'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From December 1854 to March 1856. (New Issue.) Edited by the Secretary. Volume XII.' [‎79] (190/258)

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OBSERVATIONS ON BAGHDAD.
great herds of cattle, flocks, and a few horses. They may« have 350 guns
among them.
The principal tribe inhabiting the districts on either side of the Euphrates
south of the Hye river is the Montafik. The chief family is descended from
one of the ancient Sherifs of Mecca, whose name was Maneh, and who had
fled from the holy city fearing the consequences of a feud in which he was
involved. It would take too much time to recount, in the present paper, the
history of Maneh’s proceedings. It will suffice to say, that having by his
talents worked himself into authority in the districts which the tribe inha
bits at present, he managed to bring the various families under one head.
Thus united they took the name of Montafik as that of the tribe—at least
such is the report. Its direct genealoiry is given as follows :—Maneh mar
ried the daughter of Barakat ibn Mullij-esh-Sherif, and had offspring—Maho
med who begat Sadun, who begat Shamer, who begat Mahomed, who begat
Shamer, who begat ’Agie, who begat Mahomed, who begat Faris, who begat
’Agie.
The chief families of the jtribe were from the Beni Simim, the Beni
Malek-al-Ajwad, the Beni S’ayed A1 Kafajeh, Beni Rekab and the Bedoor.
The tribe is now divided into two parts : the A1 Ajwad portion inhabit
the districts north of Suk-esh-Sheyukh, round Semaweh and the regions of
the Hye river;—the southern Montafik districts south of Suk-esh-Shegyukh to
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. eastwards as far as Hawizeh, and north-east as far as
the Hud, are in the posession of the Beni "Malek, improperly pronounced
Malick—with the exception of the house of Shibbyb. The tribe professes the
Shiah faith of Islam. That name applies to the family of the present Sheikh
as does the name of Sadun. These are of Sunni principles. Their war cry
is “ Azyud,” while thatof the Beni Malek,or the Beni Tenan-ez-zeydan, as
they are sometimes called, is “ Yetun.”
For the last five years this powerful tribe has been chiefly occupied in
war ; party struggling against party, cousin against cousin, for the Sheikhship.
The Turkish Government has fomented these discards, and within the last two
years three Sheikhs have been acknowledged. Mansur-es-Sadun now reigns,
having been lately invested, but he has met with much opposition from his
subjects ; and his two rivals, Saleh and Faris, are at hand, the one in Baghdad
and the other in the desert not far off, to work on the prejudices of the Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. as
soon as a cause for dissatisfaction may exhibit itself in his mind. 1 he coun
try governed by the Montafik is, therefore, much impoverished, for the culti
vating tribes inhabiting it are so oppressed by succeeding Sheikhs, that their
lot is a hard one indeed. Suk-esh-sheyukh is the chief seat of the family
governing the tribe. It was a favorite mart of the Arabs, and much trade was
carried on when the Montafik were at peace with each other. Many influ-