'Additions to Gazetteer of Persia, Volumes II to IV.' [‎128r] (255/370)

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K ARMAN— contd.
take the place of the Jews of Yazd, without having their degrading duties,
but in other ways they are better off. They are not persecuted or
molested by the Persians. They number about 1,700, in Karman and about
300 in the villages. They have a council as in Yazd, of 12 members.
There are three schools, containing only 75 pupils. A girls* school was
started and 15 girls offered themselves, but owing to the opposition
raised this had to be abandoned. They live in a quarter of their own,
outside the city walls to the north-east; there is nothing like the same
cleanliness and order as in Yazd, nor are they so clean or well dressed.
.Carriage .—The camel is the chief means of carriage. They are bred in
Baluchistan. Some few mules are bred in the hill round. Donkeys are
numerous everywhere. The late Firman A Persian word meaning a royal order or decree issued by a sovereign, used notably in the Ottoman Empire (sometimes written ‘phirmaund’). Firma tried to improve the breed
of horses by importing stallions from Fars and Arabia, but as the mares
were not of any class, he did not succeed. The present Governor is also
trying and will probably succeed as he gets good mares. The good old
breed of horse which was to be found in Fars has now nearly died out.
The Afshary nomads breed a good useful sort of horse, short backed and
cobby looking, with good bone and nice flat legs, with a peculiarly short
cannon bone, but with a short thick neck and a common head; height
about 14 hands.
These nomads are an offshoot of the great Afshary tribe, located about
Irak and Khorasan ; they were brought into Karman territory by Agha
Muhammad Shah and settled there They number about 1,000 tents and
are a very useful auxiliary force to the Government. They are quiet, sub
ordinate and plucky.
People .—The people are everywhere very nice, quiet and well behaved,
their poverty, however, is very great and the place teems with beggars.
The dress of the women of Karman differs greatly from the rest of
Persia. Out-of-doors they dress entirely in white, chadar and dial war
(cloak and trowsers).
Troops .—There are but few troops only enough for the necessary duties
of the place. Every available man having been sent to the frontier, where
there are about 7,000, posted to prevent the outlaws breaking out of Fars.
Such as are in the town are well dressed, well set up and smart.
Trade .—There is but little trade with outside places ; that with Bandar
Abbas has practically ceased owing to the depradations of the outlaws in
Fars. What trade there is is chiefly with Bombay and is in the hands of
the British Indian subjects. A few bales of British prints are sent from
Yazd. Russian piece-goods rarely come here, a few things, such as
Samovars, cutlery and glass are to be found, but practically Russian goods
are excluded from the market. There is little or no direct traffic with
Mashad ; trade with Afghanistan has been stopped owing to the prohibitive
duties imposed by the Amir. A development of the carpet trade would
effect a change in the Manchester print goods market, and Karman might
become a centre of trade.
Roads .—There are two main roads to Bandar Abbas, one via Deh Bakri
and Jiruft, the other via Sirjan, Saidabad, and Ahmedi. To Bam and
Bampur the tirst road is followed to Sarbistan, thence to Bam and by
Narmashir to Bampur. To Shiraz there are two roads, one by Sirjan and
Niris, the other via Shahr-i-Babek and Khunsar. To Yazd there are two
roads. To Khorasan the road goes via, Birjand and Kain, but it is not
much used, that by Yazd being preferred.