'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III. PART I: A to K' [‎208r] (420/1278)

201
BtJS—Btrs
known as the Gulf Ports. Its position on the Persian coast is about 190
miles north by east of Manamah in Bahrain, 170 miles east by south of
Kuwait, and 150 miles east-south-east of the mouth of the Shatt-al-’Arab.
History. —On December 10th, 1856, Bushire surrendered to a British
force, which had landed at Rishahr on December 7th. In March 1857,
the main force proceeded to Mohammerah, leaving 3,000 men 19 hold
Bushire which was occupied till October 1857.
In January 1911 Saulat-ud-Dauleh came to Bushire, with a horde of
tribesmen to meet Nizam-us-Sultaneh, and as a consequence there was
much disorder in the town.
On April 8 th, 1911, Mirza ’Ali Muhammad, Muvaqqar-ud-Dauleh, arrived
in Bushire as Governor of the Gulf Ports, vice the Daria Begi, Muvaqqar
had been kdrguzdr in Shiraz, where he was friendly to Quvvam-ul-Mulk and
hostile to Saulat-ud-Dauleh.
In November 1911 the Bushire Anjuman, as well as all other anjumans,
was abolished.
The year 1911 was marked by much unrest in the districts round Bushire,
due chiefly to Nizam-us-Sultaneh’s attempts to recover revenue ; and a
more serious state of affairs supervened when the 39th Central India
Horse landed at Bushire, in November 1911, on their way to Shiraz and
Isfahan. In January 1912, consequent on the atack on the Central India
Horse at Kazarun, a detachment of about 250 Indian infantry was landed at
Busbire, which, in addition to a squadron of the 39th, remained at Bushire
throughout 1912. The presence of these Indian troops at Bushire conduced
to keeping the town free of disturbances during 1912, though the district
was again much disturbed and Zair Khidr of Tangistan actually blocked
the road within 12 miles of Bushire.
In April 1913 the headquarters of the Indian battalion on arms traffic
duty in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. was moved from Jask to Bushire, bringing the
strength up to about 5 companies. About the same time the squadron
of the 39th Central India Horse was withdrawn to India.
Description.— Bushire is a compact town. The houses are of stone,
and nearly all have an upper storey. There are only about 1,500 houses,
but the population is dense and out of all proportion to die number of
dwellings. The ordinary building material is a friable conglomerate of
sand and shells. x ^ ,, , - -
The town is divided into four wards, or mahallas, styled Behbeham,
Dehdashti, Khashhabi, and Kuti; besides these there are two small quarters
occunied by Jews. At the northern end of the town is an open space called
Sun, between which and the water’s edge is situated a block of buildings
containing the Imperial Customs House and the Persian Post Office.
^ The esplanade upon the seaward side runs at some height above the
beach and along it are some of the best edifices in Bushire The furthest
building to the south is the British Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. , and a little beyond it is an
db-ambdr. , . -r. • 7
For climate see under Bushire Peninsula,