'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎47r] (98/470)

The former three places are tribal marts, consisting of bazaars of from 90-50
shops. From a Revenue standpoint, however, they are of great importance, as
they are centres of barter and exchange for very large tribal areas.
Situated as they are in North-East of the district, in the midst of a richly-
cultivated area, but fairly distant from Government headquarters, they are at
present somewhat uncontrolled. Small Shabanah posts have been appointed,
but as soon as municipalities are formed they will have a powerful political effect.
Abu Skorah is at present a very small place, with a new bazaar in course of
construction. Its position, however, as the market of the Hor al Dukhn Bani
Hasan, and as the river port on the direct road to Kufah, renders its development
inevitable.
Turumah is a large collection of mud huts, the centre of the Ghazalat tribe,
and is situated on the southern extremity of the Mishkhab.
It will eventually become a municipality, but its organisation will be of some
difficulty, and is a matter for the more distant future.
It will be seen that during the last three months of the year, when the
municipalities may be said to have been fairly working, the administration of the
municipalities, which comprise a population of over 60,000 persons, has entailed
expenditure of over Rs. 12,000/- per mensem, which has been met from municipal
taxation. For next year, conservative estimates are double this, and the municipal
income of the Division should approximate to three lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. .
Najqf-Kufah Municipalities, 1918.
General .—It may be of use to record a brief note on what appears to be the
condition of Najaf at the close of the war, and to offer an opinion as to the problems
which are likely to confront us in the near future.
Now that a start has been made we have no choice but to push ahead, and
the pitfalls of the road are as full of interest as the goal which we hope to attain.
The reason why we cannot go back on our track is sufficiently obvious.
To relax control of Najaf would be to loosen our hold over the whole of the
Euphrates.
To call a halt is impossible, as we cannot continue indefinitely to administer
a town rotten with abuses, that loudly challenge our dignity and our courage.
Najaf-Kufah is certain to become a very large and a very important city
before many years have passed. Whether it is to become a glorious, monument to
British administration in the eyes of every Shi‘ah Muhammadan, or a hotbed of
anti-British intrigue, entirely depends on our early recognition of its influence and
size.
It must be remembered that the Turks did recognise this, but the diseased
heart was unable to provide vigour and strength to the extremities of its circulatory
system, which atrophied from malnutrition. The successful revolt of the town
against the Turkish authority after the battle of Shffiaibah, and the degrading
expulsion of their inadequate troops, was a blow of very considerable importance.
Najaf has hitherto figured to us as a turbulent desert town, visited periodically
by large numbers of pilgrims, which will inevitably be largely increased by the
opening of the Euphrates to navigation and the advance of railways.
It has not yet, however, made its debut in the role of an important market
at the Junction of two trade routes, which will never be affected by the competition
of railways.
In addition to the magnet of ‘Ali’s tomb, this town is the possessor of a large
dump, where the caravans from Central Arabia offload the raw materials of the
desert, and return with rice and clothing, where Beduin middlemen exchange the
silks and calicoes of Homs and Hama with grain, cattle and merchandise from
Basrah and Bombay.
The war has completely shut down this trade, but the large merchants are now
ready to return to business after five years’ inactivity, and we may expect a surprise
when the trade routes to Hail and Damascus are once more opened.
Dwellers in Mesopotamia have not been slow to realise the advantages, temporal
and eternal, which are likely to accrue to enterprising merchants, established in
the neighbourhood of Mashhad ‘Ali, under a settled government.
House property has already risen enormously and an immigration into Kufah
has begun, even from towns on the Tigris.