C U R D I S T A N. 



511 



• Demetrias, by Sirabo and by Ptolemy Coreura. Eigh- 

 teen leagues to the eastward of this city is the town of 

 Solymania a Shehr e Zour, which, in the retreat of He- 

 raclius, is distinguished by the name Siazuros. Shehr 

 e Zour h&ving fallen into decay, was some years since 

 rebuilt by Solyman the Great, pacha of Bagdad, and 

 thus it received from him its present name. It is situ- 

 ated in a delightful country, close to the foot of Mount 

 Zagros, and contains about G'000 inhabitants. It is the 

 residence of Solyman, pacha of Curdistan, a distinguish- 

 ed warrior, who in 1810, at the instigation of the Porte, 

 took arms against his master the pacha of Bagdad, 

 whom he defeated, and put to death. The haken, or 

 governor, Avho resides here, and who usually assumes 

 this title just mentioned, must be by birth a Curd. He 

 lias the chief and most extensive of all the commands in 

 the province. Not far from Solymania was the city of 

 Holwan, the retreat of Yeztlejird, after the battle of Ca- 

 desia, and to which the caliphs of Bagdad were accus- 

 tomed to retreat during the heat of summer. It was 

 ruined by Holaku, and has never since recovered its 

 consequence. About 12 fursungs to the north-east of 

 Altun Kupri, is the town of Khoi Sindjack, which, for 

 many years, Was the residence of a pacha. Erbille 

 though at present a wretched mud town, with a po- 

 pulation not exceeding 3000 souls, appears to have been 

 the Arbela so famous in history, for the final victory ob- 

 tained by Alexander over Darius, and the capital of the 

 province of Aciiabene. Part of this town is built on a 

 hill of a conical form, on which probably stood the old 

 castle, and the remainder of it encircles the base of the 

 bill. The country around it, and all along to Mosul, is 

 fruitful, but hilly, and very deficient in wood, there 

 being hardly to be seen here a tree, or even so much 

 j>s a shrub. On the summit of a steep mountain, 18 

 fursungs north of Mosul, are the fort and town of Ama- 

 dia, to which the only ascent is by a narrow flight of 

 Steps hewn out of the side of the rock. This city, as 

 well as the province of the same name in which it is si- 

 tuated, are nominally subject to the pacha of Bagdad. 

 But the Turks obtain no tribute from this province, 

 which is in fact independent, and has continued sub- 

 ject only to its own native chieftains from the days of 

 the Abassides. Exclusive of the dependent villao-es 

 with which the place at the foot of the hill is every 

 where studded, the town of Amadia does not contain 

 above 600 houses. Shahr e Van, the ancient Apollo- 

 nia, is peopled by about 4000 Curds and Turks, and is 

 upon the whole a handsome little town, watered by 

 two canals drawn from the Diala. Zohaub is in the 

 same quarter, being like it situated on the high road 

 from Bagdad to Hamadar. Mendali is about the same 

 size as Solymania. It is surrounded by a number of 

 fine gardens. The same is the case as to Bedri, which 

 is the frontier town in this quarter of the Turkish em- 

 pire. It is not quite so large as Mendeli, and the dis- 

 tricts around it are damp and marshy, being intersper- 

 sed with pools of water, the receptacles of the torrents, 

 which in the spring continually rush from the adjacent 

 mountains. Within the territories of Ardelan, seclu- 

 ded in a deep valley, which is well cultivated, and in- 

 terspersed with orchard, of peach, apricot, pear, apple, 

 and cherry trees, Senna is at once a highly romantic 

 and very flourishing little town. Besides about 2000 

 Jews, Armenians, and Nestorians, who reside here, and 

 who trade to Mosul, Bagdad, and Ispahan, the popu- 

 lation of the place may amount to about 6000 souls. 

 The Wallee, who seldom quits it, resides in a sumptu- 

 ous palace, built on the top yf a small hill hi the centre 



of the town, where he maintains a high degree of state fiuedkjrtt 

 and splendour, joined with the most liberal spirit of '"■" " f^ 

 hospitality. In addition to these towns, Curdistan, in 

 its largest sense, is understood likewise to comprehend 

 Betlis, Scheresal, Harpel, Nineveh, Rehobo, iihesen, 

 and Van. Tribes also, or families of the Curdish race, 

 form a considerable part of the population of Diarbekr, 

 Mosul, Merdin, Palo, of Sok or Zog, which is govern- 

 ed by a powerful, independent, and hereditary prince, 

 in the pachalick of Erzeroom in Armenia ; and of the 

 towns in Khorassan, subject to the similarly indepen- 

 dent chief Meer Goonah Khan. 



The state of agriculture in Curdistan, differs in some S'.ate of 

 respects from that which is most prevalent in the Per- a g r icK?ti:rf, 

 sian dominions, water being in general so abundant as 

 to prevent the necessity of irrigation. The grains most 

 commonly raised in these parts are wheat and barley. 

 Of the former there are two kinds, which are sown at 

 three different seasons of the year. The first sowing- 

 takes place in March, and the crop is reaped in Sep- 

 tember ; the second grain is sown in September, and 

 reaped in July of the following year ; and the last sea- 

 son of sowing is in October, of which the crop is reap- 

 ed in the following August. When the second crop 

 has attained the height of 7 or 8 inches, it is usual to 

 turn in cattle to graze upon it for a certain period, after 

 which it is permitted to acquire its proper maturity. 

 This country is said to have been anciently reckoned 

 more fertile than it is at present. It has been so much 

 the seat of war, in former ages between the Parthians 

 and Romans, and at a later period between the Turks 

 and Persians, that it has been comparatively depopula- 

 ted, and rendered waste and unproductive. It abounds 

 with deserts, and except in the parts lying near to the 

 towns, which are somewhat better cultivated, may be 

 characterised as rather desolate and barren. 



The Curds are brave and hospitable, but far more 

 uncivilized than any of their neighbours. They are 

 averse to settled habits. War and rapine are their de- 

 light, and murder and parricide they hardly consider 

 in the light of crimes. They are robust, hardy, and 

 temperate, and live to so great an age, that it is not un- 

 common to see men 1 00 years old in full possession both 

 of their corporeal and mental faculties. But though stout 

 and active, neither men nor women are at all agreeable 

 in their persons, having very small eyes, wide mouths, 

 bad complexions, very black hair, and a very fierce and 

 forbidding aspect. 



The tribes of Curdistan may be divided into two Tribes. 

 classes, consisting of such as live in tents, and of tho.se 

 who have more fixed habitations. The former, on the 

 approach of winter, quit the more lofty regions, and 

 retire gradually towards the warmer climate of the 

 south. Here they remain during the cold weather, and 

 return to their own country about April or May. They 

 are often shifting their positions, in search of pasture for 

 their numerous flocks and herds, and while the men are 

 occupied with the care of these without doors, or roam- 

 ing about in quest of plunder, the women employ them- 

 selves in making butter and cheese, and in braining up 

 the children to the mode of life in which they are to be 

 afterwards engaged. The tents with which they ac- 

 commodate themselves during their migrations are iar«e 

 and constructed, for temporary use, of cane hurdles, dis- 

 posed in a square form, and covered with a sort of coarse 

 brown cloth. The floors are matted, so as to answer at 

 once the purposes of bed and board. When they are 

 about to change their placc^ the huts are taken to pieces, 

 and the oxen and cows loaded with them, and likewise 



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