854 RAWLINSON ON MOHAM'RAH. [May 11, 1857. 



in the occupation of Mohara'rah whicli it might be hoped would now 

 definitively put an end to the war. If we took geographical prece-^ 

 dent, he believed it could be shown that Moham'rah was certainly 

 on the Euphrates ; and if on the Euphrates, it most unquestionably 

 belonged to Turkey : the reasons for this geographical distribution 

 he should be able to show when he read his notes on the ancient 

 history of Moham'rah. Extracts, which he should give from Arab 

 geographers, who were perfectly well acquainted with the country, 

 would demonstrate that the Euphrates came to this point and 

 bifurcated here ; that this was the eastern branch of the river, called 

 the Bahmeshire ; tliat this, up which the fleet passed, was the 

 western branch : that, in fact, the Euphrates discharged itself into 

 the sea by a delta, formed of these two channels ; and that the Kariin 

 was afterwards brought in through an artificial bed and joined the 

 Euphrates at this point. However, it had been ruled by the Treaty of 

 Erzerum, that Moham'rah was in Persia, and so it would now remain 

 to the end of time. The reason for this settlement assigned at the 

 Conference, was that Moham'rah had been occupied by the Persians 

 for some fifteen or twenty years previously, and that it would be 

 inconvenient to disturb the existing distribution of territory. He 

 might further observe, although it was more a political than a 

 geographical question, that the Turkish government had never been 

 satisfied with this adjudication. In fact, within the last six weeks, 

 when it was knovni that a British expedition was preparing to 

 attack Moham'rah, the Turkish government entered a formal protest 

 against the movement, stating that although they had agreed to the 

 treaty of Erzerum, which required them to surrender the left bank 

 of the lower Euphrates, yet, as other geographical conditions of 

 that treaty (referring probably to Zohab and Kotur) had not been 

 carried out, they did not consider that they had in the mean time 

 lost their territorial claim to Moham'rah ; and that, until that claim 

 w^as waived, no foreign power had a right to attack the place. A 

 troublesome discussion might have arisen on this point had not the 

 Persians who were in possession of Moham'rah fired on one of our 

 steamers, the 'Comet,' whilst passing up the Euphrates; and thus 

 disposed at once of the protest and the pretended neutrality ; because 

 if the Turks had any claim upon the place, they ought to liaA^e been 

 able to prevent parties in possession of it from taking the initiative 

 in an attack upon us. The last accounts stated that an answer to 

 the above eff'ect had been given in to the Turkish government, and 

 that, immediately afterwards, the expedition entered the river, sailed 

 up, and attacked Moham'rah. 

 . Having thus given a popular account of the geographical position 



