Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/879

Rh S H U S H W 849 Tatars. Instead of flat earthen roofs, as in most other towns of Transcaucasia, the houses have very high steep roofs, covered with shingle. The streets are sinuous, and are intersected by ravines. Shusha was formerly the capital of the khanate of Karabagh. The town is locally renowned for its carpet manufactures, and the district for its excellent breed of Karabagh horses. The fortress, formed in 1789 by Pana Khan, has a wall on one side, and is defended naturally on the other three sides. In 1795 Shusha successfully withstood a siege by Agha Mohammed of Persia, but was constrained to surrender two years afterwards. In 1805 Ibrahim Khan of Karabagh invoked the protection of Russia, but the annexation was completed only in 1822. The present district of Shusha (2934 square miles) forms only a part of the .former khanate of Karabagh. In 1873 it had (exclusive of Shusha) a population of 80,913 (males 45,163, females 35,750), Armenians numbering 43,562 and Tatars 37,351. Agriculture and cattle- breeding are almost the sole occupations of the inhabitants. Gen- eral culture is very low ; there is no enterprise, and but inadequate security for life and property. SHUSTAR, or SHUSTAR, SHL^SHTAR (Arab. Tostar), once a flourishing provincial capital of Persia, is now a compara- tively unimportant town of 6000 inhabitants, exclusive, however, of the Bakhtiaris, who during the winter months encamp with their flocks and herds in the immediate vicinity. It is situated (32 3' 30" N. lat. and 48 52' E. long.) at the foot of an offshoot of the Bakhtiari Mountains in the north-west of Khuzistan, and just below the point in the Karun (Dojail or Little Tigris) where the main stream running westwards a cutting of 70 feet deep has been made through the natural rock for an easterly branch. Thence the two streams, enclosing a Avide alluvial tract, of which Shustar is the crown, follow independent courses until they reunite some 40 miles to the south. According to Lieutenant Selby, I.N., who ascended the Karun from Muhamrah (Mohammera) in 1842 by the Shutait (or main stream on the west) to within 6 miles, and further tested the navigation of the Ab-i-Gargar (or eastern channel) to within 1 mile, of Shustar, the town is built on a small hill which rises gradually from the south-west and increases in elevation to the citadel, which presents on the north- eastern side an abrupt face of about 150 feet in length, having the river immediately beneath. Mr Loftus, who visited Shustar some eight years after Lieutenant Selby, gives an account of the two great dams thrown across the river, the " Band-i-Mizan " over the natural course, the "Band-i-Kaisar" over the artificially diverted branch. About a mile below the latter is a similar work of more recent and more solid and substantial construction, called the "Pul," or bridge of Belaiti. Legend ascribes these ancient works to Shapur I. and his captive the emperor Valerian. In 1875, and again in 1878, Mr Mackenzie visited Shustar; he speaks of the town as being in a wretchedly decayed and filthy condition. The houses are of stone, some few good, with underground rooms (sarddbs or zir zamiri) excavated to a depth of two stories below the ground level. In these relief is obtained from the intense summer heat. The traffic of the bazaar, which is a poor one, seemed to depend chiefly on the Iliyats or wandering tribes. The inhabitants for the most part Arabs and Saiyids have a reputation for hospitality. Some writers have identified Shushar with Susa (Shushan of the T.ible), the capital of Susiana and a residence of the Achaemenian kings. The true site of the latter, however, as Loftus's explora- tions showed, is at Shush, a widely spread ruin 30 or 40 miles to the north-west On the other side of Shustar is the locally classic ground of Ram Hormuz. In fact, of the whole neighbourhood Sir H. Rawlinson writes that it "still requires elaborate exploration, and would well repay any traveller who would devote six months to examining the ruins and carefully copying the inscriptions." The river Karun, which rises in the Bakhtiari Mountains and passes down the broad Shattu '!