'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎149] (158/568)

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ADMINISTRATION 149
S* the grates the Shatt el-Gharaf, the Tigris, and the Shatt el-Arab
xespe v y. addition to these, there were Sanlyeh lands in the
; - valley^ of the^Diyakh, and even at Khanikin, close to the Persian
border. On the Tigris the Sanlyeh had acquired the whole Dujeil
canal and the areas watered by it. Below Baghdad the valuable
es ates ot bhadi and Bogheileh iu the kaza of 'Aziziyeh were held by
v leSaniyeh; also lands along the right bank of the river from Tawll
to Umm el-Ajaj, and on the left bank from Samr to Imam Mahdi, in
each case up to 20 miles inland from the river. The right bank of the
Tigris, together with the country behind it to a depth, it is said, of
about 40 miles, from the point where the Shatt el-Gharaf leaves it as
far as Sheikh Sa'ad, belonged to the Sanlyeh. From Kumeit to
the Bitaireh canal the Sanlyeh estate occupied the right bank and
extended inland some 30 miles. On the left bank the Sanlyeh
extended almost continuously from Amara to a point opposite
Azair, and inland almost to the Hawlzeh marshes. A quantity of
land in the Muntefiq sanjaq, irrigated by the Shatt el-Gharaf, was
Samyeh. The Sanlyeh properties irrigated by the Euphrates were
many and large, above and below Museyib; near Hilla, the Haml-
diyeh canal was Sanlyeh pr operty in the Shamiyeh kaza ; and it
owned extensive domains on the right bank of the Shatt el-Arab
The Sultan also possessed large estates in the neighbourhood of
Mosul and in the plains near the lower courses of the Great and
Lesser Zab. (See further on tenure on Sanlyeh lands pp. 188-90.)
.The navigation branch of the Sanlyeh came into being in 1904
V, [ when it ' acquired' the whole stock and assets of the ' Oman Otto
man' branch of the Turkish Ministry of Marine, viz. three river
steamers, barges, workshops, a dry dock at Basra, and offices and
oftk f warehouses at Baghdad, Kut el-Amara, Amara, and Basra. It is
lift on record that less than 10 per cent, of the market value of the office
buildings was paid by the Sanlyeh to the State. In 1905 the
Sanlyeh bought two more steamers, which were added to its fleet.
Its competition with the private companies interested in Tigris
navigation was close, and it of course monopolized all Govern-
traffic, such as the transport of troops, military stores, &c.
ie l# feature of the administration of the Sanlyeh was the fact that
on its large executive staff there were a number of military officers
i!5: who were borrowed from the State, receiving a departmental allow-
ance m addition to their military pay.
tsM U V™ been claimed for the Sanlyeh that its policy in managing
the Sultan s property was one of enlightened self-interest, which is
■ 3 ver y Probable; its relations with its tenants were generally good,
, and its navigation branch endeavoured to give satisfaction to traders
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