :ill
kinds, annually exporting from thirty-five to forty millions of oranges, forty to
fifty millions of lemons, one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty
million pounds of mastic, besides large quantities of raisins, grapes, figs, and other
produce. A remarkable phenomenon of the local vegetation is the olive, which
bears fruit only every two years, while the Lentiscus or mastic- tree, elsewhere almost
unproductive, here yields in abundance the precious gum or resin used in the

Fig. 136. — Cmo- -View taken aitf.ii the Earthquake op 1881.

preparation of ma-tie. The only ancient monument still preserved in the island is
a seat carved in the rock, about 5 miles north of Castro, supported l>v rude images
either of lions or sphinxes. The Turks keep a garrison in the citadel, but take
little part in the government of the island, which, like most others in the archi-
pelago, is administered by an almost autonomous body of patricians.

Ephesus — Mn. in - — Halicarnassi s.

South of the Smyrna hills the valley of the Cayster, or " Little Meander,"
terminating in the Ephesus marshes, comprises the little territory in ancient times
specially designated by the name of Asia. It is still one of the most densely

EPHESUS— MILETUS— HAUCABNASSTT9. 329

peopled tracts of Anatolia, comprising hundreds of villages, and the three important
Turkish towns of Oedernish, Tire/i (Thyra\ and Baindir, which export to Smyrna

the grapes, olives, figs, cereals, and other produces of the surrounding districts.
West of Tireh, which is connected with the Smyrna railway system, lies the
extensive chifllc of Manhat, presented by the Sultan to the French poet Lamartine,
but never cultivated by him.

The city of Ephesus, at the issue of the Cayster Valley, has ceased to exist. Its
now fever-stricken marshy plain is strewn with superb ruins, but entirely depopu-
lated, except at the wretched hamlet of Ayasuluk, overshadowed by the broken
arches of a Roman aqueduct. Originally comprising three distinct towns, Ephesus
at one time covered a large space, its ramparts enclosing the steep slopes of the
Koressos ridge as well as the isolated Mount Pion (Prion), while another bluff
farther east was crowned by Hellenic buildings since replaced by a Turkish castle,
former residence of the Ayasuluk sultans. This extensive area of about 2\ miles
east and west is thickly strewn with magnificent remains, still attesting the power
and splendour of the " Eye of Asia," capital of the Ionian confederation, religious
metropolis of the Hellenic world, consecrated to the dread goddess, " Mother of
Nature," and " Source of all things," who under the triple title of Anahid, Artemis,
and Diana, ruled at once over Europe and Asia. After eight years of incessant
labour, the archaeologist Wood at last discovered, in 1871, the foundations of the
Artemision, the great temple of Ephesus, lying over twenty feet below the surface
close to the mosque of Ayasuluk, which itself stands on the site of a Christian
church. The prodigious building, four times larger than the Parthenon, may now
be reconstructed in imagination, with its rows of fluted and richly sculptured
columns, with its groups of statuary and altars, whose fretted marbles still afforded
glimpses of the neighbouring groves and wooded slopes. Some idea of this
" seventh wonder of the world" may even be had from the admirable fragments
removed to the British Museum. The remains lying on the surface had been
partly utilised both for the construction of the aqueduct and, later on, for that of
the mosque, an original and remarkable specimen of Turko-Persian art, which is
embellished with verses from the Koran, disposed in marvellous arabesque designs.
The foundations exposed on the slopes of Pion and Koressos also reveal the
amazing wealth of sumptuous edifices grouped within the walls of Ephesus.
Conspicuous amongst these was the theatre, which seated over twenty-five thousand
spectators,* and which was followed by an uninterrupted line of temples reaching
all the way to the harbour. The avenues were lined by thousands of statins, the
materials for which were extracted from the vast quarries of Mount Pion.

As in all religious cities, every stone in Ephesus had its legend, while ev» ry
prominent site on the surrounding hills was noted for some miraculous event. The
Christians themselves, heirs of the Hellenic traditions, came to regard Ephesus us
one of their holy places. Here were the " Prison of Saint Paul," the tomb of
Mary Magdalene, or the cave where the "Seven Sleepers" slumbered with their

* Wood, " Discoveries at Ephesus." Falkner and other explorers had estimated the number of
seats at 56,000.

330

SOrTn-WT.STF/RX ASIA.

faithful dog for two hundred years. Tradition also places at Ephesus the residence
of the Apostle John, the " holy theologian," whence the name of the hamlet of
Haghiot Theoloyos, corrupted by the Turks into Ayasuluk. According to Eeraclitus,
the most illustrious Greek born in Ephesus was Apelles, of whom no work survives
in jjistify bis reputation in the eyes of posterity.

The two harbours formerly possessed by Bphesus have been completely filled in,
and are now replaced by the port of " New Ephesus," better known by its Italian
name of Scala Nova. Formerly much frequented, this place has fallen into decay
since the opening of the Meander Valley railway, by which the produce of the
whole district is forwarded direct to Smyrna. West of it, aear the ruins of Ni <<jio/is,
lies the Greek town of Changli, said to be the Panionium where the delegates of

17.— I'.rniM.s.
Scale 1 : 90,000.

57'
58

*Ai •

\ "- -c>-f%^&?

\ ^jf- '■■ - - / •*"

'EPHUUS '

Inner Por

L. ef breenv

OtoKoKcet.

80Feetaud upwards.
______ 2J Miles.

all the Ionian cities came to deliberate on the interests of the confederation.
Facing it is the island of Samos, of whose old capital nothing remains except a
sintrle column of the Eereion, the most venerated sanctuary of Hera in the whole
of Asiatic Ionia. On its site now stands the little town of Tigani, or the "Shovel,"
so named from the shape of its port mi tin- Strait of Samos, separating it from the
Mycale peninsula. The surrounding plain is strewn with shapeless ruins, and
under the hill of the acropolis near Khora has recently been discovered the double
subterranean gallery, about 1,000 feet long, which supplied ancient Samos with
water. This gallery is now being cleared out, and Tigani will soon receive an
abundant stream of pure water through a tunnel excavated some two thousand
four hundred years ago.

EPHESTJS— MILETUS— HALICAEXARSUS.

331

Vathy, present capital of the Samoa principality, lies on the opposite side of the
island, at the head of an inlet opening towards the north-west, and accessible for
large vessels right up to the new quays. The town consists of three distinct
quarters, the old Palaio-Kastron beyond the steep hill to the south, the city proper
on the northern spurs, and Kachuni, the new district grouped round the harbour.
Vathy does a large export trade in fruits, wine, and other produce. It is connected
by a broad carriage-way with Tigani, on the east side of the island, which is rapidly
becoming transformed by the spread of agriculture and gardening. The inhabi-
tants enjoy an almost complete autonomy, being administered by a number of

Fig. 138. — Ephesus — Prison of St. Pavl.

patricians under a prince nominated by the Porte, to which it pays a nominal yearly
tribute of £1,900. It flies its own flag, and, thanks to the industry and frugal
habits of the people, it is rapidly increasing in population and material prosperity.
Thousands migrate yearly to Smyrna in search of employment, and the same
movement is going on in the neighbouring islands of Nikaria and Patmos, the last
of which has lost nearly half of its population since the middle of the century.

D'ineir, at the head of the fertile Meander Valley, lies on the very threshold of
the central plateaux, and, as the destined terminus of the Smyrna-Meander railway,
must soon become the central mart for Phrygia and Pisidia. UcJiak, lying on one
of the headstreams of the Meander, in a district which grows the best opium in

832

80OT ll \\ ESTEEM ASIA.

Anatolia, is noted for the so-called "Smyrna carpets," of which the yearly export
to England, France, and the United States is estimated at about £80,000. The
cotton stuffs known in the market as alqjas are chieflj woven by the women in the
neighbouring Mussulman town of Kadi-koi,ia the Lycus basin, between SaraUkoi
and Denizli. About one thousand looms are employed at iliis place, and in order
to increase the number of hands, nearly all the Turks of Kadi-koi take the four
lawful wives permitted bj the Koran.

Denizli, at the east foot of the Baba-dagh, has never recovered from the
disastrous effects of the earthquake by which it \i^ overthrown in the middle of
the last century. North of it lie the imposing remains of Laodicea, one of the
"Seven churches of Asia," whose aqueduct, temples, and two theatres are now

Fig. 139. — Strait or Tioani oh Samos.

Scale 1 : 200,000.

■ »•

26"b5

L « ofbreenwcK

0 to 80 Feet. SO to 160 Feet. 1G0 Feet and npwardn.
r, Miles.

collectively known as Eski Hissar, or "Old Castle." Here are also found some
traces of Coloxsux, at the village of Ehonas, of Aphrodisias at Oeira, and especially
of Iliernpolix, whose magnificent theatre is one of the best-preserved monuments
of the time of Hadrian. < >n the opposite or northern side of the Meander Valley,
Nazli is the chief centre of the so-called "Smyrna figs," whole Forests of which are
here cultivated for the export trade to the west. But the most important place in
this region is Aidin-Guzel-ITmar, or simply Aidin, which gives its name to the
vilayet of which Smyrna is the capital. Its yellow, green, and blue houses stretch
for snme miles at the foot and along the slope of the hills skirting the north side of
the middle Meander Valley. Of its 32,000 inhabitants in 1883, 2:3,000 were Turks,
6,500 Greeks, 1,800 Jews and 1,000 Armenians. Here stood the ancient city of

EPHEBUS— MILETUS— HATJCABNASSUS.

333

Tralks, whose ruins have for centuries supplied their building materials to the
inhabitants of Aidin.

In the lower Meander Valley the only place of note is Solia, which has acquired
some importance from its liquorice factories, and from the neighbouring lignite and
emery mines. In this district are found some of the most precious remains of

Pig. 1 ill.— Vathv.
Scale 1 : 60,000.

0to80
Feet.

80 to 160
Feet.

160 to 320
Feet.

. 1,100 Yards.

820 Feet
and upwards.

ancient art. The village of Samsun marks the site of Priene, whose temple of
Minerva Polias was a masterpiece of Ionian architecture. At the wretched village
of Palatia, some 12 miles farther south, stood Miletus, the renowned birthplace of
Thales and Auaximander, of which little now survives except the remains of a
theatre, the largest in Asia Minor. Myontc, on a bend of the Meander, north-east

884

south aykstkkx asia.

nt Miletus, has completely disappeared ; but HeracUa, at the head of the old Gulf
of Latmos, has preserved it- agora, ami at Didyma (Hieronda) are seen the ruins

Fig. 141— .Mll.LTls AMI DlDYMA.

Scale 1 : 170,000.

27-lQ'

L , of UreenwicH

2/"2CT

Feet.

SS to 80

Feet.

wi to leo

Feet.

lflOFeet
and upwards.

. :i Mil's.

of the Banctuary of Apollo Branchides, the largest and one of the most remarkable
in Anatolia. This irin] ile was connected with the nearest port by a road 2^ miles
long, lined with seated statues recalling the Egyptian style.

EPHESUS— MILETUS— HALICAEXASS IS.

335

The small Sari-chai, or "Yellow River" basin, also abounds in antiquities.
Near the town which has given its name to the Gulf of Mendelia, the ancient
Euromus shows the remains of a tine Corinthian temple ; every house in M<
(Mylasa) lias been built of materials taken from old palaces, temples, and mauso-
leums ; the tombs and cyclopean walls of Iassus, near Asin-kaleh, north of the mouth
of the Sari-chai, have been utilised in the construction of a Venetian fortress, facing
Caryantta on the opposite side of the Gulf of Mendelia. From this point an easy
pass leads down to Halicarnassus, now Budrun, birthplace of Herodotus, on a deep

Fig. 142. — Bl'DRl'X and Kos.
Scale 1 : 380,000.

v-'CC

0fG-

0 to 64(1

Feet.

640 to 1.280

Feet.

l.?80 Feet
and upwards

_ 60 Miles.

and sheltered inlet lying between two headlands crowned respectively by a temple
of Aphrodite and the famous mausoleum erected by Artemisia. After escaping
the effects of repeated earthquakes, this stupendous monument was at last
demolished by the knights of St. John, and the materials used to build a strong-
hold, which after all they failed to defend against the Sultan Soliman. In 1857 — 8
its site was revealed by Newton and l'ullan, and some admirable fragments removed
to the British Museum. It was the oldest monument in Anatolia, dating, according
to Rayet, from the middle of the fourth century before the Christian era.

Of Cnidus, metropolis of the Dorian Kexapolis, which possessed a statue of
Venus by Praxiteles, nothing remains except some tombs and cyclopean walls,

BOUTH-WESTEEN ASIA.

from which Mclicinct Ali drew the materials for some of his Egyptian palaces. At
present the chief marl of Bouth-eas( Anatolia is Kot, at the eastern extremity of

the island of like name, one of the richest in the archipelago. It exports excellent
wines, unions, sesame, and supplies the Alexandrian market with grapes, lemons,
almonds, pomegranates, and other Emits. Like Halicarnassus, Cos is commanded
by a fortress erected by the knights of St. John. Elere still flourishes a secular
plantain 63 feet in circumference, beneath whose shade Hippocrates is traditionally
said to have administered advice to his patients. Lying near the Nisyros volcano,
Kos abounds in thermal springs, and its fertile soil is due to the igneous matter
formerly ejected by that now extinct crater. Of Kihmnos, Astropahea, Symi,
and the other rocky islets in these waters, the chief resource are their sponge

Fig. 112. — I'l NINsII.AH (IF (.Met B.

Scale 1 : 7CVW).

Gulf

J^^
*£

.A* c S

XfTXrfXgM-' ■ -, )■,,.,,. ~V Pari* .jg^t&fc

i/.&ah*

Tgg

fymi

Su/r

; CMflpZ

2," 30

2d' L . cT breenwich

n to 640
Feet.

Gin to 1.2S0
Feet.

and upwards.
19 Mil. -

fisheries, in which Symi alone employs over one hundred and sixty vessels of all
sizes. All the Symiots are skilful divers, plunging fearlessly into deep waters
infested bv sharks.

RnonFs — !< OMI m — Mf.RsIX \.

Rhodes, the " Land of Roses," or rather of " Pomegranates," as appears from the

old coins, is one of the largest islands in the archipelago, where' in some respects it
occupies an exceptionally favourable position. Sheltered from the north-east winds
by the Lycian highlands, unexposed to direct northern pales, while in .summer
enjoying cool marine breezes, its fertile valleys have the advantage of a more
equable climate than any of the other Sporades. Rhodes is the " Bride of Helios,"

EHODES— ICONIUM— MEESIXA.

337

the "Abode of the Heliades," a land free alike from sunless days and leafless trees.
Lying at the south-west extremity of the peninsula, it forms a converging point of
all the marine highways in the Levant, whence the surprising extent of its corn-
Fig. 143. — Port of Rhodes.

mereial relations in former times. In the third and second centuries of the old era
the Rhodians were " the first navigators in the world." Heirs of the Phoenicians,
who had planted colonies in the island, they founded trading settlements as far
west as the Iberian peninsular, where their presence is still recalled by the town of
120

B88

801 l'lI-\Vi;sTF.I!X ASIA.

Rosas, and the Rhoda .Mountains in the Pyrenees. They carried on a brisk trade
with Sinope, which supplied them with corn from the Crimea, with slaves and lish,
and tin- free navigation of the ISosphorus was at all times secured to their shipping
by their friendly relations with Byzantium. The position of Rhodes was also one
of vital importance strategically, and when driven from the mainland, the knights
of St. John showed their sagacity in establishing their chief stronghold on a point
of great natural strength at the northern extremity of the island. Here they
stemmed the tide of Moslem invasion for over two hundred years, and in 1522,
after a heroic resistance, at last capitulated to the forces of Soliman the Magnificent.

Fig. 141. — Rhodes.
Scale 1 : 43,000.

t of Grfen*;^ 28°l5

28°I7

P^l

0 to 8 Feet. 8 to 160 Feet. 160 to 640 Feet. 610 Feet mid upwards.
1,100 Yards.

The town still retains somewhat the aspect of a feudal city, although the chureh of
St. John, the palace of the Grand Masters, and some other mediaeval monuments
were unfortunately destroyed by an explosion in 1856. Its three harbours have
also been nearly obliterated, the central alone being still accessible to ordinary
craft, but exposed to the dangerous north-east gales. On the east coast stands the
now deserted port of Lindos, near the old Phoenician town of Camiros, where
thousands of curious earthenware objects have been found.

Facing Rhodes on the mainland is the noble harbour of Mnkri, large enough to
receive all the shipping of the Mediterranean. But Makri itself is a mere village

'/.

a
o

-
a

KHODES— ICOXTrM— MEBSIXA.

339

on the site of the ancient Telmesms, of which important remains still survive.
Some remarkable debris of Lycian architecture have also been found at Xantkos,
which formerly crowned an isolated hill on the alluvial plain watered by the
GEren-chai or Xanthus River. The tombs and bas-reliefs collected in 1836 by
Fellows in this district now fill one of the rooms in the British .Museum. Since

Fig. 145.— Valley of the Xanthus.
Scale 1 : 6S0.00O.

0 to 160 Feet. 1G0 to 320 Feet. 320 Feet and upwards.

— — ^— — — 12 Miles.

that time dozens of old towns full of curious remains have been explored in the
river valleys and along the coast of Lycia. Such are Pinara, now Minora, on a
western affluent of the Xanthus ; TIos, near the left bank of the same river ; Patara,
to the west of Kalcniaki Bay; Phellus and Anti-Phellw farther east ; and in the
Dembra-chai Valley Giol-baclti, whose ancient name has not been determined.

340

SOUTH-WESTERN AS] \.

The numerous Lycian inscriptions on the rocks and tombs of this region, although
written in a character resembling the archaic Greek, have not yet been completely
deciphered,

( M modern Lycian towns the most flourishing is Elmalu, in the closed basin of
Lake A.vlan-g6l, which lies near the geometrical centre of the semicircle described
by the Lycian Beaboard between the Gulfs of Makri and Adalia. Elmalu is
inhabited chiefly by Greeks and Armenians, with a Turkish quarter overlooked by
a graceful mosque. It does a considerable export trade in morocco leather, skins,
fruits, and dyes, chiefly through the seaport of Phenika in Lycia, and Adalia,
probably the Attalea, the city of Attains Philadelphus, present capital of Pamphylia.

Fig. 14G. — Chief Itineraries of Lycia.
Scale 1 : 800,000.

E.of Greenwich

Sch.-

Schonborn. D. & 8. — Daniell & Spratt. B. & N.— Benndorf & Niemann. Teh.— Tcuihatcheff. F.— Fellows.
__^_^^^_ SO Miles.

Lying in a rich agricultural district, Adalia carries on a considerable traffic, especi-
ally with Kgypt. It is the natural outlet of the closed basins limited northwards
by the Sultan-dagh, where arc situated some industrial towns, such as Buldur, the
ancient Polydorion, on the right hank of Lake Buldur; Ixbarta, formerly Ban's, on
a rich plain watered by the headstreams of the Ak-su; Aghlasan, near the extensive
ruins of Sagalassus, at one time one of the strongest places in Asia Minor ; Eghedir,
the Greek Akrotiri, occupying a picturesque position at the southern extremity of
the lake of like name ; Bei-s/te/tr, on a stream flowing to lake Soehla-eoL

Konieh, the ancient Iconium, capital of Lycaonia, is strongly situated at the foot
of the hills overlooking the plains south of the Great Salt Lake, on the main route
between Syria and Constantinople. It is a decayed place, interesting only for its
mediaeval and ancient remains, amongst which the mosques dating from the Seljuk

RHODES— ICONIUM-MEBSINA.

841

period are specially remarkable for their exquisite arabesques and enamel work.
Zillcli, lying to the north-west, is entirely inhabited by the Greek descendants of
the old Hellenic population expelled by the Turks from Iconium. In the region
stretching west of this point, where Davis has recently discovered some Hittite
inscriptions, are Karaman, formerly capital of Karamania ; Ererjli, Kara-lunar, and
Nigdeh, near Tyana, birthplace of Apollonius, recently discovered by Hamilton.

JL rsina, the chief seaport of Cilicia, has been partly built with the broken
marble blocks of an older Greek city. Some miles to the west other remains
indicate the position of Soli, where was spoken the barbarous Greek dialect whence
incorrect expressions take the name of " solecisms." Farther on stand the Roman

Fig. 147. — Elmalc.

Scale 1 : 4S0,0(V>.

* ' * >*L

• 12 Miles.

colonnades of Pompciopolis, and the remarkable megalith known as the Derikli-tash
a huge prehistoric block resembling the menhirs of Brittany, 50 feet high and
weighing at least 300 tons. Mersina is connected by a good modern road with
Tarsus and Adana, the former near the right bank of the Cydnus (Tarsus-chai),
the latter in the fertile valley of the Sarus (Seihun). Tarsus claims a vast antiquity,
and, according to a local legend, the plain on which it stands was the first left dry
by the subsiding waters of the Deluge. In the time of Caisar and Augustus it was
the rival of Alexandria, and its schools were considered superior even tc those of
Athens. Mark Antony made it the capital of his Asiatic empire, but it was ruined
by subsequent wars, and its harbour became choked with sand. Of its former
greatness not a vestige now remains beyond a huge mound of potteries, consisting

:;i2

a-WESTEBN AS] L

chiefly of votive figures, and the Dunuk-tash, a huge square block of masonry
nearlj :^"i feel long and aboul 26 feet high, the date and purpose of which liavo
not been determined. A portion of the trade of Tarsus baa passed to Adana, which
is the natural outport "I the Seihun and Jihun basins, and which occupies a vital

18. AUIIVTIN AMI MaKASH.

Scale 1 . 460,000.

~*\'?

■-■

b - •-• a

l . of Lr

.12 Miles.

position at the southern terminus of the historic route leading from the Upper
Euphrates to the coast of Cilicia. The Seihun is also navigable to the quays of the
city, which has a large export trade with Cyprus and Syria, and which is soon to
be connected with Mersina by a narrow railway 36 miles long.

FUTURE PROSPECTS OF ANATOLIA. 343

In the Upper Seihun Valley Sar or Sartereh, near the new town of Azizieh,
marks the site of the ancient Komana, or Hierapolia, whose temples, theatres,
gymnasia, and other remains date from the GraEco-Roman period, although mostly
of an Egyptian rather than of a classical type. Albistan, sometimes known as El
Boston, or " The Garden," is the chief place on the Upper Jihun. It lies in a
fertile well-watered plain cultivated by members of the Armenian Confederacy,
consisting of six small republican communities, which from a remote time have
maintained a semi-independent position in the neighbouring upland Zeitun Valley.
Hamuli, also near the confluence of the Jihun and Aksu, is largely inhabited by
industrious Armenians occupied with cotton-weaving and the preparation of cloth of
gold and silver. The governor of the vilayet removes during the summer heats from
Adana to this health-resort. Sis, in the same district, was a royal Armenian residence
from 1182 to 1374, and is still the seat of a patriarch, whom the Turkish Government
has set up as a sort of rival to the Catholicos of Echmiadzin in Russian Armenia.

Future Prospects of Axatoua.

Geographically, ethnologically, and historically a land of transition between
Europe and Asia, Anatolia presents in its social and political condition a twofold
movement of decay and progress, the prelude of inevitable revolutions. The Greek
element is advancing, the Turkish receding ; the seaboard cities are flourishing,
those of the interior falling to ruins. Modern industry finds a genial home in
Smyrna in close proximity to the camping-ground of nomad tribes, as destitute of
material comforts as the Kirghiz of Central Asia ; certain coastlands are as highly
cultivated as the plains of Western Europe, while elsewhere whole districts are a
prey to the brigand. Large landed estates are being developed, reducing entire
populations to a state of disguised serfdom, and extensive tracts are at times wasted
by frightful famines, such as those of 1874 and 1878. Nevertheless trade, the index
of agricultural and industrial activity, is yearly increasing. The exportation of
madder and raw silks has no doubt fallen off ; but cotton, opium, and dried fruits
have more than compensated the loss. At present Smyrna alone carries on a larger
foreign trade than the whole of Anatolia at the beginning of the century.

Hence the balance seems decidedly to point at a general revival, which must
tend to soften the sharp contrast now prevailing between the coast districts and the
central plateaux. The locomotive is already beginning to compete with the
100,000 camels engaged in the peninsular caravan trade, and as soon as the interior
is opened up by more accessible highways, the prosperity of the maritime regions
must overflow to the steppes now occupied chiefly by a few Yuruk nomad tribes.

In the gradual work of transformation, to Smyrna rather than to Constanti-
nople belongs the initiative. The railway which has its terminus at Scutari
does not yet penetrate even into the Sakaria Valley, whereas the capital of Asiatic
Ionia already possesses a network of lines extending eastwards into the Hermus,
Cayster, and Meander basins, and creeping gradually up to the central plateaux.
At the same time these lines, however useful in developing the local industries, can

344

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

have but a secondary importance in the future trade "I the world. The great
onal trunk line destined to connect India with Europe musl necessarily pass
through Constantinople. The English, however, although masters <>t' India, are
nut interested in the construction of this direct line, \\ Inch would 1"- commanded by
the batteries of the Bosphorus. Its completion would also have the immediate
consequence of giving the Central European states the advantage in their commi r-
cial relations with the East. Hence the route preferred by Great Britain is that
which, starting from some Mediterranean porl facing Cyprus, would have its
terminus on the Persian Gulf, that Is, a basin commanded by her fleets. In any
i 186, the commercial and industrial conquest of Anatolia is pregnant with

Fig. 149. — Railways opened and projected in Asia Minor.
Scale 1 : 11,000,000.

QucV.«k^' ...^Kaca hia*ar IK- xj^/ ^KftTo^A^b

■

. Ubatfa^

AUppo

' ■'

•56'

0 to 3,320 Feet.

j
3,320 to 6,640 Feet. 6,640 Feet and upwards.

Railways.

Railways conceded. Railways projected. Boads projected.
240 Miles.

consequences affecting the political equilibrium of the world. In an administrative
sense its unity maybe regarded as already secured. The Sultan's authority is more
firmly established than ever. Everywhere the vassal or semi-independent princi-
palities of tie , or "Chiefs of the Valleys," have been suppressed, and the
organization of all the vilayets is uniform, although the inhabitants are still far
from being fused in one nationality. Every town in Anatolia has at least four or
Ave, of ten as many as twelve or fourteen "nations," each of which maintains
relations with its fellow-countrymen or coreligionists in the provinces. Is it too
much to hope that all these conflicting elements may be moulded into one nation,
without the violent scenes of slaughter and disorder attending the " renovation" of
European Turkey under Russian auspices ?

CHAPTER VIII.

CYPRUS.

YPRUS, having a total area of three thousand eight hundred square
miles, is the largest island in the Mediterranean next to Sicily and
Sardinia. It belongs geographically to Asia Minor, from which it
is separated by far shallower waters than those flowing between it
and the Syrian coast. Its hills also run in the same direction as
those of Cilicia. In its flora and fauna, however, it is allied rather to Xorth Syria,
while historically it is connected at once with both regions. Through the archi-
pelago it was also brought within the sphere of Hellenic influences, and the religion,
industries, and arts of the ancient Cypriote bear abundant traces of these various
elements. But the people were sufficiently cultured to impart an original
character to the germs derived from the surrounding lands. Easily accessible to
the seafaring populations of Sidon and Crete, Cyprus was still too isolated to
become a simple dependence of any of the neighbouring nations. From the earliest
times its inhabitants appear as a people distinct from the other Hellenes. They
possess a special dialect showing Kolian affinities, and even a peculiar writing
system of a syllabic type, apjjarently related rather to that of the Hittites than to
the Phoenician, unless it is to be traced to a cuneiform source.

Politically also Cyprus often enjoyed a certain autonomy, and although subject
successively to Egypt and Persia, it was never completely reduced by the great
continental empires. Under Alexander it formed part of the Macedonian world,
passing thence into the power of Rome and Byzantium. After the fall of
Constantinople it became a separate kingdom, and for two hundred and fifty years
it was ruled by the Lusignan family. From them it passed to the Venetians, who,
after an occupation of a century, surrendered it in 1 o71 to the Turks. Since then it
has continued to form officially a part of the Ottoman empire, although since 1878
it is " administered " by England. For a great naval power the position of < lyprus
is of great strategical importance, lying as it does at the entrance of a bay whence
it commands both the Anatolian and Syrian coasts, while its eastern extremity is
directed towards the vital point of Hither Asia, that i<. the great bend of the
Euphrates, where all the main routes converge from Syria, Armenia, the Euxine,

::i I

BOTJTH-WESTEEH ASIA.

and Persian fiulf. But the island is -till too destitute of resources to be otherwise
a valuable acquisition, and for many years must remain a burden on the imperial
revenue. Roads, harbours, dockyards, fortresses, and arsenals have all to be
restored, and the topographical survey has only jusl been begun.

Moi NTAIN8 Wl> RlA l RS.

The chief mountain mass of the Olympus, now more generally known as the
Troodos, attains in the south-west an altitude of about 6,600 feet, and is streaked with

Fig. 160.— Cyprus.

Scale 1 : a.soo.ooo.

Heights.

Depths.

0 to 650 650 to 1,600 1,600 to 3,200

feet. I'eet. 8,300 Feet. Feet and

npweidSi

0 to 320 320 to 1,600 1.600 to
i'eet. 8,200 Feet.

8,200
Feet and

upwards.

til Mi!.*.

snow for the greater part of the year. East of the culminating point other peaks,
such as the " Two Brothers," and " Makheras," rise to heights of 4,000 and 5,000
feet, while the headland of Stavro Vuno (Santa Croce), although only 2,300 feet
high, owing to its isolated position on the most frequented part of the coast, was
long regarded as the true "Olympus." Here formerly stood a famous temple of
Venus, since replaced by a Benedictine monastery. The eruptive rocks of this
Bjstem, bursting through the Tertiary limestones and marls at their base, have
variously modified the lower strata, and on both sides are found mineral deposits,
especially copper, which bears the name of the island. Iron mines also occur here
and there, but like those of copper, all have long been abandoned.

I T.IMATE— FLORA AXD FAUNA. 847

The northern part of the island, terminating north-eastwards in the long
peninsular of Karpasos, the " Ox-tail " of the ancients, is completely tilled by a
range of mountains quite distinct from the south-western highlands. Cyprus, in
fact consists geologically of two islands, separated by an old marine channel now-
forming the plain of Mesaria (Mesorea), the Makaria, or " Happy " of the ancients.
The northern chain forms a crescent nearly 100 miles long, but very narrow, and
running close to the coast. It culminates towards the western extremity in Mount
Elias, about 3,400 feet, falling to 2,000 feet in the Kantara peak at the neck of the
Karpasos peninsular. To the whole range Gaudry has given the name of Cerines,
from the town at the northern issue of the only carriage-road crossing it. This
pass might easily be held by a handful of resolute men against a whole army.

The Pedias, the largest river in Cyprus, flows from Olympus for over 00 miles
north-eastwards to the Gulf of Famagusta. But notwithstanding its numerous
affluents it is not a perennial stream, being almost completely dry in summer. The
few lakes also are mere saline lagoons without any outflow, mostly old bays or
inlets now separated by sandy strips from the sea, such as those of Larnaka and
Limassol, which annually yield from twenty Ave to thirty thousand tons of salt.
For agricultural purposes the perennial springs at the foot of the hills or in the
upland valleys are of more impotance than the so-called " rivers," and many towns
owe their origin to such sources of suppby. They are less abundant in the central
highlands than in the northern coast range, where all take their rise between the
altitudes of 500 and 700 feet. To explain their existence in such a comparatively
arid region the natives suppose that they flow from the Cilician highlands in
submarine channels across the intervening strait at a depth of over 1,000 feet
below the surface of the Mediterranean. From this source is fed the canal, 0 miles
long, which supplies Larnaka.

Climate — Flora and Fauna.

Owing to its position between the Syrian and Cilician hills, the climate of
Cyprus is continental rather than maritime. In winter it is exposed to the cold
winds from the Anatolian plateaux, causing snow to fall even on the plains. The
rainfall is abundant, especially during the three last months of the year, when the
rivers overflow their banks and often interrupt the communications. But the
change is very sudden from winter to summer, when the sky remains cloudless for
months together, vegetation becomes burnt up, and the temperature rises at
Larnaka to 90° F. in August. During this season malaria about the lagoon
districts on the coast is very prevalent, and the plains to the foot of the hills are
wrapped in dangerous exhalations. At times the winds from the mainland waft
across the sea swarms of locusts (stauronatus cruciatus\ which settle on the northern
coastlands and devour all green things. Till the middle of the present century the
island was wasted by this scourge about once every two years, but since then
precautions have been taken, by which the evil has been greatly abated.

The local flora is very rich, comprising over one thousand phanerogamous

348 BOOTH WESTEEN .\si \

species, and including marly all the plants of Crete and the archipelago, as well as
many others belonging to the neighbouring continent. Hm there arc only four
indigenous, amongst which is the "elder-leafed oak." The most common forest-
tree is the Caramanian pine; and the cypress, which takes its name from the island,
still grows wild in the eastern districts. The ko/>/«rx Erom which according to
some authorities Cyprus has been named, seems to be either the lawtonia, Erom
whose leaves hennah is extracted, or the cistut creticus, which flourishes between
the altitudes of 2,000 and 5,000 feet, and which distils tin ladanum balsam, an
odoriferous resin highly est* emed by the ancients.

Willi animals have almost entirely disappeared. The oris cyprius, or Cyprian
mouflon, is still met in the rocky uplands; wild cats are numerous in the forests,
and the wild boar and venomous snakes infest the plains. The western districts
about Cape Epiphani are said to be frequented by horses, asses, and oxen which
have reverted to the wild state. Since the British occupation game is protected by
a tax on hunting.

Inhabitants.

The inhabitants of Cyprus comprise the most diverse elements — Greeks, Turks,
Syrians, Arabs, and others — from the surrounding lands. They are grouped not so
much according to race as according to speech, and especially religion. Tho
Greeks, constituting four-fifths of the population, are all Cypriots speaking the
peculiar local Hellenic dialect and conforming to the rites of the orthodox Church.
All Mohammedans, even those of Cypriot speech, are classed as Turks; and the so-
called Linobambaki form an intermediate group, outwardly Moslem, but who
baptise their children, and in the family circle call themselves Christians. Ab else-
where in the Levant, the Greeks constitute the active element, although by their
Hellenic kindred regarded as of a somewhat dull and passive type. The Cypriots
have never taken part in the patriotic movement of the other islanders, preferring
to live peacefully, and yielding ready obedience to their successive Mohammedan
and ( Ihristian rulers.

Formerly the Maronites were numerous in the northern districts, where they
founded several settlements on the slopes of the coast range, and especially in the
Karpasos peninsula; but the great majority have gradually been assimilated to
the Hellenes, while others have become Mohammedans. But a Maronitc com-
munity of about 500 souls still survives in the Kormakiti promontory, at the
western extremity of the Cerines range. A few thousand negro slaves, introduced
at various times, have merged in the Moslem population, while the Armenians,
Levantines, Jews, and Europeans of every nation who have immigrated since the
British occupation, remain mostly speculators rather than colonists. But they
have hitherto done little to increase the resources of the island. Agriculture and
the industries are in the same rudimentary state as under Turkish rule, and nine-
tcnths of the soil still remains untilled. Cotton, sugar, dates, wine, and other
produce have greatly fallen off since the Lusignan and Venetian epochs. The

TOPOGRAPHY OF CYPRUS.

349

whole island, to an altitude of 4,000 feet, might be converted into a vast vineyard
yielding magnificent vintages, whereas the present annual production never exceeds
550,000, and sometimes falls to 350,000, gallons. Next to wine, cereals, and olives,
the chief agricultural product is the carob-bean partly exported to Russia and
partly used in the local distilleries. The whole annual trade of the island varies at
present from about £420,000 to £600,000.

Topography of Cyprus.

Levkosia, or Nicosia, capital of Cyprus, is strongly situated on a slight eminence
in the Mesorea plain, at about equal distances from Morf u bay in the west and
Famasusta and Larnaka in the east. It thus forms the natural centre of the two
maritime zones, and also coin-

Fig. 151. — Nicosia.
Scale 1 : 55,000.

municatcs easily with the north
coast through the pass over the
Cerines range. Its Venetian
wall, a regular polygon about 3
miles in circuit, and flanked by
eleven bastions, is still in a good
state of repair, but the English
garrison is encamped on the
slopes of the neighbouring Mount
Mac/icera, above the fever zone.
The village of Bali, where for-
merly stood the country seat of
the Lusignan king's, marks the
site of the ancient Idalium, which
has yielded some Cypriot inscrip-
tions, besides the famous bronze
tablet now in the Paris National
Library, and the bilingual Phoe-
nician and Cypriot monument

which gave George Smith the key to the local dialect. Here also M. de Cesnola
explored over fifteen thousand tombs of the vast necropolis, which yielded a mag-
nificent collection, now in the New York Metropolitan Museum. Other treasures
have been recovered from Athieno, farther west, where stood the temple of
Aphrodite Golgia, in former times visited by pilgrims from every quarter.

The harbour of Kerynia (Ghirneh or Cerines\ (he northern seaport of Nicosia,
is now a mere creek some 10 or 12 feet deep, overlooked by the picturesque castle
of the Lusignan sovereigns. Other Lusignan strongholds crown the neighbouring
heights, and some of the rocks near the ancient Lapctlios and the modern convent
of Akteroperithi have been excavated within and without, so as to form gigantic
towers with inner galleries and terraced palaces.

During the Hellenic period, the chief port on the east coast was Salamis,

Eof.Gr 35" SB

55" £3

1,100 Yards.

850

SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

whence the Venetians drew (he blocks of stone used in erecting (he formidable
ramparts of Fltmagtuta, the ancient Amdkkoatm, that \a,Amta Khadasta,€he " Great
Goddess" of the Assyrians, some o miles farther south. The citadel of Fama-
gusta is little more than a picturesque ruin ; but the town walls are as intact as on
the day when, in L571, the Venetians capitulated to the Turk. The harbour has
silted up: but north of it stretches a roadstead ov< r a mile long, sheltered from the
east by a chain of reefs and sandhankfl running parallel with the coast. This

Kg. 1)2. — Lahnaka and Kama*
Scale 1 : OtO.OOO.

^~T~1

55'JO

•E . cf L'ree«v».ch

0 to 32 Feet. 32 to 320 Feet. 320 Feet and upwards.

12 Miles.

anchorage, which has a mean depth of 50 feet, is probably destined to become in
British hands a second Malta in the Levant.

Laniaka, which at present almost monopolises the foreign trade of the island,*
-ists of two distinct towns, the Marina, or new quarter, fringing the beach, and
the old quarter, over half a mile farther inland. Southwards stretch the extensive
lagoons or salines, which yield a large and almost inexhaustible supply of salt.
The old Greek port has almost completely disappeared, and the shipping now
anchors in the roadstead. Marina stands on the site of the old Phoenician town of
Kittini, or Kition (Citiurn), where was found the precious Assyrian bas-relief of

• Shipping of Laniaka, about 200,000 tons yearly ; exchanges, £600,000.

TOPOGRAPHY OF CYPRUS.

851

King Sargon II. For centuries Kittini was regarded as a Syrian city, whence
Zeno, a native of this place, is spoken of by Cicero as a "Phoenician."

Liiitisso, or Limassol, on the semicircular beach terminating southwards at Gape
Gatto, ranks as the second seaport in the island. Its exports consist chiefly of salt,
grapes, raisins, brandy, and the famous Kolossi wine, of a total yearly value of
about £160,000. Palwo-Limhso, about 8 miles farther east, stands on the site of
Amathos, or Amathonce, the Phoenician Hamath, where Astarte and Melkart were

Fig. 153.— Kbrynia.

worshipped with human sacrifices. The ancient Curium, lying on a rocky eminence
west of the Akrotiri headland, almost unknown till the year 1870, has since then
yielded the most intrinsically valuable as well as the most artistic treasures in the
whole island. Here Cesnola has found a perfect storehouse of costly Assyrian,
Egyptian, Phoenician, and Greek objects, some imported by traders, others <\ idently
fabricated on the spot. Yet still more extensive treasures had formerly been
accumulated in the district of Paphos, on the south-west coast. Of the ancient

352

S0UT7I-WF.STF.KN ASIA

temple of Venus, which stood on a lofty eminence visible far Beawards, little remains
but a few fragments. But t ho surface is in some places strewn with sculptured
blocks, broken walls, tombs, and underground openings. The village of BnJ'n
(Papbo) on the coast is even -till visited by the Cypriot women, and although the
sea-foam i- no longer consecrated to Venus, the sea itself rank- w ith St. George and
St. Lazarus as a chief patron of the island.

In virtue of the treaty concluded in 1878, England undertakes the exclusive
administration of Cyprus, handing over to the Porte a yearly sum of about £90,000.
The revenue varies from £160,000 to £200,000, and in lssj the expenditure
amounted to £300,000. The English commissioner has full powers, although

Fig. 154 — Limassol and Akrotiki Peninsular.
Scale 1 : 290,000.

[. rf.C-eenw.c* 5g'55-

5V5

0to80
Feet.

80 to 160
Feet.

1G0 to 320 320 Feet
Feet. and upwards

fi Miles.

assisted by a council of eighteen, six chosen by the Government, and twelve elected
by a limited suffrage. Of the latter nine are Christians, three Mohammedans, and
English and Greek are the official languages. The Porte retains the waste lands
and forests, that is, over three-fourths of the island ; but the British Government
enjoys the right of forced purchase, while on the other hand engaging to
restore Cyprus to Turkey when the Russians retire from their recent conquests
in Armenia. Meantime they hold the island with a garrison of 600 men.

The Archbishop of the Cypriot Church is independent of the patriarch of Con-
stantinople, and enjoys a large income, while the rural clergy are mostly so poor
that they are obliged to support themselves by manual labour.

^ALESTIivp _ TgwSECTIOl

Seal* of Eiigbsh Statute Milo*

•

PALEST^ SorTHBBJ ACTION

Scale of English Statute MDes

CHAPTER IX.

SYRIA, PALESTINE, SINAI.

HE narrow zone of habitable land skirting the eastern Mediterranean
seaboard between the Gulf of Alexandretta and Egypt, forms a well-
limited geographical region. East of the Aleppo basin the
frontier is distinctly marked by the course of the Euphrates, and
east of the Dead Sea an arid mountain barrier merges southwards
in an almost uninhabited wilderness, terminating in a regular triangle between the
two gulfs of Akabah and Suez. But the whole region, which stretches from the
Amanus to Sinai for about 600 miles north and south, with a mean breadth of 90
miles, is itself divided into several sections, differing in their relief, climate, and
historic evolution. Such are in the north the basin of the Orontes, in the centre the
Jordan Valley and conterminous lauds, in the south the Sinai peninsular.

Historic Retrospect.

A great role in the history of mankind has been played by the sections compris-
ing Syria and Palestine, which lie between the sea and the desert, and which are
traversed by the natural routes connecting the Nile and Mesopotamian basins. In
remote ages, when these regions enjoyed a more abundant rainfall, more easy and
direct communications may have existed between the Persian Gulf and the Nib-
delta. But throughout historic times the space lying between the Lower Kuphrates
and the Trans- Jordan highlands has been a wilderness intersected only by inter-
mittent streams and inhabited exclusively by nomad tribes. A semicircle of
arable tracts and towns sweeps round the sands and steppes from Bagdad to
Damascus, and this direction has been followed by all the great movements of the
surrounding peoples.

The importance of the Syrian coast as an overland route was soon enhanced by
its commercial supremacy cm the high seas. From the remotest times the
Phoenicians appear as gnat navigators, a fact which has tended to obscure their
essentially agricultural character. Yet Canaan is described as a land "flowing in
milk and honey," and it was to find markets for their superfluous produce that the
Tyrians and Sidonians turned their attention to navigation. Their grandest
121

854 SOUTH-WESTERN AS] \

architectural remains arc monolithic wine and oil-presses, cisterns, millstones,
reservoirs Eor water, oil, or corn hewn out of the live ruck. Later on came the
great hydraulic works, artificial harbours and breakwaters, of which scarcely a
vestige is new to be seen. The form of the coast, where once flourished the Famous
cities of Tyre, Sidon, Berytus, Byblos, Aradus, has been modified by the silting
sands, or possibly by changes of Level. Nevertheless, altera lapse of three thousand
years some of these Phoenician seaports have again become busy commercial
centres.

Their maritime supremacy once established, the Phoenicians soon monopolised
the carrying trade of the East. The Mesopotaniian nations necessarily forwarded
their wares through the Syrian ports, and Egypt In t— 11'. possessing no timber for
the construction of vessels, was fain to effect its exchanges by means of her
Phoenician neighbours. The merchants of Tyre and Sidon jealously preserved the
magnificent cedar forests which supplied them with building materials. They also
carefully preserved the secrets of their distant discoveries, and the true source of
the metal-, amber, ivory supplied by them to the eastern potentates Long remained
unknown to the ancients. On the other hand, by disseminating a knowledge of
letters, they constantly enlarged the circle of civilisation of which they were the
centre. Kven the tribes of Israel, although confined to the interior, contributed by
their migrations to the diffusion of culture throughout the narrow- /one of the
Syrian seaboard. Reaching Palestine from Egypt, and transplanted thence to
Babylonia and the Iranian uplands, the Jews reflect in their genius the
characteristics of the peoples amongst whom they sojourned. As trader- settled in
every part of the Mediterranean world, they participated in the commercial inheri-
tance of Tyre and Sidon. In the same way ( Iraro-Konian influences have 1 n

superimposed on those of Egypt, Chaldaea Persia, and Arabia; and although the
geometrical centre- of Europe, Asia, and Africa lies beyond the limits of this region,
no other land of transition is more important in the historic evolution of the
Mediterranean peoples than the highway whoso chief stations are Damascus ami
Jerusalem.

In the history of religious thought Jerusalem takes a pre-eminent position.
Towards Golgotha the Christian turns to worship a crucified God : the country
formerly inhabited by the twelve tribes is a "Holy Land;" Nazareth and
Bethlehem, Lake Tiberias and Mount Tabor, the Pool of Sichem and Mount Olivet
are in their eye- the most hallowed spots on earth. Here they seek the origin of
their cult, and here they look forward to the appearance of that " .Ww Jerusalem "
in which human suffering -hall cease to be. Vet the Christian system, which had
never taken firm root in the land of its birth, rapidly disappeared before the
advance of [slam, and the protracted efforts of the crusaders to rescue the Holy
Land from the grasp of the - Infidel " ended in failure.

Like the other provinces of Asiatic Turkey, Syria is a land covered with ruins,
on whose sites no new and flourishing cities have arisen. The wilderness has
encroached on the arable zone, and even the most frequented highways have now
to traverse many solitudes. Nevertheless a great part of this region has been

HISTORIC RETROSPECT.

355

completely explored from the geographical standpoint. The whole of Palestine,
for a space of 0,000 square miles this side Jordan, hu< been trigonometrically
surveyed, and the work of the English cartographists is now being extended to the
land of Moab east of that river. Three-fourths of the old names occurring in the
Bible, in Josephus, and the Talmud have been identified, and most even of the
Canaanite terms preceding the Israelitish settlement have been recovered. By
means of the Kamak hieroglyphics Mariette has been enabled to map out the land
of Canaan at the period of the battle of Meghiddo, fought over :J,700 years ago.

Fig. 155. — Passes op the Axanvb.

Scale 1 : 260,000.

OtoSO
Feet.

80 to 160
Feet.

160 Feet and
upwards.

. fi Milrs.

In the north the Libanon has also been carefully studied by the French expedition
of 1860 and 1862, and the surveys are advancing along the lines of the projected
railway towards the Euphrates.

With the exception of a few valleys in the Libanon, no part of Syria can be
said to be adequately peopled, regard being had to the fertility of the soil. The
whole population of the region stretching from Cilicia to Sinai, which three
thousand years ago supported at least ten million inhabitants, seems at present
scarcely to exceed a million and a half.

:;:,i; 801 111 Wl>l BEN ASIA.

Bioi vi m\ Ranges.

The Akma-dagh (Amanita) range, which riaea immediately south of Aiexandretta
Bay, may is many respects be regarded as forming part of the Anatolian orographic
Bystem. Ii is attached to the Ghiaur-dagh by ;i hilly plateau containing the
Ghiaur-gol, or " Lake of the Infidel," and its mean direction is uorth-east and south-
west, parallel with the Cilician Taurus and the Anti-Taurus. It> highest peaks
scarcely exceed 6,500 Eeet, bul its seaward slopes arc very steep, and the coasl
mute is carried over precipitous spin's Eorming headlands along the seahoard At
Portella, north of Aiexandretta, the remains of a white marble gateway at the
entrance of a defile, enlarged to a carriage-road by Justinian, are locally known as
the " Pillars of Jonah," this being the spot where, according to the local Legend, the
1'rophet was east ashore by the " greal tish." Farther south the rugged Amanus
and its southern continuation, the Jehel Musa, are avoided by the main route, which
runs directly through the Beilan Pass, or "Syrian G-ates," down to the plains of
Antiochia. This extensive tract, through which the Orontes winds seawards, is the
true portal of Syria, whose geographical limits are here clearly marked by the

river, the Lake of Antiochia, and its eastern affluents.

