Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/274

Rh 254 ARABIA [DISTRICTS. there are several small independent y Mebuhr ^^ or r T athe V h ? only aty lor what regards this part of Arabia In extent Yemen constitutes about one-tenth of the superficies of the peninsula. It is thickly peopled throughout, with countless villages; the nomades are few in number. It has been recently invaded by the Jowf TU JoAvf, a large oasis in the desert, adjoining Yemen on the east. It contains the ancient capital of south Arabia, Mareb, with the ruins of the famous dyke that bears its name, besides many villages. The inhabitants are warlike ; the country is said to be fruitful, but little is known of it with certainty, nor has any European ever visited it. Nejran. Nejran, an independent province on the north-east ot Yemen. It is fertile and thickly peopled ; the inhabitants are mostly villagers, and belong to a sect allied to that of the Beyadees in Oman. The principal town, situated on the highroad of Sanaa, bears the same name as the district. Adjacent Kalaat-Bisha, Shahran, Kahtan, Taslees, Belad-el-Kobeyel, and districts. others small districts, each governed by its own sheykh, except the last named, of which the inhabitants are chiefly nomade ; the others are agricultural. They are situated to the east and north of Yemen, on the confines of Nejd. Hadra- Hadramaut, an extensive region, occupying the south-east coast maut. and inland. Niebuhr, our best authority for this part of Arabia, as for Yemen, describes it as being divided into several small prin cipalities, of which Shibarn on the south, and Ainad further north, are the chief. The only towns really known are Dafar and Kesheen, ports of the coast; they are both small and unimportant. The inhabitants are all governed by their own chiefs. Of their race and language mention has been made before ; their mode of life is partly nomade, partly settled. Muhrah. Mahrah, a continuation of Hadramaut northwards, up to Ras-el- Hadd. Its inhabitants, who appear to be the least civilised among all the Arab races, pay an irregular allegiance to the sultan of Oman. The country is said to be sandy, and thinly peopled ; the Bedouin tribes of Al-Morrah and Aboo-Alse frequent its pasturages. Northern. Returning inland, we find the north and centre of Arabia thus divided : Jowf. Jowf, an oasis south of the Syrian frontier. It contains seven principal and some smaller villages. The population is set down at 40,000 souls; they are governed by an emeer, who depends on the prince of Shomer. Teyma. Teyma, a thinly-peopled district west of Jowf. Its inhabitants are mostly. Bedouin, and each clan obeys its own sheykh. The total population is 12,000. Kheybar. Kheybar, a collection of small villages and encampments on the north-west of the Hejaz ; several of the tribes inhabiting it are of Jewish origin. The population is given at 25, 000. Jebel Jebel Shomer, an important province, including the mountain Shomer. ranges of Aja and Solma south of Jowf. Its capital, Hayel, stands on the highroad between Bosrah and Medinah ; it possesses a public market-place, and may contain about 15,000 or 16,000 souls. The villages of the province are forty; the total population 162,000, who are given to agricultural and pastoral pursuits in about equal proportions. The emeer or prince is hereditary, and allied with, though not dependent on, the government of Nejd. Upper Upper Kaseem, an oblong strip of land, lying between the moun- Kaseem. tains of Shomer and the valley of Lower Kaseem, which latter belongs to Nejd. The soil is sandy, but not unfertile. It contains about twenty villages, besides many hamlets. The population is stated at 35,000. This district is subject to the emeer of Shomer. Bedouins. The principal Bedouin tribes of this part of Arabia are the Shomer, who indeed have given their name to the province ; the Sherarat ; the Howeytat ; the Benoo-Ateeyah ; the Maaz ; the Tey, a very ancient and famous tribe, of southern origin, whose emigration hither dates from many centuries before Mahomet ; and the Wah- hideyah. The total population is estimated at 166,000 souls; but this does not include the Bedouins of Teyma and Kheybar, who together, it is said, muster an equal number. Nejd. There remains Nejd, a name including the whole central inhabit able district of Arabia, and which is divided into nine provinces. They are as follows : Ared. Ared, the centre province, in which the present Wahhabee capital, Riad, is situated. The town is very ancient, and has a population of 30,000. It possesses a palace, where the sultan of Nejd resides, and many other considerable buildings. The fortifi cations are extensive, but of unbaked brick only, as are also the dwellings of the town ; near Riad may still be seen the ruins of the ancient capital, Dereyeeah, demolished by Ibrahim Pasha in 1817. Besides Riad, Ared contains many villages so large as to merit the name of towns ; the land is generally fertile, cultivation abounds, and the total population exceeds, it is said, 100,000. ., % .. Sedeyr. Sedeyr, an extensive province, north of Ared, and situated in the highlands of the Toweyk mountain chain. Its principal town, Mejmaa, is fortified, Arab fashion ; the ancient towns, Jelajib, Tpweym, and others are situated here. The