125 



PERSIA. 



PERSIA. 



138 



ground, and are particularly numerous in the western districts of the 

 table-land of Azerbijan, where they exclusively occupy whole villages. 

 Arabians form the bulk of the population in Dushtistan or Gurmsir, 

 where they gain their livelihood as fishermen, seamen, planters of 

 date-trees, and merchants. In the western part of the country about 

 Lake Urumiyeh and the valleys of the Zagros there are some Nestorian 

 Christians, and also some Catholics. 



The wandering tribe* of Persia are comprehended under the general 

 term Iliyate, and are found in every part of Persia; but many of 

 them have become inhabitants of cities and villages. A consider- 

 able number of them live all the year round in tents, in the winter 

 keeping to the plains, and in summer seeking the pasture of the 

 mountains. As is the case with all nomads, their wealth consists in 

 cattle. They breed camels and horses for sale, and their sheep yield 

 milk, which is made into liquid butter, and sold throughout the 

 country. In the summer they ascend to high mountains, where they 

 find abundant pasture, and in the winter they keep to tracts which 

 enjoy a warmer climate. They pay a tax to government, which is col- 

 lected by their own chiefs; and are obliged to furnish a certain number 

 of soldiers to serve on foot and on horseback, for which service however 

 the individuals are paid. Some of these tribes have the almost 

 exclusive possession of large tracts of country. The most numerous 

 of the nomad* of Persia are the Lurs, who inhabit that portion of the 

 mountains of Kurdistan which lies south of 34 N. lat,, and compre- 

 hend* the province of Luristan, together with the mountajnous part 

 of Khuzistan. A unall number of the Lurs and Bakhtiyaris have 

 adopted a settled life, and their country contains towns and villages 

 inhabited by persons who do not belong to these tribe*. The language 

 of the Lnrs differ* slightly from that of the Kurd*. The mountains 

 and plains to the west and south of Lake Urumiyeh are in possession 

 chiefly of Kurdish clans, among whom many have adopted a settled 

 Or rather a half agricultural half noinandic life. The Kurds are also 

 in Dominion of a large tract of the mountain region of Khorasan, on 

 the northern border of the table-land of Iran. The character and 

 habit* of the*e people resemble the Kurds of Turkey and Armenia. 

 [KCBDISTAX ; ARUE.MA.] 



To the south-east of the Kurd* of Khorasan, between the towns of 

 Mushed and Herat, there is a tribe of Arabs, which was transported 

 to this country from Xrjd by Shah Isniael, for the same purpose as the 

 Kurd*, namely, for the protection of the frontier. The*e Arab* retain 

 their pastoral habit*, and are almost all dwellers in the field. They 

 are of the Sunni wet, and partly preserve their language, though they 

 have changed their national costume. 



Beside* these tribe*, which almost exclusively occupy large tract* of 

 country, there an other* mostly of Turkoman origin, which are dis- 

 persed over other part*, bat constitute only a small portion of the 

 population. Among them are the Lak, or Lek, who are dispersed 

 throughout the country, but their principal seat* are about Caatvin, 

 and in the province* of Fan and Maxandemn ; the Kajar, to which the 

 present (orereign family belongs; the Afsban (from which tribe the 

 Camoo* Nadir Sliah sprung), dispersed through Irak-Ajemi and Khon- 

 aan ; the Shekagi and the Shah-seven, whose principal seats are in 

 Azerbijan. The two la*t mentioned tribes lire mostly in tent* : the 

 other* mostly live in towns. The Lek are by *ome said to be Kurds. 



Political bimiotu, Pmrinrtt, and Townt. The province* of Persia 

 are twelve in number. Seven lie along the western boundary-line : 

 AzerMjan, Knrdiatan, LnrisUn, and Khuzintan, along the border of 

 the Turkish empire; and Karsistan, Lsriitan, and Kerman, along the 

 shores of the Persian Onlf. The interior of Persia is occupied by the 

 two large proriDee* of Irak-Ajemi and Khorasan ; and along the 

 shores of the Caspian Sea extend the provinces of Ghilnn, Mazanderan, 

 and Astrabad. 