South of Antiochia the Ansarieh hills culminate in the pyramidal Jebel-Akra,
or Casius (5,900 Eeet), at the mouth id' the ((routes. This was one < it the sacred
mountains of the Phoenicians, and lor the (in-eks another Olympus, whence Jove
contemplated the advancing dawn in the east, while the western world was still
wrapped in gloom. Southwards the gently undulating chalky crests of the
Ansarieh range tail in many places to a height of 3,000 Eeet, hut are everywhere of
difficult access, owing to the countless gorges intersecting them in all directions.
Eastwards tiny are separated by the Orontes from tin' hills fringing the desert,
while their southern extremity is skirted by the Nahr-el-Kebir, rising like the
Orontes on the eastern slo] I Lihauon.

Thf. Libanon \m> Anti-Li banon.

South of the Nahr-el-Kebir Valley begins the lofty coast range of tin- Libanon,
which runs uniformly north-east and south-west, parallel with the Jebcl-esh-Shark,
or Anti-Libanon, from which it is separated by the intervening plains of Coele-
Syria. The Long unbroken crest of Libanon, blue in summer, silvery white in
winter and spring, presents an imposing aspect seawards, die atmospheric vapours
lending to the distant hills an aerial transparency and softness, to which solidity is
added by their hold outlines and rugged slopes. A near view is less pleasing, the
long harrier presenting in its entire length of some 90 miles nothing hut yellow
treeless summits and monotonous valleys. In the extreme south the valleys are
more fertile and better tilled, and here the traveller occasionally meets a few
picturesque landscapes, especially in spring, when the higher elevations are still
glittering with a pink or white glint in the solar rays.

The Libanon highlands consist mainly of dolomites, coarse limestones, marbles,

THE LIBAXON AXD AXTI-LIBAXON.

357

sandstones, and marls, pierced at innumerable points, without being disturbed, by
protruding basalts. The cliffs are broken by profound crevasses running mostly
north and south, or east and west, and breaking the system into a number of distinct
groups. This disposition of the uplands explains the relative independence maiij**
tained bv their inhabitants. In the very midst of a Mussulman land the Libanon
highlanders have for centuries preserved their national religion almost unmodified.
Nor had they any mineral treasures to tempt the greed of foreign conquerors.

Libanon is in Hebrew synonymous with " Milk," that is, the " "White Moun-
tains," although nowhere reaching the zone of permanent snows. The loftiest
peak at the northern extremity scarcely exceeds 10,600 feet, and not more than

Pig. 156. — Beikit Hills.
Scale 1 : 300,000.

L , of bree^wich 35*50

0to32
Feet.

32 to 160

Feet.

lfiO Feet
and upwards.

three others rise to 10,000 feet. The great carriage road constructed by a French
company between Beirut and Damascus attains 6,000 feet, and the mean elevation
is slightly inferior to that of the Pyrenees. Eur the higher temperature explains
the relatively small extent of the snowfields and the present absence of glaciers.
The limestone rocks are pierced by caverns, some running tor milts into the heart
of the mountain, and containing animal remains as well as traces of human
habitat inns. The slopes facing eastwards are far more arid anil destitute of springs
than the opposite side, which receives a considerable amount of moisture from the
Mediterranean. Here the climate and vegetable zones are distinguished by special
names. Thus the coast region, the Canaan of the Hebrews, is known as the Sabil,

358

BOTJTH-WESTEEN AS] \

a narrow fertile strip, where stood the great trading cities "I' Phoenicia. Above it
stretches the Wusut or middle zone, less densely peopled bul still studded with
villages, and yielding crops "I' tobacco, cereals, ami potatoes. The Wusut, which
in Borne places is clothed with conifers and other forest-trees, is succeeded about the
altitude <>t' !,<"»<• feet liy iheJurd, a barren upland region exposed to tierce gales
and avalanches. < lultivated tracts occur in the sheltered dells and basins as high
as ii,.j00 feet, and here and there occur clumps of gnarled oak, the turpentine-tree,
wild pear, and juniper often attaining a gigantic size. In this upper region grow
the famous cedars, at an altitude of over 6,500 feel near a pass south of the Jebel-
Makmal. Formerly a glacier descending from the surrounding height filled a

Fig. 157.— The Freni h Koad.
Scale 1 : 1,800,000.

otoso
Feet.

811 to S20

Feel

VM Feet
and upwards.

1-' Miles.

Cirque at this spot, and the mots of the cedars lie embedded in its terminal moraine.
Since the sixteenth century, when they still numbered twenty-five, the really
gigantic specimens have been reduced to five, surrounded by a few hundreds of
moderate Bize.

Eastwards the Libanon falls in abrupt escarpments down to the longitudinal
valley of Co le-Syria, or " Hollow Syria," which forms the most regular section of
the depression running north and south from the Lake of Antiochia to the Dead Sea
and Gulf of Akabah. The Bekaa, or " Mulberry Valley," as Cade-Syria is now
(■ailed, has a double slope, draining northwards through the < 'routes, southwards
through the Leontes, or Nahr-el-Leitana, the almost imperceptible water-parting
standing at an elevation of 3,900 feet, while the mean elevation of the valley may

HEEMON— HILLS OF GALILEE— MOUNT CABMEL. 359

be estimated at about 3,000 feet. It is strewn with marshes, remnants of an old
lake, which formerly flooded the space between Libanon and Anti-Libanon.

The Anti-Libanon presents on the whole a remarkable analogy to t lie -parallel
western range. Composed of the same limestone rocks, covered with the .same red
soil of glacial origin, it is equally arid and bare in its northern section, equally
varied with fertile tracts southwards. The Sheikh-el-Jebel, its highest point, also
faces the culminating point of the Libanon ; and although its mean altitude is about
1,000 feet less,* it is distinguished even by more picturesque outlines, bolder crests,
more savage gorges, more vivid tints, and striking contrasts. In the eastern range,
however, it is not the cedar or pine, but the poplar, which enriches every hamlet in
this otherwise almost treeless region. Eastwards the Anti-Libanon falls in
terraces towards the desert, and in the south it is intersected by the deep valley of
the Barada. Just below this point the range is crossed at an elevation of 4,330
feet by the French route connecting Damascus with the coast at Beirut.

Hermon- — Hills of Galilee — Mount Carmel.

The broad opening utilised by this route separates Anti-Libanon from Mount
Hermon, which may almost be regarded as its southern prolongation. Like
Libanon, Hermon is a holy mountain, where Christian shrines have everywhere
replaced the old pagan sanctuaries, Elias, Jonah, or Saint George thus succeeding
to the Baal, Adonis, or Eliun of the ancient Semite peoples. The mountain itself
•was a god, and all the temples of the surrounding district are found to face its chief
summit, which rises in three peaks 9,400 feet above the Mediterranean. Of all the
Syrian mountains, Hermon is the most densely wooded, groves and even small strips
of forest clothing its basalt slopes. Some 00 miles south-east of Hermon stands the
volcanic Jebel-Hauran, whose highest crest has an elevation of 6,170 feet. Its
main axis runs nearly due south and north, terminating in this direction in rusrsred
escarpments surmounted by the Tell-abu-Tumeis (0,320 feet). Within a space of
G miles are grouped four other extinct cones, whence formerly flowed the vast lava
streams of the Argob north-westwards, in the direction of Damascus. The thick-
ness of the molten masses overlying the mails and limestones, the Lcja, as this
district is now called, has been estimated at 600 or 700 feet.

The Safa, or "Naked Mountain," is another group of extinct volcanoes, lying
on the shore of the old lacustrine basin which skirted the east side of the Syrian
uplands. The dreary and savage region covered with the black lavas ejected from
these cones well deserves the name of Trachonitis, or the " Lugged," given to it by
the ancients. It seems to have undergone little or no change since the time when
the burning masses cooled down into all sorts of strange and fantastic forms. In
its widest extent the Safa covers an area of some 500 square miles, its cones rising
1,500 to 2,000 feet above the surrounding plains, and 3.500 above sea level. Some

* Chief Summits of the Libanon and Anti-Libanon: —

Timarun

. 10, GOO feet

Sheikh-el-Jebel

. 8,900 feet

Muskiynh

. 10,250 „

Halimat-el-Kabu

8,350 ..

Zahr-el-Kazib .

. 10,130 „

El-Akhyar

. ;,s3o „

SCO

SOUTH-WESTEBJS AH A.

clayey tracts, whore a little moisture is collected daring rainy seasons, limit the
base .if this burnt-up region north-westwards m the direction of Damascus, and in
the south-easl towards the equator; bul elsewhere most of i he surrounding districts
are covered with lavas and scoriae. Such is the desert of Era, which towards the
south-west separates Safe from ffauran. Still farther smith Btretches the desert of
Ilarra. or the " Burnl Land," a circular plain of impalpable sands accumulated
round a loft v central black crag. Bo fine are the sands of this dreaded region, thai
according to the Bedouins, horses, camels, and other animals sink in it, as if it were

Fig. 158 — Jebel Safa.

Scale 1 : 1,340,000.

, »

appnggp/T

s T ■* y r B

■'i V

Gatf/'r efffawvt

f if

■*3m

Vi5

57*00 E ofGre-

C Miles.

a liquid mass. After heavy rains the surface becomes a paste too weak to bear the
weight of a camel.

The lower Leontes, or Nahr-Kasimiyeh, forms the southern limit of the
Libanon proper, although the Palestine highlands stretching thence southwards
between the headwaters of the Jordan and the coast may be regarded as belonging
to the same orographic system. But in this confused labyrinth of Galilean hills
and valleys it is difficult to discover any regular order, except perhaps in the e
where the ridge skirting the depression of the Upper Jordan runs in the same axis
us the Libanon. From this ridge several others branch off, mainly in the direction
from east to west, and are themselves connected by secondary lateral chains. The
Jebel-Jsxmuk (3,950 feet), forming the culminating point of the Galilean high-
lands, rises north-west of Safed on the water-parting between the Jordan and the
.Mediterranean. But here the most venerated peak is Tabor (Jebel-Tor), a nearly

HERMOX— HILLS OF GALILEE— MOUXT CAEMEL.

361

isolated mass rising to a height of scarcely 1,900 feet south of Xazareth. Its
position on the edge of the gnat plain of Esdraelon, traversed by the Xahr-el-
Mukattah and its affluents, formerly imparted a certain strategic importance to
Tabor, on which are still seen the remains of mediaeval fortifications, themselves
preceded by still older Roman and Jewish works. A legend dating from the fourth
century transfers the scene of the Transfiguration from Hermon to Tabor, on
which three churches and three monasteries were erected in the sixth century in
honour of the three tents, which Peter here proposed to pitch for Jesus, Moses and
Elias.

South of Galilee the hills are almost completely interrupted by the broad and

Fig. 159.— The Zerin Depression.
Scale 1 : 1,190,000.

i hi ■|'ii| ii m mW/i

El Afoul.h

' ±:^^MM

E .■oT*Lreen

55* S5'

Below the level of the Mediterranean.

. 6 Miles.

fertile plain of Merj-ibn-Amir (Meghiddo, Esdraelon, or Jezrael), stretching south-
east and north-west, with an average width of 15 miles, and sloping very gently
towards the Mediterranean. The fall is much more precipitous towards the Jordan,
where the Zerin depression, some 400 feet above the sea, has been selected as the
most convenient point through which to cut the canal, by which some eccentric
English engineers propose to connect the Gulf of Ana with that of Akaba in the
Red Sea. Dividing Palestine into two distinct section-;, and commanding both
slopes of the country, Esdraelon was formerly a great battlefield between tiil»
armies. Here Jews and Canaanites, Saracens and Crusaders, frequently met in
deadly strife, and here, according to the expounders of Revelations, is to be fought

3G2 SOTJTH-WESTEBN ASIA.

the final battle of Arniaghcddon, which is to Becure the empire of the world to the
Hebrews.

The semi-elliptical Bay of Acra is limited southwards by the headland of Mount
Carmel, which Eorms the seaward extremity of the Jebel-Mar-Elias. This range,
consisting mainly of limestones, is the mosl regular in Palestine, running due
north-west and south-east from the coast to the low pass separating it from the
Samarian uplands. Eastwards it tails abruptly down to the Bsdraelon plain, and
slopes gently to the Mediterranean, maintaining throughout a mean elevation of l.iniO
or 1,200 tVet. It culminates in the centre with Mount Carmel proper (1,830 feet),
that is, the " Orchard," so named from the flowering shrubs and fruit-trees clothing
its upper slopes. The more rugged headland was formerly the seal of an oracle
visited by Pythagoras and consulted by Vespasian. Here, according to the Jewish
tradition, took place that contest between Eliaa and the prophets of Baal which
symbolises the everlasting warfare between the local gods of Syria and Palestine.
Above the " Cave of Elias " now stands a sumptuous convent of recent date.

Qilboa — Trans- Jokdan Uplands.

South-east of Carmel the Jebel-Fokuah, that is, the hills of Gilboa, form the
commencement of the central range of Palestine, which runs mainly parallel with
the Jordan and Mediterranean. Consisting of chalk cliffs interrupted here and
there by eruptive basalts, it presents monotonous unpicturesque outlines, but
encloses some extremely fertile valleys. Its axis, which here forms the water-
parting, runs twice as near the Jordan as the .Mediterranean, its geographical
position thus explaining tin' incessant antagonism between the western lowlands,

with their civilised populati and the uplands occupied by the rude inhabitants of

Jadaea. In these uplands the crests have a mean altitude of 2,000 to 2,500
feet, while Khal and < Sarizim, the two famous peaks overlooking the plain of Sichem.
exceed :{,(M)() feet, and the whole system culminates in the Tell-Asur, rising north of
Jerusalem to a height of nearly 3,400 feet. Farther south the hills gradually fall in
the direction of the Sinai peninsular, where t he y merge in the rugged plateau of
Badiet-et-Tih.

Like those of Palestine proper, the Trans-Jordan highlands consist of a
crevassed tableland from 2,500 to 3,000 feet high, seldom presenting the aspect
of a distinct range. East of the Dpper Jordan the plateaux of Jaulan (Gaulanitis),
have the appearance of hills only along their western escarpments, which fall in
terraces down to Lakes lluleh and Tiberias. These uplands are broken into unequal
sections by the channels of the Yarmuk and its affluents in the north, and south-
wards by the Jabok torrent and the Mojib (Anion), draining to the Dead Sea.
Bast of the Ghor, properly so-called, that is, the Jordan Valley between Lake
Tiberias and the Dead Sea, the Jobel-Ajlun, or heights of Galaad, present towards
the river a series of fertile terraces covered here and there with groves of oak and
other forest-trees, and in the depressions yielding in wet seasons rich crops of
excellent cereals. East of the Dead Sea the escarpments are more abrupt, and

PENINSULA OF SINAI

<)ii».-i

MED I TERRA N E A. JV

Port Stad

Jlnhnda

,,,, ^g ^

SueL

7Nj o/Motts \

\ 's

•JSl

/) «p th a

O to SI A#r 31 to ;tf O ISO to .If 0 J? o to StOo MOO * apmrda

1 -S.3I5.000

D APPLETOH 8c C?

THE SIXAI HIGHLANDS.

363

vegetation becomes rarer on the slopes and plateaux of El-Belka, or Land of Moab
and Ammon, as this region is more generally called. On the whole the Trans-
Jordan highlands are more elevated than those of Palestine. The Jebel-Osha, or
Mount Osea, nearly opposite the Tell-Asur, has a height of 3,520 feet, and a summit
in Moab 3,900 feet, while farther south the hills skirting the Wed-Arabah and
merging in the Midian uplands rise to 4,000 feet. Of all the Trans-Jordan peaks

Fig. 160. — Pen-insular of Sinai — Ain--el-Huderah.

the most famous, although not the highest, is the Jebel-Xeba, traditionally supposed
to be the Mount Xcbo whence Moses comtemplated the promised land.

The Sixai Highlands.

The Sinaitic orographic system is clearly separated from that of Palestine, the
uplands of Arabia Petrsea consisting mainly of irregular masses from 1,500 to 2,000
feet high, broken by broad ravines into distinct groups. The region lying between

364

SOTJTH-WESTEEN ASIA.

the Sue/ Canal ;m<l the Arabah depression forme, roughly speaking, a plane inclined
towards the Mediterranean, and terminating abruptly southwards in the Jebel-et-
Till, which consists of two ranges converging at a right angle, and facing in the
same direction as the Etas-Mohammed at the apex of the triangular peninsular.
Some of the summits in the Jebel-el- Tib. are over 3,000 feel high, and tin- whole

Fig. 161. — Mount Sf.ihial.
la I : 55,000.

. 2,200 Yards.

chain is separated from the southern plateau of Arabia Petraea by the broad beds
of the Wad-el-Ain, Ain-el-Huderah, Wad-Nesb, Wady-Feiran, and other mostly
dry watercourses draining easl to the Gulf of Akabah, wesl to that of Suez.

The hills skirting the Red Sea, west of the Jebel-et-Tih, consist of monotonous
chalk masses, which arc replaced in the south by the arid granite, gneiss, and
porphyry highlands of Sinai proper. Many of these formations abound in iron

THE SINAI HIGHLANDS.

365

and copper ores, and in turquoises, which are difficult to work, owing to the lack of
fuel and of means of transport. Yet the copper beds in the Magarah Valley are
often visited by the Bedouins in search of the turquoise, which is supposed to
dispel evil influences, to procure- the favour of princes, to ensure victory, or
dissipate dreams of ill omen. From the earliest historic times the Egyptians drew
their supplies of copper and mineral dyes from Magarah, and here the polished
walls of porphyry hear well-preserved hieroglyphic inscriptions, which are supposed
to he the very oldest written documents in the world. In these rocky archives are

Fig. 162.— Mouxt Sinai.
Scale 1 : 65,000.

2,200 Yards.

recorded the names of Snefru, first of the Pharaohs, Shufu (Cheops), builder of the
Great Pyramid. Ramses II., father of Menephta, during whose reign the Israelites
escaped from Egypt. The written history of the Pharaohs thus comprises a period
of over fifteen hundred years; and in the neighbouring Wed-Mokattah the rocks
are covered with innumerable graffiti or " scribblings," mostly in a Syrian dialect
mixed with Arabic terms, and dating apparently from the lasl c< utury of the old
and first of the new era.

The mountains which at present bear the collective name of Sinai, form a
confused group of heights rising above a still more entangled network of wadies,

866

SOUTH-\\T.-Ti:i;\- ASIA

which seen from above presents the appearance of a storm-tossed sen. The Jebel-
Katherin, highest and central poinl oi the Bystem, occupies very nearly the
geometrical centre of the peninsular. North-westwards it throws of! the Jebel-
Serhal ridge, terminating at the Wady-Feiran, while another range falls gradually
southwards to the Etas-Mohammed. The whole eastern slope is also filled with a
labyrinth of eminences commanded by the Jebel-Farani and Abu-Mesul groups.
Bui in the south-west the highlands present the form of a regular sierra skirting
the shingly El-Graat plain, which appears t<> be an upheaved marine bed. It Calls
from about 1,000 feet at the foot of the hills uniformly to the present coast, and

Fie. 163. — CoNvtNr oi Sinai.

the slope is continued under the Gulf of Suez, which in the middle of the channel
has a mean depth of about "J HI feet.

Most explorers have accepted the hypothesis of Lepsius, who regards the Sorbal,
or " Baal's Peak," 6,820 feet, rather than the central summit, as the true Sinai of
Scripture. The veneration in which this region was formerly held is abundantly
attested by the ruins of churches and monasteries at its northern base, by the
remains of Pharan Phoinikon, or " Pharan of the Palms," and the thousand
inscriptions kit by generations of pilgrims in the Mokattab Valley. But the tradi-
tion changed after the time of Justinian, when a fortress was erected near the
Jebel-Katharin, and a new monastery sprang up in the neighbourhood. The Arabs,

RIVERS OF SYRIA AND PALESTINE. 867

who formerly offered sacrifices at this .spot, have no tradition identifying Serbal
with the " Throne of Allah," or the " Seat of Moses." Their veneration is directed
more to the less elevated Jebel-Monneija in the north-east, which they regard as the
summit on which Moses conversed with God. Notwithstanding it-, extremely
rugged aspect. Serbal lias been several times ascended since the time of Burkhardt.
It is pierced in some places by natural caverns, which were formerly occupied 1 >y
hermits, and which the faithful even regarded as excavated by the recluses.

The Jebel-Katharin, highest point of the Sinaitic group (8,650 feet), rises
above the winter snowline, and from its summits a panoramic view is commanded
of the surrounding heights and wadics, of both gulfs, and even of the distant
African highlands. East of it rises the nearly isolated Um-Alowi, possibly the
ancient Jebel-Elohim, or "Mountain of God," and the southern view is broken by
the Um-Shomer, only a few feet lower than the Jebel-Katharin itself. Still farther
south stands the Jebel-Thebt, and to the north the Jebel-Musa, or " Mountain of
Moses " (7,470 feet), which the monks of the neighbouring convent regard as the
mountain where was promulgated the Hebrew Law. Between this and the twin
peak of Ras-Safsafeh stands the wealthy convent of >St. Catharine (5,100 feet),
whose revenues are derived from palm-groves scattered over the peninsular, and
from large estates in Crete and Cyprus. The community, which claims the pro-
tection of a pretended firman from Mohammed, formerly possessed some valuable
manuscripts, which are now in St. Petersburg.

Rivers of Syria and Palestine.

The Syrian hydrographic system is mainly determined by the long depression
of the Bekaa, which lies between the parallel Libanon and Anti-Libanon ranges,
and which has a northern and southern slope. In one direction flow the waters oi
the Orontes to the Gulf of Alexandretta, in the other those of the Jordan through
two successive lakes to the Dead Sea. The permanent and intermittent streams
east and west of this depression have not the space required to develop basins of
any considerable size. Those to the west reach the Mediterranean as soon as they
escape from the mountain gorges, while those flowing eastwards run dry in the
sands of the desert. Of these the largest is the Barada, and of the Mediterranean
affluents the most voluminous next to the Orontes is the Leitani, and both rise in
the same region as the Orontes and Jordan. The Syrian water system thus presents
the form of a cross, in which the < >rontes and Jordan constitute the trunk, the
Leitani and Barada the arms, all radiating from the moderately elevated water-
parting of the Bekaa between the Libanon and Anti-Libanon. Near the point of
intersection lies the small closed basin of the Kefr-kuk, which is regarded by the
natives as one of the sources of the Jordan.

The Orontes, which is locally known as the Nahr-el-Asi, rises on the west slope
of the Anti-Libanon, a little to north of Baalbek, and its upper course has to over-
come manv obstructions, causing its waters to collect in lakes or swamps. Above
Horus it thus developes a large basin, which covers an area of over 20 square miles,

868

SOUTH-WESTERN LSI \

thanks to an old Roman dam raising it- level over 10 feet. Farther down it also
expands below Eamah into riverain marshes, the remains of another lake formed
by an embankment near Apamea (Kalat-el-Medik). Even in its lower course,
between Antiochia and the coast, the < Irontea (alls in rapids over the remains of an
ancient rocky barrier, which formerly caused it to fill a large lacustrine basin, uow
an undulating plain with a centra] depression still known as the Ak-Deniz, or
" White Sea." Tin's marshy and sedgy tract, the haunt of myriads of waterfowl,
stretches uorth-easl of Antiochia to the southern fool of Amanus, and is fed by the
Nahr-Afrin, the Kara-su, and a few other streams.

The space between the < >rontes and F.uphrates systems is a region of closed basins,
such as those of the Koveik (Kwa'ik), flowing southwards to Aleppo from near

Fig. 164. — Lake Yamvneh ami Nauu-Ihuaium.
Scale 1 : 400.00O.

7>~mt

I V. - .- T- m
L . of brfcnw'

0to32

82 to 1G0 100 Feet and

Feet. upwards.

___^^_ i; Miles.

Aiutab, and the parallel Nahr-ed Dahab, which expands into the great Sebkha, or
saline lagoon of Jabul. The river of Damascus, the ancient Chrysorhoas, or
" Golden Stream," also loses itself in marshes. Formed by two headstreams rising
east and wast of the Jebel-Zebdani in the Anti-Libanon range, it escapes from the
hills through deep ravines down to the plains, where it joins a more copious stream
flo\N ing from the fathomless lakelet of El-Fijeh. Formerly the pure waters of this
basin were conveyed by an aqueducl to Damascus. At present they join the more
turbid Chrysorhoas, and after ramifying into numerous irrigation canals the waters
are again collected in a common system of marshy tracts or lagoons. Altera
succession of wet seasons the Barada and its canals, as well as the Pharphar or
Nahr-el-Arwad from Mount Hermon, spread out into a series of meres or " lakes,"
described by Oriental poetic fancy as " blue sapphires set in emerald rings," but in

RIVERS OF SYRIA AND PALESTINE.

36!)

reality dreary plains occasionally flooded, but usually quite dry, and here and there
covered with a saline efflorescence.

On the west slope of Libanon the streams are partly fed by the underground
waters collected in the cavities of the mountain limestones. Thus above its junction
with the Nahr-cl-Arus, the Nahr-el-Kebir receives the intermittent Nahr-Sebti,
the " Sabbatic River " of Josephus, which is supposed to be dry for six days, and
to flow only on the seventh, which falls, according to the Jews on Saturday,
according to the Mohammedans on Friday. But its channel is generally flooded
every third day. Farther south the Nahr-Kadisha, or " Holy River," receives
similar supplies from the highest peaks of Libanon, while the more copious Nahr-

Fig. 165. — Gorge of the Nahr-elLeitani.
Scale 1 : 450,000.

L . of b*-een

55' 90

15-40

0 to 32
Feet.

32 to 160
Feet.

100 Feet and
upwards.

6 Miles.

Ibrahim flows for a long distance below the surface. Its headstream rises on the
eastern slope in a lakelet near the village of Yanumeh, and after winding through
a series of subterranean fissures, reappears intermittently on the western slope
about 4,000 feet above sea level. After emerging from the Aika cavern, the
Nahr-Ibrahim, or Adonis of the ancients, enters the Mediterranean about 4 miles
south of Jebail (Byblos).

The Leitani or Leontes, next to the Nalir el-Asi the largest flowing into the
Mediterranean, rises north of Baalbek, within a few hundred yards of the farthest
headstreams of the Orontes. But its first permanent feeder springs from a gorge
in the Anti-Libanon some 15 miles to the south of Baalbek. And after receiving a
thousand rivulets from both ranges, the Leitani at present trends at a sharp
122

870

SOUTH-WESTEEN AS] \.

angle westwards to the coast, but it aeems to have formerly continued its southern
course to the Upper Jordan basin above Lake Buleh. A precipitous bluff on the
left bank above the bend is crowned by the superb mediaeval Castle ol Beauforl
(Kalat-esh-Shukif), below which the river takes the name of Leitani oi Nahr-
Kasimiyeh, or " River of Separation," It discharges on an average about 5,000 cubic
feel per minute into the Mediterranean, at a point a little over J miles north of Tyre.

The Jordan and Dead Sea.

The Jordan, that is, the " River" in a pre-eminent sense, differs from all other
streams in the depth of its valley relatively to the ocean level. Throughout nearly
the whole of its course between the "Waters of Merom" and the Dead Sea, it

Fig. 166. — SOUBCM OI TIIR Jolll'AN.

■TO

•-- ■

S\ H;T<i|.iK,r, ^"- "8, j*N»aJ

ft) ■ . .

..rt^ftjMkivv'.

flows in the Ghor depression, which is everywhere lower than the Mediterranean,
the difference in the southern portion of the valley being scarcely less than 1,300
feet. The Ghor may be regarded as a continuation of the Bekaa, although at the
point of junction west of Kermon the direction of the longitudinal valley is
changed from north-east and south-west to due north and south. Like the other
Syrian rivers, the Jordan is assumed to take its rise where it becomes a permanent
in. Hence, although occasionally sending down a considerable volume, the
upper torrents springing in the Wady-et-Teim, an advanced valley of Mount
Sermon, are not regarded as belonging to the Jordan system. The true sourc< b
a copious perennial spring near Hasbeya, whence the Nahr-el-Hasbani, or western
Jordan, flows southwards in a deep and narrow gorge in the surrounding lavas.
Some 15 miles farther south the Tell-el-Kadi bluff gives rise to an extremely

THE JORDAN' AND DEAD SEA.

371

copious spring, which when joined by another from above, becomes the Nahr-el-
Leddan, or Central Jordan, about the northern limit of Palestine proper. For Tell-
el-Kadi appears to be the eminence on which formerly stood the city of Dan, on the
very border of the " Promised Land," and Leddan is doubtless a modified form of

Fig 167. —Lake Huleh.

Scale 1 : 160.000.

E . d+' G«

55*55

Below the level of the Mediterranean.

___^_^___^^^_ 3 Miles.

Ed-Dan, or "River of Dan." Lastly, a third and still more famous, although less

copious Jordan, rises more to the east in the Banias gorge, whence it flows south-
west \va ids in a channel whose banks are fringed with the oleander and strewn
with ruins. Here a chapel of St. George has succeeded a temple of Augustus,
which had been itself preceded by an older sanctuary.

872 80TJTH-WESTEEN \si \

The three beadstreams uniting in a common channel about -r> miles below Tell-
el-Kadi, continue their winding course southwards to a broad valley, where they

bo Lisappear in a forest of papyrus reeds, merging farther on in the shallow basin of

the " Waters of .Meroiu." now known as the Bahr-eL 1 luleh. According to the
English survey, this basin is only (i or 7 feel above the Mediterranean ; but beyond
this point the decline is so rapid that at Lake Tiberias, '-'1 miles farther south, the
river is already 690 feel below the Mediterranean, while the lacustrine cavity itself
is 830 feel deeper still, although its mean depth is not more than L35 feet. This
ancient Sea of < ialilee, or < ieiiezarcth, covers a space of about 7<)( > square miles, lint
was formerly far more extensive, as is evident from the old shingly beaches left by
the Bubsiding waters on the Surrounding terraced lands. The highest of these

beaches corresponds « ith t h.^ Level of the Mediterranean, w iih which it appears to have
at one time communicated through, the Ksdraelon plain. Since its severance from
the sea, Tiberias has become a fresh-water basin, while of its fauna many represent
intermediate species between those of fresh and saline waters. As in the days ol
the fishers of Nazareth, the riverain population still capture large quantities of fish,
although but few boats are now seen on the lake.

About (i miles below Tiberias the Jordan is crossed by a solitary bridge, beyond
which it continues its uniform descent through the Ghor depression down to the
Dead Sea. In this section of its course, about 63 miles altogether, there is a total
fall of 660 feet, evenly distributed over the whole distance. l!ut before reaching
the lake it expands into sluggish shallows fordable at a little distance above its
mouth, through which it discharges a volume roughly est una led at from 1,000 to

2,350 Cubic feet per second.

The Dead Sea, so named by the early Christians in probable allusion to the
biblical legend of cities engulfed in its depths, deserves the title from the arid
and lifeless aspect of its shores, its heavy waters, and dreary surroundings. Its
area may be estimated at about 370 square miles, its level at 1,310 feet below the
Mediterranean, and its greatest depth, near the north-east coast, at 1,330 feet.
Since the mill, lie of the present century its level has risen, and the mean depth is
now about 1,100 feet north of the Lisan peninsular, a small rocky ridge connected
by a tongue of sand with the Moab coast. The circular gulf south of this promon-
tory is nowhere more than 14 feet deep, and the whole volume of the lake is
probably about I _'0,( m>0,000,000 cubic yards, or about twice that of Geneva ; but,
like Tiberias, it was formerly of far greater extent. Hound the whole basin stretch
at various altitudes shingly terraces, which are evidently old beaches, and which
contain the shells of species still living in the Mediterranean. On the west side no
less than nine such terraces occur, the chief of which, consisting partly of
bituminous strata, forms a continuation of the Ghor Valley, while the highest
corresponds exactly with the level of the Mediterranean. A study of these beaches
naturally suggests the idea that the Dead Sea, together with Lake Tiberias and the
whole of the Ghor depression, formed at one time a marine gulf connected with the
Mediterranean through the Strait of Ksdraelon. But the southern depression
continuing the (Jhor Valley towards the Led Sea does not appear to have ever com-

ill i Hilling -

ill'

HiV/j

lllllllffiiili

r m ^

-) \S"Z.- '"'si&. ' -~"fl '■■■ / *.

! m :k
it.

j <f} <•,-"& -■ I

■ '■ - '*\ % .-.5
• " *' - £ Jl \t

■■■' ':< r
...... . .. <j

En
O

tx
Ej
O

THE JORDAN AND DEAD SEA.

373

Fig. 168.— Dead .Sea.
Pcile 1 : WO,000.

municated with the Gulf of Akabah, from which it is separated by a ridge 800 feet
abuse sea level.

Even about the mouth of the Jordan the water of the Dead Sea is fully one-
sixth heavier than fresh-water.* It supports the human body, leaves a slight
saline coating on objects plunged into it,
deposits crystals on the shore, and has so
nearly reached the point of saturation that
it scarcely dissolves the base of a salt hill
skirting the south-east coast. But the Dead
Sea is distinguished even less by its great
abundance of salt than by its extreme rich-
ness in chloride and bromide of magnesium,
which has been attributed to the almost
complete absence of all the fishes and other
animals inhabiting its affluents. The crus-
taceans and insects carried down by the
Jordan perish on reaching the lake, which,
unlike marine basins, is quite destitute of
iodine and phosphorous. On the other hand,
it abounds in bituminous substances, whence
its ancient name of the " Lacus Asphaltites."
The large masses of bitumen, however,
spoken of by the ancients as floating on the
surface are now rarely seen. The naphtha
springs which probably exist at the bottom
seem to indicate geological formations anala-
gous to those of the bituminous districts in
West Persia and Mesopotamia. But there
arc no traces of recent volcanic action, or
of anything to justify the hypothesis of an
eruption which some four thousand years
ago destroyed Sodom, Gomorrha, and three
other cities in the district. The sites of the
cities themselves have also been sought for
in vain. Nor are the fruits fair to behold,
bitter to taste, pecidiar to this basin ; some,
like the ilex, belonging to the flora of Asia
Minor, others to those of Yemen and Nubia.

The Arish, whose lower course forms the
frontier between the Turkish province of

Syria and the Khedive's possessions, is represented on the maps as draining a
basin some 10,000 square miles in extent. In reality it is a mere system of mostly

0 to 320
Feet.

S20 to fi-10
Feet .

640 to 960
Feet.

900 to 1.S80
Feet.

1,2R0 Frot iiikI
upwnrds.

— ISMilee.

* Mean specific weight of sea-water : 1,02'
1,1G2; ou the beach: 1,256.

of the Bed Sea, 1,033 ; of the Dead Sea at the surface :

874 SOUTH- WT.STKKN ASIA.

dry watercourses, where there is abundant evident I extensive erosive action in

Former geological times. Far more important than these occasionally flushed
wadies are the permanent springs, such ;is those of Ain-Musa, or the " Fountains of
Mum's," \\ hich have their sourer near the coast, .some I'J miles east of Sue/. These
wells, which according to the Legend were formerly saline, but rendered sweet by
the leader of Israel, are slightly thermal, and support a rich vegetation in the
surrounding gardens and palm-groves.

Climate. — Flora \m> Fauna.

In Syria and Palestine- a great diversity (if climate is caused by the longitudinal
form of the laud, stretching across nine decrees of latitude, and still more by the
differences of relict, rising in the Libanon 10,000 feet above, in the Ghor depres-
sion sinking 1,300 feet below, the Mediterranean. While the Syrian desert and
Sinai resemble the Sahara in their extremes of temperature, certain sheltered valleys
taring the Mediterranean enjoy a marine climate varying little from month to
month.* The isothermal lines run nowhere normally east and west, hut follow
rather the mountain ranges, which are disposed north and south, parallel with the
coast. In the (ihor they develop concentric ovals corresponding with the outlines
of the escarpments, and the temperature is six degrees higher on the shores of the
Dead Sea than on the Jerusalem plateau.

In Syria there are only two seasons, summer and winter, the latter rainy, the
former almost absolutely dry. Snow rarely falls, although in 1753 most of
Palestine was covered with snow, and the cold was so intense that people were frozen
to death in the neighbourhood of Nazareth, The west and south-west winds are
the chief cloud-bearers, while the dreaded ahurkayeh, or sirocco, blowing from the
southern and south-eastern deserts, burns up the vegetation. Notwithstanding the
abundance of winter rains, the land becomes parched in the early summer, when
all spontaneous vegetation disappears except prickly shrubs and trees. Nor is
there any vegetable humus properly so called in Palestine, where even the most
fertile soil is merely so much sand or (day mixed with disintegrated limestone.

The general aspect of the land, which once "flowed with milk and honey,"
seems to show that it formerly enjoyed a more humid climate than at present.
The old writers describe Palestine as mostly covered with forests, which have since
entirely disappeared, except near the coast and on some slopes exposed to the moist
winds. The arable lands were also much more extensive, reaching far into the
surrounding deserts, where the traces still remain of old plantations. I!ut it the
atmosphere, as elsewhere in Western Asia, has become drier, the general salubrity
of the country has at least remained unimpaired. Drainage is facilitated by the
slope of the ground, and fever-stricken marshes are small in extent, except in the
neighbourhood of Antiochia and a tew other spots.

The Syrian flora, like the climate, has undergone a lew modifications. Dates

" Mean "inter temperature at Jerusalem, 47 Fah. Summer, 76 . Rainfall, M inches.

Beirut 64' Fah. „ 81°. ,, 22 „

('LIMATE.— FLORA AND FAUNA. 375

are now rare in the Jericho oasis, the banana is no longer cultivated on the
banks of lake Genezareth, and the cedars of Libanon have been mostly replaced by
the pinus bruttia. The forest vegetation has retained its primitive aspect only in
some districts of the Amanus, where the groves of oak, beech, cedar, and ]>im-
resemble those of the Cilician Taurus. The fauna also has been slightly changed.
Must of the domestic animals are inferior in size to those of Asia Minor and
Europe. The boar and jackal still survive, but the lion has disappeared, and the

Fig. 1G9.— Landscape in the Sinai Peninsulau. — View taken at Raphidim.

panther and ounce have become rare in the Libanon and Anti-Libanon. The
Syrian hear is now confined to the Jebel-esh-Sheikh and some other northern
uplands, and the crocodile, whose presence in this region had been doubted, still
lingers in the Nahr-Zerka, south of Carmel, the " Flumen Crocodilum " of Pliny.
and in the Nahr-el-Falek on the coast of Samaria. The Syrian variety is much
smaller than the monster of the African rivers, seldom exceeding ti \ » feel in
length. The Ghor depression resembles Africa no less in its fauna than its

876 SOUTH-WESTERN Asia.

climate, and the fifty-eighl species of birds common to thai continent and Palestine
are found almost exclusively in the •Jordan and Dead Sea basin.

Inhabitants of Syria \m> Palestine.

The so-called " Aral> " population of Syria is Axah iii speech alone, and really
descends from the old inhabitants of the country. So far from being exterminated
by the Mussulman conquerors, they were left in possession of their lands and
houses, subject only to the tribute. Although not compelled to become Moham-
medans, the majority accepted the new faith, just as under tin- Byzantine regime
they had accepted Christianity. But beneath these outward forms the Syrian fellah
still clings to the old heathen rites, and as in the days when the Hebrew prophets
hurled their maledictions against the worshippers of the " high places," they have
still their fetish in every large tree and rocky eminence. The holy places, the
makam or " stations," like the makom cursed by the law id' Moses, are surmounted
by small white cupolas sheltering the tombs of sheikhs or prophets. But these very
" nebi," mostly named from the district, are probably the old local divinities, and
like them are frequently associated in couples. The ceremonial is the same as it
was three thousand years ago. The lamb is still slaughtered at the shrine ; the holy
rock or lintel of the tomb is still anointed with henneh ; the elders of the Tillage
perform their solemn dances at the " station," rags and shreds of cloth are attached
to everv bush, bonfires are kindled on the surrounding hill-tops.

The ancient Canaanitish people also raised megalithic dolmens, menhirs, and
stone circles, which are no longer met in Judsea, where they were demolished by
the zealous observers of the law. But a few arc still visible in Galilee and near
Tyre, while many hundreds are still standing both in Moah and the Sinaitic
peninsular. They are still regarded as altars by the Arabs, who worship the
rising sun at these spots.

Like those of Anatolia, the inhabitants of Palestine consist of two distinct
elements, the wandering Bedouins and the fellahin settled in villages and the
outskirts of the towns. The former are diminishing in Palestine proper, where a
few are found only in the Plain of Sharon, between Carmel and Jaffa Beyond the
Jordan, where they are still numerous, the chief Bedouin tribes are the Adwan
(11, kiiii), and the more powerful but less numerous Beni-Sakhr, or " Sons of the
Rocks." In the Sinaitic peninsular, the Towarah, as they an' collectively called,
number about 8,000, and are supposed to l>e descended from the Amalekites.
Their women, like those of the A wans, tattoo the lower lip in blue, and trace a lew
geometrical figures on the face. Amongst the Bedouins, who appear to he of
diverse origin, some gipsies are also found wandering under the name of Xauri.

The Palestine fellahin, generally called Kufars or " Villagers," are despised by
the Arabs on account of their rude speech and servile character. Yet they are
timely well made, and the women of Narazeth and Bethlehem are renowned for
their beauty, which rightly or wrongly is attributed to a mixture of European
elements. In some districts women taken in adultery are still stoned, and leprosy

THE ANSARIEH— DRUZES AND MARONITES. 377

prevails amongst the rural classes as it did thousands of years ago. The urban
population, although of a somewhat heterogeneous type, is distinguished by certain
characteristic traits— regular features but rather too broad, well-shaped nose,
almond eyes, slightly prominent lips, animated expression. They are universally
described as an extremely intelligent and highly gifted people, worthy of their
Phoenician ancestors, and after long ages of servitude still full of national life and
energy. They show a natural capacity, especially for trade, and numbers of Syrian
merchants are settled in Marseilles, Liverpool, Manchester, and even in America
and (Scandinavia. Their chief defects are a disregard for truth, expressed in the
national saying, " Lying is the salt of man," and an intolerable vanity and self-
sufficiency. Every town, however, is distinguished by special characteristics,
indicated or exaggerated by such local sayings as, " Halebi, chelebi ; Shami,
s/iHHii '" " Aleppo folk slaves, Damascus all knaves!" Owing to their constant
commercial relations with Mecca, the people of Damascus are the most Arab of all
Syrians, and here Arabic is spoken in its greatest purity, although the old Syriac
still survives in the district.

The Ansarieh — Druzes and Maronites.

The highlanders along the north coast between the Gulf of Alexandretta and
the Nahr-el-Kebir, known as Noeairi ("Little Christians"), or more properly
Ansarieh, are variously estimated at from 120,000 to 180,000. They are shepherds
on the hills, labourers on the plains, but all keep aloof from their neighbours,
although they now speak Arabic, and in the towns call themselves Mohammedans
to escape persecution. But in secret they practice a special cult, the " mystery of
the gods," supposed to have been orally revealed, and consisting of a Manichaan
form of Christianity based on Sabaism. But the different ashair, or tribes, do not
all profess the same dogmas, whence the contradictory statements of writers who
describe their practices. Most of them are said to worship a " Quintinary," or
deity of five persons, and prostrate themselves before trees, and especially before
the " two princes of the bees," that is, the sun and moon. "Women are held to be
essentially impure, for " God," they say, " created the demons with the sins of man,
but woman with the sins of the demons." Hence she is viler than the devil himself,
and has not even the right to pray. The practice of deforming children's heads by
bandages is very common amongst the Ansarieh, many of whom are distinguished
by their light hair and blue eyes.

The Druzes, numbering probably about 100,000, occupy the south Libanon
valleys and Hermon, but are gradually moving eastwards to the Hainan uplands.
Here they verge on the steppe, where they have contracted alliances with the
Anazeh and Shammar Bedouins. While still nominally subject to Turkey, they
enjoy in this remote region a certain immunity bom the oppression of the pashas,
possess good arable lands and pastures, abundance of water, and a healthy climate,
while the ruins of ancient cities supply them with the materials required to erect
their dwellings. Like the Ansarieh, they call themselves Mohammedans, hut are

878

SOUTH-WESTEBN AS] L

justly disowned by all orthodox Mussulmans. The " Ed-Deruz," or followers of
the prophet Mohammed Ed-Derazi, profess an extremely intricate system, in which
metaphysical subtleties are blended with Shiah doctrines and older Gnostic and
Mazdian reminiscences. The sect was founded by a Persian sage aboul the middle

of tin- truth century, while Eamza,
Ks.iW.-iMwimM»o»8t«u. another Iranian teacher, subse-

quently modified and codified its
doctrines. The 1 'razes regard them-
selves as " Unitarians," and their
fundamental dogma is certainlj thi
unity of < fed, but a unit] often em-
bodied in human form. Oneoi these
divine incarnations was Ali ; ano-
ther the terrible Caliph Hakim,

whose folly and cruellies are still
legendary among the Mussulmans,
and the last was Ham/a, the "Cen-
tre of the Circle." Ee was the
light of which Mohammed was the
shade, for the birth of every dis-
ciple of e\ il is balanced by a disciple
of good. And thus goes on the
everlasting struggle between the two
principles, a ceaseless warfare, in
which the Druzea and the countless
followers of " < log and MagOg " re-
present the host of the Lord. The
number of souls having been fixed
from all eternity, they pass endlessly
from body to body, renewing the
contest in cadi successive existence.
"The soul is like a fluid poured
oi 1 1 from vessel to vessel;" its
destiny is pre-ordained, and the con-
trad between God and the elect is
deposited in one of the Egyptian
pyramids. On the Last Day Hakim
will entrust his sword to Eamza,
that be may achieve the triumph

of the true religion, and distribute rewards and penalties. Much of this doctrine
is esoteric, veiled from the profane by formulas, signs, and numbers, the key to which
is held only by the okkal, or " initiated." Sentence of death is pronounced against
anyone revealing the mysterious rites, which are celebrated before a sacred calf set
up mi the •• high places."

Arabs

Jews

E^3

Marouitcfl

lefa Melouali Isrnallianfl Turcomans Turks
i.i Rashi- Kurds

shim

* • i » elu

60 Miles

• . '..

HRUZK PRINCESS AM) LADY OF THE LIBANON.

THE ANSABIEH— DRUZES AXD MARONITES. 379

The first moral precepts inculcated to the Druzes are truth and brotherhood,
all owing one to another the natural duty of veracity and acts of good-will. The
same obligation does not exist towards strangers, who may even be justly killed, if
their death be necessary for the national cause. Nevertheless the Druzes are
distinguished above all their neighbours for great uprightness, dignity of manners,
lasting friendships, and unaffected speech. They are generally very frugal, dressed
with taste but without display, discreet of tongue, and courteous, saluting each
other with the title of skeikh. Being the elect of the Lord, they consider it a point
of honour to be better than others. Nowhere in the East are women more respected
by the men, who concede to them equal rights in marriage and tenure of property.
In instruction they are generally even superior, nearly all being able at least to
read and write, and forming part of the initiated class. Monogamy is strictly
observed, and the family is restricted by custom to four and two children for the
wealthy and poor respectively. The political influence of the Druzes greatly
exceeds the limits of the tribe, and such is their valour that in equal combat they
hold victory over any foe as a foregone conclusion. Amongst the subjects of
their emirs are peasants of various sects, all of whom are treated with great
tolerance.

One of these non-Christian sects are the Metuali, who live in Tyre and
Sidon, in Ccele-Syria and surrounding valleys, and who are everywhere noted for
their extreme exclusiveness. They are Shiahs, who, like the Iranian Mussulmans,
have a special veneration for the Caliph Ali, ranking him with or even above
Mohammed himself. On all their wanderings they carry about a handful of
Persian soil, would regard themselves as polluted by contact with a heretic, whether
Sunni or Christian, and break the vessel used by a stranger.

Farther north, in the hills between Homs and Tripoli, dwell the Ismailians or
Bathenians, a sect that has preserved the traditions of the Hashishim, or
"Assassins," the Seyids of the "Old Man of the Mountain," enthroned in his
stronghold of Alamut in the heart of the Elburz range. Like those of Kurdistan
and Armenia, the Syrian highlands have long been a refuge for persecuted
religions. On the open plains and plateaux unity of faith prevails, while diversity
of worship is fostered by the inequalities of the relief in hilly districts.

The Maronites, who notwithstanding the original difference of their rites and
dogmas, are now attached to the Latin Church, are one of the chief Christian
communities protected by the physical character of their mountain homes. Firmly
consolidated in one nationality, they are concentrated mainly along the western
slope of Libanon, between the Xahr-el-Kelb, which reaches the coast a little north
of Beirut, and the Xahr-el-Barid, which flows from the northern spur of Libanon.
Some of their groups reside also in the Ansarieh country, in the cities of the plain,
where they find support in the Catholic communities, and lastly in Cyprus, where
a few of the old Maronite settlers still survived. So named from the patriarch
Maron, founder of their Church in the seventh century, they became later on the
natural allies of the Crusaders against Islam, and their doctrines thus became
gradually assimilated to that of the strangers whom they followed to the battlefield.

asii 80UTH vTESTEBN Asia.

