'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOLUME II' [‎179v] (363/706)

346
KIRMINSHAH
The regiments in 1902 were—
Kalhur : chief of regiment, Muhammad ’All Khan ) colonel, Samsam-us
Sultan Mirpanj, nephew of Muhammad ’All Khan.
Karind : chief of regiment, ’Ali Murad Khan, Ihtasham-ul-Mamalak.
Guran : chief of regiment, Husain Khan, Mans\p>ul-Mulk.
Zanganeh : chief of regiment, Muhammad Riza Khan Zanganeh, Zahii
ul-Mulk.
The artillery is under the Zahir-ul-Mulk. Further information as to the
composition of these regiments will be found in the chapters dealing with
tribes. The following is the irregular cavalry paid for by the Government.
Sinjabi -- •• •• 200
Ahmadavand
Nanekali
Sharafpaim
Bajlan
150
60
100
150
It is only of late that the Bajlans and Sharafbainis have been subsidized
by the Government for the keep of their sowars.
The pay for the above was allowed for by the Central Government, and
taken care for in the provincial accounts, but very few of the men were
really entertained. The Chiefs of the tribes, which should supply these
various forces gave the Governor receipts for the amounts due on account
of the pay of the men, but no money passed ; this is the way the Chief
pays for his position of Governor of the tribe and General of the Regiment,
and the sum withheld forms a portion of the provincial Governors
“ Mudakhil ’’(perquisite). Food for the soldiers was distributed at the
rate of one-and-a-half seers of bread each, per diem. Their pay was only
seven Jcrdns, equal to Rs. 2-13-0 per mensem, and if they worked daily,
they got 10 Irdns (equal to one tumdn), or Rs. 4 per month. The
officers of these regiments misappropriated a good portion of their men’s
pay. When the soldiers are at their own houses, they do all sorts of
works ; some are chamdrs, others, carpenters, bakers, butchers, etc., there
is no restriction whatever against their carrying on business. The sowar In the East India Company army and later Indian Army, an ordinary native cavalryman or mounted cavalryman.
gets 15 tumdns per annum when employed, when not employed he gets
only 3 tumdns per annum. ,
The numbers of sowars to be furnished by the tribes, and the tribes from
which they have to be furnished, are questions settled by the Governor
of Kirmanshah, and altered at his will. ^ .
There is always in Kirmanshah a regiment, which is not from the province ,
garrisoned in the town. It is rare to find more than 500 soldiers under
arms. They are armed with Werndl rifles, which they have to return to the
arsenal when disbanded.
In 1911-12 it was difficult to compute the fighting strength of Govern
ment troops at Kirmanshah, as the town was continually, changing hands
between Salar-ud-Dauleh’s adherents and Government troops, which
consisted apparently only of Fiddis and Bakhtiaris sent rom e a
In January 1913, it was reported that 150 cossacks, trained men with a
maxim, had left for Tehran, the Governor having to maintain his authority
in their absence with some 300 Sarbazes and about the same number oi
levies, who were armed with rifles of obsolete pattern. The tri esmen,
on the other hand, were reported to have some three to four thousand
repeating rifles besides ordinary onesj