'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎552] (583/1050)

552
DIL—DIL
the favour of the Ottoman Government. He owns a house and palm groves at Rumadi
(Rumadiyah) and can therefore be coerced into good behaviour. He is not a man of
much inteUigerce and prefers to any active share in politics a quiet life and the peaceful
enjoyment of the position left him by his father Sulaiman-as-Sharqi, who was a com
manding figure in 'Iraq.
Ibn Qu'ud, Ibn-al-Juhaish, and Naif-az-Zu'aili are all in the JazTrah between
Rumadi and Hit; they camp with the Shammar. Ibn Qu'ud is head of the camel-
breeding part of the tribe, and' Ali Sulaiman of the falldhln ; the former has more armed
men, the latter more wealth.
The Janabiyin, Mahamdah, Ma'amrah, 'Alwan, and Fahd, are on both banks of the
Euphrates between Rumadi and Musaiyib. The Al Bu 'Isa are near Fallujah. The
Janabiyin and the Al Bu Saqar are very closely related. It is doubtful whether they
belong to the Dilaim or to the 2oba'. The more important sections and subsections
of the Dilaim are as follows :—
Section* Shaikh*
'Alwan (Al Bu)
Ibn Nusaiyir.
Nijris Ibn Qu'ud (6,000 men).
Fahd (Al Bu)
'Isa (Al Bu)
Kurait
Ma'amrah (Al)
Mahamdah (Al)
Nimr (Al Bu)
Radmi (Abu)
'Ubaiyah (Abu)
There is a subsection of the Nimr section called Al Bu Mufarraj, whose Shaikhs are
Barbit-ibn-Juhaish and Naif-az-Zu'aili; the latter is known as Shaikh-al-Jadid and
has a growing reputation.
Janabiyin .. ,. •. With a subsection called Al-Jumailah;
whose Shaikh is Muhammad-ibn-
Hardan-al-' Aithah.
Sulaiman Abu Rishah.
Aharat-ul-Buni.
Saqar (Al Bu) .. . • • • . •
BILAIM—
See 'Iraq.
BILAIMA—
See Miyah ( Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. -al).
DILAIMIYAH—
See Qasim.
BILAM—
The capital and administrative centre Of the Kharj district of southern Najd, and
itself sometimes loosely called Khari ; it is situated about 50 miles south by east of Riyadh,
and perhaps 35 miles east-north-east of Hautah town. Dilam is walled and is said to
consist of three wards styled respectively Samhan, Suq, and Tuwalah. There is a fort
within the walls occupied by Ibn Sa'ud's representative, and some of the ordinary
houses of the place have upper storeys ; but the principal mosque is a mean construction
in the poor Wahhabi style of architecture. There is one large school, the Madrasah
Shaikh Makhdhub, besides a number of small ones. According to Leachman Dilam is
said to be almost as large as Buraidah. This makes it a far larger and more important
town than has hitherto been supposed, and the population might well amount to 6,000
souls or even more.
Reports agree in describing the date groves of Dilam as extensive and as containing
between 10,000 and 15,000 palms. Wheat and maize are grown, and even a little rice ;
there are also citrons, grapes, lemons, figs, pomegranates, melons, and lucerne. Irrigation
is from wells of good water, 6 to 8 fathoms in depth, and from the Farzan rivulet
described in the article on Kharj. Livestock is estimated at 600 camels, 100 donkeys
and 300 cattle. The Riyadh Amir sends bis camels and horses here to graze.—
{Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; Leachman, 1912*)