'A Précis of the Relations of the British Government with the Tribes and Shaikhs of 'Arabistan By Lieutenant A T Wilson, Acting Consul for Arabistan' [‎12r] (28/143)

and 1775, and as Salman died in 1767, before the second attack, Ainsworth’s
statement seems open to doubt. On Karim Khan’s death in 1779 the Ka’ab
agam asserted their independence, and indulged in frequent wars with the
Muntalik and with the Turks. In 1827, Shaikh Ghaith concluded peace with
tlie - Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. of -Baghdad, to whom he sent envoys.
On the accession of Muhammad Shah, however, the Persian Government
again took steps to assert its position in ’Arabistan which seems then to have
Q? 0Wr ?, aS > Khuzistan. The Turks, too, renewed their attacks and in
u 1 nder A 11 , Rlza p asha actually captured Mohammerah, which, under
^ie en ightened rule of Shaikh Thamir, had been made a free port to the
detriment of the revenue of Basrah. Thamir had to fly but returned after
a short interregnum. In 1840, Manucheh Khan Mu’tamid-ud-Dauleh forced
j amir to pay tribute : to this man, more than to any other, is due the
deserted condition of ’Arabistan to-day. Of himself it may be truly said
desert am fecit pacem appellavit.” An Armenian by birth, he was cruel
and avaricious : his violence and faithlessness alienated all those with whom
ie came in contact, and to him, more than to any other Persian, must be
ascribed the distrust which the Arabs still evince in so marked a degree in
t.icir dealings with the Persian Government. His harsh dealings with
Muhammad laqi Khan induced the latter to take refuge with Thamir who
gave him protection, at great personal risk and loss- A detailed account of
tins is given m Bayard’s “ Early Adventures," Vol. II, p. 73. Muhammad
J aqi Khan was induced by treachery to surrender himself : Shaikh Thamir
vvas obliged to fly to Turkish territory, after some fighting, in which the
I ersians were assisted by the Wali of Hawlzah, and by the Baniham Arabs,
both of them hostile to the Ka’ab.
_ At this time Shaikh Thamir was ruling over seven tribes, the Bu Nasir,
Hris, JNassar, Muhaisin, Bawi, Bani Tammln and Haiyada- His annual
tribute to the Persian Government was 3,400 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. , equivalent to £1,700,
and there were plenty of Persians in his entourage to look after the interests
ot the Central Government.
was succeeded by Paris, who, like Thamir, experienced many vicissi-
ru? 6 ^ 0 ^ i 0r ^ ne ^ ands the Persians, by whom he was appointed as
Chief of the Ka’ab. Jabir, hereditary 1 Shaikh of the Muhaisin, who lived at
Hiaji was his deputy for Mohammerah. It was during his rule (1840—1858)
that the Boundary Commission came to Mohammerah. The Turks claimed
Mohammerah which, however, it was provided by the treaty of Erzeroum,
1848, should be considered as Persian territory, taking their stand on this,
the Turks claimed that the town and nothing but the town was Persian, the
rest Turkish. It is unnecessary to go into the details of the dispute here,
they are fully dealt with in the chapter on the Turko-Persian boundary.
The declaration of war between Persia and Great Britain in 1856,
which culminated in the fighting at Borasjan, the capture of Mohammerah
and a subsequent expedition to Ahwaz, was caused by the insulting attitude
adopted by the Shah to Her Majesty’s Minister at Tehran, and the attacks
on Hirat by the Persian Government. Attempts to settle amicably the ques
tion at issue failed and war was declared by Proclamation of the Governor-
General in Council on 1st November 1856. 2
Major-General Sir James Outram, K.C.B., was placed in command of
the force : Bushire was reached on 30th January 1857 and engagements took
place at Borasjan on the 5th February, where the Persian camp near the
village was taken, and at Khushab on the night of the 7th. On the latter
occasion the Persians attacked the column whilst on the move at night, but
were repulsed without difficulty. The battle w^as resumed next morning with
disastrous results for the Persians, who left more than 700 dead on the^field :
on our side only one officer and 18 men were killed.
1 His father had nominated another son to succeed him, but Jsbir by virtue of his superior abilities u-as
accepted by common consent as the head of the tribe on his father's death.
2 A full and lucid account of the causes leading to the declaration of vrar, and of the war itself, is contained
in Captain Hunt’s •* Persian Campaign,” 1856. The official history is contained in “ British Expeditions to
Persia. LB., 1884.