'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. II' [‎1354] (409/688)

1354
NAJAF TOWN
The town is divided between two turbulent political or municipal factions, tBer
Shumurd and Zugurd, ol which the origin and raison d'etre have not been explained,
and in the past the public peace was often disturbed by their frays ; even at the present
time serious fighting sometimes takes place' between them in the streets.
The atmosphere of Najaf is one of Shi'ah culture and bigotry, both carried to greater
lengths than at Karbala ; and most of the permanent residents depend for their liveli'
hood on functions connected with the shrine, the pilgrims, or religion^ There are many
Mujtahids, some of whom carry great weight in the Shi'ah world ; also real and nominal
students of Shi'ah theology to the number, probably, of several thousands. The town
boasts 15 Madrasahs or religious high schools and 90 mosques.
Resources. —In a place so artificial as Najaf, a large town situated in a desert, supplies
and transport are necessarily deficient. The water of the Bahr. when it contains any,
is not drunk except by animals ; but it serves for washing and other domestic purposes,
A better water supply is now furnished by the Hamidiyah, an open canal, which brings
the water of the Hindiyah to the town ; and the ancient jingling proverb—•" He who
takes up his hresidence in Najaf must he content with brackish Well-water barley-bread
! compensated for hy the virtue of the shrine of 'Ali ? '—has now lost its appropriateness.
Trade and manufacture. 1 !.—The trade of Najaf, of which the river port is Kufah,
depends on local consumption, on the influx of pilgrims, and in a minor degree on inter-
Course with Jabal Shammar. Two-thirds of the imports are said to be consumed by
pilgrims. The trade with Najaf is carried on by Hadrahs or commercial missions from
the interior, sometimes private enterprises and sometimes officially despatched by the
Amir of Jabal Shammar, which visit Najaf periodically to make purchases. In seasons
of scarcity inland there is a steady flow of grain from Najaf to Hail. The principal
exports of Najaf are lambskins, sheepskins and wool brought in from the adjacent
country, 'Abas manufactured in the town, and grain. The chief imports are Manches
ter piece-goods from Baghdad, sugar, Indian spices, tea, largely from Calcutta, hard-
Ware and timber.
The most important local manufacture is silken and woollen 'Abas, dyed in fast
Colours and embroidered with gold thread ; it maintains about 200 looms and 30 shops
in the town. There is a business also, as at Karbala, in praying tablets and inscribed
shrouds.
Administration. —-Najaf was the headquarters of the Qadha of the same name and the
seat of a Qaim-Maqam, but Turkish officialdom was never conspicuous.
A single telegraph wire connects Najaf with the Euphrates valley line at Hillah vid
Karbala and Tawairij, but the working of this branch is inefficient and in 1905 it remain
ed interrupted for several months continuously. There is also a post-office at Najaf.
The town itself is administered as a municipality. The municipal building consists
of 6 or 7 rooms, partly furnished, over the Bab-al-Husain : it was placed at the
disposal of the British Consul-General on the occasion of his last visit to Najaf (1905).
The interests of Persian subjects at Najaf are protected by a paid Naib-Karpardaz
or Persian Consular Agent.
In the early summer of 1915, the inhabitants of Najaf, incensed at the high-handed
methods of the Turks in regard to recruiting, broke into incipient revolt and a battalion
of Turkish tfoops and four guns were despatched from Baghdad to quell the disturbance.
The disgraceful behaviour of these troops so exasperated the inhabitants that they threw
off their allegiance to the Turkish Government and barricaded the streets and houses
I against the troops. During the fight which ensued, the Turks, either by accident or
design in turning their guns on to the townspeople, damaged the minarets round the
shrine. Fighting continued for three days and at the end of that time the populace
got the upper hand. The troops surrendered and were disarmed. The management
of affairs was then taken over by local Arab Shaikhs, in consultation with the
Chief Priest. (Murphy.)
' Religious importance. —Najaf owes its celebrity and even its existence to the estima
tion in which it is held by Shi'ah Muhammadans as a place of pilgrimage and inter
ment ; the subject of the Shi 'ah pilgrimages is fully dealt with in another place. The
consecrated cemetery of Najaf, known as the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. -as-Salam, or Valley of Salvation, is
even more highly esteemed than the corresponding necropolis of Karbala ; it covers
the sandy plain to the north and east of the town, and it contains, besides myriads of