"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎١‎٨‎٤] (١٧٨٢/١٣٣٩)

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1624.
1625.
the hereditary ruler? of Basrah, should be exempted from payment of
tribute, and should enjoy perfect independence in all local concerns.
This proposal the Pasha of Basrah, relying on the naval aid of the
Portuguese, whose interests in the matter were identical with his own
unhesitatingly rejected ; and thereupon Shah 'Abbas directed the Khan
of Shiraz to proceed ag-ainst him. A Persian army, descending into
'Arabistan by way of Shushtar, attacked and very nearly captured
Qubban, which was then regarded as a dependency of Basrah ; but
Qubban was saved by the efforts of the Portuguese, whose vessels,
either from the Karun river or from Khor Qanaqeh, bombarded the
Persian camp ; and the invaders retired. This attack on Qubban took
place in 1624. The Persian troops employed in it, as in most of the
operations around Baghdad, were described as Qizilbash.
About the beginning of 1025 the Persians under Imam Quli Khan
made a fresh incursion into Basrah territory; but first they expelled from
Hawizeh the Shaikh of that place, who had neglected to comply with
the Shah's summons to Baghdad, and who now took refuge at Basrah
with about 500 followers. In the meanwhile Afrasiyab had been suc
ceeded in the Pashaliq of Basrah by his son 'Ali; and, as both Baghdad
and Ilillah, commanding the Tigris and the Euphrates respectively,
were now held by the Persians, it was impossible for the Turks to send
help to the new Pasha. In March 162-% when the Italian traveller
Pietro della \ alle was at Basrah, panic prevailed, and the chief reliance
of the Pasha was on five Portuguese vessels, for the services of which
the Portuguese received a liberal subsidy and which they kept anchored
in the river to protect the town. On the 13th of March proclamation
was made in the town that every house must send one armed man to the
Pasha s camp to be employed against the Persians, who were now said
to be close at hand. On the 14th news was received that the Persian
forces were in the neighbourhood of Qurnah, their object being evidently
to cross unopposed to the Arabian bank of the Shatt-al-'Arab ; and the
Pasha set out with his whole land force and three of the Portuguese
ships to encounter them. On the 16th of March the two armies were
reported to be in contact; and on the same day Gonsalvo de Silveira,
the Portuguese naval commander, sent his remaining two ships and a
smaller vessel to intercept, if possible, seven pieces of artillery which
the Persians, it was thought, were about to bring by sea to Doraq for
use against Basrah. On the 19th an eminent citizen of Basrah, Shaikh
Abdus Sal am, mustered a large body of armed men, with which he
proposed to march to the assistance of the Pasha; it included no less
r .