‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎299v] (605/722)

552
although put down for a while, it broke out afresh in 1 K39. Many of the
troops sent to suppress the revolt were followers of the sect, and conse
quently Agha Khan obtained three successive victories. At last the gov
ernor of Karman marched against him in person at the head of a select body
of troops; and Agha Khan, seeing that his defeat was certain, suddenly
abandoned his followers, and made his escape to Baluchistan, and thence
to Bombay, where he now resides.*
About this period, the chief of Bampur, in Baluchistan, took advantage
of the rising of Agha Khan to make frequent inroads into the province
of Karman. Here it should be explained that, in 1739, the whole of
Baluchistan was bestowed by Nadir Shah on Nasir Khan, who at the same
time received the title of Beglerbeg of Baluchistan. Accordinglv, about
] 839, the Persian government renewed its pretensions to the suzerainty
of t he country, although no such rights had been recognised by the chiefs
of Baluchistan for more than a century. A force was sent against Bampur,
and the place was surrendered; but all at once the Baluchis were roused
to further action by seeing a Persian soldier attempt to carry away one
of their women. The effect of this outrage upon the excited Baluchis was
most remarkable. The tribesmen put their wives and daughters to death
in their fury, and then fell upon the troops, to whom they had previously
surrendered. A bloody conflict ensued, in which the carnage was so ter
rible, that when the Shah heard of it, he ordered the liberation of all the
surviving prisoners at Bampur.
About this time, and for some years previously, there had been differences
between Persia and Turkey; and at length, through the influence of the
representatives of Great Britain and Russia, a mixed commission was
appointed to adjust all the points at issue. At this crisis the Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. of
Baghdad marched a force against the holy city of Karbala, in Turkish
Arabia,. The political status of Karbala is somewhat peculiar. It is the
holy city of the Shiahs, inasmuch as it contains the shrine of Husain,
the son of All. At the same time it is included in the pashalik of
Baghdad, and is subject to the authority of the pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. . There is always , a
large number of Persian pilgrims residing in the city; and from this circum
stance, and the sectarian character of the place, the authority of the
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. of Baghdad had been for a long time almost entirely rejected. The
Persian government could scarcely have resented this expedition of the
Turks against Karbala, if it had been confined to a mere reestablishment
of the rightful authority of the pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. . But the Turkish army, after taking
the place by storm, commenced a wholesale slaughter of the inhabitants.
Some fifteen or eighteen thousand persons, including several hundreds of
j. eisian subjects, were said to have perished in the massacre. The news
reached Tihran whilst the people were celebrating the martyrdom of Husain;
and had it been made public, the priests would no doubt ha ve goaded
the people to frenzy. Hajf Mfrza Aghasf, however, kept the matter
secret until the ten days of mourning for Husain were over. Then, when
the matter was spread abroad and the people demanded vengeance, Hajf
Mfiza Aghasi quieted the public mind by the ostentatious movement of
tioops and collection of stores; and ultimately the affair terminated by
the Turkish government expressing its regret and offering a suitable repara
tion.
* Died in 1884.