1. Asrbijsn, the ancient AtropatoDe', i* separated from Armenia by 

 the Ames on the north, by the Kizil-Czen from the Inik-Aieroi ; on 

 the south and west it borders on Kurdistan and Turkey. The large 

 salt lake of Umroiyeh is in this province. The differences of tempera- 

 tor* are considerable ; but the climate is healthy. 



The most flourishing part of Azerbijiui is that along the northern 

 and western border of the Lake, of Urumiyeh, from Tabris to the con- 

 toss of Armenia. Bdmti is now a town of about 2000 inhabitants, 

 most of whom an Nestorian Christian*. Dim A*. A'A<n is described 

 as one of the finest and best-built towns of Persia ; its walls are in 

 good rt- pair, the street* are regular, shaded with avennea of trees, and 

 the ceilings of many of the houses are tastefully painted. The town 

 of fronts** situated on the south-west side of the lake to which 

 it firm its name : its population is 12,000. Moraffka, a town of about 

 16,000 inhabitants, is situated in a low valley ; it i* celebrated in 

 Oriental jpography for the observatory of the celebrated astronomer 

 Nasir-Eddin, the ruins of which still exi.t. 



The principal town of Azerbijan is Tabriz, situated in 46" 6" N. lat, 

 88 4' B. long. The number of its Inhabitant*, which was at one 

 time much greater, i* at present about 30,000. It* situation, near the 

 mmrlsss of the Persian and Turkish dominions, sufficiently account* 

 for Its tirssssrt desolated condition, a* the town ha* been subject to 

 freqiKOt conquests and devastation*. It has, moreover, repeatedly 

 and afoot seventy raramd from earthquake* Tabriz, Khoi, and 

 snvral other towns hi Aaerbijan were greatly injured by earthquakes 

 ia Beptombsr 1854. M,ana i* situated in a long and winding valley 



on the western side of the Kafilan-Koh. It was nearly, ruiued by the 

 Russians in their last invasion of Persia, and is now a poor village. 

