'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎824] (879/1050)

824
HILLAH
Barmanah,
Khawas.
Mahawil.
Mamduhiyah,
Nahr Shah.
not been
ascertained,
making 29
in all. Thir
teen of them
take directly
out of the
Euph rates
and 16 out of
the Nahr
Shah, which
gives its name
to the Nahi-
yah.
Administration, —Hillah is a Qadha of the 1st class; it consists of a headquarters
Nahiyah of Hillah and of the 4 rural Nahiyahs (already mentioned) of Barmanah, Khawas,
Mahawil, Mamduhiyah and Nahr Shah, each of which was governed by a Mudir. The
relative positions of the Nahiyahs are not altogether certain, but Khawas is evidently
upon the west side of the Euphrates immediately above Hillah Town, while Mahawil
apparently extends up the eastern bank from Hillah Town to the northern limit of the
Qadha. The Nahiyahs of Barmanah and Mamduhiyah seem to succeed one another in
this order on the left bank of the Euphrates below Hillah Town, Nahr Shah being partly
opposite to both of them on the other side of the river.
The Turkish Dairat-as-Sanlyah formerly owned various estates in the Qadha ; among
them are the Muqata'ahs or tracts of Abu' Arais, Abu Gharq,'Ilaj, Umm-al-Hawa, Malih
and Yusufiyah. They are said to be cultivated by Arabs of the Ma'adan tribe, and are
all situated in the lower part of the Khawas Nahiyah and watered from the Shatt-al-
Hindlyah.
HILLAH TOWN—
One of the most important towns of 'Iraq at the present day; it stands upon
both banks of the Euphrates about 30 miles below Musaiyib and perhaps 65 miles by the
course of the river above Dlwaniyah Town. A road, unmade but fit for driving, and
a service of public conveyances connect it with Baghdad City about 60 miles distant.
The principal part of the town, called Shamiyah (because it is the nearer to the
Syrian desert), stands on the right bank of the river, of which the bed is here about
100 yards wide, and is connected with the eastern portion, called Jazirah (because
situated in Mesopotamia), by a bridge of 15 boats. In summer the river bed is now
entirely dry, and the people of Hillah obtain their drinking water by digging holes
in it to an average depth of 3 feet. Both parts of the town are largely constructed of
ancient bricks dug up on the adjacent site of Babylon; the only features of architec
tural interest belong to the western quarter, namely a tall minaret in the centre and
a mosque called the Masjid-ash-Shams outside the north-western gate on the road to
Karbala. The town of Hillah stands towards the upper end of a magnificent stretch
of date trees that fringes the banks of the Euphrates for some 30 miles; it is estimated
that the town itself possesses 65,000 palms and that the district has not less than
333,000.
The population is 30,000, and more than three-fourths of the whole are Shi 'ah Arabs »
the remainder are mostly Sunni Arabs, but there are perhaps 750 Persians, 30 Oriental
Christians, and 20 Punjabi and Kashmiri Indians, besides a dozen Afghans. Among
the Persians are included a few Baluchis, who are Persian subjects.