In 1215 they recognised papal authority, and from thai time they have been
considered as under t lie special protection of the Western < 'at holies. Some of their
families even bear European names, pointing at a probable intermingling of Prank

ele nts during the time of the crusades. They show with pride two letters from

Louis X I V. and Louis X V., promising them the constanl aid of Prance, and during
the present century they have always regarded themselves as the " French of the
Libanon." Eence the extreme importance taken by the " .Maronite Question " in
the diplomatic contests in the Mast. In virtue of the treaties, the pasha of the
Libanon must be a Christian, and as Franco protects the Maronites, the English
extend their patronage to the Druzes. Then the local feuds fomented by foreign
residents and by the Turkish authorities, glad to divide and rule, broke out into
open war and massacre. Iii lSb'O thirteen thousand Christians were butchered in
the Libanon and neighbouring districts, and although the Druzes were accused of
these wholesale atrocities, the chief perpetrators were the regular and irregular
Turkish troops. Attracted to the spot by the neaps of slain, the ounces, hysenas,
and wolves resumed possession of the land, which remained a prey to chaos till
tranquility was restored by French intervention.

Amongst the Maronites the clergy are very powerful. Over a fourth of the
soil belongs to the Church; at least 200 convents of monks and nuns, usually
disposed in couples side by side, are scattered over the Libanon valleys. The
priests marry, hut if left widowers cannot take a second wife. They are elected by
the monks, as are also the bishops, who in their turn nominate the hut nil;, or
patriarch, under reserve of papal approval. Mass is said in Syriac, a language
understood neither by the clergy nor the people. A great many Maronites learn
French and speak it fluently, lint seldom study the literature, their ambition being
usually limited to the offices of dragoman (interpreter) or corresponding clerk.
Those engaged in trade display little enterprise, generally confining themselves to
local or retail business. The mass of the people remain tillers of the land, without
energy or higher inspirations. Foreign artists, mostly (J reeks, erect and decorate
their buildings; what they themselves build is heavy and tasteless, although the
Maronite art of medieval times has left a few original edifices adorned with fresco
paintings. The Yuk Mikail weavers also manufacture some fine silken fabrics,
and the local goldsmiths, who have preserved the old Phoenician and Greek
processes, make jewellery of a highly artistic type.

Tin Mil kitis \m> Jews.

Other united Catholics of pure Arab stock are settled in the neighbourhood of
the desert south and west of Damascus. Immigrants from Yemen long before the
Christian era, and subsequently reinforced by colonists from Ilejaz and Nejd, these
"Arab Arabs," as they call themselves, were converted to Christianity towards the
end of the fourth century, and then came to be called " Greeks." Alter the Arab
conquest, some preserved their religion, while others accepted the supremacy of the
pope, who permitted them to keep their own hierarchy, and in their liturgy to

THE MELKITES AND JEWS. 381

substitute the Arabic for the Greek language. They are called " United Greeks,"
although in no way connected with the Hellenes, and also Melkites, or " Royal,"
while their spiritual head, resident in Damascus, takes the title of Patriarch of
Antiochia, Alexandria, and Jerusalem. Of all Asiatic Christians the Melkite
Arabs are the most respected. Their valour is unquestioned, their natural
intelligence has been developed by instruction, they speak their mother tongue
with rare purity and elegance, and through their enterprising spirit they enjoy an
influence out of all proportion with their numbers, which cannot be estimated at
more than 100,000.

The Jews are now strangers in the land which belonged to their forefathers,
and which they still consider as their original home. Poland and Galicia are the
present centres of Judaism, and of 6,000,000 Hebrews scattered over the world,
scarcely 40,000 are settled in the Holy Land. In Damascus alone they form a
community which seems to be descended directly from an ancient colony. Till
recently all the others were " Maugrabines " or " Spanioles," that is, descendants
of the Jews expelled from Spain by the Inquisition. But since the middle of the
present century, these have been largely reinforced by the so-called Ashkinazim, or
Jews of East Europe. According to the Talmudic tradition, accepted by the
German Jews, the Messiah will set up his throne at Safed. Hence the new
arrivals have settled chiefly at the foot of that volcano. Tiberias also, where the
Messiah is to be born again, has attracted numerous colonists, while some thousands
of others have grouped themselves round the Temple of Jerusalem. The movement
has been stimulated by the late persecutions in East Europe, and several agricultural
colonies have recently been founded, especially on the Esdraelou plain, under the
shadow of Carmel. Some English philanthropists have also endeavoured to obtain
for them the rich lands of Gilead, beyond the Jordan. Unfortunately all these
attempts were at first attended by disastrous consequences. The unhappy refugees
were decimated by famine, sickness, and hardships of all sorts, and in many places
the immigrants were dispersed or sent back by the Turkish Government. Never-
theless the movement must certainly tend to improve the social status of the
Hebrew element in Palestine. The Scphardim or Spanioles, recently condemned
to wear a black turban, are distinguished by their handsome features and dignified
bearing, but being less enterprising and instructed than the Ashkinazim, they
seem fated to become the proletariate of the nation.

Transformed to a battlefield for the various Christian sects, who claim the
exclusive possession of the Holy Sepulchre, Palestine has in recent times not only
received numerous missionaries, but also several colonies of European agriculturists.
Of these the most nourishing are the Suabian Protestants settled near J alia and at
Khaifa, at the foot of Mount Carmel. These colonists belong to the s.ct of the
"Templars," who await the coming of the Messiah, and hope to be the first to
answer his summons on the Day of Judgment. After many vicissitudes, their
establishments, supported by the voluntary contributions forwarded by the mother
country, have acquired some importance as industrial and trading centres for all
the surrounding districts. They are gradually losing their religious character and

882 SOUTH WBSTEEN &£] L

laying aside their communistic i«l<-;i^, and several of the colonists have already
begun to accumulate property on their own account. Some Greek and European
sp culators are also obtaining extensive concessions in the more Fertile districts, and
one of them has bought u]> half of the plain of Esdraelon with aboul twenty
villages. The land is thus changing hands to the great injury of the fellahin, and
the "lil communes, in which everyone had at least a virtual right to the soil, have
already ceased to exist. The rural districts are becoming impoverished and the
villages depopulated, while Foreign settlements are increasing in the towns. The
land is also frequently wasted by famines, when the peasantry are driven to
consume wild herbs and the mallow-seed cooked in oil or milk

Topoqb wm of Syria.

The Amanus highlands are one of those regions on the Mediterranean seaboard
where the population has most diminished. Here the ancient city of Tssus, where
Alexander gained a memorable victory oxer the Persians, has ceased to exist, and
can no longer be identified. Iskanderun or Alexandretta, that is, the "Little
Alexandria." is nearly abandoned during the summer months, when the miasma
from the surrounding marshes is especially fatal to Europeans. The latter then
retire to the picturesque town of Beilail, which lies l.lillll feet above the sea in the

neighbouring hills. Notwithstanding the sudden gusts that sweep down from these

hills, the port of Alexandretta is one of the safest on the Syrian coast, and is also
the most conveniently situated to become the future terminus of the projected
railway between the Mediterranean and Euphrates basin. It is at present the chief
outport for the cereals and other agricultural produce from the fertile region
comprised between the Taurus, the Euphrates, and Orontes. Caravans of ten
thousand camels are constantly on the road between Aleppo and Alexandretta, and
the exports were estimated in L882 at over £1,240,000.

Aleppo. — Boms. — Ham ah.

Aleppo or Halcb, the chief caravan station between the Gulf of Alexandretta
and the Euphrates, is one id' the great cities of Asiatic Turkey. It stands at the
converging point of several trade routes, and has also the advantage of abundant
water from the river Koveik, which irrigates an extensive cultivated district noted
for its pistachio-nuts. Aleppo, the ancient Berea, which itself succeeded to a still
more ancient Khalebon or Khalebo, a name preserved in that of the present city, was
at all times an important commercial mart. Before tin; discovery of the Cape of
Good Hope and of the sea route to India, it was one of the most flourishing
emporiums in the world. It had a very large population, even down to the year
1822, when over half its inhabitants perished in an earthquake of almost unprece-
dented violence. From that disaster it never quite recovered, and even declined in
prosperity after the opening of the Suez Canal, by which it was deprived of a

<
B

-
3

ALEPPO— HOMS—HAMAH. 383

portion of its traffic. Although two-thirds of its citizens are Mohammedans of
Arabic speech, the population is otherwise of a very motley description, including
Armenians and other Christians, Jews, Ansariehs, and Druzes, who are numerous,
especially in the outskirts, while hundreds of Circassians, expelled from Bulgaria,
have also found a refuge here.

The city properly so called, enclosed within ramparts three miles in circum-
ference, is intersected by narrow streets, some of which are completely roofed in by
the projecting upper storeys of the opposite houses. In the centre of the most
closely built quarter stands an artificial eminence about 200 feet high, whose Bteep
slopes are faced with a regular coating of huge blocks. On this mound stood the
citadel which held out against the Crusaders in 1124. Although since then ruined
by the ravages of time and earthquakes, the fortress still presents an imposing
appearance, with its broad square towers, posterns, flanking-turrets, and bastions.
As a stronghold it has been replaced by the fortified barracks erected beyond the
walls by Ibrahim Pasha, which afford accommodation for as many as ten thousand
men. In medical records this Syrian city is well known for the cutaneous eruption
known as the " Aleppo Button." This distemper, however, from which few of the
inhabitants escape, and which even attacks the dogs and cats, is not peculiar to
Aleppo, but also prevails in Orfa, Bagdad, and many other places, especially in the
south of Persia.

In the upper Orontes basin the chief place is the ancient Emessa, a name
surviving in its modern form of Horns. Like Aleppo, it owes its origin to trade,
for here converge the natural highways following the course of the Orontes, and
connecting the Mediterranean transversely with the Palmyra oasis and the
Euphrates through the Nahr-el-Kebir Valley. The breach formed by this river
between the Amanus and Libanon ranges marks the line that must be followed by
the future railway destined to run from the coast at Tripoli to the Euphrates basin.
At present over ten thousand camels pass along this route to Tripoli during the
month of August, after the harvest. Horns, like Aleppo and most other Syrian
towns between the hills and the Euphrates, is commanded by an artificial mound
surmounted by old and crumbling fortifications. Even of its mediaeval structures
but few traces now remain, while of those dating from pagan times nothing but
fragments have been preserved. Not a vestige is now to be seen of the sumptuous
temple consecrated to the sun, whose priests ranked as kings, taking their scat with
Heliogabalus on the imperial throne. At the beginning of the present century
Horns was a very small place, but has since then acquired considerable importance
as an industrial centre. Besides the silks interwoven with gold threads for which
it was always noted, it now produces coarse cottons and other fabrics retailed
throughout Syria and amongst the Bedouins of the desert. The raw silks from the
Ansarieh highlands no longer sufficing for the local demand, it imports this produce
from distant lands, exporting its manufactured goods especially to Egypt, Arabia,
and Asia Minor. In L883 its four thousand looms employed as many as twelve
thousand hands, and yielded about £240,000 worth of textile fabrics. Lying on
the verge of the Syrian desert, Horns is crowded with Bedouins during market-

384

SOUTH-WESTEBN ASIA

tig. 171 .— Hums.
Scale 1 : 380,000.

days, and the Arab tribes encamped in the vdcinity have recently been reinforced

Kv mimic Circassian immigrants.

South-west of Horns and above the lake traversed by the Orontes, Lieut.
Conder has discovered on the isolated eminence of Tell-Nebi-Mendeh Borne
extensive ruins, which he identifies with Kaclesh, the " Holy City " of the ancient
Ilittites, where in the year 1361 of the <>1<1 era Ramses II. gained the great victory
represented in the Ramesseum of Thebes. A mill near the mound still bears the
name of Kaclesh; hut the marbles of the old temples and sarcophagi have lately
been broken up and employed in the construction of some sugar works. In the
neighbourhood is a deep chasm, the source of a copious spring, and, according to a

local Mohammedan tradition,
the spot whence the waters of
the Deluge hurst forth. A

square eminence on the edge

of the lake is known as
'■ Noah's Ark."

Hamah, standing on both
sides of the Orontes some _'s
miles to the north of Ilonis,
i> also a venerable city. Its
very name differs hut little
from that which it hole some
four thousand years ago, when
the Israelites entered the
Promised Land. Seen from
the neighbouring heights, it

-eeins divided into several
quarters by the gardens anil
orchards, forming broad ver-
dant spaces between its groups
of white houses. From the
banks of the < (routes it presents
a still more striking appearance,
with its green terraces and the enormous wheels of its chain-pumps, some of which
have diameters of over 70 feet. The great depth of the channel through which
the Nahr-el-Asi Hows has necessitated the employment of these heavy hydraulic
works to raise the water to the level of the surrounding gardens. Even so irriga-
tion is so difficult and expensive, that the riverain population mostly restrict
themselves to the cultivation of the so-called z/iors, or " narrows," that is, the strip
of land fringing the stream at the foot of the cliffs. These alluvial tracts, which
average about a third of a mile in width, and which are extremely fertile, yield
abundant crops of cotton, sesame, onions, and all kinds of vegetables. The arable
lands on the upper plain as tar as the desert grow barley and wheat of prime
quality, and these cereals are largely exported. The industries of Hamah, much

.6 Miles.

ANTIOCHIA— RUAD— TRIPOLI. 385

inferior to those of Homs, are limited mainly to silk and cotton fabrics, employing
about three thousand weavers, and representing an annual vield of £40,000.

Hamah has become famous in the history of epigraphy, thanks to the inscrip-
tions discovered by Burekkardt in 1812 on some basalt blocks built into the walls
of the bazaar, and now preserved in the museum of Constantinople. Subsequent
discoveries made in various parts of Syria and Asia Minor have shown that these
hitherto undeciphered hieroglyphical writings were due to the Hittite people,
whose sacred city was situated farther south, near Lake Kades. The two recently
dismantled towns of Massiad and Kadmus, standing on spurs of the Ansaryeh
range south-west of Hamah, are the religious centres of the sect of the " Assassins."

North of Hamah the population is thinly scattered over the Orontes Valley, where
unhealthy swamps alternate with rugged and almost inaccessible gorges. The
Aleppo highways run east of the hills skirting the river on a slightly undulating
plateau at an altitude of from 1,150 to 1,300 feet. Here several caravan stations
in the midst of corn-fields have grown into considerable centres of population.
Such are Maarah-en-Noaman, Sermin, Riha, and Edlip or Idlip, which last is a
flourishing place surrounded by rich arable lands, and possessing some large soap
and weaving factories. This part of Syria is especially noted for its numerous
remains of Christian architecture, dating from the first centuries of the new era.
El-Barah, lying in the heart of the hills south-east of Riha, may be compared to
Pompeii, so admirably preserved are its churches, villas, tombs, and other structures.
In some of the dwellings the windows, floors, and ceilings of the apartments are
almost intact ; the inscriptions are perfectly legible, and the doors, formed of a
single slab, still turn on their hinges. At Dana, on the road between Aleppo and
Antiochia, may be seen the finest Roman tomb in Syria, the date of which, 324 a.d.,
has been deciphered by M. de Vogue.

In the vast triangular space comprised between Aleppo, Hamah, and Antiochia
are found the remains, if not of " three hundred and sixty-five cities," as asserted
by the Arabs, at least of over a hundred Christian towns dating from the fourth to
the seventh century, and still almost intact. But for the earthquakes, which have
here and there rent the walls and caused the roofs to fall in, nothing would be
missing except the woodwork carried off by the builders of more recent cities.
The removal of the basalts and other hard materials, drawn from the quarries of
the district, would have been too troublesome and expensive.

Antiochia — Ruad — Tripoli.

Below the great gorge of the Orontes, and beyond the point where it Bweepa
round the Jebel-Kosseir, the gate of inner Syria was formerly guarded by the
mighty city of Antiochia, which for a time ranked next to Rome and Alexandria
as the largest metropolis in the world. Its site had been admirably chosen, near
the north-east corner of the Mediterranean, where the Gulf of Cilicia penetrates
farthest inland, and at the converging point of three great national highways.
One of these runs obliquely across Anatolia to the Bosphorus ; another follows the
123

880 SOUTH-WE8TEBN Asia.

Syriun and Palestine seaboard to Egypt and Arabia, while the third reaches the
Mesopotamian plains through the valley of the Euphrates, which here describes a
vasl curve in the direction of the Mediterranean. Thus nature itself points ou1
this Bpol as a great centre of trade and intercourse between the surrounding peoples.
Hence at two distinct epochs, during the first centuries of the new era, and at the
time of the Crusades, Antiochia became one of the most commercial emporiums in
the world. In those days the Syrian capital became the chief mart for the costly
products of India, and here thousands of artisans were employed in the manufacture
of the rich textiles known throughout the West as Antiochia cloth.

But the district was a great focus of underground disturbance-, and few cities
have suffered more from disastrous earthquakes. Probably the most terrific on
record occurred in the year 115 i.d., when as many as 260,000 human beings are
said to have been crushed beneath her ruined edifices. The city was again over-
\\ helmed in oS:{, when the survivors were unable to recognise their dwellings amid
the universal chaos, and even during the present century it was half destroyed in
L822 and again in IS?','. It suffered also from numerous sieges, such as that of
1 D!tS. when it fell into the power of Bohemond. Thus the capital of the Seleucides
has preserved few traces of its ancient splendour, and even the ramparts raised by
the Norman Crusaders were partially destroyed by the Egyptian troops of Ibrahim
Pasha, who used the materials in the construction of their barracks. The walls,
formerly Hanked by three hundred towers, follow the left bank of the Oroutes, and
then ascend the slope of the southern hills, where stood a formidable citadel. But
the vast quadrilateral thus described is now a city of the dead, where everything
has crumbled to dust. The tlanking-towers, however, are still known by the names
they bore at the time of the Crusades, names which thus serve to commemorate the
greal part played by Antiochia in ecclesiastical history. Here was born St. John
Chrvsostom, and this was the seat of one of the four great patriarchs of the Greek
Church.

The present town of Antakieh, lying on the banks of the Orontes at the north-
west corner of the enclosure, is almost lost amid the surrounding gardens and
orchards. Seen from the encircling hills, it presents the aspect of one of those
Eastern cemeteries where every grave has its cypress, as here every house has its
mulberry, plantain, or fifr-tree. Antakieh is gradually recovering some of its former
importance as a centre of the export trade and of the soap industry. Some
companies have also beer\ recently formed for bringing under cultivation the
surrounding plains, where the most remarkable monument is the still almost intact
embankment constructed by Justinian, west of the citadel, across the deep ravine of
the ( taopnietes.

West of Antiochia the Orontes Valley, broadening out in one place, hemmed in
in another between steep rocky walls, elsewhere ramifying into lateral verdant
dales watered by sparkling rivulets, presents everywhere a charming prospect.
Here the hamlet of liiil-il-Ma marks the site of the ancient Daphne, where stood
the temples of Apollo and other pagan deities. The hills enclosing the valley on
the north are known by the name of Jcbel-Seiman, or Mount Saint Simeon, and

ANTK )( HIA— RUAD— TRIPOLI.

387

the memory of the famous " Stylites," or " Christian fakir," as he has been called,
is perpetuated all over the district. The column, 30 cubits high, on which he lived
and died, stands to the north of Antiochia near the ruins of Kalat-Seman, or
" Simeon's Castle."

The present port of Antiochia is the pleasant little village of Suedieh, which
lies on the southern slopes and at the foot of a hill skirted on the south by the
mouth of the Orontes. Here the Arab craft is able to approach the shore some 6

Fig. 172. — The Ancient Tomb of Dana.

miles to the south of the now choked-up harbour of Sekucia. The roadstead south
of the Ras-el-Khanzir headland has the advantage of lying near the Orontes, and
would become the natural outport of this fertile basin but for its exposed position
on the coast. At the foot of the limestone promontory bounding the low-lying
plain of the Orontes on the north, the ancients had excavated an artificial harbour,
the disjointed blocks of which are still visible on the beach at Seleucia. This little
harbour might again be cleared out, but it would be inadequate for modern shipping,
and long piers would have to be run out for half a mile seawards. Even then the

888

SolTll-WKSTEEN AS] \

approaches would be dangerous, and the projected porl will probably be constructed
at Buedieh, near the river-mouth, and connected with Antiochia by a railway, the

concession for which has already been granted. The hill at Seleucia is honey-
combed with graves, and one of the roads leading to the interior is carried across

Pig. 17'!. — Antiochia and Si kiiikh.
Scale 1 : 360.000.

0to80
Feet.

so to ieo
Feet.

160 to 320
Feet.

320 to 640
Feet.

6 Miles.

640 Fort iind
upwards.

the cliff through a series of cuttings and tunnels. This is one of the grandest
works of the kind executed hy the ancients.

When the inhabitants of Antiochia were reckoned hy the hundred thousand,
the chief port was not in the exposed basin of Seleucia, but at Laodicea, which lay

ANTIOCHIA—RUAD— TRIPOLI.

389

some 60 miles farther south near a little gulf indented with numerous inlets. One
of these, since partly filled in, was spacious and deep enough to receive a large
number of vessels, which were sheltered by breakwaters and reefs from the surf.
Notwithstanding the difficulties of communication with the interior across the
Ansarieh hills, the ancient Laodicea, now called Latakieh, is one of the outports of

Fig. 174. — Latakieh.
Scale 1 : 170,000.

Bel.to

E ..-of Gr

50*45

59-50

OtoSO
Feet.

So to 160
Feet.

160 to 320
Feet.

320 Feet and
upwards.

m 6 Miles.

Aleppo, and the seat of a small European .settlement. It stands on a terrace within
half a mile of the " Marina " which lines the circular beach. It does a largo trade
in the strong tobacco grown in the neighbouring district, which is distinguished by
its dark colour and a peculiar fragrance caused by fumigation over cedar-wood
braziers. Latakieh also exports cotton, cereals, oils, and fruits, and is one of the
ports proposed as the starting point of the Euphrates railway, which would be

390

SulTII-WKSTKRX AS] V

carried over a pass in the Amanus range at an elevation of 1,650 feet, and cross the
Orontes at the flourishing town of Esh-8hugr.

About midway between Latakieb and Tripoli lies the reef or islet of Ruad, the
ancient Arad, or Arvad, which is about half a mile long, over a quarter wide, and
crowded with houses. Some four thousand years ago this rook ruled an extensive

kingdom, Btretching on the

Kg. 175.— Ruad and Tobtosa. Ansarieh mainland beyond

scale i : ,25.000. the yjjg fo^ ,,,,],,, Qrontes

Valley. While so many other
royal capitals have disap-
peared, Arad still exists; but
although scarcely less popu-
lous than in the days of its
splendour, its only industry
is sponge-fishing, and its
only monuments are the re-
mains of its Phoenician
walls, which consist of huge
blocks resting on founda-
tions cut in the live rock.
Formerly the town outgrew
its narrow enclosures, and
-picad far and wide on the
opposite coast, where its
ruins may still be traced
uninterruptedly for a dis-
tance of 9 miles. The north-
ern quarter took the title of
Antaradus, which became
celebrated in mediaeval times
under the name of Tor tosa, on
the mainland. This strong-
hold successfully resisted
Saladin in the jear 1188,
and was the last place sur-
rendered by the Crusaders
in 1291, when they with-
drew to Cyprus. The for-
midable fortress and walls of Tortosa are built of large blocks, which no doubt
belonged to older Phoenician monuments. Marat/ius, the modern Amrit, one of
the southern quarters of the continental Ruad, contains a monument which is
supposed to be the most ancient in the land of Canaan, and which is the only
extant Semitic temple still easily recognised. El-Maabed, or the "Sanctuary,"'
as this building is rightly designated by the natives, rises in the form of a cube
/

OtolS
Feet.

!fi to 32
Feet.

32 Feet anil
upwards.

— 3 Miles.

ANTIOCHIA— RU AD— TRIPOLI .

391

above a square court cut in the rock, and formerly flooded with the waters of a
sacred reservoir, on which floated an "ark " like that of the Israelites.

Other Phoenician remains are strewn over the Aradite plain, while the highways
are commanded by formidable citadels crowning the heights, such as Srifita, or
" White Castle," the possession of which was often contested by Crusaders and
Saracens. One of the terraces in this hilly region bears the colossal remains of
Hom-Suliman, whose enclosures are the best preserved in Syria. Like the
" August Sanctuary " of Jerusalem, this was a haram, comprising a temple conse-
crated to Baotecetian Jupiter. Here is also the stronghold of Kalet-elSom, the
Krdk of the Crusaders, which commands the fords of the Nahr-el-Kebir west of
Homs. North of Tortosa the coast-route was guarded by the castle of Margat, the

Fig. 176. — Kalat-el-Hosan.

modern Margab, which was held by the Franks from 1140 to 1285. All these
castles were mostly built by European craftsmen, and nearly all the stonecutters'
marks are in Roman letters.

Tarabulus, or Tripoli, one of those " triple cities " which occur in so many
parts of the Old World, is at once the seaport of North Libanon and the emporium
of Homs and Hamah on the Upper Orontes. In the Phoenician period it was the
common mart of the three cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Arad, whence a title which at
present it deserves on other grounds. For it really consists of three distinct
quarters : the castle of Sanjal (Saint Giles), former residence of the Counts of
Tripoli, standing on a hill above the winding valley of the Nahr-Kadisha ; the
upper town, the " Pilgrim's Mount " of the Crusaders, which occupies the most
advanced terrace of the spurs of Libanon on the left bank of the river; lastly the

392 SOUTII-WKSTERX ASIA.

" Marina," or El-Mina, Lying over 2 miles to the north-west on a narrow peninsular,

P'ltiili

1 *
I

J&i'fe&v?'?--/ . '■.? '•■ , > ■■ >? r v.;
i -■ ^^' s&iO' ' ■ wfftFv;1 •

:"t:' ^'^ i ,;• .

m», % >

where some remains may still be seen of mediaeval fortifications. Some reefs lying
a third of a mile from the coast are all that now remains of the Bakar, or break-

ANTIOCIIIA— RUAD— TRIPOLI.

393

water, which formerly sheltered the port from the fierce western and northern
gales. Being broken through at various points, these works are no longer able to
protect the anchorage, where shipwrecks often take place when northern winds
prevail. During the Crusades Tripoli, at that time held by the people of Frovence
and Languedoc, was the chief centre of trade between Syria and the West ; besides
four thousand silk and camelot, or camels' hair, looms, it had a flourishing glass

Fig. 178.— Tripoli.
Scale 1 ; 95,000.

3 Miles.

industry, and here was the chief emporium for the costly produce of the East. From
this point the sugar-cane was transplanted to Sicily, whence it spread to Andalusia
and the New World. And although the Crusaders began their occupation by
burning its library, Tripoli also became a great school of learning, where Arabs,
Nestorians, and Jacobites taught philosophy, medicine, and history even to the
Westerns. At present it lias no university, but as a trading place it is rapidly
From Horns and Hainan it annually imports about twenty thousand

894 SOUTH-WEOTEBN ASIA.

tons of merchandise by the caravan route which may sooner or later be replaced by

a railway t<> Aleppo crossing the coast-range at an elevation of 1,100 feet. To
Europe and the Levant it forwards raw silks, coarse woven goods, delicious oranges,
tobacco, soap, and the famous wines of the El-Marj district. The finest sponges on
tin' Syrian coast are taken at Tripoli and the little port of Ilatrttit to the south-west,
ami this industry is yearly growing in importance. Originally established by the
Greeks of the archipelago, it is now mainly in the hands of the Syrian fishers, who
have become as skilful as their masters, and who have the advantage of residing on
the spot. They now employ over three hundred boats, and the yield increased from
624,000 in 1874 to £160,000 in 1880.

Batrun, the ancient Botrys, is now a mere fishing hamlet, while JehaU, the
Qebal of the Hebrews and Byblos of the Greeks, occupies hut a small portion of
the square enclosure constructed by the Crusaders. Byblos, the "Holy City,"
dedicated to the worship of the goddess Baalat, and birthplace of the god Tammuz,
the Adonis of the Greeks, is one of the oldest cities in the world, claiming a
higher antiquity even than Tyre and Sidon. But all its pagan monuments having
lieen systematically destroyed by the Christians, it lias little now to show but its
mediaeval ruins and the vast necropolis hewn out of the live rock in the surrounding
hills. Here is also to be seen the old channel cut in the cliff to deflect to Byblos
the waters of the sacred river of Adonis, the Nahr-Ibrahim of the Arabs. The
district yields a choice tobacco, which is sent to Latakicb, and there prepared for
the market, farther south the fertile Maronite valleys <>f the Kesruan forward a
portion of their produce through the bay of Juni. Jebail itself has no harbour
beyond a little basin less than three acres in extent, and badly protected by a
dilapidated breakwater from the winds and surf.

Bi.nti r — SlDON — TYRE.

Beirut, the most commercial and largest city on the Syrian coast, and which
presents a magnificent panoroma, almost rivalling those of Naples and Constanti-
nople, is also a very ancient place. For the Phoenician Beryttts, founded by the
god El on the same day as Byblos, claimed to be the first that " Time," created
with it, beheld on the lace of the earth. But the " Hoot of Life," the " Nourisher
of Cities," the " Primitive Queen of the World," as its titles ran, stood in
Phoenician and Roman times more to the east, near the river now known as the
Nahr-Beirut, moving gradually westwards in the direction of the most conspicuous
headland north of Mount Carmel The coast itself is so badly sheltered that vessels
lying at anchor in the roadstead frequently suffer during stormy weather. The
city, which is unenclosed, skirts the beech for some miles, and spreads inland along
the advanced spurs of the hills, which are themselves covered with hundreds of
villas surrounded with gardens and palm-groves. On the west the plantations are
encroached upon by dunes of red Band, which stretch southwards to the magnificent
pine-forest which is the pride of Beirut, and from which the city probably takes
its name.

BEIRUT— SIDON— TYRE .

395

Like Smyrna, Beirut has already assumed a European aspect. It has a
considerable colony of foreigners from the west, whose speech and dress have been
adopted by thousands of Levantines, Greeks, and even Syrians, settled here. About
half of the population consists of Christians of various sects— Maronites and Latins,
United Armenians, Orthodox and Catholic Greeks, Protestants of every denomina-
tion. In the streets elegant equipages are intermingled with convoys of camels ;
on the " French " route, which winds in easy gradients up the escarpments of the
hills, carts and diligences are seen in strange contrast with the pack-mules and
asses plodding along the dusty side-paths. Being the outport of Damascus, Beirut
receives all the produce of the villages strewn in hundreds over the terraces of
Libanon — the " golden wine," the fruits, the wools, raw silks, and cocoons, of the
thrifty rural population. The import trade has also greatly increased of late years,

Fig. 179. —Beirut.
Scalp 1 : 90,000.

- E. of &rec"xv.c^ 55*28

55'54

0 to 16
Feet.

16 to 32
Feet.

32 to 80
Feet.

2,200 Yards.

30 Feet and
upwards.

and the exchanges now amount to considerably over £2,000,000 annually. The
shipping, which exceeds 350,000 tons, is about equally divided amongst the
mercantile navies of Great Britain, France, and Austria. Owing to the increased
size of the vessels now frequenting Beirut, a new harbour has become indispen-
sable. According to the plan proposed by M. de Perthuis, a large portion of the
present shore with its rocky creeks and reefs would be cleared and dredged and
protected by breakwaters, by which accommodation would be afforded to a shipping
of about 200,000 tons annually.

European influence is apparent as much in the schools as in the trade of Beirut.
Famous during the Roman epoch for its university of jurisprudence, it is no less so
now for its educational establishments founded by the various religious communities
and supported by subsidies from abroad. Two of these institutions, provided

:i:i(i SOUTH-WESTEEN \>l.\

with observatories, museums, workshops, and printing-offices, olaim the title of
university, and are connected with schools of medicine. The American College

stands outside tin' city on the western headland commanding the roadstead, while
the vast establishmenl of the Jesuits lies in the heart of the town. Nearly every-
thing is modern in Beirut, and of its old monuments nothing is now to be seen
except fragments of pavements, columns, sarcophagi, and in the gorge near the
month of the Nahr-el-Kelb, numerous bas-reliefs and inscriptions of all epochs.
A portion of this stream is now brought to Beirut by a recently constructed
aqueduct, and traces have been discovered of another channel, which had been
carried across the bay on a double or triple row of arches. The modern hydraulic
works on the right bank of the Nahr-el-Kelb brought to light in l*7s some
interesting cuneiform inscriptions enumerating the provinces subject to Nabucho-
donosor. East of the city, on a spur of the Libanon enclosed by the deep valley of
the Nahr, the hamlet of Deir-el-Kalah marks the site of a large temple dating
from the (ineeo-Roman period. It had evidently been erected on the still older
foundations of a Phoenician sanctuary, whose enclosures may be recognised by
their huge blocks, several yards high, mingled with the more recent masonry.

Deir-el-Kamar, capital of the Druze country, but now inhabited by Christians,
lies in the heart of the mountains on a lofty terrace about 3,000 feet above the sea.
From this elevated position it commands the course of the Nahr-el-Kadi, or Nahr-

el-Damur, which falls into the Mediterranean between Beirut and Saida. The
" Convent of the .Moon," as its name implies, doubtless in reference to a church of
the Virgin, so often symbolized by the crescent, is not mi much a town as a group
of villages and hamlets scattered over the terraces above those astonishing hanging
gardens, which are here supported by masonry built into the side of the hill. The
women of Deir-el-Kamar are mostly occupied with weaving those robes of brocaded
silk which the Druze chiefs are fond of parading on state occasions. Farther
south and on the opposite side of the ravine, a steep crag is crowned with the
Beit-ed-Din (BheddinX the palace of the famous Druze prince Beshir, who
maintained an almost independent position till the arrival of Ibraham Pasha and
his Egyptians in lNofl. This building, now occupied by the Governor of the
Libanon, is a most remarkable Moorish edifice, noted for its graceful arcades,
elegant domes, and varied structures piled in terraces one above the other, each
with its turrets, galleries, and gardens.

South of Beirut follow two cities which, clue regard being paid to the difference
between former and present times, certainly played a vast part in the commerce of
the Old World. But both alike, Stdon (Saidda\«aA Tyre (Sur), are now reduced
to very modest proportions. Sidon, confined within dilapidated ramparts, has no
longer even a harbour accessible to anything larger than the local Arab craft.
The northern basin has silted up, although if cleared out it would form a sort of
natural dock, enclosed on two sides by rocks and reefs, and in the north-east by a
bridge with nine pointed arches connecting the picturesque Kalat-el-Bahr, or
■• Sea Castle," with the mainland. This basin communicates through a now almost
filled-up channel with the southern port, which is too exposed to afford safe

HEIRUT— SIDOX— TYRE.

397

Fig. 180.— Sidon.
Scale 1 : 23,000.

anchorage to the shipping. The modern town, inhahited by Maronites, Greeks,

Metualis, Levantines, and Sunnite Mussulmans, is largely built of materials drawn

from the old city. A small museum stands near the beach on the northern

harbour, which even so recently as the seventeenth century was the entrepot of

trade with France and Spain. Although there are no monuments dating from the

time when Sidon was the

metropolis of the vast colonial

empire of the Phoenicians,

it at least still remains the

" Flowery City " of former

times. No other Syrian town,

except perhaps Damascus, is

encircled by more beautiful

gardens, none produces more

choice fruits or lovely flowers.

The mean annual yield of its

gardens is estimated at from

£250 to £300 an acre, and its

orange trade now rivals that

of Jaffa itself.

In the necropolis stretch-
ing south-eastwards along the
foot of the limestone cliffs,
are found the most remarkable
monuments of ancient Sidon.
Such are the walls, caves, and
sarcophagi, besides the tomb
of King Eshmunazar, in the
purest Egyptian style, but
with a precious Phoenician
inscription. This important
historical monument has lately
been transferred to the Louvre.
In the immediate neighbour-
hood of the town, the beach,
running north and south, is
everywhere encumbered with
huge heaps of shells left l>v

the manufacturers of the purple dye which at one time constituted the most
famous and lucrative branch of Sidonian industry. One of these mounds, composed
exclusively of the murex trunculus, used for dyeing coarse materials, is no less than
400 feet long, with an average height of 26 to 28 feet. Others, which are very
numerous, consist of the debris of the murex brandaris and purpura hemastoma,
used only in dyeing more costly fabrics. A town lying on a tine sandy beach to

398

SOI III WESTERN \s[.\.

the north of Sidon had taken the name of Porphyrion, that is. the " Purple City,"
from itsextensive dye-works. Here, according to the local Jewish and Mussulman
tradition, the prophet Jonas was cast ashore, whence the name of Khan-Nebi-
Yunas given to the neighbouring village. When their vast maritime trad.' began
to decline, the Sidonians turned their attention to the industrial arts, and soon
became the most renowned craftsmen in the world. "Skilled in all things,"

according to the Homeric ex-
Fig. i8i.— Ivke. pression, they became as famous

Scale 1 : tu.ow. ,,' . , ,r

as were afterwards the Vene-
tians lor their glass-works
which were situated at SdfCpta,
a three hours' journey to the
BOUth near the modern village
of 8arfend.

Tyre, the "daughter" and
rival of Sidon, is a still more
decayed place, where it is diffi-
cult to recognise the great city
supposed to have been founded
bj Baal himself. At present
it occupies only a small portion
of the rocky islet which held
out for ten years against the
Assyrians under Salmauasar
and Suryakin, for thirteen
against Xabuchodonosor, and
arrested the progress of Alex-
ander for seven months. West
of the islet, to which the city
was probably indebted for its
name of Tyre, that is, the
"Rock," some debris, visible
beneath the transparent waters,
appear to be the remains of an
ancient town built on a terraced
embankment, and either swept
away in a storm or swallowed
in some local subsidence of the land. Over half a mile to the north is seen a
i formerly connected with Tyre by a dyke, of which every \estige has dis-
appeared : and the same fate has overtaken the pier or breakwater which towards
the south connected other islets in a continuous rampart stretching in the direction
of the Uas-el-Abiad, or "White Point." But the causeway constructed by
Alexander to connect the island with the mainland still exists, its preservation
being due to the sands brought by the winds and currents to consolidate it on

Ota l«
Feel

16 to 32
Feet.

. 2,2011 Yard*.

BAALBEK— DAMASCUS. 399

both sides. This causeway has thus grown into an isthmus 2,000 feet broad at its
narrowest part, above which the sands have here and there formed low dunes or hills.

Bevond some graves, which have mostly fallen in, nothing is to be seen of
Pako- Tyre, the continental city that stretched for a distance of 7 miles north and
south between the mouth of the Orontes and the copious springs of Ras-el-Ain.
One of the tombs in this district is associated in the local traditions with the name
of Hiram, the renowned royal builder, whose memory still presides at the gatherings
of the "masons " who have undertaken to reconstitute the world. The same tradi-
tions attribute to Solomon some old reservoirs still filled with the abundant
overflow of the Ras-el-Ain springs, which are thence distributed in a thousand
channels over the plain, and which formerly supplied a now ruined aqueduct
running: northwards in the direction of the Maashuk mound. Here it ramified
into two branches, one of which penetrated to the insular city, while the other was
carried northwards to the neighbouring coast-stream.

Although small, the present Tyre, inhabited by Sunnites, Metualis, Jews, and
Greeks of both rites, still enjoys a certain prosperity, thanks to its export trade in
cotton and tobacco, shipped in the modern port, which is a mere inlet of the old
northern harbour. The excavations undertaken in 1874 amid the ruins of the
ancient cathedral in search of Frederick Barbarossa's tomb, brought to light some
magnificent single and double columns in granite and Egyptian syenite.

The valley of the Leontes, or Kasimiyeh, the products of which are exported
through Tyre, has no towns in its lower reaches. No centres of population occur,
even along its upper course, until we reach the Bekaa depression and the region
lying beyond the sources of the Leitani. Here the largest and most industrious
place is Zahleh, inhabited by Syrian and Greek Christians, and built in amphi-
theatrical form on the slopes of a hill intersected by the precipitous bed of a
mountain torrent. Its name recalls a " landslip," during which it descended from
the higher level of the escarpments rising northwards in the direction of the Jebel-
Sannin. Zahleh is surrounded by vineyards, and all the rivulets in the neigh-
bouring plain are fringed with poplars. Forming an important intermediate
station between Beirut and Damascus, it is inhabited chiefly by muleteers and
leaders of caravans, who enjoy a universal reputation for their trustworthiness.

Baalbkk — Damascus.

Baalbek is not, as might be supposed from many popular descriptions, the
simple debris of a ruined temple standing in the midst of the wilderness. It is
rather a small town with its Arab khan, a hotel, and a telegraph station for
European travellers. A wall nearly 2 miles in circumference encloses several
hundred houses, inhabited, as elsewhere in Syria, by members of various religious
sects. Although its decadence is sufficiently explained by wars and misgovernment,
it is nevertheless surprising that a larger population and a more active trade have
not been maintained in a city so happily situated in this favoured region of C trie-
Syria, on the scarcely perceptible waterparting between the Leitani and Orontes

400 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA,

basins. Nor can there be any doubt that Baalbek must Booner or later again take
it^ place among the foremost cities of Syria The old terraced lands vi-.il>],. on the
surrounding slopes await only tin- tiller's hand to bloom and blossom again. A
portion of the plain has already been bought up by European speculators, who here
cultivate cereals, beans, cotton, and the vine. Baalbek will soon be connected
with the Mediterranean by a carriage-road branching from the main route between
Beirut and Damascus.

The ruined monuments which are the glory of the "City of the Sun," lie
towards the west. Here a circular dilapidated temple occupies an isolated position
on the plain, beyond which are grouped together all the other edifices' — Temple of
the Sun, Tern ] ile of . I u] liter, propyhc, cyelopean walls — collectively forming "perhaps
the finest group of buildings in the world."* Yet what still remains is but little
compared with what has been overthrown by earthquakes or the hand of man.
The shafts lying scattered about are more numerous than those still standing with
their Corinthian capitals and entablatures against the blue sky. These, however,
are of imposing magnitude, and their tine proportions, the great height of the
columns and wealth of sculpture are specially noteworthy. Hut in the presence of
the cyclopean walls the observer is struck with amazement at the enormous blocks
whieb the hand of man has here been able to manipulate. These masses are
unrivalled in Asia for their vast dimensions, so vast that it is difficult to understand
how they could have been placed in position even by thousands of workmen aided
by every mechanical appliance. Built into the walls are buge monoliths fully 71
feet long, and several yards broad and deep, and amongst them are some estimated
at over 10,000 cubic feet in bulk, and weighing not less than 800 tons.t A single
stone still lying in the quarry over half a mile off, which was doubtless intended to
support the inner colonnade, is 15,000 cubic feet in bulk, and weighs upwards of
1,000 tons, while a defective obelisk cast aside in another quarry is over 08 feet
long. The largest menhir in Britanny weighs no more than 2o0 tons, less than
one-fourth of the largest Baalbek monolith, which is exceeded in Europe only by
the Anteguera dolmen with a bulk of ^-'5,000 cubic feet. The erratic boulder
supporting the equestrian statue of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg weighs about
1,500 tons. Compared with these gigantic blocks, worked with such simple
mechanical contrivances as ropes, levers, and rollers, how insignificant appear even
the huge masses of concrete piled up on our modern breakwaters.

Damascus, whose strategical and commercial position is analogous to that of
Baalbek, has not declined like the city of Code-Syria. Formerly inferior to
Antiochia alone, it is now the first city in Syria, and in the whole of Asiatic
Turkey it is exceeded in population only by Smyrna. Hence its title of " Esh-
Sham," or " Syria," as if the whole province were here concentrated. It stands in
an extremely fertile and abundantly watered plain, directly facing the depression
separating the Ilermon from Anti-Libanon. Through the Bekaa it thus commands
all the northern and central positions through the 0 routes and Leontes Valleys

• Lord, " Tour du Moi

t Steppe, "Munich Geographical Suci. ty."

BAALBEK— DAMASCUS. 401

respectively. "Damascus is the eye of (lie East," said the Emperor Julian. Bui

besides commanding the seaboard and connecting it commercially with the Mesopo
tauiian plains, Damascus occupies a completely independent position, rendering h
124

102

SOUTH -WKSTKliX AS] \.

self-supporting, even were it- communications with the sea entirely interrupted.
During the wars of the Crusades, it was vainly attacked by the Franks, who were
admitted into the place only for a lew years in the character of allies. It was the
residence of Salah-ed-Din (Saladin) and M elek-ed-Dhaher-Bibars, the two mosl
renowned opponents of the Crusaders, w hose tombs are still shown in the neighbour-

h 1 of the great mosque. At this time Damascus was a famous centre of learning,

r. Lebrated especially for its Bchool of medicine.

Esh-Sham claims to !><• the oldest place in the world, and in any case it already
figures in the list on the walls of Karnak amongst the cities reduced by Thotines III.
nearly three thousand eight hundred years ago. According to the Arab Legend,
the red soil of the surrounding plain supplied the " virgin earth " from which the

Fig. 183.— Pamam i B.
Scale 1 1 120,000.

E.itafCregpw.cli' 56"58

56-S0

, ! Mfles.

first man was made, and which is still supposed to possess miraculous medicinal
virtues. Other traditions associate the neighbouring gardens with the Paradise of
Genesis, and point out where was shed the blood of Abel, or where Noah's Ark was
built. The house of Abraham is also confidently shown, and the local Jews gather
every Sabbath in the synagogue erected over the tomb of Elias.

But, however important in the history of the Jewish and Mohammedan religions,
Damascus is not less so in the early records of Christianity. Here Paul was
converted to the new faith, and began the mission to the Gentiles which was
destined to have such Ear-reaching consequences for mankind. Xo less than two
places are pointed out as the precise spot where the vision took place which
suddenly transformed the fiery persecutor into a zealous apostle. One of the many
caves of the ".Seven Sleepers " is also to be seen on the slope of the neighbouring

BAALBEK— DAMASCUS. 403

mountain. Damascus even shares in the sanctity of Mecca and Medina, for at this
place the largest caravan of pilgrims yearly assembles to visit the holy places.
Thousands of the faithful accompany the sacred camel, bearer of the Sultan's gifts
for the Eaaba.

The sight of Damascus is one of the marvels of the East. From the hills
commanding it on the north and west, it appears white and rose tinted in the
midst of the surrounding masses of verdure. The suburbs, stretching away amid
the garden-plots, are here and there hidden from the view by clumps of forest-
trees, while the clear waters of pond or reservoir sparkle beneath the clusters of
feathery palm. But on penetrating into the tortuous streets the contrast is all the
more depressing. As in other Oriental cities, even the finest houses present a
cheerful aspect only in the interior, where they are disposed round flowing waters
and flower-beds. The city, properly so called, is of oval form, with the main axis
running west and east, and occupied in the north-west corner with a square citadel.
It is traversed in its entire length by the " Straight Street," a thoroughfare which
has replaced a superb avenue of columns erected during the Roman period. This
is still the centre of traffic, full of life and movement, but leaving the adjoining
side streets almost deserted. At night the various quarters are separated from each
other by gateways, which convert them into so many distinct towns. Northwards
the El-Amara suburb stretches along the opposite bank of the chief branch of the
Barada, while the Meidan, a much larger quarter, extends for over a mile along the
southern highway leading to Mecca.

The chief edifice in Damascus is the " great mosque," originally a Roman
basilica, some of whose columns still remain, either in detached groups or built into
the walls of the mosque and adjacent bazaars. Although the Christians have only
of late years obtained permission to enter this building, they hold it in great venera-
tion, for it was formerly their cathedral, and still contains, as they suppose, the
remains of some of their saints, amongst others those of John and Zaeharias. One
of its three minarets is even called the " Tower of Jesus," and here, according to the
local belief, the Son of Man will appear on the last day to judge the quick and the
dead. These lofty minarets, dating from the time of the Ommiades, and famous in
the history of architecture, served as the models of the Giralda in Seville, of the
belfry of Saint Mark's in Venice, and of the Torrazzo in Cremona.

As a commercial centre, Damascus is as indispensable for Central as is Aleppo
for Northern Syria. It sends every year five or six caravans to Bagdad, while
others are equipped for Birejik, Rakka, Bassora, Nejd, and other parts of Arabia.
But of the wans thus distributed throughout the East few are of local manufacture.
Of these the most important are some highly esteemed silken fabrics, gold filigree
work, and saddlery. Since the visit of Tamerlane, who butchered nearly all the
inhabitants, Damascus lias ceased to produce the highly tempered blades so famous
during the first centuries of the Arab rule, and these objects are now more frequently
seen in the bazaars of Cairo than in those of the Syrian city. lint in the palaces
of Damascus and Aleppo are still preserved perhaps the finest old Chinese ceramics,
imported during niediajval times by the Bokhara dealers. In these articles Syria is

404 SOUTH WESTERN AJ91 i

said to be richer than the Middle Kingdom itself. The essence of roses, at cue
time bo highly appreciated, is mi longer prepared on the banks of the Barada, and

tic- southern slopes of the Balkans, and the Fayum district in Egypt, now remain
unrivalled in the production of the cosily attar.

