'Military Report on Mesopotamia (Iraq)' [‎49r] (102/226)

JUHAISH.
Juhaish appears as the name of at least three sections
of large tribal groups—(i) of Ali Morrah, described as
the fiercest Badawin in Eastern Arabia; (ii) of the
Aslam branch of the Southern Shammar; (iii) of the
Zubaid, sedentary cultivators on the middle reaches of
the Euphrates. The Juhaish of Northern Jazirah claim
to have belonged at one time to the Zubaid, but it is
quite conceivable that they are the homologous repre
sentatives of the Aslam Juhaish in the Northern
Shammar, which retain with few modifications the tribal
and family divisions of their Arabian ancestors. The
tribal chiefs state that the tribe formerly inhabited the
area between the Jabal Sinjar and the southern edge of
the Kurdish hills, and took to their present haunts in
the eighteenth century.
The Juhaish have played an inconspicuous part in the
history of Northern Jazirah, and in any case of anti
government action have usually followed the Shammar
Jarba, to several of whose chiefs they pay annual
tribute. During the Tel Afar disturbances in 1920, a
large portion of the tribe under Salih, son of the para
mount Chief, joined the Sharifian attacking force, but
it is doubtful if Ahmad al Khudaiyir, the paramount
Chief, favoured the escapade. During the fighting Salih
was killed and the whole tribe fled north of the Iraq
frontier. In time the various shaikhs made submission,
and the tribe was allowed to resume its normal habitat
with the exception of the Isnan and Ara Ara sections,
which refused to come in. In December, 1920, Salmo, of
the Ujan section, a thoroughly bad character, per
petrated several highway robberies and fled to the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Suwaidiyah in order to escape punishment. In January,
1921, the Turks sent various anti-British letters to Ahmad
al Khudaiyir, but the latter sent them into the A.P.O.,
Tel Afar. His action in doing so was to show his
apparent loyalty to Government in order that his eldest
son Muhammad might be freed from the security under
which he had been placed in Tel Afar. Actually the
Juhaish are incapable of action by themselves, and are
inclined to settle down to peaceful ways under a strong
government. They would, however, join any movement
instigated by the Turks which looked like being
successful.
The Juhaish are semi-nomadic, living partly in
villages and partly in tents. During the ploughing