'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎190] (199/568)

190
AGRICULTURE AND LAND TENURE
or held in large estates by landlords, who either occupy win lands
which they rent, or are supposed to rent from the State, or own their
own freehold as tapu. These landlords are generally either tribal
chieftains (Arab sheikhs or Kurdish aghas), or wealthy notables of
the towns from Basra or Baghdad, and occasionally magnates of the
empire such as the late Mahmud Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. Daghistani and Kadlum
Pashci.
It lias been estimated that 80 per cent, of the whole cultivable
area in the Baghdad vilayet was and another 30 per cent.
sanlyeh ; much, too, of the Basra vilayet came under one or other
of these categories, chiefly miri, M lands are usually let on short
leases for one, two, or three years, but by law the tenant may transfer
his lease to another party with the consent of the authorities, and in
case of his death his leasehold passes to his heirs, unless he has left
the land uncultivated for three years. It is possible that on some
lands the Grovernment acknowledged an obligation to keep the canals
in order; in the Tigris districts near Kut el-Amara it has been
stated that the sheikhs on certain lands paid revenue to the
Grovernment at a reduced rate, and in return were consideied
responsible for canal clearance as well as for the maintenance of
order in their tribes. Sanlyeh lands comprise many of the most
fertile and best-cultivated estates in the country. On the Euphrates
about Hilla a considerable amount of the land originally offered for
sale under the conditions of tapu by Midhat Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. was later acquired
by Abdul Hamid. These lands are known locally in the Euphrates
districts as mudawwareh. Canal clearance on land was paid
for by the Crown, and seed was advanced to be recovered at harvest.
It seems to have been the custom to maintain a mamur (revenue
official) and granary staff on sanlyeh estates.
In Irak private ownership of land occurs mainly in the form of
tenure known as titpu. Tapu lands are those ot which the owner
ship (under certain conditions) has been purchased by individuals
from the State. The history of this tenure in Irak, which dates
from the governorship of Midhat Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. in the early seventies, is
sketched below (pp. 193-4).
The estates held by tapu are mostly in the neighbourhood of the
Euphrates, but are found also on the Tigris. As has been already
mentioned, they escheat to the State in case of failure of heirs. The
land is, as a rule, leased out for terms of five years or less by the
landowner, who selects which lands are to be cultivated and which
are to lie fallow. Estates are often sublet to and farmers,
who collect the fellahin Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. , as a rule tribesmen with an hereditary con
nexion with the area. The owner is responsible for canal clearance