"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٢‎٧‎٢] (١٧٨٢/١٤٢٧)

1272
be approved by them, and their approval was not given except in consider
ation of valuable presents, '[he happiest results were anticipated by
all from Sulaiman Pasha's appointment to the province; and, thouo-h
it was foreseen that the state of disorganisation prevailing 1 in the northern
districts would oblige him to visit Baghdad, and that he might be
induced hy the central position of that city with reference to iris terri
tories as a whole to take up his residence there, it was hoped that his
former connection with Basrah and the dependence in some respects of
Baghdad upon it, which had been clearly demonstrated during the Persian
occupation, would ensure for that port a larger share of administrative
attention than it had received under his predecessors. The favourable
outlook, as it presented itself to Messrs. Latouche and Abraham in
January 1 / SO, was described by them in these words : " On the whole,
" from the known prudence and spirit of Soliman Pacha, as well as from
the great opinion which is entertained of him by the people in general,
not only of Baghdad and Bussorah, but of the several adjacent provinces,
" we flatter ourselves with seeing these countries in a very few years in a
" more flourishing condition than before the late troubles. The commuui-
" cation with Baghdad, which has for a long time past been stopped by the
Ghesaal {i .e., Khaza il) '• Arabs, already begins to open, and not only
they, but the rest of the Arabs, profess the greatest respect for and obe-
" dience to, Soliman Pacha/'
Internal affairs under Sulaiman Pasha's earlier rule, 1779-89.
Suppression
of a rebellion,
1780.
,
Turkifih
campaign
against the
Ka'ab, 1784.
About the beginning of August 1 780, a rebellion against the authority
of the new Pasha was brought to an end by the decisive defeat of the
insurgents in an engagement lasting several hours. Ibn Muhammad
Qatil, who commanded the rebel army, was killed in the battle; and
Muhammad Baig, who pretended to the Pashaliq, either fled the country
oi shared the same fate. It was hoped—though, as the sequel will show,
in vain—that this success would render Sulaiman Pasha's position un
assailable for the future, and that its moral effect upon the Khaza'il,
who were again interrupting communication between Basrah and
Baghdad, would be such as to obviate the necessity for an expedition
against them in their marshy retreats.
In 1784 the Turks were again at war with their old adversaries the
Ka ab of Aiabistan ; and the Muntafik tribe, governed at this time by
Thuwaini, one of the most celebrated of their Shaikhs, took an important