number of large villages s twenty-five ; the entire population is 140,000. They are a brave and intelligent race, and furnish the choicest contingent to the Wahhabee armies. Yemamah, a fertile district, south of Ared, celebrated in all ages Yemaiuah. of Arab history for the bravery of its men and the beauty of its women. It forms an important part of the Wahhabee empire. Its principal town is Manfoohah ; but it includes many others, such as Khorj, the neighbourhood of which, from its fertility, is called the paradise of Nejd ; the number of inhabitants is said to equal that of Sedeyr. Hareek, a mountainous oasis on the extreme southern verge of Hareek. Nejd, at the commencement of the great desert, or Dahna. Prin cipal town, Hootah. The inhabitants are all zealous Wannabees ; their number is stated at 14,000. The villages are 16 in number. Afiaj, a small and hilly district south-west of Ared. The in- Aflaj. habitants are Wahhabees, and number 16,000; the villages, of which Kharfah is the chief, are twelve in all. Wadi Dowasir, a long shallow valley, reaching down from Afiaj Wadi in the direction of Yemen ; the soil is sandy and unproductive. It Dowasir. contains fifty small villages, besides hamlets, and the population is estimated at 100,000, all Wahhabees. They have a bad reputation for illiberality and meanness of disposition. Soleyel, also a Wahhabee province. It forms the junction between Soleycl. Wadi Dowasir and Yemen ; its principal town bears the same name as the district. Its villages are given at twenty-five, its inhabitants at 30,000. Woshem, a small, compact, but important district west of Ared, Wosr.ero. of which it is the key. Its principal town, Doramah, offered a determined resistance to Ibraham Pasha in 1817. Here, too, is Shakrah, a large commercial centre ; Kowey, near which was fought the decisive battle between the Egyptian and Wahhabee troops ; and other villages, twenty in all. Inhabitants, 80,000, all Wahhabees. The country is well supplied with water, and the ground productive. Kaseem, a wide fertile valley west of Woshem, and belonging to Kaswm. the Wahhabee government. It possesses three large towns Onezzah, Bereydah, and Rass besides about 60 villages and numerous hamlets. The inhabitants are a busy and thriving, but not a very warlike race ; they are computed at 300,000. These districts con stitute Nejd proper, and form the bulk of the present Wahhabee monarchy. Coming now to the east coast, we find Hasa, a large province Hasa. occupying almost the whole region conterminous with the upper half of the Persian Gulf. Its principal town, Hofhoof, possesses_ a re markable fortress, said to be of Karmathian construction, besides a large market-place and several handsome buildings. Close by is the more modern town of Mebarrez, almost equalling the capital itself in size. The province is in general well- watered and fertile ; the number of villages about fifty, that of the population 160,000. This region belongs to the Wahhabee government, but has lately been occupied by the Turks. Kateef, a small, marshy, but fertile district on the shores of the Katecf. Persian Gulf, directly opposite to Bahreyn. It belongs, like Hasa, to the Wahhabees ; the principal town, also called Kateef, was once the residence of the dreaded Karmathian princes. The climate is unhealthy; the population is estimated at about 100,000 souls. The most considerable nomade tribes in this district are the Bedouins. Ajman, Benoo-Hajr, Beuoo-Khalid, Meteyr, Oteybah, Sebaa, Kahtan, Harb (a numerous and warlike clan), Anezeh, and Al- morrah. Their whole number does not probably exceed 80,000; the nomade population of central Arabia bearing no proportion to the settled, whereas a reverse condition exists on the northern frontier, and above all in the Syrian desert. Continuing our review of the eastern districts, we next find Bahreyn, a name given to the two large islands of Menameh and Bahreyn. Moharrek, both celebrated for pearl fisheries off their shores. They are governed by a chief of their own, of the family name of Khaleefah; but pay an uncertain allegiance, sometimes to the government of Baghdad, sometimes to that of Oman. Numeroiis villages cover the islands, of which the soil is fertile ; but the chief resources of the inhabitants are maritime and commercial. Popula tion, 70,000. Katar, the pearl-fishery coast east of Hasa. Its inhabitants, said Katar. to be 135,000 in number, find an almost exclusive occupation in the pearl trade ; inland the region is barren and desert. This province depends on the chiefs of Bahreyn, but it also pays tribute to Oman. Sharjah, a coast strip, with a seaport of the same name, east of Sharjnh. Katar. It belongs to Oman, but has been often occupied by the Wahhabees. Sharjah is a great depot for slaves brought from the east African coast ; the inhabitants are mostly concerned in the trade. The province counts thirty-five villages and 85,000 inhabit ants. The present governor, Khalid-ebu-Sakar, whose authority also extends over the two next districts, is almost independent of the sultan of Mascat. Roos-el-Jebal, also known as the Jowasimah, or Private Coast. Pvoos-el- The chief village, Ras-el-Kheymah, was destroyed by the English in Jebal. 1S10, and again in 1819 ; although since rebuilt, it has ceased to be