'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎192] (227/714)

PERSIA
Bujnurd consists at present of 500 men. His district comprises
the upland valley of Bujnurd, contiguous to that of Slur^au and
Kuchan, the upper waters of the Atrek, and further south Jajarm
in the Isferayin plain. 1
Of Kuchan I have already spoken. Its military contingent is
Kuchan at present GOO strong.
To the north-east of Kuchan, and on the northern slope of the
main range—the only Persian possession of any size now remain
ing on the northern watershed The boundary between adjacent drainage basins. of the Elburz—is situated
Deregez the little frontier district of Deregez (the Valley of Tama
risks), This favoured spot, which consists of a valley or basin some
forty miles long, by thirty broad, is inhabited partly by Kurds, but
mainly by Turks or Tartars, relics of old waves of Turanian in
vasion. Its capital is Mohammedabad, 1,200 feet, where in 1880
O'Donovan met Colonel Stewart, disguised as an Armenian horse-
dealer, and lived for three weeks in his society without discovering
that he was an Englishman. Deregez is separated from the Aterk
by a low range of hills, which have hitherto saved it from Hussian
absorption 5 though it has lost several of the villages lying upon
the plain below, of which it formerly claimed ownership. Before
1832, it might be considered an independent principality; but in
common with the other border states of Khorasan, it was then
reduced by Abbas Mirza, and has since remained a possession of
the crown, in much the same way and under the same conditions
as Kuchan and Bujnurd; although from its position on the ex
treme boundary, and the relations into which its chief was con
sequently brought with the Turkomans, the authority of the
imperial Government was somewhat delicately and precariously
enforced from Meshed. The Khan of Deregez belongs to a luling
family who have inherited the chieftainship from the days of Nadir
Shah. Neither he nor Deregez are now of much importance, and
his military contribution has been reduced to one hundred. 2
1 For descriptions of Bujnurd and its district, ride Colonel Val. Baker (1873),
Clouds in the East, p. 284, et seq.; (Sir) C. MacGregor (1875), Journey through
Khorasan, vol. ii. pp. 93-107 ; General Grodekoff (1880), The War in Turkomania,
vol. iv. cap. xvii.
2 The first Englishman to visit and describe Deregez was J. B. Fraser, in 1834
(A Winter's Journey, vol. ii. letters ix., x., xi.). For later descriptions, vide Colonel
Val. Baker (1873), Clouds in the East, pp. 229-274; (Sir) C. MacGregor (1875),
Journey through Khorasan, vol. ii. pp. 70-76; E. O'Donovan (1880), The Merv
Oasis, vol. ii. pp. 30-65.