 The ruins called Kalah-Zohak, are situated on a precipitous rock near 

 ;he river Karangoo. Ardebil is situated at the eastern descent' of the 

 Sevellan Mountains. Towards the north of the town there. is apfertjle 

 plain with excellent pastures. ' '.* 



2. Kurdistan comprehends the mountain region of the Kurdistan 

 range, about the sources of the rivers Kizil-Uzen, Diyalah, and Ker- 

 khah ; it is separated from the Pashalie of Baghdad by the eastern 

 range of the Kurdistan mountains, called the Shahu Mountains, and 

 farther south chiefly by the course of the river Shirwan, a branch of 

 the Diyalah. It ia mainly separated from Luristau by the river Ker- 

 khali. It is divided into two parts, Ardelan in the north-east, and 

 Kermanshah in the south-west. The first part, comprehending the 

 country surrounding the upper branches of the Sefid-Rud, which is 

 about one-third of the province, consists of a succession of well-woo<ied 

 mountains and narrow valleys, and has excellent pasture-grounds. It 

 contains Srhnah, the residence of a Kurdish chief, who lives ia a 

 palace built on a hill in the middle of the town : population, 

 from 4000 to 5000 families, among which 200 are Jews, aud a small 

 number of ChaMocan Catholics. Kermanshah also is principally moun- 

 tainous, but there are fine wide open valleys along the rivers Shirwan 

 and Kerkbah, and pretty extensive plains near the outer edges of the 

 mountain region ; both the valleys and plains are generally well culti- 

 vated. Kermanihah, the capital, a nourishing town, is situated in the 

 southern extremity of a fine plain, through the centre of which runs 

 the Kara-Su, an affluent of the Kerkhah. It contains about 12,000 

 houses, and has many public buildings. It carries on a considerable 

 commerce, being on the great caravan-road which passes across the 

 mountains from Baghdad to Hnmadan, Ispahan, and Teheran. This 

 road seems always to have been a great thoroughfare, and ruins 

 of great antiquity occur along it. About six miles from Kerinanahah, 

 on the face of the mountains which inclose the plain on the. north, are 

 excavations and sculptures of great extent, called Takt i-Bostau. Where 

 this range of mountains terminates on the east, on the banks of the 

 river Kerkhnh, are the sculptures of Besittoon. About 30 miles farther 

 east, also near the road, there are extensive ruins, among which those 

 of a temple of Artemis are the best preserved. They occur near a 

 village called Kengawar, which is about 30 miles W.B.W. from 

 Hamadan. [ECBATASA.] South of Ramadan is Mount Elwend. 



8. Luristan, which lies between the Kerkhah and the Dizful, an 

 affluent of the Karun, is entirely occupied by mountains and narrow 

 valleys, except some plain* of moderate extent near the outer ridges 

 of the mountain region. These plains alone are under cultivation, 

 the remainder serving as pasture-grounds to the different trilies 

 of Lurs who inhabit it. There i no town in this province except 

 A'Aornfwi-aAnrf, which stands in a fertile and tolerably extensive plain, 

 'JO mil-* 8. front Hamadan, on a feeder of the Kerkhnh. It contains 

 about 1 000 bouses, and is built on the south-western face of a steep 

 rock, on which a strong fortress and palace are erected. 



4. Khur.Utim comprehends tbo southern part of the mountains of 

 Kurdistan and that part of the plain of the .Tigris which belongs to 

 Persia. It is therefore naturally divided into two portions. The plain, 

 which is in possession of some Arab tribes, contains good pasturage in 

 the northern and western districts, and he-re the wandering Ijeduins 

 pitch their tents. But the southern and eastern portiou of it is a 

 sandy desert, occasionally intersected by extensive morasses, and culti- 

 vated only in some places on the banks of the rivers, where rice, some 

 wheat and barley, and date* are raised. In this part of the plain ia 

 the town of Dorak, or more properly Felahi, on the banks of two 

 branches of the river Jerahi. It is a large place, the walls of which 

 are two miles in circumference ; but notwithstanding this, the houses 

 are few, as the majority of the people live in the suburbs under the 

 shade of tbo date-trees. This town is celebrated for its manufacture 

 of Arabian cloaks, which are exported to all parts of Persia and 

 Arabia. 



The mountainous part of the country contains several plains and 

 valley* of great extent, which are fertile, but only parti illy cultivated, 

 among which the valley of Ham Homiuz, which is 40 mile* long and 

 from 6 to 8 miles wide, is distinguished by its soil and picturesque 

 beauty. Between the higher range* of the mountains and the level 

 plain 'run* a hilly tract several mile* wide, which contains n large por- 

 tion of cultivable land, though at present only the borders of the rivers 

 are under cultivation. This is however the most fertile portion of the 

 province. The high mountain-ranges in the eastern district* of the 

 province are in possession of Lurish tribes, which have almost entirely 

 settled in villages, and cultivate the ground. Tobacco is extensively 

 grown and exported. The present capital of the province is / 

 on the river of the same name, a considerable place, with 20,000 

 inhabitants, and a fino bridge over the river. About 10 miles S.W. 

 from this town are immense heap* of ruins, on both side* of the river 

 Kerkbab, which mark the site of Susa. [SusA,] 



The second town of the province, and formerly the capital, is Shitstci; 

 which stands not far from the high mountain-ranges on the river 

 Karun. The houses are good, being principally.built of utone, but the 

 streets are narrow and dirty. There i a' considerable manufacture of 

 woollen stuns. The population amounts to 10,000. The town is sup- 

 plied with water by extensive hydraulic work*. The mountains cast 



