'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎67r] (138/470)

HILLAH DIVISION.
Review of District Administration Reports, Hillah Division,
1st January to 31st December, 1918.
Hillah Division.— The Hillah Division came into existence during the course
of the year, the administrative authority of the Political Officer, Hillah, being
extended to embrace the districts of Diwaniyah, Musaiyib and Hindiyah, while in
the month of June Karbala was also included.
Boundaries.— The Division marches with Dulaim Division in the North and
Kut and Shamiyah in the South, and at its broadest point stretches from the Tigris
to the Shifathah oases, 40 miles West of Karbala.
Area. —The whole of the Division has not yet been accurately surveyed, but
the approximate area is 6,000 square miles.
Toivns. —-The principal towns are Karbala (40,000), Hillah (25,000), Diwaniyah
Dagharah, 'Afaj, Qahah, each about 8,000, Hindiyah, also known as Tuwairij, and
Musaiyib, each about 5,000.
Tribes. —The great bulk of the population is tribal, and owns allegiance to a
feudal head. In the Hillah district, where most settled conditions have been
established, are to be found embryo village communities—embryo because they
have not yet quite broken loose from the tribal organisation.
Position of Shaikh. —The policy followed has been to work as far as possible
through the Shaikh—he is held responsible for the payment of Government
Revenues, for the maintenance of law and order within his tribal borders and for
generally assisting the Political Officers in the administration of their districts.
The Shaikhs have not been slow to respond to this entire reversal of the policy
of the Turk; they realise that, so long as they conduct themselves towards their
tribes in a manner consonant with British ideas of justice, they can count on a
measure of support which has vastly increased the dignity of their position.
Tribal Position. —The twelve months that have passed has seen a vast change
in the tribal position. When the year opened, it was but a few months since the
Turkish garrison of Diwaniyah had surrendered, and the tribes of this district were
thoroughly out of hand. On the North, the Turkish front line was still sufficiently
close to render the task of smuggling from Musaiyib to the enemy one of no great
difficulty—while the presence of Turkish spies and sympathisers was a source of
constant pre-occupation to Political Officers.
During the year the tribes have settled down to an acceptance of British rule
and its accompanying “ Pax Britannica ” in a manner that can only be described
as truly remarkable.
Tribal Position in Dhvaniyah. —Especially is this the case in Diwaniyah, the
tribes of which were a constant thorn in the side of the Turkish Government.
Paying little or no revenue, they more than once caused Turkish forces despatched
for its collection to beat a hasty retreat.
The change which Capt. Daly has wrought in the nine months during which
he has been in charge of the district may be judged by the fact that 10,000 tons of
revenue grain has been paid in, while the tribes have themselves been persuaded
to destroy the great majority of their towers.
Movement of Population. —A considerable re-adjustment of population has been
taking place during the year—in Hindiyah district the construction of the two new
canals, the Bani Hasan and Jorjiyah has been followed by a great movement “ back
to the land,” and the population has probably doubled in twelve months; the
opening of the Yusufiyah Canal in Musaiyib has brought a great influx of fallahs 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.
on to land that has lain waste for generations, and in Diwaniyah the assurance of
water supply has brought the A1 Budair tribes flocking back to their old homes.
The Bedu. —The vicinity of the Western borders of the Division to the Great
Arabian desert brings the tribes into contact with the Bedu, and the regulation of
their mutual relations involves questions of some difficulty.