'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎339v] (681/862)

PORTS AND INLAND TOWNS
528
Diwaniya. ti° tjg' N., 44 0 cc' E.; alt. c. 70 feet. Pop. 8,ooo. Liwa cap.
Rainfall station (R.I.A.F.).
Diwaniya is on the Hilla branch of the Euphrates, 51 miles by road
south-south-east of Hilla. Nearly all of the population are Shia Arabs. It
is the capital of one of the richest provinces in Iraq and an important base
for the administration of the turbulent ‘Middle Euphrates’ area and of the
southern desert.
Diwaniya, formerly known as Hiska, first became a centre of government
in the eighteenth century when the Mamluk Pashas stationed a powerful
Agha in the town, but it frequently suffered incursions from the tribes of
the south, principal among whom were the Muntafiq. Its modern impor
tance dates from its elevation by the Turks to be capital of a Sanjaq. In
the War of 1914-1918 it was held for several months after the fall of Bagh
dad by a fierce Caucasian officer and a small Turkish garrison. The town
was evacuated by the British during the 1920 rebellion (p. 291).
General Description
Diwaniya stands on both banks of the Hilla channel (Shatt ad Diwaniya),
which is here 90-95 yards wide, with banks 13-16 feet above the river
bottom, and is crossed by a pile bridge with an opening span. The larger
part of the town is on the left bank. About half the houses are of brick,
very few of them well built, and the rest are of mud. There is a new, semi-
fortified sarai on the left bank between the old sarai and the police barracks.
A large police barracks, school, and civil hospital (50 beds) lie on the left
bank to the north of the town, which has also a modern Arab hotel, a public
library, some khans, public baths, grain-stores, motor repair shops, and a
covered bazaar. The railway station, which is semi-fortified, is on the right
bank 1 mile from the main town, and the Iraqi Army barracks are half-way
between the railway station and the river.
The town is the central market of the province, particularly for grain,
and draws large quantities of vegetables, dates, wheat, barley, rice, and
sheep from its district. Water is obtained from the river and there are
wells of sweet water in the town. Ice and electricity are available.
Communications
Rail: Diwaniya station is on the Basra-Baghdad metre-gauge line
(Rly. 1).
Road: Unmetalled (right bank) main road [2] north to Baghdad and
south to Samawa and Basra. Dry-weather roads east-north-east to Afaq
and west to Abu Sukhair and Najaf. A poor route north to Daghghara.
The country is liable to extensive flooding and other roads are notoriously
bad.
Air : There is an R.I.A.F. airfield north-east of the town.