'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. IV. 1917' [‎225r] (454/530)

MARDIN—MIDIAT—MOSUL—NISIBIN
MOSUL. (See vol. iii of this handbook, p. 361.)
445
NISIBIN. On the r. bank of the Jaghjagha, about 55 m. WSW.
of Jezlret-ibn-'Omar. The population has been variously estimated :
it includes perhaps between 700 and 1,000 families. T. (Mosul
Diarbekr line).
Routes.—
(i) To Jeziret-ibn-Omar. (See 93 a and b.)
(ii) To Feishkhabnr. (See Bo 90 d.)
(iii) To Mosul via Tel Eumelan, (See Route 91.)
(iv) To Mosul via Beled Sinjar. (See 92 a.)
(v) To Mosul via Samukha. 92 b.)
(vi) To Beir ez-Zor. (See Boute 125.)
(vii) To E.as el-'Ain. (See p. 23.)
(viii) To Mar din. (See Boute 94.)
(ix) To Midiat. (See Itoutes 97 a, b, c.)
General Description. —The town is small, and stands m the plain,
though not far N. of it begin undulations which run up to the
foot of the neighbouring Tur 'Abdin plateau. On its S. side flows
the Jaghjagha in three arms, crossed by an old stone bridge ot 1^
(or 9?) arches, which before the war was in good repair, but was
apparently not passable for wheeled traffic. W. of the town is a
very ancient Jacobite church, and in this direction and to the bW.
are numerous mounds and a few pillars, marking the site ot e
ancient city, which was an important frontier fortress of the Koman
Empire. The modern town consists principally of flat-rooted mud
houses, though some of the buildings are of stone. The main stree
which runs through the place is fairly broad. _ .. . , , . ,,
The Baghdad Railway is planned to pass by Nisibm, but in the
summer of 1916 the section Ras el-Ain Nisibin had no een
completed, and preference has now been given to a line Ras el- Am
Mardln (for Diarbekr). See p. 417.
Hygiene. —There is liability to fever in summer, and the place is
infested by flies and scorpions. For the water-supply see below.
Supplies, —The plain in the neighbourhood of Nisibm -is well
watered by the Jaghjagha and its tributaries, and is naturally very
fertile. Agriculture, though checked by insecurity, &c., had appa
rently been developing in the years before the war, and even in o
it was estimated that ' supplies to support a division for some time
could be collected' if the people were friendly. Wheat, barley,
millet, and some rice are grown. Sheep, horses, and camels aie