Tin' various trades ami professions are distributed in Damascus amongst the
religious communities, which here mostly represent bo many distinct nationalities.
The dews, dilVcrcnt in their origin from the " Spanioles " of the coast towns and
from the German and Russian Hebrews who have recently immigrated into
Palestine, are the direct descendants of the Beni-Israelof the Promised Land. The
Christians, three times more numerous, possess no common bond of union, and
during the massacres of 18G0 they mostly allowed themselves to be butchered
unresistingly. On that occasion the so-called Arab" Greeks " alone fought hard for
their lives. At present, notwithstanding much smouldering fanaticism, the foreigners
yearly visiting the place to the number of several hundreds, have nothing to bar
from the populace, and move freely about in the bazaars and suburbs.-

Salahiyeh, B long suburb winding up the advanced slopes of the Jebel Kasium,
north of the plains, may be regarded as a distinct town separated from Damascus
by a space of nearly 2 miles. Rising above the vapours which at times hang over
the humid plain, Salahiyeh enjoys a more healthy climate than the low laud city.
Here the chief schools were formerly established, and here most of the Europeans
at present reside, while others retire to Budan, which lies more in the hills on the
slope of one of the chief summits of Anti-Libanon, whence a magnificent prospecl
is commanded of t he marvellous plain. All that the earth contains id' pleasure or
beauty the Arab imagines summed up in the one magic term, El-Guta, as he calls
the vast garden encircling Damascus. According to the natives, the irrigating
waters here ramify into seven streams and three hundred and sixty five-canals,
diffusing fertility over thirty thousand gardens. Thanks to this abundance of water,
and to the diversified climate caused by the neighbourhood of cool mountains and
burning deserts, the most varied floras arc found here concentrated in charming
contrast. The oak and walnut flourish by the side of the olive and cypress, while
the apple overshadowing the fragrant rose-bush is itself sheltered by the tall palm.
Of all the fruits cultivated in these productive gardens, the most highly prized are
the plums.

Palmyra — Philadelphia — Petb \.

The village of Harran-eUAwamid, lying east of Damascus, not far from the
great Bahr-el-Ateibeh marsh, is said to have formerly been an important city, by
biblical commentators identified with that in which Abraham dwelt. t But still
farther east, in the midst of the Hamad wilderness, must be sought the grand ruins
of antiquity. Tad/nor, a chief station in the desert between Damascus and the

• Approximate population of Damascus, according to religions: Sunnite Mussulmans, 125,000;
Metualis, 4,000; Greek Christians. 7,000; United Greeks, 7,000 ; Syrian and other Christians, 3,000 ;
Jews, u. nun ; Sundries, 8,000. Total, 160,000.

t Mrs. Beke, -Jacob's Flight."

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PALMYRA— PHILADELPHIA— PETBA. 405

Euphrates, has preserved the name by which it was known when first mentioned
in history, at the time of Hiram and Solomon. The alternative designation of
Palmyra, unknown to the natives, is itself merely the Latin translation of Tadmor,
" City of Palms." But as a city it no longer exists, and the wretched hamlet which
has succeeded it is concealed within the ruins of a temple, the entrance of which is
now closed at night against the marauding Bedouin. Yet even so late as the twelfth
century, when visited by the traveller Benjamin of Tudela, it still contained a
considerable population, including two thousand Jewish merchants.

The city of Zenobia is no longer anything more than a narrow oasis approached
through the dry beds of wadys. The traveller is even obliged to make a provision
of water while crossing the intervening wastes. It would be impossible to under-
stand the amazing development of Palmyra during the period when its empire was
spread over Syria, Asia Minor, and Mesopotamia, unless we suppose that it was
supplied with copious springs, and its plains watered by a considerable stream.
Ptolemy tells us, in fact, that a river comparable to the Chrysorrhoas fBarada) of
Damascus flowed by its temj)les, and down to the tenth and eleventh centuries
mention continually occurs of the running waters, the fields and orchards of
Palmyra. Even in the middle of the last century the English traveller, Wood, saw
two small rivulets at Tadmor ; but the water had become so sulphurous that it
could not be drunk until it had settled down. At present a solitary streamlet
flowing south of the city soon runs dry at the foot of the chalk cliffs. The soil has
evidently become dryer ; the desert has encroached on the oasis, and Palmyra for a
time disappeared altogether. After a search of thirteen years some English
explorers again brought it to light in 1G91, and for many years afterwards it
continued to be of difficult access across the trackless desert.

Palmyra was a city of colonnades, aud even still, although most of the buildings
have been overthrown by earthquakes, the horizon seems bounded on all sides by
lines of pillars. Of the four hundred which originally adorned the Temple of the
Sun, as many as fifty are still erect ; and of the one thousand five hundred which
formed the grand central avenue running for four thousand feet between the palaces,
one hundred and fifty have been preserved in position. But not one of the statues
remains which stood upon pedestals attached to the shafts. On the numerous tombs a
large number of inscriptions have been found in the Aramean language, which differs
little from modem Syriac ; some are bilingual, in Greek and the Palmyrene dialect.

In the Trans- Jordan region south of Damascus all the old cities have either
fallen to ruins or sunk like Tadmor to mere hamlets. Yet at one time towns were
counted by the hundred in this district, which is now occupied chiefly by Bedouin
encampments and some recently founded settlements of the Druzes from Lihanon.
In many places columns, triumphal arches, and tombs like those of Palinvra break
the monotony of the view, and here monuments dating from the first centuries of
Christendom are scarcely less numerous than in North Syria itself. West of the
Ilauran abandoned cities and groups of fine buildings with carved stone doors and
windows, and here and there even with roofs Mill standing, follow in quick succession.
El-Mmtnif/eh, Skakka, and Shubba, are mere ruins ; Kanavat and Sueideh arc small

406

[-WE8TEEN AH A.

villages surrounded by sumptuous remains. Sere the vine has ceased to be culti-
vated, l>ui the Burrounding slopes are -till girdled with the terraces where it entwined
it- tendrils amongsl the branches of fruit-trees. Farther on Bosra, the Bostra of
the Romans, lying at the Bouth-wesl angle of the Eauran highlands, on a wady
flowing through the Yarmuk to the Jordan, presents the aspect of a metropolis,
thanks to its massive Arab citadel, imposing ramparts, and mosques. A theatre,
triumphal arches, arena, porticoes, and palatial remains are grouped within the
now almost uninhabited enclosures, where a lew wretched Bedouin hovels are over-

Fig. 184. — Jbbbl II u UK AM) Bosra.

Scale 1 : son.ono.

Te-7mtahag4ar>

56- 30'

58*50' E, of Greenwch

IS Miles.

shadowed by the ruins of a superb cathedral. West of Bosra, and not far from
Herat, the ancient Edrei, an extensive underground city cut in the live rock, has
been explored by Wetzstein. Beyond it, on the plateau overlooking the east bank
of the Jordan. Umm-Kei* (Mkeis), the ancient Qadara, still preserves the remains of
one of those '• straight avenues" or colonnades which are met in so many Syrian
cities, dating from the first century of the Christian era. In tween Pompeiopolis and
Tadmor. Of all these cities of the wilderness, Jerwsh, the Gerasa of the Romans,
lying north of the upper valley of the Jabock torrent, has next to Palmyra best

PALMYRA— PHILADELPHIA— PETRA. 407

preserved these avenues, with the surrounding forum and outbuildings. Here the
main avenue, intersected at intervals by other streets also lined with colonnades and
statues, is nearly three-quarters of a mile long, and it is still fringed with over two-
hundred vertical or inclined pillars.

Es-Salt, the chief modern town in the Trans-Jordan region, was also probably
an ancient place, the Ramoth-Galaad of the Hebrews. This capital of the Belka
district and residence of a Turkish military commander lies on the southern slopes
of the Jebel-Osha, whence it commands the whole surrounding country.

The ruins of Amman, lying near the sources of the Jabock torrent, recall the
ancient kingdom of the Ammonites, hereditary enemies of the Hebrews. Here
stood their capital of Eabhath-Amman, which by the Romans was re-named
Philadelphia. Few strongholds occupy a more formidable position than this
ancient Ammonite citadel, perched on a crag isolated on all sides except the north-
west, where the hand of man had completed the work of nature. South of the
castle stretched the city properly so called, and on the opposite side of an interven-
ing wady are still visible the semicircidar rows of steps belonging to one of the
largest and best-preserved theatres anywhere erected by the Romans. The
surrounding hollows have become the camping- ground of some wretched Cherkess
families, removed by the authorities to this district, whose climate differs so greatly
from that of their Caucasian homes.

Of Keshan, the ancient Hesbon of the Amorites, who were so often in arms
against the Hebrews, nothing now remains except shapeless ruins. But farther
east in the same district of the plateau stood the city of Ziza, famous for its large
reservoirs and ensilage pits. Near this spot, on the route of the Mussulman
pilgrims, Tristram has discovered the sumptuous remains of an isolated palace which
the Arabs have named Mashita, but the builders of which are unknown. The
surprisingly rich sculptures of the facade, more varied even than those of the
Alhambra, are attributed by Fergusson to the Sassanides. The cditicc is supposed
to have been erected at the beginning of the seventh century by Chosroes, after one
of his victorious expeditions into Syria and Egypt.*

Mashita lies at no great distance from the sources of the Zain-Merka, a deep
wady which in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea receives the hot sulphurous
waters of the Callirhoe, so named by Herod. The vapoury cascades of this pleasant
stream sparkle amidst the surrounding oleander-bushes, beyond which they are
collected in a single channel shaded by the palm The concretions precipitated by
the water have developed a series of terraces along the face of the cliff, one of
which, containing the petrified trunks of palms, is no less than 160 feet thick.
A special local flora flourishes in the vicinity of these springs, whose temperature
varies from 180° to 190° F. The thermal stream has forced its way by erosion
round a basalt barrier formerly blocking the valley.

Rabbath-Moab, the present Rabba, ancient capital of the Moabites, is tar less
rich in antiquities than the rival Rabbatb of the Ammonites. But several other
cities of the Moab country have yielded many treasures to the archaeologist. The

• Tristram, " Land of Moab."

•lus SOUTH-WESTERN \SIA

most remarkable discovery made in this region Lb the Famous stone, <>r pillar of
Mesa, king "l Moab, which was found in the middle of the vasi ruins of Dhiban,
a town -ituatcd to tli" north of the Anion torrent. Fortunately Baved from
destruction by M. Clermont-Ganneau, but not intact, this precious monument,
which is now in the Louvre, bore an inscription of thirty-four lines in a dialed
differing little from the Hebrew, and engraved in characters resembling the
Phoenician type. The language spoken by Mesa some two thousand eight hundred
rears ago bears witness to a perfect parity of ideas and usages between the Moabites
and their [sraelitish neighbours. The inscription on this atone reads like a chapter
in Judges, only the nai f Jehovah is replaced by that of the god Bjunosh.

Smith of Etabbath-Moab the must considerable place is Kerak, which lies near a
wady flowing to the Dead Sea on a steep rook encircled by a rampart. At the
southern extremity of this rock, which is isolated by a deep cu 1 1 i n tr from the
plateau, stands one of the strongest citadels erected by the Crusaders during their
wars with the "Intidel." Sere also stood the still more massive castle of Moab,
mentioned in the Bible under the name of Kir-Hareaeth, or "City of the Hill."
Kerak held out against Saladin, and again in 1*11 against Ibrahim Pasha. Beyond
it stretches the red land of [dumsea, or Edom, whore all the cities are in ruins,
and not a Bingle inhabited town is now to he seen. The Christian inhabitants of
Kerak themselves differ little from the Kedouin.s of the wilderness, and like them
dwell chiefly in tents.

Petra, which, under the name of Srfrt/t, was capital of this region from the very
dawn of history, is the city of " Stone " in a pre-eminent sense. Discovered, so to
Bay, by the traveller Burckhardt in the year 1812, tin's city lies in the Wady Musa
("Wady of Moses), a sort of cirque enclosed on all sides by rocks and mountains.
East and west the heights rise abruptly from the ground; towards the north the
horizon is hounded by a continuous ridge furrowed by deep ravines, while the
slopes fall more gently southwards, although even in this direction the hasin is
(dosed in by a steep sandstone wall. Access is gained to this hasin by a t.ror£C a
few yards broad, a mere Assure in the rocks rising from 280 to over 300 feet on
either side, and even at noon admitting hut a lew rays of crepuscular light. The
defile is still crossed by a Roman archway, resembling those by modern engineers
thrown across deep railway cuttingB. West of l'etra another gorge receives the
intermittent waters of the wady. whence they are carried either to a bottomless
aliyss. as the Arabs assert, or more probably deflected to the Arabah depression, as
indicated by the relief of the land, lint no modern explorer has hitherto penetrated
to the extremity of the valley, which is overgrown by a dense mass of oleander-
bushe-.

An isolated column, tombs, and the remains of other buildings, are scar
about the cirque and its approaches. But the most remarkable monuments are .
those out in the rock itself. To the Syria of the Roman epoch Petra stands in
the same artistic relation that Kllora and A janta do to the India of Buddhist times.
Temples with their colonnades and facades are let into tin- red cliff, while the face
of the rock is everywhere carved into palaces or tombs, superimposed one above

TOPOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.

409

another. From the earliest recorded times the inhahitants of the district were
" Horim," that is to say, Troglodytes, whose first rude grottoes, shapeless caverns
hollowed out of the hillside, have heen transformed to architectural galleries
decorated with statues and bas-reliefs. Then the whole population perished or
disappeared, and the city of the wilderness became a vast necropolis, which has not

Fig. 185. — Petra and thk Akabah Depression.
8cale 1 : 300,000.

;«^^^|p§

35- 30'

t> Hiles.

yet been entirely explored. West of Petra rises the crest of Mount Hor, venerated
alike by Christian, Jew, and Mussulman as the tomb of the high-priest Aaron.

Topography of Palestine.

The valley of the Jordan is relatively well peopled only in its northern section,
where the running waters flow in abundance, where the slopes of the hills are
clothed with verdure, and where the summer heats are tempered by the elevation
of the land. Here Eas/iei/a and Hasbeya, standing on cultivated terraces in the
hillv and fertile region of the "VVady-et-Teim, forming the western slope of Mount
Hermon, almost deserve the name of towns. But few traces now remain of Ban ins,
the city of the " god Pan," the ancient Cwsarea, famous for its proud citadel at
the very source of the Jordan, above the chasm into which were hurled the victims
immolated at the sacrificial altar.

Far less densely peopled than the Upper Jordan Valley, the basin of Lake

410

SOUTH-WESTERN \>l A.

Galilee has now only a Bingle centre of urban population, Tabariyeh, the ancient

/ -riiis, 1\ inu- 'in tlic west side of the lake, is now a mere tell OT mound, overgrown

with brushwood, Tell-Sum, another hillock at the north-wesl corner of the
lacustrine lake, is supposed to indicate the rite of Kapharnaum. For the Hebrews

Fig. 18G.— Lake Tiiu
Scale 1 : 290,000.

r^pv-.

I Ml '

K i

■Sjbl

«£\

FW i

5b'4Q

Below the level of the Mediterranean.
8 Miles.

Tabariyeh is a sacred spot, whose Rabbinical school, famous throughout medircval
times, had succeeded to that of Jerusalem. The town, where is still shown the tomb
of the great doctor and expounder of Holy Writ, Maimonides, is now people chiefly
by Jews of Spanish and Russian descent, who here await the coming of the Messiah.

EMMATJB— JERTfno_AKKA.

411

' Safed, lying at the foot and on the slopes of a fortified hill near a wady flowing
to Lake Tiberias, has also attracted a Jewish population, animated by the same
expectation of a future liberator. To them the tremblings of the ground, frequent
in this volcanic district, seem to be so many " signs" heralding the advent of their
king. These underground disturbances have often been very disastrous, and in
1837 the whole Jewish quarter, built in amphitheatrical form on a steep incline,
was overthrown, burying four thousand persons in the ruins of its houses, which

Fig. 187. — Jericho.
Scale 1 : 140,000.

55°£5

5b*50 L- of bre

3 Jliles.

were swept, with the accompanying landslip, like an avalanche down the precipitous
declivity.

Emmat/8 — Jericho — Akka.

The thermal springs of the ancient Emma us (Hammam Suleiman and Hammam
Ibrahim), lying at a short distance from Tabaryieh, are much frequented. The
undulating tract stretching west of them near the village of Hattin was the battle-
field where Saladin gained the decisive victory which in 1187 secured to him the
possession of Jerusalem. South of the hills of Tiberias in the fertile valley of the
Wady-Jabul, one of the " Gates of Paradise," is situated the hamlet of Beisan, the
ancient city of Beth-san, which held out against the Hebrew invaders and preserved
its local cult for centuries. During the Roman period it was known as Scythopolis,
a name doubtless due to a colony of " Scythians " who had settled here.

In the Ghor, or deep fissure of the Jordan between Lake Tiberias and the Dead

412

SiiVTl I -WESTERN \-l L

Sea, there arc no towns. Riha (ErihaX standing on the site of the Jericho of
Herod's time, which lay Borne distance to the easl of the older Jericho destroyed
by the Israelites on entering the land of Canaan, is now a mere group of hovels.
The famous city, which alter the Babylonian captivity became the Becond city in
Judaea, which was the school of the prophets, and later on the residence of Herod I.,
perished with the destruction of the irrigation canals derived from the .Ionian, and
the copious spring of Elishah, or the Sultan (Ani-es-Sultan). It is qo longer the
"City of Palms," and has ceased to export the caryopes, or "date-nuts," of which
it had once a monopoly. "When it lost its date-groves, its sugar-cane plantations,
and rose-gardens, Jericho also lost its inhabitants. But the population would
douhtle" return were the old system of irrigation works restored. Notwithstanding
the pestilential fevers which now prevail, and which have proved fatal to many

Fig. 188. — Nazaketh amb Mount Tabor.
Scale 1 : 120,000.

jMfc *

2) Miles.

explorers of the Holy Land,* it still continues to be one of the most frequented
places in Palestine. Whole caravans of pilgrims, mostly Russians of the Orthodox
Greek Church, flock hither to bathe in the holy waters of Jordan, and worship at
the many hallowed spots in the district. Some devout Abyssinians also come to
perform their forty days' Easl in the grottoes of a neighbouring hill, in imitation of
the fast of the Saviour in the wilderness. Hence the appellation of the " Forty
Days" given to this rugged crag. Various tropical birds have settled in the
valley of Jericho, and here are also now seen various plants of the Torrid zone
from Sudan and the Sahara.

The land of Galilee, divided by its numerous mountain ranges into a labyrinth
of secluded valleys, is almost destitute of towns. Nazareth, or En-Nacira, is its chief
city, beyond the highland region, facing southwards in the direction of the plain

• Lieut. It. Conder, "Tent- work in Palestine."

EMMAUS— JERICHO— AEKA.

413

of Esdraclon. In any case it is indebted for most of its population to the hallowed
memories awakened by its name. So recently as the beginning of the last century
it was merely a wretched Mussulman village, which since then has gradually grown
into a considerable town, thanks to the immigration of Christian settlers. Churches,
convents, asylums, and schools of all " denominations " have sprung up in the two
Latin and Greek quarters, while the Mohammedans have been compelled to remove
towards the cultivated grounds in the south-east. Nazareth is one of the few cities

Fig. 189. — Akka and Kaifa.

Scale 1 : 200,000.

E, of G

0to32
Feet.

32 to 80
Feeet.

SO Feet and
upwards.

3 Miles.

of Palestine provided with highways of communication, and is now connected by a
carriage-road with Khaifa, at the foot of Mount Carmel.

Akka, or St. John of Acre, belongs like Nazareth to the province of Galilee,
and like it is situated beyond the hilly districts. It occupies the rocky headland
which on the coast forms the northern extremity of the semicircular hay limited
southwards by Mount Carmel. The position of Akka, the Phoenician Akko and the
Ptolemais of the Lagides, is naturally strong against the attacks of an enemy not

Ill Stil Tll-WKSTERN AHA.

masters of the sea, and to this position it is indebted tor it- essentially military
associations. The Eebrews never succeeded in capturing this Phoenician stronghold.
During the Crusades it was repeatedly taken and retaken by the Christians and
Mussulmans, and as tin- head-quarters of the military orders it acquired considerable
importance. The knights of St. John even bequeathed their name to a place
which they were finally expelled from in the year 1291. In 1799 Bonaparte
besieged it in vain, and his fortunes suffered a first serious check under its walls,
defended by a British fleet in the roadstead. Since then Akka lias had to endure
other assaults from Turks, Egyptians, and English, and in L840 it was almost
demolished by a British squadron. But fresh defensive works have since sprung
up, as if to challenge fresh assailants.

The port of Akka, which in the hands of the Crusaders enjoyed a large trade,
is now almost deserted. The harbour has silted up, and the leu vessels which here
ship cereals, fruits, and other local produce are obliged to anchor oil' the coast.
Khaifa, lying at the foot of Carmel at the opposite side of the hay, has become a
much busier place since the arrival of the three hundred Suabian "Templars"
who have formed a flourishing colony in this district. Khaifa, which is now
regularly visited by the Levantine steamers, is the outport of the plain of Esdraelon
as Ear as Nazareth and the wealthy town of Jciiin. In this plain one of the most
important places is Lejim, the ancient Legio of the Romans, possibly the Meghiddo
where was Eought the great battle between the Egyptians and Bittites. Khaifa
has been mentioned as a probable central terminus of the future railway system of
Syria and Palestine. From this point it is proposed to construct one main line
along the Upper Jordan valley to Damascus, while another is intended to be
carried by easy gradients up to the plateau of Judaea

N \ mi s — Samaria.

In the mountainous region of Samaria, south of the plain of Esdraelon, is situated
the rich town of Nitblnx or NapJm, the ancient Siehem. Formerly the religious
rival of Jerusalem, this place occupies a far more convenient position than the holy
city of the Jews and Christians. Lying 1,900 feet above the sea, precisely at the
water-parting line between the valleys draining west to the Mediterranean and
east to the Jordan, abounding in copious springs, and surrounded with grassy
plains, productive gardens and orchards, Sicbem is one of those cities which, thanks
to their situation and natural advantages, never fail to recover from every fresh
disaster. Old as history itself, it nevertheless retains the name of Ni sapolis, or" -New
Town," given to it by Vespasian, and is thus one of the few places whose classic
designation still survives. Above it rise two famous mountains — Gari/im on the
south, on whose precipitous summit the Levitts, clothed in sumptuous robes,
stretched their anus to implore blessings on the multitude ; Ebal on the north, where
were gathered rival sacrificial priests, calling down maledictions on the opposite
taction. Ami in this struggle, which recalls the everlasting warfare between
Ormuzd and Ahriman, how often the invokers of curses seemed to triumph ! llow

NABLUS— SAMARIA.

415

often the temple of Garizim was overthrown, and its orthodox defenders put to the
edge of the sword! On the " holy mountain," Jupiter, the Mother of God, and
Allah were successively worshipped ; yet the older cult, which seemed swept away
for ever, never failed to reappear. With a tenacity absolutely without precedent,
the little sect has survived all these passing changes, and still holds together,
faithfully preserving its primeval doctrines and traditions. Like the Jewish,
Christian, and Mohammedan religions, it possesses its " bible," a manuscript of the
Pentateuch and some other venerable documents, interesting alike to Hebrew and
Christian dogmatists. Numbering altogether about one hundred and sixty souls,*
these Samaritans of Xablus are distinguished by a special costume, a striking
feature of which is their red turban. They carefully purify themselves from all

Fig. 190.— Xablus.
Scale 1 : 86,000.

L .otL^ee"«-c^

35-18

. 3 Miles.

impure contact, rigorously observe the prescriptions of their law, abstain from all
manual labour on the Sabbath, and still offer sacrifices on Garizim according to the
rites ordained in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Like the Jews, they also await a
Messiah, who shall one day descend on the holy mountain to resuscitate and lead
the just into everlasting bliss.

Samaria, which although a less hallowed spot than Sichem, was nevertheless for
a time the capital of the kingdom of the Samaritans, has lost its old name, and is
now known by its Greek appellation of Scbaste, or Sebastiyeh, as it is pronounced by
the natives. It certainly no longer deserves the title of the " August City ;" but
although now an obscure village, it still preserves the remains of "tie of those

• In 1881 the community consisted of 98 men and 62 women (Conder, " Reports, Palestine Explora-
tion Fund," July, 1881.

41G -"i PH-WESTEEN A si \.

•• straight avenues " ho common in the « >1«1 oitiea beyond the Jordan. The direction
of its colonnaded thoroughfare is even indicated by a few shafts still Btanding in
their original position. Lying some thirty miles to the north-west of Sichem,
Samaria, which is also surrounded by fertile plains, had the advantage <>f Btanding
in an open country, with more easy access to the seaboard. Sere its outport was
another Sebaste, better known under the name of Ctuarea ( Kaisariyeh) also
conferred on it in honour of the Emperor Augustus. At this place the coast is
fringed with dunes and indented with rocky inlets, one of which, provided with
piers and breakwaters, became under Herod the busiest port along the whole
seaboard of Palestine.

After the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, Csesarea was for some time the
capital of Judsea, and the feasts celebrated on the occasion of its elevation to this
rank were ushered in by the butchery of many thousand Jews in the arena.
Repeatedly taken and retaken during the various wars by which Syria was
subsequently wasted, Csesarea was finally ruined at the end of the thirteenth
century. At present it is scarcely visited except by the Arabs, who come hither
in quest of the dressed stones required for the modern buildings of Jaffa, Eamleh,
and Beirut. The enclosure, at one time occupied by the knights of St. John of
Jerusalem, had been given by the Sultan to the Emperor of Germany.

Jt'.Ut SALEM.

In spite of its name, Jerusalem, the " Heir of Peace," owed its origin to its
strategical position on a rock admitting of easy defence, and itself commanding
the water-parting of South Judsea between the Mediterranean and Dead Sea basins.
Wrested by King David from the Jebusites, the old fortress was converted into a
powerful capital, which during the reign of Solomon soon became probably the
most populous city in the whole of Palestine and Syria. But a few years after
this epoch the " City of Da\id " was fain to open its gates to the Egyptian hosts.
Later on it was successively occupied by the Philistines, Arabs, and again by the
Egyptians. Then came the Assyrians, by whom its temple was destroyed and its
walls ra/ed to the ground. After the Babylonian captivity the Jews rebuilt the
" House of God," but they never recovered their political independence, and their
city fell an easy prey to each passing conqueror. It was even seized by the
Parthians at a time when, already subject to Home, it was ruled by a vassal of the
empire.

Full of confidence in the prophecies which foretold the advent of a Saviour,
heir to the throne of David, the Jews dared nevertheless to rise against Rome.
Taking refuge in Jerusalem, at that time protected by a triple line of ramparts,
they defended themselves with desperate valour. But famine, pestilence, incendiary
fires, and fratricidal strife were the allies of the Roman captain, Titus. Tower
after tower crumbled under the blows of his battering-rams J quarter after quarter
was stormed by his veteran legions; the iron circle was drawn still closer round
the doomed city of Ziuii. Deserters to the Roman camp were crucified before its

PALESTINE. 417

walls, captives butchered or thrown to the flames, the bravest grew pale at horrors
unspeakable daily perpetrated within and beyond the ramparts, and when the last
stronghold fell, of half a million souls, scarcely a few thousand deluded wretches
had survived " to make a Roman holiday."

After another destructive siege rebuilt by Hadrian, but henceforth interdicted
to the children of Israel, Jerusalem was still reserved for fresh woes, of which the
most terrible was that inflicted on it by the ruthless Crusaders in the year of grace
1099. At that time it was an Arab and Mussulman city. But as soon as they
had hewn a bloody way to the Holy Sepulchre, the champions of Christendom,
scarcely giving themselves breathing-time to utter a pra}rer of thanksgiving, began
a wholesale massacre, in which sixty thousand Mohammedans were butchered.
After the days of the Crusades, the capital of Palestine dwindled to the proportions
of a small town ; but although still captured and recaptured more than once, it has
ceased to be the sport of rival nationalities and religions. The religious wranglings
are doubtless still carried on round about the " holy places," but onlv in the form
of diplomatic intrigues. Yet even recently the conflicting interests of Greek and
Latin converts supplied a pretext for the Crimean war.

El-Kods (Kuds), that is, the " Holy City," as it is called by the Arabs, lies
nearly 2,650 feet above sea level, on a plateau which slopes gently southwards, and
which is enclosed on three sides by deep ravines. On the east side runs the
Wed-en-Nar, or " Valley of Fire," occasionally flushed by the waters of Kedron,
a tributary of the Dead Sea. The Caves of Siloam are grouped in this valley,
which is identical with that of Josaphat, between Jerusalem and Mount Olivet.
West and south flows the torrent of Hinnom or Gehenna, so called from the chasm,
a symbol of the lower regions, in which its waters disappear. Beyond this ravine
the plateau is enclosed by other ridges preventing a distant view of the city.
Previous to the recent spread of the suburbs along the converging routes, the first
appearance of El-Kods was very striking. At the turn of a hill it burst suddenly
on the view amid its pale green olive-groves and the irregular polygon of its walls,
flanked with towers and a multitude of cupolas. Jerusalem is pre-eminently the
city of cupolas, which constitute its real beauty. In Upper Judtea timber is so
scarce that a style of architecture naturally prevailed in which stone became the
chief element. Above the irregular buildings and winding streets of the city the
majestic dome of the so-called Mosque of Omar rises in the centre of the Ifaram-
esh-Sherif, or "Sacred Enclosure," supported at the north-east angle by the Loft]
Antonia tower.

Here formerly stood the temple of Solomon, to which worshippers "went up"
from all the tribes of Israel. To this first sanctuary succeeded those of Nehemiah
and Herod, which in their turn were followed by a temple of Jupiter, a church
dedicated to the Virgin, and lastly the famous " Cupola of the Rock " ( Kubbet-es-
Sakhra), erected at the end of the seventh century. This monument, remarkable
for its extreme simplicity, is nevertheless one of the must graceful and harmonious
in Asiatic Turkey. It forms a vast hexagon pierced by seven pointed windows in
each of its facades, which are themselves embellished with marbles and enamelled
125

418

SnlTH-WKSTKRN ASIA.

porcelain tiles. In the centre of the building is inscribed a circular nave with two
concentric colonnades, above which rises the light structure of the dome, resting on
;i wall decorated externally with verses from the Koran in bright letters on an

Fig. 191. — Remains of the Asthma F0BTBX8S, .Thusai.fw.

enamelled azure ground. In the interior the fine proportions of the edifice are
interrupted only towards the centre, where the regular pavement is suddenly
broken by a projecting rock, the famous Sakhra, which has been identified with
the summit ol Mount Moriah. On this spot the sacrificing priests immolated the

JEKUSALEM. 419

victims, whose blood flowed through underground passages down to the torrent of
Kedron. From Sakhra, supposed to be the foundation of the universe and source
of the four rivers of Paradise, .Mohammed took his heavenward flight.

Some other mosques and diverse monuments resting on old foundations are
comprised within the space, some thirty-five acres in extent, which is surrounded
by the quadrilateral wall of the saered enclosure. Recent excavations have brought
to light a great part of the substructures, notably the underground galleries, where
hundreds of Jews took refuge after the capture of the Temple by the Romans
under Titus. These vaulted galleries formed part of the gigantic works undertaken
to transform to a level platform the summit crowned by the Temple. In some
places the original foundations were discovered at 100, and even 125 feet, below the
present surface. Before the Crimean war the Christians, who are now freely
exploring the old sites in every direction, were rigorously excluded from the
.sacred enclosure. Even still the entrance to this district is interdicted to the
Jews, who gather every Friday at the place of "wailing" beyond the western
wall to recite the lamentations of Jeremiah, and at least touch the outer walls
which bar their access to the " Holy of Holies." For centuries after the
rebuilding of Jerusalem by Hadrian the city was closed to them, and during the
Christian rule before the Mohammedan conquest under Omar, they were fain to
purchase at a heavy price the permission to assemble once a year and weep over
their desecrated temple. During the last century the number of Jews resident in
the city was limited to three hundred.

The religious monuments of the Christians are grouped in the north-west part

of Jerusalem, between the gates of Bethlehem and Damascus, where formerly

stood a temple of Venus. Here a multiplicity of buildings of every age and style

mark nearly all the venerated places which diverse traditions, some recent, some

dating from the Crusades or from the time of Constantine, indicate as the scenes of

the chief events in the Passion. Churches, chapels, crypts, originally distinct

buildings, form a labyrinth of naves and galleries belonging to various Christian

sects. With the exception of the Protestants, all the great religious confessions

represented in Palestine have their allotted share in the land on which the

eventful drama was enacted. The chief nave, where a pillar standing within a

white marble ring marks the "centre of the world," belongs to the Orthodox

Greeks. The Franciscans have a church all to themselves, but the Hall of < 'alvary

is divided into two chapels, one of which is assigned to the Latins, the other to the

Greeks. The crypt of St. Helena is claimed by the Christians of Abyssinia, but not

exclusively, for the Armenians have the right of access, while one of the side

chapels is set apart for the Latins. Copts and Jacobite Syrians assemble for

worship in a particular recess, and the so-called Stone of Holy Unction remains

the common property of all the faithful, Latins and Greeks, Armenians and Copts

alike. Lastly, in their quality as suzerains and arbiters, the Turks themselves

retaii\ a station for general superintendence at the main entrance.

The "Rotunda," in the centre of which stands the Holy Sepulchre, is a modern
structure, erected at the joint expense of Turkey, as sovereign power, of Frauce

120

80UTH-WESTEEN ASIA.

and Russia as representing the two rival orthodoxies of the Christian world. The
little shrine built over the grave is the work of the (i recks, who on Easter eve
assemble round the tomb to await the coming of the "sacred fire," which an

" angel " hands to the bishop through a chink in the wall. On the appearance of
thi< Same the faithful hasten to light their wax tapers at the bishop's candle ;
hymns and prayers resound on all sides, Unfortunately mingled at times with the

Fig. 192.— JEW SAI.EM.
Scale 1 : 25,000.

^•aS**

LSt of .Greenwich

'ciEvn'&Our? .

1,100 Yards.

shrieks and groans of the wounded and dying, crushed or trampled underfoot in
the rush. In the year 1834 over Eour hundred bodies remained heaped up on the
pavement of the Rotunda, and similar catastrophes have Bince been prevented only
by the intervention of the Mussulman guard, under the command of u colonel
wielding the kurbaah* An old custom requires the faithful to pass the flume
rapidly over their faces, under the belief that it will scorch none but the wicked.

m ler, " i- oUworli in I

JERUSALEM. 421

Formerly they brought linen cloths, the creases of which they caused to be singed
by the sacred flame. These were then set apart to serve as shrouds at their burial.

Not far from the Holy Sepidehre stand the gateway and pointed arches of the
Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, formerly the headquarters of the knights of the
" seven nations " — Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Aragon, England, Germany.
Since 1869 the last alone is represented in the palace of the Order. Like France
and Russia, Germany has also claimed an allotment in the vicinity of the holy
places, where a church and schools have been erected, and the imperial banner
hoisted. The Russians have installed themselves beyond the walls near the Gate
of Damascus, on the highest part of the plateau, which commands the city, and
against which the attacks of assailants were at all times chiefly directed. Here
they have built their religious quarter, the structures of which are at once monas-
teries and barracks.

In every part of the city and environs are seen religious foundations and schools
belonging to Greeks, Latins, and sects of every Protestant denomination. The
subsidies sent from Europe and the New World in support of these establishments
have sufficed almost to rebuild the city and double its area. As in the time of the
Jewish domination, Jerusalem is thus still a city of priests and ministers, who
under other names live at the expense of distant communities. Its only industry
is the manufacture of soap, and its trade is of a purely local character. The Jews,
who since the middle of the present century have become the most numerous
element, are for the most part the so-called Ashkinazim, immigrants from Eastern
Europe supported by the haluka, that is, the contributions forwarded to Jerusalem
by the Israelites scattered over the whole world. But they still retain the old
passion for the huckstering trade, daily purchasing wares of all kinds from passing
caravans and hawking them through the streets of the city.*

From Mount Olivet, on a crest of which stands the Mosque of the Ascension, a
view is commanded of a great part of Palestine, in one direction as far as the
heights of Samaria and plateaux of Gilead, in another sweeping over the profound
chasm of the Dead Sea, away to the summits of Moab and Idumasa. Westwards
the Mediterranean is hidden b)r the eminences in the near distance ; but at the
foot of Olivet stretches the Valley of Josaphat with its countless tombstones, the
first, according to the Jewish legend, which are to deliver up their dead at the sound
(if the trumpet on the last day.

In the neighbouring district the most remarkable ancient monuments are the
sepulchral crypts, especially the so-called tombs of the "Judges," and those of the
" Kings," where were found some remarkable sarcophagi now in the Louvre.
Everywhere are seen religious structures, each with its local legend, and all visited
by Greek and Latin pilgrims. In the environs the most interesting convent is
that of Mar-Saba, or " Saint Saba," an ancient retreat of the Essenes, perched on a
limestone crag overhanging the torrent of Kcdron. Near the walls of the convent
a solitary palm indicates a small garden-plot; but elsewhere the bare white rock

* Approximate population of Jerusalem in 1881: Jews, 16,000; Mussulman", 7,000; Christians of
nil denominations, s.oou. Total, 30,000.

422

SOTTTH-"WESTERN ASIA.

and gloomy crevasse are unrelieved by a single fcn r tuft of herbage. Rebuilt

;it the expense of Russia, this monastery of Mar-Saba has become one of the
wealthiest in Palestine Vet it is none the leas a place of exile for monks guilty
nl' misdemeanour or suspected of heresy.

Bethlehem. — Jaffa. — G \/\.

"Bethlehem , the " House of liroad," lies 5 miles south of Jerusalem in the midst
of hills covered with vineyards or olive-groves. Its population eonsists mostly of
Latins, who support themselves by the sale of sacred objects, such as medals,

Fig. 193. — Rock or Masada.

rosaries, chaplets, crosses of all kinds, and the very dust of the holy places. Like
the church of the Eoly Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the group of churches and convents
in Bethlehem forms an irregular collection of structures without any architectural
symmetry, belonging to diverse religious communities. To one gallery or flight of
steps Greeks alone are admitted; others are open only to Latins, others again to
Armenians. The chief nave, forming the basilica of the Nativity, a fine edifice
dating from the first half of the fourth century, is the common property of the
Greeks and Armenians, the Catholics being allowed access only to the choir.
Beneath the church is a grotto paved in marble and ramifying in various directions,

BETHLEHEM -JAFFA— GAZA. 423

where the faithful gather to worship at the fissure in the rock indicated by tradi-
tion as the birthplace of the Redeemer.

South of Judaea, and on the same tableland as Jerusalem and Bethlehem, the
last considerable town in the direction of the wilderness is Hebron, the city of
El-Khalil, or the " Friend of God," so named, like Orfa, in memory of Abraham.
According to a local legend accepted by many mediaeval Christians, but vehemently
contested by the Damascene Arabs, it was near Abraham's grave in the neighbour-
hood of Hebron, and not in the territory of Damascus, that the red earth was taken
to fashion the first man. Formerly pilgrims flocked in large numbers to Hebron,
in order to contemplate this cradle of the human race and collect a handful of the
mould from which they supposed themselves sprung. Here the "holy place" is
the mosque of Abraham, which lies east of the El-Khalil torrent, high above the
semicircular group of houses forming the chief quarter of the town. This mosque,
which is partly hewn out of the rock, was previously a church, and at a somewhat
earlier date a synagogue. Various buildings have succeeded each other within
the outer enclosures, but these enclosures, built of huge blocks, appear themselves
to be of great age, some archaeologists assigning them an existence of three
thousand years.

Beneath the mosque is a double cavern, which, according to a venerable tradi-
tion, was the cave of Macpelah, where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and
Leah were*' gathered to their fathers." Till recently the mosque was opened only
to the Mohammedans, who, however, themselves never visit the grottoes. Probably
since the time of the Crusades they have remained undisturbed, except perhaps in
the year 1834, when the people of Hebron, besieged by Ibrahim Pasha, hid their
most precious objects under the mosque.

The El-Khalil torrent flows south-west in the direction of Bcer-Sabah, the last
village in Palestine on the verge of the desert, beyond which it loses itself in a
wady draining to the Mediterranean. Immediately to the east of Hebron, which lies
on the line of water-parting at a higher elevation than Jerusalem, other river gorges
run in the direction of the Dead Sea. In this direction the frontiers of Palestine
were formerly guarded against marauders by the fortress of Mtixaila, which Herod
had converted into an impregnable stronghold, apparently in order to serve as a
place of refuge in case of danger. This rock, now known by the name of Sebbeh,
is a limestone table of oval shape, almost inaccessible every where except on the west
side, where it is connected by a narrow ridge with the inner plateau. After the
fall of Jerusalem about a thousand Jews, under the leadership of E'cazer, threw
themselves into this fastness, whence they defied the power of the Romans, who laid
regular siege to the place. They encircled the base of the rock witli a ditch, which
still exists, raised a broad platform over against the western ridge as a site for
their camp, and threw a pontoon across the ravine separating them from the
citadel. The first lines were soon carried, but after the lasl assaull was delivered,
not a single defender showed himself behind the walls. Preferring the voluntary
death of freemen to a shameful death at the hands of the enemy, all had immolated
themselves. When the Romans penetrated into the fortress they found only two

424

siiitii \vi:stki:n a>i \.

women and five children alive Such was the last episode of Jewish inde-
pendence.

Jerusalem is connected with the coast by a carriage route about ■'><> miles long,
along which a telegraph line has now been. laid. The road itseli is intended ere
long to be replaced by a railway which, although long traced on the maps, has
not yel been begun. The work will in any case be costly, owing to the rugged
nature of the ground and the steep inclines, which will average from 65 to 7"> teel

Fig. 194. — Maswia.
8calo 1 : 90,000.

<.. 1 ,1

\! w^*%

Dmhf etc/ Kos r>

.^*s/£3t4&£gyr

L . df ureenwicK

55* 22'

2.200 Yards.

per mile. At the western foot of the hills, on the coast plain near the ancient
Martin, birthplace of the Machabees, the two towns of Lttdd and Ramleh are
surrounded by fertile tracts. But as indicated by the name of Ramleh, here begin
the Bands, which reach to the vicinity of Jaffa, broken only by a few small oases in
tin' neighbourhood of the villages or of reservoirs fed bv the wadies.

Jaffa, or Y'ifa, that is, " The Hill," lies on an eminence in an oasis some 4
square miles in extent and fringed north and south by ranges of shifting dunes.

-:
Z
-
S

BETHLEHEM— JAFFA— GAZA.

425

Its gardens receive a sufficient supply of water through the canals derived from
intermittent streams and wells which act as reservoirs for the rains. Here the
almond, apricot, peach, mulberry, and other southern plants yield excellent fruits.
The banana and sugar-cane are also cultivated ; but most of the garden-plots,
bordered with gigantic nopals, are planted with oranges and citrons, whose produce
is exported even to the west of Europe. Sine- the middle of the present century
the gardens of Jaffa have increased fourfold in extent, and in 1880 contained seven

Fig. 195. — Jaffa.
Scale 1 : 22,000.

j | Orange Groves, j |

0 to 16 Feet. 16 Feet and upwards

_^^___^^^^^^_— 1,100 Yards.

hundred and sixty-five thousand orange trees, which yielded a crop of thirty million
oranges.

Although it has been the outport of Jerusalem and of all South Judaea from the
very dawn of history, Jaffa, the ancient Joppe, affords but indifferent shelter to
shipping. The old basin, choked by the sands brought by the marine currents,
and probably upheaved by underground agencies, now lies high and dry amid the
gardens stretching north of the hill on which the town is built. The coast extends
in an almost unbroken straight line north and south, constantly exposed to a heavy
suit much infested by sharks. Here, according to the legend mentioned by Pliny
and Josephus, stood the rock to which Andromeda was chained. Facing the town
is a chain of reels about 1,000 feet long, which forms a sort of breakwater, affording
some shelter to a little haven accessible to craft drawing from 8 to 10 feet. Hut

126 BOUTH-WESTEEN Asia.

larger vessels and the steamers plying along this seaboard anchor half a mile off,
always read] to Bel sail whenever the winds freshen ami threaten to drive them
ashore.

In these waters the sea is nearly always rough, and when the dangerous north*
wesl gales prevail, the steamers arc unable to call at Jaffa, but continue their route
north or south, landing their merchandise at Khaifa or Port-Said Nevertheless the
local trade with Jerusalem, already about one hundred and fifty thousand tons
annually, and the passenger traffic, exceeding eighty thousand persons, are steadily
increasing from year to year. Hence the creation of an artificial harbour in deep

water seems to be urgently railed for. According to one project, such a harbour,
with a northern and a southern entrance protected by a breakwater I. '.'oil feel Long,
niijjht. be constructed beyond the chain of reefs, affording for shipping a clear
space el over eighl acres, with a depth of not less than 26 feet. The extensive
tracts which might easily be reclaimed from the rocks and sea would at the same
time afford room for a further extension of the town, at present confined within
far too narrow enclosures.

The trade of Jaffa, which is exclusively in the hands of the native Christians
and foreigners, consists chiefly in cereals, oranges, citrons, and other produce of
the soil. The export of these articles mi edit easily be doubled by constructing an
aqueduct to deflect, southwards the copious Xahr-el-Au jeh stream, which at present,
flows nearly 1 miles north of the town, and from which sufficient water might be
obtained to irrigate the intervening arid plain.* Thus might be again brought
under cultivation the whole coast of Sharon, famous in Biblical records for its
"roses," which, however, arc supposed to have been the narcissus, at one time
growing in profusion amid these pray sands.t The Wurtemberg colony of Suroiia
settled in this district, and numbering about two hundred and fifty persons, has already
created a smiling oasis in tin' desert. The [sraelitish Alliance aKo possesses in the
neighbourhood of Jaffa an agricultural institute, where hundreds of Jewish youths
learn the art id' gardening. Some large olive-trees planted in symmetrical rows near
the town belonged formerly to a suit of model farm established here by Colbert.

South of Jaffa m08< of the old Philistine Strongholds have been replaced by

wretched hamlets. Askalon, the " Betrothed of Syria," which notwithstanding
incessant wars and sieges continued to remain a large place down to the time of
the Crusades, is now completely abandoned. < >f its buildings nothing is to be seen
except shapeless ruins and its semicircular ramparts, which terminate north and
south at the steep escarpments of a cliff wasted by the Mediterranean waters. The
space thus enclosed is entirely occupied by gardens, where the inhabitants of the
neighbouring village of Jural) still cultivate the species id' garlic to which the
ancient city was indebted for its name of Ascalonium, or eschalot.

South of the Philistine territory the venerable city of Gaza (Ghazzeh), already
almost on the verge of the desert, is the southernmost town of Palestine in this
direction. Mentioned in the Egyptian records nearly four thousand years ago,

• Trade of Jaffa in IsTs • f sports. £fi.000,000 : imports, £3,000,000. Total, £9,000.000.
t Cor.der. "Palestine Exploration Fond," January, 1878.

BETHLEHEM— JAFFA— GAZA.

427

Gaza still remains a considerable place, thanks to its position on the high road
between Palestine and Egypt, that is, between Asia and Africa. During the early
period of the Byzantine empire it was noted for its schools, to which the Arabs
flocked from great distances in order to study the Hellenic culture and philosophy.

At presenl it is not so much a city as an aggregate of villages and gardens disposed
in an irregular circle round a large mound flat on the top, which seems to be partly

Fig. 196.— Toe.
Scale 1:800,000.

L . of .breenwen

3V 50

35*40

n to 12
Fa t

3? to 64
Feet.

64 to 160
Feet.

16n Feet and
upwuids.

6 Miles.

composed of debris. Here stand the governor's residence and the chief mosque,
originally a church dating from the twelfth century.

The "site of Gaza has frequently been displaced, moving eastwards before the
shifting dunes of the desert. In this district the struggle is incessant between the
peasant and the encroaching sands, which surge up round the fruit-trees, and
which, forming hillocks from 40 to 50 feet high, often swallow up houses,
gardens, and orchards together. Under the sands in many places west of the city

•12s SOUTH-WESTERN \-l \.

the remains have been found of old buildings, potsherds, and other refuse, and even
Roman statue-; of fine workmanship. The ancient " Marina " has also been almost
completely obliterated by the Bame cause. Pew vessels care to venture aear this
surf-beaten coast, which shoals very gradually. Hence tin- trade of the distriol is
conducted entirely by the overland route « itli Egypt, between the frontier of which
and Jerusalem Caza lies about midway. In the peninsular ol* Sinai there are
absolutely no towns. Suez, the port of the western gulf of the Red Sea, lies on the
African or Egyptian side of the maritime canal. Nakhl, in the desert of Tih, is
nothing more than a military outpost ami rendezvous for caravans. In the Sinai
wilderness the Pharan of the ' Mates" has been replaced by a Bedouin camping-
ground, while another Pharan, al the mouth of the Wadi-Pheiran, has disappeared
altogether. The outport of the peninsular on the Gulf of Suez is Tor, which lies
half hidden from the view by a cluster of palms behind a neighbouring headland.
This place has been chosen by the international sanitary commission, as a quarantine
station for the vessels bringing pilgrims back from Jeddah. Aknlxth, at the head
of the eastern gulf, to which it gives its nam;', consists of a fortress commanding
the tents of a few Arab fishers interspersed amid clumps of dune palms. Near tin's
spot formerly stood the commercial city of Elath, which survived till the time of
the Crusades, and which for a period of fifty years was held by the Christian kings
of Jerusalem. Some three thousand years ago the seaport of Elath was Ezion-
Ghebir, the emporium where the Phoenicians shipped Eor Solomon the gold, the
costly fabrics and produce of India. Later on, when the sumptuous city of Petra
was being hewn out of the rocks in the Iduinu an Mountains, and when the numerous

towns of I lecapolis were flourishing in the land of Moab and Ann i, the Gulf of

Akabah was also constantly visited by commercial fleets. At that time the rocky
islel of Ouriah, Lying near the extremity of the gulf, was a military station of
considerable importance. Should the valley of the Jordan be repeopled, and its
highways extended southwards along the Arahali depression, these waters cannol
fail to become once more animated by the presence of trading vessels.