-' Arab, joins the Tigris and Euphrates. It has been declared by many and trustworthy authorities to be well adapted for steam navigation save as regards one obstacle at Ahwaz, removable at little cost from its mouth to the near neighbourhood of Shustar. Thence to Ispahan the land journey would be shorter than from Bushahr (Bushire) to that city by 200 miles. SHUYA, one of the chief centres of the cotton industry in middle Russia, is a district town in the government of Vladimir, 68 miles north-east of the town of Vladimir. A branch railway connects it with the Novki station of the railway from Moscow to Nijni- Novgorod. The town is built on the high left bank of the navigable Teza, a tribu- tary of the Klazma, with two suburbs on the right bank. Annalists mention princes of Shuya in 1403. Its first linen manufactures were established in 1755; but in 1800 its population did not exceed 1500. Its growth began only with the development of the cotton industry in central Russia, and since then has been rapid; in 1882 it had 19,560 inhabitants, as against 10,440 in 1870. Of these about 10,000 live by the manufactures, and only a few keep to agriculture and gardening. In 1881 the output of twelve cotton -mills was valued at 442,160 for various cotton stuffs and 48,000 for cotton yarn. Tan- neries, especially for the preparation of sheep-skins widely renowned throughout Russia still maintain their im- portance, although this industry has migrated to a great extent to the country districts. The products of its manu- factories are chiefly sent to Moscow and Nijni-Novgorod. The town is mainly built of wood. Its cathedral (1799) is a large building, with five gilt cupolas. Shuya has also two gymnasia, for boys and girls, besides a progymnasium for girls, and several secondary and primary schools. The surrounding district is also important for its manufactures. The village of Ivanovo-Voznesensk, north of Shuya, with a popu- lation of more than 19,000 inhabitants, employed 11,329 workmen in its 39 manufactories in 1881, and showed a return of 1,939,950 (1,700,000 for cottons and the remainder for chemicals and machi- nery). Teikovo and Kokhma are two other centres of manufacture, the whole production of the manufactories within the district (ex- clusive of Shuya and Ivanovo) being estimated at 630,000. These figures, of course, do not include any statistics of the petty trades carried on side by side with agriculture. Nearly every village has a specialty of its own, bricks, pottery (Menschikovo), wheels, toys packing-boxes, looms and other weaving implements, house furni- ture, sieves, combs, boots, gloves, felt goods, candles, and so on The manufacture of linen and cotton in villages, as well as the pre- paration and manufacture of sheepskins and rough gloves, occupies about 40,000 peasants. The Shuya merchants carry on an active trade in these products all over Russia, and in corn, spirits, salt, and other food stuffs, which are imported to a great extent. In 1880 the imported goods reached 1,613,000 cwts. (1,208,000 by rail), and the exports 1,318,000 cwts., chiefly by the Teza. SHWE-GYENG, a district of British Burmah, in the Tenasserim division, containing an area of 5567 square miles, and lying in the valley of the Tsit-toung (Sitoung) river. It is bounded on the N. by Toung-gmi district, on the E. by the Poung-loung Hills and the Salwin Hill Tracts, on the S. by Amherst district, and on the W. by the Pegu Yoma Hills. The boundaries have more than once been altered, the last change having taken place in 1877. The aspect of the country is mountainous, especially in the north. The Tsit-toung is navigable throughout its entire length in the district by large boats and steam-launches. Shwe-gyeng has never been accurately surveyed from a geological point of view, but it is supposed to be rich in minerals. Gold is found in most of the affluents of the river Shwe-gyeng; copper, lead, tin, and coal also exist, but are not worked. Except in the hills, the climate is generally healthy ; the average annual rainfall at Shwe- gyeng station is 144 inches. In 1881 the population of the district was 171,144 (89,687 males and 81,457 females), of whom Hindus numbered 958, Mohammedans 855, Buddhists 158, 149, and Christians 1250. The only town with more than 5000 inhabitants is Shwe-gyeng, the capital and head- quarters of the district, which was founded during the 18th century, before the Burmese conquest, by Alompra. It is situated at the junction of the Shwe-gyeug with the Tsit-toung, and had a popula- tion of 7519 in 1881. Only 187 square miles of the district were cultivated in 1883-84 ; the cultivated area is, however, gradually XXI. 107