'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III. PART I: A to K' [‎576r] (1156/1278)

KHtJ—KHtr
569
in such profusion. The northern part consists of fine, open plains, bounded
in their highest parts by the mountains.
“ To the south and west of the province are homes of the wandering
tribes of Arabs under their different Shaikhs, and on the north and east
are tribes of Lurs and Persians.
“ To the north-east of Khuzistan is the lofty chain of the* mountains of
the Bakhtiaii—a continuation of the main Kurdistan range. Their summits
are frequently within the range of perpetual snow, but they are interspersed
with fertile valleys, which are well-watered and possess a generous soil.
These mountains are the summer residences (ydildq) of the Lur tribes.
To the south of them are found highly fertile valleys and spacious plains,
on which are the winter encampments of the same tribes. Beyond these,
again, there occurs a range of hills, varying from 5,000 to 2,000 feet in
height, running parallel with the great chain, and consisting of sandstone
and a very friable limestone, much intermixed with gypsum ; and to
the west of these are vast plains stretching in one almost uninterrupted
flat to the Tigris, the Shatt-al-’Arab, and the sea.”
The only hills in Khuzistan are the above-mentioned hills, which Layard
mentions as a parallel and separate range to the main range. This, pre
sumably, must be a mistake, and it seems more probable that the low hills
are merely the ends of spurs from the main range, which spread out into an
appearance of distinctness from their parent.
Khuzistan is abundantly supplied with rivers, being in this respect
different from the rest of Persia. Of these the most important are the
Karun, Dizful, Karkheh, and the Jarrahi.
The climate of the upper part of Khuzistan, about Shushtar and Dizful,
is very healthy.
Of mineral products, near Mai Daud are found white naptha and bitumen,
and limestone abounds in all the low hills.
The population of Khuzistan is mostly composed of wandering tribes :
these are the Fail!, Bakhtiari, the Kuhgalu Mamassani to the north, and
in the south the Arab tribes of Anafljeh, A1 Kathir, the Ka’b, and Badi
Lam.
In addition to the care of cattle, which is the prevailing occupation,
agriculture is carefully attended to, and the quantity of tobacco, rice and
other grain (especially barley) produced along the banks of the river is con
siderable. Some cotton is likewise grown, and in the district of Ahwaz
sugar was abundant at no very distant period. On the lower parts of the
Karun and Karkheh, as well as in the Ka’b country, dates are sufficiently
abundant to be an article of commerce. In addition to the bitumen and
naphtha of Band-i-Qir, Darreh-i-Naft, etc., tents, red cloth, coarse woollens,
and some cottons are manufactured, the last chiefly at Dizful, where dyeing
is extensively practised. Large flocks of sheep, with a portion of goats,
camels, horses and mules, are to be seen on all the rich pasture grounds
of Susiana.
Occasionally permanent walled villages are met with, but the greatest
part of the inhabitants live in tents, which are of a large size, being sup
ported by a number of poles in parallel rows, lessening in height from the
ridge towards the sides, which are very low. This kind of tent is more