Administrative Divisions of Asiatic Turkey.

Like those of European Turkey, the vast Asiatic possessions of the Sultan are
divided into vilayet* or provinces, which are again subdivided into sanjaks or
"hauners." liesides these general administrative departments, there are certain
so-called mutaseHfiks, which possess a special importance either from the strati
standpoint or in consequence of the diplomatic intervention of the European powers.
The limits of the various provinces and circles in Asiatic Turkey have undergone
frequent changes, according to the vicissitudes of foreign wars and internal revolu-
tions. The governments of the pashas have also occasionally been enlarged or
diminished as the result of court intrigues and the favour enjoyed by them with
the Sultan. In any case these administrative divisions are far from correspond bag
with their natural outlines. The islands of the archipelagoes adjacent to the
Asiatic seaboard form a part of the same vilayet as those lying nearer to the

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS OF ASIATIC TURKEY. 429

European coast. So also tho vilayet of Bagdad comprises on the west side of the
Persian Gulf an extensive strip of the peninsular of Arabia. Lastly, the whole of
the Sinai peninsular, assigned politically to Egypt, although forming a physical
continuation of the Syrian coastlands, is limited on the east side by a purely con-
ventional line drawn geometrically across wadies, plains, and mountain ranges.

In the appendix will be found a table of the administrative divisions of Asiatic
Turkey, with their approximate population and chief towns.

CHAPTER X.

Arabia.

Ill', vast peninsular of Arabia, nearly one-third as large as 1 1 » * •
European continent, occupies the very centre of the old World.
Attached, so to say, to the mainland by the mountain ranges con-
necting Sinai with Taurus, it may be said to form a laud of transi-
tion between Asia and Africa. In its outlines, the disposition of
its highlands, and its climatic conditions, it is mainly an African region; by the
tilt of the laud, draining to the Euphrates, and by its contiguity of over six hundred
miles to thai basin, it forms a geographical division of Asia.

Bui while thus in some respects connected with both continents, Arabia really
(•(institutes a world apart. It is traversed bj none of the greal historic highways,
which on the contrary everywhere avoid it. The chief route between Asia and
Africa, which has in all ages been followed by the ebb and flow of military and
commercial movements, follows the Syrian seaboard, passing thence to the north of
the Sinai Peninsular. Skirted 01 1 side by this international highway, and Bur-
rounded on the three other sides by the Indian Ocean and its two greal inlets, the
Red Sea and Persian Gulf, the pen insular has not inaptly been called Jezireh-el-Arab,
or" Island of the Arabs." In spite of the intervening waters, most real islands
depend far more than does Arabia on the adjacent continents.

BlSTORK Pi I ROSPEI I.

Being thus almost secluded from the rest of the world, little ot the peninsular
was known to the ancients beyond the border lands and coast districts. The
conquerors mentioned in history never penetrated far into the interior. The only
military expedition undertaken by Pome, which was conducted by .Klius Gallus in
the year 22 of the old era, was mainly confined to the more thickly inhabited region
which Ptolemy designates by the Dame of Arabia Felix. Tin's geographer himself
was acquainted only through the reports of caravans with the routes and commer-
cial stations lying at a distance from the seal rd. Since the Ilejiru, and down to

the middle of the last century, all the information received in Europe regarding

HISTORIC ItETKOSPECT. 431

Central Arabia was due to the pilgrims to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Although their sovereign bears the title of " Head of the Faithful," the Turks have
never occupied more than narrow strips of the Arabian seaboard, on the west along
the Red Sea, on the east on the coast of the Persian Gulf. The Egyptian armies,
however, commanded by a vassal of the Turkish empire, succeeded during the years
1810-1820 in advancing victoriously into the AVahabite territory in the heart of
the peninsular. But none of the southern regions were visited by them. Thus no
other country has been less permanently affected by military expeditions than
Arabia. Throughout the whole course of history, hundreds of native tribes have
kept entirely aloof from foreign contact.

Hut although well protected from invasions by the waterless deserts surrounding
them, the Arabs are not altogether secluded from the rest of the world. Accustomed
to traverse the sandy wastes, familiar with the routes and wells of the desert, they
find it far easier to quit their domain than do strangers to enter it. Ancient history
speaks of the triumphant incursions of the Hyksos into the Nile delta. And with
what irresistible fury the Arab descendants of those warlike shepherds again burst
upon the surrounding peoples in their twofold capacity of propagandists and
conquerors ! The pent-up energy of these obscure tribes, accumulated from age to
age, was suddenly revealed to the world with an intensity superior even to that of
the Greeks when they overran Asia under Alexander. It was an explosion that
has been quaintly compared to that of the rarely flowering aloe, which
silently for many generations, and then suddenly bursts into a glorious bloom,
dazzling the Bight with its brilliant effulgence. Egypt. Syria, Babylonia, Persia,
Asia Minor, North Africa, Sicily, Spain, many regions washed by the Indian Ocean,
became, so to say, Arab lands, where the old cultures were either swept away or
stimulated into new life.

Neither their intense religious fervour, nor the strength acquired from self-
abnegation, suffices to explain the amazing success of the Arabs, which was also
largely due to the favourable disposition of the peoples themselves. In many
countries they appeared, not as oppressors but as liberators. More just than the
old rulers, even more tolerant in spite of their fiery zeal, they attracted millions to
their cause. In less than a century the number of those who claimed kinship with
the Arabs, from the banks of the Guadalquivir to the Sunda Islands, had probably
increased tenfold. Heirs of the arts and sciences bequeathed to them by the ener-
vated Byzantines, the Arabs saved them from the risk of perishing, and caused
them again to flourish. Thev fanned into a fresh flame the embers which were
slowly dying out under the fatal influences of Oriental monasticism. Thus not-
withstanding their geographical isolation, the Arabs have played a considerable
part in the collective work of humanity. Yet the great service rendered by these
" Semites" to Europe itself, by abridging the long night of the dark ages, has been
too often overlooked by certain " Aryan " writers, ever reluctant to recognise aug-
ments in " alien " races.

182

80UTH-WESTEHN \-l.\.

PrOORK-- 01 •; RAPHICAL Dl8COVERY.

During the epoch when the Arabs were the dominant nation in Western Asia
and the Mediterranean basin, their geographers took more interest in the new lands
conquered by the sword of [shun than in the regions of the peninsular whence the
disciplea of the Prophet had gone forth to overrun the world. Nevertheless they
at least described the routes followed by the pilgrims to the holy citii - ol .M< cca and

Fig. 197. — Itinekakies o» thb f'lim ExFLOBKBS 01 Arabia.
Scale 1 : 3,000,000.

Route of the Egyptian Troops.
18K I 16W.

Ronte of the Pilpriras.

. GOO Miles.

Medina ; and even on the east of Arabia they added some valuable details to the
information left us by Ptolemy and the other writers of antiquity.

But the geographical exploration of the country by Europeans was only begun
in the year 1762 with the journey of Garsten Xiebuhr to Yemen. The holy places
of the neighbouring districts were afterwards visited by Seetzen, Burckhardt, Ali-
Bey, Chedufau, Tamisier. Ferret and Gralinier, some of whom penetrated into the
interior of the peninsular. In 1819 it was traversed bj Sadlier in its entire breadth
from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. Later on Fulgence Tresnel and Arnaud
explored more particularly the west coast and the southern districts, while Wrede
penetrated into parts of the EEadramaut wilderness where no subsequent traveller

followed in his footsteps, delisted studied the interior of Oman, and Wallin,

GENERAL SURVEY OF THE PENINSULAR. 433

like Sadlier, crossed the peninsular from coast to coast, passing through the Jebel-
Shammar country in the very heart of the central plateau.

In more recent times Palgrave took a diagonal course from the north-west to
the south-east, passing in the year 1862 from the Mediterranean to the Persian
Gulf across the interior of Xejed. Two years later on, Guarmaui passed from
Jerusalem to Kasim, and Doughty wandered for some time over the same northern
deserts. Still more recently Captain and Lady Blunt traversed the northern regions
from Damascus to Bagdad through Jebel-Shammar, and they were soon after
followed by Iluber, who also made some important discoveries in the northern and
western districts, penetrating in one direction as far as Kasim. Thus the various
tracks of explorers cross and overlap each other throughout the whole of Xorth
Arabia, while the south-eastern regions still remain almost unvisited. The best
known provinces are those which lie within reach of the seaports, especially the
territory of Arabia Felix in the proximity of Aden, Moka, and Hodeidah. This
country has been traversed from west to east by M. Halevy, who has brought back
copies of hundreds of Himyarite inscriptions sculptured on the surrounding rocks
and monuments.

General Survey of the Peninsular.

Externally Arabia nearly everywhere presents uniform massive outlines of
almost geometrical regularity. By the side of the monotonous African continent,
the peninsular seems even still more monotonous. The west coast, from the Gulf of
Akabah to the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, forms nearly a straight line, while that of
the south-east, facing Somali-land and the Indian Ocean, is scarcely more diversified,
being broken at intervals only by a few elongated curves, and presenting in its
entire development a slight convexity towards the sea. Beyond the abrupt head-
land of Ras-el-Hadd, the coast trends north-westwards, as if about to take a course
parallel with the axis of the Bed Sea, and thus transform the whole peninsular into
a vast quadrilateral. But at Cape Masandam the coast line is suddenly interrupted,
a barrier of islands and islets here limiting the Gulf of Oman, and apparently
forming the true continental seaboard.

The Persian Gulf, properly so-called, is nothing more than a shallow basin with
its inlets and promontories interrupting the uniform outlines of the peninsular. In
former geological epochs before the creation of the alluvial Mesopotamian plains,
the almost closed sea, which receives the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates,
formed a parting line at least double its present extent between Arabia and Irania.
At that time its waters washed the eastern foot of the Syrian hills, and in the
direction of Asia Minor, as well as towards Egypt, the Arabian peninsular was
attached only by a narrow isthmus to the mainland.

Viewed as a whole, Arabia presents in the interior a relief scarcely less regular

than its outlines. The coast of the Red Sea is skirted by a border chain ami some

parallel ridges forming a southern continuation of the Moabite and Idumsean

highlands, and constituting the main water-parting of the land sloping broadly

126

434 SOUTH-AY F.STERN ASIA.

westwards in the direction of the Euphrates and Persian Gulf. The south coast is
alsn fringed by a border range, whose spurs project here and there beyond the

normal line of the Beaboard. Farther east the coast is also skirted by hills from
the Ras-el-Hadd to Cape Masandam. Towards the sea the whole peninsular is thus,
as it were, enclosed by a regular rampart, which at several points exceeds 6,500
i. ef in height.

The centre of this vast enclosure is occupied by a hilly region, which is connected
by several ridges with the western coast range. This is the so-called Ncjcd, or
" Upland " region, north of which the land falls towards the plains of the
Euphrates. On the opposite side it is separated from the southern highlands by
somewhat less elevated tracts, almost absolute desert wastes throughout their whole
extent.

The Tehama, or " ITot Lands," as the narrow strips are called which stretch
between the border ranges and the sea, form a distinct torrid zone answering to
the Ghcrmsir of Persia and the Mexican Tierra Caliente. But this term, Tehama,
is applied in a more restricted sense, especially to the coastlands between the Red
Sea and the Madian and Yemen highlands.

An approximate estimate only can be formed of the superficial extent of the
peninsular, based mainly on the surveys of the seaboard so far as they have been
completed. But even here several points remain still unexplored. Towards the
north Arabia has no natural limits at all beyond the zone of cultivated lands
following the course of the Euphrates. Here the steppes, occupied or infested by
the nomad Bedouins, stretch right up to the region traversed by the prrcat historical
highway between Antiochia and Babylon. In this direction it is impossible even
to lay clown any rigid political frontier line ; for the nomads shift their camping-
grounds in the Hamad or Badiet-el-Arab according to the abundance or scarcity of
water, the richness or exhaustion of the pastures, the feuds or friendships of
neighbouring tribes. The Sinai peninsular and land of Madian are also usually
regarded as forming part of Arabia, but these regions are now included politically
in Egypt, of which they form integral sections in official reports and statistical
returns.

It is thus obvious that the geographical expression, Arabia, is differently
interpreted by different authors. Hence also the discrepancies, amounting to
many thousand square miles, presented by the various published estimates of its
total area. Deducting the territories now subject to Turkey, Behm and Wagner
give it a superficies of rather inure than a million square miles. But the whole
region bounded by the Gulf of Akabah, the Iduma?an highlands, the Trans-Jordan
uplands, and the Euphrates Valley has an absolute area estimated by Engelhardt at
not less than 1, '240, 000, and, including the Sinai peninsular, 1,262,620 square miles.

Over this vast space the population is very thinly scattered. As far as can be
judged from the various summary calculations of travellers, it cannot be estimated
at more than six millions for the whole of the peninsular, which would thus appear
to be forty times less densely peopled than France.

MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS. 435

Mountain Systems.

The Idumaean highlands, culminating with Mount Hor, traditional grave of
Aaron, are continued southwards, first along the east side of the Gulf of Akabah,
and then along the coast of the Red Sea, but without forming a regular or
unbroken mountain range. Detached masses, some little more than huge crags,
others real chains, follow successively in the neighbourhood of the seaboard.
Some of these are completely isolated by broad wadies many hundred yards wide,
while others are connected by rocky ridges with the main range, which skirts the
coast at distances varying from 30 to GO miles. To this main range, which forms
the eastern limit of the Egyptian possessions, the term Jebel-el-Shafah, or " Lip
Mountain," has been applied.

But the natural limit of the whole land of Midian north of Hejaz is indicated
by the depression traversed by the pilgrim route between Damascus and Mecca.
This track, marked by a long line of wells, separates the Harra district, with its
extensive lava streams, from the sandstones of Hismah forming the edge of the
plateau, and from the granite and porphyry ranges fringing the Madian coast.

Another route, followed by the pilgrims from Egypt, passes along the western
slope of the hills, at certain points approaching close to the sea, but elsewhere
crossing the projecting headlands at some distance from the coast. East of the
Gulf of Akabah it recedes over 30 miles from the shore in order to avoid the
rugged peninsular which projects like a huge barrier at the entrance of the gulf,
and which is continued seawards by numerous islets encircled with coral reefs.
The large island of Tiran, belonging to this little archipelago, is recognised at a
great distance by its triple crest.

The heights, which rise either in isolated masses or continuous ridges near the
Madian coast, take the special name of Jcbel-et-Tekamah, that is, the " Mountains
of the Hot Lands." They are perfectly distinct from and higher than the parallel
chain of the Jebel-el-Shafah, to which Burton has applied the Indian title of the
" Ghats." Mount Arnub, which belongs to this system and which terminates
eastwards in a vertical wall 1,000 feet high, appears, according to the English
Admiralty chart, to have an elevation of 0,430 feet. Farther south Mounts Ilarb
and Dibbagh both exceed 0,600 feet, while on the marine charts 9,000 feet are
assigned to the huge granitic mass of Mount Shar, which is about IS miles long,
and everywhere surrounded by sandy wadies. The altitude, however, is reduced
by Wellsted and Burton to 6,G50 feet at the utmost.

This Tehama range is no less irregular in the geological formation and colour
of its rocks than in the form and elevation of its peaks. Some of its crests, of
volcanic origin, seem to be connected by eruptive crevasses with the volcanoes of
the Harra district, lying on the opposite side of the border chain. Most of the
summits are of granite or porphyry. But the whole series of secondary rocks is
represented, including even the contemporary corals which are continually
enlarging the coast, blocking up old seaports, and creating new ones. Veins of
white quartz standing out in relief beyond the weathered escarpments streak the

436 SOini Wl>IT.i;\ ,w.\.

hills cither in parallel lines or geometrical pattern-, their dazzling bright]
presenting a striking contrast with the pink, yellow, blue, gray, or blackish tints of
the Burrounding rocks.

The Madian hills like those of Sinai and Afghanistan, have also their "musical
sands." Not tar from Mount Arnuh, and at the foot of a spur of the Shar range,
the old pilgrims' route is skirted by the so-called Goz-el-IIannan, or " Mounds of
Wailing," which when approached by the "faithful" seem to emit a plaintive
music like that of the wind playing on an .Kolian harp. From time out of mind the
Arabs have been accustomed to sacrifice lambs at the foot of these harmonious hills.

To tbe diversity of the Madian rocks corresponds that of their mineral deposits.
Tbis is one of the richest regions in tbe world in ores of all kinds, and the heaps of
scoriae met here and there show that its mines were extensively worked by the
ancients. Sere Burton and bis fellow explorers discovered three bills containing
large masses of pure sulpbur. Several mountains are full of ferruginous ores,
easily recognised at a distance by the colour of the rocks. The beds of nearly all
the wadies are also strewn with layers of granulated metal deposited by the running
waters. In north Madian most of the metalliferous lodes contain copper and
silver, while in the south silver and gold prevail. Plans for resuming mining
operations in this district have been prepared, and railways and landing-stations
projected. Nothing is wanting except the formation of companies with working
capital, which doubtless would be forthcoming were British protection extended to
the land of Madian. The chief ohstaclc to these undertakings is the absence of
water, which, as on the Peruvian coast, would certainly have to be obtained by
machinery from the sea.

The Egyptian possessions are separated from the Turkish province of Hejaz by
the Hams, a wady some miles broad, which riBes on the Kheibar plateau, and which
has been crossed near its source by the traveller lluher. Like Tehama and .N'ejed,
this term Hejaz has no precise geographical signification, and has been applied both
by native and European writers to regions differing greatly from each other.
Literally it means the land of "separation," cither because its mountains separate
the coastlands from the plateaux of the interior, or because it is situated bet ween
Syria and Yemen, or possibly also because it is separated by its hills and mountain
ranges into a multitude of distinct valleys.

Tin: I T i :.t \ z and Assih Uplands.

At present the term Hejaz, coinciding with the political division, is applied to
the whole of the western region comprised between Madian and Yemen north anil
south, and from the lied Sea inland to the somewhat rague limits in the interior,
where the jurisdiction of the Great Sherif of Mecca ceases. In other respects the
relief of the land is much tbe same in Hejaz as in tbe northern province of
Madian. Here also we have the same detached masses rising above the low-lying
coast zone of the Tehamah, and running parallel with the main water-parting, but
interrupted by numerous depressions. Xone of tbe summits, however, attain an

THE HEJAZ AND ASSLR UPLAND?. 437

elevation of 6,500 feet, the highest being the Itochva peak, which, according to the
British Admiralty charts, is only 6,000 feet high.

In Hejaz, as in Madian, the granitic formations as well as those of secondary
origin are frequently interrupted by lava streams. As in so many other parts of
the wilderness, here also is heard the "music of the sands." When passing by
one of those singing dunes in the district south-east of the seaport of Yambo, the
traveller Fulgence Fresnel was assured by the Bedouins that the mysterious sounds
were the waitings of the unfaithful spirits confined in the hills till the Day of
Judgment.

In some regions of the Hejaz the escarpments of the plateau fall so gently that
the land can scarcely be described as mountainous. Thus the route from the coast
at Yambo leads inland to Medina without crossing any ranges properly so called.
Mecca is of still more easy access, but this place lies on the west slope of the main
water-parting in the plain, which inclines towards the seaport of Jeddah. The true
water-parting of the peninsular, known in this district by the name of Jebel-Kora,
rises to the east of the holy city. It consists of a ridge of granite, porphyry, and
other primitive rocks, whose seaward spurs are composed of sedimentary layers,
ranging in height from 1,500 to 3,000 feet. According to the botanist Schimper,
the main range of the Jebel-Kora is still over 5,300 feet at the pass crossed by the
rugged track leading from Mecca to the fortified town of Taif, on the eastern slope
of the water-parting. Farther north the chain falls gradually, but towards the
south it again rises, and in the lofty Gurned or Beni-Sufyan peak, visible on the
south-east horizon, it is said to attain an altitude of no less than 8,300 feet.* In
these elevated highlands the traveller might almost fancy himself transported to
the Alpine regions of Central Europe or the Balkan peninsular. In the deep
gorges the rush of running waters is heard amid the granite boulders, the cliffs
are carpeted with a green, flowery sward, the houses are overshadowed by leafy
fruit-trees ; surprise is caused by the apparation of dusty caravans traversing
a charming landscape, which seems intended by nature as the secluded home of
Arcadian shepherds and their flocks.

To the uplands of the southern section of Hejaz, whose seaboard is specially
known by the name of Tehamah, the general designation of Assir is usually applied.
Here also the crests are of granite interspersed with sandstones aud limestones, and
varied here and there with eruptive basalts. Yiewed as a whole, these highlands
form a southern continuation of the long coast range, but they appear to be even
more elevated than those of north Hejaz. During the winter season they are
frequently snow-clad, and even in the month of April Dr. Chedufau, who accom-
panied the Egyptian army of invasion, saw the streams on the higher grounds
fringed with glittering icicles. Two passes alone were found practicable by the
forces of Mehemet-Ali, all the other gaps in the hills being accessible only to the
tribes on both slopes, accustomed to scale Alpine heights. The Assir territory,
which is protected in its southern districts by the most ragged escarpments, is
inhabited by the Assir tribes, who give their name to the whole region, and who

• Schimper and Burckhardt.

438 SOUTH-'WESTEBN AH \.

till Lately maintained their independence. The upland, valleys occupied by them

form but a small section of the highland country designated on the maps by the
name of Assir.

The Femes Eiged un».

Yemen may in a general way be described as the triangular region at the south-
west extremity <>f Arabia which is bounded <>n the west by the lied Sea, on the
south by the (lull of Aden, and on the north-east by the hills sloping towards the
wilderness. This extensive tract, which corresponds to the Arabia Felix of the
ancients, is almost entirely occupied by a hilly plateau, above which rises distinct
mountain ranges mainly disposed parallel with the Red Sea, and thus forming
a prolongation of the llejax uplands. Heri' the granite, trachite, and other rocky
summits attain considerable elevations, although their culminating point cannot
yet be determined with any certainty. During his journey from Aden to Sana.
lienzo Manzoni successively traversed several passes over G,o00 feet high, and
above these the Xakil-Lessel towered 1,100 feet still higher towards the south of
Sana, capital of Yemen. It thus appears that the main commercial route in this
region runs at a higher elevation than that of Mount S. Bernard and the greater
part of the carriage-roads over the Alps.

The Jewish explorer Shapira, who, like Ilalevy, visited his co-religionists in
Yemen, assigns an altitude of no less than 11,100 feet to the Kau-Kehan moun-
tains, lyingnorth of Sana. Numerous towns in this region stand at heights of over
6,500 feet above sea level, and Sana itself, the largest of them, is said to have an
altitude of considerably over 7,000 feet, that is, more than that of any Alpine
village in Central Europe.

Like those of Assir, the Yemen highlands penetrate into a climatic zone totally
different from that of the plains, and man\ of their upland plateaux, shaded with
large trees or clothed with bright verdure, recall the scenery of the Italian moun-
tain ranges. In hundreds of valleys the slopes are laid out in cultivated terraces,
forming vast amphitheatres of rich vegetation. In this mountainous region the
very conditions of soil and climate render a nomad life almost impossible. Inhabited
by settled communities, who lived on the products of agriculture, and traded in
some of the most precious commodities in Asia, Arabia Felix was lor that very
reason necessarily exposed to the attacks of foreign potentates. Invasion was at
the same time facilitated by the division of the land into a large number of petty
states, often at feud with each other. Thus it happened that while the inhabitants
of the lowland plains were able to preserve their independence for long ages, those
occupying rugged mountain fastnesses became enslaved to foreign conquerors.
Over one thousand nine hundred years ago the Roman legionaries of Augustus
overran the whole country from the slopes of the Red Sea to Hadramaut on the
declivity facing the Indian Ocean.

At present Yemen is merely a Turkish province held by strong garrisons.
Since the year 1839 the English have also been in possession of Aden, its best

THE YEMEN HIGHLANDS. 430

seaport, thus securing the profits of the whole trade of south-west Arabia without
the trouble and responsibility of conquest. Several petty sultans in the interior
have doubtless preserved the title, rank, and outward show of independent princes ;
but having accepted pensions from the English, they are in reality mere vassals of
the British Empire.

Although no longer possessing a single active volcano, the Arabian peninsular
was formerly one of the great centres of igneous activity. Several crests, composed
entirely of eruptive rocks, are found beyond the Yemen highlands in the low-lying
Tehama both of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. For its boldest headlands and
deepest inlets the mainland itself is indebted to igneous disturbances in the
immediate vicinity of the seaboard. One of these volcanic headlands, thrown up
from a crevasse on the coast, is the Jebel-Shamshan (1,140 feet), which shelters
the town of Aden, and which is connected by a narrow strip with the continent. A
like origin is assigned to the Jebel-Hassan, which projects farther west beyond the
normal coastline, which is recognised at a distance by the " Ass's Ears," as its two
peaks are called by seafarers in those waters. In the same way the " saddle-back "
of the Jebel-Khan rises above a neighbouring promontory, beyond which appear*
the imposing mass of the Jebel-Kharaz (2,730 feet), which is separated from the
sea by sandbanks. Of volcanic origin is also the peninsular rock which forms the
south-west extremity of Arabia between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, on the east
side of the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb. Lastly the island of Perim, whence the
English command the entrance of the Red Sea, is a mere mass of reddish scoriae
disposed in semicircular form round a central crater.

Hadramatjt a>d South Coast.

The southern section of the peninsular is of a monotonous character, both in its
general aspect, and in the relief of the surface. The zone of coastlands is almost
everywhere rather low and studded with volcanic hillocks, beyond which it rises in
a series of terraces to a limestone range running at a mean distance of 90 miles
from the coast, and at an approximate altitude of over 3,000 feet. Beyond this
chain the land falls down to an extensive central plain known by the name of Jof.
But even here the monotonous landscape is broken by a few lofty masses, such as
the Yafia mountains, which form the southern termination of the Yemen orographic
system, and which are continued eastwards parallel with the coast and with some
lateral ridges. One of the summits of the Jebel-Faddhli, 75 miles north-east of
Aden, attains a height of 5,530 feet ; and farther on the hills lying near the coast
are probably exceeded in altitude by the Jebel-Kcrn and Jobel-Aulaki, which stand
<in a plateau at a mean elevation of about 3,000 feet. The Tsahura and Kaur-
Saiban peak, north-west of Makalla, are stated by You AY rode to have a height of
even 8,000 feet.*

A deep valley traversed by the intermittent Wady Hajar or Mossilek takes its
origin on the east slope of Yemen, whence it runs across the whole mountainous

• Reise in " Hadrainaut."

HO SOUTH-WEKEEBN \BIA

rotrion of the south, reaching the coast aear the Ras-el-Kelb headland, over 240
miles from Aden. The hills skirting the cast side of this depression belong to two
distinct formations. Those in the west, characterised by round or conic summits,
nearly everywhere easily ascended, consisl of quartz, gneiss, and shales, in many
places clothed with herbage and brushwood. The eastern heights, Formed of lime-
stones and sandstones disposed in regular layers, present a totally different aspect.
Along the wadies which fall seawards at a uniform incline of about one in eighty
yards, the hills are disposed like the tents of a military encampment, at heights
ranging from 350 to 500 feet. This lirst line is succeeded by a second, four or five
times higher, every itmhux or crest of which has the appearance of a truncated cone.
Everywhere these little terraced hills correspond with each other, evidently consti-
tuting all that now remains of a once continuous plateau cut into uniform fragments
l>v the erosive action of torrential downpours. The work of disintegration proceeds
from year to year; the sandstones become weathered under the influence of the
elements until nothing remains except the harder framework, on which not a blade
of grass can grow. One of these ranges consists of twenty-two hills so uniformly
shaped and differing so little from each other, that .Miles and Munziger christened
them the "Twenty-two Brothers." In this region the only arable tracts are the alluvia
deposited at the foot of the hills along the hanks of thewadies. These longitudinal
oases are interrupted at intervals by masses of gravel washed down from the side
ravines. Analogous formations are presented by certain valleys in the lower Alps.

Beyond the Ras-Fartah headland, which faces ('ape Gfuardafui (Ras-Asir) on
the African mainland, and which presents a formidable appearance :it the entrance
of the Gulf of Aden, the coast of Arabia falls gradually eastwards in a series of
broad semicircular bays. Here the two coast ranges known as the .Jobol-Kamar
and Jebel-Sabhan still raise their rugged peaks over 3,000 feet above the sea ; but
the border chains are everywhere broken by broad depressions, through which the
Bandy deserts of the interior become intermingled with the shingly beach. As is
usually the case along low-lying shores, the marine bed itself shoals very gradually
in front of these desert plains. At the foot of the lofty Jebel-Sabhan depths of
0,000 or 7,000 feet are met within four miles of the coast, whereas the Kurian-
Mitrian hay, which is encircled by low-lying terraces, scarcely exceeds 300 feet for
• W miles seawards. Here the true coastline is formed by the three islets, the rocks,
reefs, and the granitic island of Hullaniyah, which stretch east and west across tin
bay. South of this coastline the bed of the ocean falls so abruptly that within a
tew miles of Hullaniyah (1,700 feet) the plummet records depths of over 10,000
feet. Towards the north-east the large island of Masirah (Mosera), which stretches
for a distance of 42 miles parallel with the coast, can scarcely he distinguished
from the neighbouring mainland. ^one but the lighest craft venture to navigate
the intervening channel, which is everywhere obstructed with dangerous sandbanks.

But the highlands begin again at the Kas-el-IIadd, the easternmost cape of the
peninsular, where the seaboard trends suddenly towards the north-west. Here the
Oman plateau corresponds with that of Yemen at the opposite extremity, and if
less extensive, it is certainly as high, possibly even higher, than that upland region.

THE OMAN HIGHLANDS.

•m

When the whole peninsular comes to be trigonometrically surveyed, its culminating
point will probably be found not in the south-western but in the south-eastern
highlands.

From the Ras-el-Hadd to the Ras-Masandam, terminal headland commanding
the entrance of the Persian Gulf, the mountains rise almost everywhere sheer
above the deep waters. Here no space is left for an intervening Tehamah, or low-
lying coastland, except west of Mascat, where an extensive bay is fringed by the
plains of Batna or El-Batinah. The Oman mountains present a striking contrast
with those of Yemen, both in their utterly barren aspect and the rugged character
of their slopes. Compared with the Mascat hills, those of Sinai itself are " a
garden," says the botanist Aucher Eloy. Their limestones, slate, and serpentine

Fig. 198. — The Mascat Highlands.
Scale 1 : 3,750,000.

„ fas a7-Kh.3/ran

RaxAbozt-fiatsci ';

Kartat-aE-$3§hrraft

L . of Gree

0 toG40
Feet.

640 to 3,200

Feet

S.-20O to 6,400
Feet

C,40ii Feet and
upwards.

00 Miles.

walls, gray, brown, green, or red, stand out vividly in the glare of a trophical sun,
lighting up the varied forms and tints of their sharp outlines, prominences,
anfractuosities, and the thousand details of their stratified or crystalline veins.

The Oman Highlands.

Speaking generally, the Oman highlands may be said to consist of an advanced
range skirting the coast from the Ras-el-Hadd to Mascat, then of a transverse rid^e
running westwards from the Mascat heights, and of a third chain, which bends
round to the north-west and north, terminating in the basalt headlands of the Ras-
Masandam. All these ranges really belong to the same orographic system, whose

442

SOUTH-WESTERN \<l \

convex and concave curves, complicated with the many irregularities of the lateral
spin's, are developed mainly parallel with the seacoast. Smith of Afasoat the hills
have a mean altitude of about 3,000 feet ; hut even here one of the summits at the

intersection of the transverse chain is said to be o,;j00 feet high. Thi.s is the

Jebel-Fatlah, <>r Kariet of the Admiralty charts. West of it the main range
exceeds 6,500 feet at many points, while one peak, visible from the sea, towers to
an estimated height of over 10,000 feet. This is the highest summit so far recorded

Fig. 199. — Masandam Peninsular.
1 : 720,000.

0 to 100 Feet.

ICO to 320 Feet

320 Feet and
nptnrds.

■ 18 Miles.

in the Oman uplands. The town of Shirazi, at their southern foot, stands at an
elevation of 6,250 feet above the sea. In winter these highlands are covered with
snow; but what strikes the Arabs even more than the temporary snows are the
permanent grassy slopes of the < >man ranges. Hence the title of Jebel-Akhdar, or
"Green Mountains," given both to the highest crest and to the whole system. Yet
the prospect commanded by these summits embraces but feu verdant tracts, except
on the cultivated terraces watered by numerous irrigating canals.

A superb termination to the last Arabian highlands is formed by the narrow

THE CENTRAL EANGES AND HABEAS. 443

peninsular which at the entrance of the Persian Gulf projects in a series of sharp
needles towards the Iranian coast. At the extremity of the promontory, which in
the Jebel-el-Harim attains an extreme height of 6,850 feet, the prevailing basalt
and phonolitic rocks are indented in the form of a stag's antlers. Deep inlets
ramify amidst the cliffs, while the Ras-Masandam, the most advanced headland, is
severed in two by a profound fissure, which forms a gloomy channel winding
between vertical walls 1,000 feet high, and accessible to large vessels, although
scarcely more than a stone's throw wide.

In all ages this bold promontory, which separates the sheltered waters of the
Persian Gulf from the dreaded abysses of the Indian Ocean, has been regarded by
mariners as a sacred spot. The most advanced cliff of Cape Masandam is the
" Rock of Salvation " or of " Welcome," above which hover the protecting spirits
of sea and air. When he launches on the boundless deep, the Arab navigator offers
a sacrifice to this rock, and on his return presents it his thanksoffering. The
Hindu also strews the waves with flowers and cocoanuts in honour of the local
deities, or else sends adrift a model of his vessel with its variegated sails and little
cargo of rice. The omen is favourable if the tiny craft reaches the shore in safety ;
otherwise dangers of all kinds are imminent, and prudence enjoins a return to port.

The Central Ranges and Harras.

The mountains traversing the centre of the peninsular across the Xejed plateau
are connected westwards with the Red Sea coast ranges, northwards with the
Idumaean highlands. They may be said to begin west of the Euphrates deserts
with the craters and lava streams of the Harra, or " Burnt Land," which stretches
south of the Jebel-Hauran. Owing to the stony nature of the soil, rendering it
inaccessible to pack animals, the Harra has hitherto remained unexplored nearly
throughout its whole extent. Nevertheless this chaotic region is traversed by
some narrow tracks winding* along the beds of its tortuous wadies. These tracks
have evidently been formerly cleared by the shepherds in order to facilitate the
passage of their flocks along the grassy hollows.

The rocks of the Harra are in many places disposed so symmetrically that they
seem distributed in geometrical figures by the frequent vibrations of the soil.
They might almost be said to have even been arranged according to their size and
outlines. In one place all the large blocks seem grouped intentionally together ; in
another all the smaller stones ; elsewhere disintegrated earth or ashes. The stones
are not disposed in heaps, but cover the surface with a single layer of contiguous
fragments, as if some enormous slab of stone had suddenly been broken into pieces
of various size and shape. Here and there occur the so-called La, that is to say,
perfectly bare tracts, where the hard ground, baked as it were by the Bun, is fissured
and cut into pentagons and hexagons like the crystalline columnar basalts. Not a
blade of grass sprouts amid these blackened squares, but the interstices of the
geometrical pattern are filled with detritus of all kinds drifting before the winds.

444 -1'1 I ll-\\ ESTEEN Asia.

Here the landscape almost presents the appearance of so much tulle thrown over
the face of the desert.

In some places the scattered blocks acquire an aspect "I remarkable regularity
from the contrast of their various tints. The south side of these blocks, turned
towards the burning sun, becomes perfectly smooth and polished; while the opposite
Bides, exposed to the northern winds, are usually clothed in a mantle of graj Mi lichen.
The traveller journeying southwards from Damascus sees nothing before him except
dull grey locks, which on retracing his steps everywhere present a dazzling
appearance to his gaze. Hence in these solitudes of Harra nothing i-> easier than
to determine the points of the compass.

East of the land of Madian stretches another Harra, also of Volcanic Origin, but
known only to the Arabs. From this region come the basalt mortals and millstones
employed by the natives of the neighbouring coastlands. Yakut's "(.jcographieal
Dictionary " makes mention of no less than twenty-eight " harras " between the
Jebel-Hauran and Bab-el-Mandeb. But the " Harra of Fire," which stretches
north-east of Medina near the town of Kheibar, is the only one that is stated to
have shown signs of activity during the historic period. According to an old
tradition it was in eruption six hundred years before the time of Mohammed, and
again ejected molten lavas under the caliphate of Omar. The sacred mountain of
Ohod forms part of this volcanic system.

The English explorer. Beke, searching for the true Sinai of Scripture, thinks lie
has discovered it amongst the volcanic cones of one of the Arabian Harras. Byits
action he supposes might be explained the cloud of smoke during the day and flame
at night by which the Israelites were guided across the wilderness. Most of the
craters which under a different climate might have become lacustrine basins, are
here occasionally filled with soft muddy bogs. Hut the moisture soon evaporates,
Leaving nothing but slippery argillaceous layers very difficult to traverse.

The tracts crossing the "Burnt Lands" can be recognised only by a slight
polish produced on the stony surface by the passage of caravans for hundreds or
thousands of years. In some places, however, the rock is so hard that no impression
has been made upon it by the traffic, anil here the proper route is indicated only by
the droppings of the camels flattened and plastered to the rock by the Bedouins.
The Habir district, traversed by Huber, resembles the Safa of Syria in its general
igneous aspect. It presents the appearance of a mass of molten iron dotted over
with enormous bubbles, some still intact, others cracked and sharp as ulass at the
line of breakage. In some places the circular stria' of lava produce the effect as if
they had been churned up from underground cauldrons.*

The Jebel-Aja, northernmost range in Nejed, branches from the nucleus of hills
where is situated the " Harra of Fin." The Nejed plateau itself is already from
3,500 to 4,000 feet above sea level, whereas the relative height of the various ridges
intersecting it averages not more than 1, SOU or 'J, 000 feet. According to Blunt, the
loftiest crests scarcely exceed 6,000 feet of absolute elevation. Their spurs consist
of yellow or red stratified sandstones, which become blackened under atmospheric

• Buckingham, "Travels in Mesopotamia."

THE CENTRAL RANGES AND HAKRAfl.

445

influences. Seen from the plains, many of these rocky barriers seem completely
black, and it is no longer possible to distinguish the Aramaean and Arabic inscrip-
tions, the figures of camels, wild goats, and other animals engraved on the surface
by ancient explorers.

South of these spurs stretches the Jebel-Shammar (Shomer), properly so called,
whose pink granite rocks have preserved their brightness, blending in exquisite

Fi?. 200.— Sandstone Hills near Meskakeh.

harmony with the afterglows of the setting sun. The crimson veins of some of
these rocks, say the Arabs, are the blood of Cain still flowing from the face of the
mountain. Above the Hail oasis the granite chain abruptly terminates, and beyond
this point it is continued eastward by no other hills. But southwards rises the
parallel Jebel-Shelma range, which skirts the northern edge of the Kasim plateau.
In the Shelma mountains lluber has determined the presence of some extinct
craters, and one very rugged mass still bears the name of Gehenna, or " Hell."

446 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

A depression partly filled in with drifting Bands, and according to Blunt varying
in altitude from 4,000 to 5,000 feet, limits the northern escarpments of the Nejed,
separating it from the Jehel-Toweik, another group of uplands, to which the term
Nejed is more specially reserved. Toweik, thai is, the " Wreath," is probably
indebted for this name to its crescent shape. It develops a vast semicircle, whose
northern extremity lies parallel with the coasl of the Persian Gulf, sweeping from
thai point round to the south and Bouth-west, where it merges in the plateau easl
of the .Mecca highlands. By Palgrave the mean elevation of the whole range above
the surrounding plains is estimated at from l,ooo to 2,000 feet. Yet its outlines
present an imposing aspect, everywhere terminating in rugged cliffs, which rise
abruptly above the desert. In the endless labyrinth of their glens and valleys, the
escarpments also spring mostly sheer from the ground.

Consisting almost exclusively of limestone formations, the Toweik highlands
look like a vast group of pyramids, each built up in two or three sections. The
upper terrace is generally level, except where in one or two places granite nuclei
pierce through the limestone layers. In spring the higher, and still more the
lower sect imis, are carpeted with herbage. Here and there large trees are seen in
the more humid districts of the plateau, and the Sedier (Sidr), that is, the northern
province of Nejed, is even indebted for its name to a plant in appearance resembling
the oak. Towards the east the sandy terrace forming the pedestal of Nejed termi-
nates above the coastlands of the Persian Gulf in steep cliffs, which may be
regarded as the true continental escarpment.

The Northern Steppes and Deserts.

The region, upwards of 200,000 square miles in extent, which occupies the whole
neck of the Arabian peninsular between the Trans-Jordan highlands in the north,
those of Idumaca and Harra in the west, the Jebel-Shammar in the south, and the
Mesopotamian plains in the east and north-east, forms the so-called Hamad, known
also as the Badiet-el-Arab, or Badiet-esh-Sham. that is, the "Arab " or the "Syrian
Wilderness." This is the dreaded Shol, which the riverain population of the
Euphrates climb the cliffs of their valley to contemplate, but into which they never
venture to penetrate. Yet a large portion of this tract is a true steppe, where the
Bedouins find abundance of pasture for their flocks. Some districts, however, even
apart from those of igneous origin, are entirely covered with stones. In one place
we see nothing but pebbles like those of the seashore; in another fragments of
granite, sandstone, flint, limestone, pounded together as in a mortar ; elsewhere sands
rolling away in vast billows separated by intervening shingly salt-marshes. Some
portions of the plateau also present the appearance of regular tables surmounted by
cones and prisms, the remains of a disintegrated upper plateau. Such formations
are true hamadas, like those of the western Sahara.

These solitary wastes, which are crossed along the track of springs and wells
from Bagdad to Damascus by the British and Turkish Government couriers, are the
formidable region which, in the early wars of Islam, Khaled traversed at the head

NORTHERN STEPPES AND DESERTS. 447

of 9,000 men. No similar march was ever made before ; none has ever since been
attempted. After following the Wady-Sirhan depression, Khaled, avoiding the
Hauran highlands, at that time held by a Byzantine army, plunged boldly into the
desert, and advanced directly on Tadmor. For five days the only drink of men and
horses was a little camel's milk, or the water contained in the stomachs of the
slaughtered camels. Yet the army reached the Tadmor oasis safelv, and being soon
after joined by the army of Syria, the united forces overthrew the numerous
Byzantine hosts.*

North, east, and south of the Jebel-Shammar and of Nejed all is desert. The
sand penetrates even between the two plateaux like a strait between two islands.
These sandy tracts, which skirt the hills, and which may be crossed without danger
from oasis to oasis, are the so-called Nrfuda, branches of the great desert stretching
south-eastwards between Nejed, Hadramaut, and Oman, and occupying nearly one-
fourth of the whole peninsular. Of these Nefuds the best known is that traversed
by Palgrave, Pelly, Guarmani, Doughty, by the caravans of Wilfrid Blunt and
Huber. Nevertheless the various accounts of travellers differ greatly, which is
doubtless largely due to the different seasons of the year, when the journeys were
made. Palgrave crossed it in twelve days towards the end of July, during the
torrid season. The Blunts travelled in the middle of January, and being better
provided with food and water, they covered the ground from station to station in
half the time. Yet even they narrowly escaped with their lives on the sixth day.

The northern edge of the desert is a stony waste like an abandoned seashore,
and here a few dunes of white sand fringe the beach of what looks like an ancient
sea. Other tracts at the foot of the Nejed hills are composed of granitic gravels
known by the name of hatha. But the Nefud, properly so called, consists exclusively
of a coarse-grained red sand, almost crimson after heavy rains or in the humidity
of the morning dews. Under the mid-day sun, when the traveller feels the first
chills of fever creeping over him, when he looks half-blinded around for some spot
on which his wearied eyes may rest with relief, he seems to be wading through a
sea of fire and blood, veritable waves of flame tossed about by the winds. On the
surface of the Nefud the rolling sands, which in some places reach a height of over
300 feet, seemed to Blunt to have no particular direction, but to be strewn in
disorder over the wilderness. Palgrave compares them to long ocean billows, such
as those regidar heavy swells developed under the influence of the trade winds.
According to this observer their normal direction would seem to be from north to
south. He even attempts to explain this parallel disposition of the dunes,
attributing them not to the action of the atmospheric currents, but to the rotatory
motion of the earth. Revolving round its axis from west to east the rigid crust of
the planet meets with a certain resistance from the shifting layers of sand resting
on the surface. As in the equatorial zone, this movement of the globe is retarded
by the oceanic waters, which thus give the first impulse to the marine currents, so
in the Arabian deserts the sands travelling with a retarded rotatory motion become
slowly but gradually shifted from east to west.

• William Muir, "Annals of the Early Cahlipate."

448 SOUTH WT.sTKKX ASIA.

Another remarkable and hitherto unexplained phenomenon of the desert are the
so-called fulj described by Palgrave, Blunt, and Euber, and which are Found in
large numbers in the Nefud. These curiously symmetrical hollows penetrate in
some places through the whole thickness of the surface Bands down to the hard
rocks or argillaceous beds on which they rest. Palgrave speaks of some 800 feel

deep; but of those explored by Blunl none e» ded 230 Eeet, while Euber

observed one 265 feet in vertical height, a1 the bottom of which three wells had
been sunk. These chasms vary no less in breaili li than in depth, ranging in this
respect from a few dozen to several hundred yards. Their normal form is that of
i regular cirque with uniformly inclined dopes, and their general appearance is
that of the traces left by the shoes of some gigantic horse bounding over the
wilderness. All have their convex side facing westwards or north-westwards,
with a ravine on the east side caused by the erosive action of heavy tropical
downpours. Within the cirques the sloping sides are not uniform, those turned
towards the south being usually more precipitous than those facing the east. A
crescent-shaped dune is generally heaped up by the wind to heights of from 10 to
over 30 feel above the edge, doping gently towards the desert, but very abruptly,

on the Bide of the hollow. From time to time the sandy mass falls in, and it seems

remarkable thai all the fulj have not been gradually filled by these •• sand-slips."
So far from this being the case, most of them have still an open space at the
bottom, while their slopes are overgrown with brushwood, a sure indication of the
extreme slowness with which their contours are modified.

From the top of a rocky bluff projecting like a pyramid above the sands, Blunt
commanded an extensive view of a whole series of fulj, whose normal direction
seemed to be from east to west, but developing a serpentine curve analogous to that
of the wadies. In fact their origin may probably be due to the action of running
waters in the depressions. The streamlets, Hushed by the heavy rains disappearing
in these chasms, wash down the sands into the fissures of the ground. In some
cavities traces are even visible of ancient lakes. Such is the cirque, L6 square
miles in extent, in which is situated the village of Jobba on the southern edge of
the Nefud near the first spurs of the Jebel-Shainraar. The depth of this basin is at
hast 200, according to Palgrave 400 feet, below the level of the plain. Huber
regards its concentric sides simply as channels furrowed by heavy rains in the more
friable layers of sandstone.

The northern Nefud is entirely destitute neither of vegetable nor of animal life.
The ground is in some places overgrown with the ghada, a species of euphorbia,
whose branches are often intertwined with the tendrils of the yerta, a kind of
liana resembling the vine. Even the Bands support a savoury pasturage, generally
to the exclusion of all other vegetation. In the spring the nomads drive their
flocks to these parts of the desert, where they remain some seasons for weeks
together, their only drink being the milk of their camels. Doubtless the bleached
bones of men and animals scattered along the caravan tracks between the oases, arc
silent witnesses to the dangers besetting the routes across the desert. But the
Arab none the less loves the wilderness passionately. Here he feels himself free

THE DAHNA, OR SOUTHERN DESERT.

449

and happy ; here the soul becomes most deeply centred in itself ; here it enters
into the most complete possession of all its moral forces. Hence it is not perhaps
surprising that most of the eastern religions have been revealed to their founders
in the wilderness. " The more arid the land, the more man becomes absorbed in
himself," is a very old saying. Even European travellers are as profoundly affected

Fis;. 201. — View of a Fulj in the Northern- Nefcti.

as the Arabs themselves by the impressions of desert nature. When they return
In lands cut up into a thousand sections by enclosed estates and town walls, they
feel, like the Bedouins, a sentiment of weariness and depression.

The I>uin\, hi; Southern Desert.

liut into the frightful "red desert" of the Dalma, which stretches south of
Nejed towards the lladramaut coast, no man dares to venture.

