'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎106r] (216/470)

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DIWANIYAH DISTRICT.
Administration Report of Diwaniyah District.
1. Political and Tribal : Geographical .—The Diwaniyah district comprises
an area of approximately 2,800 square miles, extending along the Hillah branch
of the Euphrates for 45 miles, and East and West of that river for a total distance
of about 65 miles. The northern boundary, on the left bank of the Shatt al Hillah,
coincides, for some 6 miles, with the ancient bed of the Shatt al A‘mah—sometimes
known as the Solumbah; it then turns N.E., following a line of artificial landmarks
erected between the lands of Abu Chumak, cultivated by the Al ‘Uwaidiyin tribe,
and situated in the Hillah district, and the lands of the tribe of Al ‘Amar, in
Diwaniyah district; thence it follows the outer fringe of cultivation along the left
bank of the Shatt al Dagharah, curving South parallel to the river, to its termination
South of Al Budair. From thence it again runs East, curving later to the South
so as to include the major portion of the cultivated lands of Tarkhumah, situated
in the Jazirah between Al Budair and the Shatt al Gharraf, and ultimately the
boundary turns West, forming the southern boundary on the left bank of the
Hillah branch, which it crosses some 12 miles North of Rumaithah, demarcating
at that point the border between Al Jubur tribe of Rumaithah, on the one hand,
and Al Quwan al Hamzah of Diwaniyah district, on the other. The Northern
boundary on the right bank Shatt ai Hillah coincides with the Muhannawiah
canal, the lands watered from it being Diwaniyah district, and continues West to
Hor Ibn Najm; thence South, including in Diwaniyah district, the lands of Wuraiji,
Tar, Tahaniyah, Rishadah, and Shijr, the border between Abu Sukhair district
being defined by artificial landmarks recently erected.
The boundary continues South, including in Diwaniyah the extensive lands of
Sanniyah and Shufaiyah and, further South, the ancient ruins of the Rumahiyah,
and, finally, bends East till it reaches the Hillah branch at the northern limit of
the'Tapu estate of Saiyid Muhsin Abu Tabikh, at a point some 8 miles upstream
of Rumaithah.
Character of Inhabitants. —The tribes located on the Shatt al Dagharah have
from time immemorial held a reputation for reckless lawlessness, which they well
merited.
Except in the immediate vicinity of Diwaniyah, the Turkish Government was
able to exercise a merely nominal control, and resorts to armed force met with
indifferent, or purely local, success, while occasions are recorded, on which Govern
ment troops retired precipitately, having been decidedly worsted.
Intertribal warfare on a large scale was very frequent, and the district was
at all times infested with bands of marauders. The townspeople of Diwaniyah.
Dagharah, Qakat Haji Mukhif, and ‘Afaj were the victims of incessant robberies
py night, while cold-blooded murders were of almost daily occunence. The
presence of strong forts at intervals of about a quarter of a mile from each other
bore eloquent testimony to the unsettled state of the country. No shaikh dared
leave the limits of his tribe, and at all times an armed bodyguard was necessary.
The history of the shaikhly houses records the names of but few who died a natural
death.
Political. For some months previous to the appointment of a British Assistant
Political Officer, in April of the year under review, an Arab Government agent
had represented Government. He arrived at a time when a small detached
garrison of the Turkish force, which had retired up the Euphrates, was being
besieged by the inhabitants of Diwaniyah, and the town was in an uproar. He,
therefore, remained for some time in Dagharah town. There the tribes demanded
salaries for keeping the peace, though at the time a severe intertribal fight was
in progress They besieged the Government agent in the Sarai, and exercised a mild
form of torture by denying him rest, employing the simple process of executing
an incessant war dance on the roof and around the building, until money was
forthcoming. His arrival was, therefore, inauspicious, and general lawlessness
continued throughout his tenure. .
A British Assistant Political Officer was appointed m April 1918, and about
a month later a small garrison of troops was sent to Diwaniyah. Najaf affairs
x IO 1162—1 °