156 CIVIL HISTORY AND 



of the Euphrates nearly to those of the Indus, nu- 

 merous Arab tribes have formed settlements, where 

 they live in a state of independence under their own 

 laws. They lead a seafaring life, employing them- 

 selves in fishing and gathering pearls. The Beni 

 Houl, a powerful and formidable clan, occupy the 

 barren tract from Gombroon to Cape Berdistan. 

 They are highly esteemed for their valour • but 

 their mode of government renders that quality of 

 little avail. Bushire and Bendereek are chiefly in- 

 habited by different tribes, originally from Oman. 

 Their fondness for the sea contrasts remarkably 

 with the disposition of the Persians, of whom all 

 classes have an unconquerable antipathy to that 

 element. 



The territory round the point of the Gulf, extend- 

 ing from the Arabian Desert to Endian, is occupied 

 by the tribe of Kiab, whose sheik, Solyman, acquired 

 some celebrity in consequence of his disputes with 

 the English, in which he captured some of their ves- 

 sels. His principal residence was Ghilan, a town 

 near one of the outlets of the Euphrates. The 

 Beni Lam, a numerous tribe, occupy the banks of the 

 Tigris from Korna to Bagdad. They exact duties 

 on goods conveyed by that route, and sometimes 

 pillage caravans, in spite of the chastisements they 

 occasionally receive from the Turkish pashas. One 

 of the most powerful tribes, both as to the extent 

 of their territories and the number of their depend- 

 encies, is that of Montefik, who possess all the 

 country on both sides of the Euphrates from Korna 

 to Arja. In winter they pasture their cattle in the 

 desert ; and in summer, when the grass is burnt 

 up, they remove to the banks of the river. They 

 trace their genealogy beyond the era of Mohammed 

 and from time immemorial have been sovereigns of 

 that country. Their nobility is divided into m-dny 

 branches ; and Niebuhr observes that the family 

 then reigning consisted of 150 persons, all of whom 