In this region the

127

450 80UTH-WESTEEN Asi \.

ni;i[»-, -till show a wide expanse absolutely destitute of all geographical nomenclature.
Future exploration may possibly reveal a few oases on the skirts of this ocean oi
Bandy dunes. Where it was approached by Wredenorth of Eadramaut, El-Akhaf,
as the desert is here called, showed nol the slightest trace of vegetation. From
the plateau which rises 1.(1(11) feet above the dreary waste, nothing meets the eye

except wave after wave on this trackless sea of interminable sands. Nowhere can
a trace be detected of vegetation; not a bird is seen to hover above these lifeless
wastes.

Amid the boundless ocean of the Dahna desert are found those formidable
abysses known as the Bahr-el-Safi, or "Sea of Safi," from a probably Legendary
king, who was here swallowed up with his whole army. The Bedouin- pretend
that vast treasures lie buried at the bottom of these chasms guarded by protecting
genii. Hence they make no attempt to recover these riches, and in their excursions
on the edge of the desert they carefully avoid the haunted abysses, which may lie
easily recognised at a distance by the dazzling whiteness of the sands, contrasting
sharply with the yellow tint- of the surrounding dunes. Wrcde had to approach
the spot alone. At the edge of the stony chasm his stick sank in the white sand
as in water ; a stone weighing over two pounds attached to a string about 100 feet
long also disappeared, and five minutes afterwards the string itself had been
entirely swallowed up. The Bedouins, blanched with terror, assisted from a
distance at this interview with the invisible spirits.

The remarkable fluidity of these Bahr-el-Safi sands can be explained only by
the presence of underground streams, lakes, or other liquid bodies, as naphtha or
petroleum. The petroleum springs flowing on the slopes of the neighbouring cliffs
may possibly be the source of such subterranean lacustrine basins. It is more
probable, however, that below the sandy surface flow running waters revealed at
intervals by the wells where the fine dust is heaped up by action of the winds.
According to the reports of the Bedouins the line of chasms winds for a journey of
eight days along the skirt of the desert.

( 'i ni ate of Arabia.

The Arabian peninsular is comprised within the zone of south-west monsoons.
Except in the region approaching the Mediterranean, all the moisture it receives is
brought by these trade winds. But having first to traverse, or at hast to skirt, the
African continent, they have already discharged most of the humidity obtained
from the equatorial seas before reaching Arabia. Hence the quant it \ discharged
on the peninsular is insufficient to cover it with vegetation. The lofty highlands
alone, penetrating into the upper atmospheric currents, arrest the passing clouds,
and receive a certain quantity of rain, which feeds intermittent torrents, and in some
places permanent springs and rivulets. On the low-lying plains the limit of the
arable zones couincides with the last streamlets supplied by the moisture pre-
cipitated as rain or snow on the uplands.

Sometimes the first breath of the monsoon, towards the end of March or

CLIMATE OF ARABIA. 451

beginning of April, is accompanied by a few heavy showers, eagerly welcomed l>v
the peasantry. But the torrential rains coincide more usually with the period of
great heats. The normal season of summer storms varies greatly in the different
parts of the peninsular, according to latitude, the relief of the land, its proximity to
the Mediterranean or Indian Ocean, the deviations or variations produced in the
atmospheric currents.

In the Yemen highlands the heavy rains fall usually in the normal tropical
season, that is to say, at the end of the month of June and in July. During this
season the rock of Aden occasionally receives a rainfall of from six to seven inches ;
but it may happen that no moisture is precipitated. During the three years from
1869 to 1872, the cisterns of Aden were filled only once. In Hejaz the rains are
expected generally in December, at Mascat and in the Oman highlands in December
and January. The average rainfall is sufficiently abundant in the inhabited parts
of South Arabia, as far as the sixth parallel of latitude. Hence the prayers for
rain, which constitute such an important feature in the ordinary cult of the northern
tribes, form no part of the ritual in the southern regions.

But whether copious or not, the zone of highlands on which the moisture is
discharged is not sufficiently extensive to send down regular streams to the coast,
at least through surface watercourses. On the western slope not a single river
flows throughout the whole year across the Tehama to the Red Sea. All, without
exception, are misyals (masih, masilahsX analogous to the Italian fiumari and nullahs
of India. The water is speedily exhausted in the riverain arable lands, and even to
irrigate the surrounding fields it is often far from sufficient. Frequently whole
communities await the fertilising waters for weeks and months ; the anxious gaze is
fixed on the cloudless skies, the winds are consulted, and every atmospheric
phenomenon carefully observed ; business is suspended, and tribal warfare itself
arrested. Crowds assemble to scrutinise the cloud gathering on the horizon, and
when it bursts, when the freshets rush down through the mountain gorges, flooding
the sandy beds of the wadies on the plains, the advancing waters are escorted by
the multitude and everywhere hailed with songs and shouts of joy.

But a part only of the rainwater is available on the lowlands for agricultural
purposes. "Wherever the sands and gravels of the desert begin, there the streams
disappear. Some, however, again well up in the depressions of the ground, where
they develop small oases, when the water has not become too saline in its under-
ground channels. Some is even collected in permanent or temporary lakes,
flooding the argillaceous cavities. "When the water of these basins evaporates,
some of them remain encrusted with white saline efflorescences, while those where the
water had been fresh present a hard brown surface, broken into symmetrical fissures.
Bnt even at a slight distance the glare of the solar rays seems still to be reflected as
on a liquid or burnished ground. Nowhere else is the mirage of still waters pro-
duced more frequently, and the illusion is rendered more complete by occurring in
places where water might naturally be expected, that is, in the basins ot evaporated
lakes. The effect might be compared to the fanciful conception in "Alice in
Wonderland," where the smile of the cat remains after the cat has disappeared.

452 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

Although quite as scarce in Arabia as in Persia and Afghanistan, the water-
supply i^ husbanded with far less skill in the peninsular than in those regions.
Except m some of the Oman upland valleys, in certain parts of Nejed, and the
districts about the holy cities, the peasantry do nut understand the art of intercept-
ing the streams as they issue from the hills, and conducting them to tie' cultivated
i ruts by a system (if underground canals with wells sunk at regular intervals.
lint on the other hand, in most parts of Arabia the people have constructed the so-
called birkets, or dressed stone reservoirs, and have almost every where sunk deep
wells. Of these the must remarkable air those which Zobeida, wife of Earun-ar-
Elashid, caused to be excavated in the live tock on the pilgrims' route between
Mecca and Bagdad. Some are fully 230 feet deep, but most of them are now
waterless, with perhaps a little mud at the bottom.*

In Oman the area of the oases in the upland valleys has been enlarged by means

of the so-called J'chj, which resemble the kanats of the Persians, and which were
probably constructed under their direction during the course of the last century.
These felej, which are generally communal property, are kept in a constant state of
good repair, and where exposed to the incursions of marauding tribes, are defended
by regular lines of fortifications. Every spring is thus commanded by a fori in a
region where it is more important to protect the water-supply than the villagi -
themselves.

The development of the felej system throughout the peninsular might easily
double the sedentary population. The wadies now intermittently Hushed during
the tropical rains might become fringed with cultivated tracts and centres of
population, and a partial restoration might be effected of the old watercourses or
dried up livers, some of which, like the Wcd-Krmck or Pumma, traversed the
peninsular in its entire breadth, reaching the left bank of the Euphrates above the
Tigris confluence. There can be no doubt that some rivers rising in the Nejed
uplands still flow below the surface as far as the Persian dull'. Along the whole
of the west side of this basin springs of fresh water bubble up in the marine depths,
and the island of Bahrein is to a large extent indebted for its vegetation, and
consequently for its population, to its copious streams, whose true source is on the
mainland. In many places the divers descend to the bottom of the shallow strait
separating Bahrein from the peninsular in order to fill their skins with the fresh
water flowing from the Assures of the rocks. In the island of Moharek also the
women and young girls balancing pitchers on their heads wade some 50 or 60 yards
into the sea in order to draw their supplies of fresh water from a neighbouring
rocky islet. On the coast of the mainland nearly all the springs are thermal, and
a large number sulphurous, a circumstance attributed by Palgrave to the igneous
forces nut yet extinct in this region. In many places the hot springs have their
rise in the midst of ashes and lavas. Near most of these springs stand small
eminences, formed probably by the sands cast up from the surrounding depths.

Arabia is one of the hot regions of the globe. The therniometrie equator
being defleetcd towards the northern hemisphere by tin- heat developed in the
* Huber, "Bulletin of the French Geographical Society, 1884."

CLIMATE OF ARABIA. 45B

Dahna sands, skirts the southern shores of the peninsular. Aden, Makallah, and
Mascat are amongst the districts described as "hells" by Europeans, who have
more than once fallen victims to sunstroke merely by exposing themselves for a
moment to the solar rays reflected from the white walls of these towns.

In the island Aden the mean winter temperature is higher than that of summer
in Europe. Even in the month of April, and during perfectly calm weather, the
glass not unfrequently rises to 104° F. in the shade at Mascat, and in the Tehama
west of the Assir highlands it often records 107° F. But in midsummer, and when
the wind blows from the desert, the heat becomes far more intense, exceeding 120° F.
in many places. After five years of constant observation, Stanley estimates the
average temperature of Jeddah as high as 88° F. by day and 83° F. by night.
Wetzstein even assures us that the rocks themselves are frequently rent by the fierce
solar rays. According toITuber, on the plains of Central Arabia the mean tempera-
ture of the springs, which can scarcely differ much from that of the atmosphere,
varies from about 83° to 85° F. Even the natives suffer much from the sultry
climate of Arabia, where the coastlands are quite as unhealthy as those on the
Iranian side of the Persian Gulf. Here the inhabitants are subject to rickets, and
ailments of all sorts, especially ophthalmia and blindness. Fully one-tenth of the
population on the coast of Oman, we are told by Keppel, is either bleareyed or
stone blind. But on the other hand, certain regions in the interior of the peninsular
are amongst the most salubrious on the globe. Such especially are the plateaux
of Nejed, where the oppressive heats of the deserts and Tehamah lowlands are
greatly mitigated by the greater mean altitude of the land. The granite and sand-
stone ranges of the interior being exposed to breezes from every quarter, and even
to the influence of the polar atmospheric currents, there is here a regular succession
of alternating temperatures from day to night. Living under conditions so favour-
able to the full development of the physical forces, the inhabitants of Xejed are a
robust, vigorous race, of a swarthy complexion, and noted especially for their clear
and resolute glance. At corresponding altitudes and temperatures the cities of
Yemen are far less salubrious than those of Nejed. The air, heavy with marine
vapours, circulates less freely than on the central tablelands. Arrested on one side
by the Abyssinian, on the other by the Arabian highlands, it finds no escape from
the Gulf of Aden and Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb. Hence fevers are very pevalent
not only on the low-lying coastlands, but even in the upland valleys of Yemen.

Although comprised within the meteorological range of the south-west monsoons,
Arabia in other respects enjoys a great diversity of breezes, caused mainly by the
encircling waters, which cause the regular atmospheric currents to deviate from
their normal course. The Gulf of Aden and Sea of Socotora on the south and
south-east, the Red Sea on the west, the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf on the
east and north-east, lastly the Mediterranean on the north-west, constitute so many
laboratories for the formation of secondary winds, which modify the primitive
currents of the trade- winds. Following the shiftings of the centres of heat, which
are found sometimes on the mainland, sometimes on the sea, the local breezes
become incessantly modified along the coasts, increasing, retarding, neutralising, or

l.-,l SOUTH-WESTERN asi \

even changing the courseof the general currents. These currents themselves often
become completely modified by the character of the regions over which they pass.
Thus in one place humidity is brought by the southern, in another by the northern
winds. So with the pestiferous shrink, or dry simoon, which blows from the easl
For the inhabitants of Yemen, from (he west for those of Bagdad. In the Nefuds
westerly gales prevail, as is evident from the form of the sand dunes, and from the
generally easterly inclination of all vegetation.

Bui in the meteorological conditions of the peninsular, the essential point is the
deflection of the south-west monsoon to the south-east. The great aerial movements
are directed mainly along the two parallel mountain systems, between which are
enclosed the two lateral inlets of the Red Sea in the west and the Persian Gulf in
the oast. After penetrating through the straits of Oman and Mah-el-Mandeb, the
normal direction of the monsoon is altered, causing it to ascend the two inlets along
the line of their main axis. In the same way the winds blowing from the Iranian
plateaux and from the Moabite or Median highlands, are engulfed in these marine
depressions, which they henceforth follow to their outlets in the Indian Ocean.
Thus is produced a regular alternation of ascending and descending trade-winds, by
which navigation is greatly facilitated.

But although the highways to the ocean were thus from the first clearly
indicated by nature herself, it required none the less great daring to penetrate
through the " gates " or straits into the stormy high seas, whore the swift and
shifting marine currents seemed to be controlled by no tixed laws. Vet the
mariners of Oman, of Badramaut and Yemen, undaunted by these perils, became at
one time the great carriers lor all the trading populations along the shores of the
Indian Ocean, from Mozambique to the Sunda Islands. They even long contended
with the Portuguese for the empire of these regions. During the early days of
Tslain, the Arabs also enjoyed a large share in the commerce of the Mediterranean,
whence the number of Arabic terms discovered by Kremcr in the language of
European seafaring nations.

Thk Persi \n Gulf.

Although resembling each other in their meteorological conditions and in the
high temperature of their water, the two great inland seas of the peninsular differ
greatly in other respects. The Persian Gulf is entitled to be regarded as a sea
only on account of its extent, which is estimated at 100,000 square miles. But it
is very shallow, averaging, probably, not more than 200 feet in depth. Supposing
the present level and other physical conditions remain unchanged, the time might
he approximately calculated when this marine basin must be completely filled up
by the alluvia brought down by the Shat-el-Arab, just as the northern section of
the gulf has already been tilled up and converted into the plains of Mesopotamia.
The liquid mass is far too inconsiderable to be affected by the general currents of
the Indian Ocean. In the sea of Oman at the entrance of the gulf, the marine
correspond to the atmospheric currents, one penetrating through the Strait of

THE PERSIAN GULF. 455

Ormuz during the prevalence of the southern monsoon from May to September,
another setting steadily in the opposite direction towards the Indian Ocean for the
rest of the year, thai is, during the Beason of the northern winds. In the gulf
itself it has been found impossible to determine any order or system in the
oscillations of the streams, which appear to be quite superficial and liable to be
modified by every fresh breeze.

These shallow waters are interspersed with a large number of islands, of which
those on the west differ greatly in their physical aspects from those on the east side
of the gulf. The latter, lying near a steep coast, are themselves mountainous,
rising abruptly above a sea free of reefs, whereas those on the Arab seaboard are
low and sandy, like the adjacent mainland. The extensive semicircular bay
comprised between the Ras Masandam headland and Katar Point is studded with
these islets, to which the district is perhaps indebted for its Arabic name, Bahr-el-
Benat, or "Sea of Daughters." West of Katar the Gulf of Bahrein is also
obstructed with numerous islands, islets, and sandbanks scarcely rising above the
surface. One of these, the largest Arab island in the Persian Gulf, bears the name
of Bahrein, or the " Two Seas," derived, doubtless, from the two large bays
stretching east and west of the Katar peninsular. Oppert identifies Bahrein with
the Tylos or Tilvun of the ancients, one of the sacred places where, before the time
of written history, Chaldean civilisation had its origin. From Tylos came that
"fish god " who in the Babylonian myth bore the ark of the human race over the
deluge.

Both the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman are amongst the marine basins which
most abound in animal life. Such is the multitude of fishes, that no perceptible
impression is made on their numbers by the thousands of Arab smacks constantly
busy in these teeming waters. Large nets cast in depths of 200 fathoms, and
requiring thirty to forty hands to work, capture vast quantities, which when dried
in the sun serve with date-paste as the staple of food for all the surrounding Arab
populations. Reduced by this simple process to the appearance of bits of sticks,
the produce of these productive fishing-grounds is forwarded to the interior of the
peninsular, to India, Zanzibar, and other parts of the east coast of Africa. The fry,
which it would be difficult to export, is either returned to the sea or used to manure
the Mascat gardens and the cultivated districts of Batina.

According to the statements of Alexander's admiral, Xearchus. whales were also
formerly very common in the Sea of Oman. The ichthvophagi, or " fish-eaters," of
the Makran coast are said to have built their houses with the bones of this cetacean,
which has now become very scarce. But the bahrnoptera Indica, probably the
largest still existing marine animal, attaining a length of 90 feet,* is still met by
mariners in these waters. Here also microscopic life is so exuberant that some-
times for thousands of square miles the colour of the sea is changed to a milky or
a blood-red hue. At night it is all aglow with phosphorescence, and in many places
the track of vessels is marked for miles and miles by a luminous streak, like a fiery
dragon ploughing the deep. These weird effects are regarded by the Wahabiti

■ Blyth, "Journal of (he Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1S59."

450 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

flashes from the lower regions, while the seafaring populations take them for the
^riiis nt' tin- sirens, which sparkle only in the water, but become tarnished or
evaporate when exposed i<> the air.

In the Bahrein Sea, and generally along all the west side of the Persian Gulf,
pearl-fishing is the chief occupation of the maritime populations from May to
October. Although not so white as those of Ceylon and Japan, the pearls found in
the Arabian seas are larger and of more regular form. They also long retain their
golden tint, whereas those of Ceylon rapidly lose their brightness, especially ill
warm climates. The Bahrein pearls are also more esteemed tor the medical virtues
attributed by the Arabs and Persians to these secretions of the oyster. Nor has the
supply begun to fail in the Persian Gulf, as it has in bo many other places. In
the Bahrein archipelago alone the industry gives employment to about fifty
thousand hands, while secondary stations are established in the neighbourhood of
the marine beds along the whole coast from Koveit, near the mouths of the Shat-el-
Arab, almost to the entrance of the gulf.

By long established use, the pearls belong to the whole maritime population,
who have alone the right to dive and collect the oysters in the fishing-grounds.
Nevertheless most of the profits are secured beforehand by the Hindu and Arab
money-lenders, who by extortionate charges have reduced the unfortunate natives
engaged in the industry to little better than galley-slaves. The profits arc supposed
to be equally regulated between the owners of the boats, the divers, and the crews.
But even before the division takes place all these shares are seized by the usurers,
leaving but a sorry pittance to the "toilers in the deep." Of these there are
altogether about seventy thousand, with six thousand smacks, while the yearly value
of the fisheries is estimated at £500,000, or scarcely more than £7 per head.*

The grounds are still worked in a very primitive manner. The divers, weighted
by a stone attached to their feet, their nostrils closed with a horny clasp, their ears
plugged with wax, descend in depths of from 30 to 60 and even 1<»<I feet, returning
in fifty or sixty seconds with as many oysters as they can scrape together. They
will repeat this dangerous descent usually seven or eight times a day, exposed all
the time to the attacks of sharks and swordfishes, to whom on an average about
thirty fall victims every year. The finest pearls and most iridescent mother-of-
pearl are found chiefly in the neighbourhood of the already-mentioned springs.
By the natives the origin of the gems themselves is attributed to the particles of
matter contained in the fresh water, hence productive returns arc anticipated
especially alter heavy rains.

Tin: Pin Ska.

This extensive basin, which reckoning in a straight line from the port of Suez

to the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, separates Arabia from Abyssinia and I'.gypt for a

distance of 1,300 miles, is fully entitled from its great depth to the name "sea."

Forming a vast fissure between the two converging continents, it presents in its

* fJrattan Geary, " Through Asiatic Turkey."

THE RED SEA.

457

central seel ion a continuous cavity considerably over 3,000 feet deep, and at two
points, under the twenty-third and twentieth parallels of latitude, the plummet sinks
into abysses of over 0,600 J'eet.

Off the coast of Lith a depth has even been recorded of no less than 7, GOO feet.
Of the two gulfs into which the basin ramifies to the right and left of the Sinai
peninsular, that of Suez, although preserving its main axis, has not the true cha-
racter of the fissure. It nowhere exceeds 220 feet, with an average depth of pro-
bably not more than 160 feet. Hence it can only be regarded as a lateral trough
merely due to erosive action. The true continuation of the Red Sea is the Gulf of
Akabah, where depths of some hundred fathoms have been measured within close
proximity to the coast. In the central parts of this cavity Moresby determined

Fig. 202— Bab-bl-Mandbb.

Scale 1 : 6S5.000.

0 to SO Feet.

80 to 160 Feet. 160 to 320 Feet.

i JO Feet and
upwards.

12 Miles.

soundings of over 1,650 feet in the year 1833. It seems evident that the Red Sea,
the Gulf of Akabah, and the Ghor depression now traversed by the Jordan and
flooded by the Dead Sea, have all the same geological origin. They must be
regarded as longitudinal crevasses forming so many sections of a vasl fissure about
1,800 miles long. The inner basins would be at once converted into so many
" Dead Seas " were the bed of the Gulf of Akabah or of the Strait of 15ab-el-Mandeb
to be upheaved above sea level, just as that of Arabah in Iduunea has already been
upheaved.

Southwards the long fissure of the Red Sea proper terminates not far from
Moka, in the Danish or Jebel-Zukur archipelago, which forms a sort of bar, with

158 80TFTH-WE8TEEN AS] \.

scarcely 300 feel of water in ite deepest parts. Bnl al its entrance the Strait of
Bab-el-Mandeb being Bcoured by the marine currents of the Indian Ocean, is no
less than 650 feel deep in some places.

As in the Persian Gulf, these marine currents correspond in the Red Sea with
the atmospheric movements. During the prevalence of the regular summer monsoon
the waters from the Indian Ocean penetrate northwards through the Strait of
Bab-el-Mandeb. Bui when the northern gales resume the preponderance, during
the winter months, the currents set steadily southwards, and the Red Sea then
becomes a sort of marine affluent of the Gulf of Aden. The difference of sea level
along the shores of Abyssinia and Arabia is about 2 feet, according to the direction
of the trade-winds. But besides these general movements and surface undulations
caused by local breezes, there appears to be a general displacement of the waters in
the direction from south to north. Being destitute of a single perennial affluent,
and lying under almost cloudless skies, the Red Sea receives but alight contributions
of fresh water, and may be regarded as a vast marine basin affected only by
evaporation. All the water supplied by rain and the wadies would form a scan . I\
perceptible liquid layer, if distributed evenly over its surface, whereas the quantity
converted by heat into vapour would be sufficient sensibly to lower its level, were
the loss not replaced by currents from the Indian Ocean.

In his " Marine Geography," Maury estimated at about 24 feet the liquid mass
yearly evaporated on the surface of the lied Sea. Since the experiments made l>\-
Salles on large basins, this estimate of the American hydrographer is known to
have been far too high. But even reducing the annual loss by evaporation to not
more than ^5 feet, this would suffice to completely exhaust the waters of the Red
Sea in the course of a few generations. Allowing a mean depth of 1,300 feet for
the whole depression, four centuries would suffice to evaporate its liquid contents,
and long before the end of this period the saline waters, reaching the point of
saturation, would everywhere be hemmed in by crystalline cliffs. Hence the
constant loss caused by evaporation must he made good by currents setting in from
the Indian Ocean through the two channels of Bab-el-Mandeb. The yearly
quantity thus received represents a volume equal to that of a river such us the
Ganges. But the surface waters of the Red Sea being driven by the prevailing
northern winds for half the year southwards in the direction of the ocean,
compensation must be effected by a corresponding increase in the submarine
current setting towards the inland basin. But however swift this current may be,
it must lose a portion of its contents by evaporation, causing a corresponding
increase in its saline density. From Aden to Suez the proportion of salt in the
Red Sea increases gradually from rather more than thirty in the south, to forty-one
and even forty-three parts in one thousand in the extreme north.

Since the Red Sea has been placed by the Suez Canal in communication with
the Mediterranean, exchanges also take place between the Gulf of Suez and the
basin of the Bitter Lakes. This basin, which had been almost comph tely exhausted
by evaporation, has already beeii replenished by the Red Sea, which lias supplied
it with over ol,-j<K>, 000,000 cubic feet, together with its flora and fauna. By the

THE BED SEA.

459

oscillations of ebb and flow the canal itself is being constantly renewed from the
same source. At full tide, wbicb is not felt at Port Said, the level of the Red Sea
at Suez is over three feet higher than that of the Mediterranean, at the opposite
extremity of the canal. The difference of level is on an average 32 inches for the
Gulf of Suez, but much less for that of Akabah.

European travellers proceeding to India through the canal and Red Sea much
dread the high temperature of this basin during the summer months. The few
days occupied in the passage are severely felt when the atmosphere is calm, and
still more when the parched desert winds prevail. Amongst the various hypotheses

Fi". 203. — GUKIAH IsLANll, GuLF OK AKABAIt.

advanced to explain the origin of the epithet " Red " from remote times applied to
this sea, one of the most plausible is that which assigns to the term the meaning of
"Torrid." The "Erythraean" Sea of the ancients was far more extensive than
the present basin bearing that name. It comprised all the marine gulls washing
the shores of the southern peninsulars of the Asiatic continent, thus answering to
our Indian Ocean, or to all the tropical waters known to antiquity. The ruddy
skies reflected in these waters, the dazzling glare of the rocks and mountains
surrounding them, the glowing atmosphere pervading these regions, may possibly
have earned for the Indian Ocean, and especially for its north-western inlet, the
title of " Red Sea." But according to most modern commentators, the appellation

400 SOUTH-WE8TEBN Asia.

is tn be referred rather to the Punt, or "rod" race of men, who dwell on both
sides of the gulfj thai is, in Africa and Arabia, whose descendants migrating
northwards became the Phoenicians of the Mediterranean seaboard. Hut it must be
confessed thai no phenomenon peculiar to the I i< <1 Sea sinus sufficient t<i explain a
name it has borne from the remotest times.

This basin is diversified with numerous islands, which are grouped in archipela-
goes alone; its eastern and western shores. Amongst those on the Asiatic Bide there
are some evidently belonging geologically to the Arabian peninsular. Such are
Hasani, north of Yambo, Disan, and Karam, in the Loheiyah archipelago. Bui
others of different origin rise far from the coast in the deepest parts of the basin.
Thus the Jebel-Teir, which lies west of Loheiyah in the very middle of the central
cavity, forms a cone of lavas and volcanic ashes, whose base is from 700 to Sill) feet
below the surface, above which its summit attains an altitude of over !»00 feet.
Teir is the only still active volcano in the Arabian waters. In 1883 it was the scene
of a violent eruption of vapours, such as are often discharged from Stromboli. All
the other insular volcanoes in the southern part of the gulf, Jebel-Zebair, Jebel-
Zukur (-,000 feet), the Great and Little Hanish, the crater of Perim between the
two channels of Bab-el-Mandeb, are cooled massess of red and black lavas.

But the lofty islands, whether of volcanic or sedimentary origin, are rare in
comparison with the number of low-lying rocks of coral formation. Nearly one-
third of the Red Sea is obstructed with these relatively more recent islets or reels,
visible from a distance by the white line of encircling surf. Alone the Arabian
coast the chain of coral banks is almost continuous from Loheiyah Bay to the
entrance of the Gulf of Akabah, being interrupted at intervals only by deep inlets
facing the mouths of the wadies. The fresh water, and possibly the impurities
brought down from the interior by these intermittent streams, prevent the growth
of the rock-building polypes. On the African side the sheb, or coral barrier,
although less continuous, advances in some places farther seawards than on the
opposite coast. In the latitude of Massawah, more than half the sea is filled with
reels, between which the main navigable channel is contracted to a width of about
CO miles. In this endless labyrinth of straits and passages navigation is extremely
dangerous, not so much to large steamers, which keep to the deep central highway,
as to the Arab craft which hug the shore, and are obliged to east anchor during
the night. In spite of all their skill and foresight, the ablest pilots run the risk of
running aground in the midst of this perpetually shifting maze of intricate
channels.

Few marine basins present a more marvellous spectacle than that revealed on
the bed of the lied Sea through depths of <i(), SO, and even 100 feet of water trans-
parent as crystal. Here are seen the submarine " fields " of zoophytes with their
myriads of tendrils, ribbons, buds, and flowers, some irregular, others developing
geometrical patterns, all radiant with the loveliest tints of diamond, ruby, and
sapphire, an infinite world of endless form and colour. In the midst of these
plant-like animals flourish numerous algae, and hundreds of other vegetable species,
by which the dangers of navigation are much increased. For the waves pass with-

Till-: BED SEA.

4G1

out breaking through this dense vegetation, gradually losing their force, and
leaving no surf to indicate the presence of reds.

At the change of the monsoons, especially in the months of October and
November, myriads of fishes of every species are cast up dead on the beach at
Perim and Aden. To prevent the atmosphere from being poisoned, all the
inhabitants are obliged to lend a hand in burying these heaps of putrescent

Fig. 204. — Cokal Banks in the Central Basin of the Red Sea.

Scale 1 : 6.500,000.

0 to 320 320 to 1,600 1,600 to 3.200 3,200 to 6,400 6.4000 Feet.

Feet. Feet. Feet. Feet. and upwards.

. 120 miles.

animal remains. This wholesale mortality is attributed by the natives to the
presence of some venomous description of milt, while King regards it as the effect
of electric phenomena caused by the changes of the seasons.* Myriads of
organisms perishing beneath the incessantly renewed layers of successive organ-
isms suffice to feed the springs of oily consistency which ooze out along the coast.
Here, also, a certain degree of upheaval is evidently going on beneath the surface,
for the level of innumerable coral islets stands at present several feet above the
actual level of the sea. On this point the testimony of all travellers since the time

* " Geographical Magazine, 1S77-"

162 SOUTH WESTERN ASIA.

of tftebuhr is unanimous. All have noted old coral banks and marine beds now
connected with the mainland. Certain islets have become lagoons closed to
navigation, while some old islets have been transformed t<> peninsulars. On the
east ooast of Arabia, near the Strait of Oman, the contrary phenomenon of subsi-
dence seems probably to be at work.

Flora of Arabia.

In contrast with the extreme richness of the marine is the relatively
monotonous character of the peninsular land flora. The northern section id'
Arabia lying between Idumsea and the Euphrates is comprised within the /one of
Steppe vegetation. This region is almost entirely destitute of forest-trees, while

the small woody plants and the grasses flourish only during* the spring months.
Towards the end of May all nature resumes its uniform dry and dreary aspeel ; all
plants except the mugwort and mimosa become withered and assume the uniform
tint of the surrounding soil.

South of the Syrian steppes Central Arabia comes within the desert zone,
equally poor in vegetable species. Nevertheless trees are not wholly absent, and
numerous varieties of the date-palm are found in all the oases. In the Xcfud
itself are several large plants, such as the gadha, with white trunk and greyish
foliage ; the tulli, with round leaves growing sparingly on its prickly branches; the
bright green nebaa; the sidr, a species of acacia, every branch of which resembles
a tuft of delicate feathers. In the valleys and on the sandy plains grows the ithel,
a species of larch peculiar to Arabia ; and the sands of the Hamad yield an abun-
dance of the ckema, a variety of the truffle.

Certain districts of the desert are absolutely bare, without shrubs, or herbage, or
vegetation of any kind beyond the simple lichens adhering to rocky surfaces.
Even in the region of the Tehama along the coast the flora is extremely poor. The
peninsular of Aden has yielded only ninety-live species, of which about one-third are
peculiar to Arabia. While the vegetation presents on the whole the characteristics
of the desert, various plants indicate a transition from the flora of the Sahara to
that of Sudan and India.

The region whose flora most resembles that of Sudan is the upland tract lying
between the inland deserts on the one hand, and the lied Sea, Indian Ocean, and
( fulf of I >man on the other. The highlands of Assir, Yemen, and Hadramaut may
be regarded as belonging to the same zone as the opposite mountains of Abyssinia
and Somaliland. In its vegetation as well as in its fauna, its ethnical relations,
and historic evolution, Yemen is rather an African than an Asiatic region. Here
the true geographical limits are formed not so much by the depression of the Red
Sea as by the line of the great desert. The forests of the south-western uplands
consist chiefly of diverse species of acacia, nearly all more or less gummiferous.
Euphorbiaccaa and succulent plants ari' also very common, and amongst the hitherto
undetermined species the botanist Eildebrandt mentions a type intermediate
between the boxwood of Madagascar and that of the Balearic Island-.

FLORA OF ARABIA. 463

A valuable plant in the domestic economy of the inhabitants of Yemen is the
hat (catha, or celastrus edulis\ a shrub whose buds and young leaves have a more
stimulating effect than tea itself on the nervous system. It is even said to possess
to some extent the intoxicating properties of hashish. From remote times the
South Arabian highlands have been famous as the land of drugs and aromatic
essences. Hence came the cassia and the senna, still known in commerce by the
name of "Alexandrian senna." Myrrh, also, a gum secreted by the bark of the
balsam (bakamodendron), is one of the products of South Arabia and the Somali
coast, formerly mentioned with pearls and frankincense amongst the precious
commodities by which the Phoenician traders were attracted to the shores of the
Red Sea. At present this produce comes chiefly from Bombay. The plant which
yields the o/ibani(»i, or incense, also grows on the Hadramaut coast ranges, although
said to have originated in the African hills on the opposite side of the G ulf of Aden.
The gum secreted by the Arabian plant is of inferior quality to that of the African
species, and is collected, not by the Arabs themselves, but by the Somali people,
who understand the art of tapping the plant, for the produce of which they find
a market in Makalla and the other southern seaports.

On the plateaux and highlands the settled populations cultivate the useful
plants of the temperate zone, such as wheat, maize, barley, millet, lentils, the vine
and European fruits, besides various dyewoods. Cotton and tobacco are also among
the economic products of Arabia ; but the sugar-cane, formerly widely cultivated
in the south of the peninsular, is now found only in gardens. On the lowlands the
chief alimentary plant is the date, of which, according to an Arab writer quoted by
Burckhardt, as many as a hundred and thirty varieties are found in llejaz alone.
" Honour the date-tree," said Mohammed, " for it is your mother." Arabia should
probably be regarded as the original home of the phoenix, a tree diffused by the
Phoenicians throughout the Mediterranean lands, after they had themselves
introduced it into Syria at the time of their migration northwards.

On the other hand the coffee, regarded as the most characteristic plant of the
peninsular, is really of African origin. Before the fifteenth century of the new era
no native or foreign writer mentions it among the products of Arabia. Nor does it
appear in the trade of the world until the time of the Portuguese expeditions to the
Indian Ocean. But it is then already spoken of as the most precious berry of
Arabia Felix, and it was universally supposed to flourish in the districts about
Moka, from which seaport it was shipped for Europe. The researches of modern
botanists show that the coffee-plant does not grow wild in Arabia, and that it is
indigenous in the African region of Kaffa, whose name it still bears. The peninsular
was, however, the first country to systematically cultivate this shrub, which has
taken so great a part in the trade of the world, in its economic history, and even,
according to certain panegyrists, in its intellectual and moral development. To
extend coffee-plantations, European wars have been undertaken, vast territories have
been conquered in the New World, in Africa, and in the Sunda Islands ; millions oJ
slaves have been captured and transported to the new plantations ; a revolution has
been accomplished, entailing consequences incalculable in their complexity, in which

164 SOTJTH-WESTEBN ASIA.

good ami evil are intermingled, in which frauds, warfare, oppression, wholesale
massacres go hand in hand with commercial enterprise, with the increase of know-
ledge, the intercourse i>t' the remotes! peoples and continents.

At present Arabia takes hut a small share ill a trade which received its first

impulse from this region. Scarcely a fifteenth pari of the coffee consumed in the
whole world comes from the Yemen highlands.* Farther easl the shrub grows in
Iladrainaut nowhere beyond the Jebel- Vatia. Nevertheless the Yemen berry,
which the Arabs take as a decoction, not as an infusion, as in Europe, is still of
prime quality, probably exceeded iii aroma only by that of the Yungas district, in
Bolivia. The Arab plantations, which are carefully cultivated, lie between the
altitudes ,,f 1 ,-".011 and -1,500 feci, in broad terraces alone; the slopes id' the hills, each

with a reservoir feeding innumerable irrigation rills. The plant grows to a heighl

of :l"i or ID feet, and yields about tive-and-tweiit \ yearly crops before it is exhausted.
Always in blossom, always in fruit, the plantations present the most varied effects
of colour, in which the snow-white flower and coral berries blend their lovely tints
with the delicate ever-shifting green of the foliage. It is a delightful spectacle,

animated by the presence of myriads id' brilliant butterflies and bright-feathered
birds, the whole presenting a striking contrast to the changeless monotony of the
blue canopy above.

Faina ok Arabia.

To the poverty in vegetable species corresponds that of the animal kingdom in
the peninsular. Where plants are deficient, animals cannot be numerous, and on
tin skirts of the deserts wild beasts can scarcely find a lair in the midst of those
vast open spaces, easily traversed by the Arab horse in all directions. Nevertheless
the lion, panther, leopard, hyena and fox, are still met, and, as in Asia Minor, jackals
prowl in packs around the nightly encampments. The wild goal and ibex dwell
in the sandy and rocky regions, while a large species of antelope, here called a
" wild-cow," has its home in the Nejcd hills. Gazelles are also numerous in the
solitudes, even where no water is found, whence the popular belief that they never
drink.

During the first half of the nineteeth century, the wild-ass and ostrich still
frequented the Hamad wilderness, and they still survive farther south in the plains
surrounding the Xejcd plateaux. In Yemen the fauna, like the flora, resembles
that of the African highlands on the opposite coast. Thus several species of
monkeys occur as far north as the Jebel-Kora, east of Mecca. Along the shores
and inlets, where fish abound, birds of prey such as the eagle, vulture, and falcon,
are also numerous, while the weaver-bird, turtle-dove and pheasant, find a cover in

• Yield of coffee in the various parts of the world, according to Neuinann-Spallart : —

Metric
Ounit.ils. dotal its.

Brazil in 1880 2,000,000 Saitiinl879 2:J2,000

Java in 1879 1,128,800 Other West India ialee in 1879 . . 332,000

a in 1879 330,000 Other parts of the world . . . 260,000

ula in 1879 . . . 276,000 Arabia 30,000

THE CAMEL. 465

the thickets of the interior. Some of the islands in the Persian Gulf, frequented
by myriads of water-fowl, contain deposits of guano, like the groups of islets off the
Peruvian coast.

The Arabian fauna also includes reptiles, such as the cobra, lizards, scorpions,
poisonous spiders. According to the popular belief current in Persia and Baby-
lonia, the Oman territory and the districts above the Nefudsand "Red Desert" are
the original home of those prodigious clouds of locusts, those " hosts of the Lord,"
which are borne on the breeze to all the surrounding lands. Those of the Iranian
Ghermsir coastlanda come from the Arabian Tehamas. During the prevalence of
the south winds from these districts, the rigging of vessels anchored in the port of
Bushir is sometimes covered with these rapacious insects. A ship traversing the
Strait of Ormuz, on board of which was the traveller Bruce, was suddenly enveloped
in a cloud of locusts from Arabia, which in a short time devoured all the sails and
cordage, obliging the captain to stay his course. The locusts are in their turn
readily consumed by the Arab Bedouins.

The Camel.

Although possessing no elephants and but few oxen, Arabia is perhaps the first
country in the world for its riding, racing, and pack animals. The camel has not
been found in the wild state in the peninsular, as in the steppes of Central Asia.
But if the original stock has disappeared, Nejed, often described as the " Mother of
Camels," at least possesses the most numerous varieties of this inseparable com-
panion of the Bedouin. From Oman come the swiftest, from the Hadramaut high-
lands the most intelligent dromedaries. Every province has its special breed, whose
superior qualities are the boast of the natives.

According to the Arab legend, the camel and date were created by Allah with
the same earth as Adam. In the terrestrial paradise they dwelt with the first man,
and will accompany him to the future world, a belief symbolised in the old custom
of allowing a camel to perish of hunger at its master's grave Since the time of
Mohammed this cruel practice is no longer observed, while this quadruped continues
to be the intimate associate of the Arab throughout life, admitted to hia Ee tste, and
even to his religious ceremonies. From the back of a camel Mohammed proclaimed
his laws, and the pilgrims gathered in thousands at the foot of Mount Arafat are
still addressed by the preacher from the same living pulpit. The first mosque was
built on the spot where the prophet's she-camel lay down after the flight ; the
cupola of Meshed- Ali (Xejef) marks the place where the mortal spoils of Ali were
removed from his faithful bearer ; from the back of a camel Mohammed ascended
into heaven. At its birth the foal is fondled as an infant, and " A child is born to
us," cry all the members of the family. It is treated with affectionate care, charms
are hung round its neck to scare the evil eye ; it is never beaten, but encouraged by
words and song to make its first steps. Later on it becomes the constant associate
of its owner, who holds long communings with it, protects it from insult, and takes
as a personal affront any abusive language addressed to his mute companion. Like
128

4GG SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

any other member of (he family or the clan, the faithful animal may become a cause

of blood-feud, for " the blood "l' the came] demands the blood of man " ( Wellsted ).

As many as six hundred nanus and epithets, or even a thousand, as Chardin

assures us, are required to describe and glorify the camel. Thus does the Arab of
the wilderness endeavour to express his sense of gratitude to an animal, but for
whom he could not hope to escape from his foes and maintain his proud indepen-
dence amid his sandy wastes. Without the camel he must have long since bowed
his neck to a foreign yoke, sharing the fate of those despised fellahin who guide
or draw the plough on the banks of the Nile and Orontes.

The Arab is said to be satisfied with little ; but all that he owns must be of the
choicest quality. His dates, his perfumes, his coffee, are the best in the world. So
with his domestic animals, which are in some respects the finest and the most
attached to man. .The dog, like the camel, is a member of the tribe, of the clan
and family, whose lot he shareswith a boundless devotion. The Arab ass also, and
especially the Easa breed, is a noble beast, whose name conveys no sense of scorn,
as in the West. For here, while preserving its marvellous frugality, patience, and
tenacity, the ass has lost the fine proportions, graceful carriage, and proud spirit,
by which he is still distinguished in the peninsular.

Tin: Horse.

I lut the most characteristic domestic animal is the horse, whose superiority over
all others, except the English throughbred, is universally recognised. In the
Nefuds and steppes adjacent to Syria and the Euphrates are found the most shapely
steeds, the most mettlesome and enduring, and at the same time the gentlest and
tnost submissive to the rider's hand or voice, lint these choice breeds need abun-
dance of rich pastures and water, hence are found only in very few parts of the

peninsular. While preserving the purity of their bl 1. thanks to their complete

isolation, they nevertheless gradually degenerate in Nejed and in the southern
provinces. In the Easa territory they are not much larger than ponies, but never-
theless " little lions " in fire and courage.

The true home of the Aral) horse are the grassy northern tracts, those vast plains
resembling the pampas of the Argentine States. Here the race has been fully
developed from the earliest times, for here it found a suitable climate and nourish-
ment, combined with the essential condition of boundless space. But in this region,
bordering on the great historic highways, the breed has also been exposed to
numerous crossings. On the old bas-reliefs of the Chaldean monuments are seen
animals, apparently of "Turanian" race, which differed greatly from the Arab
tvpe, and which seemed to have been chiefly used as beasts of burden. These were
the progenitors of the heavy pack-animals still found in the amphitheatre of hills
encircling tin' Mesopotamian plains, animals which in the eyes of the Bedouins are
unworthy of the name of horse.

In north Arabia most of the tribes watch with sedulous care over the purity of
their stock. The Montefike alone and the other Lower Mesopotamia!! communities

THE HORSE. 407

have been induced by a love of gain to cross their animals with those of Persia and
Turkestan, in order to obtain horses of a larger size, for which high prices are
obtained from the Indian dealers. The thoroughbred Arab, such as we see him,
especially amongst the Anazeh tribes, is of much smaller stature than his English
congener. The head is larger, the mouth more delicate, the eye at once larger and
softer, the back shorter, the muscles more prominent, the legs slimmer. A marked
characteristic of the breed is the tail, which at full speed always stands out
horizontally. These animals would certainly be distanced on the racecourse by the
English thorougbreds and their European offspring. But size for size they would
probably compete successfully, and on long journeys would also have the advantage,
thanks to their greater staying powers and frugal habits. They " live on air,"
says the poet. Reared in the family, as the constant playmates of the children,
treated with invariable kindness and affection by their masters, they have developed
a gentle disposition which nothing can ruffle. Such vices as jibbing or rearing to
throw their rider are unknown ; and full of confidence in their guides, they shirk
no obstacle, and boldly face any danger.

Unfortunately this admirable race is threatened with extinction. Faultless
specimens become daily rarer, and in some communities have already entirely
disappeared. This is due mainly to the incessant intertribal warfare, usually
terminating in wholesale razzias and the hasty sale of the captured animals to the
first bidders. But the very superstitions associated with the traditions regarding
their purity of blood are also a potent cause of degeneracy. In the eyes of the
Arab unsullied or at least unquestioned lineage has more value than beauty or
perfections. To be prized the animal must belong to the khamsa, that is to one of
the five kehilan breeds, which are traditionally sprung from the prophet's five
favourite mares. Below these there are sixteen other races noble enough to require
the birth of every foal to be regularly attested in the presence of witnesses.
Henceforth the animal bears round his neck a little pouch containing the authentic
proofs of his origin. On this point there is no question of fraud in Arabia, where
the genealogy of a horse is too sacred a thing to be tampered with by the lowest cheat.

Outside the five first and sixteen secondary breeds, all horses are classed as kadixh,
that is, " unknown." However shapely or perfect in other respects, they are held
in no esteem; nor would any native faithful to his traditions ever consent to cross
his " blue-blood " stock with any of these " beasts without a pedigree." The
consequence is that the pure breed is gradually dying out, and even the most
powerful sheikhs already find the greatest difficulty in keeping up their studs.
At the time of Palgravc's journey in 1862, the finest stock was found at Riad,
among the Ibn Sauds, rulers of Nejid ; but in 1878 the Blunts found the emirs of
Hail, in the Jebel-Shamnier, the largest owners of horses in the peninsular.

Inhabitants of Arabia.

The Arab is as jealous of his own as of his horses' racial purity. Simple in his
habits and speech, he is none the less proud of the " blue blood " which flows in

468 SOUTH WESTERN ASIA.

his veins from a period anterior to ;ill written records. He has never submitted tu
a foreign yoke, and for many thousand years his forefathers have roamed freely
over the boundless solitudes of the interior. To this noble race of pastors, who
believe themselves to be the firstborn of men, belongs the time-honoured title of
Bedouin, a term so misunderstood and despised in the West. The Bedouins are
the Arabs in a pre-eminent sense, the "People of the Plains," the " Saracens," if
at least the primitive meaning of this term be " Men of the Sahara " or desert.
The true Bedouins are mostly of middle size, shapely and very thin, but active and
much stronger than might be supposed from their slim figures. Very dark, or of
an ashy grey complexion, they are noted for their regular oval features, high
forehead and black piercing eye, which, however, acquires a somewhat sinister
glance from the habit of knitting the brow when peering into the distant horizon.

As in Persia, close alliances are the rule, so that in polite conversation "cousin "
comes to be synonymous with "spouse." The Bedouins rapidly age, being "grey-
beards" in their fortieth, and seldom reaching their sixtieth, year. But if their
life is short it is rarely broken by ailments. From infancy accustomed to lie on
the hard ground, to endure the mid-day sun, to dispense with long sleep or
abundant nourishment, eating but once a day, and never tasting strong drinks,
beyond the slightly stimulating lebben, or "sour milk," they enjoy uniform good
health, free from most of the maladies common in the West. " I am the son of
patience" says a native heroic poem, and endurance is certainly the cardinal
virtue of the Bedouin. He faces hunger and thirst, heal and cold, greal hardships
or long journeys without complaint. Ailing or wounded, he withdraws to a corner
and sutlers in silence, ready alike for death or recovery. Gentle towards women
and children, he reserves his wrath for the strong, although in war or marauding
expeditions seldom guilty of wanton cruelty. According to the prescriptive right
sanctioned from time immemorial in the wilderness, every tribe can lift its hand
against its neighbour ; but custom requires pillage to be as free as may be from
bloodshed. Even slaughter on the battlefield must sooner or later be paid by the
far, or vendetta, and has given rise to intertribal feuds that have lasted for ages.
The capital failing of the Bedouin is not cruelty but greed. He loves the "shining
pieces," silver more than gold, but he loves them as a child delights in glittering
toys. But for all his avarice he places the duties of hospitality above personal
gain, for "Silver lost is found, honour lost is lost." The guest is sacred in the
Arab camping-ground, and the foe himself is welcome once he has touched the
tent-rope.

The Bedouin recognises no master, not even the clan or tribe itself. He clings
to his kindred only because he shares with them common joys, interests, and
honour. So close is this feeling of clanship that, although at first rejecting his
doctrine, most of Mohammed's people refused to forsake him, and with one
exception condemned themselves to voluntary exile for two years. When differ-
ences arise on important affairs the two parties agree to separate in a friendly way,
and thus the tribes become subdivided into endless groups, intermingling and
clashing like the waves of the sea. Some clans formerly living in the Xejed are

INHABITANTS OF ARABIA. 469

now encamped on the upper Euphrates, and two groups of the same family become
separated by hundreds of miles. Every tribe has its sheikh, usually distinguished
by illustrious lineage, but otherwise enjoying no hereditary claims. Elected by
his equals, he is deposed by them when he ceases to please. Besides the duties of
hospitality, his special function is to decide disputes in concert with the elders.
But though he may advise and arbitrate, his decisions lack the force of law, relying
rather on custom and public opinion than on penal sanction. Certain sheikhs,
combining a noble pedigree with wealth and upheld by strong alliances, enjoy
considerable authority so long as they understand how to identify their interests
with those of the tribe, which never forgets or abdicates its primordial rights.

