'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎105r] (214/610)

1 See page 94.
175
The Turk! origin of the Kajars from the province of Astara-
had is one of the causes contributing to the unpopularity of
the present djmasty.
Muzaffar-ud-Din, when Valiahd, i. e., heir apparent, lived
at Tabriz and on his succession to the throne he brought his
Turki court to Tehran and Turk! influence was strong during
his reign.
At the present time some of the Tehran officials are natives
of Tabriz, but in the Turki provinces in this area the officials
are Tarsi.
These Turks of Azarbaijan, being Shi’ah, are kept distinct
from the Ottoman Turks by religious differences.
They are accustomed to the use of arms, and take to military
service more readily than the peaceful Farsi peasantry. The
local Khans swagger with rifles and belts of cartridges, but,
with their present lack of organisation and training, they are
only ready to join a foray for loot and not for a stand up fight.
They are treacherous and unreliable, and will only join the
winning side and Major Wagstaffe’s mission sent by General
Dunsterville along the Tabriz road against the Turks in 1918,
found hastily raised local levies totally lacking in courage and
quite useless.
These are of Persian origin and the differences between Mazandarfini
them and the Farsi are due to their geographical position, and GUakL
shut away behind the Elburz, and to climatic rather than racial
conditions. These differences however are very pronounced as
soon as the 1 “ Secondary watershed The boundary between adjacent drainage basins. to the North ” is passed,
and the natives of the Caspian provinces are as different from
the Farsi as their verdant forest clad country and its climate are
different from the arid tawny hills and plains of ’Iraq.
They are of medium height, of pale sallow complexion in
striking contrast to their dark eyes and long and abundant
black hair and beards, rice-eaters, anaemic, heavily infected
with malaria, lazy, more religious and duller than the Farsi
but less so than the Turki, timid, and as a result of the oppres
sion of which they have been victims, afraid of strangers and
more ready to disappear into the jungle than to assist them.
To each other, however, they are kind. The use of opium
is excessive, especially in Tunakabun and Lakijan and on an
average 70 per cent, of the landowners and 30 per cent, of the
peasantry are reported to be addicted to it.