'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎196] (205/568)

196
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
the commerce of southern Irak and especially of the Shatt el-'Arab
date trade. Diarbekr and Mosul were the chief markets of upper
Mesopotamia. The foreign trade of Arabistan was carried on through
Mohammareh and Ahwaz.
The main current of import trade entered Mesopotamia from the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. by way of Basra. The local market of southern Irak
absorbed a very moderate part of it, less, it seems, than a quarter.
The main volume of this current passed up the Tigris to Baghdad. 1
Probably more than half of the goods which reached the Baghdad
market found their way by Khanikin and Kirmanshah into Persia,
while the remainder supplied northern Irak, or passed on to the
Mosul market 2 or even as far as Diarbekr. But the Diarbekr market
was for the most part supplied by a secondary current of imports
which came from Alexandretta and Aleppo. The Mosul market was
partially fed by this current, which was even felt (though not in any
great degree) as far south as Baghdad. The imports of Arabistau
came from the Persian Grulf mostly through Mohammareh ; a pro
portion of them passed on to the Isfahan market.
The principal current of export trade passed out into the Persian
Gulf by Basra, the port which was the outlet of Irak and through
Baghdad drew exports from western Persia and the Mosul region.
The main part of the exports of Diarbekr, a considerable part of
those of Mosul, and a small proportion of those of Baghdad went to
Aleppo for Alexandretta or Egypt. The exports of Arabistan went
out by the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. through Mohammareh.
The annual value of the trade of Baghdad in the years immediately
before the war was between 3^- and 4 millions. This estimate excludes
the large imports of material for the Baghdad Railway. The value
of the remaining imports was 3-4 times greater than that ot the
exports. The annual value of the trade of Basra (including imports
to and exports from Baghdad) was over 5 millions: the average for
the years 1911-13, inclusive of the imports of railway material, was
about £5,700,000. Exports amounted to about 2^ millions as against
I—1 million at Baghdad. This difference was due principally to
the Shatt el-'Arab date trade, and partly to the export from the
Basra vilayet of grain, rice, gM, and wool.
The trade of Diarbekr was valued at somewhat over a million,
1 While Baghdad was the general distributing centre for piece-goods, the towns
on the Euphrates in western Irak seemed to have received a part of their other
imports direct from Basra. 1 . _ .
2 Suleimaniyeh and Kirkuk, the chief local markets of southern ^Tuikish)
Kurdistan, dealt mainly with Baghdad, and to a much smaller extent with Mosul
and Aleppo.