The sedentary Arabs, who occupy all the arable tracts round the coast and on
the skirt of the Mesopotamian steppes, are naturally diverse in origin and diversely
intermingled with foreign elements. Although grouped in one nationality by their
common speech, there can be no doubt that the primitive stock has been largely
modified by Persians and Hindus in the east, by Somali, Abyssinians, and negroes
in the south and west. In these regions the purest type is found in Upper Yemen
and Hadramaut, where dwell the Arab-Ariba, the " Arabs of the Arabs," so named
in opposition to the Ismaelites, or Musta-Ariba, that is, " assimilated or mixed
Arabs " of the northern regions. Local tradition and history recognise in the
south-west the presence of an ethnical type different from that of the nomads of
the interior. Known in legend and genealogical myths by diverse names, it is now
grouped under the collective designation of the Hymiarites, the Homerites of the
Greeks, that is, the " Bed Men," supposed to be the Punt or Puna ancestors of the
Phoanicians. From the remotest times the Hymiarites or Sabaeans of Arabia Felix
were a civilised people acquainted with the art of letters and maintaining constant
intercourse with Abyssinia and India. The rocks of Yemen and Hadramaut bear
inscriptions anterior to the Christian epoch, which have recently been copied by
Arnaud, Maltzan, and Halevy. Thanks to these daring explorers, a new branch of
archaeology has been founded, carrying the historic retrospect some centuries
farther back than heretofore. The Hymiarites themselves have ceased to exist as
a distinct nationality, their culture having been absorbed in that of the Mussulman
Arabs. But there are still some tribes in Hadramaut, such as the " Deibir," or
" Wolves," who claim descent from the old stock. The Sabaean speech, inter-
mediate between the Arab and Abyssinian, also survives in a dialect still current
in the Mahra district, where the natives are described as of an almost white
complexion.

All Arabs alike now call themselves Mohammedans, the last tribes who had
maintained their old pagan rites having been reduced by the Wahabites at the
beginning of the present century. This old polytheism consisted chiefly in the
worship of the stars represented by idols, three hundred and sixty of which weir
set up round the black stone of Mecca. This simple cult is reflected in that of the
Mussulmans themselves, whose Koran, or sacred book, admits in a modified form the
Jewish and early Christian records, saints, and miracles, but is otherwise mainly
composed of more or less contradictory precepts. The essence of the system is a

470 snrrH-WKSTF.KN AST \.

strict monotheism, represented by the old local deity, Allat or Allah, victorious over

the neighbouring gods, jusl as the Jewish Yahveh had triumphed over Baal,
Kaniosh, and the other divinities of the Canaanitish tribes. The worship of the

THE WAHABITES.

471

one God, the right granted to the faithful of enslaving or exterminating their
enemies, an absolute claim to the wealth of this world, and the comfortable assur-
ance of inheriting that of the future life, make up the sum and substance of Islam.
The sudden triumph of Mohammed's followers, the vast plunder acquired in their
first campaigns, seemed to confirm these promises, and naturally attracted converts
from every quarter. Thanks to its simple teaching, Mohammedanism was readily
accepted, even by independent peoples, and still continues to spread in Africa, India,
and China.

The Wahabites.

But the fervour of the early times is now met only amongst a few fanatical
communities, such as that which takes its name from its founder, Mohammed Ibn

Fig. 206.— Derreyeh.
Scale 1 : 100,000.

EIToureVf ri „ T,I It

EL DERREYEH

1 : '•', '

V ^ El Bedjeiri
I ' M<

M.' t

n \J \

E . of G^eenw.ch 45'P7'

45*50

4,400 Yards.

Abd-el-Wahab, a native of Nejed, who began his preaching between the years
1740 and 1750. Banished by his own people, he took refuge with Saiid, sheikh of
an Anazeh tribe, who became the champion of the " New Islam." Their aim, how-
ever, was not so much to found a new sect as to revive the former simplicity of
iaith and purity of life. They condemned the pomp of ceremonies, sumptuous
mosques, tobacco-smoking; they rejected the pretensions of the mullahs, denounced
all prayers addressed to Allah through the Prophet or other intercessors, and under-
took to resume the holy war against the infidel. The religious reform became com-

172 SOUTH AVHSTKKX ASIA.

plicated by a social revolution. Multitudes of fugitives or outcasts from other
tribes rallied round the new apostle, and towards the middle of the last oentury
most id Nejed, with its capital, Derreyeh, bad been converted by the Bword to the
Wahabite doctrines. Then the circle of their conquests was extended beyond the

centrul plateaux to Kerhela, which was pillaged ill its vast treasures in 1 801, and
in 1NI):'> and 1*01 to Mecca and Medina. Hut their predominance in the peninsular
lasted scarcely more than ten years. The Sultan, fearing for his prestige as the
heir of the caliphs, found it necessary to re-establish his authority in the holy cities,
and the Egyptian forces, after recovering the Bejaz in 1813, occupied the Wahabite
capital in 1817.

Since thai time their power has gradually waned, and at present the chief central
state is that of Jebel-Shammar, whose capital is Hail. .Nevertheless the Wahabite
propaganda has been continued beyond the limits of Arabia, and especially in India,
and they are probably now more numerous, although politically weaker, than ever.
In the peninsular itself a large part of the population has remained indilferent to the
movement. Here the religion of the nomads is summed up in the formula "God
is God." But to Allah, for them an impersonal entity, they neither pray nor
return acts of thanksgiving. Traces even of the old Sahaism seem still to linger
amongst them, and various tribes are said to prostrate themselves before the rising
sun. At the same time the Bedouins are amongst the least superstitious of peoples.
They trouble themselves little with the mystic sense of numbers, waste no time in
the interpretation of dreams, and if they occasionally wear charms, they seem to be
ashamed of the practice. Beyond a vague idea id' metempsychosis, they entertain
few metaphysical speculations regarding a future state, and seek for a moral
sanction, not so much in the idea of rewards and punishments beyond the grave, as
in the general opinion of the tribe on good and evil Bui this opinion is far more
severe than in European societies. Abuse of confidence, petty thefts, and fraudu-
lent dealings are unknown. No Bedouin will ever betray the trust reposed in him
by a friend; strict honesty in all business matters is the rule even among the
marauding tribes.

Topography ok Arabia.

On the north-east Arabian coastlands forming the present Turkish province of
El-Hasa, the chief places are Koveit, which may be regarded as the natural outport
of the Euphrates basin, and Fao, at the mouth of the Shat-( 1-Arab. Koveit occupies
a position analogous to that of Alexandria, Venice, and Marseilles, lying like those
cities at some distance from the fluvial basin. Its trade, especially with Bombay
and the Malabar coast, is yearly increasing, and it is usually spoken id' as the future
terminus of the Euphrates Valley railway, although lying to the west of the Shat-
el-Arab. Farther south are the ports of El-K<itit\ near the Bahrein Islands, and
Akir (A(j)ur, Okeir), outport of Hoflwf (Hofhuf\ capital of Basa, which lies some
60 miles inland in a district yielding probably the best dates in Arabia. Abundant
thermal springs occur both here and in the neighbouring town of Mubarrcz.

Menamah, capital of Bahrein, occupies the north end of the island over against

TOPOGRAPHY OP ARABIA.

473

Moharek on an adjacent islet. As centre of the pearl fisheries, Menamah is visited
during the season by numerous traders, especially from India, and the port owns
over one thousand five hundred boats engaged in this industry. The Sheikh of
Bahrein, one of the richest potentates in the East, is head of the sixteen clans of
the Attabi tribe, who number fifty thousand skilled agriculturists, and who have
converted the island into an extensive garden, yielding good crops of wheat, lucerne,
onions, and other vegetables, besides dates.

A headland crowned by a fortress completely conceals Mascot, capital of Oman,
from vessels approaching from the south. The city is encircled by a crescent of
bare red igneous rocks, at both extremities of which stand two formidable-looking

Fig. 207.— Koveit.
Scale 1 : 330,000.

utol6
Feet.

16 to 32

ieet.

S2Feet
and upwards.

12 Miles.

castles. Mascat is one of the hottest places on the globe, and its climate is far too
enervating for Europeans. But its extensive trade has attracted numerous settlers
from India, Baluchistan, Persia, Abyssinia, Somaliland, and negroes from every
part of the East African seaboard. The harbour, from 60 to 160 feet deep, is well
sheltered, except from the north-west gales. Its export trade in fish, dates, and
other fruits, besides cotton fabrics, averages considerably over £ 1,000,000 a year,
while the imports scarcely amount to a fourth of that sum.

Oman, like Yemen, had a historic evolution almost independent of the rest of
the peninsular, from which it is separated by the desert. Hcnee its relations were
chiefly by water with the neighbouring coasts of Persia and India. The Arabs,
who in mediaeval times visited the Eastern Archipelago and China, and who

171

SOUTH-\vi>ti:i;\ ASJ \

contested the supremacy of the Indian Ocean with the Portuguese, all came from
i (man Later on the country waa reduced by Nadir Shah ; but after the withdrawal
(.1 tin- Persian garrisons an independent state was established, *t ret ch in g for over
1,800 miles along the coast from the Katar peninsular in the Persian Gulf to

Mirbat Bay, iii the Arabian Sea. Till the middle of the present century it also
included the adjacent islands on the Iranian coast, as well as the seaports of
Baluchistan and blast Africa as tar as Zanzibar. Its fleet was the most powerful in
the Indian Ocean, but was unable to suppress the pirates infesting the Persian Gulf

Fig. 208.— 11 ui it.

Scale 1 : 250,000.

! ~^r~y *

[ , ..f Grepnw.ck 58'JO

0tol6
Feet.

16 to 32
Feet.

32tofi4
Feet.

IS Miles

84 Beet

and Arabian Sea, against whom the East India Company had to send three
successive expeditions in 1809, 1819, and 1821. At present the ruler of Oman only
maintains a few gunboats in these waters. His revenue is estimated at £25,000,
including a subsidy of t'li.ooo from the A n^lo- Indian Government, true sovereign
of Mascat.

Amongst the numerous towns scattered along the rich and populous coast of
Batnah ( El-Batinah), «e^t of Mascat, the most important are Barka, Soveid, 8oham,
Sohnr, Loiai, S/ii>«/z. and Fajrah. Sohar, capital of the district, is an industrial

ADEN— SANA. 475

place, whose weavers, goldsmiths, braziers, and blacksmiths are the most skilful in
the whole of Arabia. Unfortunately it has no harbour, and its export trade has
been eclipsed by that of Sharjah (SharkahX on the west side of the peninsular, which
partly closes the entrance of the Persian Gulf. Here also there are some flourishing
industries, including excellent carpets, cotton goods, and delicate gold and silver
filigree work.

Few Europeans have visited Bireimah, Neswah, Minnah, and the other towns in
the interior of Oman. Beni-Abu-Ali, in the Jailan district, recalls the defeat of a
small British force, which was retrieved by the expedition of 1821. Sin; the
seaport of this district, a little west of the Ras-el-Hadd promontory, is said to take
its name from the Syrians formerly settled in Oman. To this state also belongs the
port of Hirbat, nearly opposite the island of Socotora. Farther inland are the ruins
of the ancient city of Dhafar (7)o/«;-), which was formerly a populous place, but
which has now been replaced by the more westerly towns of Suk-el-Bazir, Shehr,
and especially Makalla, in the Hadramaut and Mahrah territories. Makalla serves
as the mart of three rich valleys hitherto visited by Wrede alone, and by him
described as perhaps the most densely peopled districts in the whole of Arabia.
Towns of six thousand inhabitants and upwards are here reckoned by the dozen, and
in some places streets and gardens follow in succession for days together. Here
Tarim, capital of a petty state, lies 120 miles north of Makalla at the junction of
the Raskiyeh and Kasr, which jointly form the Wady-Mossileh. Shibam, another
capital, is situated in the Wady-Kasr Valley some 25 miles south-west of Tarim,
and higher up the same valley is studded with several large towns, such as Haura,
Bala, and Amid. Near Meshed- A/i, in the Haura district, stand the famous " forty
tombs," sepulchral chambers covered with Hymiaritic inscriptions. In West
Hadramaut the chief places are Habban, Yeshbum and Nisab, noted for its salt-
mines, in the interior, and Bir-All, Megdeha, and Shugra on the coast.

Aden. — Sana.

The British town of Aden, now the most populous in Arabia, lies on an islet
connected by a strip of sand with the mainland. Its admirable jjosition at the foot
of a natural fortress, easy of defence, near two deep and well- sheltered harbours,
naturally attracted the attention of the English, who in 1839 purchased the place
from the Sultan of Lahej for a pension of a few hundred dollars. Since then the
small village has again become a flourishing city, like its predecessor, the ancient
Adana, in the time of the Phoenicians and again before the discovery of the sea-
route to India. At present it consists of two distinct quarters, the " Marina," or
Steamer Point, near the west port, where the steamers touch, and where whole fleets
might find good anchorage, and the city proper, on the slope of the Jebel-Shamshan,
an extinct volcano overlooking the east port. The latter is sheltered by the islet of
Si rah, now connected with the mainland, and fortifications recalling those of Gibraltar
have been constructed in the very crater of the volcano. But the most remarkable
monuments are the vast reservoirs excavated in the side of the hill and fed by an

476

SOUTH -WESTERN \sa \.

aqueduct from the interior. These cisterna have a capacity of 40,000 tons, hut arc
often dry, and then the city is supplied by distilled seawater. The ArabB, former
masters of (he district, arc now in a minority in Aden, where the ohief elements are
Indians, both Banyaa and Mussulmans, and Somalia from the opposite coast. In
winter ten thousand of these Africans arc .settled in the place, which they furnish
with sheep, suet, butter, timber, in return fur woven goods and tobacco. In 1880
the exchanges amounted altogether to £2,200,000, of which t'l.ciin.uoo were imports
and £600,000 exports. Some Jews, Parsis, and Europeans also reside in Aden,
winch depends administratively on the Bombay Presidency. With the territory
of the surrounding A rah sultans, it forms a vital link in the vast chain of British
strongholds encircling the glohe. The district officially annexed to the colony
includes the small oasis of Shcikh-Othman north of the peninsular. Close to the
entrance of the Red Sea, over against the English island of Perim, lies the almost

Fig. 209.— Adex.
Scale 1 : 435,000.

atflohmnnmk
A K /? A O I

'S.il.n \Sh.Tkh (

Bir Ahmed • Salinas-

jKhor

• Miles.

circular islet of Sheikh- Said, which has been proposed as a quarantine station for
pilgrims proceeding to Mecca.

Sana, capital of the Turkish vilayet of Yemen, and one of the largest cities in
Arabia, stands at an altitude of no less than 7,100 feet above sea level, an altitude
higher than that of any European town. "Well laid out, with broad clean streets,
public and private gardens open to the public, Sana contrasts favourably with the
wealthiest cities in the East. Some of its edifices are also built in a fine style of
architecture, combining the rich sculpture of the Rajputana monuments with the
noble outlines of those of Florence. Some of its titty mosques are of great size, and
one of them rivals the Kaaba itself in sanctity even in the eyes of the orthodox
Mussulmans of Yemen.

As a strategical position commanding the whole of south-west Arabia, and
enjoying easy communication with several towns on the coast, Sana is much

ADEN— SANA.

177

better situated than was Mareb (Mariaba), the ancient Saba, metropolis of the
Sabaeans. This place was, so to say, re-discovered in 1843 by Arnaud, and it has
recently been again visited by Halevy. It lies in the Jof depression, on a wady
draining towards Hadramaut, but of its monuments little now remains except a
circular enclosure and a ruined building local]}' known as the " Palace of Balkis,"
according to the legend residence of the Queen of Saba, Solomon's friend and ally.
Numerous inscription found here and in the neighbouring ruins of Medinet-en-
Nebas, or " City of Bronze," have enabled archaeologists partly to recover the history
and mythology of the Sabaeans. West of Mareb are seen the remains of the
stupendous dyke, which notwithstanding its enormous thickness (175 paces at the

Fig. 210.— Sana.
Scale 1 : 460.n<V>.

- i of b'-eenw^crv

44-- 55'

44--54--

Fortieations in ruins. Ruins and refuse.

Mosques.
— 1,100 Yards.

.V.¥J<\

Cemeteries.

base), was swept away by the floods early in the second century of the new era,
thereby suddenly changing the destinies of the whole region, and reducing the
Mareb district to a wilderness.

Mokri, on the Red Sea, has lost the monopoly of the coffee trade, which has to a
large extent been transferred to Aden. Within its enclosures there are at present
more ruins than houses, while Hodeidah, lying farther north, has become a flourish-
ing Turkish settlement, notwithstanding its unhealthy climate. It is the outport
of Sana, Manasha, and the other large towns in Upper Yemen. Ghalefka and
Loheiyah are also busy seaports. Owing to its malarious climate, Mihail, former
capital of the Assir territory, has been abandoned in favour of Epha, standing on a
spur of the main range 2,800 feet above the sea.

17s

SOI ill -WESTERN asi.v.

Mn. \.

.)/ cat, tin- "holy city" (or perhaps two hundred millions of human heings, towards
which Mohammedans of all sects and nations turn in the hour of prayer, is a place

Fig. 211.- llnl.linwi ASH I I V A 1 1 .

Scale 1 : 1.000,000.

10HEIYAH

13'

odeidah

otoso

Feet.

80 to 160
Feet.

160 to 320

Feet

820 Feet
find upwards

24 Hike.

of small extent, with but few inhabitants except during the three months of pilgrim-
age following the fast of Ramadan. In spite of its inconvenient situation, it has
become the capital of Arabia and metropolis of Islam, thanks to the " black stone "
here venerated long before the appearance of the Prophet. It lies in the midst of

O
O

MECCA.

479

bare hills and sandy wastes, in a valley — or rather the bed of a dried up wady — with
a slight southern fall. This watercourse is occasionally flooded by freshets, which
in 18G1 swept away one third of the city, which mostly follows the direction of the
wady. But all the streets, spacious enough to admit the multitude of pilgrims,
converge on the central square occupied by the Mesjid-el-Haram, or " Holy
mosque."

This building, destitute of all beauty, is a mere aggregate of low structures
with cupolas and minarets forming a sort of arcade along the side of an extensive
inner court. In the centre of the court stands the Kaaba, or " Cube," a quadran-
gular block some 40 feet high with a silver door, through which the pilgrims are
allowed access thrice a year. In the outer wall near the door is enframed the

Fig. 212.— Mecca and Jeddah.
Scale 1 : -2,000,000.

»*•

Zetma

?'.r

Bir el Barout^

Madara ,»«£ '' *""

Bahlr.r,* f*HwBI*. tf' I .

Mils i

MECCA V**

l . of Greenwich 59' 20'

40*00'

30 Miles.

famous black stone, an aerolite, the broken fragments of which are kept together
by a silver hoop. This is the holy stone supposed to have been given by an angel to
Ishmael, father of the Arabs, and which will one day be endowed with speech to
bear witness in favour of all those by whom it has been kissed with pure lips.
Above the building floats a black silk awning, the gift of the Turkish Sultan. At
the four comers stand four shrines, belonging respectively to the four orthodox
Sunnite sects, the Shafites of Syria and Mesopotamia ; the Ilanafites of Bokhara,
Baluchistan, Afghanistan, and Turkey ; the Malekites from Africa, and the
Hanbalites, mostly of Arab stock. In one of the shrines flows the copious Zemzem,
the sacred fountain which suddenly sprang up for Agar and Ishmael when they
were wandering in the wilderness. Its somewhat brackish waters are believed to be

480 SOUTH-WESTERN Asia.

officious against all evils, although when analysed by Frankland they were found to
be thoroughly polluted by organic matter. During the season a throng of six
thousand or eight thousand pilgrims is constantly assembled at the Caaba from
every pari of the Moslem world. The total number of visitors varies greatly from
year to year, according to the political state of the peninsular and surrounding
lands. In the thirteenth century the last caravan of the Aha— ides consisted of
TJO.ooo camels, and a whole army of troops, traders and attendants. During the
Wahabite wars the pilgrimages were at times almost entirely interrupted ; but since
then the yearly average exceeds one hundred thousand devotees, mostly as zealous
for their worldly as for their spiritual welfare. Hence during the season Mecca is
changed into a vast bazaar, trade and barter invading the very precincts of the
temple itself. Vet the " infidel " is still jealously excluded from the holy places,
which during the present century have been visited only by Badia, Burckhardt,
Maltzan, Burton, and one or two other Europeans.

Pilgrims cannot claim the title of " ha j i " unless they also visit the holy Mount
Arafat, which lies some 20 miles to the north-east of Mecca. This granite
eminence, which rises scarcely more than '200 feet above the surrounding plain, is
probably indebted for its traditional sanctity to the perennial stream flowing from
a fissure in the rock, and partly supplying Mecca with water. In 1882 as many
as seventy thousand pilgrims \isitnl this spot, where Adam is supposed to have
received the first formula of prayer from the angels. But the whole district of
Jledud-el-Ilarani, of which Mecca occupies the centre, is a holy land, stretching
from the fortress of Taif, in the east, westwards to Jeddah on the Red Sea, As the
port of debarkation for the great bulk of the pilgrims, of whom sixty thousand
landed here in 1881, Jeddah has become the wealthiest place on the Red Sea. Its
population, essentially of a cosmopolitan character, includes two thousand Indians,
a large number of Nubians, some Chinese, Malays, and even Dayaks from Borneo.
But all, depending for their existence on the piety of the haji, are naturally of a
fanatical character. The trade of Jeddah averages about £;3, 000,000 yearly.

In the neighbourhood of Jeddah is the famous tomb of the Mother of Mankind,
of which Captain Burton gives us the following characteristic description : —

" I lutside the walls of Jeddah lies no less a personage than Sittna Hawwa, the
mother of mankind.

"The boy Mohammed and I mounting asses one evening, issued through the
Meccan gate, and turned towards the north-east, over a sandy plain. After half-
an-hour's ride, amongst dirty huts and tattered coffee-hovels, we reached the
■itr, and found the door closed. Presently a man came running with might
from the town : he was followed by two others; and it struck me at the time that
they applied the key with peculiar empressement, and made inordinately low
congees as we entered the enclosure of whitewashed walls.

"The Mother is supposed to lie, like a Moslemah, fronting the Kaaba, with
her feet northwards, her head southwards, and her right cheek propped by her
right hand. Whitewashed and conspicuous to the voyager and traveller from afar,
is a diminutive dome, with an opening to the west ; it is furnished as such places

MEDINA— BIAD. 481

usually are in El-Hejaz. Under it, and in the centre, is a square stone, planted
upright, and fancifully carved, to represent the omphalic region of the human
fiame. This, as well as the dome, is called El-Surrah, or, the navel. The cicerone
directed me to kiss this manner of hieroglyph, which I did, thinking the while
that, under the circumstances, the salutation was quite uncalled-for.

" Saving prayed here and at, the head, where a few young trees grew, we
walked along the side of the two parallel dwarf walls which define the outlines of
the body. They are about six paces apart, and, between them, upon Eve's neck
are two tombs, occupied, I was told, by Fsman Pasha and his son, who repaired
the Mother's sepulchre.

" I could not help remarking to the boy Mohammed that, if our first parent
measured a hundred and twenty paces from head to waist, .and eighty from waist
to heel, she must have presented much the appearance of a duck. To this the
youth replied flippantly, that he thanked his stars the Mother was underground,
otherwise that men would lose their senses witli fright."

Medina. — Riad.

Medinat-en-Ncbi, that is, the " City of the Prophet," or simply Medina, the
" City," in a superlative sense, is second to Mecca alone in sanctity. Although it
does not confer the title of haji on those visiting it, " a prayer made in its mosque
is worth a thousand elsewhere." As many as a hundred titles, replacing the old
and ill-omened name of Yatieb, attest the high rank enjoyed by Medina amongst
the cities of Arabia. Like Mecca, it occupies the centre of a Hedud-el-Haram, or
sacred territory, about 120 square miles in extent, within which "crime is inter-
dicted," where " it is unlawful to hunt or slay any animals except the infidel."
Mosl of the pilgrims to Medina are Moghrabines, i.e. "Westerns," from Africa,
who, besides the Prophet's tomb, come to venerate that of the Iman Malek-Ibn-
Anes, founder of the Malakite sect, to which they nearly all belong.

Medina lies on the east slope of the border range between the Tehama and the
central plateau, a little to the south of the famous Mount. Ohod, which is one day
to be removed to heaven, as the scene of the victory gained by Mohammed over his
enemies. East and west rise some other crests, including that of Aira, where the
Prophet almost perished of thirst, and which is consequently destined to be casl
into hell. The surrounding plain is dotted over with clumps of palms wherever
sufficient water can be obtained for irrigation purposes from the wells. Yet at this
elevation of probably 3,000 feet the temperature is so low that, according to a
Baying attributed to Mohammed, " the man who can patiently endure the cold of
Medina and the heat of Mecca deserves a reward in heaven." The city, which is
much smaller than Mecca, forms an oval encircled by walls, with a strong citadel
at their north-west extremity. West and south stretch extensive suburbs and
gardens, which arc often flooded by a wady flowing towards the south-west. In
Medina there are no remarkable monuments, even the famous El-IIaram mosque,
which contains the tomb of the Prophet, being a very unpretending structure.
129

lS'J

BOUTH -WESTERN ASIA.

Sere are also preserved the remains of Abu-Bekr, of Omar, and some other illus-
trious saints of Islam.

The port of Medina <>n the Red Sea is Yambo, commonly called Yambtca-eL
Bahr, or " Yambo-on-Sea," to distinguish it from Yambwa-el-Nakhl, or "Yambo of
the I 'alms," which lies in an oasis about 20 miles from the coast. North of this
point the only seaporl visited by shipping is El- Wy, which lies within the Egyptian
frontier-line. North- west of the great Nefud, the Jof depression, which drains to

Pig. 213.— Mbdika.

Scale 1 : 13,000.

59'52' 50-

BG6 Yirr]*.

the Wady-Sirhan, contains the fortified towns of Jof and Meskakeh, the latter a
political dependence of the emir of North Nejed. Wail, residence of this potentate,
stands about 3,500 feet above the sea in a valley enclosed on- the north by the
Jebel-Aja, or "Sapphire Mountains." Within the walls is a vast fortified palace,
which with its annexes forms a distinct quarter of itself. Hail is the chief station
of the Persian pilgrims, midway between the two cities of Nejef and Mecca.

In the Nejed proper, said by Palgrave to contain more large towns than any

MEDINA— EIAD. 483

other part of Arabia, the chief places arc Kefar, in the Upper Kasim hills ; Ross, in
Lower Kasim ; Oneizah, in the Wed-el-Ermek Valley, midway between the Red
Sea and Persian Gulf; Shakra, capital of Wbshem ; Deria or Derreyeh, former
capital of the Wahabites, and before its capture by the Egyptians in 1817 the
largest city in the peninsular. Riatl, the present capital, is a strongly fortified
place, with massive walls flanked by lofty towers and commanded by a citadel,
residence of the emir. Manfuhah, a few miles south of Iliad, is nearly as large as
the capital, and like it surrounded by extensive gardens and palm-groves. Khar/ah,
the chief place in the Aflaj district south-west of Iliad, is a small town, half of
whose inhabitants are negroes. Kalat-el-Bisha, Sohyel, and the other cities in the
Wady-Dowasir and Kora districts, between the Wahabite State and Mecca, are
known only by report. Kalat-el-Bisha, which lies on the eastern skrpe of the
Assir range, appears to be a place of some importance.

Prospects of Arabia. — The Caliphate. — TJleha. — Sheikh-ii.-Tslam. —
Beyond Hadramaut and the Mahra country stretch the still untrodden sands
of the Dahna wilderness. This apparently uninhabited desert region constitutes,
with the Red Sea coastlands, the true limits of Arabia properly so called. But
even so defined, split up as it is into numerous petty states, and encroached upon
from every quarter by foreign conquerors, the peninsular has long lost all prospects
of political cohesion. It even lacks the social unity which in pre-Mohammedan
times it enjoyed in virtue of the national games and the oral competitions for
poetic honours, to which representatives from every tribe periodically Mocked in
large numbers. Except their rich and vigorous Semitic speech, which has almost
completely absorbed the southern Hymiaritic dialects, the inhabitants of the
peninsular have really very little in common. All are doubtless at least nominal
Mohammedans. But the Bedouins are at heart still pagans, mainly worshippers
of the " Day-god," like their forefathers before the appearance of the Prophet.
Others, such as the Wahabites, differ greatly in their religious views and practices
from the populations of Yemen and the "holy places," with whom they hold
little intercourse. The traditions, usages, and aspirations of the settled and
nomad elements are also divergent at many points. While the Bedouins of the
steppe lands care for little except their pastures, domestic animals, and indepen-
dence, the agricultural communities of Yemen and the other arable regions have
acquired a taste for trade and the industries, and are willing to accept a foreign
yoke in return for the advantages derived from mutual association. Hence these
"dwellers in houses " are regarded with feelings of contempt by the tree children
of the desert, and these two great sections of the people really constitute two
distinct nationalities, quite incapable of combining together in the common interests.
A consolidated Arabia must therefore remain the dream of a few enthusiastic
champions of the national rights, or a convenient pretext for agitation readily
availed of by less disinterested politicians. With the power of England firmly
planted along the southern seaboard, and that of the Turks encroaching from the

484 SOUTH-WESTERN ASIA.

north and west, the divided Aral) race has bul taint prospect- of achieving its
political independence in our times.

It is also to be borne in mind that by her very religion Arabia, like all other
Mohammedan countries, u condemned to a state of stagnation it not of actual
retrogression. As Sir William Muir cogently remarks, "Some, indeed, dream of
an [slam in the future, rationalised and regenerate. All this has been tried
already and has miserably failed. The Koran lias so incrusted the religion in a
hard unyielding casement of ordinances and social laws, that if the shell he broken
the life is gone. A rationalistic Islam would he Islam no Longer. The contrast
hetween our own faith and Islam is most remarkable. There are in our Scriptures
living germs of truth, which accord with civil and religious Liberty, and will
expand with advancing civilisation. In Islam it is just the reverse. The Koran
has no such teaching as with us has abolished polygamy, slavery, and arbitrary
divorce, and has elevated woman to her proper place. As a reformer, Mohammed
did advance his people to a certain point, hut as ;l prophet he left them fixed
immovably at that point for all time to come. The tree is of artificial planting.
Instead of containing within itself the germ of growth and adaptation to the
various requirements of time and clime and circumstance, expanding with the
genial sunshine and rain from heaven, it remains the same forced and stunted
thing as when first planted some twelve centuries ago."*

Since that time the caliphate itself, that is, the spiritual headship of Islam, has
passed from the Arah to the Osmanli Turk. As the successor and vicar of the
Prophel on earth, the "caliph" now unites in the person of the sultan the
sacredness of a pontiff with the authority of a temporal sovereign. The former
quality, however, is recognised only by the Sunnis, one of the two great sects into
which Mohammedanism is divided. The schismatic Shiahs, who include the
Persians, a portion of the Kurds, the Syrian Metualis, and a few Indian Mussulmans,
hold on the contrary that the succession expired with Hassan, the son of Ali, since
whom i immiades, Abbassides, Fahmites, and < Ottomans have all alike been usurpers
of the title.

.\e\t in sacredness to the caliph rank- the sheriff of Mecca ; hut the veneration
in which he is held by hoth Sunnis and Shiahs results from his descent from what
may he called the Levitieal tribe ol' the Koreish and his hereditary governorship
of the holy city, rather than from any priestly character.

At a lone- remove in veneration below these two half-sacred chiefs of the faith
come the Ulema, a body of doctors who expound the Koran and furnish both
ministers to the mosques and dispensers of the law. The authority attaching to
this great corps in the person of its chief, the Sheikh-ul-Ialam, is ihc only check
on the absolute despotism of the sovereign. The institution, which is perhaps the
greatest obstacle to the regeneration of the Turkish empire, dates from the ninth
century, when a special order of ulema, or " learned men,'* was gradually developed
specially devoted to the study and exposition of the Koran, commentaries and
traditions of Islam. In course of time this privileged body naturally acquired

* "Eede Lecture," Cambric lire ISM

ULEMA— SHEIKH- tJL-ISLAM.

485

great influence, and even arrogated to itself the attributes of a quasi-priesthood.
Like the Western Christian clergy of the same period, they exercised an influence
paramount in some respects to that of the sovereign himself . When the caliphs
sank to the position of mere pontiffs, and the secular power passed into the hands
of secular princes, the high prerogatives of the ulema were still respected, and
more than once the grand mufti overawed the sultan himself. Submissive when
the sovereign was strong, and dominant when he was weak, they managed to retain
their influence through all the revolutions of Ottoman history, at every period of
which they have been the constant enemies of reform. Hence it may be confi-
dently anticipated that any attempts to introduce such administrative improvements
as are contemplated by the late Anglo-Turkish Convention will be persistently
opposed by this powerful body.*

* J. C. McCoan, " Our New Protectorate," ii. p. 17o i

APPENDIX.

STATISTICAL TABLES.

WESTERN ASIA.

APPROXIMATE AREA AND POPULATION.

in i [naze miles.
Asiatic Turkey, Samoa, Cyprus .... 760,000

ia, Aden 1,000,000

660,000

Afghanistan, exclusive of Afghan Turkestan . . 266,000

Baluchistan 1 lr.OOO

Total 2J86.000

Populntion.

16,36

3,72

7,666,000

■l.'JIIO.OOO

350,000

32,2'."

AFGHANISTAN.

APPROXIMATE POPULATION ACCORDING TO BAl
Afghans: —

Durani 700,000

Ghilzai 400.000

t-Zai, Swati, and others in the north-east . . . 600,000

Waziri, and others in the east 200,000

Kakars, and others in thi south-east .... 200,0 0

Total 2,100,000

Iranians : —

Tajiks and Parsivaus 600,000

Kohistani . 200,000

1 aiii ..." 50,000

Jemshidi and Firuz-Kuhi 50,000

Total 800. nun

Siah-Posh Kafirs ],

mi, Chitrali, Dards, &c 300,000

,, , ( Hazarahs :;n o

° { laimun and Bjpchaks 300

100,000

Hindki, Kizil- Bashes, Kurds, Arabs, and others . . . 160,000

Total ... 1,300,000

Grand Total 4,200,000

APPENDIX.

487

CHIEF TOWNS OF AFGHANISTAN AND DARDISTAN.

Afghanistan :

Kabul .
Kandahar

Population.

75,000
00,000

Jalalabad

Zerni ....

Population.
3,000

1,200

Herat .

SO. Him

Hardistan : —

Ghazni

8,000

Tall (Uaverty)

7,500

Istalif .

5,000

Kalkol .

7,500

Charikar

5,000

Chahil ....

5,000

Kanijuram

5,000

Tarrnab (Raverty)

5,000

Makin .

4,000

Chitral (Biddulphj

3,000

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS.

Provinces.

I. Kabul .

II. Kandahar

III. Sistan

IV. Herat .

V. Hazareh Territory

VI. Kafiristan

Districts.
i Kabul ; Upper Kabul and Logar Valleys ; Daman-i-Koh.

Ghorband; Upper Ghorband and Panjhir Valleys.

Laghman : Kabul Valley between Kabul and Jalalabad.

Sati andTagao; Hmdu-Kush Valleys between Daman-i-Koh
and Kafiristan.

Jalalabad ; Lower Kabul Valley.
^Ghazni; Ghazni Basin and surrounding highlands.

Kandahar; East Durani territory.

Kelat-i-Ghilzai ; Tarnak Valley; Gul-koh.

Ghirisk.

Farah ; Farah-rud Basin.

Lash ; Shakansnr.
/ Herat ; Middle Heri-rud Basin.

Kerrukh ; Upper Heri-rud Basin.

nl„l,.

Ghurian; Lower Heri-rud Basin.

Sibzawar; Ardrashkan Basin.

Shahband ; Aimak territory.

( Mastuj ; Kaskar or Chitral ; Kunar; Bushkar.
I Panjkora ; Dir ; Bajaur.

DISTANCES.

Kabul to Herat
Herat to Meshhed
Kandahar to Kabul
Kandahar to Herat
Kandahar to Sukkm
Kabul to Ghazni

Miles.
600
200
290
335
410
60

Kabul to Jalalabad .

Kabul to Peshawar .

Sukkur to Sibi, by rail

Sibi, by projected rail to Kandahar

Kandahar to Khoja Amran

Dera Ieniail Khan to Kandahar

Miles.
75
165
140
300
90
■124

Area

BALUCHISTAN.

110 sq. miles | Population

350,000

CHIEF TOWNS.

Population.

Population

Kalat ....

14,000

Bagb ....

3,000

Zerhi ....

10,000

lar

2,500

Gandava

5,000

Khozdar

2,500

Bela ....

1,500

( ll'iuara

2,000

Slml (Kwataln .

4,000

Sonmiani

1,500

Mastang

4,000

488

AITKNMX.

ADMIM-UiAl 1YK DIVISI0N8.

mCCS.

c i].;i

Shal

. Kwatai . .

Kalat

Kalat . . . .

K:ii lii-l land iv. i

. Gandava

. Barawan

Jholawan

Ehozdar

Las

B la . . . .

Gwadar .

Districts.

in, Nushkj, Kharan, Afushki.
i it, Bahrab, Wadd, BLolwah.

Mi i.iiii, Dasht, Kej, l'anjgur.

Area

PERSIA.
660,000 m[. miles | Population

7,655,000

AKKAS OF DRAINAGE

To the Indian Ocean
To the Aral and Caspian
To Lake Sistan
To Lake Urmiah .
To the Centra] Depn

Total

Milts.
TiO.000
110,000

50,000

20,000
330,000

660,000

CHIEF TOWNS.

Khorassan and Sistan : —

roptilatiun.

Meshed

80,000

Birjand

15,000

Kmlian

12,000

Sebzewar

Tebbi » .

Bajistar

10,000

Kishapur

9,000

Bujnurd

7 joo

Sultanabad .

6,000

Tun ....

5,000

Turbat-Sheikh-i-Jami .

4,000

Turbat-i-Haidari .

4,000

Kakh ....

4. mill

Kahka ....

S,l

Dchrud

l.'ulkan

3,000

Khaf ....

2,500

Kain ....

2,500

Shirwan

2,500

ikhs

2,000

Sistam : —

rabad

6,000

Bekuha

5,000

Kalah-naii .

4,000

M \Z Wl'l HAN : —

I ash

30,000

Amol ....

10,000

A -t rabad . . . .

8,000

Sari ....

8,000 1

Garnish-tope

Ghilan : —

l; it

27,000

Lahijan . . . .

8,000

Kudbar .

5,000

Population.

Langherud .

l'.nzill ....

2,500

AzF.UHEIJ.VN : —

Tabriz ....

. 100,000

Kliui ....

I'riuiah

25,000

.M aragha

15,000

Ardebil

12,000

Binab ....

7,600

Tuj-bulak .

6,000

Shehr-i-Mayandab

6,000

Maku ....

4,000

ftlarand

4,000

A liar ....

3,500

Fabsistan : —

Shiraz ....

25,000

Abadeh.

5,000

Eumiaheh

4,000

Mekkan :

Bampur

1,000

Irak-Ajemi : —

i hi ran

. 100,000

Kaahan.

70,000

Ispahan.

60,000

d .

50,000

Kasvin ....

25, i

Zenjan ....

20, 00

Ktmi ....

20,000

Burujird

20,000

llamadan

15,000

Kujia ....

15,000

Nejefabad

15,000

Khon&ar

14,000

Damghan

13,000

Scmnan

12,500

APPENDIX.

489

Chief Towns — continued.

Ardakan
Shahrnd
Gulpaigan
Bostam .
Nai'n .
Maibut
Taft .

Kirman :

Kirman
Bahramabad

Saidabad
Eayin .
Mahun .

Population.

10,000

Nchavend

8,000

Bam

8,000

A.HDILAN : —

8,000

Kermanshah

5, i

Senna .

Kirind .

5.000

Bana .

LuHISTAX : —

Khorramabad

41,000

Khuzistan : —

10,000

Oizful .

8,000

M.liammerah

6,000

Shuster

5,000

Bebehan

Population.
5,000
2,500

30,000
8,000
6,000
3,000

5,000

25,000

10,000

8,000

4,500

Shiah Mohammedans .
Sunnite Mohammedans
Armenians .

RELIGIONS OF PERSIA.

. 6,860,000 . Nestorians .

700,000 I Jews .

43,000 Guebres (Parsisi

23,000

19,000

8,000

Income

REVENUE.

£2,350,000 | Expenditure . . £2,200,000 | Debt

. Nil.

TRADE.

Average Imports .

£2

750,000

| Average Exports

£1,800,000

DISTANCES.

MileB

Miles.

Teheran to Kum

Teheran to Resht . . . . 180

Kum to Ispahan

15f

Tabriz to Teheran .

360

Ispahan to Yezd

191

Meshed to Teheran .

558

Yezd to Kirman

21<

Meshed to Sistan

582

Kirman to Bam

13(

) Sistan to Kirman

360

Bam to Bampur

245

Sistan to Bam .

246

Bampur to Gwadar .

22<

) Bam to Bandar Abbas

248

Bushahr to Shiraz

12(

) Shiraz to Ispahan .

220

ADMINISTRA

TIVE DIVISIONS.

Provinces.

Governmei

ts. Capitals. Population.

AZEIIBEIJAX

Azerbeijan

. Tabriz ....

1,400,000

Ehamaeh .

. Zenjan

Kaavin

Kasvin

Teheran .

. Teheran .

Irak-Ajemi

Hamadan .
Kum
Kashan
Ispahan

Yrzil

Hamadan

Kum
. Kashan .
. Ispahan .
. Yezd

; 1,320,000

Kurdistan

( Ardilan

I Kermanshah

. Senna

Kermanshah .

| 260,000

LulUSTAN . . . .

Burujixd .

. Burujird .

300,000

Farmstax

Shiraz

. Shiraz

1,200,000

Khuzistan

Shuster

. Shuster .

600,000

KlltMAN ....

Kirman

. Kirman .

600,000

MaI.AIK TURBTXAN

Bampur .

. Bampur .

100,000

GlUl.AN

Gnilan

. Resht

400,000

Mazanperan

tlasanderan

. Sari

260,000

Astrabad . . . .

Astrabad .

. Astrabad .

160,000

Khorassan

loiass

. Meshed .

1,000,000

490

APPENDIX.

Area

ASIATIC Tr-RKEY.

760,000 sq. miles | Population

10,300,000

POPULATION OF TURKISB ARMENIA.

Turks and Turkomans

800,000

Lazes

Armenians

600,000

1 k.'-SrS

Kurds ....

450,000

Sundries

100,000
50,000
70,000

POPULATION OF MESOPOTAMIA.

Vilayet of Dirbekr ....

818,000

Sanjak of Orfa

66,000

Sanjak of Zor (Deir) ....

240,000

Vilayet of Bagdad ....

3,210,000

Viln yet of Bnssora ....

790,000

Total

5,111,000

Area

ASIA MINOR.
192,000 sq. miles | Population

6,000,000

Area

SYRIA AND PALESTINE.

73,000 sq. miles | Population

1,450,000

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS.

Vilayets and Mutaserifliks.

Trebizond

Al.MF.MA ASD PONTD8 Erzenun

Van .
Kharput

Kurdistan

Mesopotamia

Diarbekir
Mossul .

Bagdad
Bassora

Sanjaks.

Trebizond

Janik

Gumiflh-Kaneh

Lazistan
. Erzerum
) Erzinjan
I Bayazid

Baiburt .

, Van

' Mush .

( Sakkari

i Mamuret-el-Aziz

I Argana .

. Diarbekir
1 Mardin .
i Serf

M alalia .
i Mossul .

Shehr-zor
( Suleimanieb

Bagdad .
Amara .
Kerbela .
IIiil.il .
Bassora .
Montelik
Nejed (Hasa;

Approximate
FopuLitmii.

260,000
260,000

Ml, 000

200,000
260,000
120,000

30,000
50,000
L'.J.OOO
15,01)0
si 1, 000
220,000
80,000

66,000

25,000

15,000

45,000

290,000

250,000

460,000

140,000

13,000

660,000

65,000

APPENDIX.

491

Administrative Divisions— continued.

Vilayets and Matascrifliks.
Sivas .

I Kastamuni

Anatolia

)

ADgora

Hudavendighiar .
Aidin ....
Ak Dizin (Archipelago)

Konieh
Adana .

SaDJaks.
I Sivas .

Amaaia .
' Shebin-Kara-B
/ Kastamuni
) Boh
I Sinope .
' Changri

Angora .

Kaisarieh

Kir Shehr

flimssa .
Karassi .
I Afium-Kara-1 lissai
( Kiutayeh

Smyrna

Aidin

Sarukhan

Mentesh

Mitvlini

Chio .

Kos

Rhodes .

Konieh .

Tekke .

Hamid .

Nigdeh .
VBuldur .

! Adana .
Kozan .
Ichil .
Bayaa .

Aleppo .
Marash .

Aleppo

Orfa

Zhor .

/ Damascus

Beirut .

Syria . . . '

Hamah .

Damascus

Akka .

Belkaa .

Hauran .

^Tripoli .

Libanon ....

Kuds [Pal slim i .

' TT •

Jerusalem
Mecca .
Medina .

Hejaa ...

ARABIA . . . I

Yemen

Sana

Hodeidah
Assir
Taiz

Approximate

'lion.

120,000

210,000

190,000

1,000

260,000

110.000

200,000

190,000

130,000

45.000

270,000

210,000

200,000

250,000

310,000

25H.OIIO

230,000

80,000

90,000

40,000

45,000

130,000

290,000

170,000

100,000

200,000

140,000
6o,000
90,000
20,000

2«0,000

150,000

80,000

14". I

220,000
240,000

[ 650,000

190,000

130,000

160,000

50,000

CHIEF TOWNS.

Armenia and Ponti ;i

: —

Population.

Kerasond

Population.
4,000

Aial.kir 35.000

Arghana

Trebizond

32,000

Tireboli

3,000

Van

30,000

Gumish-Kanth .

3,000

Kharput

25.1100

Platana

•2.500

Erzerum

20,000

Rizeh ...

Mush .

15.000

Kyeban-Maden

2,500

Kiziujan

Bayazid

2.000

Baiburt

10,000

Tigris Basin : —

Eghin .

8,600

Bagdad

80,000

Divrighi

8,000

Mossul

50,000

l'alu .

7,500

1'iaibckir

40,000

Chemesh-Ga

dzak

4,000

Bitlis ...

15,000

192

APPENDIX.

Chief Towns- continued.

Population.

Eerkuk 12,

Bob 12,000

Suleiinaniih

in.

Sevri-Hiasar

11,600

Ri randoz

i".

Samsun

10,000

Kut-el-Amarah .

10,000

Uersivan

10,000

1 1 tdhim

Tozia .

10,1100

AH.il .

Chorum

10,

Mendeli

6,000

' Ada-bazar .

10,1

Sert .

Bilahjik

10,000

Tuz-Kurmatb

Sinope .

KhanaMn .

5,000

Prgub .

7.500

Kil'ri .

B fra .

Madi a-Khapur .

4,000

Niksar

5,000

Khoi-Sanjak

Vizir- Kupri

6,000

Ji rireh

3,{

Mondurlu .

6,000

TeU-A&r .

3,000

Injeh-su

l./,00

Bakuba

3,000

Taab-Kopri .

4,500

Arghana

3,000

< lharsbamba

3,600

A kra .

3,000

Kara-Hiesar

Altin-Kiopru

2,000

Turkhal

3,600

Tekrit .

2,000

Kii-Slnhr .

■■.,:

Ak-Serai

ErrilllATF.s TJarin BELOW THE KaHA

Sd-Conplubnce : —

Majur [neboli

3,000

Orfa

50,000

Kalehjik
Bartan

3,000
2,500

Aintab

20,000

Erekli .

2,000

Bassora

20,000

Mardin

20,000

The Straits and Sea of Maumoka

:—

AsbuzU

20,000

Scutari

35,000

Birejik

15,000

Balikesri

12, i

ffffleh.

15,000

Kaleh-Sultanieh .

9,000

K) l-belah

16,000

Manyas

7.500

Behesni

12,000

Ghemlik

6,500

Nejef .

12,000

I'anormos .

G.000

Gurun.

9,000

Erdek (ArtakS) .

6,000

Divanieh

G.000

Bigba .

6,000

Suverek

0,000

Bagadich

5,000

Deii .

5,500

Isnii.l Niniiur-dia

Derendah

5,000

Abiillion (Apoloni

2.700

Muyadim .

5,000

.\1 udania

2,000

Jlosscih

4,600

Kum-Kali ih

2,000

Allah ....

4,000

Nazrieh

4,000

Wist Anatolia : —

Duerij Hindieh) .

3,500

Smyrna

192,000

Midyat

3,000

Mallissa i M

50,000

Hit ....

2,000

Cydonia

35,000

Aidin ....

32,000

South Anatolia: —

Kirkagach .

20,000

Kaisarich 00,000

Ak-fiiasar .

20,000

Aliuni-Kara-Hissar

42,000

ini-li

16,000

Angora

38,000

Pergaruus .

16.000

Kiutayeh .

:;:.ooo

Alashehr (Philadelphia]

15,000

Sivas .

:;.">. 000

(Tshak.

16,000

Tokat ....

10,000

Thyra ....

15,000

Amisia

25.000

Latzata

11.000

Zafaran-Boli

25,000

Eassaba

12,000

Kastamuni .

20,000

Uughla

11,000

Nev-Shi hr .

20.000

0 ibat

10,000

Changri

lo.OOO

V urlah

10,000

Zillah ....

15.01)0

.1 .

10,000

gat

15,000

Qordiz

10,000

Shehr .

15.000

Nazli ....

10,000

Iskolib

13,000

1 '. nizli

10,000

Shabiii-Kaia-Hissar

12,500

Kula .

9,000

APPENDIX.

493

Edremid

Baindir

(Edemish

Buladan

Tenije-Foki:

Ghediz

Fokia .

Menemen

' Nova
S..kia .
hajik
Sevri-Hissar
Dikeli .
Kadi-Koi

Archipelago: —

Tenedoa
Mvtilini
Chio .
Ipsaia .
Samoa .
Ikaria .
1'atmos
Leros .
Kalvmnos
Kos' .
Xisyres
Symi .
Teloa .
Rhodes
K arpathos
Kasos .

Akchipelaoo: —

Chio .
M vtilitii
Kalvmnos
Kos
Rhode "i
1'iS .
Symi .
Tenedoa
Ikaria .
Telos .

S'pi Til Anatolia

Adanu .
Kunieh
Isbarta
Marash
Adalia.
Buldui
Tarsus

Chief Town
Population.
8,000
8,000
8,000
8,000
8,000
7,500
7,000

7,000
7,000
5,000
4,000
4,000
1.

Population of Islands.
7,000

60,

70,000
6,000

40,000
7,000
8,000
3,000

16,000

25,000
2,500
7,000
1,000

27,

.'..i

5,000

Populat!

Chief Towns.

20,000
16,000
11,000

11,000

7,000

3,000

1.000

600

Population.
15,000
10,000

24,000
13,000
12,500

s — continued.

Klmalu

Ilijin .

Karainan

Niddeh

M'T.-ina

Egherdir

Eregli .
Zilleh .
Albistan

North Syria : —
Aleppo
Hamah

Horns (Emessa)
Antiochia
Edlip .
Latakdeh
Alexandre tta
KiUis .
Riha .
Ruad .

South Syria and Liuanon
Damascus .
Beirut .
Tripoli
Zahlet .
Nidon .

I leir-el-Kamar
Jebail .
Tyre .
Baalbek
Es-Salt

II harreh
Kerak .
Batrun

Palestine : —
Ji rusalem .
Gaza .
Il<'bron

Naplua (Sichem)
Jaffa .
Nazareth
Safed .
Kliait'a
Bethlehem .
Akka Acre)
Easbeya
Ludd .
Tiberias
mleh
Jenrn .
Rasheya

Population.
10,000
10,000
7,500
6,000
6,000
5,000

5,000
4,000
3.000

64,000
40,000
30,000

20, i

14,000

9,000
3,000

170,000

80.000

24,000

13,000

9,500

8,000

5,000

1,500

4,000

3,000

3.000

2,000

30,000
IS. 000
17,500
13,000
12 mill

8 000
6,000
6,500
5,000
4,000
4,000
3,600

3,000

POPULATION OF SYRIA AND PALESTINE ACCORDING TO RELIGIONS

,. , (Sunnites 650,000

-""-SUlm'n"l.M1,uaH 40,000

Druzes 120,000

Ansarieh 150.000

Orthodox Greeks 100 000

494

APPENDIX

Population ok Syria and Palestine according to Religions— continuad.

, Maronites 200,000

Latin Catholics M. Ileitis .

' United Syrians and othei .... 10,000

Armenians 20,000

Jews ; • i > ■ I Samaritans 10,000

Protestants 10,000

Area

I'i;iX<IPALITY OF SAMOS.

213 sq. miles Population .

in. mm

Incomo

REVENUE.

£120,000 | Expenditure .

£1117,000

Land under crops
( (live Groves

agricultural returns.

16,000 acres
13,000 „

Vineyards

Orchards

7,300 acres
980 „

Area

CTPEUS.

. 3,670 sq. miles | Population (1881)

235,540

Provinces.

Levkosia .

Larnaka .
Limisso

Famagosta

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS.

Provinces

Districts.

! Levkosia
( Irini
Kythraea
Larnaka
I Limisso
I Episcopi
i Famagosta
' Mesorea
' Karpaso

Papho

Kerynia

Districts.

Papho

Avdimu

Rilani
I Kiiklia

Khrysoko
( Kerynia
] Mor'fu
' Levka

Population (1P81)

Levkoaia (Xikosia) .
I amaka .
Limassol .
Morfu

CHIEF TOWNS.

11,556

7,s'J7
6,994

:;. iiMii

Area

ARABIA.

1,000,000 sq. miles | Population.

3,725,000

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS.
Independent Arabia.

States or Regions.

Tribes or Provinces
, Anazeh

PrnlnMe

PojMll LtiOQ

120,000

El-Uamao .Syrian Desert)

\ Roala

> Shammar .

800,000

112,000

Jebel-Shammau

Other groups

Wed-Joi .

Kheibar

Teinn
l Jebel-Shammar
l,Upper Kasini

100,000
12,000
25 ooo
12.0110

162,000
35,000

APPENDIX.

Administrative Divisions — continued.

Probable

States or Regions. Tribes or Provinces. Population.

'Lower Kasim ...... 30,000

Wi-shem

30,000

Sedeir

50,000

Ared ....

15,000

Nejed '•

Aflaj ....
Harik

Wed Dowasir
^.Kora ....

25,000

20,000

5,000

Koveit Koveit

30,000

/ Katar

100,000

Sharjah

80,000

Rus-el-Jebel

25,000

Dahirah

30,000

Oman

Batnah

65,000

Jebel-Akhdar .

400,000

Mascat

100,000

Sur .

70,000

Juilan

90,000

. South Coast

10,000

Mahra

40,000

1 Hadramaut

. 300,000

1 Beled-Beni-Issa .

150,000

Hadramaitt ....

Beled-el-Hajar .

Beled-el-Jof
Beled-Yafya

Nejran

. 100,000

. 60,000

. 100,000

50,000

TURKISH ARABIA.

BRITISH ARABIA.

CHIEF TOWNS.

Mecca 45,000

Yeshbum 10,000

I\L 'Hamuli

40,000

Mobarek

10,000

Aden .

35,00 1

Amran

10.000

Mascat

30,000

Lobeiyah

10,000

Sana .

28,5C0

lvttar .

8,000

Hofhof

25,000

Kharfah

8,000

Riad .

25,000

Haura .

8,000

Oneizah

20,000

Taif .

8.000

Manfuhah

20,000

Munasha

8,000

Koveit

20,000

Yambo

7.500

Terini .

20,000

Makalla

7,000

Shibani

20,000

Kl-K

6,000

Je Idah

17.0(111

Lahej .

5.000

Medina

16,000

Moka .

5,000

Hail .

15,000

Hodeidah

5,000

Bereidah

15,000

Kiss .

3.000

Shakrah

Ililiban

3,000

Mubarrez

15,000

Kheibar

2,500

Toweim

14,000

Niaab .

2,000

Mejmaa

12.000

Teima .

1,500

Mattrah

10,000

49."

196

AIT1 VI'IX.

APPROXIMATE POPULATION OF ASIATIC TURKEY AND ARABIA ACCORDING TO

1;a< is AND RELIGIONS.

Turks 10,000,000

Arabs . 4.000,000

Syrians 000

Kurds 1,300,000

< 'ircassians and Abkhazians .... 400,000

Yuruk Turkomans 210,000

I.azis 2011.000

Metuali 40,000

2.000,000

Mohammedans

Christians .

Sundries

Syrians .
Amu -mans
M ire

rians
Druses

100,000

600,000

200.000

200,000

Ansarieh 160.000

iud Samaritans

Kizil-IJa.-li
Y' zides .
Ishmaelitea
Protestants

100,000
50,000

lo. I

5,1

25,000

TotaJ

20,810,000

INDEX

Ababdeh, 140
Abdali, 36

Ab-Istada, Lake, 28
Abolonta, Lake, 266
Abu Bekr, 4S2
AbulUon, 312
Abu-Mohammed, 215
Abydos, 313
Ada-bazar, 305
Adalia, 340
Adana, 341
Adana (Arabia), 475
Aden, 43S, 4 7-j
Adhim, River, 200
Adonis, River, 369
Adwan, 376
yKgeun Si a, 251, 255
Afghanistan, 16
Afghans, 33

Atium-Kira-Hissar, 302
Aflaj, 182
Afahar, Persia, 109

Cappadocia, 291
Agach-deniz, 2S0
Agclah, Ho
Aghadeh, 233
Aghir, 472
Auhlasan, 310
Ahar, 131
Ahwaz, 95, 151
Aidin-Guzel-Hissar, 332
Aidinjik, 312
Aimaks, 45
Ain-el-Huderah, 364
Ain-es-Sultan, 412
Ain-Musa, 374
Aintab, 231
Aira, 481
Aivali, 316
Akab.h, 42S

Gulf of, 4 33, 457
Ak-dagh, Lycia, 252

Mysia, 260

Cappad icia, 262
Ak-d'juiz, 38S
Ak-HiBsar, 321
Akhlat, 190
Akin, is I
Akir, 172
AMs-cbai, 272
Akka. 4 13
Akma-dagh, 356
Akr.i Bay, 362
Akrotiri, 840
Ak-aerai, 21, 302
Ak-su, 270, 271. -J 7' ■

130

Aktamar, 191
Ala-dagh, Armenia, 166

Bithvnia, 262

Cilicia, 247
Alaman-dauh, 257
Alamut. 86
Ala-Shehr, 321
Albistau, 343
Aleppo, 382
Alexandretta, 353, 382
Alexandria, Troas, 315
Ali-abad, 125
Ali-dagh, 81, 250
Alijuk, Mount, 91
Altin- Kiopru, 225
Amadia, 2J4
Amanns Mountains, 356
Amasia, 295
Anntthos, 351
Amid, nS
Amid (Arabia) 475
Amida, 218
Amman, 407
Amul, 125
Amran, 235
Amrit,

Anadoli-Kavak, 306
Anali, 209, 236
Anamnr, 252
Anardereh, 53
Anatolia, '41
Anazeh tribe, 21 1
Angora, 303
Anjuman, 21
Ansarieh, 377
Ansaiieh Mountains, 356
Antakieh, 385
Antaradus, 390
Anti-Caucasus, 166
Anti-Libanon, 359
Antiochia, 885
Antiphellu", 339
Anti-Taurus, 246, 247
Apamea, 368
Aphrodisias, 332
Apollonia, 266, 312

Lake, 266
Arabah Depression, 364
Arabia

Arabia PetrsBa, 364
Arabia Felix, 430, 438
Arabkir, 188
Arabs, 111, 376,463
Ara i, 390

Arafat, Mount, 465, 4S0
Ararat* 163

Arbil, 225
Ardakan, 140
Ardebil, 131
Arjish, 168

Mount, 249, 250
Aret, 42
Argand-ab. 28
Argseus, .Mount, 250
Arghana, 218
Arghesan, River, 28
Anli. 373
Armenia. 163
Aimeniana, 171, 173
Arnub, Mount, 435
Arzen, 183
Ashkinazim, 3S1
Ashref, 124
Ashur-adeh, 77, 88
Aahtola, 73
Asia Minor, 241
Asin-Kalek, 335
Askalon, 426
Askhabad, 80
Assir, 430, 437
Assur. 226
Assyrians, 214
Astrabad, 123

(Mill

Athieno, 349
Atina, L80
A trek, Biver, 81
Attabi, 473
Attairos, Mount. 255
Avlan-Oghlu Lake. 27C
Ayash, 305
Ayasmat, 316
Aya-suluk, 329
Azbuzu, 230

Baalbek, 399
Baba-dagh. 255
Baba-Gurgur, 186, 202
Babahan, 145
Baba-Kaleh, 267, 316

1. 2
Bab-el- Mandeb, 433, 453, 457
Babi, 116
liabil,

Babylon. 235
Babylonia, 194
Lata, 352
Bafra, 300
Bagdad. 227

Vilavet. 208
Baghabad, 141
Bagram, 47

498

INDEX.

Bagrami, 49
Bahramabad, HI
Bahrein Island, 163
Bahr-el-Huleh, 372

r.ihi-. i-s,n, i.-.n

B i jistan, 122

ityari, 110
Bakyr-chai, 268

i, 229
Bala-Hissar, 48, 303
Balikesri, 312

gol, 167
Balis, 234
Bal-kiz, 231
Balkis, 177

66, 111
Baluchistan, 59
Bam, 142
Bamliyce, 232
Bamian, 1 < j
Bamushiir, 151
Bun pur, 142
Bana, 146

■chai, 270
Bandar-Abbas, 142
I mdar-Nakhl, 111
15.mil ir-Bisaitin, 1 14
Band u Kongun, 144
BaDd-Emir, 100, 139
Band i-Kir, 151
Banias, 409
Banyas, 470
Bai ida, River, 367
Bar lurani, 37
Barfrush, 125
ll.uk.!, 17 1
Baroghil, 20
Bartan, 301
Basiduh, 144

ra, 240
Batman-su, 219
Balna, 441
Batnah, 474
Batrun, 394
Batl it, 215
Bayazid, 185

175
Bedouins, 37G, 468
li. t-Sebah, 123
Behesni, 231
Behistun, 147
Bei-bazar, 305
Bei-dagh, 252
Beilan

B ilan Pass, 356
Beiler-bey, 308
Beirut, 394

i. 411
Bei-shehr, 340

or-gol, 274
Beit-el-Ma, 386
Bekaa, 358
I >, 72

B in-Abii-Ali. 175
Beni-Laam, 215

^akhr, 37G

-m'yan, Mount, 437
Mountains, 2 17

hem, 422
I'., sh- Parmal
Bheddin, 336

i 313
ttjik, 305
Bimbogha-dagh, 240
Binalud Mountains, 122

Bin-bir-Tepe, 322
dagh, 103
Bir-Ali,

I'.ir. or Birejik, 202, 231
Birjand, 122
Bireimah, 475

. imrud, 237

hi. 147
BitUj ninm, 301
Bitlis, 219

River, 219
Black Sea, 170, 171, 266
Bog tdich, 312
Boghaz-Koi, 299
Bolan Pass, 61
Boli, 301

i ins. 305
Bo i '. 106
Bostan, 343
Bol in-su, 199
Botrj 3, 394
Boz-burun, 252, 261
Boz-dagh, 255
Brahui, 06

ii Mountains, CO, 61, 65
Bru98a, 31 1
Budm, 404

in, 335
Bujmird, 123
Buldur, Lake, 274

l 'ol | dorion, 310
Bulgar-dagh, 248
Bulgar-maden, 249
Bulvadin, 302
Bunarbashi, 207, 325
Burnabat, 325
Burujird, 150
r. i 1 1 a-, 145

Butman Mountains, 197
Buyuk-Mendi reh, 270
Byblos, 394

Cadmus, 255

a, 298, 409

. 222
Callirhoe, 407
Camilla, 257
Campos, 327
Cana in, 353

1, Mount, 362
Caryanda, 335

ii, 77
. 322
Oastellorizzo Island, 254
Castro, 318, 327
i 'ataractes River, 27 1
< ' ivaliere Point, 252
Cayster River. 209, 328

- Mountains, 347
Chahil, id

ip-dalan, Mount, 23
Chalda a, I
Chaldseans ,180, 215
(li .I- hanlyau, 82
i lhalybes, 294
< ii.nii in. 52
Chandarlik, 319

Gulf, 319
Changli, 330
1.300

■ i r, 4 7
Charshainba, 297
I'll, kiil-su, 'J 17

iyeh, 311

Chelidan Isles, 254
i Ihemesh-gadzak. 188
Chengel-ki i. 08

i Ihi rkeasas, 286, 292
Cheameh, 22, -J7
h-i-Ali, S2
(liiiiiiiii, .'51
Chinese, 180

nl Mount, 163
l bio, 257, 327
Chitlal, 17
Chitral, 20, 26, i;

.. River, 164, 270

in. 71. 297

River, 368

:u. 42, 286

i -ova, 278
i Ihuruk mi, 274
i lilicia, 247

in (Sates, 248
iros, 327

aes, 320
I 'nidus, 335
Coele-Syria, 350, 358
Colophon, 327
Col --us. 332

ii, 295
i !oustantinople, 304, 305
< !os, tee Kos,
Ctesiphbn, 229
( lydnus, 276
Cyd m
( lyprus, 345
Cypriots, 318
Cyzicus, 201, 312

1 >.nliii'. 71
1 1. ilma, 4 19
Hall, 349

Dainan-i-Koh, 22, 79

IlaiiM.si'Us, 400
Damghan, 118, 126
Dan, ;>71
Dana, 385
I in i. 2 14
,, 144
Darabjerd, 139
Dara-Nur, 43

Mount, 92
I l.i, il. mus, 313

Dardanelles, 313

hinls. 46

Dariacba, Lake, 97
Dasht River, 04
Dasht-i-Bedaulat, 61

h.islit-i-Naumined, 94

Davri, 246

havaks, 480

Dead Sea, 372

1 1. Iiv.u- or Dekkan, 67

Deibir, 469

Deir. •S.U

Deir-el-Kamar, 396

1 1. hi mini. Mount, 1, 83

Demirji-dagh, 260

Denizli 332

Derat,

lux, 80, 120

dart, 230
Derreyeh, 472, 482
Deria, 482
1 malar, 475
llhiliui. Ids

kir, 218
Dibbagh, .'Mount, 435
Dihi-Seif, 94
Dihkeran, 98
Dijleh River, 199, 200
Di'keli, 319
Dineir, 331

ESTDEX.

499

Disan Island, 460
Divanieh, 239
Divrig, 184
Livadin, 185
Diyalab, 146, 200
DizfuL 150

River, 95
Dofar, 17-3
D(»ra, 20
Druzes, 377
Duram, 37

Ebal, Mount, 362
Ecbatana, 132
Edeasu
Edlip, 385
Edrei, 106
Edremid, 2G0, 316
Egherdir, 340
Eglierdir, Lake, 274
Eghin, 184
Ekhliar-Eddin, 53
El.th, 428
El-Barah, 385
El-Batinah, 474
El-Belka, 363
Elburz, Mount, 82
El-Fijeh, Lake, 368
El-Gaah, 366
El-Haram, 481
El-lladnr. 226
El-Hasa, 472
El-Kadder, 239
El-Katif, 472
El-Khalil, 423
El-Ko-h, 224
Elma-dagh, 262
El-Marj, 394
Elmalu, 340
El-.Mina, 392
El-Uz, 202
Elvend, Mount, 91
El-AYVj, 204, 48?
EmesMi. 383
Emix-dagh, 252
Kmmaus, 411
Enguri-bii, 303
Enzeli, 125
Epha. 477
Ephesus, 329
Erbil. 225
Erchek, 190
Erchek, Lake, 169
En gli, 341

1 ake, 276
Erehk, 238
Erekli, 301
Eren-Koi, 207, 314
Ermerek-su, 270
Er-Rumen, 2U4
Ertenh, 190
l i zi ojan, 184

i am, 1*2
Esdraelon, 361
Esh-Shugr 90

r, 188, 305
Es-Salt, 107
Euphrates, 201
Euromus. 335
Euryraedor.
Evek-Varek, 182
Eveiek, 299

Fajra, 474
Falisa, 295
Famagusta, 347, 350
Fao, 240, 4 72

Farah, 52
1 u ili-abad, 125
Farah-rud, 28
Fan, Farsistan, 104

in, 218
Feili, 110
Felujah, 235
Filiaa River, 301
Firuzabad, 1 15
Firuz-kuh, 46
Firuz-kuhi, 46
Fokia, 319
Forg, 144
Fulj, 448

Gadhim, 229

i hi-, 284
, 3t0
i : ililee, Sea, 372
Garnbrun, 142
Gandamak, 24
Gandava, 25, 59
Garghish Mount, 92
I. inn, 183
Garizim, 415
Mount, 414

imela, 225

123
Gaze, 426
Geira,332

Genezareth, Lake, 372
Gennsil, 29
Germair, 165
Ghadim.218
Ghali ik:., 477
Ghazni, 17, 49
River. 28
, 320
Ghi diz-chai, 268
Ghemlik, 201, 309, 311

1 iver, 146
Gbermili River, 241
Ghiaur-dagh, 164, 247, 356
Ghilan, 86
Ghilzai, 37
Ghirisk. 52
Ghor, 362, 370
Ghurian, 55
Gilboa, 362
Gibl-bachi, 339
God-i-Zirreh, 29
Qok-kuh, 251
Gok-su, 'J 7i»
Gomorrha, 373
Gomul, 25, 28
Gordiz, 321
1 I . 25 l

/.;il. River, 199
mis River, 2i>t>
Great Pamir, 16
. 289, 290
Guebrs, 104, i 12
Gulhek, L29
Gul-koh, 26

gban, 134
h-dagh, 237
Gumish-kaneh, 165
Gumish-tepe, 123
Gur, 23

Guriah [slind, 459
Gurgur, 186, 202

ed, 417
I i mui
Gwad ir, 62, 73

-. Lake, 322

Habban, 475

Habir, 414
Hadd River, 200
Hadidba,
Hadramaut, 432.
Haikans, see ArmeaianS.
II iil, 482
Hi jar. 139

Hukkiari Mountains, 167
Hala Mountains, 61
Halicarnassus, 336
Halya River, 263
Hamad, 4 j'j
Hamadan, 132

Ilalii.i'ii, 384

Hamath, 351

Hamman Suleiman, 411
Hamuli, 29
Hanafites, 1 7'-*
Hanbalites, l~'<
Hanish l-i. s, 157, 460
Hauran, 359, 143
Harb, Mount, (36
lluii. 31 0, 135, 443
Harran, 234
II. i»i. 172
Hasani Isle, 460
Hasbeys

Hassaii-dagh, 249, 260
[Caleb, 184
-cbai, 220

Hattiu, 411

Haura, 47j

Hazar-jar Mountains, ^2
Hazar-Masjid, 80
Hebron, 423
Hejaz, 436

Hedud-el-Haram, 480
HeUenes, 5, 290
in, 144

01, 334
Herat, 17. 53
Hergan-Kaleh, 303
Heri-rud. 28, 120
Hennon Mountains, 359
Hermua River, 20'.i
Hesban, 407
Hi aii.1i. 22, 44
Hierapolis, 188, 2
HiUeh, 23-5
Hilmend River, 28
Hindieh (.anal, 205
Hindki, 40

Cush, 1. 19
Hisr-Sargon, 222
Hissarlik, 314
Hit, 235
Hodeidah, 477
Hofhof, 172
Homerites, 469
Horns, 383
1 1 . .i . Mount, 135
Hosn-Suliman, 391
Bullaniyah, 4 10
Huleh, Lake, 370,872
Huzu, 219
Hymiarites, 469

Iassus

[bn-Sauds, 467
Iconium, 340
Ida,

Id. hum, 319
Idunuea, 435
Iliats, 111
Ugiin, 302

llkas-dagb, 262

500

INDEX.

Indian ( laucastu, 1
Injeh-su, 2 I i

SOI
Ionia, 244
Irak, Mount, 21 •
Irak-Arabi, 13
Iran, 7«3

I rim hi- 7'i
his River, 262
Isbart

[skanderun, 382
tskelib, 300
ramaelites, 379
[amid, 261, 264, 309
[anik, 309

Lake, 2«6
Ispahan, 134
1st ilif, 17
Istakbr, 139

Jabul, Lake, 36S
Jaffa, 124
Jagdalak, 21
Jagh itu River, 99
Jahii-Zadeb, 212
Jailun, IT")
Jaji, 38
Jalalabad, 49
JmII;. ] 12
Jamrud, 49
Janik, 294
Jaulan, 362
Jarun, 144
Jask, 17, 142
Jebel-Abyad, 2
Jebel-Ajn, 1 14

Ajlnn, 362

Akhdul, 197

Akhdar, 112

Auliiki, 139

Aziz, l'.'T

Bukum, 92

sab-Shark, 35G

Faddhli i 19

Faraiti, 366

Fatlah, 442

Hanirin, 198

Harl

Hauran, 359, 443

Haliin, 143

Hassan, 139
Jiirmuk, 3 0

K;i-iiin, 104
Katherin, 367
Kaur-Saanan, 439
Kern, 139
Khan, 139
Kharaz, 4 3!)
Kora, 437
Makmal, 358
Mar-1
Missis, 2 17
M 'iwi' ija, 3G6
Musa, S56, 367
Neba
Nut, 247
i, 363
Selma, 1 1 i
Seman,
Sbafah, I

Sli.iiii-li.in, 439, 475
Shammer, 172
Tehamah, 435
Tih, 364
Tuweik, 146
Tor, 360
lsahura, 439

Jebel-Zebair, 4G0

Zi bdani, 368

Zukttr, 157, 160
.1. -.1. lull, 480
Jemshidi, 46
.Linn, 1 1 1
Jc rabis,
Jerash, 406
Jericho, 1 1-

J( l 'OS ililll. Ill'

Jews, 380
Jezireh, 207
Jezireh-ibn-l Imer, 219

I, 361
Jihun, Hirer, 276, 342
Joba, lis
Jof, 439, 482
Joppe, 426
Jordan River, 370

Jnsupliat Valk'V, 421

Julaini rk, 180, 223

Jtitiijumah, 236
.luni Bay, 3'.)4
Jurd, 358
Jurah, 426

Kaaba, 472

Kabul. 17, 17
River, 26
Kabushan, 231

Kailii-I.andava, 2.5, 59
Kadesh, 384
Kades, Laki . 385
Kadi-Koi, 309, 332
Kadmus, 385
Kafirs, 1 1

Kafir-KuLih Mountains, 120
Kaflan-Kuh, 90
Kain, 122
Kais Island, 1 14
Kaisarieh, 298, 416
Kaj irs, 109
. 68
K ik ir Lora, 26
Kakk, 120
Kaklnja, 325
Kalafat, 267
Kalah-nau, 123

K.llal, 71

Kalat-esh-Shufik, 370
Kalat-el-Bisha, 482

el-Hosn, 391
K al ii -Hi man, 387
Kaleh-Diz, 150
Kali ajik, 299
Kaleh Sharghat, 226
Kaleh-Sultaninb, 313

Kalisa, 120

it, 60
Kulkot, 16
Kallinikon, 234
Kalloni, 318
Kallymnos, 255, 336
Kandahar, 17, 50
Kandili, ! 08
Kaniguram, 49
Kantara, 347
Kanzir-dagh, 246
Kapharnaum, 410
Kapikeren-Denizi, 272
Kaplun-alan, 258
Karabel-dagh, 21C
Kara-bunar, 276, 326, 341

dagh, 80, B9, 252,260

d< vlit,

llisS.it

Karaja-dagh, 196 2.'il

Karali-dagh, 260

K n. i III B, 271

K .ii .ilium Island,
K ira-seka, 196
su, 163. 201

b, 217. 27s

Kari.ai ha, 2 I

Karkcmish, 232
Karin, 1 s I
Karun River, 9.5
Karpasos, 347
Karpathos, 265

1 [34
Kashkai, 109
Kasli-iiul. 28
Kasim, I 15
Kasimabad, 118
Kasr River, 175
Kasr-Nimrud, 229

Ka-I illllllli. 300

Kasvin, 130

Katakekaumene, 258

Katir. 453, 471

Kau-Keban, Blount, 138

Kmli. Ill

Kawak, 21

Kazan-kaya, 262

Kaz-dagh, 260

Kazerun, 1 15

Kedron, 117

Kefar, 182

Ki 1 73

Kelat-i-Ghilzai, 60

Kelat-i-Nadir, 80, 120

Kelkit, 262

Kemakh, 184

Kenar-Gaz, 123

Keraira, Mount, 23

Kerak, 408

Kerassun,

Keikuk, 22.5

Kerbela, 238

Kerkha Iiiver, 90, 146, 200

Kerki, Mount, 2.57

Kerm in, 111

Kei mi 1 shah 1 18

Kermez ilafrh, 246

Keiynia, 349

Keabir-dagh, 252

Keshchich, 2G1

Khabur, 196

Khaf, 122

Khaibar, 24

Khiifa, 414

Klialis, 206

Khamseh Mountains, 90, 151

Khanakin, 229

Khapur, 218

Kharaii 1 lesert, 64

Kharfah, 182

Kbaroti, 39

Kharpnt, 188

Kllarslillt, 165

Khartaza 20
Khaza-chai, 225
Khirlar Mountains, 61

Klnvibad, 120
Khobar, 1 1 J
Khoi, 131
Khonas,
Khonsar, 134
KI1..1.1, 330

1 - in. 93, 184
Khonamabad, 148
Khorsabad, 222
Kbozail, 215
Khozdar, 71

INDEX.

501

Khnr. 168
Ehurd- Kabul, 24
Ehusron-tepe, 1-0
Eifri, 226
Eiresnn, 1S2
Kiritid, MS
Eirkagach. 318
Kirkesion, 235
Kiunan, 141
Kishm Island, 92, 144
Kiitim, 350
Kiutayeh, 305
Kizil-bashes, 40, 177
Kizil-irmak, 203
Kizil-robat, 200
Eizliman, 252
Koh-i-Baba. 22
Koh i-Ewaja, 29, 31
Koh-i-Muian, GO
Kohi-Sabz, 59, 64
Eoh-i-Surkh, 25
Kohistan, 22
Kobistani. 40
Eoh-Malah-i-Siah, 59
Koh-1'anj-Augusht, 2G
Koja-chai, 2GG, 313
Kojez-liman, 273 '
Eo'lat-dagh. 1G6, 181
Komron, 142
Komana, 343,
Kongavcr, 146
Konii h, 340
Eop-dugh. 105
Kophfes, River, 26
Eopra-su, 276
Kora, 182
Korna, 207
Kos, 255, 33G
Kos-digh, 2G2
Kuv.it, 240, 472
Kozail dagh, 246
Era, 360
Erio, 255
Kuchan, 123
Kufa, 239
Eu'ar, 376
Kuh-i-Dena, 92
Kuh-i-Hazir, 92
Eula, 258. 321
Kuleli, 308
Kuiu. 134
Kumisbeh, 140
Eum-Enleh, 207, 315
Knnar, I"
Kimar, River, 27
Eunjaz, 30U
Eupa, 140
Kuram, 49
Kuiarn River, 27, 95
Euros, 110, 174
Susan, 55

Kushk-i-Xakud, 52
Kushan, 21
Kushites, 3
Kus-gunjuk, 308
Kiit-rl-Ani.ua, 230
Kuyunjik, 220
Kwajah-Amran, 26
Kwiitah, 'a
Kyeban-Maden, 188

Lade Islnnds, 273
Ladik-gol, 2G2
Lahej, i'">
Lahijan. 125
Lahori Mountains, 20
Lain-su, 120

Lalpura, 49

Lamlun Marshes, 205

Lamurt-koi, 319

Lamsaki { Lampsacus) . 313

Langherud, 88

Lai dicea, 332, 388

Lar, 144

Larek, 142

Lunaka, 347, 350

Lastos, .Mount, 255

L itakich, 388

Latmoa, Gulf, 272

Latzata, 327

Lazes, 173

Lebedos, 327

Lefke. 30S

Leitani River, 369

Leja, 359

Lejim, 414

Lengherud, 125

Leontes, Riv-r, 360, 369

Leontopolis, 234

Leros, 255

Lesbos Island, 318

Levantines, 293

Levke, 268

Levkosia, 349

Libanon, 35G

Limassol 350

Lindos, 338

Linjah, 144

l.is.m, 72

Lith. 457

1. cigar. River, 26

Loheiyah, 4 77

Lohani, 39

Lora, River, 64

Lowa, 474

Ludd, 424

Luri, 69, 110, 174

Luftabad, 119

Lut or Loth Desert, 94

Lycia, 254

Lvcaonia, 340

Lycus, River, 262

Maarah-eb-hoaman, 385
Madain, 229
Machsera, 349
Madan, 215
Madara-dagh, 260
M iden-Kbapur, 218
Madhim, 229
Madian, 434. 43G
Magarah, 865

Magliarat, Mount, 218
Magnesia. 323
Mahan (Mahun), 142
Mahra, 4 69
Mahsu.ls, 39
Maibut, 140
Makalla, 475
Makheras, Mount, 346
Makin, 49
"Maku, 131
Makri, 338
Malays, 480
Malatia, 201, 230
Malekites, 380, 479

Maltai, 222

Mal-tepe, 309
Manasha, 477
Manavgat, 252, 276
Mandayeh, 21G
Manfuhuh, 4S2
Mangals, 3S
Manisea, 323

Manissa-dagh, 25S
Manv is. Lake, 2GG
Maraah, 34S
Maragha, 131
Maraud, 131
Mar.lin, 234

Mountains, 196
Mar. Ii, 477
Margat, 391
Mariaba, 477
Marmora Archipelago, 2G1

Sea of, 261
Maronites, 379
Martyropolis, 219
Masrat, 441. 473
Mashita, 407
Masirah Island, 440
.Ma-is, .Mount, 1
Mascn-dagh, 2G3
Massiad, 389
Mastuj, 20, 27, 47
Mayadim, 235
Maya-Farkein, 219
M.iza.a. 299
Mazanderan, 86
Mazgherd, 188
Mazret-i-Baba, 22
Meander River, 269
Mecca, 4 7s
Medes, 108
Medina, 4S0
Medinet-en-Xebas, 477
Megdeha, 475
Meghiddo, 361
Mehrab-dagh, 196
Mekran, 62
Melas, 276
Melassa, 335
Meles River, 326
Melezgherd, 1S5
Melkites, 380
Menamah, 472
Mendelia, Gulf of, 335
Mendereh River, 26G
Menemen, 323
Menjhil, 126
Mirinereh Lake, 268

Town, 321
Merom, Lake, 371
Mersifun (Mersiwan), 297
Mersina, 3 ! 1
Mesjid-el-Haram, 479
Mi shed, 1 1 7
Meshed-Ali, 239, 475
Meshed-i-Murghab, 139
Meshed-i-Ser, 125
Meshkid, Ii2
Meshkid, River, 61, G4
Meskakeh, 482
Mesopotamia, 192
Mesorea, 3 19
Metdesis .Mountains, 248
Metuali, 379
Mezereh, 188
Mianeh, 130
Miankalai, 46
Midyat,
Mibail, 177
Miletii-.

Minali iMinao), 142
Minora,
Minnali. 175
Mirliat. 4 75
Mirbat Bay. 475
Misoghis Mountains, 256, 257
Moab, 363
MoghrabiDes, 4S0

.02

INDEX.

Mohammedabad, 110
Mohammerah, 161, 240

trek, 17-

Moka, -177
Momunds, 38
Montefiks, 216, 166
Mori i B
Mossul, 220
Mubarrez, 172

Mtnlania, 31 1

Mula, 6?

Mm i 1 River, 163
Murd-ab, 88

Murgh-ab Itiver, 22, 28
Musta-Ariba, 169
Mush, isc>
Mycale, •-'•37
Myonti

Mytilini la and, 2G0
Town, 317

Niims, 414
Mahr-el-Arwa, 368
Nahr-Afrin, 368
Nahr-el-Aru
Nahr-el-Asi, 367, 3fi9
Nahr-i l-Dahab, 308
Nahr-i 1-Kad
Nahr-el-K< bir,

Nahr-i 1 Li dd in, 37 1
N ihr-i I Leitani 369
Nahr-el-Mukattah, 361
Nahr-lbrahim, 369
Nahr-Kadisha, 309
Nahr-Kasimiyeh, 360
Nahr-Sebti
Nahr-Zeika, 37"'
Nam, 140
Naizar, 29
Nakhl, 144, 428

Lessal, 138
Nalli-Kfc hi. 305

ii ihar, -7
r. 39

ibad, 123
Kauri, ■ 76
Nazareth, 4 L2
Nazik, Lake, 167
Ni bo, Mount, 363
d, 117
ivend, M7
Nejed, 434

il.nl, 134

Nem-shehr, 299
Ni o-Khori, 315

Ni -! ni inns, 179
V wah, 4 75
Ni ..i. 266, 309
Nicomedia, 309
Nigdc h. 341
. 349
Nikaria Mountains, 257
Niksar, 295
Nimshah, 43
Nimrud-dagh, 196
Ninti. 323
Niniveh. 220
Niris, 100

Lake, 100
Nisab, 47")
Nishapnr, 120

Kisibii
Nisyrc

Nisvros Island. 256

ri, 111. :;77
Nubians, 180
Nimiii. 67

in, 20
Nymphi, 323

miah, 329

ni, 180

481
i (ki ii. 172
Olivi i. Mount, 421
i llympus, Brussa, 261

Troodos, 310
Oman, 473

I iiiian Mountains, 4 11
Ulnar. 182

mi. 182
Orfa, 233

Ormuz, 2, 142, 143
Orontes, Kiver, 367
Osmanjik, 300
I lyuk. 300

Pactolus 322
Paghman Mountains, 21
Paiwar-Kotal, 24, !
PalsBO-LimiBSO, 350

l'alain-K islln, 33]

Palandoken, Mount, 164
Palatia, 333
Paleo-Tyr,
Palestine, 353
Pallacopas, 212
Palmyra, 405
Palu, 187

Pambuk-Kaleh, 270
Pamphylia, 273
Pandermos, 312
I' injir River, 26
Panjkora, 27
i mix, 312
. 351
Parsis, 108, 112, 476
Parapomisus, 22
Parsivan, 1"7
Paryadres .Mountains, 165
Pashang, 26
I'aiaia. 273, 339
-. 267, 3 11
Pi ill is, R ver, 347
Pi i l iiiiiis, 318
Perim Island, 139, 460
Peristeridee [a] inds, 319
Perli-dagh, 163
Pera polis, 139
Persia, 75

ii Gulf, 454
Persians, 104
Peshawar. 16

ins
Pharan, 366, 128
Pharash, 290
Pharaziotes, 290
Pharphar, River
Phellus,
Phenika, 340
Philadelphia, 321, 407
Phiniks
Phoca?a, 319
Phoenicians, 5, 469
Pinara,

Pion, Mount. 329
Pirgul, Mount, 26
Pishin, 26

Pom|i.dopolis, 300, 341
lyrion, 398

Povindahs, 39

Prion, Moui I
I [aland 262

Pruoium, 31 1
Pukhtun-Khwa, 33
Puna, 46S
Punt, 169
Pursak River, 80o
Pusht-i-Kuh, l'.'S
Pj ramus Kiver, 276

i. 70

Rabba, 107

ith-Ammon, 407
Rabbath-Moub, 407
Kadkan, 118

B M-i; iin-i lhander, 63
Rakka, 2 11
Ramleh, 424

Rapan i Mountain

Ras-el-Ain, 39 I

II add, 13m, no

K, II., 439

Khanzir, 387
Ras-Tartak, 140
Rasheja, 109

iv, h, 4 75
Ras-Masandam, 433
Ras- Mohammed, 36 1
Rass, 182
Ravah, 236
Rayin, R iyum, 142
Lied Si i. 156
Reig-Rawan, 22, 93
Resht, 125
Red Desert, 465

indoz, 'J25
Rhai, 127

.. 336
Ri id, 182
Rigan, 142
Riha, 385, 412
l; shehr, 145

Ultra. 327
Kizeh, 180
Rodwa, Mount, 437

Rowandiz, 225
Road, 390

i, 126, 148
Rudi-Sabzawar, 28
Uum-Kalah, 231

Saba, 477
Sabanja Lake, 264

Nubians, 216

Sadiyeh, 138

Saf i Mountains, 359

Safed, ill

Satita, I

Safsafeh, 367
Sagaris, 26 1

Saint Eliah, 257

John of Acre, 413
Sakaria River, 264
Sal; lira, 418
Saklavivah, 207
Salahiyeh, 226, 404

mlu-dagh, 261
Samara, 227
Samaria, 415
Samava, 240
Samnan Mountains, 86

INDEX.

503

Samos, 331

231

a, 2'.'7, 333
Samsun-dagh, 2-37

176
Sapan -Mount, 10 7

. 1 IS
Sapphire Mount, 482
Saracens, (68
Sar, 343
Sarai-koi, 333
-

, 322
Sarepta, 398
Sarfend, 398
Sarhad, 92
Sari, 125

Sari-chai, 335, 321,
Sartereh, 343
Baits,

i-Kuh, s2

Rivi i, 270
Savalan Mount, 89
Sazlik, 164

Nova, 327, 330
River, 266
Scuta 1 1 .
Sebzewar, 122
Sebaste, 1 1 5
Sedeir Si.lr . 446
Sefid-Koh, 22. 2;;
Sefid-ru

Sehend, Mount, S9
in, Mount, 167
Seihuu, River, 276
s. imarah, 1 18

<. 12:;
Sekran, 72
Selah, 408
Seleucia, Mesopotamia, 229

Syria, 387
Semites. 107
Semnan, 127
Senna, 140
Serbal, Mount, 366
Sermii:.

219
myus, 301
Sevri-dagh, 2.50
Sevri-hissar, 303, 327

215
lin-Kara-hissar, 295
Shafites, 479
Shah-Jehan. 81

Kuh. 82
Shah-Kuh-bala, B2
Shah-rud. 81, 126

even, 109
Shakra, ivj
Shamsherbur, 82
Shammar, 214
Shankar- lar, 46
Shapur, 1*5
Shar, Mount, 435

irkah, 4 7")
Sharoi
Sliat-.i-Ar.ri>. 211, 240

. 49, 175
Shehr-iRogan. 72
Sheikh-el- Jebel,

;h-Othman, 476
Sheikh-Said, 476
Sheikh-Tabrisi, 125
Ml miran, 129, 189
Shemsieh, 177
Sher-dahan. 26
Sherpur, 48

Shibim, 475
Shibr, 21
Shiahs, 14, 114
Shinaz, 171
Shiraz, 137
Shir-Kuh,
Shirwan, 123
Shugra, 4 7o
Shulut, 42
Shuster, 150
SJrutar-gardan, 24
6iah-Koh, 22, 24, 25
Siah-Kuh, 93
Siah-1'ush, 2,41
Sibi, 71
Sibzawar, 52
Sidon,
Sichem, 414

Sigbaji]

Sihun, River. 276, 342

Sikarum, Mount, 23, 24

Siloam, 417

Siman, 312

Simois. Rivi 1

Peninsular, 353, 363
Mount, 366
li, Siogar Mount, 197
Sinope, 300
Sippar, 238
Sipylus, Mount, 258

144
Sirah Island, 475

130
Sirwan, 1 is
Sirhan River, 482
Sis, 343
Sistan, 29, 122

-"■'7
Smyrna, 323
Socotora, 475
Sodom, 373
Soghlu, Lake, 275
Solium, 474

.171
Sokia, 333
Soleyel, 182
Soli, 341
Soma, 318
Somalia. 170
Sonmiani, 71. 72
Spanioles, 381
Soveid, 4 7 1
Spin-ghnr, Mount, 23

- Vuii". 346
Ste oner Point, 47.5
Suedieh, 3S7

12s
Sueideh, 405

■Si iok, 216, 240
Suk-el-Baair, 4 7 •">
Sulaiman-dagh, 19, 25
Suleimanieh,
Snltanabad, 122, 134
Sultan-dagh, 252

Sunniti -. 1 1
Snri River, 25
Surkh-koh, 25
Sum, 142
Sitr, 47o
Sur Tyre). 398
Suryian, 215
Susa, 148
Susurlu-chai. 266
Suverek, 231
Suzuz-dagh, 252
Swat

Swati, 38
.Symi. 255

Island. 255

Gulf, 255
Syria*, 1 ape, 301
Syria, 353
Syrians, 376

Tabariyeb, 410
Tabor, Mount, 360
Tabriz
Tadmor, 404
Taif, 4S0
Taimuri, 45

Tajiks V.I, 40, 107

1. 26, 60
Takht-i-Sulaiman, 132
Takht-i-Sulaiman, Mount, 26,84,99
Takht-i-Balkhis, 132
Tuk-i-Bi --tan, lis
Talish Mountains, 89
Tall, 46
Tambuk, 270

Tandurek, .Mount. 90, 166
Tarabulus, 182,
Tari. Tarim, 0s, 475
Tarnak Rivi
Tarun. 144
Tarrnah, 46
Tarsus, 341
Tarsus-chai, 276, 341

Konri, 300
Tasht, 100
Tats
Taurus Mountains. 246

Cilician, 246, 247

hai rian, 246, 251

Lvcian, 21
3, 94, 122
Tehama. 431. 135
Teheran, 127
Tejen Biver, 120
Tekr.t. 209, 227
Tell-Abu-Tum. is, 359
Tell-Assur, 302
Tell-el-Kadi. 371
Tell-Ermcn, 234
Tell- Hum, 410
TeU-Mohammed, 229
Tell-Nebi-Mendeh, 384
Tell-Loh, Z
Telmessus, 339
Tenedos, 261
r. '.'1
:)27
Tere-Eameh, 175

Knur, 263
Thai, 21
Thyra,

9, 410

Laki . 372
Tigani, 330

-. 234
Tigris,

Tilar. Rivtr, 83
Tiran Island, 435
Tihr.m. 134

Tirband-i-Turkestan, 22
Tireboli, ls2
Tirich-mir Mount,
Tium, 301
Tlos, 339

Tmolus Mount. 257
Tochal, 84
. 295
Tokma-su, 201
Topra-Kaleh, 1S4, 190

504

INDEX.

Tor. i
Tortosa, 390

im-Bu, 104
Tosanli-su, 262
Tralli s,

Trachonitis, 359
Trans-Jordan, 362
Trebizond, L80
Tripoli, 1*2, 391

'I'm:. .1. 316

'I r loa 346

Troy, 315
Tuerij, 238
Tunguses, 7
Turanians, 3
Tun, 122
'I'nra jelu. 198
Turbat-Sbeikh-i-Jami, 120
Turbat-i-Uaidan, 122
Turi, 38
Turkhal, 295
Turkmanchai, 130
Turkomans, 285
Turks, 1(19, 172, 286
Turkey in Asia, 162
Tuz-gul, 126 1
Tuz-Khurmapli, 220
Tuzla-su, 267
Tyana, 341
Tyre, 5, 396, 398

(Jchak, 331
Uch-gbl, 199
Dch-Kilissa, im
Uch-hissar, 299
Ujek-tepe, 315
Clash, 298
I'ni-Alowi, 367
Umm-Eeie, 406
Tnuh. 21
Unieh, 294
Ur, 238

Urfa, 233
fi -ul>, 299
lll.iiah, 131

Lake, 97

Uskub, 302

Van. INS

Lake, 167
Vani-Koi, 308
Varia, 320
Vathy, 331
Veramin, 127
\ iran-snehr, 302
Vizir-Kopri, 300
Vona Liman, 2'.i">
\ rontados, 327
Vurlah, 327

Wad-Ali, 2o:;

Wa.lv llowasir. 182
i'. nan. 364
llajal. 139
K .sr, 4 7-i
Mossileh, 47'">
Musa, 408
Sirhun, 482

Walial.lt. s, 14, 471

Warka, 238

Wa/iii, 38

Wed-el-Ermek, 452, 482
Wed-Mokattab, 365
Wej, 482

W., shorn, 482
Wusut, 358

Xanthos, 267, 339

Yafia Mountains, 439
Vali Island. 255
Yambwu-el-Bahr, 482

Vaml.ua. 1-Xukhl, 482
Yumbo, 482
Yamuneh, Ijake, 369

Yarmuk River, 362
Vasun-burun, 161.
Vatr.-l., 180
Yemen,

Ynii-sli.lir, 311, 316
V. n.j-1'ukia, 319
Yeshbum, 17.')
Yeahil-dsgh, 261
Yeshillrmak, 262

140
Yezdikhast, 140
Yezides, 177, 215
Yildiz-dagh, 262
Yuruks. 284
Yusuf-Zai, 37
Yuzgat

Z«li River, 199
Zafuran-boli, 301
Zagros Mountains, 90
ZaEleh, 399

Z.l.raNvan, 186

Zain-Merka, 407
Zamantda-su, 2 17
Zamimlawar, 28
Zanzibar, 474

Za/.a. 17'i

Zebr, Z. l.ri, 71
Z.lil.i, 235
Z. -iii/. in. 479
Z. ml.h-rud, 136
Zenjan, 13o
Zenobia, 235
Zi i an. 367
Zerni, 55
Zigurat, 222
Zigrit, 215
Zilleh. 295, 341
Zirreh, 29
Ziza, 407
Zobeir, 216, 240
Zohreh, Kiver, 95

THE END.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Santa Barbara College Library
Santa Barbara, California

Return to desk from which borrowed.
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